Talk of manor lords and their lands continued until the caravan stopped for lunch, which Drake insisted they take inside the carriage. When Anna mentioned she needed to pee, Drake decided she likely wouldn’t know what road they were on just by looking and allowed it, but he asked Lydia to stay with him. He also offered to keep Robby in the carriage with him.
Anna, thrilled by the idea of giving her favorite doll some time for Lord Gloomwood, happily agreed. Thus the creepy doll didn’t leave the carriage, and the curtains stayed closed. Anna, when she returned, said nothing about their route.
After taking their lunch inside the carriage—with the curtains still closed—travel resumed. Full of food and soothed by movement, Anna soon fell asleep with her head in Lydia’s lap. That was the first stroke of luck. He might soon be able to clue Lydia into his plot.
When they hit a bump that sent Robby tumbling off the bench and flat onto his creepy doll face, hiding the gems, that was the second. Drake immediately leaned forward and beckoned for Lydia to move closer. He simultaneously put a finger to his lips.
Visibly surprised, Lydia nonetheless leaned forward as far as she could without disturbing Anna. Drake pointed to his lips, and then mouthed “I lied.”
Lydia tilted her head. As she did so, Drake pointed at the doll now face down on the floor of the carriage, and mouthed “Spying on us.”
Lydia’s eyes widened as she recognized his words, and then she settled back in her seat and offered a firm nod. She’d been visibly tense ever since Drake announced the route they’d be taking today, but she now appeared much more relaxed. As she glanced at the curtains he’d kept closed all day, she even smiled to herself. Perhaps she’d now guessed his ploy.
With little to talk about and even less desire to wake Anna, Drake decided to take his own midafternoon nap. It might make it more difficult to sleep tonight, but he doubted he’d be sleeping tonight anyway. He couldn’t leave the task of waiting for Sachi to someone else.
He’d best get all the sleep he could now.
The soft couches in the carriage and the gentle, even movement made it all too easy to drift off. It seemed only a moment before a sharp lurch and the sound of routine shouting outside alerted him to the fact that they had once again stopped for the night. Anna came awake at almost the same time he did, and when she saw him, she giggled.
“Oh lord, you dozed too. Did you have a good dream?”
He yawned and stretched. “Not really. But no bad ones either.”
“I dreamed about my mother,” Anna said. “She’s with the Eidolons now, but sometimes, she comes to visit me in my dreams. Even though I’ve been bad, she still loves me.”
So Anna’s mother was dead. Drake had always suspected, but having it confirmed so casually was a kick to the gut. He forced a smile past his discomfort. “You’re not bad, squirt.”
She smiled bravely. “Not anymore.”
Lydia cleared her throat. “With your permission, I will organize the setup for tonight.”
“Sure, Lydia. Take Anna with you.” He paused. “Oh, but leave Robby here.”
Anna frowned in visible distress. “But why, lord?”
“I have an idea to dress him up for you. I just realized on the road today that when we got you nice clothes, we didn’t get any for Robby. He doesn’t have any.”
Anna’s eyes went wide as saucers. “You’d do that?”
He actually would, even if he ripped Robby’s eyes out after. “You bet.”
She hopped across the carriage and hugged him. “Thank you, lord!”
He hugged her back. “Now go help Lydia, and no wandering off this time.”
She nodded vigorously. “I promise!” She settled Robby on the couch facing Drake and fixed him with a firm gaze. “You be good. Lord Gloomwood is very nice to get you clothes.”
“Come now,” Lydia told Anna. “We’ve lots to do.”
Anna eagerly exited the carriage with Lydia. As before, Drake stayed inside with the creepy doll. He wouldn’t emerge until his tent was ready, and then he’d carry Robby with him. He’d also make sure to keep the doll’s green eyes clutched to his chest the whole time.
Soon enough, the camp was ready. With Robby essentially blinded against his chest, Drake carried the creepy wooden doll out of the wagon and into his command tent. He then stuffed the doll into his backpack. His whole plan would fall apart if Anna found him and carried him outside. Then, he walked out to find a battle maid and good supper.
That night, as they were all settling in for bed, Anna wandered over. “Where’s Robby, lord? It’s about time for us to go to sleep.”
“He’s sleeping with the other maids tonight. They wanted to spend some time with him so they could decide what outfit would be best.”
Anna pouted. “But Robby’s my friend. He keeps me safe.”
“Well, you know what? Since Robby’s having a sleepover, you can sleep beside me tonight. Move your sleeping bag over here. Nothing will hurt you with me around.”
