Chapter 10

Kasia slowly pushed the unfinished dowel into the shaper.

There probably was a better name for the thing, but she had never bothered to come up with one. The tool sat clamped onto a table in their enclosed workshop. Well, a half filled woodshed with open windows for light and air. It was a bit too windy to work outside. Leaning forward and twisting the doweling, she saw the small slanted blade shave off a long, curved strip of wood. As it passed the blade, the now perfectly rounded dowel passed through a wooden hole. Kasia smiled. It was exactly the right size for her Lincoln Logs.

She looked over at the finished pieces. The last couple weeks had been productive. Enough had been created to allow her to build some rather impressive things. Exactly why His Grace had wanted this for his children was even more apparent. Hell, she wanted one. Still, a Prince deserved more, and more of the single notched pieces were needed. She pushed more of the dowel into the blade.

Kasia needed better tools. More efficient tools. She knew which one, too. A round powered bladed saw, it's adjustable blade poking out of a table. It would take mere minutes to cut this long piece into perfectly sized logs. Add more blades close together, barely sticking up out of the table, and she could cut out perfect notches instead of carving them by hand. She could do a full set of these each day! Five sets! Enough to sell. To give to Harveen to trade.

To make money to allow her brother to experiment.

"Damn it!"

She looked over at Liuz. He was frowning at his work, as if such rebuke would get the gears and such to do their job. Letting go of the doweling, enough of it having passed through the tool that it was in no danger of cracking under its weight, she scooted her chair over towards him.

"What's wrong?"

"All of it. Watch." He turned the front towards her. A large, round circle, a foot wide, sat on a skeletal frame. A wooden arrow, attached to the center, pointed straight up. Adjusting a few things out of her sight, Liuz poured water into the top. "I'm turning it on."

As she heard the sound of water and turning gears, the arrow slowly moved. She watched, entranced, as it moved around the circle. After completing one rotation, it began to slow. It stopped.

"See? I only get one rotation out of this much water. I'd need a room's worth of water to even last a day! A big room! It's ... well, pointless!"

She nodded. Kasia could see that. Water power didn't scale well.

"You'd need another power source."

"Or only have them where there's a constant flow of water."

Kasia reached out, turning the clock. The gearing her brother had come up with was amazing, each wooden gear perfectly sized and placed. A stack of gears no longer needed sat nearby.

"It has to be good for something. What you've done is amazing."

"Thanks."

A cry came from outside. Groaning, her brother rose, opening the door.

"We're in here!"

A few moments later Roda stood in the doorway. She peered in with interest.

"Having fun?"

"Nope," Liuz said. "What do you need?"

"A messenger came. He had a letter for you."

Kasia blinked. A ... letter? For THEM? She rose, reaching for her crutch. Liuz motioned her back into her seat. Silently, Roda handed a white object to him.

"It's paper," he half whispered. "A paper envelope. Wow..."

"Open it!" Kasia said. Only one person they knew of would be able to waste valuable paper on something as useless as an envelope. Grabbing a small knife, he cut the end open, reaching in to grab the paper message. He moved into better lighting, Roda entering the room behind him.

"To Liuz and Kasia. You are hear-by invited to the birthday party for Prince Marik at the Royal Palace. Present this letter to any guard."

"Oh, WOW!" Kasia jumped up, hand going to the table as she balanced on one foot. "We're invited to the palace! When?"

"Um ... five days from now."

She looked at the pile of pieces on the floor. Yes. She could have it all done by then. Have it stained, even. Toys should start off dark, so the dirt doesn't show so easily. A different stain for the roof...

"There is no way," Liuz said, groaning, "that I can have this work by then." He put the letter down on the table. Kasia saw it was signed by the Queen.

"What is it?" Roda asked. Glancing at her, Liuz sighed and sat down.

"Something that doesn't do anything practical." He moved the water basin from the bottom, pouring it into the reservoir up top. Replacing it down below, he put his fingers on a lever. "Watch the front."

Roda moved beside Kasia. The clock started.

"Wow! That's great!"

"But it doesn't last long enough. It's a failure."

Kasia watched the arrow slow. An idea formed.

"Liuz ... what if ... you put something on the end of the arrow?"

"Something at the end?" He moved around to their side.

"Yeah. Like a fox or something. Have it chase something around the circle."

"Like what?"

She thought. What would a child like? What would be practical, given the gears?

