Chapter 13

Denae was sitting in her father's study when Torbert walked in – alone.

"Where is he?" she asked quickly.

Torbert shook his head and laughed.

"Hello, Denae," Torbert said. "It's good to see you again, too. No need to apologize for waking me before dawn."

The Princess glanced at her hands sheepishly.

"Well, you told me to alert you as soon as I sensed him," she said with a slight smirk. "I can't help it if it was early morning. So, where is he?"

"He's resting," Torbert said. "Eslada said they had rough water on the way over. They all looked sick and bedraggled."

"All?" the King wondered.

"Gorin and Melodart came with them," Torbert said. He couldn't contain the smile that came to his face when he thought about the return of two of his oldest friends.

"Wonderful!" Landor said. "Did you set them up at the castle?"

Torbert nodded and told him Eslada was resting in a guest suite.

Denae, meanwhile, was staring out the window.

"Denae?" Landor asked. "Are you OK?"

The Princess either ignored her father or didn't hear him. In fact, she didn't react until her father touched her shoulder.

"What are you doing?" Landor asked.

"I'm talking to Jorgarn," she said as if it was the most natural thing in the world.

Jorgarn felt fortunate that Fieth and Renoit were out when he arrived. It had been almost four days since he had seen them and he was certain they were full of questions.

The fact that Symington had been dragged out of the barracks in shackles probably had added to the intrigue. Jorgarn wanted nothing more than to lie down and rest for a little while. First he felt the need to bathe.

He was reclining in the bath when he heard Denae's voice in his head.

"<I'm glad you're back safely, >" Denae said.

Jorgarn laughed out loud.

"<I was just wondering if you could read my mind from this far away, >" he thought.

"<I can, >" Denae said. "<Now you know. Are you resting?>"

"<Not yet, >" Jorgarn replied. "<I'm just relaxing in the bath. Oh, sorry. You probably don't need to know that.>"

"<I'm not embarrassed, >" Denae said. "<I bathe, too. So there was no trouble with the trip. Torbert said you brought Eslada and your two trainers back with you.>"

Jorgarn nodded his head unconsciously. With his eyes closed, he almost thought he was in the same room as the Princess.

"<Are you still awake?>" Denae asked.

"<I guess you couldn't tell I was nodding my head, >" Jorgarn said with amusement. "<That's good to know. It was a lot easier than I thought. Eslada was already making plans to come here. As soon as she got the Queen's letter, she was packing.>"

Denae was silent for a few moments.

"<Uh, Jorgarn?>" she asked tentatively.

"<I'm still here, >" he answered.

"<Uncle Torbert and Father said we can't do this, >" she said.

"<Why not?>" Jorgarn asked. "<I mean, we're not hurting anything.>"

"<No, not that we shouldn't do this, >" Denae replied. "<We can't do this. As in, what we're doing is not possible. I haven't been sitting here having a conversation with myself, have I?>"

"<Well, if you have, I have, too, >" Jorgarn replied. "<So, I guess we can do this after all. Why do they say we can't?>"

"<Wait, >" Denae said. There was a brief pause. "<They just say we can't.>"

"<What they mean is they can't, >" Jorgarn said. "<Because we obviously can. Someone probably told them this wasn't possible. So they convinced themselves it wasn't.>"

The warm water was starting to take its toll on Jorgarn. Despite the newness of having Denae speak to him from a distance, his eyes were getting heavy.

"<I'm think I'm going to sleep for a while, >" Jorgarn said through a yawn. "<Somehow with the ship tossing to and fro and Eslada complaining about seasickness, I didn't sleep much last night.>"

There was no reply from Denae's voice in his head. He was almost asleep when an excited Denae sounded in his head.

"<They can do it!>" she said and Jorgarn sat bolt upright in his bunk.

"<Huh?>" Jorgarn replied.