Anna gasped in delight. “Thank you, lord!”
“Now get settled.”
Once Anna had her bedroll carted over, he caught Lydia watching him with a knowing gaze. She couldn’t have failed to notice that they were still on the Noble Road, but she hadn’t said a word about it. Not long after, Anna was snoring softly nearby. Slipping out of his sleeping bag was easy, and grabbing his heavy fur cloak off the chair was easier than that.
Drake had only just reached the opening of the tent when the soft sound of slippers on fur hide assured him Lydia was right beside him. They slipped out together, and then Drake led Lydia to the nearby tent where the other battle maids slept. It was still well inside the camp perimeter, and the shadows of alert zarovians were barely visible around them.
He had learned today on his journey that zarovians could go days without sleep, though they’d need to hibernate afterward. That made them ideal for standing vigil on long trips. He doubted much of anything could get into this camp tonight.
He offered Lydia an amused glance. “Any questions about our weird day?”
“Just one, lord. Did you send Sachi down the Merchant’s Roadway to scout for ambushes?”
He grinned. “What do you think?”
“If our enemy does attempt to ambush us on the Merchant’s Roadway, the only reason they would do is because of what you said in front of the doll. Sachi can slip away without being detected, and then we’ll know your suspicions about the abilities of Anna’s doll are correct.”
“Samuel’s suspicions, actually. If he’s right, I’m going to kick myself so hard I might actually injure my own ass. If that creepy doll has been keeping tabs on us this whole time—”
“You could not have known.”
“Which is the problem, and which is why I’m glad to have a man like Samuel.”
As they sat beneath the stairs, Lydia glanced at him once more. “You know, lord, if we keep sneaking off like this in the middle of the night... it could present a problem.”
He chuckled. “Rumors, you mean?”
The wind caught her dark hair and teased a few strands across her face. “They do arise.”
“If you’re worried about what Samuel might think about this, don’t be. I made it perfectly clear I’m not ever going to be that kind of a manor lord.”
She looked to the sky. “I have the answer to your question.”
She meant about if he should tell Samuel he could lie. “Already? It’s only been a day.”
“You can trust Samuel with your secret. While his loyalty to Lord Crow was never strong, his loyalty to our manor is as strong as the silverwood trees around Gloomwood Manor. When he knows what you can do, he will be eager to help you exploit your unique gift.”
“That’s all I needed to hear. In fact... now that you’ve decided, why don’t you go wake the old man up? Have him join us for the reveal. We’ll quash his doubts and blow his mind.”
She rose. “And if Anna awakes?”
“Tell her I had to pee and I’ll be right back.”
“I cannot do that, lord. Not unless... do you actually have to pee?”
Drake laughed as he remembered Lydia couldn’t even tell a little white lie. “Tell her I’m waiting for Sachi, and as soon as she returns, I’ll be back to keep her safe.”
“That, I can do.” Lydia departed.
Not long after, a scowling Samuel returned with Lydia. He looked annoyingly dapper despite being in his fuzzy bedclothes. Drake motioned for them all to hunker down in the shadow of the other tents, where they could speak without being overheard or seen.
Samuel looked none too pleased about being roused in the middle of the night, but he was already alert and focused. “What is this about?”
“Nothing much. There’s something we both need to get off our chests.”
Samuel sighed. “If this is about our argument regarding our route—”
“It’s not. It’s time we told you what’s been going on between us. All the stuff you’ve seen Lydia and I talking about in secret when you’re not around.”
Samuel waited.
“Lydia and I are having sex.”
Lydia gasped. “Lord, how could you!” Yet as much as she blushed at the lewd implication, she also couldn’t entirely hide her amusement at Samuel’s expression.
Samuel’s glower at Drake could have melted ice, yet when he directed it at Lydia, she had the decency to look a little abashed. “I expected better of you.”
“Tell him, Lydia,” Drake said. “Tell him the truth.”
Lydia looked right at Samuel with every ounce of indignation a battle maid could muster. “Lord Gloomwood and I are not and have never had sex.”
Samuel opened his mouth to berate her, then paused. His eyes narrowed, and Drake watched as the whirring gears inside the man’s mind momentarily ground to a halt. He looked to Drake again, then to Lydia, and then frowned.
“Does sex mean something different in his realm? Is this a game of words?”
“Also,” Drake added, “I burned the manor down before we left. I tossed a torch through the front door and watched it collapse. Then I kicked you in the nuts. Remember that?”