"How about something gets out of the way as it passes?" Roda said. She looked at Liuz. "A bunny or bird goes up, then back down as it passes by."

Kasia's breath caught in her throat. Reaching back, she hand turned the gears.

"Yes ... Yes! A little kid would love that! Two levers on either side of the bunny, one to send him out of the way and the other to put him back! I can carve the animals!"

"That ... could work." Liuz placed his fingers on the front. "Paint this up, like a forest or something..."

"I saw very small bells for sale by the harbor! Have them ring when the fox passes!"

"We have to keep this simple, Kasia."

"Have the animal trigger hit it. Simple!"

The two of them looked at each other. Liuz slowly smiled.

"Let's do it."

Liuz looked out over the ship's railing.

He had never been to sea. Never been on a boat before. Had never even considered it as a possibility.

Hell, he still didn't believe he was doing this.

The cliffs of Nowy Poland were looming ahead, the morning sun just peeking over them. It was an early ferry, for while the trip was not long, they needed time to get to the Palace itself. It may even have left before it was supposed to: on seeing the Royal invitation, the captain had waved any charge to take them, ushering them immediately on board. Tymon was left shaking his head, the coins in his hand unneeded. Everyone, it seemed, wanted to get in good graces with His Grace.

He scoffed. Were he and his sister any different?

Kasia came up beside him. The captain appeared, too. He pointed towards the cliffs.

"We're approaching the entrance to the Anne River."

Now that it was pointed out, Liuz saw it. A break in the cliffs. Up above, a Polish flag flew atop a tall pole. A twin to the signal tower in Fredrick. Kasia grabbed his arm.

"Incredible!"

The ship slowly tacked, approaching the entrance. The channel was not especially narrow, but as the cliffs rose up on either side Liuz unconsciously took a half step back from the railing. He was glad to see the captain now at the helm, rather than talking to two passengers.

"Lock ahead!" The two siblings moved to the front of the ship. There before them, two large wooden doors were opening inward in the middle of the waterway. Looking to the shore, he saw oxen slowly walking in a circle, working the doors he assumed. Ahead was a small channel with smooth stone sides, ending with an even taller set of doors. The ship slowly entered. Ropes were tossed up and out to workers on either side.

"Make those lines taut!" Liuz found himself going from one side of the ship to the other, taking it in. He had HEARD of the Anne Lock, but...

"The boat's rising!" Kasia's cry was one of amazed joy. Liuz could not help but feel the same way. Oh, to have been smart enough to think of this! To have helped build it! It was amazing.

The capital was a disappointment.

Liuz wasn't sure what he had been expecting. It was younger than the Prince they were going to visit, after all. A new city springing up from nothing. Many of the temporary buildings from that first long winter still stood, mixed among the new, more impressive structures. Still, it was no Nowy Kiev.

"It's beautiful," Kasia said, holding his arm as they stood at the bow. He looked down at her.

"Really?"

"Really. It's not ugly like Nowy Kiev. That was all stone. This is ... pretty. Look at that street." She pointed ahead to an avenue traveling from the harbor up to the Palace Hill. "It has what looks like trees and flowers planted down the center of it. What trees were there at home? Not in the city. You had to look over the walls to see green."

"But it's not done."

"So? Can't you see the beauty to come?"

He took a breath, slowly letting it out. He was looking for things to hate about the place.

"Yeah. I see what you mean."

"I think this is part of why we're here. To help make our home better." The dock was now closer. "Come on. Let's get our stuff."

Kasia should have made fewer logs.

She shifted the rope as they hiked up the main avenue. She had the wooden pieces in a canvas bag, the drawstring holding it closed slung over her neck and shoulder, sitting against her side. The weight made using the crutch trickier. More tiring. She wasn't going to complain. Her brother was lugging not just the large, bulky clock, trying not to damage it, but had a sack with a few of their possessions on his back. He wasn't as loaded down as he had been during the march, but memories of that time did come to her. He had not complained then, she wouldn't now.

Strangers made the offer to help the two multiple times. It just felt wrong having others carry their things. This was part of the gift, after all. Part of the effort that had gone into building them.

The Palace loomed ahead.

Actually, loomed was the wrong word. The Palace looked ... inviting. Even the stone wall surrounding it looked more decorative than functional. No massive defensive stronghold was this. It rose maybe thirty feet, light grey stone polished smooth. The road passed through a wide arch, metal gate open. Two soldiers stood on either side, chain-mail over a large red padded coat, with blue pants. Each held a pike.