The best way to find out if you can trust somebody is to trust them. Ernest Hemingway
And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. – King James Bible; John 8:32
Thoroughly drenched, Kensie dismounted from an equally drenched Losanir and hurried inside Companion's stable as Pike opened and closed the stable door. Kensie flashed a smile of gratitude to Pike before throwing his arms around Losanir's neck.
::It feels wonderful to ride you once more.:: Kensie said.
::It feels wonderful to have a good gallop.:: Losanir replied.
Two candlemarks earlier, Healers Delassia and Kyminn had pronounced Losanir completely recovered and cleared him for unlimited exercise. In celebration, Kensie and Losanir went on a breakneck gallop around Companions' field and a double round of the obstacle course. The howling wind and pouring rain of an autumn storm had been all to the good as far as the two were concerned: It meant there was no one else on the course.
Trainees gathered around Kensie and Losanir to congratulate them on Losanir's recovery.
Pike handed Kensie a towel. Kensie did a quick rough dry of his face and hair before he undid Losanir's girth and pulled the sodden saddle off his back. Pike threw a warmed blanket over Losanir.
"Thank you, Pike." Kensie smiled at the young trainee. "And thank you Coroc." He added as Pike's yearmate placed the saddle on a rack and began wiping it down."
"We know you been frettin' yourself 'bout Losanir." Pike said. "When we heard you got the ok to ride, we knew you wouldn' wait for good weather. We're all here to help you,"
"That we are." Myra said. She pulled Kensie's dripping cloak off and replaced it with a wool cloak warmed over the stove.
The kindness of his fellow trainees left Kensie at a loss for words. He gulped and swallowed.
::Say thank you.:: Losanir said. ::From both of us.::
"Losanir says thank you. To all of you." Kensie said. "So do I. You are the best people I have ever known."
"Now we're all blushing." Viktor said. "Let's get Losanir and you all bundled up and cozy, then you can join us for a celebration in the common room."
With a dozen helpers, Losanir was dry and groomed in a few sunwidths. The group tightened their cloaks and dashed to the Collegium through the pouring rain.
They were shaking the rain off their cloaks and wiping their boots in the entryway when Spod appeared. "Milord, your father wants to see you. He is in his suite."
Kensie looked at his fellow trainees and shrugged. "I will be back as soon as possible." He went with Spod through the long corridors connecting the Collegium to the Palace. The route was roundabout, but avoided going out into the rain.
Kensie entered his father's suite. Count Wyeth embraced his son tightly. "I hurried here after I heard about the latest attempt. What happened?"
Kensie told the story, including how Kyminn's foresight had saved their lives. Count Wyeth listened anxiously until his son finished then began pacing around the room. Kensie watched silently as his father mused on the attack.
Wyeth stopped and looked at his Kensie. "They got away, you said? No clues to who they were?"
Kensie nodded to both questions.
"What about the Heralds? What do they think?" Wyeth asked.
"They lost the track. Or tracks. There were at least four attackers. They all went in different directions afterwards. Joyeaus thinks that was deliberate."
Wyeth nodded. He would have ordered the same had he planned the attack.
::Better tell your father now.:: Losanir said.
Kensie took a deep breath. His father was not going to like what he was about to say. "Talamir and Alberich wanted to know who we suspected."
Wyeth froze. "You told them?"
"Yes, I did. I had no choice." Kensie braced himself.
Wyeth exploded. "How dare you! Those speculations were secret. This could set off a dozen feuds and ruin a score of arrangements. You've put your whole family at risk. You've disobeyed me as a father and as your overlord."
"I'm sorry father. I had no choice." Kensie repeated. "I am now a Herald Trainee. I have to obey my superiors and answer to them."
Wyeth stopped, open-mouthed, ready to continue his tirade.
Before his father could resume Kensie added. "Talamir and Alberich are no fools. They know how touchy tempers at the Court are. They don't want a conflagration in the Court. They will keep it to themselves."
