A Country Falls (Greatest Thief 3) - Chapter 38: Chapter 38

Our talk did Jalor some good. Over the next few days, he made small, tentative efforts to join the knights. The men were amazing, welcoming him back like nothing had changed. But something had changed, of course. Jalor was not quite himself. He was quieter, less likely to join in on conversations or jokes. Content to just sit and listen. I often found myself wondering what he was thinking about in those moments.
Then one evening, I was in the barracks again, sitting with the knights around a fire when Tannix, Acen and Jalor walked into the little courtyard. Tannix and Acen were beaming, and between them Jalor looked sheepish. We all immediately understood what had happened, but nobody said a word. We waited for Jalor to confirm what we were all thinking.
He looked around the fire, eyes landing on each of us. "Yes," he finally said. "I told Mayah that I'll marry her."
"Congratulations, mate!" Kor said, getting to his feet. He hugged Jalor, and as soon as he stepped back Ender was there to take his place.
"Lord East Draulin," Ender said when he released Jalor. "Who would've ever guessed that two Crelan lads would have both Draulin lords for brothers?"
Jalor swatted his shoulder jovially. "Don't. I don't want to hear the title until I have to." He sidestepped the twins to make his way around our circle, accepting hearty handshakes and thumps on the back from Mandell, Evrik and Joen. He even shook Castin's hand, although they had barely interacted.
After he'd made his rounds and we were all sitting around the fire cradling tankards of something I really didn't enjoy the taste of, the questioning began.
"So," Evrik broached the topic first. "Are you going to tell us how it happened, my friend?"
Acen chuckled. "Don't expect some big romantic story."
"I don't remember your proposal to my cousin being particularly romantic, either," Jalor replied, without looking at Acen. "We were having dinner. Just Tannix, Acen, Mayah and myself. She was talking about the education system she's going to put in place, and I realized... well, no." His eyes caught mine across the circle. "It confirmed what I've always known about her. She cares deeply about every single person in this city, and she wants to help them in every way that she can. So, I asked what I could do to help."
Tannix nodded. "Mayah looked shocked."
"She asked if that meant I was going to stay in East Draulin," Jalor continued. "So, I said that if she would still have me, I would be honoured to stay. And she said that she would have me."
"Well, well, well." Kor shook his tankard with every word. "This'll be your third title, won't it? Lord Jalor from Vasel, Sir Lord Jalor of the West Draulin Guard, Lord Jalor East Draulin."
Jalor groaned.
Tannix laughed. "You'll get used to it."
"And being stalked by guards?" Jalor asked dryly.
"Oh. They're annoying at first, of course," Tannix said. "But you'll get pretty fond of them before long."
Jalor chuckled.
We continued talking, laughing and drinking long into the night. I had decided early on to pass off my tankard to Castin, and so I was the only one of us still completely sober when the twins started to sing.
Kor started it, throwing his arm over Ender's shoulders so dramatically that he spilled half of his drink. "Sailing across the ocean blue."
Without pause, Ender picked up the song, "We're the lads that'll get you through."
"So climb aboard, the bell to ring."
Together, they yelled the next line. "We've got the blood of the Sailor King!"
I spoke into the lull that followed. Every other conversation had gone silent. "I didn't know you could sing."
Ender laughed. "Finn, mate, we're drunk."
"An' Crelan shanties aren't hard to sing, aye," Kor added. "Across the seas we do explore, sometimes too we go ashore. On beaches, islands, we may roam-Ender, sing with me."
"Always return to the sea, our home!" they yelled together.
Ender took a gulp from his tankard, and started the next section. "Aboard this ship we all belong, Crelan lads, all come along! We're brothers all, captain and crew."
"Sailing across the ocean blue!" Kor finished. Then gesturing at the circle with his free arm, he added, "That's us, mates. 'cept we'd have to change the line to..."
"Brothers all, lord and knights," Ender suggested.
