Chapter 9- Spring

Sweet Ceta,

I got your letter yesterday about the dress you tore. You were never to keen on the things, and I seem to remember a time when you refused to wear them. What has changed? Nevertheless, I am glad you and Ike found a house and are settling in. I share your concern for Harra and I agree that he should not have left but I am afraid I have no advice for how to pull a man from the depths of deep drink. We can only hope that the Star Court might have mercy on his soul and let the spirit of Hamsa shed a light on him. I miss you all dearly and wish to see you all soon.

Things have indeed changed here. Spring has come to Bellgaurd and with it new beginnings (new beginnings? I know it sound redundant). The Copper Cauldron Company finished the seaward wall before winter and after wintering in the city of Bellgaurd, Nan bought a swath of land a mile south of Bellgaurd. She, Old Trews and your mother had surveyed the ground and found it to their liking. They began construction on a manor next to a small creek that emptied into the Nowell river. I still find it hard to imagine that Nan could trade in a life on the road for a sedentary existence but even I cannot deny that the four hundred acres she purchased from Duke Bell looked like paradise. You should have seen the look on the Duke’s face when she paid her taxes ten years in advance. We resumed school shortly after the battle but even that has changed. Those silly groups we created in class have disbanded and I agree with the notion. Too many of our peers died. Guy has changed. I know you only met him briefly but after Jean died, he pushed himself into his studies and combat training. As for Christa, she shared with Nan and I her dream for one day building a harbor for Bellgaurd. I think it is a great idea and promised to help her out when the time comes.

Now to the subject of Derry. I regret to inform you that he has not changed at all. We began our tutorships and he has resumed his with Lady Bell. I don’t know if some evil spirit possessed her or not, but she decided it would be a grand idea to let him plan Bellgaurd’s tournament. He is a tyrant. He marches around town with a pack of hounds dogging his steps shouting orders at everyone. He and Nova appear to be dating but I know for a fact he has a wondering eye. But that is Derry, we must take the good with the bad.

As for me I have been under the tutorship of General Ridge. He is an intelligent man and a fearsome warrior. I have also become close to his children Carl and Amethyst. As for your advice about my love life I must respectfully disagree. I can name several things that could go wrong with seeing two women at once. I will see how things play out for a while. I wish you all would visit soon and give my regards to the cousins.

May the Star Court shine on you all,

Jodoro

Jodoro finished his letter and sealed it. It was getting late and he had to meet with General Ridge tomorrow. He picked up the books on the desk and blew out the lantern. The castle library was his daily refuge ever since he began working on his final project, The Battle of Bellgaurd: Strategies and Mistakes. Since Nan settled down, he began to think of his future. Carl was going to Ardinum in the fall to enroll in the military academy and Jodoro had been thinking about joining him. The way he saw it war was unavoidable but prudent and competent commanders could save many lives. He was trying to learn everything he could about tactics and strategy. As he walked past a row of books he spotted two figures shrouded in darkness he quickly backtracked so as not to disturb them but could not help overhearing part of their conversation.

            “We can’t keep meeting like this. Sooner or later we will be caught and..” a female voice hesitated.

            “I cannot hide my love from you anymore,” a man’s voice whispered. “I’ve loved you for years and I want to be with you.”

            “But my husband, my family.”

            “We’ll leave. We must see to our own happiness.” The man said. Jodoro silently moved away and excited the library. Those voices sounded familiar he knew them from somewhere. But like Nan always said to him and Derry “mind your own dick,” don’t go poking around in other people’s love lives. It was none of his business. He greeted the guards of the castle as he walked into the courtyard.

            “There you are. I’ve been trying to find you for hours.” Christa said from beside him as she grabbed his arm. She had changed with the past few months of training. She had more energy, was more forceful and her figure had tightened up. “I need your help with my final project. Come, I’ll buy you a beer.” She clung to his arm as she walked him through town. The city was filling up rapidly. With the upcoming tournament and Duke Bell’s initiative to offer rent exemptions for any tradesmen who wanted to move to Bellgaurd, the place was turning into a city. Jodoro was impressed by how much commerce was changing. There were textile mills and dyeworks being constructed and the shepherds from the eastern hills were expanding their flocks, hoping to produce enough wool to meet the demand. At the insistence of Derry’s planning, albeit with the threat of Lady Bell’s rebuke behind him, brewers were working overtime to produce more ale. Minstrels, tinkers, minor merchants and smiths of all sorts were beginning to set up shop along the streets. They catered to the needs of the knights, warriors, and their entourages. Whether they would stay or go after the tourney Jodoro did not know but the sales taxes they paid would put Bellgaurd treasury on solid grown. This would allow the General to recruit more troops and Jodoro was quickly learning that troops cost a lot of money. Men had to be fed, housed, provided equipment and above all else given coin. The quickest way to lose an army was to not pay them. This was the legendary Marshall Julia’s first law: while you must win the hearts of your men, you most also line their pockets, for loyalty cannot buy bread. Christa pulled him into the Regal Pidgeon, a tavern the youth of the town frequented and forced him into a seat.

