- Chapter 11: The Departure of a Diplomatic Mission -
"If you so much as hold hands with her, I'll kill you!"
Theo sighed, casting his gaze upwards, as though whatever he'd done to deserve this was written on his forehead. "I don't get what you're worried about. On top of everything else, she isn't even as pretty as you."
"As soon as you get away from here, she'll be the prettiest thing for as far as the eye can see - and don't think you can distract me with compliments!"
"Look, how could I be interested in any other girl when I've got you?" It was an honest question, but as soon as it left his mouth Theo realized that it would be interpreted as flattery, just as his last comment had been. To cover it, he blurted out, "Anyway, why would a snob like her even give me a glance?"
"I know Lana," Jane said, folding her arms and giving a dark look at the ground. "When she gets bored, she'll work her magic on anyone. And in case you hadn't noticed, you're the only guy in your group."
"I bet she'd sooner make a pass at Varmo than me."
"She'll go for whoever she thinks will give her a reaction."
"Look, I don't even want to be on this mission!" That was true. He was happy to serve Cypress, but his companions could scarcely have been worse. Dawn was alright, but Lana and Jaha had ridiculed him on plenty of occasions, and generally weren't the most mature people he'd known. His relations with Halron were awkward at best; he sympathized with the ill-treated beastman, but any attempts he made at friendliness to him were greeted with hostility. And Varmo... well, Theo still didn't like the things he'd done to become leader of Castle Cypress during King Nicholas and General Mayfair's absence, nor the decisions he'd made after becoming leader. More importantly, he didn't trust him or Halron.
"I tried to talk General Mayfair into letting me out of this for almost a half hour," Theo continued. "I don't know what you want from me. If anyone here should be suspicious, it's me. I'm leaving you with all the men in our squads, half of whom drool at you whenever they think I'm not looking, and the other half who drool even when they know I'm looking! How many minutes do you think it'll be before, say, Alex starts putting the moves on you?"
"Sure, try switching the problem to me," Jane huffed.
"What, I'm supposed to trust you with a dozen guys, but you won't trust me with one girl?"
"Hey, I don't know why you want to argue about this anyway. I really don't. If Dawn comes back and says you were a perfect gentleman, there's no problem. Why be so defensive, unless you want to make out with Lana first chance you get?"
"You're being crazy. I'm not even going to discuss this." He stalked off.
The other guards, plus the Lady Sarah and a couple attendants, were already ready. Only he and Lana were being waited on; they probably had more goodbyes to say than most of them.
"Ready, Theo?" Dawn asked.
"I -" Theo glanced back at Jane.
If I leave things like this the whole time I'm gone, I'll lose her. ...Dammit.
He turned and jogged back to Jane, who raised an eyebrow at him in expectation. "Look," he said. "I promise nothing's going to happen between Lana and me, okay? That's all I can do."
"Okay, fine." There was a pause. "Aren't you going to ask me about not doing anything with the guys here?"
"If you wanted to break my heart, you could've done it with me still here. I trust you." He gave her a quick kiss. "Don't worry about me, alright? If we run into trouble, all I'll need to do is hide behind Dawn and Halron and I'll be alright."
"Sure," Jane said, unamused. "But you're a hero, and last I checked, heroes don't like hiding behind other people. They like picking fights with people stronger than them, jumping in the way of dangerous weapons, stuff like that."
Never bothered you before, he thought, but kept it to himself. She seems more than reasonably worried about the possibility of danger; not a good idea to make light of that. "I won't be a hero, okay?" He laid his hands briefly on her shoulders and kissed her cheek. "Take care. I'll miss you."
"I'll miss you too..."
He expected more than a little mockery when he rejoined his companions, but Jaha was the only one snickering. Lana, though, was watching him with a disturbing expression, somewhere between amusement and interest, like appraising a particularly talented jester with the consideration of hiring him.
"I'm glad you did that, Theo," Dawn said to him softly. "Jane's very fragile."
"In some ways, yeah..." In truth, he suspected Jane was more manipulative than fragile. Not that he blamed her.
"Our supplies are all packed," the Lady Sarah announced. "Dawn, you will walk by the wagon's left side. Varmo, take the right. Halron will act as scout. The rest of you may ride in the wagon for now."
