I woke up much stronger in the morning. The fever was completely broken and my limbs didn’t feel so weak anymore. Mildred needed to help me less and less as I recovered and now I could comfortably get dressed on my own and use the chamberpot without stabilizing myself on the wall. Now I wanted to get out of the room that I had been trapped in except for my one secret excursion into the rest of the house for a single night.

Dressed and ready, the weight of my own body not too much for my legs, I left the room. The hallways were busy with servants running back and forth so I made my way to the foyer to see if I could catch someone important. Let them know that I had recovered enough to be up and about. I wondered if a summons was already sent to gather and meet me at the court. Soon enough the head butler spotted me and made his way over to me.

“Hello, fair bard. We have much to discuss. We didn’t want to bother you with this while you rested but you have clothes ready and your lute has been sent back to us from its maker. I’ve had them in a larger room in the house where the Master wants you to stay. If you’ll come with me I would like to guide you there.” His pace was brisk and his gray hair stayed unnaturally still on his head, some form of wax holding it in place.

We made our way not downstairs but up into the guest wing of the house. Further in the back corner of the home far away from the main part of the house sat the room I assumed I had been upgraded to. I was let in the room with a key and the expansive place opened up to me. It was maybe twice the size of the servant’s quarters I had been in. The bed was big enough for three people to lay on comfortably. An ornate chamberpot sat in the corner and one big window let in a stream of gray light from a cloudy sky. A quiet comfortable looking chair sat next to a small table. A new lamp sat on it with the lighting sticks that was so common in this house.

“Here you are Dolan. This will be your quarters from now on. You saving the King’s nephew has brought a smidge of honor to the house. The Duke Portage has a slot in his schedule after dinner to meet with you if you were strong enough. I believe that is the case.” The head servant approached the dresser and opened it up, pulling a few new sets of clothes out and setting them on the bed. “These are the clothes that came in for you so far. The Duke put them on express once you threw yourself in front of the would-be assassin. I suggest you wear one of them when meeting with the Duke. Breakfast will be brought to you shortly so please relax and make yourself comfortable.”

I was left alone in the room once more and approached the new clothes. Three different outfits lay on the bed before me. First one was a royal purple with bright golden trimmings and seams around it. The pattern I had designated as my crest sat over the heart. A new set of shoes sat at the head of the outfit. They were hard leather with wooden soles with some fort of padding on the inside.

The next outfit was very similar to the one that had been ruined. Bright yellow swatches of clothes offset by dark crimson squares to make a diamond pattern all around the tunic and pants. It looked like it would be baggy and loose, most likely designed for a sweltering summer that sometimes came. Last but not least was a green and brown tunic, the colors of the portage household. Instead of my own crest on its own it had a shield with Wagons being carried by falcons. It had broad plain colors and instead of a silky material it was cotton and thick. As if to keep someone warm inside a cold place.

I looked at all three. The last was an obvious way to lean on me to join and be fully taken in by this house. My heroism would be rewarded by an even more status and protection that would be afforded to me by the sponsorship of the Portage family. It would be a double bladed sword. Both keeping me safe but also binding me to them.

I tucked away everything but the red and yellow one. It was loose and with the bandages still on my skin I was tender to the pressure of clothes on them. The lack of fingers still bothered me and the desire to just regrow them filled me again. I wasn’t a warrior protecting one of the last vestiges of humanity trapped in an icy endless struggle where I had abused my abilities to remain strong and powerful.

This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

Dressed and ready there was a knock at my door and a wheeled tray was brought inside. I sat in the comfortable chair as it was brought before me. The plate was large and the cloche was pulled off in a flourish. A pile of food spread out before me, a collection of baked beans in sauce, eggs, some small pieces of bread, and fresh cut fruit. On a side plate was a small ration of bacon and sausage. The smell of both plain and exotic spices filled my nose as I inhaled and smiled at myself.

“Thank you, I really appreciate the meal.” I grabbed the large bib and tucked it into my shirt to keep my new clothes clean. The lack of fingers made some of my eating clumsy and unstable. The eggs were soft cooked and leaked thick golden yolk that I scooped up with a spoon of beans. The soft feeling of the beans crushed between my teeth with the savory rich yolk spread across my tongue in the most pleasing way. I popped a sweet piece of fruit that exploded juices in my mouth washing away the flavors of the other bites of the meal I had taken. I grabbed bread and some meats tearing the bread in half and stuffing it with the bacon and eggs before attacking it and devouring the delicious concoction.

I found that I was starving, the draining of my body from sickness had been more severe then I had ever experienced. I had been forgetting to sustain myself from my large well of magic and my human form had slowly been eating itself on my mostly liquid diet the last week. Soon enough the plates were practically licked clean and I took the handkerchief and wiped away any remains that were on my face from the meal.

Belly almost distended I sighed in contentment. I put everything together to make them easy to use and looked around the room. I soon found the lute that had been returned to me. I slowly opened it and found the most strange thing I had ever thought about. The strings were set backwards to accommodate the switch in hands that I would have to make should I find myself playing any more music.

I took it and sat down with the lute flipped around and everything felt so wrong. I tried to find my fingerings with my right hand as I plucked weakly at the strings with my mangled left two fingers. I was painfully slow and I could not make the instrument sing like I could with a full set of fingers. I struggled to play even the simplest song that I had taught Mary so many days ago. Clumsily I stumbled my fingers across the strings.

I took a deep breath as the frustration was being built up in my mind. I had been able to play symphonies on my own with my skill. I would have to learn every instrument again if I was stuck as Dolan. No one would pay for just a storyteller without the ability to provide music beside it. After hours of struggling I gave up and sat the lute down in its case. My fingers ached at the alien tasks I was putting them through.

I paced around the room stretching my legs and trying to get my mind off of the struggles I was having just learning my most familiar instrument. I guess the centuries of playing it one way was really working against me. I had never thought that I would one day let myself be mangled beyond recovery without switching identities at the same time.

The day slipped by as I practiced off and on with my hands backwards. It felt like learning to walk again but being drunk at the same time. By the time the dinner was over and I was being summoned to see the Duke.

I was exhausted and tired as I was guided to the private study for the meeting with the Duke. As I entered the extravagant room I was met by the view of Heather Portage and her brother. She seemed uncomfortable and pale. The Duke motioned for me to sit down without speaking a word and I did my best not to drag my feet with how tired I was. The chair engulfed me as I sat down and struggled to keep my back straight.

The Duke didn’t go through the usual chit chat and instead jumped to the point. “It seems my sister has not had her flow when it usually comes. This may indicate that she will be with child so she will be sent to our estate far from the capital. However, as I would have usually banished you with her so that you would be able to entertain my sister you have become a bit of a hero. Instead my wife will claim the child when it is born and they will be my third child.”

I wanted to warn them that my bloodlines never lasted long but that would have to reveal everything about my secret identities. “I see, and if her flow is just late then she will be safe at home with the rising stresses of the war. I’m sorry that this has been caused by me.”

“Caused by my sister, and my father who should have been in his right mind and kept her from seducing some random vagabond from the streets. I say this only because you are a hero now. We will be having you see the King himself and be given an audience. I ask that you wear the Portage colors and crest at the time. You’ve saved two very important people in such a small amount of time that some people thing you are both a blessing and a curse from the gods. So we will be having you go to the high church and you will be put through the blessing of the gods before you are given audience.” He took a deep breath and looked at me with a seriousness that shook me a little. “Do you understand the importance of all this?”

“I do,” I said with as much gravity as possible. My ploy had worked, I would be able to see the king.

Now to play my part.