Chapter 5

After a night at an inn, Thomas went first thing in the morning to the castle to present his papers. He was taken into the inner chambers and met his great-uncle, the King of Abingdon. He found a wrinkled old man with long, stringy gray hair that was thinning. King Edward turned his watery eyes on Thomas and scowled.

“I’m surprised your father could produce such a strapping young man. It must be the strong Bourbon blood. How fares Lady Bourbon?”

“My mother passed when I was twelve,” Thomas said hesitantly.

Surely, he knows that, Thomas thought. He wondered if the King had all his mental faculties.

“Not her, Millicent. She was a fetching lass. I was surprised when she agreed to raise you in the wilds. She’ll be wanting to get back home now that I’ve brought you to civilization,” King Edward said.

“We’d talked about getting a house in the country...” Thomas said and trailed off when the King began to wave his hands in agitation.

“I won’t hear of it! She will return to her people, and that’s final.”

Nana Millicent’s training kicked in, and Thomas bowed his head.

“Yes, sire.”

“Make the arrangements and then report to Alek. I’ve put him in charge of your training.”

Thomas knew he’d been dismissed when the King turned his back on him. He decided to leave before it got any worse.

“He always was a horse’s backside,” Nana Millicent said when Thomas told her.

“But you always said...” Thomas responded, scandalized.

“I know. Never speak your mind about a king, or you might lose your head. The old goat is just being spiteful because I turned aside his advances when I was younger.”

Thomas could only blink, not knowing what to say. He’d never thought of Nana Millicent that way. He long suspected that she and Roger were rather too friendly at times, but she was his nana, the closest thing to a mother he’d ever had.

“How will you get back to Pekin? We’ll have to arrange for your protection,” Thomas worried.

“I was afraid something like this might happen, so I delayed Leif and the boys. They are headed that way to return the slaves you bought yesterday to their home. The slaves are from Virden.”

Thomas took in what she said and thought about the details of the trip. The kingdom of Abingdon had three provinces, each ruled by a duke. Inglewood was the center of the kingdom, and it was ruled directly by King Edward. To the north was Montrose, where Thomas was from. To the west, Inglewood was bordered by the sea.

East of Inglewood was the province of Henning, which was ruled by Duke Andric Stoughton. He and Duchess Susanna had four children: Jacob, Edith, Marwick, and Geoffrey. Henning was noted for its fine horses and was bordered by the mysterious kingdom of Manito further east.

To the south was Pekin, which Duke Able Bourbon ruled with his wife, Duchess Caroline. They had four children: Tabatha, Candor, Paul, and Gerald. They bordered Abingdon’s greatest rival, the kingdom of Virden.

The marriage between Thomas’s father and Duchess Ann, the King of Virden’s youngest sister, had been a move to ease tensions. Thomas worried that Duchess Ann just might be the fox set loose in the chicken coop.

What worried Thomas was learning that slavers had been raiding Virden and selling their captives in Abingdon. If he’d heard the story in reverse, he would have been calling for the King to invade the southern kingdom.

“Would it be better to simply keep the slaves?” Thomas asked.

Nana Millicent smiled for the first time.

“I’m glad to see you are thinking of the implications. The correct answer would have been to kill them to keep it quiet, but I’m afraid they sold slaves in other towns along the way. Word will get back to Virden if it hasn’t already. Our best course of action is to return the ones we can find, and Leif and the boys will offer to help thwart further raids,” Nana Millicent explained.

“For a fee, of course,” Thomas guessed.

“Unless you want to pay them?” Nana Millicent teased.

Thomas rolled his eyes at that suggestion. He would leave it to Leif to figure out how to get paid.

“I’m going to miss you. I’ll never be able to repay you for raising me,” Thomas said, suddenly feeling emotional.

“It’s time for me to go home. I have family that I haven’t seen since your mother married your father.”

“King Edward said that you are a lady. Are we related in some way?” Thomas asked.

“Distant cousins at best. But I didn’t raise you because of that. I’ve loved you since you were born. When your mother asked me to take you from the castle for your safety, it was not a sacrifice. As far as repayment goes, just become a fine young man. Find yourself a nice girl and have lots of babies.”

“So, not Jemma?” Thomas asked.

“While you have a responsibility because your father asked you to look out for her and her unborn child, no, not Jemma. She may come to you for comfort, but know that is all it is.”

Thomas blushed at the implications of what his nana had just told him. Maybe she wasn’t as straitlaced as he’d always thought.

Once it had been decided that Nana Millicent would return home, things happened quickly. Thomas booked Jemma into the inn for another night and was himself soon on the road. Once he got settled, he would help her get sorted.