Samuel gaped at him, then at Lydia. Soon after, he closed his mouth. He watched Drake with fresh caution and, perhaps, a hint of respect.
Drake leaned in. “Do you understand why I’m different from any other manor lord you’ve served? Or do I need to spell it out for you?”
Samuel nodded as if discovering a great truth. “This is what the passage meant.”
“What passage?” Drake felt a rush of fresh excitement as a clue as to why he’d been summoned here gleamed. “There’s a passage about me in some old book?”
“It concerned your people, and Earth. There were only a few details in the account Lord Crow obtained regarding your realm, but some were deeply disturbing. In the words of an ancient explorer, people from your realm can defy the will of the Eidolons.”
Did that only mean lying? Or could there be more to it? “So what does that passage mean to you, Samuel? Now that you’ve met me?”
“It means that you speak with the confidence of a madman.”
“Oh, I like that.” Drake glanced at Lydia. “Though I’m not quite sure how it applies?”
Lydia scooted closer. “We have discussed how we can only say that which we believe. Yet once a person loses the ability to process the world around them, they can say anything.”
“They believe things that aren’t real, so can say whatever they hallucinate.” It made sense. “That’s not quite what I can do... I’m still sane, relatively... but it’s not a bad guess. I can lie. That means I can say whatever I want whether I believe it or not.”
“And that is how you defeated Lord Crow’s obedience fetish,” Samuel agreed with visible relief. “I had great difficulty understanding how that was possible, but now it all makes sense. And when you recounted how you defeated him, you spoke a ‘lie’, as you call it.”
Drake nodded.
“Did you lie about anything else in your account?”
“Think hard about how manor lord debt works and in particular, the rituals that went on that night. Is there anything in my account you wish had happened differently?”
Samuel’s eyes narrowed as the possible truth dawned on him. Maybe. He didn’t ask Drake to correct his account. He also didn’t suggest Drake was lying about anything.
“Then it all happened exactly how I said it did,” Drake said.
Samuel nodded with a calculated gleam in his eye. He no longer looked annoyed or suspicious. He looked intrigued. “How did you lie to the doll in the wagon?”
As a tall, svelte woman with cat ears and a silky tail slipped into view from behind Samuel, Drake rose and waved her over. “Let’s see what Sachi has to say before I answer that.”
Talk of manor lords and their lands continued until the caravan stopped for lunch, which Drake insisted they take inside the carriage. When Anna mentioned she needed to pee, Drake decided she likely wouldn’t know what road they were on just by looking and allowed it, but he asked Lydia to stay with him. He also offered to keep Robby in the carriage with him.
Anna, thrilled by the idea of giving her favorite doll some time for Lord Gloomwood, happily agreed. Thus the creepy doll didn’t leave the carriage, and the curtains stayed closed. Anna, when she returned, said nothing about their route.
After taking their lunch inside the carriage—with the curtains still closed—travel resumed. Full of food and soothed by movement, Anna soon fell asleep with her head in Lydia’s lap. That was the first stroke of luck. He might soon be able to clue Lydia into his plot.
When they hit a bump that sent Robby tumbling off the bench and flat onto his creepy doll face, hiding the gems, that was the second. Drake immediately leaned forward and beckoned for Lydia to move closer. He simultaneously put a finger to his lips.
Visibly surprised, Lydia nonetheless leaned forward as far as she could without disturbing Anna. Drake pointed to his lips, and then mouthed “I lied.”
Lydia tilted her head. As she did so, Drake pointed at the doll now face down on the floor of the carriage, and mouthed “Spying on us.”
Lydia’s eyes widened as she recognized his words, and then she settled back in her seat and offered a firm nod. She’d been visibly tense ever since Drake announced the route they’d be taking today, but she now appeared much more relaxed. As she glanced at the curtains he’d kept closed all day, she even smiled to herself. Perhaps she’d now guessed his ploy.
With little to talk about and even less desire to wake Anna, Drake decided to take his own midafternoon nap. It might make it more difficult to sleep tonight, but he doubted he’d be sleeping tonight anyway. He couldn’t leave the task of waiting for Sachi to someone else.
He’d best get all the sleep he could now.
The soft couches in the carriage and the gentle, even movement made it all too easy to drift off. It seemed only a moment before a sharp lurch and the sound of routine shouting outside alerted him to the fact that they had once again stopped for the night. Anna came awake at almost the same time he did, and when she saw him, she giggled.
“Oh lord, you dozed too. Did you have a good dream?”
He yawned and stretched. “Not really. But no bad ones either.”
