Chapter 10

The Mission

"Him? Why a…wait. Squire, how old are you?"

"I'll be nineteen, milord…in only two more days."

Lord Lang hadn't been selected for this mission merely because he was loyal. His intelligence had been just as important. Thus, he needed no more help to realize who he was dealing with. All the blood drained from Lord Lang's face, as he sank to one knee in front of the squire, and bowed his head.

Clark became Kal for a short time and his' voice changed suddenly, becoming sharper, stronger, more commanding. "Rise, Lord Lang."

As Lord Lang struggled to his feet, Kal turned to Bruce, and said, "Make the introduction."

"Your Highness, it is my distinct pleasure to introduce to you Lord Lewis Lang, Baron of Roskilde." Bruce turned to Lord Lang. "Milord, I am pleased to introduce you to Prince Kal-El, Crown Prince of Alemannia, and Duke of Borussia."

"Prince Kal-El has been entrusted to my immediate care," Bruce said, "but I thought it important one other person know exactly who he is in case something should happen to me. Keeping him alive and out of the hands of Dru-Zod's men is vital."

"Thanks for making me sound completely helpless, Sir Bruce," Kal said, as he grinned.

"You know you have my complete cooperation, Sir Bruce," Lord Lang said. "Anything you need…"

"…I'll be sure to ask for, don't worry about that. The king, and even more so the queen, made it quite clear that bringing their son back in anything less than the condition he left in would cost me dearly."

"So…what am I to do with him? I can't give him any special notice like I would a visiting prince."

"Since 'Squire Clark' and I have been traveling virtually non-stop ever since he became my squire, he hasn't really had the opportunity to experience the full breadth of a squire's duties. Therefore I am making him available for service throughout your household. I already use him somewhat as a personal servant, but feel free to assign him to various duties throughout the manor.

Bruce looked directly at Clark, who was obviously reduced to the state of being a squire once more, and said, "At the very least, he should be able to develop an appreciation for what the servants go through to provide Prince Kal-El with the comforts he takes for granted when he's at home."

Bruce looked back at Lord Lang. "My only requirement is that he be free for his early morning and late afternoon training sessions with me in the waryard."

"In that case, Squire Clark," Lord Lang said. "Report to the head housekeeper tomorrow after your morning practice. I'll inform her you are coming and she'll put you to work."

"Yes, milord," Clark said. Bruce then dismissed him and sent him to their room to prepare it for sleep. The day had been long, and Bruce intended to be up early the next morning, for besides training Clark, he had to take over his new duties training the one-hundred-and-ten knights and soldiers that were now gathered here. He consoled himself with the knowledge that he didn't have to set the watch schedules or devise the patrol patterns for the security of the manor. That chore would be up to Lord Lang's guard captain.

Once Clark was gone, Lord Lang waited long enough to assure himself the young man wasn't coming back, before saying, "Sir Bruce. We have a small problem."

"Yes, milord?"

"I noticed my daughter Lana…well, seems to be taken with Squire Clark."

"Really?" Bruce asked. "I noticed the same thing about him as relates to her. The way he looked at Lady Lana as he apologized let me know he's interested."

"Now normally, as a father who has three daughters to marry off, I'd be thrilled that a chivalrous young man from a noble family had taken an interest in one of my girls." Lord Lang gave Bruce a grim look. "But this is anything but normal. The kingdom's on the edge of open rebellion, and the royal children are some of his Majesty's best bargaining chips went it comes to strengthening old alliances or forging new ones. The king will not be pleased if I should allow my daughter and his son to form an attachment that might make an arranged marriage more difficult to complete."

"I was told that Prince Kal-El believes his father wants him to marry Grand Duke Charles' daughter, Princess Chloe."

"And well he should!" Lord Lang replied. "The eventual combination of the two lands that would be created by such a union has been a dream of the Kings of Alemannia long before the Kryptonians ever set foot on this planet. It would lead to greater strength and security for both lands, as well as increased prosperity for merchants on both sides of the old border, as various tariffs no longer apply to them.

