3.05: Revelations – 3
Hundreds of torches swayed in the night like giant fireflies, washing the faces beneath in shades of amber.
A shout cut through the night.
“Hail Supreme Leader!”
It bounced from the nearby buildings.
“Hail Lord Jack!” another shouted from a different direction.
Then more joined.
Aprilia looked at them.
Torchlight reflected off hundreds of pairs of eyes, gratitude shining in them. Fathers and mothers.
Hyde could howl all he wanted about Jack perverting their ways and inviting in foreigners, but he was not the one who risked his life to visit the capital of Nanon and make a deal with the Queen. He was not the one who instead of hoarding money, like many nobles would, bought tons of grain, sheep and cattle for the common people.
Jack had.
The people could see who truly cared for them, and they were grateful.
But it didn’t mean they didn’t have other concerns. Fear and Gratitude could live side-by-side.
She could hear it in their voices.
Some echoed the chant cautiously.
Some, she was sure, had remained silent.
The carriage stopped.
Beside her, Jack got up and began fidgeting with the carriage’s ceiling.
“What are you doing?” she asked with amusement.
“Boosting morale.”
A click, then another.
Then a square of the moonlit sky appeared above them.
Jack poked his head through the hatch, pushed his torso out, and waved to the people.
The crowd erupted.
Aprilia leaned back and watched him from below.
Moonlight silvered the sharp line of his jaw and caught his dark hair as he stood half outside the carriage.
He didn’t grandstand or shout. Just waved.
A forest of hands lifted in the air, answering him.
Footmen walked ahead, pushing the crowd back to create a corridor through the road.
The carriage continued its journey.
People kept chanting his name.
Not everyone, but most.
As long as they gave him enough time, she knew he would prove both the fearful and the stubborn wrong.
As they approached the castle, Jack lowered himself into the carriage and closed the hatch.
The cabin darkened once more.
“That was scary,” he said, sitting down.
“Why?” she asked, amused.
“It only takes one well-aimed bolt in the dark to take a life.”
Her heart lurched.
“Don’t say that! They love you,” she whispered, then inclined her head. “Thank you.”
“For what?”
“Everything. Sending the grain, sheep, chickens and cattle.”
He waved a hand. “They’ve earned it themselves. I bought it from the money I received for the crossbows. How is the production going?”
She folded her arms.
“Fine, though Kovar looks half-dead.”
“What happened?”
Cold seeped into her voice.
“You tell me. You’re the one who saddled him with two tasks at the same time. Whenever he is not sleeping, which is scant few hours, he is working, and so is Aramid. Did you have to push them so hard?”
He had the decency to sound embarrassed. “Yes. Once we have perfected these next generation weapons, our safety would be almost guaranteed.”
“Almost?”
“As long as no one betrays us, or Vozoran comes knocking with full force.”
She sighed, both in relief and sadness. She had always known Hyde’s words to be lies. Anyone who knew Jack would know he wouldn’t carelessly let anyone inside Chadom.
Yet Hyde had touched a fear she could not dismiss.
Every new immigrant was a risk. Risk that their secrets could leak.
On the other hand they needed the immigrants. Insulating themselves from the rest of the world was also not an option. No matter how much she didn’t want to ever hear the word Nanon.
Her little brother’s face surfaced again.
Vinnie would have been nine by now.
She exhaled to allay the grief.
Now wasn’t the time.
“Once Kovar and Aramid are done with their work, we’re safe?” she asked.
“No. There is training. Soldiers will have to figure out the best ways to use the weapons.”
“You don’t know?”
“No. I wasn’t a soldier.”
“Then how do you know so much about weapons.”
“Curiosity, lots of free time and the internet.”
“What is that?”
“A magical place.”
“You had magic in your world?”
He chuckled. “No. The internet was a vast repository of knowledge, and cat videos.”
“What is a vid—you know what, never mind.”
“I’ll make one for you one day. But before all that, I need to make ammo.”