Kor nodded enthusiastically. "Aye, yes. Right." He cleared his throat. "'Cause..." He drew the word out, and somehow they both knew exactly when to launch into the final lines of their song.
"... there ain't no lad like a Crelan lad! Come on, my brothers, set sail to sea!"
Mandell started clapping, and the others followed suite. When the clapping died down, Tannix got to his feet.
"Thank you for that wonderful performance. Now, I hate to cut the night short, but I'm ready to head back to the castle. I know." He grinned and waved away the knights' groans. "I'm sorry. You can keep celebrating. Who's on tonight?"
Evrik dragged himself up. "Me. It's me."
"I'll come," Jalor chimed in. "It's been a long day."
"It really has," Tannix agreed. "Well, let's go. Finn?" He offered me his hand.
I pulled myself up, and for a moment let myself dream about him holding my hand all the way up to the castle. But as nice as the dream was, I wasn't disappointed when he let go. That was the way it had to be.
Tannix and Jalor talked as we walked back to the castle. Evrik and I kept a few paces behind, letting them have some privacy. They would probably have a lot to talk about over the coming weeks. Beside me, Evrik starting talking about Mandell's injury.
"-and Mandell was swinging his mace, breaking shields like they were nothing. Blood just... pouring out of his hand. I couldn't tell how bad the damage was. Barely even had a chance to look at him. So we-"
Movement in the darkness caught my eye a split second before someone separated from the shadows ahead of us and launched at Tannix. My hand flew to my belt, but I wasn't wearing my knives. Just as quickly, Evrik ripped out a throwing axe and tossed it.
It caught the back of the attacker's knee, and they stumbled. That was enough to get Tannix and Jalor's attention. A heartbeat later, Jalor had the man pinned against the wall with a knife at his throat.
Evrik moved to help him, quickly turning the man around and tying his wrists together.
Tannix hadn't moved. "Jalor," he said, as Jalor stepped back to let Evrik handle the attacker. "All of you always tease me about guarding myself. I think your knights are going to have the exact same problem."
Jalor adjusted the clasp on his shoulder, and straightened the cloak so it hung properly over his missing arm. "If my knights whine about that, it means I'm still capable of fighting for myself. Hand him over, Evrik. I'll deal with him."
Evrik turned the man so Jalor could grab his bound wrists. "Finn could run back and get one of the others."
"No, I can do it myself," Jalor said. "Lord West Draulin was just attacked in what'll soon be my barracks. I can't allow that. I'll look into it and fill you in tomorrow." But it apparently wasn't that easy, because he looked at Tannix for confirmation. "Do you agree?"
"Of course," Tannix said. "Thank you."
Jalor tried to disguise his look of relief with a brisk nod, and led the attacker away. After a moment, we continued towards the castle. Although we didn't let Tannix get so far ahead again.
I was woken up sometime that night to Tannix kissing my forehead. I stirred and tried to snuggle closer against his side, only to realize that he wasn't lying down. I opened my eyes.
"What's happening?"
"Jalor needs to see me."
I started to sit up, but Tannix lay a hand on my chest.
"No, go back to sleep. I just didn't want you to wake up alone, that's all."
"I can come," I said, but I was already getting comfortable. The blankets were so warm.
"No," he repeated, with a smile. He leaned down for a proper kiss. Then he was gone, and it didn't take me long to fall back into sleep.
The next morning, I woke to find that Tannix was back. Just not in bed. He was sitting at the desk, writing. Scraps of paper covered the desk haphazardly, like he had pushed them away in annoyance. He looked over when I sat up and smiled. "Good morning. You don't have to get up yet."
I was awake enough that I doubted I would fall back asleep. "What did Jalor want last night?"
"It was about the attacker, that's all."
"What about him?"
He put down his quill and leaned back in his chair. "He's an Associate, but he was willing to talk once I bought his contract. So, I have an assassin for the next three months."
