The Lady in the White Tower
By
UCSBdad
Disclaimer: I own neither towers nor castles. Rating: K Time: In an AU future, or perhaps an AU past.
They rode to the town of Port Down which was a neat little town of brick houses with slate roofs. Each house seemed to have a flower garden in front and what appeared to be a vegetable garden in back. They were able to see the docks by the bay, and someone sitting on the dock of the bay, apparently singing a song.
There were several dozen small fishing smacks and some small coastwise traders. Nothing larger was in the harbor, although it could have held a good-sized fleet.
They asked the way to the governor's palace and were pointed to on oddly designed building. The central part was a stone tower some fifty feet in height, with one very narrow door below, arrow slits above and crenelations at the roof. To the right was a three-story brick building that was attached to the tower. This part had several wide doors and many windows. To the left was a wooden building, with a large open veranda, open to elements, at least in the front.
They saw Old Will sitting on the veranda.
"The governor be on the inside. Go right on in, we don't stand much on ceremony here abouts."
As they passed, Old Will drained a large mug of beer and called for another.
Once inside, they saw a tall, rangy man, sitting at a large table. He was dressed in tight blue trousers and a very baggy yellow shirt. Castle could see that he wore riding boots complete with spurs and had a matching blue jacket hanging from a hook behind him. He wore his dark hair long, as was his beard, which was braided, reaching halfway down his chest. At his feet were five, large, sleeping dogs.
"Come in. Come in." The man shot to his feet. "I am Mad Rob Taberner, Governor of Port Down, by the grace of God, and of good Queen Elsabetta, of the Queendom of Altai. Welcome. Would you like a bit of gin?" He hauled a large bottle up from the floor and put two more glasses on the table. "There are some poor souls who mix gin with vermouth, which is some sort of wine, as I understand. Never drank the stuff myself. Others, of all things, add gin to lemonade. I drink it neat. Will that suit you?"
"Of course." Kate said, taking a glass, pouring it full and downing the drink in one swallow. She smiled at Castle and invited him to follow suit, which he did.
"I've never heard of the Queendom of Altai. Where is it?" She asked.
Taberner waved to a crudely drawn map on the wall behind him. "From here, "He waved at Port Down, "across the World Ocean for over five thousand miles you'll find the Seven Islands of the Queendom of Altai. You Imperials have never heard of it because the bastards on the mainland won't let us trade, or hardly, anyway."
"The bastards on the mainland?"
"My apologies, lady, for using such language."
"You will note I used the same word."
Taberner laughed. "So you did, my lady. So you did. "He took another swig of gin. "The whole eastern seaboard of the far west, what you Imperials would call the far east, is controlled by Kassle-Hesse, Vertigorn, and Pilau. We have to sell our goods to them and at their prices, or not trade at all."
"Could you trade with the Empire by sea?" Kate asked.
Taberbner thought for a while. "I suppose, but no one knows those seas. We'd have to sail far south of Pilau, or risk being taken by their damned navy, little more than pirates, I say. Then we'd have to sail all the way south around Auracania. They say it goes all the way to the south polar regions and beyond."
Castle thought of something. "The Empire has sent an expedition to go south along the Cairncross River to try to find an outlet to the World Ocean from which they could sail east."
"There have been expeditions sent that way from Altai, but they found nothing."
"What do you have here?" Kate asked. "I noticed some small trading ships in the harbor."
"From the north we get aromatic oils, ivory and furs. Baron Castle, you should buy your lady a fine narkeen fur cloak to keep her warm. And one for yourself. See Ahmeed the Furrier. He won't cheat you too badly." More gin was drunk. "From the south we get spices, medicinal herbs, and these." He threw a very fragile looking cup to Castle.
He caught it and examined it. "It seems as fragile as a soap bubble."
"Try to break it." Taberner said.
He tapped it ever so lightly. Nothing happened. He tried harder and harder still. It didn't break.
"It comes to us from the far south. They say the first men had some sort of factory there that makes these things and it still works. You could hit these things with a sledge hammer with no result."
"What does Altai have to trade to the Empire?" Kate asked.
The governor laughed. "It would take me hours to cover all the things we have, but we have spices of every sort, the finest cloth made from the tessae plant, colored with dyes from the so called Imperial mollusk. So called, because your Emperors wear that color. We make fine dinnerware and glasses. Not as fine as the one you tried to break, but beautifully crafted and painted. And medicinal herbs. You Imperials suffer from the sweating sickness, do you not? We can cure that."
Taberner went on for twenty minutes before running out of steam.
"Why is Altai called a Queendom?" Kate asked.
"Why, women rule there, for the most part. There's always a queen and never a king. They say women are more peaceable than men and less likely to get into wars."
"How did you end up the governor then?"