“Ammo?”
“A special fuel for our new weapons.”
“Does the rotting soil have something to do with it?”
“What makes you say that?”
“You sent two ships’ worth of it to our shores. Our land isn’t exactly barren. I can understand those poor sailors’ anger.”
He chuckled. “I’d kiss you, but that would lead to one thing after another, and we need to be presentable.”
Her face grew hot as she smiled, despite herself.
A shadow swallowed them as they passed beneath the gatehouse.
The carriage stopped with a lurch in the courtyard.
“You don’t have to come out,” Jack whispered, opening the door.
She stared at him, then glanced at her skirts under the peeping torchlight.
No stains.
Exhaling in relief, she smoothed the folds of fabric and stepped out after him.
The courtyard glowed a dim orange with torchlight.
A dozen soldiers waited ahead.
Behind them, stood the elders.
Erickson, Meyer, Bram and Eliard.
Meyer looked more wrinkly and bent than ever, ready to fall at Jack’s feet.
Aprilia didn’t find much sympathy inside her.
Judran’s intentions had been very clear when he had bound her. On top of trying to kill Lothar.
The Elders’ gazes remained fixed on Jack.
Good.
She was tired of butting heads with them.
They kept calling the vote invalid, even when it had taken place in front of them.
No matter how many times she had assured them they would retain their positions, they didn’t believe her.
The truth was simpler.
Fear.
They feared becoming relics.
The new People’s Council was only half-birthed; just her and the Elders. They wanted to kill it before it could be properly born.
Only Erickson had privately talked with her and Lothar about Jack’s plans and agreed to reconsider his stance.
The others couldn’t let go.
Still, they bowed as one to him.
“We are overjoyed you have returned to us safe, sire,” Erickson said with a smile.
“Thank you, Elder,” Jack said, bowing back.
No arrogance or theatrics, despite his elevated status.
“The Cha will be forever grateful for what you have done.”
He shrugged lightly. “Just taking care of my people.”
Aprilia noticed Meyer flinch.
Erickson offered a strained smile.
“Still, we cannot thank you enough. There have been many… developments in your absence.”
“I heard.” Jack glanced toward the sea. “I spoke with the immigrants.”
“I meant here,” Erickson said carefully. “Within Cradle. There was an incident.”
Jack’s expression sharpened.
“They told me. Where is Hyde?”
“In the jail,” Lothar replied.
“We have a jail?”
“Yes.”
Meyer hobbled forward. “Sire. My grandson…”
Jack turned to look at him.
Aprilia moved closer and spoke up before the old man could.
“Why don’t we talk about serious matters tomorrow? He has just arrived from a long journey. It can wait a day.”
The Elders paused, then nodded.
He was already stressed by whatever had happened between him and Lothar and from what he was hiding from her.
She didn’t trust his restraint at the moment.
“We have prepared a feast in your honor,” Elder Erickson said, pointing to one of the bastions that had been turned into a common hall.
Jack waited a while before nodding.
She wondered if sea voyages were really that horrible, or was he that sensitive.
The castle’s gate groaned behind them as it was closed.
Then another noise caught her attention.
High pitched barks and sharp yips.
Near one of the carts sat a wooden crate lined with straw.
She was about to walk toward the crate when she stopped herself and sighed. She had to act like a proper lady now, which apparently meant not having fun.
The barking had drawn others’ attention.
Jack’s Ducklings stood next to the crate and were trying, and failing, to not look at the furry occupants.
“Hey,” Jack reminded them of his presence.
The boys and girls turned around, and bowed in embarrassment.
“Where are Aramid and Kovar?” he asked.
“Asleep,” Aldren replied. “They wanted to greet you, but they were dead tired.”
Jack’s face lowered in concern.
Aprilia didn’t say anything. She didn’t have to.
Good. He wasn’t blind to the cost of his actions.
Movement from one of the carts drew the group’s attention.
A group of unfamiliar men climbed down from one of the wagons and gathered uncertainly near Jack’s escort. None of them were Cha.