            “Easy there Red, if you wanted to take me on a date all you had to do was ask.” he teased. She sat across from him and gave him a stern looked as she pulled out come parchment and a pencil.

            “This is not a date this is business.” She replied. “I want to know everything. So where do I start?” She mumbled to herself. “Oh! Labor, design, and logistics. Spill it. What do I need to research?”

            Jodoro thought for a moment. He was tired and his head hurt but he really wanted to help her. He took a sip of the ale the server brought and gathered his thoughts. “Design and logistics should be your primary area of concern. Labor can be easily found especially with the large conglomerates driving down the prices. You’ll want the Green Waters Conglomerate for this project but if you can’t get them the Forty Barrels Company would do. Design is going to be difficult. You’ll have to think long and hard about the function of the port, its relationship with the city and types of commercial, the kind of vessels that will be incoming and outgoing. And these are just the philosophical concerns. What are the currents around here? Are there navigational concerns that must be mitigated? Will you need a lighthouse? How will anchoring be handled? Where will the moles, breakwaters and quays be placed? How will you address silting problems?” Jodoro paused and looked up to find Christa staring at him. “You should be writing this down.”

            “Right can you repeat that?” Christa asked with an apologetic expression. Jodoro rattled off for another hour or so but told her the truth. He did not know enough about port construction to be much of a help. Nan and Seta on the other hand could point her in a more concentrated direction and may even have some ideas about the applicability of these concepts to Bellgaurd. During his rambling a handsome young man walked up to their table and sat down next to Christa. He gave her a peck on the cheek.

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            “Lord Cain!” Christa shouted and hugged the man. “When did you get in? I didn’t know you were competing this year.” Her face took on a sterner cast. “You should have written.”

            “I wanted to Lady Christa, but things have been busy in the north. I heard about the battle here and I am overjoyed to see you alive and well.” The man gestured toward Jodoro. “Who’s the Onaki?”

            “This is Jodoro he worked for my dad, building the wall.” Christa said. Why is she acting strange? “He’s helping me with a project.”

            “An Onaki worker then. Pleasure to meet you. I am Lord Cain DeRold.” The man looked at Christa again and her cheeks flushed. “I must compliment you on your generosity Lady Christa. Employing people in these dire times, especially Onaki. Your charity is an example worthy of emulation.” He kissed her hand and Jodoro saw Christa gawp like a fish. “I hope to earn your favor again this year. I will look for you at the joust.” With that he got up, nodded at Jodoro, and left the table.

            Christa gathered herself but still wore a dreamy look. “He’s a great guy isn’t he.”

            “Yeah sure, look I got to get going. Early start tomorrow and all.”

            “Yeah definitely. I’ll see you tomorrow. Thanks for helping me.”

            Jodoro walked out into the chilly night and began the trudge to the beach. He and Derry were living in the yurt during the week, so they didn’t have to walk into town every morning. If he was honest with himself, he was angry with Christa. He liked to think that they were friends, but she did not rebut Cain’s statement that he worked for her. She said nothing. Maybe Derry was right. Maybe he was a fool to think there could have been something between them. At the end of the day he was an Onaki not a royal, not even a Bellgaurdian. As Jodoro went to sleep he resolved to change his approach to life in Bellgaurd. He would not forget his roots. He needed to take advantage of the opportunities here and use that information to empower his people.

            The next day Jodoro was on the beach training early in the morning. Amethyst was the first to arrive. She was dressed in tight leather paints and a white shirt. Her figure was flawless. “You’re here early.” He said to her. They hadn’t talked about what happened between them a few months ago and Jodoro chalked it up to her being drunk.

            “I wanted to talk to you about something,” she said as she walked up to him.

            He released an arrow at a target. He was rewarded by the sound of it hitting the target. He loved the thunk sound it made. He turned toward her and saw a hesitant look on her face. Amethyst was anything but hesitant. “What’s wrong Lady Amethyst? You don’t look yourself.”