Theo briefly pictured a wagon ride with Lana, Jaha, and Lady Sarah. "Excuse me, Lady Sarah," he put in, "...would it be alright if I took a guard position for now?"
She looked him over. "I don't see any reason why not. You understand that this does not necessarily mean you'll get a rest later?"
Theo nodded, and Varmo quickly volunteered to surrender his place at the right of the wagon. The guards then proceeded to retrieve their weapons from the pile where they had been laid out. After picking up his bo, Theo stood by Dawn and watched the others climb onto the wagon. He noted that, aside from Jaha making some idle chatter with Varmo, none of them had much to say to each other.
He looked to Halron, and said, with an edge of sympathy, "It looks like you get the most dangerous job."
Halron shook his head. "It may be hard for you to grasp, but my skills are more than adequate for this."
Theo watched as the beastman walked away, wondering whether his hostility stemmed from genuine dislike, a fear that anyone who came near him would wind up in trouble, or just plain lack of social grace.
Then the wagon began to gradually roll forward, and Theo took several long strides to keep up.
--
"Didn't expect this to be quite so bumpy," Lana remarked.
She received no reply. Lady Sarah gave her a brief, disinterested glance with one eye, as though she were a fly buzzing about, and resumed reviewing the papers on her lap. Jaha just folded his arms and slumped a little bit more in his seat, plainly not interested in Lana's complaints. Varmo surveyed it all quietly, giving an expression that acknowledged her comment without necessarily agreeing to it.
They made a bit of an odd bunch, Varmo decided, but not one without potential. There was a touch of interest in each of them, too. Jaha was presumably bored, and wishing he had his friends Eric and Luke with him. He really wasn't a very difficult fellow to read - he didn't try to be. He was a follower, and he'd follow wherever his friends went.
Which meant that if he won Dawn's allegiance, he'd gain Jaha's as well. Dawn, of course, was more difficult to pin down. There was a certain coldness in her nature, it seemed, but it was far from complete - next to Binuto, she seemed positively warm and emotional. Unlike Jaha, she avoided any acclaim for her heroism in the war against Iom. Glory would not appeal to her. Strength was perhaps the one thing she respected... after integrity, he added. He did not have the latter, but could certainly pretend to it.
Lana was a much simpler catch. She had neither courage nor love for any sort of struggle; she would follow any who would lead.
Halron... there was a matter he wasn't sure where he stood with. What Halron had tried with Barro was stupid. Stupider than he had ever seemed capable of, in fact. Halron had explained it as an act of desperation... he wasn't sure whether he believed that. Varmo had lost his power, and the copy of "Apex of the World" he'd gifted to Halron had had to be returned, so what reason had Halron to support him anymore?
It was all his own failing, Varmo realized now. He'd miscalculated, first in his belief that King Nicholas and General Mayfair weren't coming back (though overall he was relieved that they had returned safe). Being stripped of all leadership had seemed horribly unjust at the time, but that too was a miscalculation of his; he had somehow judged wrong in his dealing with Guardiana. Woldol had showed him he was wrong about what it took to be a leader, and now King Nicholas had showed him that he was wrong on what a leader's responsibilities are. He couldn't quite understand where he'd been wrong, but then that was the benefit of this journey. His Royal Highness surely respected Lady Sarah's diplomatic skills, so he could learn a lot by observing her at the court of Emild.
That was the key. He thought he'd learned it all, but there was apparently more to learn. Once he'd learned it all, then he would be ready to return to the struggle.
Which was the second key, he supposed: a leader must fight and claw his way to the top. I let myself forget that, believed that all it took was the right place, the right time, and a convenient absence to put me in the role where I belong. Not being ready for the position was bad enough, but giving up at the first setback was sheer hypocrisy.
So much opportunity abounds, after all. The experience I'll pick up here alone will be useful, and there is surely some way I can insert myself into the negotiations. That can only be more credit for me when I get back. Hopefully the people of Emild won't be hostile; that would ruin any chance for me to get renown that way. To say nothing of the threat to life or limb. I have a good handle on offensive magics, but combat just doesn't come natural to me.
"Huk!"
Varmo frowned at the strange grunt, and looked up from his musings. His eyes widened. Lana was sitting opposite from him, and the first thing he noticed was the arrow piercing through her just to the left of her shoulder.
