A Country Falls (Greatest Thief 3) - Chapter 46: Chapter 46

I made a decision when he collapsed into the sand in the Deorun desert. I decided that I would never leave him behind again. My intentions had been good—to keep him out of the fighting and away from danger. But danger had found him in East Draulin, and brought him here. He would have safer staying with the camp from the start.
I picked him up, only half-hearing what Acen and Kor were saying to me. Flashbacks of the last time I'd held Finn like this bombarded me. In Zianna, with the noose still tied around his neck. This time, he wasn't quite as light or thin. There was a different sort of fragility to him. His skin was dry and caked in sand, and he was hot. Heat exhaustion, of course, it was common in the camp. Almost everyone had suffered from it from at least once. Even while I tried to attribute his condition to the sun, I still knew his time in Deorun wouldn't have been pleasant. I didn't know what they had done to him.
Still, I wanted to find the people who had hurt him and rip them apart with my bare hands.
I decided more than one thing on that day, but sneaking into Deorun took priority. I was pulled away into my world of fighting and politics, and I never got the chance to put my plan into action. It had to wait until we were back in East Draulin.
The morning Jalor and Mayah were going to be married, I woke up when the sun was just starting to rise. I tried to go back to sleep, but quickly gave up. I couldn't ignore the nervous fluttering in my stomach. Finn had attached himself to me in the night, and it took me a few moments to carefully slide off of the bed without disturbing him too much. I walked to my desk and stared down at the piece of parchment lying on it. It was the short speech I'd have to give at the wedding, almost taken word for word from the formal report I'd written earlier in the month. The one Finn had read over my shoulder.
I glanced over at the bed. He'd shifted, pulling the blankets up to his head. He was on the verge of being awake, but I didn't want to bother him. He learned to read over the course of the war. It wasn't how smart he was that confused me; it was his approach to his intelligence. I'd always been aware of it, lurking behind his act of being an illiterate, uneducated thief. He knew he was different, he was proud of it, and yet he hid it. It was another part of him that I felt like I'd never fully understand.
There was a knock on the door. Finn rolled over but didn't fully wake up, and I walked over to the door. Acen pushed it open just as I was reaching for the doorknob.
"Sorry, I didn't think you were awake." He walked past me carrying a large bundle of clothing, which he placed on the desk. When I joined him, he held out his right hand. I took what he was offering me without looking.
Finn was going to wake up and I had to speak quickly and quietly. "I don't know how much time we'll get to talk before the wedding, so—" I hesitated, glancing at the bed again. "Keep an eye on him during the celebration. I'll have to greet all the guests and answer questions about the war, and Goddess knows what else. Once things are starting to wind down, get him out onto one of the balconies. I'll—"
Finn mumbled something and I cut myself off sharply. He was awake, but hopefully he hadn't been listening.
"Finn, I know you're awake," I said. "Sit up." Sometimes I couldn't help but sound like I was ordering him around and I got annoyed every time I did it. It was the way I'd been raised to talk. A habit that was hard to break.
He sat up and looked like he was about to say something before changing his mind. He stared at me, his gaze wandering over my chest and for a moment locking on the amulet I was wearing. I was so used to it being there that I hardly noticed its weight anymore. I let myself stare back. He was wearing one of my blue tunics and it was far too big for him, but he enjoyed sleeping in it so I let him. And I liked it. There was something about him wearing my clothes that I simply liked.
"If you keep staring at him like that people are bound to notice."
At the same moment, Finn and I turned our attention to Acen. The teasing wasn't something I was used to, and I tried unsuccessfully to look annoyed.
"What do you want?" Finn asked. His annoyance was obvious.
Acen was amused. "I didn't realize you were so grumpy in the morning. I brought your clothes for today."
I shook my head and reached down to the clothing to distract myself. There was no need to show Acen how effective his teasing had been.
"My clothes?" Finn sounded endearingly excited about new clothes, as he always did. He pushed away the blanket and climbed out of bed. "Which ones are mine?" He asked as he joined us.
I barely noticed Acen excuse himself and leave. I was too enamoured with watching Finn inspect every piece of clothing I gave to him. So enamoured that I almost forgot the other surprise I had prepared for that morning. It wasn't until Finn went to pull off my old tunic that I remembered with a sudden jolt.
"Wait. I've arranged for us to have baths. They should be here any—"
The knock on the door was perfectly timed. The baths went by quickly. I wasn't quite bold enough to ask Acen to distract the servants so I could have Finn join me, so we took our baths separately. I went as quickly as I could to give Finn a little more time to enjoy his.