He laughed. "They couldn't find any noblewoman who'd come here. This is the end of the world, the uncivilized end of the world to them. So, only Mad Rob Taberner would come here."
"Why Mad Rob?"
He shrugged. "I got my start as a privateer, fighting the thrice damned Pilauan navy, damned pirates. Oh, the Queen will fight if she has to. I was, shall we say, a bit rash in those days. But, now, I'm as peaceful as an old dog."
"No women would come here?" Castle asked.
"Oh, my sister lives here and other women, but no noblewomen." He drank more gin. "So, why did you come all this way across the continent to our little town?"
"I'm going to visit Spirit Lake." Kate said.
"Spirit Lake, you say? Odd place. There are lights and noises there. The place frightens the horses as well. Why do you go there?"
"To see an old friend."
Taberner nodded. "There are several old fellows who live in the area. Quite mad if you ask me, but you didn't ask me, did you?"
A female voice from further back in the house interrupted them.
"Rob! If you're through guzzling, I've made dinner. I assume that you've invited our guests, as a good host should."
"Of course." The governor called out, then in a lower voice, said, "Will you stay for dinner? We have aged beef steak and some vegetables I'm sure you Imperials have never had before: maize, potatoes and bananas."
The dinner, although unusual to Castle, was quite good and afterwards they bid farewell to the governor.
The next day the whole army headed north to Spirit Lake, which was no more than a three day ride. Once there, Kate asked Castle to have the army set up camp while he, she and Lotus crossed the lake on a small rowboat, rowed by an elderly, but quite muscular man.
"We'll be gone for exactly two weeks, Rick. Please tell the army to stay here. We'll be in no danger."
"Where exactly are we going?" He asked.
She smiled and winked at him. "It's a surprise. You like surprises, don't you?"
"Sometimes, but as a soldier, I've been surprised and didn't like the surprise at all. Can't you give me a hint?"
"All right. You'll enjoy it."
Knowing he would get no more from Kate, he stopped asking questions and they set off across the lake. Once on the other side, Kate and Lotus led him through a forest to a cave.
"We go in here." Kate said. "It's not far now."
Inside the cave, they found that the walls glowed and that it was nearly as bright as day inside. Kate went first, stepping upon stones that seemed to have been placed for just that purpose.
Then she disappeared.
"Kate!" Castle yelled, putting his hand to his sword. "Kate? Where are you?"
"Just ahead." Said Lotus. "Go ahead and follow her. I'm right beside you."
Castle took two steps forward and everything changed. He was no longer in a cave, but in some sort of a room, and there waiting for him was Kate.
"Are you alright?" He asked.
"Of course."
"Where are we?"
"In my home, of course." She raised her voice. "Mother, father. It's me, Kate. I'm home."
In seconds two people appeared. One was an older man with grey hair, shorter and lighter than Castle, but apparently in good shape. The other was a woman, perhaps younger than the man, but quite attractive. Castle was sure she'd been a great beauty when she was younger. He was also sure that she was Kate's mother.
Both were dressed alike in flowing green trousers and shirts.
"Katie!" They both yelled, throwing their arms around her. "And Lotus as well." Said the man. "Oh, and we have a guest, dear."
The woman pulled away a bit from Kate to look at Rick. "Indeed, we do. Katie, who is your friend?"
"Mother, father, this is my fiancé, Baron Richard Castle of the Empire. He and his regiment escorted me all the way across the Land to the West."
The man held out his hand and Castle shook it.
"Glad to meet you, son."
"And I'm pleased to meet you as well." The woman said, also extending her hand.
"Oh, Rick. These are my parents, Jim and Johanna Beckett. And this is our home. Do you like it? Are you surprised?" She teased.
Castle took a moment to look around him. Two of the walls appeared to be entirely made of glass, one wall was covered by a full bookcase and the other with a large, dark piece of glass. There was a soft carpet under foot, and three lamps glowed brightly. Not only were they brighter than any candle or torch he'd ever seen, but they seemed to be without fire and did not smoke.
Looking out the window, he decided they were very high in the air. Around them he could see other towers, also seemingly covered in glass and many stories tall. Something caught his eye.
"A flying machine? What magic is this?"
Kate took his arm. "No magic at all. We'll explain later, but first I think a shower is in order for both of us."
She led him away to a small room that contained two bowls, an oddly shaped chair, a very large mirror, and a small closet enclosed by glass.
She dropped her gown, standing there nude.
"Take off your clothes. We need to clean up."
He did as he was told and Kate led him into the closet. She pulled a lever and hot water began to fall from the top of the closet.
"It rains on command?" He asked.
"It's not rain, but it's similar. Now, we have no time to fool around. Mother is making breakfast and I can't wait to eat. I'm going to soap you down now."
They did manage to pet a bit, but Kate was quite firm about washing as quickly as possible. Rick was quite firm as well, but to no avail.
TBC