It was her job, after all, so why not help the woman do it?
"Let's go then? It's a bit late, but I know for a fact he isn't working first thing in the morning, so let's pound on his door and set this right. If nothing else we can claim that you're his new girlfriend and then he'll have to let you stay." That would be funny, but probably not needed. Tor wasn't mean after all, and wouldn't turn the woman away, Tiera didn't think.
They rode in near silence, and landed in front of the small, but very nice looking house. It was still four stories high, but narrow, compared to any other dwelling she'd seen like it before. It was Ali that let them in, her eyes a bit puffy from sleep still, but she hugged Tiera and being rather friendly, did the same with the Royal Guard, who she knew by name.
"Is something wrong?"
Tiera shrugged, and nodded at the same time.
"Yes. Kara is supposed to live with you and Tor, and has been, but no one knew how to tell Tor that his Royal Guard detail was supposed to do that, since he's a bit of a stupid head sometimes." She stopped and wrinkled her nose. "True, one of the
best
stupid heads in the world, but still... So I told her that you'd see to this, get her a room and talk Tor into keeping her around like she should be. In fact, you should hire more guards. After..." She nearly didn't say anything, but then decided that it wasn't a good thing to keep secret. "There was an attack the other day. Three clones of the Gray Ancient. I don't know that they'd come for Tor, but they seemed to be after Tim, so I can't promise that. Give Kara the gold and let
her
hire some people. Maybe some of the kids from the fighters section? I know they aren't real warriors yet, but some are pretty good, and it has to be good experience, doesn't it?"
That was all she had to do, and the other two took over by themselves. All they had to do then was convince Tor that it was the right thing to do. Tiera had no clue as to if that would go over with him or not, but she didn't really care at the moment, wanting sleep above almost all else.
Ali smiled and showed her to a room, since it was closer to the bakery anyway, she claimed, and she got to sleep only a few minutes later. It was silent, except for the beating of her own heart and the sound of her breath. That was all, until about three-thirty, when her door cracked open and someone called out to her.
"Time to get ready." It was Tor, so she sat up and rubbed her eyes, rather than rushing him while screaming to distract whoever it was from what was happening. People could only track so many things at once after all, so if you could overload that, they'd miss things. You didn't get to pick what they lost track of, unfortunately, but about half the time it would work in your favor.
"I'm up. I have the key. Thanks."
"Thank you. I need to hire a full time assistant or two, so I can take time off on occasion. Ma and pa never did, but I keep forgetting that they had two of them, plus all us kids. It makes a difference."
He had a point, and after running herself under some hot water, she could see it as a good one. Most new bakers had to work every day for a long time, so Tor had just assumed that would be him as well, except that his shop, while real, was mainly his hobby. That, or a disguise he was using while doing something else.
That didn't really seem like him, as far as she knew, but he'd changed a lot over the last years. She had too, even more recently, so it was possible that he had secrets now.
She felt better as she walked down the stairs, her nose suddenly hit with the scent of breakfast. It probably wasn't for her, but when she popped her head into the kitchen Tor nodded at the pan on the stove. It was a slick looking black thing that didn't need a fire, with eggs and sausages in a pan that seemed to be made of milky brown glass.
"Be just a minute here. I think you have time. You'll want to eat first, or the scent of the yeast will make you feel ill.
I
find that to be true now. I think it's related to the growth, so it might be both of us. Gerent too, but I don't think he can bake much yet." He focused on the food, making sure it was done to the right level, taking things off at what seemed to be the perfect time and giving her the first plate, which she ate at the table, using a real silver fork for it. He had nice things. Lots of them.
"Thanks. Oh, Tor... could I have a few thousand flying rigs and shields for my new military forces? Some weapons too? I was talking to Count Peterson about it last night and he suggested that I give it a try. Maybe some space vehicles for his flyers corps too? It can't hurt to have more people working on it. Not really."
That got him to turn and look at her, if not for long, since he needed to manage the new batch of food it seemed. That part seemed a bit overdone, how intently he was focusing on it, but her bite of egg showed that it was paying off. The sausage too, when she had some. Perfectly done inside and crispy all the way around on the outside, without being tough.
