I hurt everywhere again. My legs and arms burned with lactic acid build-up and strain. My ankles and knees felt like they were on fire from the inflammation. I hated this. But there was no way to lose it without getting out of bed. As Marsh grabbed my clothes for the day, I pushed myself into a sitting position while groaning.
Marsh scolded me, “If you push yourself too hard, you will be laid out with an injury.”
“And if I don’t push myself enough, my health will suffer, and my heart will fail by the age of thirty. Not to mention, my people may suffer if I don’t figure out a way to help them. We are partway through planting season, and our fields are not plowed. We need to have a way to increase field production or gain an export that we can trade for the supplies we need.”
“Emily was really excited about your new parchment idea. She told me you want her to make it better.” That last part was said almost as a question.
That surprised me after her grumbling last night. I guess she wouldn't be a teenager if she didn't grumble. “She is a smart girl. She came up with a couple of ideas that helped already. I want her to make it strong as well as bendable.”
“Why is this so important, my lord? Do you really think people will buy enough of it in the cities to help us?”
“Maybe, but it also gives us a way to make a lot of something to write on. The next step will be stamping words on a page. That will allow us to make a lot of books and things, and those will sell.”
“I don’t understand.”
I chuckled, “If you did, I would be jealous. You would be making better logical leaps than I could ever make. Be patient, Marshandra, and you will see.”
I stretched and then ran my tongue along my teeth. Gross. “Marshandra, do we have a way to scrub my teeth?”
“I will get you a bowl of chalk pasted and a cloth.”
Wait! Chalk? She definitely said chalk. At least, that's how it translates. This could be good. Do we have the White Cliffs of Dover here? “Where do we get the chalk from?” I said excitedly.
There is chalk West of Cofi Lake, about half a day. Once a year, we send a cart down there to get some. And store it in Cofi. We can use it to help supplement the taxes to the traveling merchants that bring it to the city. I believe they use it to powder women’s faces. Not much use for it here except some of us scrub our teeth with it.”
“Have any of the farmers used it for fertilizing the fields?”
“I don’t think so. Why would you use rock as fertilizer?”
I wasn’t going to explain that chalk was formed from dead sea creatures. Plankton, I think. How far were we from the ocean if we had chalk west of Cofi? I remember my European history teacher explaining about the White Cliffs of Dover. It stuck in my mind because he sang an English drinking song about it. He was really off-key. It was hilarious. One of the lines was, “It heals our fields and paints our women’s faces.” Then Bart changed it to cruder lyrics, and the joke lasted the rest of my High School experience. I know, teenage boys are so disgusting. I was certainly not going to mention the song to Marsh.
“Trust me. We need to get some and grind it up for some of our fields. Turn it into a test. OK, I will get dressed, visit Marcus, and see if he can get me some chalk. And if you wouldn’t mind getting me some of the chalk paste.”
I got dressed and did some stretching. When Marsh returned, I brushed my teeth with chalk paste and a cloth. It was disgusting, but at least my teeth felt clean. I wonder if I could add mint somehow? Minty chalk breath. It’s a thought. I was also starting to feel the scruff on my face. I wondered if Draves could show me how to shave. I was going to miss my electric razor.
After getting set for the day, I headed to the study. As I walked in, I found Marcus reading a letter. Setting it down, he stood up. My lord, we should receive a small shipment of wood from Alfer soon for the carpenters and blacksmith. All the villages besides Bicman have enough fields plowed to probably bring in a harvest that will pay the taxes and may help most survive the winter next year unless we have a bad harvest. About half of those are planted with spring wheat. However, without the rest, we will not have enough for seed. Due to the illness in the village and the deaths of six of your serfs, we are pretty behind in Bicman. I understand you want our manor fields planted last to test your new plow.” That last statement seemed a little like he was attempting to hide mockery.
I ignored it, “Yes, and speaking of the fields, we will need chalk from Cofi to grind up and test as fertilizer.”