He also left Frost with her for now. Having a direwolf pup might turn into a problem if he was to live in the barracks.

Thomas gathered his gear and used Fury as a packhorse. That earned him a nip, but the warhorse accepted the indignity for now.

When he arrived back at the castle walls, he was directed where to find his trainer, Alek. His guide was a talkative young boy.

“You were accepted into the Royal Guard?”

“By invitation of King Edward. I am the third son of Duke Charles,” Thomas explained.

“And you are going to be trained by Alek?”

“That’s what I’ve been told.”

“I hear that he is the best. He was an officer in the King’s army and, rumor has it, a legendary duelist. My mama says he was a dashing rake in his youth. I’m not sure about that part because he’s quite bald and stands with a stoop. Nevertheless, Alek commands great respect as a trainer. I hear he can still best most of the guard in the practice yard,” the boy prattled on.

When Thomas walked up, leading Fury, Alek’s sharp eyes took everything in.

“You’re that Montrose boy,” Alek stated.

“Thomas.”

“Unpack your horse and wait over there,” Alek said as he pointed to where he wanted Thomas to put his gear next to the stable.

One of the stable boys came and got Fury. The boy must be special because the horse just followed him into the barn like a docile, gelded riding horse. Thomas would talk to him later to see what he did to calm the temperamental warhorse.

While Thomas was finishing up, a group of three boys and a man met with his new trainer. Thomas could tell that Alek knew the man.

“What do you have for me?”

“I found these three. They all have wood skills.”

“Is that right? Can you handle yourselves in the woods?” Alek asked the boys.

The three looked to be in shock, so they just nodded numbly.

“I guess we’ll find out,” Alek said and shook the man’s hand, who promptly left. “Grab your stuff and follow me.”

Thomas was embarrassed when Alek had to help him carry all his gear, while the other three each had only a sack of belongings. Alek took them past what looked like a nice barracks. Several boys were lounging around there. A couple got up and looked like they would give the group some grief until they spotted Alek with them. Thomas suppressed a chuckle when the pair suddenly found something else to do.

Alek led them between buildings, and Thomas found them walking into what looked like the old barracks. His nose wrinkled when he smelled the mold; that meant the roof was leaking.

“When we had Royal Rangers, this was their barracks. You four will be our first recruits to reestablish that unit. Pick your room and meet me back here in five,” Alek announced.

Unlike his father’s barracks, where the men all slept in a common room, each recruit would have his own room. There were ten rooms, and Thomas noted that the other three recruits all picked rooms next to each other down the hall. Alek took Thomas’s gear and put it in the first room.

“As the leader, you’ll need to be nearest the front door to keep an eye on everything. After I give everyone a tour, you and I will see what needs taking care of,” Alek said.

“Yes, sir,” Thomas said.

Alek had the boys introduce themselves. All four of them had just turned eighteen. Jason, Griffin, and Randel all had grown up in small villages. Like Thomas, the teens found Inglewood a bit overwhelming. None of them could imagine why anyone wanted to live bunched together.

Alek gave them a tour of the building. There was a great room with a large fireplace and a kitchen. In one corner, there was an indoor well; that was an unexpected luxury. Out back, there was a lean-to for firewood that he noted was empty.

There was also a privy that had seen better days. Thomas hoped that if he were in charge, privy duties would fall to someone else.

The next stop was the armory to receive their gear. They were first given scarlet pants and shirts along with boiled-leather jerkins—a vest-like, sleeveless garment—for warmth and protection. They were told this was for everyday use.

For battle, they received a padded jacket and lamellar armor made from small rectangular plates of leather. Each was also given a bow and quiver, a short sword, and a dagger. Boots and a helm completed their outfits.

Alek took them back to the barracks and had them change into their new pants and shirts. They then went to the dining hall to get some food. Alek told them they had fifteen minutes to eat and left them.

When they entered, it looked like most everyone had already eaten. There were only a few tables with men still dining. Thomas led them to the back, where they received a bowl of porridge and a water cup.

When they sat down, Thomas took a tentative mouthful and found it was as bad as it looked. He glanced over at the other three boys, and they were devouring the porridge. Before he had eaten three spoonfuls, they were done.

“Do you think we could get seconds?” Griffin asked.

“I’m sure it’s all right,” Thomas said when the three looked at him for guidance.

Thomas decided to force himself to finish his bowl when he felt a heat flash. He turned his head in time to see a missile flying at his head. Out of instinct, Thomas caught it and sent it back to whence it had come. He cringed when it hit a large brute of a man right between the eyes.