He nodded, but it had an abstract feeling to it all.
"No, on the magics for you. I gave you a starting batch, but you can make your own. I know you aren't wild about copying things, but you should learn. It will save me time, and you gold, in the long run, even if you never learn to build anything of your own. You can turn shields off from the outside, during a
fight
, which means you can copy without a template. After the first few I suggest you start doing them ten or twenty at a time." The sound of moving food was all that there was for a bit. "As to Count Peterson... I think that can be arranged. Really I should have you run those up too, but you probably aren't up to it yet. Maybe I'll see if Taman wants to take a crack at it?" He didn't seem to be making fun of her, but it felt like it anyway.
Taman was nearly six, but already a full builder. It was something that made Tiera proud, but also feel a bit inferior. She couldn't even make copies of things without a template. Though, Tor was the Master Builder and had gotten the Lairdgren Group to do it, making up to a hundred copies at once, so maybe it was possible? He really seemed to think she could do it too. It didn't sound like fun, and given her schedule would probably have to come out of her sleep time, but it wasn't unfair to ask her to do her own work.
"I'll see if I can manage that. Well..." She had food left, so just ate for a bit then and then started to rinse her plate, a nice china thing, only to have Tor gesture to the trash bin.
"Guide dishware." He said it as if that would explain it to her. Since it did, and she got the idea instantly, she tossed the thing. It would vanish when the field was turned off, so this way the film of grease on it wouldn't hit the floor, or table top.
Then she waved to him and left, the key in her pocket, next to her communications device. It was going to be a bit of an interesting day she thought, not knowing where anything would be kept. Except that Tor had recreated the bakery they'd grown up in as far as layout. The work tables and ovens were magical and looked like fine metals or stone, but they were the same size as the wood and brick things they'd always used in Two Bends. Tiera got into what would look like old school browns, so that she'd look like a baker, instead of a noble, and found the flour, sugar and starter exactly where she expected them to be. It was kind of telling, after a fashion. Easier for her though.
Then for three and a half hours she simply worked, making six kinds of bread, four types of sweet rolls, and hand pies, or something that should be close enough. She didn't have his recipe for those, but what she made was as good, she thought, eating an apple spice one, before opening the front door. There was more to be made, which was good, since no one came in until ten.
That was one of the girls from school, who seemed to be a second year, and had pretty blonde hair, and blue eyes. She looked a bit familiar, but it took a second for a name to come.
"Demis?"
The girl smiled at her and waved a bit.
"Hello! Is Tor in? I wanted to ask him something."
"Nope. He's down in the Capital today. He should be back tomorrow. Can I help you with anything?" She barely knew the girl, but if she was willing to come to talk to Tor, they must be friends.
"I don't think so. I was... kind of hoping that he'd go with me to the student dance next week. Alyssa said I should ask him, since she's going to be working. I mean, I asked her if it was all right first, but she said yes. So unless you want to go with me instead..." She dimpled and blushed a bit. "We never did get to sleep together. We should sometime, if you want."
Tiera nodded.
"Definitely ask Tor to the dance then. As to the other thing, I'd love to. I don't know if I ever get to have any free time again, but that sounds fun." She meant it, which the girl seemed to get, acting flattered for some strange reason, as if it wasn't all about showing the whole world that Tiera wasn't really an evil Doretta.
She got the girl a sweet roll and didn't let her pay for it, since they'd just been talking about having sex. She ate it at the table, chattering while Tiera worked.
"So, who are you going with? I heard from a little bird that Mitchell from the combat section was asking about you the other day. I also heard that you sucked him off by the wood pile?"
Tiera choked a bit and had to actually gasp for air.
"You heard that? From who?"
There was a gleam in Demis's eye as she took a nice big bite of sweet roll, the frosting being licked off her fingers gently as she looked directly at her. It meant she didn't answer quickly at all.
"Oh, from Alyssa. Her sister told her. Also about you and Sam Builder? Is he any good? I wouldn't have thought to try there, to tell you the truth. A bit common looking, though I hear that can have its charms." She grimaced and shook her head. "Sorry, that wasn't what I meant. I hope I didn't give insult?"
