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"Why should we believe you're story?" King Touchstone sat on a comfortable looking couch, while a guard or three stood behind him with pointy sticks and whatnot, ready to poke him really hard should he chew on his grapes too loudly. As such, he had decided to ignore the grapes.
"Apart from a body that would have been found or eaten by now," "Or raised as a hand," the king interrupted him and Law cleared his throat, "You're majesty, I have no evidence."
"We'll soon see if you're telling the truth." the king replied and clicked his fingers. A messenger boy entered the room and they whispered quietly for a moment. Law sat in an uncomfortable silence, feeling three separate glares boring three separate pairs of holes into his skull from three different directions. Five minutes or so passed, and the messenger boy returned with a wooden case. He handed it to the king and scuttled off. The king pulled a two rods from the wooden case, one black and one made from ivory. He motioned and chanted a bit, then looked right at Law.
"I'm going to ask you some questions you've already answered. Ok?" the king said, as if he had a choice.
"Yeah. Yeah, just fine." Law replied.
"Ok. What is your full name and you're rank?" first question.
"My name is Lawrence James Thallim, Master Gunnery Sergeant, Ancelsterrian Air Brigade."
"Is the story you told true?" the King asked.
"Uh. More or less? I've been out there for months, but if I wasn't sure I didn't mention it." Law replied, feeling slightly idiotic. The guards weren't giggling or anything.
"Now I want you to lie to me." the king said.
"Uh. I have blue eyes..." His voice trailed off. The king seemed both pleased and pissed off.
"Sir, I don't feel any different..." Actually, he did. He felt dumb. And sleepy.
"You're face just turned green." The king pointed out, before waving the guards away, sending the case out with one of them.
"Now, what will we do with you?" the king mused and leaned back on the couch. Law crossed his arms and looked him in the eye.
"These motherfuckers tried to kill me, sir. Twice. It's my fault they made it this far, and I want them. All of them. You can use me or you can let me go. But you'll know where to find me."
The King had approved of his sense of duty. More like revenge. He had sent runners out to find where the twelve were, he had also written a letter, which Law was to show to anyone who had anything he needed. Then he had sent him to the barracks with the guardswoman, Tonin. She seemed to loathe him well enough. They didn't talk all the way to the barracks; she had ignored him when he asked her name (a good conversation starter in any country...), and Law had picked the hint up immediately. They finally reached the barracks, no celebrating folks here. All the guards glared at him, and a big guy walked up to him.
"How did you get in?" he asked, but he wasn't curious.
"I followed you'se around 'till I got lucky. I haven't eaten in three days. Anyone have food?" he replied, and sat down on a bench near a large hearth. He was brought a bowl of hot beef stew, then directed to a wooden table off to his left. Tonin sat across him.
"Security has been slack, you know? With the festival and all." she finally spoke, and she didn't strike him as the confident, competent woman who had spoken to the king earlier. The guards were displeased with him, but they were probably angrier with themselves. Law didn't care.
"Well you watch what you can and you put land-mines everywhere else." he replied.
"We have no mines." The same big guy said, watching him closely with his hands clasped beneath his chin. Law shrugged. This guy wanted to eat him alive, he just wanted his damn meal.
The king had assigned four of his best guards to accompany Law, and he had also found the twelve deserters. Apparently, they had all recently been involved in a battle close to a settlement near the nailway. Then their division had moved east. The guard who wouldn't leave him alone the night before turned out to be in the group; his name was Mathe. There was Tonin, and Dail, a younger, slimmer version of Tonin with dark brown hair. And there was Jardin, who claimed to be the best archer in the kingdom. Which was as far as the conversation went with them; they introduced themselves, and Jardin had been the only one who had stated his speciality. None of them seemed to like him, none of them talked to him, about him or around him. Which suited him fine anyway; this country didn't seem to have a national sport, and the only four people who had treated him like a human being with rights were the two constables in Phone and the king. And Tarryn, after he had threatened to kill her, like he expected Mathe to threaten him within the nexttwelve seconds or so.
"Where did you learn to move so quietly?" Dail or Tonin asked from behind him. Dail, she had a sweeter voice.
"I don't know what you mean." he replied. Dumb question, like asking where someone learned to breathe or write...
"You snuck into the palace, within killing distance of the king, and no one heard or saw you." There was no admiration in her voice.
"Same place I learned to talk? Back home." He hoped that killed the potentially inane conversation.