We got changed together. My clothes were nothing too exciting—just my normal regalia. I knew Finn loved it, but I was far more interested in his new clothes. He always looked good in dark clothes, and the tunic and pants were no exception. The cloak settled over his shoulders nicely. The style suited him. It looked expensive and proper, but it was easy to imagine him jumping to action to climb a wall or throw a knife. A long, sweeping cloak like mine would have looked silly on him.
Best of all, his freshly washed hair was drying into nice curls. His hair was always just a bit longer than what would be considered a 'proper' style by Teltish standards, while simultaneously being just a bit too short for the longer Teltish styles. I teased him about it occasionally, but really I adored his hair. It—
My thoughts cut off abruptly as I fumbled my cloak pin and pricked my finger.
Finn tilted his head a little. "Did you just prick yourself?"
"I wasn't thinking," I admitted. Except that I had been. I eyed my finger quickly to appraise the damage, but the prick wasn't even bleeding. It wasn't worth paying attention to with Finn right here. "I was admiring the view."
Finn laughed and hopped up onto the desk. He grabbed my hand and tugged me a step closer. He met my gaze for a moment, then slipped the cloak pin from my hand. "Let me do that." I lifted my chin a bit so he could place the pin. Without thinking, my hands drifted to rest on either side of his waist. "Are you nervous about today? Is it your speech?"
No, it wasn't my speech, but I shrugged like I wasn't sure. "Not so much for the speech, but yes."
Finn's hands were still at my neck. I felt him adjusting the collar of my tunic as he spoke. "Why? You've been to weddings before, haven't you?"
"Of course." It wasn't Jalor and Mayah's wedding I was nervous about, but it didn't surprise me that Finn had realized something was amiss. I just needed to steer him away from the real reason. "But this one is oddly personal. My knight marrying the woman I was supposed to marry." I said it to distract him, but it was true. It really was odd to think about the wedding. Losing Jalor was one thing. But just a few years ago, this would have been my wedding. Not that the war's outcome would have been the same without Finn.
"I'm really glad there was a way to break off your marriage agreement without hurting her," Finn said.
So was I. I hadn't known Mayah well before her city was attacked. For most of my life, she had been an acquaintance. Someone I was going to marry, regardless of whether or not we liked each other. Getting to know her had really changed my perspective on our betrothal. I could imagine us being happy together, if events had turned out that way. But the moment I met Finn that future with Mayah had become impossible. It really was a relief that I hadn't been forced to hurt her.
"Right, thank the Goddess," I said. Then I tried for a taunt to distract him, so he would hopefully stop thinking about why I was nervous. "I couldn't handle both East and West Draulin."
Finn went still. "Is that it?"
I smiled, pleased the distraction had worked. "I don't know what you're talking about."
His eyes narrowed, something he did when he was thinking. "You're a really bad liar."
"I love you." And I would have loved to stay in my chamber, but there were things I needed to get done. Both for Jalor's wedding, and my own surprise. I gave him a quick kiss, almost an apology for having to cut our time short. "I need to go talk to Tandrin and Jalor. Let's go."
Finn gave me another kiss before sliding off of the desk.
"I need you to do something for me, Tandrin." I stepped into his room without knocking. He was half-dressed, but I didn't care. We'd walked in on each other changing countless times as boys.
"Anything for you, little brother." He didn't care either. His attention was on the floor length mirror he had in the chamber he'd been given. He pulled on a tunic and stared at himself for a moment. It was blue. Some habits were hard to break. "Do you think anyone would notice the king wearing West Draulin's colour?"
"I don't think anyone will care, as long as you've got your gold cloak on." I picked it up for him, and draped it over his shoulders. "After the wedding, I need you to perform another marriage. Secretly."
"Secretly?" Tandrin echoed, still staring at himself as he did up the clasp on his cloak.
"Secretly," I repeated. I grabbed his ceremonial sword and the belt it was attached to, handing it over when he raised his arm to take it. "You know what I'm asking about."
Tandrin turned around and did up the buckle of his belt. He didn't look surprised—the politician in him knew how to act like he expected everything. "You can't get married secretly. Remember who you are. I know you love him but you can't marry him."
I'd been expecting this argument. "I suppose it's the same as your feelings for Esmeranda. I mean, you aren't married yet. I know you love her, but you can't share a bed. You can't have children."
"Don't bring them into this."
"We're Tandrans," I said. "We don't care about what's socially acceptable. We do what's right, isn't that what father always taught us? Our personal guards are made up of the most talented men, not the richest. We rode into war when other nobles hid in their cities. You invited the Native Zians to fight with us."