“I dreamed about my mother,” Anna said. “She’s with the Eidolons now, but sometimes, she comes to visit me in my dreams. Even though I’ve been bad, she still loves me.”
So Anna’s mother was dead. Drake had always suspected, but having it confirmed so casually was a kick to the gut. He forced a smile past his discomfort. “You’re not bad, squirt.”
She smiled bravely. “Not anymore.”
Lydia cleared her throat. “With your permission, I will organize the setup for tonight.”
“Sure, Lydia. Take Anna with you.” He paused. “Oh, but leave Robby here.”
Anna frowned in visible distress. “But why, lord?”
“I have an idea to dress him up for you. I just realized on the road today that when we got you nice clothes, we didn’t get any for Robby. He doesn’t have any.”
Anna’s eyes went wide as saucers. “You’d do that?”
He actually would, even if he ripped Robby’s eyes out after. “You bet.”
She hopped across the carriage and hugged him. “Thank you, lord!”
He hugged her back. “Now go help Lydia, and no wandering off this time.”
She nodded vigorously. “I promise!” She settled Robby on the couch facing Drake and fixed him with a firm gaze. “You be good. Lord Gloomwood is very nice to get you clothes.”
“Come now,” Lydia told Anna. “We’ve lots to do.”
Anna eagerly exited the carriage with Lydia. As before, Drake stayed inside with the creepy doll. He wouldn’t emerge until his tent was ready, and then he’d carry Robby with him. He’d also make sure to keep the doll’s green eyes clutched to his chest the whole time.
Soon enough, the camp was ready. With Robby essentially blinded against his chest, Drake carried the creepy wooden doll out of the wagon and into his command tent. He then stuffed the doll into his backpack. His whole plan would fall apart if Anna found him and carried him outside. Then, he walked out to find a battle maid and good supper.
That night, as they were all settling in for bed, Anna wandered over. “Where’s Robby, lord? It’s about time for us to go to sleep.”
“He’s sleeping with the other maids tonight. They wanted to spend some time with him so they could decide what outfit would be best.”
Anna pouted. “But Robby’s my friend. He keeps me safe.”
“Well, you know what? Since Robby’s having a sleepover, you can sleep beside me tonight. Move your sleeping bag over here. Nothing will hurt you with me around.”
Anna gasped in delight. “Thank you, lord!”
“Now get settled.”
Once Anna had her bedroll carted over, he caught Lydia watching him with a knowing gaze. She couldn’t have failed to notice that they were still on the Noble Road, but she hadn’t said a word about it. Not long after, Anna was snoring softly nearby. Slipping out of his sleeping bag was easy, and grabbing his heavy fur cloak off the chair was easier than that.
Drake had only just reached the opening of the tent when the soft sound of slippers on fur hide assured him Lydia was right beside him. They slipped out together, and then Drake led Lydia to the nearby tent where the other battle maids slept. It was still well inside the camp perimeter, and the shadows of alert zarovians were barely visible around them.
He had learned today on his journey that zarovians could go days without sleep, though they’d need to hibernate afterward. That made them ideal for standing vigil on long trips. He doubted much of anything could get into this camp tonight.
He offered Lydia an amused glance. “Any questions about our weird day?”
“Just one, lord. Did you send Sachi down the Merchant’s Roadway to scout for ambushes?”
He grinned. “What do you think?”
“If our enemy does attempt to ambush us on the Merchant’s Roadway, the only reason they would do is because of what you said in front of the doll. Sachi can slip away without being detected, and then we’ll know your suspicions about the abilities of Anna’s doll are correct.”
“Samuel’s suspicions, actually. If he’s right, I’m going to kick myself so hard I might actually injure my own ass. If that creepy doll has been keeping tabs on us this whole time—”
“You could not have known.”
“Which is the problem, and which is why I’m glad to have a man like Samuel.”
As they sat beneath the stairs, Lydia glanced at him once more. “You know, lord, if we keep sneaking off like this in the middle of the night... it could present a problem.”
He chuckled. “Rumors, you mean?”
The wind caught her dark hair and teased a few strands across her face. “They do arise.”
“If you’re worried about what Samuel might think about this, don’t be. I made it perfectly clear I’m not ever going to be that kind of a manor lord.”
She looked to the sky. “I have the answer to your question.”
She meant about if he should tell Samuel he could lie. “Already? It’s only been a day.”
“You can trust Samuel with your secret. While his loyalty to Lord Crow was never strong, his loyalty to our manor is as strong as the silverwood trees around Gloomwood Manor. When he knows what you can do, he will be eager to help you exploit your unique gift.”