Wyeth closed his mouth and stared absently at the portrait of Count Jolyon Poldara above the fireplace. 'What would you do, father?' Wyeth asked. Wyeth sighed. For better or worse, it was done. "The Queen trusts their discretion. I suppose I will have to."
Kensie cleared his throat. Wyeth looked at his son. "There's more?"
Kensie nodded. He looked at Spod and pointed at the door to the second bedroom. "You. Go into the second bedroom. Close the door and start clapping your hands. Don't stop until we tell you. Do not listen."
Kensie turned to his father's senior manservant. "Master Linna. You go in the main bedroom and do the same."
Kensie looked back at his father. "Is there anyone else here?"
Dreading what was to come, Wyeth shook his head. The two servants went to their assigned rooms and closed the doors. Moments later, Kensie could hear them both start clapping.
Leaning close to his father and speaking softly, Kensie revealed he had told Alberich about seeing the man in Orthallen's livery at the Final Battle.
Wyeth went white. He stared open-mouthed at his son, unable to speak, for nearly a sunwidth. He turned and paced around the room, finally taking a seat in an armchair. "Have you gone absolutely mad?" He finally asked.
"Alberich is my superior. I had to answer." Kensie's tone was pleading.
"And I am your father!" Wyeth roared with anger. "I ordered you never to speak of that. You should have said nothing!"
Kensie winced at his father's fury. "I could not refuse to answer. They would not allow me to remain silent. I am bound to the Queen's service."
"You should have lied!" Wyeth snapped.
Kensie paused. In his softest voice, he said "Father, they have the Truth Spell."
Wyeth closes his eyes. He sagged forward, covering his face. "Kerenos and Astera! What have you brought upon us? This could destroy our family."
Kensie knelt beside his father and placed his hand on Wyeth's knee. "Papa, I think we can trust Alberich and Talamir."
Wyeth looked into his son's eyes. He touched Kensie's face and wiped a tear from his son's eye. "You haven't called me 'papa' since you were five years old." He smiled wanly. "I suppose we have no choice. I hope you are right, my son."
"I love you, papa."
Wyeth kissed his son on the forehead. "I love you, Kensie."
Wyeth looked up. He sighed and noticed the sounds from the other rooms. "I think we should allow the servants to rest before their hands become too sore for them to work."
Kensie flashed a smile. Hurrying to the side doors, he told Spod and Master Linna that they could stop and come back into the main room.
Wyeth stood. He clapped his son on the shoulder. "I am glad you are ok. I am also glad that Losanir has recovered. Give him my best wishes."
Kensie blinked. When had his father thought of Companions as people?
::Tell your father I thank him.:: Losanir said.
"Losanir says thank you." Kensie said. "You are one of the few non-Heralds who thinks of Losanir as a person."
Wyeth laughed. "Since half of your letters are 'Losanir said this' or 'Losanir said that', I either had to accept he was as intelligent as you claimed or think my son had gone mad."
::With Heralds, those are not mutually exclusive.:: Losanir put in.
Kensie snorted and passed Losanir's comment to his father.
Wyeth smiled. "I think you have a very perceptive friend."
::I'm flattered. Thank him again.::
Kensie did so. When Wyeth invited him to sit and stay for a while, Kensie begged to be excused, explaining that his fellow trainees were holding a celebration of Losanir's recovery. Wyeth let him go, but not before exacting a promise for Kensie to accompany him to dinner with the Court that evening.
Kensie returned to his fellow trainees and spent the rest of the afternoon in an impromptu party. Afterwards, he bathed and put on his formal greys. Joining his father, he accompanied Count Wyeth to a Court Dinner.
Wyeth proudly exhibited Kensie to his fellow highborn, including Earl Orthallen and other members of the Council.
Orthallen congratulated Kensie on being Chosen. "I hear you did very well in the Guard. No slight to your father, but you would have been an excellent Count and an ornament to the Court." The Earl's firm handshake and smile seemed genuine, but Kensie could not help thinking of what Elcarth had told him about the Council debate over Kensie's enrollment in the Collegium.
Kensie smiled back at Orthallen. "I am happy in the Collegium. And I think Grayson will make an excellent Count." Kensie saw his brother preen from Wyeth's other side.
