AO 6 Ch 33

The Royal Army had turned over their arms. The officers and soldiers were separated and detained. "Do we have to keep the King alive?" I asked, raising my hand. "I really feel like that's just asking for trouble down the road."

Richard glanced at my mother and grandfather to answer my question.

I had asked the same question several times during this whole briefing, and no one really seemed to want to answer me. They deferred to those two anytime I started asking questions. 

"Our First Prince is a soft leader, but it's best not to test his boundaries. After all, it is his father," my grandfather said.

"Well his father was trying to kill my mother, so I’m not sure he gets to argue that one." I crossed my arms.

My mother cleared her throat. "In this instance, the correct move is to not antagonize them further. We have won. And with the King captive, we can slowly fold in the rest of their people. With him alive he’s leverage."

I made a face, but sat back. It seemed everyone here wanted to keep the stupid King alive. I trusted their judgment enough not to just kill him, but I would keep stating my opinion and very tactfully remind them of their error should their decision backfire.

"Glad you got that out of your system, Ard," my mother said, pursing her lips. "Is House Strathmore indicating anything?" she asked Richard. 

"They thank you for your continued open communication with them, but they would like to move back to their territory now that the situation settled here," Richard replied. 

My mother nodded. "Please, send what we can with them as thanks. They were incredibly helpful and likely saved us in that middle phase of battle. Rebuilding the desert watch station can be done by our house alone."

"Yes, of course," Richard agreed, bowing and shooting off.

I stared after Richard, I needed a version of him. He was a doer. All of mine distracted me too much. Some might say that was my fault, but as usual they’d be wrong.

My mother shifted her focus back to me. "Stop asking to kill the king. He's clearly gotten into something well above his understanding," she said, gesturing into the distance. "I don't know what that spear or that armor was, but it's got certain implications. And until your two friends can come and explain them to us, we will continue to move cautiously, Ard."

Based on her tone, my mother was not happy with me. And I decided it was time to surrender with a show of good faith. I lifted my hands up in the universal sign of surrender, giving her a winning smile. It would at least pacify her for a time so I could get out of here and into more trouble.

"Thank you, Ard," my mother said, rolling her eyes. She turned back to the several people ready to give their reports. There had been a whole procession of them, coming and going from dinner. They were overly respectful and groveling to my mother and grandfather. It was no wonder my family had grown a touch arrogant if people treated them like this all the time. 

"And what is next?" my grandfather asked slowly. 

"I believe Ard has some interesting information to share with us," my mother said, slowly turning in her chair to face me. The men that had been filling the hall and giving their reports fled, as if someone had given a signal that it was time to run.

That left me, my mother, my grandfather, and a few other high-level members of the family whose names I didn't know or really care to know if I was honest.

For each mage, there was of course also their anchors. On a battlefield, even in this little thrown together building, no sane anchor was straying far from their mage. That also meant my anchors were practically sitting on top of me, though the anchors weren't invited to join us for the meal, just stand around and watch.

Emlyn apparently didn’t get that message though, as she stole more than a few bites off my plate.

I shot her a look as she had newly greased fingers and a piece of my chicken was missing.

“Checking for poison.” She said with a straight face and reached for more.

My fork blocked her and I turned back to the people waiting for me to get started. "Well," I said, hesitating under all of the expectant gazes, "the story's not too long, but basically it starts and ends with me going into Garrish, becoming a merchant, and selling goods to bandits. I got myself in with some rebellions, killed some more people, oh, and buddied up with some gods. Meanwhile, I learned that most of this conflict that's happening is because one of them turned Martin into a monster, and he's now on a quest to eat all of humanity to empower himself so that he can kill a god and eat her giant tits." I stuffed some chicken into my mouth. “Oh and there was a crab the size of a mountain.”

As I finished up my summarized story, my mother pressed two fingers to her forehead and breathed deeply. Several of the older members of the Aldis family were looking amongst each other, trying to decide what to do next.

"My son has quite the imagination," she said, her voice tense. 

"I mean, it's not an imagination, but if that's what you want to call it, sure. Missy and Ditzy even brought me to go fight a god. It was pretty cool and included magic in ways you've never seen before. And then, of course, how does anyone explain that the King of Avente was suddenly turned himself into lightning bolts, flying across the sky and swinging a spear that is far too big for him? Fine, I’ll say what we were all thinking. Compensating much?" I continued to dig into the chicken, having the sudden feeling that I wasn't going to be able to enjoy it quite so much in a few minutes.