"You shouldn't be such an arsehole." whoops, looks like he'd finally pissed Mathe off. Law shrugged.
"Hey, I'm talking to you!" Law got the feeling that Mathe wanted to snap him in two, so he turned and unslung his backpack.
"Step up or shut up, bitch." Law challenged Mathe; he didn't think that bitch would be a common insult for a man around here.
"All the guards on patrol are getting reduced pay for a month after what you pulled, Lawrence," Tonin said, "That's everyone, except for those on leave, or away, because you were in the grounds for three days."
"That's you're problem, not mine." he replied, and Mathe drew his sword. Law unbuckled his.
"Hand to hand combat, bitch. Like real men." Apart from his garrote and flick knife, Law was now totally unarmed. Mathe seemed to approve, he dropped his sword and got in a boxing stance. When Law didn't move at all, Mathe advanced slowly until they were toe to toe. Law didn't move, so Mathe swung. His fist went over Law's head as he ducked it. He swung with his right the next time; Law parried it and used Mathe's momentum to put him on his back, before dropping his right knee on his adam's apple. Mathe gagged and struggled, so Law punched him in the head three times.
Mathe was now properly chastened, but now the others kept a larger distance from him, which was impractical. Before it got dark, Jardin shot a deer for dinner. They camped under a rocky outcrop on a hill that was strangely out of place; it was in the middle of nowhere, a hill in the middle of a totally flat plain. Law ate with the group then moved away from the fire. He found himself on the exact opposite side of the hill. He heard Tonin and Dail coming, and prepared himself for yet another ridiculous situation.
"Don't you want to sleep near the fire?" Dail asked.
"It can be seen for miles, he replied, "I'm never comfortable when I can be seen for miles."
She left right after that, but Tonin sat down.
"Why not?" Tonin asked.
"I don't know, I'm not." he replied. He got the feeling that she didn't dislike him as much as she let on.
"Are you lonely back home?" she asked after an uncomfortable silence.
"No. I'm not." he replied. He hoped she got the hint. She leaned against him and put her hand between his legs. She didn't.
"But you are lonely here." she whispered in his ear.
"One. It's a terrible idea," he began, "what, with the search and all, two, you're doing a terrible job of seducing me." He hadn't said it quietly either. She let go of him. He couldn't see her face, but he could just taste the hate seeping through her skin.
"Get a fucking hint. Go away." he whispered, before hugging his knees. She got up and left, he hoped she wasn't crying. He knew he was right; he planned to go home or die within the next two months.
Tonin and Mathe were shunning the company of the rest of the group, probably because the rest of the group wasn't ignoring him for once. Dail and Jardin didn't seem to dislike him, which wasn't saying much.
"If I were to get lost..." he mused aloud, for the benefit of Jardin or Dail, who were talking about what passed for pop culture in these parts.
"Don't," they both replied at around the same time"You got through the woods south of the capital, but the north is more dangerous. You'd need to know magic." Jardin continued. That was the answer Law had been hoping for. That, or directions to somewhere of significance.
"Can you teach me?" he asked.
"No, it would take years for you to know enough to survive." Dail replied, which signalled the end of the conversation. At nightfall, they came across a small village, Wais. As they walked by, the villagers peered out of their cottage windows, some occasionally saluting or waving. At his companions, not him. The looks he was getting made him feel like garroting someone; it's not like he had an arm growing out of his left nostril or anything; that would be unusual. Dail rapped her knuckles against his arm.
"To them, you are unusual Ok? They've probably never seen someone from across the wall this far north."
"Thanks." he replied; he hadn't realised that his displeasure had been so evident. Tonin left the group for a minute; Law saw that she had spotted the village leader. She conversed with her, a grey old woman being supported by a lean young man of twenty or so. She returned with information, which she shared with the group, taking care to exclude Law. "Apparently, a division of soldiers have passed through Wais, and among them were a dozen or so foreigners. They were dressed identically to the others, but were easily distinguished by their odd mannerisms..." She told the group. Law thought about asking for some clarification on that, but decided it would be a pointless exercise. On the subject of pointless exercises, he pondered on their whole plan; he had already tracked them down and he still couldn't figure out their plan. The one plan he could think of was long, boring and ineffective, and required them to become heroes by leading a division of battle hardened, magic wielding warriors to victory, earning them a place in the royal guard.
"... and finally, they should be camped in one of the two fields along the North of this road, at most, two miles North of this town here."
"Let's go then." Law said, and started walking. The others followed wordlessly.