I wanted to join him by the table, but the room was chilly and the bed was so warm. After a moment of thought, I wrapped one of the blankets around myself and climbed out of bed to shuffle across the cold paving stones. Tannix watched my progress, one eyebrow cocked.
"Who sent him?" I didn't wait for an invitation, just settled on his lap.
Tannix's hands found my waist, despite the thick blanket. "Kalvahi. But we don't have to worry about Jindev-the Associate. He's staying locked up for now. Is that enough information for you?"
It was. I turned my attention to the mess of papers on his desk. "What are you working on?"
"Jalor's discharge papers."
"Oh, that sounds important. Carry on." After a quick kiss, I climbed off of his lap.
With a laugh, Tannix turned back to his work. I let the blanket fall to the floor and got changed quickly, picking out clean pants and a thick long-sleeved tunic. Then, because the air coming in through the windows really was quite cold, I draped the blanket back over my shoulders like an enormous cloak. I walked over to Tannix and peered over his shoulder.
"Re-gar-ding Sir Lord Jalor from Vasel, of the West Draulin Guard-is that his full title?"
Tannix turned around sharply, jaw dropped. "You can read?"
"That's a pretty long title."
"Keep going." He slid the parchment aside so it was right in front of me.
I sighed. "I, Lord West Draulin, de-clare that Sir Lord Jalor is leaving my guard with full... honours. His dis-charge is due to injuries re... received in battle, having sa-cri-ficed his arm to save my life. I give Sir Lord Jalor my full per-mission to become Lord East Draulin, married to Lady Mayah East Draulin, under her a... authority. Further...more, Sir Lord Jalor will retain his kin..."
"Knighthood."
"Knighthood, having earned his title at the age of twenty-one." I looked up. "So, does he get to be Sir Lord Jalor East Draulin?"
"He could call himself that, but it would be odd," Tannix said. "When did you learn to read?"
"Mayah taught me. We worked on the letters for a bit before Kassia got us. And then a little bit in Deorun, while Jalor was asleep."
"That quickly? That was barely three weeks in Deorun."
I nodded slowly. "Is that unusual?" He didn't immediately answer so I added, "She taught me the letters and sounds before we got captured. Putting them together wasn't really that hard. I was just practicing in Deorun."
"Three weeks," Tannix repeated.
"I take it that's unusual."
"Can you write?"
I thought about that for a moment, then nodded. "I think so. Phonetically, at least." It was a word he had taught me back in Zianna, when he'd first show me how to write our names.
He pulled over a scrap of paper with a crossed-out version of Jalor's papers, and handed me the quill. "Write something. Write... My name is Finn and I am from the city of Zianna."
I accepted the quill with my left hand. Carefully, contemplating each sound and the letter than went with it, I wrote out the sentence.
Tannix beamed when I finished. "That's almost exactly right! Finn, you're incredible. I want to try something else." He took the quill from me and dropped it into the inkpot, then got to his feet. "Close your eyes for a moment." I did as I was told and listened as he moved around the room for a few minutes. "All right, open them."
One of his shirts was draped over the top of the desk. "Look at this," he said, picking up the tunic. I'd hardly had a chance to understand what he wanted me to look at before he dropped the tunic again. "Tell me everything you can remember. Describe the objects."
It was easy enough to see where this was going. I pictured the desk in my head. "A copper siya, a silver siya, your Order ring, a silver letter opener shaped like a dagger, a sealed bottle of black ink, two quill tips, a folded piece of paper, a stick of green wax and a stamp, a chunk of charcoal, and a bit of red string."
Tannix's eyes were wide as he picked up the tunic to reveal everything I had listed, and not a single extra item. "How did you do that?"
"I don't know. You showed me and I remembered."
"Not long enough for you to remember everything," Tannix said.
I shrugged. "But I did."
"Most people can't do that." He leaned back against the desk and crossed his arms. "Close your eyes again."
I did, patiently resigning myself to his tests.
"Keep your eyes closed. How many windows are open?"
"Two," I replied easily. "That's why it's so cold in here."