"<They can talk to each other, >" Denae said. "<Torbert went upstairs and Father could talk to him. We did it! We taught them how to do it. You were right. They had never tried because someone told them they couldn't do it. Father said they could get the other's attention from another room but they had never tried to verbalize anything. Now Father is acting mad because he's had to sit in the same room with Torbert for so many years when he could have just been talking this way. He said, 'To think, I could have had 20 years of not looking at your face.' It was pretty funny.>"

"<It sounds like it, >" Jorgarn said. He didn't want to cut into Denae's happiness but he was ready to rest. "<Can we turn this off?>"

"<They said we just sort of think about closing a valve, >" Denae said. "<At least that's how they turn down the awareness thing. It should work for the other. Do you want to try it?>"

"<Let's try this, >" Jorgarn said diplomatically. "<I'll turn mine mostly off while I sleep. That way we we're still aware of each other but we don't risk losing this completely. Why don't you go halfway? I'll say something as soon as I wake up. Does that sound OK?>"

Denae realized that Jorgarn was probably extremely sleepy but he was trying to be nice. She hoped he couldn't sense the wave of emotions that swept through her. She was elated that he was so considerate of her. But she was also happy that it appeared that he put her happiness ahead of his.

"<That sounds like a good plan, >" she said. "<Sleep well.>"

Jorgarn pictured a water valve in his head and imagined turning it almost closed. He couldn't figure how this would possibly work but, then again, there were so many things over the past few weeks he couldn't explain.

The last sound he heard before falling back to sleep was a soft giggle that sounded suspiciously like the Princess'.

The castle was abuzz with activity for the next few hours. Torbert and the King insisted on trying out the range of their "consciousness," as they called it. They were saddened to learn that it extended for them only about a quarter mile – or the distance from the castle to the training complex. They could still sense the other and the other's general mood but they could no longer communicate via thought past that distance.

Queen Lorida had appointed herself personal secretary to Lady Eslada and was trying to arrange a permanent lodging in the castle or at least nearby. Like Jorgarn, Lorida had her doubts that Eslada would find a home if she should return to Longview. If her husband, the present Lord Longview, survived the attempt on his life from his son, Pietro, she doubted he would survive the Emperor of Swar's wrath.

Denae was pacing like a caged kitten, waiting for Jorgarn to awaken so she could talk to him again. It had been fun but it also had been enlightening. The non-verbal conversation she had shared with her Knight-to-be had been far less formal and stiff than their face-to-face talks. She hoped it boded well for a less staid relationship sooner rather than later. Although part of her enjoyed that Jorgarn felt the need to bow and scrape to her, another part knew it shouldn't be that way.

The Knight Protector, although not exactly equal to the Monarch, was not far below it. Certainly on a private basis, they were equals. Or at least the closed-door shouting matches about policy matters she had overheard between her father and uncle led her to believe that. It was also what she thought she wanted. But, again, a part of her wasn't sure it wouldn't be best for Jorgarn to remain in her shadow.

Lurking beyond everyone's excitement at the return of Eslada, Gorin, Melodart and Jorgarn was the specter of the upcoming decision about what would be done with the Symingtons and Pietro Elmwood of Longview.

Jorgarn awoke not with the thunderous pounding upon the door that usually happened when he overslept. Instead it was soft but insistent rapping upon the wood that drew him from sleep. He muttered silently and opened the door to see Fieth and Renoit looking very relieved.

"You're safe, thank the Creator," Fieth said. "We were a bit worried about you."

"Oh," Jorgarn replied. It surprised him that someone would worry about his safety but he should have been considerate enough to let his roommates know he would be gone for a while. "I'm sorry. I should have alerted you but things moved rather quickly."

Fieth waved off the apology and Jorgarn washed his face and hands to prepare for evening meal. He was touched by the obvious concern Fieth and Renoit had shown. It occurred to him that he would have been worried if either of them had run off for half a week without a word of warning. The face in the reflective glass in front of him suddenly smiled. They were his friends.

"I'll be damned," he thought to himself. "I have friends."

He seated himself at the table and waited for the outpouring of questions. No questions came. Fieth and Renoit simply ate their meals and waited for Jorgarn to fill them in if he chose. If he elected to keep his whereabouts a secret, they wouldn't press. He was amazed at how the pair had changed in only a few weeks. Jorgarn was happy to let everyone succeed and he was not opposed to sharing what he had learned.

Fieth and Renoit had taken that to heart. They had become better warriors, that was for certain. But they had also taken a cue from how he behaved. The personalities that had remained suppressed, by their lives at home or by their original friends in training, had shone through. Jorgarn had decided that he was happy to have both men on his side.