"Everyone, if you would excuse my grandson, he's been through quite a bit," Anadonis said, glancing over the group. They all chuckled as if they had suddenly been given permission.

I cocked an eyebrow at him, but he ignored it. A strange feeling that the other shoe was about to drop and I was hungry, I ignored it all and ate some more mashed potatoes.

"Quite the imagination," one of them chuckled, and dabbed at his lips before getting up and slapping Anadonis on the shoulder. "You'll have to be careful about what he says, or everyone's going to think the house has fallen into a den of loons."

My grandfather gave me a look as if asking, "Are you a loon?" To which I nodded rapidly.

"Yes of course, if by loon you mean so brilliant that it might be mistaken for insanity. Unfortunately, if it is simply meant as an insult…” I trailed off as my magic suddenly filled the room with a pressure that made every member of House Aldis go pale with fright and several of the anchor reach for their weapons only for me to seal all of them in their sheaths with a flick of my finger.

"Please enjoy your meals. It seems Ard doesn't want to share too many of his exploits with the larger group. Not that I blame him. A four sphere mage can do incredible things and likely wants to keep some secrets," Gwen covered for me, which was completely unnecessary. "Ard, if you could stop making a fool of yourself," my mother hissed. "That would be highly preferred."

"What do you mean? I was telling the truth." I pushed.

"A truth so fantastical that no matter if it is the truth or not, no one will believe it. And you knew that before you launched into your story." She gave me a classic mom look.

I gave her a helpless shrug. "Your point?"

"My point is that you sound like a loon. I need you not to sound like a loon." She emphasized

"Because I am somewhat important in the family?" I asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Because as a four-sphere mage, Ard, yes, you are somewhat important in the family. Everyone is looking at you as if you will one day be the future, because if not the four-sphere mage, then who the fuck should be the next leader of the house that is poised to lead the kindom into the future?" She pushed.

I rubbed my chin thoughtfully. "I honestly don't know if I want that job."

"Great. Don't take it. Do whatever you want, but don't look like a buffoon.” She paused. “Please, Ard."

"Well, since you said please, I suppose I could dial it back." I offered with a shrug and stabbed my fork to the side barely missing Emlyn’s thieving fingers.

"Thank you." She let out a sigh. "You have no idea how happy that makes me."

"Well, I'm always one to make mom happy." I flashed her an over-wide smile, one that neither of us believed was the truth, but she accepted the words.

"Now, if you're done teasing, I would actually be interested in what happened." My mother waited.

"Well, we'll have to talk privately, of course, so I don't sound like a loon. Also, these mashed potatoes are incredible so give me a moment," I said, stuffing my face more, only to watch my mother glower at me.

"Enjoy them, Ard. I'm certain you went through quite the journey and have earned a good meal." She spoke up so the rest of the table could hear.

I made a mental note to encourage her to be more of this doting mother type in the future, but I thought it was better to not comment on it at that moment, so I simply nodded emphatically at her words.

"You don't know the half of it. But good news is, I've only pissed off a very limited number of gods. And I do have the help of two. So, really, we're up ahead, because it's two gods and Ard versus two gods. Not to mention, I heard Missy and Ditzy were looking for a third." I stuffed more mashed potatoes into my math.

My mother's slight relief vanished as she stared at me incredulously. "You call one of them Ditzy?" she asked. "It is an absolute miracle that you've kept your head."

A man walked into the dinner, clearing his throat. "Patriarch? Matriarch?" He hesitated, unsure of whom to address. "It seems we have a visitor from House Strathmore. Claire Strathmore and her granddaughter are present." 

Gwen's nose flared in irritation, while Anadonis gently dabbed his lips. "If you would please come with us," he gestured to me, only for my mother to stall him with a hand. 

"I'll handle this. Ard, come along. You can bring one of your anchors." Almost as if my mother's words had summoned her, Maribelle was exactly two steps behind me on my right. "It seems it's been chosen for me. Maribelle, come with me." I said.

I pushed away from the table as well as everybody else that had gathered for the meal.

"Wonderful meeting you," I smiled, not too upset at the interruption. After all, I was getting out of a rather stuffy dinner. 