"Not really. I know that I'm short, for now. It's funny, but no one realizes that I've been growing almost an inch per week lately. You'd
think
that it would make a difference, but no. No special presents, letters, or even anyone noticing that it's going on. I'm going to be seven feet tall and everyone will still think I'm a commoner, won't they?" She could have sounded sad and felt it a little, but it came out comical and Demis stared at her and actually ran around the counter to stand right next to her, frowning.
She was taller than Tiera was, but the girl held a hand up by her head and made a face.
"You
are
taller! I thought, you know, with Tor and your other brother, Tim, both being small..."
"Tor is growing too, and Timon's
only
twelve, so how tall is he supposed to be yet?"
The girl bowed then and actually held it.
"Well, I apologize for my thoughts. That was horrid of me. Can you forgive me? I'll make it up to you..." It would have been sweeter if she wasn't clearly looking at the baked goods in the display case. Giants were almost always hungry. She got that now herself, and made up a little basket for the girl to take with her.
She wasn't the last person to come in, but ninety percent of them were school girls, and a few women from local shops, including the florist from across the way, who admitted that she was mainly trying to work up the nerve to ask if Tor was seeing anyone.
Tiera shrugged.
"Well, he's married, but don't let that stop you. Noble rules, and all that." She said it easily enough that it sounded almost like she meant it and everything.
It was a lot easier to apply those rules to yourself than people you knew, it seemed. That might just be her however, with her distinctly backwards upbringing.
It wasn't until the end of the day that things really changed much at all. The girl that came through the door was familiar, after all. Tiny and perfect, but also suspiciously alone.
"Hello, Taman. Come to visit?"
The girl nodded and tried very hard not to look like she'd been caught doing something wrong.
It wasn't quite working.
Very properly, with great confidence, and all the courage that a tiny girl in a white dress could muster, Taman explained herself.
"I've decided to move from home. Mother and I have been fighting, and I think it's for the best." It sounded completely reasonable when she said it too. Except for the being five part. That was a bit of a sticking point, to be sure.
Tiera nearly just told her to go home. She'd gotten there after all, and it wasn't going to work. Their mother would rip the land apart trying to find her if she wasn't there by dinner time. True, she
might
be the Gray Ancient, in mind as well as body, but even if that was the case, no one had ever claimed that Gray didn't love her daughters. Still, it would set a bad example for the others if it were known she tried to escape.
"Why have you two been fighting?" That would be the key, wouldn't it? If it were something reasonable, like insisting the little girl bathe and brush her teeth, then it would be simple enough to fix, with a bit of coaxing and perhaps a few well placed swats. She wasn't a bad girl at all, so it seemed strange that she'd actually be fighting with anyone. In fact Tiera had to wonder if their mother even knew they were in particular conflict at all.
Taman didn't speak at all for nearly half a minute, and when she did it was a whispered thing that a normal person wouldn't have heard, not without moving closer.
"She said I was too young to be building things, and that I wasn't allowed to anymore. I know that she didn't mean I wasn't good enough. It's that she thinks I'll hurt someone with what I make. Only, I'm
really
careful and she's just bossing me because she's bigger. I think she hates me." The whole speech came with pouting and a single tear that decorated her left cheek. It was artful and meant to pull at the strings of any adult's heart. Tiera used to use the same tricks.
"I think I see. Well, you can't move in with Tor, and are a bit too young to help run a bakery full time yet. What do you plan to do?"
She had a plan, that was clear.
"I'll build things, and make copies. Then get a place to live. I just need someplace for a little while, while I get the rest together." It sounded cute when she said it, like it would really work. The problem there was that it
might
. It wouldn't matter if she was five or six years old, as long as the work was good enough. There was even a market for things that might not be
as
good, as long as they were cheaper.
That would make it a lot harder to get her to go home than not.
"Well, you should get in touch with mother and father at least, and let everyone know where you are. It might mean a fight with ma and pa, but that's better than just vanishing, even if it seems harder right now. Let's see..."
She used her new communications device to try and find someone from home that might pass a message for her. That meant searching by last name, since doing it by first would take far too long.
It was interesting, but the one she found was Terry, one of her younger brothers. That was strange, since she would have thought her mother would have one first, but no, it was the nine year old. Or at least someone with the same name.