Jack introduced them to everyone.
The first was a thick-set man with a bushy beard who looked more like a soldier than healer. His thick eyebrows were scrunched in a perpetual glower and his arms were thicker than her neck.
Darron the barber-surgeon bowed stiffly.
The second was an older man with salt and pepper hair, who made a sharp bow, better than even Lothar, his every movement precise and controlled.
Harald the steward. Here to manage their household.
The other two were younger and nervous.
Ansel the glassmaker was perhaps thirty, but already had the leathery skin and dull hair of blacksmiths who spent hours every day at the forge. He looked around the courtyard with restrained fascination.
The last one was even more nervous, sticking close to the group. Rowan the chemist was young. Maybe even younger than her. He had the narrow wrists and short height of someone who hadn’t had enough to eat during childhood.
“What is a chemist?” Elder Erickson asked politely.
“He is.”
Jack lowered his voice, his lips pulled in embarrassment. “He’s technically a brewer, and I’ve already made the mistake of telling that to some of the men. I brought him here for reasons other than brewing, so I would appreciate if you didn’t tell anyone or the people will mob him.”
Aprilia couldn’t help but smile, along with others.
The tension eased a bit.
They walked to the hall while Jack spent some time talking with his pupils.
Guards with crossbows and goedendags manned every door and terrace of each bastion. They could relax for a while.
The smell of roasted meat and rendered fat filled her lungs as the door to the hall opened.
Aprilia didn’t realize how much she had missed the flavor. They had hunted most of the large animals in the valley during the first few weeks of their arrival, as they had needed the energy to build the palisade.
Since then, grain and fish had filled their plates, with an occasional hunt boiled in stew so it could be shared with everyone.
She didn’t mind that it wasn’t being shared this time.
Jack deserved a proper welcome.
Inside, warmth wrapped her immediately.
The hall glowed gold with torches and iron braziers. Smoke and spice lingered in the air.
It only had one large plain table. Fancy furniture would have to wait until there were enough houses for all Cha.
She sat down left of the seat of honor and looked at the plate in front of her.
Golden light reflected off its shiny surface as she sat, instead of spreading out.
A smile came upon her.
Her father had done it.
The Cha would be soon eating like nobles.
The Elders talked in hushed tones. Eyes kept flickering to the newcomers Jack had brought.
The talking died down as Jack joined them.
He sat down beside her, and noticed the plate.
“He figured out the glazing?”
Pride stirred within her.
“Yes.”
He picked up the plate and turned it around.
“Nice.”
Servants arrived and began setting dishes upon the tables.
Steam carrying sweet and gamey flavor rose in the air.
Her mouth watered.
A big, fancy plate of ibex meat drenched in berry sauce was placed in front of him.
Knifes clinked against glazed ceramics as they all began eating.
Aprilia had just taken her first delicious bite when she noticed Jack from the corner of her eye.
He was frozen.
Then he coughed.
Again. Then again.
She turned to look at him.
He was breathing heavily.
Sweat had begun beading on his forehead.
She put a hand on his back. “Are you alright?”
He glanced at her.
She felt a chill run down her spine.
His eyes were smoldering with fury.
She had never seen him like that.
Spitting what was in his mouth to the side, he fixed his eyes at her.
“Did you eat any?”
“Only a bite.”
“Spit it out.”
“I already swallowed—”
He quickly pulled her plate towards him. Before she could say anything, he took a piece of meat and put it in his own mouth.
She stared.
The hall had gone silent.
Jack chewed.
Then swallowed.
Only then did he visibly relax.
“You’re fine,” he whispered to her, slumping on his chair.
Her pulse quickened.
“What happened?”
Instead of answering her, he turned to face Lothar, pulled his plate toward himself and ate from that too.
Murmurs spread throughout the hall.
Confusion and unease.
“General, find out who cooked the meal and who handled it.”
“Sire?”
“There’s poison in it.”
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