"I had to go back to Longview to retrieve my stepmother," Jorgarn announced. There was nothing secretive about his actions and Eslada's presence at the castle would not go unnoticed. "It wasn't dangerous or anything but it had to be done in a hurry."

"The letters?" Fieth wondered.

Jorgarn nodded.

"Does this have anything to do with the rumor that Cruit has been exposed as a thief?" Renoit asked. There was a slight twinkle in his eye. The young man's sense of humor had really come to the front in the past weeks. As Renoit's confidence in himself rose, so did his penchant for wit and charm. "I mean, we heard a ceremonial sword belonging to a senior guardsman was found in his chambers during inspection. Many have said it was yours – the same sword that was hanging by the chamber to your room when our residence was inspected."

Jorgarn stopped eating.

"Oh, we didn't correct them," Renoit said casually. "I saw you tuck it into your tunic before you left. I mentioned to a few of them that we had seen Symington attempting to enter your chambers on at least one occasion. It added a bit of fuel but I knew you had your reasons."

Jorgarn smiled in relief. He had never considered that anyone in his dwelling would be put in a position to lie about anything. He was thankful that his friends had been able to think on their feet and to avoid an outright falsehood.

"I appreciate that," Jorgarn said. "Sir Torbert fully intended for you both to be briefed on what was happened but, I'm sorry to say, that was forgotten in the rush to do everything else."

Again Fieth waved off the apology.

"We knew of the letter to Symington from Longview," he said. "That was enough for us to know that something untoward was going on. That's all we needed to know. If you and Sir Torbert thought speed was of the essence, we would never question that. I'm glad we could keep things moving in the direction you wanted."

Jorgarn nodded.

"I will ask that you clear some time tomorrow morning," he said. "There is much more to it than I can say without clearing it with His Majesty. I hope you understand that the reason for my reluctance is not a reflection on the trust I have in each of you. It is simply that I do not know if His Majesty or Sir Torbert wants this to remain unsaid to everyone but those who already know. If we proceed as I hope we will, your participation will be crucial. Even more crucial than the role you've already played."

Neither man puffed up at Jorgarn's praise. Instead they nodded their heads gravely and returned to their meal. It was several minutes before anyone spoke again. This time it was Fieth who broached the subject.

"There is also the matter of the Knighthood," he said. "I know you have done your best to train one of us or both of us to be in a position to accept it. I suspect that you are perhaps the only one who doesn't see it for what it is. The Knighthood rightfully belongs to you. We have discussed it and we're certain the Palace has its reasons for keeping this fact from you. But it would be unfair for us – who consider you our friend and comrade – to sit back and allow you to have this come at you unexpected.

"Jorgarn, whether you know it or the Princess knows it, you are best suited to be her Knight. I will speak only for myself, although I suspect Renoit feels the same as I: I appreciate the lengths you have gone to present me as a viable candidate. But I am not the best candidate and I will not be except under the direst circumstances. I would prefer to never be considered as a possibility than to have those circumstances come to pass."

"I agree completely," Renoit put in. He glanced at his friend to see if Fieth was finished. A nod told Renoit he was. "I don't want you to make a dire mistake – for it would be costly not only to you and the Princess but to Emertland itself – by refusing to accept the honor because you believe one of us, or anyone else, to be a better candidate."

Jorgarn smiled at his friends from across the table. It was not the reaction either expected.

"We should have had this conversation a few days ago," he said ruefully. "Because I was completely befuddled when it was offered shortly before I departed for Longview."

Renoit pounded the table in happiness.

"Excellent," he said loudly. "I was worried that you would convince the Princess to make another choice. I am glad that is not the case. When does your training start?"

Jorgarn looked sheepishly at his friends.

"I, uh, well, I haven't accepted yet but I think my training has already started," he said. "I'm not certain that I am going to be afforded the opportunity to decline. I'm not certain it would do me any good if I did decline."

Fieth and Renoit both looked stunned.

"Decline?" Fieth asked incredulously. "Are you insane?"

He seemed to remember that he was speaking to a man who was probably deadlier than a water snake because he reddened. But Fieth didn't demur.