She decided to try it anyway, which meant a short ten minutes later, the device picked up.
"Hello? This is Terry Baker. Who's this?"
"Terry? It's Tiera. It seems that Taman left home, and came here. I don't suppose you could find ma or da for me, could you?"
That was, it turned out, possible, but he recommended that she disconnect from the line, being that he might well have to walk all over the village to do it. It worked out, since she needed to pack things up to go to the Space Training center. Those went on trays made from focus stone, but had lids to protect the product from the elements or crushing, so they got stacked seven high, which cleaned the shop out that way.
No one connected back with her from Two Bends, so she started to fish her Fast Craft out, only to have her little sister move forward, holding what seemed to be a copper coin. When she tapped it, a tiny floating craft appeared. It was big enough for two small people and the baked goods, but Taman just opened the hatch on the back, as if it was only logical to take
her
vehicle.
Then she motioned for Tiera to get in, closing it up tight. It was a shining yellow color that seemed happy and like it belonged to a little girl. The seats felt like leather, but were also yellow, if a darker shade. It was nearly oppressive, it was so cheery.
She got in, not knowing what to expect, but they both had shields on, and it seemed solid enough, if clearly different than the other carriages she'd seen.
"Which way?"
She looked around, but waved in the right direction which would be down the main road, in case the top speed wasn't that good, or it didn't fly at all. It was more one than the other. It was fast, for a ground vehicle. Easily faster than a military Tor-shoe. The girl slowed way down though, as soon as someone came into sight, being an old man leading a mule cart in the first case. The animal froze, clearly not all that excited about the bright new thing, but the man just shook his head and then gaped at the little girl driving it.
"It took
hours
to get here." Her voice sounded like a little kid pretending to be old, but was precise, and explained things clearly. "I know it isn't that fast, but I was thinking that, if I sold them for about five gold each, maybe people would let their children drive them? I could even go cheaper than that for a while, so that I can build a little coin to begin with. If I redesigned it a bit, I think that farmers might be able to use them too. Sell a village ten of them for a gold each and they could share?" It didn't sound like the girl had a real idea of how that kind of thing worked, and was really just guessing.
That she was probably pretty close to what people might actually want was surprising though. It sounded like she'd had help with it. Tiera didn't really care from who, since it all skipped merrily passed the fact that her little sister
wasn't
doing that. Not at her age. Not even if she had to drag her back to the forest kicking and screaming.
So instead of agreeing to the real plan, Tiera nodded, and started to talk about other things.
"Right, set it up to be able to carry goods directly from the farm fields, say in a floating wagon that could be pulled behind it? That... It's actually a very good idea. If you're willing to give them away, that would help a lot of people. Could you work up a few designs for that? I mean on paper." She looked out the window and guessed that they were moving down the road at about forty miles per hour. It was a careful speed, and Taman went even slower every time they passed a person at all.
Being
very
careful and not like a reckless hellion at all. Tiera probably would have been trying to go full speed, just to see what it could do, wouldn't she? Not the girl next to her. It made a prohibition against her working seem a bit heavy handed. Not if that was the real purpose behind it. Keeping her safe.
Taman didn't look away from the path in front of her, but smiled and nodded.
"I don't know how to read or write, but I can make the plans for it. Do you think it could really be useful? So far I haven't made anything like that. Not that's just mine."
"Oh, well, yes, if you make those and all that I'll buy them from you myself. Not, mind, that I have any coin right now. It will take a while, but first we have to get you home and figure out what the hell mother is thinking."
The girl next to her stopped suddenly, right in the middle of the road and turned to her, eyes wide. Really Tiera wondered if she were going to try and run off right then, hearing her plan, or at least intent, but she just tightened her lips a bit and shook her head. It was a lot more like da than ma.
"Watch your language."
Oh,
hell
.
Tiera didn't let herself smirk at the girl, just nodding.
"Thank you for the correction. I'll do that. Now, can you tell me exactly what ma said to you about all this? The last I heard she was very proud of you. I can see why too. No one told me that you were a builder already, except in passing. I can even see how that might freak our parents out a bit, since it means that you have power. Don't let that go to your head, since you have a lot of relatives that can paddle you if you misbehave anyway. Not that you do..."