“I see,” He said in a tone that made it apparent that he didn’t.
“Did you send the request for iron from Melnon?”
“I’m sorry, my lord. I wrote the letter yesterday and will have a runner send it up this morning.”
“It's not a big deal. I hear there is a stonemason up there that I need to speak with anyway, so I am going to head up there.”
“Of course.”
“Is there anything else?” I asked, about to turn and go find the captain.
“There is one last matter we need to discuss. I meant to discuss it last night with you.”
I interrupted him, “Yeah, sorry about forgetting to meet last night. I think mornings will be better.”
“As you wish, my lord, the matter concerns your nephew.”
“My nephew?” I said dumbly.
“Yes, Lord Aaron and Lady Martha sent him to a small cottage outside Kerisi when they found they were both ill. The child did get the illness, but a message came yesterday that he had recovered. As the new Lord, they wish you to decide on the child's fate.”
I was blown away by the information that I had a nephew and lost as to what he was asking. “Uh, what do you mean?”
“You are the Baron, my lord. I would never say otherwise, but some would contend that you are regent until he is of proper age. It presents a problem for your future reign.”
It clicked, and I realized this dude was pussyfooting around the issue. “So you are saying to keep peace in the barony, some might suggest I send my nephew away.”
“I would never presume to tell you what to do, my lord, as you have a better grasp on politics than I, but yes, that is how some recommend preventing future disputes over the barony. Sometimes, they put things in place so the family members can't return."
You slick little weasel. “Listen here, Marcus, the fact that you even mentioned such a solution disgusts me.” I snarled, “I would rather give up my barony than murder my nephew. It is his if he wants it when he comes of age. It isn’t like I have any children, and I doubt any ladies will be beating down my door to marry me. Now, be so kind as to fetch my nephew and bring him here. I will be back this evening.”
I slammed the door in anger as I left. After I left, I let out a growl. That punk. What type of person would kill their own nephew? I wasn't ignorant to the fact that it happens, but to think that he would think of me as such a person just- Ugh. Was I going to have to raise this kid? I didn’t even know his name. Probably Aaron the third. How old was he? Well, I would just have to ask Draves. No matter what, I would not turn this into some tragic story. If I did have children, they would just have to accept that Aaron came first. Alright, enough brooding, let’s find Draves. Oh, wait, breakfast first. I should have waited to brush my teeth. Now, I was going to have to put that nasty stuff in my mouth again.
When I arrived in the kitchen, only the maids were left to clean the floor. Have I mentioned how glad I am that I wasn’t stuck in a world where they didn’t make an effort to clean? Anyway, I stuck my head in the kitchen and asked “Cookie,” the cook, if I could have whatever was left. I don’t think that was her real name, but that is what everyone called her. I ended up eating a wheat porridge with ham. I wish we had corn. I missed grits. Of course, we didn’t have salt and pepper either. I bet getting those would be crazy expensive. I also got my first taste of cow's milk here. I don’t know if it is the cows or the fact that where I came from, everything was so thoroughly processed, but this milk was certainly creamier.
After my meal, I headed out the door towards the training ground, where I hoped to find Draves. Instead, I ran into Emily, literally. Well, technically, she ran into me and ended up on her rump. “Ouch,” She said as she stood up while rubbing her backside.
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“Sorry, Em. I think that is Newton’s third law or something. Or is it the second? Who knows? Somebody will have to rediscover them and then tell me.”
She ignored the rambling once she saw who it was. “Oh, Lord Amos, you have to come to see. Let me show you.” She took off back in the direction she came from around the side of the building. What a rude child. Could she not wait for the slow guy waddling behind her?
When I got around the corner, she was holding up the sheet of paper. It was a greyish splotchy color, wavy, and warped a little, but when I grabbed it, I was sure I would be able to write on it. But it felt stiff. “Excellent work. What are you going to do now?”
She pointed to four buckets and said, "That one, I'm going to squeeze out the water. For that one, I added more water to make it thinner, and I am going to dip the frame into it and scoop it out, then try and see if that works. I will add that one more pulp, too, and that one less."