Kensie enjoyed meeting some of his old friends, but found that the Court no longer interested him. The food was far better than the food in the Collegium dining hall, but Kensie longed for the easy comradery of his fellow greys.
At Midwinter, Count Wyeth and his family came to Haven for Midwinter Court. Other than an obligatory appearance at his father's fete two nights before Midwinter and the family feast on Midwinter Day, Kensie spent most of his time at the Collegium.
He took daily rides with Coroc, Pike and the other trainees who remained at the Collegium, including one memorable morning when they were joined by Selenay herself. Pike was flustered by actually meeting the Queen; Kensie and Coroc carefully encouraged Pike while Selenay deftly drew him out. Pike was almost glowing with happiness when Selenay returned to the Palace.
Kensie could not fathom why, but after meeting the Queen, Pike had a new self-assurance. Two nights before classes resumed, Kensie invited Pike to join his family for dinner (after ensuring that Naril and her husband would be elsewhere.) Whatever trepidations Pike may have had about dining with aristocrats, they did not show. Pike charmed Count Wyeth and Lady Lora; even Grayson forgot his rank and spoke politely to the young trainee. Martin, too young to join the formal dinner, at first cared nothing for Pike himself but demanded to meet Chanur: When Pike lifted Kensie's youngest brother onto Chanur's back, Martin looked ready to worship Pike.
In a note to Kensie the next day, Lady Lora wrote 'Your young protégé may lack polish, but he makes up for it in poise. Your father and I would be delighted if he would come again.'
Classes resumed and Kensie buried himself in the intense training. One class was particularly uncomfortable for Kensie: Applied Ethics.
"Sooner or later, what you do or decide is going to mean someone – someone you know – dies." Herald Teren said. "Kensie, will you please tell the class about your arrest of Evan Aitken at the time of the attack on Queen Selenay."
Kensie swallowed hard. A sennight before, Teren had asked him if he would speak on some of his experiences. Teren explained that an account from one of their peers would give his fellow trainees a better feel for the consequences of their decisions both personally and for others. With prompting from Losanir, Kensie agreed. Teren helped Kensie prepare for the class, but Kensie still dreaded telling the story to his fellow trainees.
"I hated Lord Evan Aitken." Kensie began. He did not tell his friends the history of his relationship with the deceased traitor; he did not want to sound as though he was justifying himself. Kensie told them how Evan had joined Prince Karathanelan's plot and, when the plotters had attacked the Queen, Kensie had joined the rescue. He told how he, Rubin and Lovat had stopped Evan's flight and arrested him for High Treason.
In a subdued voice, Kensie explained how he had watched the trial and gloated over Evan's sentence.
"I wanted to see him die." Kensie said. He spoke of the execution and Evan's slow strangulation due to the botched hanging. "I couldn't watch." He finished in a whisper. "No one, not even one's worst enemy, should die like that."
"How did you feel afterwards?" Breanne asked. Her concern was obvious.
"I was sickened. I couldn't get the images out of my mind. I was going to drink myself into a stupor to blot it out." Kensie said.
"Did you?" Achel asked.
"No." Kensie said. He had a surprise for everyone, including Teren. Kensie went to the door and opened it. Spod came into the room.
Kensie placed a hand on Spod's shoulder. "Spod was my manservant. He saved me from becoming a drunkard." Kensie explained how Spod had refused to provide the hard liquor that Kensie had wanted.
As Spod blushed before the trainees. Kensie went on "I brought Spod here to show that we never know who is going to help you when you need it. Courage doesn't always ride a white horse."
::I'll let that pass.:: Losanir said.
Another time, Kensie spoke about the fight at Rushton and the deaths of Private Wertz and Blood. He repeated Captain Peregrine's words about the choice to allow some to die to prevent a worse fate.
Kensie could see how his personal stories affected his fellow students in the sober looks they bore as they left the classroom and their silence in the remainder of the day. Telling the stories took a toll on Kensie as well in sleepless nights. He consoled himself with Teren and Losanir's reassurances that his fellow trainees needed to learn the lessons of Kensie's personal experiences.