“That’s all I needed to hear. In fact... now that you’ve decided, why don’t you go wake the old man up? Have him join us for the reveal. We’ll quash his doubts and blow his mind.”
She rose. “And if Anna awakes?”
“Tell her I had to pee and I’ll be right back.”
“I cannot do that, lord. Not unless... do you actually have to pee?”
Drake laughed as he remembered Lydia couldn’t even tell a little white lie. “Tell her I’m waiting for Sachi, and as soon as she returns, I’ll be back to keep her safe.”
“That, I can do.” Lydia departed.
Not long after, a scowling Samuel returned with Lydia. He looked annoyingly dapper despite being in his fuzzy bedclothes. Drake motioned for them all to hunker down in the shadow of the other tents, where they could speak without being overheard or seen.
Samuel looked none too pleased about being roused in the middle of the night, but he was already alert and focused. “What is this about?”
“Nothing much. There’s something we both need to get off our chests.”
Samuel sighed. “If this is about our argument regarding our route—”
“It’s not. It’s time we told you what’s been going on between us. All the stuff you’ve seen Lydia and I talking about in secret when you’re not around.”
Samuel waited.
“Lydia and I are having sex.”
Lydia gasped. “Lord, how could you!” Yet as much as she blushed at the lewd implication, she also couldn’t entirely hide her amusement at Samuel’s expression.
Samuel’s glower at Drake could have melted ice, yet when he directed it at Lydia, she had the decency to look a little abashed. “I expected better of you.”
“Tell him, Lydia,” Drake said. “Tell him the truth.”
Lydia looked right at Samuel with every ounce of indignation a battle maid could muster. “Lord Gloomwood and I are not and have never had sex.”
Samuel opened his mouth to berate her, then paused. His eyes narrowed, and Drake watched as the whirring gears inside the man’s mind momentarily ground to a halt. He looked to Drake again, then to Lydia, and then frowned.
“Does sex mean something different in his realm? Is this a game of words?”
“Also,” Drake added, “I burned the manor down before we left. I tossed a torch through the front door and watched it collapse. Then I kicked you in the nuts. Remember that?”
Samuel gaped at him, then at Lydia. Soon after, he closed his mouth. He watched Drake with fresh caution and, perhaps, a hint of respect.
Drake leaned in. “Do you understand why I’m different from any other manor lord you’ve served? Or do I need to spell it out for you?”
Samuel nodded as if discovering a great truth. “This is what the passage meant.”
“What passage?” Drake felt a rush of fresh excitement as a clue as to why he’d been summoned here gleamed. “There’s a passage about me in some old book?”
“It concerned your people, and Earth. There were only a few details in the account Lord Crow obtained regarding your realm, but some were deeply disturbing. In the words of an ancient explorer, people from your realm can defy the will of the Eidolons.”
Did that only mean lying? Or could there be more to it? “So what does that passage mean to you, Samuel? Now that you’ve met me?”
“It means that you speak with the confidence of a madman.”
“Oh, I like that.” Drake glanced at Lydia. “Though I’m not quite sure how it applies?”
Lydia scooted closer. “We have discussed how we can only say that which we believe. Yet once a person loses the ability to process the world around them, they can say anything.”
“They believe things that aren’t real, so can say whatever they hallucinate.” It made sense. “That’s not quite what I can do... I’m still sane, relatively... but it’s not a bad guess. I can lie. That means I can say whatever I want whether I believe it or not.”
“And that is how you defeated Lord Crow’s obedience fetish,” Samuel agreed with visible relief. “I had great difficulty understanding how that was possible, but now it all makes sense. And when you recounted how you defeated him, you spoke a ‘lie’, as you call it.”
Drake nodded.
“Did you lie about anything else in your account?”
“Think hard about how manor lord debt works and in particular, the rituals that went on that night. Is there anything in my account you wish had happened differently?”
Samuel’s eyes narrowed as the possible truth dawned on him. Maybe. He didn’t ask Drake to correct his account. He also didn’t suggest Drake was lying about anything.
“Then it all happened exactly how I said it did,” Drake said.
Samuel nodded with a calculated gleam in his eye. He no longer looked annoyed or suspicious. He looked intrigued. “How did you lie to the doll in the wagon?”
As a tall, svelte woman with cat ears and a silky tail slipped into view from behind Samuel, Drake rose and waved her over. “Let’s see what Sachi has to say before I answer that.”