I nodded and said, “That’s nice, and then what?”
“What do you mean,” She asked in confusion. “That’s all you told me to do.”
I smiled, “And how about you? What are you planning on trying?”
“I don’t know,” she shrugged. “Is there more we can try?”
“There’s always more. You just have to discover it.”
“You're not going to tell me?” She pouted.
“Nope,” I said with a smile, mainly because I had no idea. "Try and come up with as many things as you can on your own.”
“What do I do if I can’t figure it out?” She whined.
“Then get some friends involved. There is no shame in asking for help after you have tried for a while. Just don’t always run to someone first. You’re going to be this world's first real paper maker.”
That caused her eyes to glow with excitement. She gave a solemn nod, and then she grabbed the pulp she was going to use less water in. Laying the frame on the stump, she squeezed out as much water as possible and then spread it thinly over the bottom. Pressing it gently to even it out, she turned to face me with a cute little smile.
“The neat thing is once you figure out how to make a good strong paper, you can write down all the things you tried and continue to try new things.”
She frowned, “I can’t write.”
“Not now, but we are going to fix that, and then the whole world will know that Emily of Bicman Manor was the first Papermaker,” I pronounced dramatically.
She sat there and stared at me. I could see the vision I had painted playing across her mind. “You are going to teach me to write,” She stammered.
“Of course. We can’t have the world’s first paper maker unable to write.” I said as if it were obvious.
Suddenly, I found her arms around me in a hug. Then, there was a squeak, and she backed away. “I’m so sorry, my lord.”
I chuckled, “Yeah, you better not do that. I do have the image of the scary baron to maintain.” I ruffled her brown hair, causing her to grimace.
“Then you can’t do that,” She pouted.
I laughed, “I, young lady, am Baron Amos Bicman.”
“Be nice, or I will call you what I called the other one,” she said.
I raised my eyebrows, “And what is that.”
“It’s not nice, so I’m not going to say it,” She huffed.
“Out loud,” I said with a grin.
She narrowed her eyes at me.
“Ha, I told you. You just thought it didn’t you.” I said.
Her cheeks turned pink, and I laughed. After laughing for a bit, I could see I may have taken it a bit too far. I put my hands up, “OK, I’m sorry, Em. I shouldn’t tease you so much.”
“It’s fine,” she grumbled. Then, softly, I heard her say, “You big fat head.”
That made me laugh harder. “Yep, that’s me, Baron Fat Head. Just keep that name between me and you; I just know that name would stick, and your grandma would probably kill you.”
Her face grew pale, “You are probably right, Lord Amos. Sorry for getting mad.”
“I’m sorry for teasing you so much.” I almost reached out and ruffled her hair again. Dang it, I promised myself and the captain I would be better about this. It was just so hard with Emily. She was like a little sister I could be real with, except she wasn’t a sister. She was a serf, and I couldn’t keep acting this way, or someone would eventually see us. Being a baron sucks sometimes. Maybe it would be different near the capitol where there are more nobles, but here it is just me. 'I don’t even have my nice, warm, loving family,' I thought sarcastically.
“Well, Em, good luck. I have to go find Captain Draves and get going up to Melnon. Oh, and let your grandma know that my nephew is coming back today.”
Emily’s eyes went wide. “Aaron’s alive, I… I thought he was dead.” Tears filled her eyes.
“Were you close with him?”
She shook her head, “No, I wasn’t allowed to be around him. I’m just a serf, and Martha didn’t want any of us near him—only her maid and the wet nurse. But I saw him sometimes. He was always so happy. He never really cried. I’ll go tell Grandma right away.” Then she took off running.