"Ard, push me if you will," my mother said after freeing herself from the table.

I grabbed the little handles on the back of her wheeled chair and began pushing. "So what has you annoyed?" 

"There were concessions required in order to get House Strathmore to join us on this endeavor, knowing that they were going against the king's will by helping us. In fact, they came to help us stay out of the jaws of the trap." My mother answered.

I huffed, remembering the situation with the king. "Looked like they put their swords down rather quickly.”

“It's a delicate game, just like the same game that requires us to keep the king alive.” My mother answered me.

"It would be a lot easier just to--." I made a swiping noise and chopped my fist across my neck. Though, it occurred to me that I could just stuff someone in the king’s body… no that was a little too icky and if it ever became widely known that I could do that, we’d be in a heck of a mess.

"It is easier this way, Ard. Politics are complex. With him alive, he is a token of our power and gives us a measure of control over the royal family. We must slowly and  delicately supersede them." 

"Uh-huh," I said, still thinking it would just be easier to end him.

"The last thing we need is to have a civil war amidst a war with our enemy. You said it yourself. King Martin needs to be stopped as soon as possible." My mother reminded me. 

"Yes, I did and then you made me go to dinner and entertain old men and women." I grumbled.

My mother sighed and shook her head. "The finer points of politics are completely lost on you." 

I raised an eyebrow at her and tilted her chair slightly so that I could meet her eye-to-eye. "I don't know if that's a bad thing. Every time we talk about the song and dance of leading and ruling, I get nauseous. Most of the time it sounds like an excuse to wipe each others’ ass.”

My mother let out a deep sigh. “For this meeting, please don't talk like that.”

“And why am I coming instead of Grandfather?" I asked, curious.

"Because," she hesitated, "you are the four sphere mage of House Aldis. When you are with us, it would be rude to not have you come show up and do a song and dance, as you call it. It's a good way to earn their support." She emphasized, throwing me a motherly look that told me she was not asking, she was demanding.

"Fine, fine." I held my hands up and did a little tap dance. Though, sadly, my wonderfully comfortable shoes didn't click quite the way a real performer’s shoes sounded.

My mother sighed and held her head in her hands as we continued to follow the messenger at a distance with our hushed conversation. 

"In here, please," the messenger ushered us and doing his best not to meet my mother’s eyes.

The building we were currently using had been quickly made by house Aldis earth mages and furnished largely with military camp supplies.

The room we were entering was a passable sitting room, but it did leave me wondering who had hauled not just one, but two entire couches along with the war supplies.

"Ah, Gwen," an older lady spoke up, complimenting the words with a bright smile. If I had to guess, she was probably 120 to 150, it was hard to tell with mages. Life magic had let her keep a youthful appearance. Yet she still managed to cultivate an air of maturity, but there wasn't a damn wrinkle on her face. 

"Claire, wonderful to meet you." My mother smiled and waved for me to bring her over by one of the couches. "And this must be your daughter, Lucy."

"One of the pride and joys of House Strathmore. Lucy, please introduce yourself. I assume the gentleman there is Arden. He looks so much like Anadonis when he was younger." The woman said.

"Funny," I said, interjecting myself. I didn't really like being talked about in the room. “Everyone keeps saying I take after my father, not my grandfather."

"I'm afraid you do," Claire said, then more pointedly looked at her daughter. Lucy's age was harder to judge given Claire's age. Lucy was probably older than me, but clearly life magic had assisted her. If she were a villager, I wouldn't have guessed she was any older than twenty.

"Pleasure to meet you," Lucy said, flowing with a sinuous grace as she held out a hand, wrist up towards me.

I grabbed it and shook it more roughly than she expected based on her expression. "You're right, it is your pleasure. It is me, Arden Aldis." I held my hands out wide, only to hear my mother's soft, restrained sigh.

"Arden.”

“What? You said to put on a show, do a little tap dance." Before I could start to make any move, shackles of ice bound around my ankles to keep me from dancing. 

"Forgive him. He's been traveling and..." My mother hesitated, searching for a viable excuse, "and I don't know what he's gotten up to. You've been playing around in Garrish and then up through the Barbaric Lands?"

"Yep, yep," I continued on for her. "And then we came down here and I saved your ass." I shrugged, as if I was completely helpless but to say the truth. 