"With all the good that would come from a union of Krakovia and Alemannia, how could I possibly place more importance on the chance one of my daughters might be happy with that young man? I can't do it, can't allow it to happen, and if it did happen, the king would be well within his rights to take both title and lands away from me.

"For the sake of the kingdom, and for my family's own selfish purposes, we have to keep my Lana away from Squire Clark."

"How encompassing do you think that prohibition needs to be?"

"I was a teenager once myself. I remember the way passion seemed to flow through my veins like the richest blood, until I couldn't stand it anymore…the prohibition needs to be as absolute as I can make it. No contact whatsoever."

"Looks like Clark will get out of serving at table then. Which is too bad really. I was looking forward to watching him bring food and wine to his assigned persons without he himself being able to eat."

Lana, meanwhile, had gone to see the guard captain to make sure his men all had adequate bedding in the barracks, before she turned in for the night. Thus it was that she was making her way to the family wing of the manor, while Clark was on his way to Bruce's room at the other end of the manor, when the two of them collided as they tried to round the same corner in opposite directions at the same time.

Lana's nose smacked into something solid as her entire body was brought to a screeching halt before rebounding backward. Clark, being Kryptonian, didn't feel much, but his reactions were lightning fast, as his arms snaked out to grab onto whoever he'd just run into before she could fall to the ground. It was only when he held his victim securely in his arms that he looked down and realized it was Lady Lana. Torn between his need to release the lady and step back before anyone saw them in a clinch, and his desire to hold on to her softness and warmth just a bit longer, Clark compromised and slowly but regretfully released her, but didn't back off.

Lana was thankful she'd been saved from an unceremonious landing on her backside, and looked up just as Clark let go. Afraid of saying anything for fear of breaking the spell and making the squire run off, Lana bit her lower lip as she continued to look at him. See how much larger he looks from this close, Lana thought. And yet, for all his size, his hands felt as soft and gentle as his lips look.

Realizing what she was thinking, Lana flushed a brilliant red and muttered a hurried apology for being so clumsy and ran off, leaving a confused Clark in her wake. Unsure of what to do, but positive that chasing after a lady of the house was not on the short list of good ideas for a lowly squire, Clark shrugged his shoulders and trudged off to straighten up Bruce's bedroom and then make sure his little pallet was ready for himself.

Alicia was waiting for Lana in her bedroom when the little brunette dynamo came charging in and slammed the door shut and locked it, as if Clark's kissable lips had somehow chased her down the halls, up the stairs to her room, and would come charging in behind to ravage her if she didn't.

"What in the world is the matter with you?" Alicia asked. "You look like you saw a ghost or something."

Realizing for the first time that she was not alone, Lana tried to bring her breathing under control as she walked over to join her sister on the edge of her bed.

"Oh…nothing's wrong," Lana said.

"Liar," Alicia replied, which in this case was only stating the obvious. "What's going on?"

Lana looked at Alicia and wondered just how far she could be trusted, before deciding to tell her. "Tonight, for the very first time, I wanted to kiss a boy. And by that I mean a specific boy; not just a nameless, faceless shadow from a daydream, but a real, live person."

Alicia clapped her hands happily, as if she'd been waiting years for this announcement. "Well, it's about time! I only seem to want to kiss boys on days that end in 'Y.'"

"You want to kiss far too many boys, Alicia. Be careful about that. It's the sort of thing that leads to trouble."

"Oh, I know that. I didn't say I was going to kiss any of them, just that I wanted to…like that dreamy Squire Clark who was so handsome and earnest when he apologized to you tonight."

When Lana heard her sister mention Clark's name, she tensed up and came close to telling her to keep her mitts off of him, before she remembered neither one of them could have him unless and until they found out he was from an acceptable family.

"Was Squire Clark what you came in here to talk about?" Lana asked irritably.

"No, actually. I heard from my chambermaid who heard from another maid who heard from someone who just happened to be passing by the library when father was in there with Lois."

"So?"

"So?!" Alicia leaned in conspiratorially. "Apparently their argument reached the boil over point for Father and he turned Lois over his knee and spanked her until she couldn't sit." Sitting back triumphantly, Alicia added, "That's why Lois missed the meal."