# # #
A sennight after Spring Day, Kensie left Haven for Bransat to take part in his brother's investiture. For security, Kensie and Losanir left the Palace well before the first bells for the breakfast servers and was miles from Haven before the earliest light in the eastern sky. Losanir reassured Kensie that Companions could run safely in the dark, so Kensie allowed Losanir to gallop along the main road.
The fifth time they swept past a startled night-time traveller, Kensie accused Losanir ::You just wanted a good run.::
::Only a side benefit, Chosen.:: Losanir laughed in his mind. ::Besides, don't tell me you aren't enjoying this.::
Kensie grinned, but said nothing as Losanir's hooves thundered on the timbers of a bridge deck.
The sun was just a half-candlemark above the horizon as they entered the yard of The Blue and The White. Bevan Argall had just finished feeding the horses and hurried out of the main stables to greet them.
Kensie pulled Losanir's saddle off while Bevan fetched a generous measure of oats for the Companion. After a quick rub-down – Kensie was still astonished at how little Losanir sweated after galloping so far – Kensie threw a blanket over the Companion's back and went inside.
Sonja Murray blinked in astonishment as Kensie entered the inn, but her surprise at his early arrival did not dampen her welcome. In short order, she served Kensie a huge country breakfast.
Ravenous, Kensie quickly devoured his meal. Done, he quickly made his entry in the register and saddled Losanir once more.
With the sun now up, there were more travellers. Kensie and Losanir turned off the main road onto the back trails soon after leaving Leuven. Kensie and Losanir tore along the paths in a joyous cross-country gallop.
Less than half a mile from Bransat Manor, Losanir bounded across a creek and immediately dropped into a trot after landing on the far bank.
::Is there a problem?:: Kensie asked.
::We're about to be ambushed.:: Losanir said with a laugh.
Puzzled and alarmed, Kensie reached for his sword.
::It's not that kind of ambush.:: Losanir said as he rounded a bush and halted.
Two small boys stood in front of Losanir, broad smiles on their faces. Kensie immediately recognized one as his brother Martin.
"Told you 'panion would come." The other, commonly-dressed boy said. Uninvited, both boys hugged themselves to Losanir's chest.
"What in Kerenos' name are you two doing out here?" Kensie demanded.
"Waiting for 'osanir." Martin said, still hugging and petting the Companion.
"How did you know we would be here?" Kensie was baffled. Their route had been unplanned, following whichever path took their momentary fancy, so long as it was headed towards Bransat.
"Al'ays know." The other boy said. "Like 'panions."
"Leif tells me. I like 'panions too." Martin said.
Kensie sighed. "You two shouldn't be way out here in the woods." He scolded mildly.
"Leif said here." Martin insisted.
The name penetrated. Was this…?
::It is.:: Losanir said. ::Leif Kase is every bit as obsessed by Companions as your brother. He always knows when one of us is coming and comes out to see us.::
::And Martin?:: Kensie asked.
::When Bredin and Lacaral were here on their pre-assignment leave last year, Martin met Leif several times at Davan Cork's field. The two became friends and now, whenever Martin is in Bransat, Leif lets him know if there is a Companion coming.:: Losanir said.
Kensie was alarmed by Losanir's insouciance. ::And you lot let that happen? You let them go out on their own?::
Losanir gave a mental shrug. ::We are not present when Leif senses us. Usually, they pester their parents or grandparents or guardians to take them to meet us. Sometimes, like today, they slip out on their own.::
Kensie rolled his eyes. He stretched a hand down to Martin. "We'd better get you two back home."
He lifted Martin and set him in the saddle before him, then did the same for Leif. Their radiant smiles as Kensie placed them on Losanir's back made him forget his worry.
The two boys chattered happily to Kensie as Losanir bore them home. They spoke of the Companions they'd met, only occasionally mentioning the Heralds or Trainees that rode them.
When Kensie noticed the pattern, Losanir teased ::They're very clever. They already know who's important.::
::I'll bet their mothers love it when they come home smelling like horses.:: Kensie countered.