"We're reckless, is what you're saying."
"Tandrin, please."
My brother sighed dramatically. "Yes, I'll do it. I want you to be happy. But you'll have to be careful."
"I always am."
Tandrin smiled and punched my shoulder lightly. "There's our motto, little brother. Tandrans - we do whatever we want, and sometimes we're careful about it."
"Only sometimes," I said with a grin.
I was dancing with Lady Jensa of Jak when I noticed that Acen and Finn had moved. For most of the celebration they had been side by side against one of the walls. Finn had a plate of food, and the two of them were talking, and everything seemed to be going well. The entire evening, while talking to lords, ladies, generals, advisors and their families, I'd constantly kept an eye on the two of them. So I was surprised when I realized they were gone.
It only took me a moment to notice Acen standing in front of a set of balcony doors. It wasn't the main balcony, which I knew meant that it was time. The only obstacle was Lady Jensa. She was a few years younger than me, and very beautiful in her light blue dress. Light blue was the official colour of Jak, said to represent the fresh water of the AdymussRiver. In turn that meant the dark blue of West Draulin represented salt water, but I wasn't entirely sure of that explanation. I always felt like one of my ancestors had simply liked the colour.
I made my excuses as charmingly as I could, and slipped away from her. Tandrin was nearby, dancing with Tairia again. I had no idea how he managed to put aside so much time for her, but at least I didn't feel embarrassed to interrupt them.
"Tandrin, I need you to come talk to Acen."
"Acen?" Tandrin repeated. He'd heard me perfectly, but I knew it was his way of delaying the conversation and giving himself a second to understand what was going on. "Of course." He and Tairia took a step apart and Tandrin bowed deeply. "My apologies, little sister."
Our sister crossed her arms. I couldn't quite get over how grown up she looked. "You're going off to do something secret during Mayah's wedding?"
Tandrin grinned. "And who said anything about secrets?"
"Hmm." Tairia looked up and tapped her chin as if she was thinking. There was no mistaking the sarcastic flair in her movement. Like Tandrin, she had the Tandran dramatic streak. "I think I remember hundreds of times when we were children and you two would make some excuse to get away from me and do something secret."
"It was sword fighting," I said, which was mostly true. The simple explanation was that sometimes we had gotten tired of our little sister following us around.
Tairia wasn't convinced, but she waved us away anyway. "Go on. I have much more important people to visit. I can't waste my time with King Zianna and Lord West Draulin."
"Thank you," I said. Turning away from her, I made my way through the dancers until I reached Acen. Tandrin followed right behind me. "I'll knock when I need you," I told my brother. I opened the door and stepped onto the balcony. Before the door swung shut, I heard Tandrin striking up a conversation with Acen.
Finn was sitting on the balustrade, looking out at the city. An irrational fear spiked in my stomach. Finn claimed that he never fell, and I'd never seen him fall. That didn't stop me from being nervous.
"I know I shouldn't be concerned," I spoke up as I leaned against the marble balustrade beside him. "But even someone who never falls can slip up."
"I thought you were busy dancing."
There was a bite in his voice that I didn't like. Nerves tapped my fingers against the white marble. It had probably come from the Cliffs of Loth. "I was," I said. "The moment Tandrin whisked Tairia off, the ladies were asking me to dance. It wouldn't have been polite to refuse. I'm sorry. It's just..." What was it? It was expected. "A duty."
Finn still hadn't looked at me. "Everyone gets to be with you but me."
No, he couldn't possibly think that was true. "Nobody gets to be with me but you. Dancing isn't a marriage proposal, despite what some of them might have thought. Finn?" I touched his hand. "Can you turn around?"
He really was comfortable with heights. He turned his back to the fall and dangled his legs over my side of balustrade. I stepped in front of him and planted my hands on either side of his legs. It made me happier, knowing I could grab him if he seemed to lose his balance.
"I'm sorry about the women," I said. I needed him to hear it. "I got away as soon as I could."
He bit his lower lip. "I know."
"If I wasn't Lord West Draulin I could be the person you deserve. Someone who could touch you in public without having to worry about who might be watching. Someone who could ignore women without any concerns for reputation or etiquette. Imagine if I was one of your thieves."
He almost smiled. "You'd be dead."
That was not the answer I had been expecting. "What?"
