Slave Line (The Young Ancients) Read Free Page B

as fast as possible... Seriously, going now..." He really did hobble, since everything hurt. Two days before he'd been in a fight. With a giant. The man hadn't touched him, but just delivering the beating had damaged him, as weak as he was at the moment. It felt like his whole body was sprained and that might not be too far from the truth. He couldn't use magic at the time, so he'd cheated in a different way, using mental tricks to make it seem like time had slowed, and pushing his body to the limits of what was possible for him. Now he was paying for it.
    In more ways than one.
    The food got set on the table and dished out to each person as they indicated what they wanted, the servers doing a good job of the whole thing. It took a few seconds for it all to click into place, but he recognized several of them. They weren't friends. Not even people that worked for him, or regular servers from the palace, though they dressed like they were.
    No, they were Royal guards. There to keep an eye on things no doubt.
    It would have been nice if someone had mentioned it to him, but Tor decided not to make a big deal about it. It was likely that the King had ordered it and just figured that he'd pick up on it all instantly, so saying anything would be wasted effort. Then, the Royal guards might have just snuck over to do it on their own, if the actual command to do it had been forgotten. They weren't supposed to do things like that without being told too, but they weren't all that shy about taking advantage of Tor when it came up. Possibly other people too, but he knew they did it to him.
    Brown nodded at the food.
    "This is marvelous. Thank you Tor." He beamed as if serving them breakfast was special or something.
    "Don't thank me, thank Collette and Glaren for putting it all together. I just live here." Tor grinned.
    "Thank the nice Royal guards for serving it to you too. They volunteered to help out, since, you understand, the King wants to make sure nothing happens to anyone before we get you home and you aren't our responsibility anymore. Obviously it isn't meant as anything else, since they aren't using disguises and half of you probably know them all on sight." He raised his eyebrows but several of the Royal guards just nodded as if that was literally the truth.
    One of them, an older man that Tor didn't know by name, but who'd helped him out with things a few times spoke, his voice gentle and calm.
    "Exactly, my Lord Baker. Her majesty suggested that we send some people over, and we volunteered. We were supposed to blend in, but we aren't here to act as guards, so no disguises, as you mentioned. We couldn't expect to get past Quavel or Kenner here at all without them." He got a roll set up on Erin's plate and smiled at the young lady, who looked at him wide eyed. After all, if you lived in Noram, you learned to fear the Royal guard, by reputation if nothing else.
    "Would you like honey on your egg toast? Or perhaps maple syrup? We have both." He waited for the girl to decide, even as her parents both indicated they wanted the maple.
    "Honey please."
    Tor nodded. Everyone in Noram had honey on their egg toast or pancakes. Maple syrup was eaten, but mainly on cakes. Most of the Austrans seemed to prefer it, but Erin and the others from Noram ate honey as was proper. Because they were of the land they were in. The one they all had to leave for whatever reason. It made him think hard for a few moments, being distracted only when the Lairdgren group came in to join them.
    They all looked a little shy about it, except Lyn, who took the chair directly next to Brown, and Tor's own brother Timon. He wanted to be called Weasel still, so Tor made the mental adjustment again so he wouldn't insult the boy by mistake. He was only eleven going on twelve in a few weeks, but a full Builder already, even without having gone to school for it. His mother and sister Tiera had gone to stay at the Thomson estate in town, since Count and Countess Thomson