That got the girl to start again. The little craft floated onward without making a sound at all, which was normal for that kind of thing, but after a few seconds, she tried to articulate what had happened, as best she could.
"It's... Ma... Mother says that I shouldn't be working for days at a time, not moving or playing, and that it isn't healthy for me. I just want to build, but now she says I have to go to school, or get a tutor, and if I don't pick one, she's going to do it for me. I didn't wait for her to do that and left, because she won't listen to me. I'm just... little." She didn't grump at the end, or even pout, but it put a very different spin on things, to Tiera's ears.
"Ah." She didn't add anything for a long time, since she really didn't want the girl to turn the craft off and dump them both on the road to try and get away. It wouldn't hurt them, of course, because they had good shields, but the baked goods just didn't.
After thinking about that for a minute or two, watching the scenery pass, she mentioned the idea to her sister.
"Hey, could you make little shields that could be placed on objects? Like goods to be shipped, to protect them? It would really only need to protect against impact and being dropped. Maybe heat? The thing there is that it would have to be able to be turned off from the outside, by regular people. If you can do that, people could save on packaging for fragile goods, or things that can't really be packed up at all, like baked goods."
"I... think so. Tor could do it faster. I'm really not very good yet. Plus, you aren't going to let me, are you? You think I should go home and do what ma says."
Tiera nodded. It was the truth and lying to someone that could make anything she wanted happen, or at least would be able to eventually, wasn't a plan, it was suicide.
"Yes. You have to learn to read and write and do numbers, as well as history and probably how to fight. Maybe a few other things too. Especially if you want to be a good builder. Knowing what real people want and need is important, and..." she ran out of things to say to make it sound all lecturing and adult. "Really, you should
see
that. You're too smart not to. I'll talk to ma and make sure you can build sometimes. All right? It won't be all the time, but no one gets to do that. Tor has to work in his bakery most days, and the Lairdgren Group all have regular classes too. Stretching and dance to keep them limber for instance, and meditation. You should learn math as well and some languages. I only know this and home tongue, but need to learn the others too. So should you."
There was silence from the seat next to her, and instead of saying anything of note, the girl gave a soft gasp.
"What's that?"
"Our destination. Hopefully someone is here, or all my baking will get stale."
There was, thankfully. Actually they had a good dozen people around, with about half of them working to put in trees and bushes as Gerent pointed out what he wanted and used an Earth moving device to dig the holes. With the wall and all the palaces inside, plus a little glowing river around the outside it actually seemed very official. They had to drive around to find the main gate, and Gerent nodded to them both, his face seeming puzzled.
That would be the tiny girl at the controls, most likely.
Inside the courtyard there was a smooth expanse, and a single Space Craft in the middle. At least Tiera figured that was the case. It was all orange, and had two Ancients standing right next to it at any rate, as well as Bonita Coltress.
Taman didn't wait, stopping the tiny vehicle and hoping out lightly then running to them.
"Nita!" The woman got a hug and reacted with pleasure to seeing the girl, sweeping her up into a big hug.
"S'Taman! Have you come to join the Space Fleet then?" It was the kind of thing that adults said to children, not making fun of them, but gently poking at the idea that they might think they
could
do things like that.
For her part the girl shook her head.
"No. I moved away from home, but I don't think anyone would let me do that. I need to work on building, so I can eat." It wasn't what they'd just been talking about at all, which made Tiera want to sigh, and she felt annoyed with the idea. The little one was smart. Probably more so than she was. Like Timon, more or less, if with a kinder spirit, so far. The thing there was that Tim had been trapped as a child her age, having to do what his parents wanted, since there was nothing else in his world really.
Taman
knew
that she could make her own way. It wasn't the best plan ever, but it was a real thing, and her big sister clearly wasn't done trying to convince her of the validity of what their mother had suggested.
Count Lairdgren didn't seem upset by the news, but turned his slightly old looking Tor face away from them all and... smiled. He didn't let the girl see it, thank goodness. When he had control of it, seconds later, he turned back, making the move seem natural and flowing, then spoke calmly.