Slave Line (The Young Ancients) Read Free

he might have to wheedle out of his brother.
    "Of course it is. You all have the run of the house here and can even go into town if you want. I don't recommend that for most of you, since people may not be all that happy about having been spied on, but you aren't prisoners here. If you need anything, please feel free to ask. If you really need to go outside, please wear a shield and take guards with you. I'll have a box of things put back out by the front door. I... don't have guards. We can get some of the Lairdgren group to go though." It was the deal made, that they wouldn't be abused and would be treated like guests, not prisoners. Tor thought for a second, but couldn't really think of anything else he needed to provide for them.
    Maybe some music or light entertainments? Cards for games or something? Possibly some books to read? That could be done.
    The whole group went very still then, except Brown who closed the distance between them and took his shoulder gently.
    "Thank you Purple. That's very kind of you. Do you know when we're leaving?" It was said loudly enough for the whole group to hear, even though they kind of huddled together for protection for some reason. They'd earned the right to be afraid though, but it was wasted. If anyone tried to harm them before he got them home he and his friends would protect them. Even at the cost of their own lives. It was the agreement the King had made with Brown... that Tor himself would see to their safety and well being. Unless they turned out to be murderers, which no one here had at all.
    Tor nodded, having been thinking about it already, it was based mainly on the soonest possible departure time. The faster they got out of the Capital the better off they'd all be. He hadn't been kidding when he said that some people might hold a grudge. Oddly enough those would likely be the regular people, not nobles, who were so used to being spied on they took it all as a matter of course and even applauded the Austrans on their good placements.
    "As soon as we have the goods ready for the ship, which is being put together in Warden as we speak. I have to ship some gold in for that, but we should have it all ready by early tomorrow morning. We'll fly from here in Fast Carriages, which should take about an hour and a half or so to get there, maybe less, if no one has to stop to use the facilities. Then we leave directly. It should take about five days to get to Austra or so. We could make it faster if we just flew the whole way, but that kind of lacks the feeling of luxury we want. The King doesn't want it to look like we just loaded you all up as cargo and shipped you off without ceremony. Unfortunately we don't have time to put together a real crew. You get to eat my cooking for the trip I'm afraid." That and be waited on by a group of young builders. It probably wasn't the best idea ever, but they just didn't have time to get a full staff on board. Not without stringing things out far too long.
    "I can help with that, if you want?" This came from a man that used to work in the royal kitchen as a baker. He was good, of course, or he couldn't have kept a position there. Tor hadn't planned on making them work at all, but shrugged.
    "Honestly I could use the help. We don't have that many people going, about fifty I think, but that might grow pretty quickly. We should be set on bakers then, since several of my family are going to be with us. Can you cook too?" He might not be able to, Tor knew, if he'd specialized.
    The man nodded though, smiling a bit.
    "I can. I was a four star chef before I enlisted. It was why I was groomed for this position." He looked down, a bit embarrassed for some reason, but didn't explain why. It sounded like he was proud of the stars he had. Maybe it was a military thing? Like a rank?
    "Good, um... Carlos. You can be in charge of the kitchen then and I'll do the baking. We may not even starve at this rate. Can I get with you later as to supplies? We'll want a