(Old) Side Chapter 12. Swords and Roses

“Are you sure, I’m doing it right?”  “Yes you are. It’s just a matter of keeping it toward where you want to go.” “I know, I know… But still

“Are you sure, I’m doing it right?” 

“Yes you are. It’s just a matter of keeping it toward where you want to go.”

“I know, I know… But still what if they panic?”

“It doesn’t happen nearly as often as you think. And anyway, if they do you just pull.”

“But what if I pull too hard?”

“Well then you…”

“Will the two of you PLEASE shut up!?”

Hersia screamed from the floor of the carriage where she was trying, and apparently failing, to take a nap.

We’d been on the road a few days already. As agreed we had continued riding as long as the horses had allowed us, trading them with villagers as we went, but this also meant that someone had to drive all-day long. So far, Galvian and Hersia had shared the task, especially after I’d nearly killed us all on the first night leaving sunbarrow by nearly driving us into a river, but they were both running out of stamina. So they were now teaching me some basic so they could catch some sleep-eyes during the day.

“I’m sorry, I just… Really don’t know the first thing about horses.”

“Then how did you get all the way here from… Where was it… Somewhere in Norland, right?

“Nevrastead, yes. But I’m not from there, that’s just my title. Actually, I’ve never even been there. I’ve been living in southern Salland most of my life. It’s my first time on the road in over a decade.”

“Southern Salland? You mean Oblon?”

Hersia asked to which I nodded.

“Wow, I hear the weather is and views are to die for… But what of your land? Isn’t it bad to leave it unattended for so long?”

“Oh well I’ve only just inherited the title. But I’ll probably be making my way there when I’m done with my business with the stamp business in Evergreen… Along with a couple other businesses I need to take care of.”

Galvian raised an eyebrow.

“Isn’t that something. What were you doing in Oblon then?”

He asked curiously.

“I served the Marquess as a maid.”

I kept the answer short. 

Hersia let out an impressed whistle.

“Well well well Jace! Maid to lady. Aren’t you living life!”

I shrugged. I guess it was a big deal when you put it that way, but of course knowing who my father and sisters were, having a bit of land sounded like a laughable achievement.

“What about you two then? Aren’t knights nobles too?”

Galvian crossed his arm and leaned back on the seat.

“Well you could say that, but we don’t really get land. Well not me anyway. It’s at least a decade of service, before you're eligible for something like that. Although that’s not an issue for Hersia.”

I heard an annoyed grunt coming from her. Obviously, that wasn’t something she wanted shared, but I was still curious.

“Oh? And why is that.”

“Oh well that’s because she’s…”

Hersia punched Galvian in the shoulder, interrupting him.

“Shut up Galvian. If anyone’s going to say it, it’s me…”

She took a deep breath, obviously annoyed with sharing about herself.

“I’m the second daughter of Countess Elisabeth Okavlon of Barren."

I turned to her and looked at her, to see if she was joking. 

Seemingly not.

“Uhm… This is embarrassing to ask, but… Is that real a place?”

She looked at me just as strangely.

“What do you mean ‘is that a real place’?! It’s Barren! BARREN!”

“Uh yeah, I got that, but… Barren? Like… A barren place? Really?”

She sunk her face in hands in her face and took a deep breath, visibly frustrated.

“No, not ‘Ba-rr-en’. It’s Barr-en!”

I blinked a few times.

“Okay I give up, what’s the punch-line?”

Galvian continued chucking in his corner, earning him another punch from Hersia.

“It’s spelt B A R R H A N. Barrhan!”

“OH you mean Barr-HAN!”

“That’s what I said!”

“No, you said Barren. not BarrHAN.”

Galvian, unable to contain himself, exploded in laughter.

“Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!”

She said as she continued punching him.

“I’m sorry, Jace. It always cracks me up!”

 I looked at him strangely as his shoulder continued getting pummeled.

“Highlanders have this thing where they don’t really pronounce the letter ‘H’. You know, like in Bicorish?”

He began explaining, finding it hard to catch his breath between his laughter and fighting off Hersia.

“That’s not true! the Bicors pronounce their Hs just fine! That’s just a stereotype! Shut up shut up!”