Losanir pinned his ears. ::We're not horses.:: He passed images of launching Kensie over the treetops.
They were nearly at Bransat Manor when they met Hwyl Fian and some guards.
The armsmaster smiled at Kensie. "I see you found them." He glanced at Losanir. "Or they found your Companion. Welcome, Lord Kensie."
"Yes, they were waiting for us just this side of Rock Creek." Kensie said. He didn't bother to correct Hwyl's addressing him as 'Lord.'
"We usually find them on the road." Hwyl said. He nodded to a guardsman who pulled a horn from his belt and blew a long blast to signal that the boys had been found.
"I gather this is a regular occurrence?" Kensie said as the group headed towards the manor.
"Every time there's a Companion passing through." Hwyl said. Kensie could hear the exasperation in his voice.
In a quarter-candlemark, they arrived at the manor, which was bustling with highborn and their retinues. Kensie's parents waited in the forecourt. Lady Lora plucked Martin from Losanir's saddle and immediately began scolding the boy. After lowering Leif to the ground, Kensie jumped down from Losanir's saddle and embraced his father.
After greeting Kensie, Wyeth turned to Losanir. "Master Losanir, as you can see, we are joined by many of my peers. My stables are filled with their horses. Would it be an imposition for you to use Master Cork's field as you did last summer?" Wyeth looked embarrassed.
Losanir arched his neck. Pricking his ears forward, he whickered softly. ::Tell your father I would much prefer that arrangement.::
Before Kensie could pass Losanir's comment, Wyeth said "I take it you approve?"
Losanir nodded emphatically and Wyeth laughed. He stroked Losanir's neck. "I am beginning to understand my youngest's infatuation with you Companions."
"I noticed that." Kensie said. "Same with the other one."
Wyeth rolled his eyes. "Ah, yes. Master Kase's grandson. Martin and Leif have become friends through their common mania. I gave up trying to get Martin to play with his peers. I persuaded Leif's parents to allow the boy to become Martin's associate. Perhaps he will be Martin's bodyguard and aide someday."
Losanir blew a loud snort. Kensie felt the Companion's laughter in his mind.
"I think Losanir approves." Kensie said diplomatically. He mentally queried the Companion.
::Are my eyes blue?:: Losanir said.
Kensie bit his lip. "If you will forgive me, I will take care of Losanir and join you later." He embraced his parents once more and took Losanir to the stable, where he stripped the tack. Spod appeared to take Kensie's saddlebags to his room.
He rode Losanir bareback down to Davan Cork's field where he found that his father had erected a shelter with water and a feed bucket.
::Very comfortable.:: Losanir approved. ::And much better than being cooped up with a bunch of nags.::
Kensie spent five days in Bransat for the investiture. Aside from the formalities, he spent much of his time with Rubin Larkin and Lovat Astey, who had come with their fathers. Whenever Kensie wasn't occupied, Martin and his friend would plead for visits with Losanir.
The investiture took place much as Kensie's own had nearly ten years before. The only significant differences were the presence of Losanir in the Temple and that Grayson gave his oath surrounded by the blue glow of the Truth Spell. Kensie had mastered the Truth Spell easily when it came up in is training, but hesitated when his father requested he use it on Grayson for the ceremony.
::I think we can be fairly sure that Grayson wants to become Baron of Bransat and Heir of Poldara.:: Losanir commented dryly. ::I doubt there will be any embarrassments while he swears fealty.::
Kensie spent one more day in Bransat following the ceremony, then headed back to the Collegium. Once again, he and Losanir went along back trails, though different ones than before.
Kensie took only a brief break over the summer. Aware that, at his age, most trainees had graduated to full Heralds and had not merely their internship but actually completed circuits, Kensie drove himself to complete his training. Only when Losanir insisted did Kensie take a few sennights in Bransat with his family.
A sennight before Midwinter, Kensie received his Whites. He wore them proudly as he spent his pre-assignment leave over the Midwinter holiday at Poldara House with his parents.