"You're good at what you do. But I don't think you'd be very good at what I do." Finn kissed me. "I love that you're Lord West Draulin. Honestly, I do. So much of who you are is because of the life you were born into. Your parents and Tandrin and Tairia and the knights all shaped who you are. I don't care if you're rich enough to buy a whole city, or that you have to go to meetings and play polities and think about your reputation. I love you anyway. You're going to do so much good for the kingdom, because you're noble, and you're always trying to learn more, and you want to do what's right. You couldn't do that if you weren't Lord West Draulin."
"I couldn't do it without you, either." Finn never wanted to take credit for how much he had changed me, but that wasn't the point of us being on the balcony. I slipped his necklace from under his cloak and let the rings settle in my hand. "Do you ever think about how important these two rings are? The Order ring is why we met, and the Champion ring is because you saved me in Deorun."
"My life was pretty boring before you came along," he said.
That was far from the truth, but I moved forward with my true question. The whole reason we were here. "How would you like to add to the collection?"
He didn't get it. "You know how I feel about rings, I'd—wait." Understanding dawned. He was so smart. "Wait. Don't say that unless you mean it."
I grinned. "I mean it."
"You're not just feeling bad about the dancing thing?"
"If I was feeling bad about the dancing thing, I wouldn't be prepared with rings." Acen had handed them to me that very morning. I'd spent days mulling over what vow to engrave on them.
But of course, Finn was thinking. "You can't just... is this allowed? It is legal?"
The king himself was waiting to come officiate for us. The legality didn't matter. And even if it did, I would have found a way to change that. "I don't care. I'm Lord West Draulin and my brother is King Zianna. I'll change the laws. Say yes, Finagale."
He wasn't done. But far from being annoyed, his concern made me even more certain that marrying him was the right thing to do. "But... I don't know if... I don't want you to get in trouble." Then he paused, and a host of expressions crossed over his face. I was about to speak up again when he beat me to it. "Yes. Yes, on the condition that we do it my way the next time we're in Zianna."
I would do it any way he wanted me to. "By all means. I'll marry you as many times as you want me to. Get down." I quickly went to knock on the door so Tandrin knew to join us, then returned to Finn's side and took his hands. I barely heard Tandrin push open the door, lost in Finn's gaze. He was staring at me like I was a puzzle, the way he looked at everything.
Then I heard the last bit of Tandrin's sentence. "—know what you're doing."
I could imagine the first half easily enough. "I know exactly what I'm doing."
"All right, good." With his usual flare, Tandrin lifted his arms. "Lord Tandrix West Draulin, do you choose Finagale from Zianna to be your la—lor—"
We probably should have discussed the changes beforehand. "Thief," I said. "My thief."
He started again. "Lord Tandrix West Draulin, do you choose Finagale from Zianna to be your thief for now and forevermore, to spend this life with, until the Goddess welcomes you to her Realm?"
"Yes." The word sent a thrill of delight through me. "For now and forevermore."
"Finagale from Zianna, do you choose Lord Tandrix West Draulin to be your lord, for now and forevermore, to spend this life with, until..."
Finn supplied the answer. "Volava."
"Until Volava greets you in the next?"
"For now and forevermore. Yes." If saying the words myself had been exciting, hearing Finn say them was even better.
"Exchange your rings," Tandrin said.
I took out the rings. This was another thing I had spent time mulling over—where to wear the rings. The answer was actually quite obvious. Without a word, I unclasped Finn's necklace and strung the wedding ring on it. I redid the clasp and let the necklace hang on top of his tunic. I wanted to run my fingers over the rings. All three of them, so important to us in different ways. But I had to focus and say my declaration.
I had hoped the words would come to me, and luckily, Finn's unintentional declaration just a few moments earlier had inspired me. "You said that you love that I'm West Draulin." I caught his hands and linked our fingers. "I love that you're a thief. You had such a hard childhood, but you came out of it as an incredibly good person. That's a testament to your strength. You're talented and quick and intelligent, and I love everything about you. And I'm grateful beyond words that you're so patient with me, filling in those gaps in the way I see the world. Thank the Goddess you stole that ring and climbed into the Order. I can't imagine my life without you." With a smile, I gave him my ring. "All right, your turn."
Finn knew exactly what to do. He untied the leather cord around my neck. The ring clinked against my Zianesa amulet. Another symbol of our love. He tied the cord around my neck again, and took a deep breath.
"For now and forevermore, for every sunset and every stolen moon."
"Do you like it?"
Finn's warm eyes met mine. "I love it."
Tandrin clapped, the sound quite sharp after Finn's gentle words. "Alright. I am very pleased to name you lord and... thief, I suppose. Tannix, you may kiss your la—him. Just kiss him."
I didn't need to be told twice.