He continued laughing and just as she was letting up her assault.

He turned to me again.

“Hey, Jace, I’ve got a joke for you…”

“Oh don’t you…”

“Why can’t highlanders count to four?”

I raised an eyebrow.

“I don’t know.

“Because… Because there’s a ‘TREE’ in the way!”

I looked at him for a moment. What in the name was that joke?

Count to four like… One, Two, Th…

I shoved a hand in my face trying to muffle the inevitable laughter.

Hersia’s head turned to me, her eyes narrowing into two slits.

“You laughed.”

She declared, bloodlust oozing from her eyes.

“N–No I swear!”

Galvian began laughing louder than ever before while I tried my best to keep the rein steady under Hersia's glare.

Before long, night came. Having not encountered any village in hours and our horses being out of breath, we were forced to stop for the night.

While Galvian stirred some dried meat and vegetables into a pot, Hersia and I sat on a fallen tree nearby and looked on at the setting sun in the horizon.

I hesitated for a moment, but then went ahead.

“You know… I don’t think your mother being a countess is anything to be embarrassed about.”

Hersia smiled meekly at what I said.

“Oh I know. It’s just… How do I put it in a way you would understand…”

“You would be surprised by the amount of things I understand.”

I said with a shrug.

She turned to me as if to gauge if I was making fun of her again, but then turned away and began talking regardless.

“It’s just that everyone, in the order… Or actually most people I’ve ever met…. Seem that being born the daughter of a high ranked noble is so much more than… You know… This!”

She said as she motionned to the empty coast around us.

“You get to go to balls, eat fancy food, wear elegant dresses… Basically, live a life of luxury and all that without ever having to really work a day in your life! And I mean, it does SOUND great, but…”

She looked lost for words. Trying to put into words what I assume were some abstract feeling she was experiencing.

“It’s not all it’s cracked up to be?”

She bit her lips.

“It’s… It is what though… It is a life of luxury. I mean, I cannot tell you how much I miss the silk sheets and feathered mattress of my mother’s castle! But there’s something more to the whole ‘noble charade’ they have going on. The politics for one. Which, in all fairness, I didn’t escape much by becoming a knight, but it’s different when you have to sit at a dinner table across from someone you know tried to poison you the night before… And you need to pretend like you’re not bothered by your parents discussing your bethroral to that same person…”

I blinked a few times as I looked at her.

“That sounds awful. Did that really happen?”

“No. Well, I mean, yes. It did happen, but it was in jest. My mother would never have approved of it. It’s more the concept. As a soldier, a knight, I’m on the frontline. I use my sword and blessings to defend the kingdom agains its enemies, but as a noble, it’s constant mental warfare not just with foreign forces, but also your neighbor or even people within your own home.”

I nodded knowingly. I was all too familiar how quickly a family could turn against you. Silika being a prime example.

“Maybe you and I are not so different.”

I said as I mused on her words.

“Oh so you’re already dropping, the whole ‘I’m but a simple maid turned lady’ business? You’re too easy Jace.”

I chuckled.

“No I’m not, I really was a maid, but that doesn’t mean that’s all I am either.”

She looked at me, her face softening up in a rare show of sympathy.

“Does– Does  it have anything to do with that stamp you’re carrying? You mentioned it was a child… Was she your…?”

I shook my head as I held back some tears as memories of Silika flooded my mind.

“No, no… She’s not mine, if that’s what you’re thinking.”

I said with a weak smile.

“But I can’t say it didn’t feel that way sometimes.”

She bent forward a little, trying to get a better look at me.

“You’re grieving her.”

“In a way, but It’s more like… I think… I think if I had been ‘Lady Jace Miller’ instead of… Just Jace…. Maybe I could have done something. Maybe if I had owned up to who I was, I could have protected her…”

She placed her hand on my back and began rubbing it.

At one point or another tears had begun flowing from my eyes. I took out a handkerchief and did away quickly before Galvian, who was still stirring the pot, noticed.

“I’m sure you did all you could.”

I smiled and took in a deep breath, trying to regain my composure.

“I hope she agrees and forgives me too… Wherever she is now.”