"How many carpets and where are they?"
That question was just as easy. "Three. There's the large one by the fireplace. One under the bed, and one under the desk."
"Colours?"
"They're all green. The one by the fire is darker."
"How many..." he paused. "How many red books are there on the shelf?"
That took some thought. "Twenty...six. No, twenty-five."
I imagined he was counting, because he hesitated before asking another question. "How many paintings do I have in my room at home?"
It had been ages since I had last been there, but it wasn't a hard question. "Four."
"Describe them."
"There's a painting of your Goddess above the fireplace. Above your bookshelf there's a huge one of two ships, with the sun setting behind them. To the left of the door there's a family portrait. You're all young. Your father has his left arm around your mother's waist. She's holding Tairia, who I'd guess is three or four. You and Tandrin are standing in front, and his hand is on your shoulder. Then above your bed there's the big landscape of the cliffs. There's also a tapestry near your changing screen, of two knights on horseback. I know you didn't ask about that, but..." I trailed off and shrugged. "Can I open my eyes now?"
"Yes."
Tannix was still leaning against the desk, eyeing me curiously. "What you just did isn't normal. You know that, right?"
This was becoming a much longer conversation than I wanted. I pulled out Tannix's chair, sat, and adjusted the blanket more snugly around me. "Why are you so surprised? You know I can do this."
"I knew you could do it with maps. I didn't realize you can do it with everything you look at."
"Well... I can. But I know it isn't normal. Of course I know that. That's why I try to hide it."
"Why hide it?"
"Because..." I felt like I was talking to Kassia again. "Being different wasn't safe, before. In Zianna."
Tannix tilted his head quizzically. "Didn't you used to call yourself the greatest thief in Zianna? I think that qualifies as being different."
He had me there. "I was cocky," I admitted. "And I never really meant that, anyway. Well... It was true, but it was also a joke." I drew up one leg, looped my arms around my knee, and ran through all those conversations with Kassia again. It occurred to me for the first time that Kassia might have actually understood me more than Tannix did. That didn't seem right. "I've always known that my mind works differently, but I didn't want other people to know. I slipped up with gambling, because it was such an easy way to make money. But everything else? I don't know how to explain it. I remember things. I notice things. I'm good at fitting those things together. And sometimes, I'm just lucky."
Tannix, arms still crossed, tapped his right fingers on his left arm. I watched his rings flash as they caught sunlight from the windows. He opened his mouth, closed it, then opened it again. "It looks like luck to outsiders, and maybe sometimes it is just that. But I think you're doing a lot of it yourself. Reading small signals in the way someone is moving or speaking, connecting things together, anticipating what's about to happen, simply having very quick reflexes. Maybe you're not always aware of how much thought goes behind everything you do. And all of this is innate talent mixed with honing your skills to survive the streets. You're astounding."
"You're Lord West Draulin, you're not supposed to be this impressed by an orphan thief." I said it lightly enough to come off as a joke, but there was truth behind my words.
Tannix saw right through it. "I'm impressed by skills, regardless of who possesses them. Skills are much more impressive than inherited titles." He dropped to one knee in front of the chair, and reached out to stroke my cheek. "But in this particular case, being an orphan thief makes you that much more astounding. You're constantly surprising me. I love you, Finn."
Briefly, I let myself wonder how many people he had willingly knelt in front of. Then I cursed my unusual mind for thinking that instead of enjoying the moment.
Tannix's left hand joined his right, cupping both sides of my face. I pushed away all stupid thoughts, buried my hands in his perfect hair, and leaned forward to meet his lips with my own. After a moment, my thumb found the scar on his jaw and I sat back. That night in West Draulin, Tannix had kissed every one of my scars. I wanted to do the same for him. I wanted to find every scar he'd earned in the war.
I gave him another quick kiss. "Is anyone expecting you this morning?"
Instead of replying, Tannix stood up, scooped me into his arms, and carried me back towards the bed.