            She hesitated for a moment then finally spoke. “Why haven’t you asked me to the tournament dance?” She looked at him with steely eyes. “I can’t think of anyone else I’d rather go with.”

            Jodoro’s heartbeat soared in his chest. “Lady Amethyst I am not a royal. Hell, I’m not even a Bellgaurdian. I don’t want you to lose face with everyone. What will they say if you go with an Onaki?”

            “Fuck them Jodoro. Fuck what they say and most of all stop calling me “lady” all the damn time.” She shouted. “I want to live my life the way I want. Don’t you? Or do you want to hide behind propriety?”

            Jodoro looked at her beautiful angry face. She really was stunning, but he had come to consider her other attributes over the past few months. It touched her the way she was protective of her brother and loyal to her friends. “Amethyst will you go to the dance with me?” She leaped into his arms and kissed him on the mouth. He fell into the sand with her over him. She straddled him for a moment her hair hanging down around her smiling face. Jodoro nearly lost his breathe for a moment. “Your so beautiful.” He whispered to her.

            “Working on some wrestling moves? You guys could have at least waited for the rest of us.” Carl said appearing from nowhere.

            Amethyst lingered on top of him for a moment and gave him a wink before getting up. “Yeah Jodoro was just showing me some of his moves,” she said. They went on to practice then split up to go to their tutorships. Jodoro did not push himself too hard that morning. General Ridge would want to spar with him and he wanted to give Carl’s father a run for his money.

***

            Derry walked into the Great Hall with the two damn dogs on his heels. He hated the little fuckers. They were always barking, always underfoot, and always staring with those dumb looks on their faces. Old Trews said that if you give a dog a name it was yours. Well he’d be damned if he gave those fleabags a name. The ladies were there already and he tried to be unnoticeable as possible as he took a seat.

            “I see that you are late again.” Observed an ancient hag whose name he forgot so he just called her “ancient hag” in his head and “milady” out loud. That was the key to this courtly thing. As long as you began a sentence with my milord or milady, you’d be fine. These people put great stock in words for some reason so he milorded and miladied them to death. He’d even started experimenting with doubling down on it. Slap a milady at the beginning and at the end. Hell, sometimes he put them in the middle of sentences for good measure, tripling down. Their heads were so far up their asses they didn’t care if you ruined a perfectly constructed sentence with a milord or milady. Royalty loved nothing more than being reminded that they were royalty.

            “Milady I do apologize for my tardiness. There has been, milady, much work to go around lately and few hands willing to do it. I do hope you forgive me milady.” Derry said.

            “Now,” began Lady Bell, “we are impressed with your work on planning the tournament, but we are overbudget and have to make some cuts. We cannot afford the firebreathers, the one-hundred-person minstrel band, or the nightly promenades under lamplit streets. This is not even accounting for-.” Derry pulled a large bag of gold coins from his bag and tossed them on the table. Some of the coins rolled out of the bag and scattered. He watched as the eyes of these greedy hag lit up. ‘Sides from being milorded and miladied royals loved the sight of gold. They were like dogs with a bone with it. They collected it, hoarded it, and then for some reason spent it on things they didn’t need but they always made sure someone saw them spending it on things they didn’t need.

            “How did you get all of this.” A shocked Erelda asked. She of course was different. Erelda was pure and kind and if he had his way he would marry her and maybe let Nova live with them and be a maid or something.

            “Miladies, twas easy I paid some troubadours to promote this whole enterprise. They went to every tavern, boarding house, bar, and brothel…” He stopped and looked at their shocked faces. “Oh, miladies did not know there were brothels in Bellgaurd yet. Anyway, miladies, they sang about dances in Bellgaurd and sang about the beauty of the woman and the glamour of the lord and ladies, miladies. They sang about how the Battle of Bellgaurd was majestic and Heliodor and Dundar were there and such and such. Eventually, miladies, the dance became such a big ticket item that I sold tickets to it, miladies.” He made to gather the pouch up. “But if miladies disagree with such tactics I will return the gold at miladies’ discretion.” He almost grinned when they shook their head and told him no. Of course, they offered the standard excuses: “what’s done is done,” “why trouble people again during such a busy week,” and his personal favorite “we must not be so hasty.” This last one came form the ancient hag. Gold and pleasantries that was the key to the royals. Kiss ass and line pockets that’s how you made it in this word. Derry was good at this game. He could stomach it all. He’d been dealing with Nan and Hamsa’s shit his whole life. This was light work. Bellgaurd was about to have a tournament that no one would forget and if things went his way he’d make an ass load of gold.