It was Claire who laughed loudly. "I see you have your hands full. But he's still quite young. In their twenties and thirties, the boys really start to mellow out. There's nothing wrong with him being youthful and a little proud, especially considering the magic that he just dumped all over the battlefield."

Claire had a smile on her face, though her words made me feel quite slippery, like I was being buttered up. I narrowed my eyes suspiciously. 

"Yes, it was some fun magic. I assume both of you are mages?" I asked.

"Yes, we are both mages." Claire's smile stretched wide. "In fact, the reason Lucy is here to see you is that she is the only three-sphere mage within House Strathmore." Claire walked up behind the younger lady and put her hands on her shoulders. "We have high hopes for her. I believe in the future she will be a wonderful leader for the house."

"Of course, with your tutelage," Lucy said, like a domesticated animal. For as pretty and light as she was, she didn't quite have a spine.

Since entering Noble Society, I had found most of the nobles fell into two main buckets with the same two choices offered. Either life was a little hard or it was a little easy, but more importantly, they either went with the flow or they went against it. And I could immediately tell which bucket Lucy fell into. She had a pampered and easy life while going with the flow, not putting up so much as a doggy paddle of resistance to that current. 

"Oh, nice to meet you," I said suddenly, having lost most of my interest in this meeting. My tastes were in those who’d had it hard or went against the flow, they were interesting.

"Yes, we were very excited to meet you, Ard." Claire seemed to urge some silent signal to Lucy, and I narrowed my eyes, suddenly turning my attention to my mother. 

"So nice to meet you, too," I said, my tone full of meaning as I stared at my mother, asking her what this was about, because it certainly wasn't just a polite meet and greet. Polite meet and greet didn't have a reply with so much meaning forced into it.

My eyes narrowed further as I started to piece together what was happening.

"We would like a fruitful cooperation with House Strathmore," my mother said slowly. "I apologize, Claire. Ard has just returned, and the old men were insistent on hearing his war stories, even though they just witnessed everything before their eyes."

Claire laughed, and I, as subtly as I could, shook my head back and forth while glaring at my mother.

Her response was typical. She gave me a tight-lipped smile and a very subtle nod, only for me to return to my quick shaking of my head back and forth. 

"Yes, cooperation would be beneficial for everyone. With House Strathmore backing House Aldis, the two will become a powerful force in the future." Claire nodded

I knew I had to smile, and I tried, I genuinely tried, but the smile I gave was stiff, quivering, and no doubt looked forced beyond belief. "Yes, cooperation between us," I said, struggling for words.

My mother rolled up next to me, slapping a hand against my side.

"You'll forgive Ard that he's not jumping for joy. He's not often one for surprises," she said, meaningfully giving me an eyeful. "Even if it's one bearing gifts."

"Yes, gifts," I said, my eyes resting on Lucy. "And what a wonderful gift." 

And I knew the exact moment Maribelle understood the discussion happening. If looks could kill, Lucy's head would be on a pike.

Lucy noticed, shrinking back slightly. Which was the sensible reaction to being faced with Maribelle’s displeasure if we were honest. Really she should be running for her life and finding some high-collared armor.

"Well, Mother, this has been an absolute pleasure." I gritted out.

"Oh, don't go just yet. Come, come, we'll have wine brought here. You and Lucy can get to know each other. Claire and I can talk contracts." My mother told me.

"Oh, contracts, I love contracts. How about I work on those with you?" I offered.

"Really? So much has changed in such little time." She clicked her tongue and glanced at Claire. "It's always incredible how quickly they grow once they leave the nest," she mused with Claire.

The two older women began laughing, because apparently my misery was funny. 

"Oh, you know how it is to be young. You just surprised him with this. I'm sure he had other plans for what he was doing tomorrow." Claire answered.

"Tomorrow?" I gasped, nearly choking on the words. 

"Ard," my mother growled. 

"Sorry. Tomorrow. That's fast. Really, really fast." I managed a squeaky smile.

"Of course, we'll just do the important part," Claire emphasized. 

"Yes, the important part. I wonder which one that is." My eyes fixed on my mother. However, she was completely immune to my glare. Instead, she began laughing as she swept the other woman out with her, leaving Lucy and I in the room alone, except for Maribelle who was glaring a hole into Lucy’s head.