Chapter 4

“Of course, immediately following the morning call, all warriors are expected to attend the practice fields. As a ranked mage, you will be training the novice ranks.”

North looked at the officious little bureaucrat up and down. The man was impeccably dressed with a handkerchief tucked in his right sleeve and another poking out of the breast pocket of his courtier’s jacket. The entire ensemble and the man himself were off putting to North’s sensibilities.

After a long draw of silence, North finally asked, “Who assigned these duties?”

“These are duties of the warrior mages of the Court,” the man spouted with indignation.

“Who?” North repeated himself with a direct challenge.

“Well, it is how things are done.”

“No,” North responded slowly as if he were talking to a child. “I do not answer to you nor to your little courtly do’s and don’ts. I answer directly to the Queen and to her alone. Between you and me, you did not serve in the war, and for that alone, I will not answer to you. Either you chose to serve or you chose not to.”

The man’s face turned bright red. “How dare you! I served where I could do the best for the Court; I served during the war.”

“You hid behind these walls, little man. You can say whatever you want and even pretend that it’s true but know this: there is not a veteran of the war who does mark you for what you did not do. Begone.”

The man rushed for the doorway, only to stop and bow from the waist, “Your Majesty.”

“You know better, Chaswelt,” she said. “Trying to assert your authority where there is none is a poor use of your office. Please see to your other duties.”

“Of course, your Majesty,” and he scampered out the door and disappeared.

“Not even a day and you’re already making enemies,” she said to North. “At least you staked out your position clearly. He won’t forget. Whether that is good or bad remains to be seen.”

“Are there many like him among your Court?” North said.

“Yes, and my court is divided in two camps because of it,” she said. “This state of affairs is one of the reasons I brought you here. At first, I thought to make peace between the two camps, but that strategy was naïve. Veterans are often too rigid in their political takes while the others pretend that nothing has changed, and their previous positions and authorities are unchanged. The cost to defeat the Butcher was higher than most realize. I think, North, that you do realize more consciously the prices we’ve paid.”

“As my commander in chief, yes, I know intimately what we’ve lost,” North said with a measure of disbelief that he was having this conversation with Queen Adrianna Victorious. “I’ve now got an inkling of the divide within the Court as well. Surely, the people of your kingdom beyond these walls are well attuned to the cost of defeating the Butcher and the aftermath. Who among us would not trade this survivor’s shadow to have one more day, one more hour with those we loved and lost?”

“I appreciate the sentiment, but we are not the walking wounded,” she retorted.

“I am no longer consumed with survivor’s guilt,” North said. “I still have nightmares though and as one Wise Woman explained to me, my nightmares are well earned. What would you have me do, my Queen?”

She pulled her sleeves down to her wrists and adjusted the heavy necklace that resembled the top brackets of the Gordian mail that she wore in battle. She frowned at his stained shirt.

“Get your ass out to the practice fields and put them in order,” she said. “Order appropriate dress for yourself this afternoon, lest everyone think a lounging drunk has been ensconced on the premises. Also, this evening is a common meal in the banquet hall. You will attend, and you will sit in your assigned seat like you were born to it. Oh, lest I forget, bring your mage sword in its sheath. Good day, my Jack of Spades.”

She spun on her heel and swept herself out of the room. In the hallway, she called for her arms women to stop eavesdropping and to step into formation. The one on the left peered into his room, giving him a brief focused stare. He returned the inspection taking in the puckered skin that was her partly shriveled ear and the scalp immediately behind it. Then his doorway was empty.

“Curse the wine and spit on the bread,” North sputtered. He finished getting dressed and made his way to the practice fields after swinging by the kitchen for bread and hard cheese. He had to ask for directions to the fields because he had never been to the palace complex before last night. When the Fifth Regiment was sent to the front lines against the Butcher after vanquishing the army of the Third Pillar, their route took them parallel to the inner lands of the kingdom instead of through them. Although the roads were better the closer one got to the capital, the march they took was more direct.

Shaking himself out of his little foray into a memory he had set aside, North marched out to the fields. His initial take of what he saw was less than impressive. There was a lack of seriousness of intent across some of the platoons who were practicing. Many of the recruits stood around, not doing much of anything.

He chose what he thought was the worst of the worst and made a beeline to them. “Tell me, sergeant, what am I to make of this collection of recruits?”

The sergeant looked him up and down. “I served in the Third, sir?”

“I served in the Fifth, sergeant to sergeant, though I now serve on the queen’s personal staff. I was on the right flank when she struck down the Butcher. You?”

“We swung around from the left flank and were pressing from behind. We caught a lot of the blow back from the final assault.”

North had not seen the back end, but he had heard a few stories. “Understood, and these men?”

“They ain’t worth the shit on the bottom of your shoe. They act deaf, dumb, and blind, and I can’t tell if it’s an act or their tragic fate.”

North turned to the soldiers who were listening with keen interest. Most of them had the fattened faces of the merchant and noble classes, and an ease about them that was nurtured by a well-provided life. Among them was one who stood out, who did not have the insight to keep a more neutral mask on his face. His two companions were only slightly more disciplined. The sneer was like a shining beacon.

North motioned him to come forward. “You look like a man of good breeding. Who is your father?”

“My father is a member of the Court, of course,” the young man said. “He is a deputy of the Exchequer in the accounts receivable, an office I’m sure you know little about.”

“You are correct, I know little and care even less about his job or his status,” North said. “Take your stance with your practice sword.” The drill sergeant handed North his own practice sword.

“Come at me,” North said, acting nonchalantly. He moved his left foot back to match the stance of the young man.