I made my way to the back of the manor, hoping to find Draves. He was indeed back with his men doing morning training. There were a few men there that I hadn’t seen before. They were doing what looked like a kata. Spears were lying beside them, but their movements were slow punches and jabs. You could tell that some had been doing this far longer than others. Those were the ones that were in perfect sync with each other. I decided that I would get up and do that with them tomorrow. I probably wouldn’t last ten minutes, but I really needed to do something with my body. When the routine was over, they all stood and bowed to me. I gave a slight nod in return. I needed to learn protocol on who to do what with.
The captain told Hyrum to take over and walked up to me. I nodded to the group and asked, “Who are the new guys?”
“They are not new; they are just on rotation. They normally operate out of Alfer, but now they are on patrol. Some of my group is covering Alfer for them.”
“Do we have a big need for patrol? You or Hyrum mentioned bandits to me at some point.”
"Not really. This side of the kingdom is pretty poor, and there isn’t much use robbing people traveling out this way Unless they are Merchants, but they also don't come out here often. Bandits don’t want to lose lives any more than we do, so unless they are desperate, they won’t attack our villages. But it does happen. There aren’t any big groups out here. They are just small groups trying to grab as much food as possible. We don’t have anything worth risking their lives over.”
“How about other Nobles?”
“That could be a problem, but not one fought with weapons. We are at the bottom of the ladder regarding influence, so if someone inside the dukedom wanted your land, they would bribe the duke. Then, they would bribe the king, so there would be no one for you to complain to. Fortunately or unfortunately, they are all too busy plotting against each other to fight over a backwater barony that the old king gave to a landless knight for saving his life on the field. That would be your grandfather.”
“My father saved his life, and all he got was some crappy land?”
“It was your grandfather, and the king wouldn’t have even given that if he thought he could get away with it. Your grandfather was not a very likable individual. My father said that the king was a little bitter about the fact that he was saved by a nobody knight when his own son died trying to protect him.”
Ah, that made sense. The king was still a prick. I wonder what the new king is like.
“So, changing subjects completely. Were you aware that my nephew is alive?”
Draves shifted uncomfortably, “I was aware that his wet nurse had taken him to Kerisi. The last update I got was that he was ill. Has he recovered?”
“Yes,” I said with a nod.
“And your plan for him?” He asked flat-faced.
I started to get angry again, “Does everyone think I am a child murderer?” I accused him.
“I am sorry, my lord, I should not have doubted," He looked ashamed," Had someone asked me a few days ago if I thought you would let the child live, I would have probably said no. The other, Lord Amos, hated the child almost as much as he hated his brother. He would probably have felt it was the best course of action. Many nobles would agree, unfortunately. Knowing you these last few days, I am ashamed to have thought such a thing.”
I put my head down and rubbed my fingers on my temples. I let out a sigh and said, “No, I cannot expect you to separate me so easily from other nobles if that is a common practice. Maybe I should apologize to Marcus. Maybe he was saying what he thought might be the right action. I doubt it, but I still need him, and causing a bigger rift won't help the barony. So, since we are keeping Aaron, does the term regent apply to me?”
“I know very little of the law outside my duty, my lord, but I believe that is an option. You may also petition the duke to transfer the barony to you. Either of those may cause contention when you have children.”
“If I have children. As I told Marcus, I don’t think I have many prospects.”
“I believe your father was in negotiation with a merchant a few years ago for his daughter's hand. But, neither of you got along very well. I don’t think anything came of it.”
“All the better. An arranged marriage with someone who doesn’t like me would be painful.”
“That does bring up a good point, though. There are Barons who make it past the age of being able to have children or whose wives are barren, and they name an heir from outside their direct line—sometimes not even a relative."
“So, adopt my nephew as my son. I don’t know that I am ready to be a dad. That kind of weirds me out,” I thought for a moment and then said, “How about this? So that the people know Aaron is safe and I am not some baby killer, I want a proclamation sent out saying Aaron is alive and that he is under my protection.”
“That will work for now, but if I were you, I would make a decision soon so your people aren’t confused.”
“OK, I will go tell Marcus. Do you mind escorting me to Melnon for the day? I need to speak with the stone mason."
“I will make ready the carriage.”