A tale of magicians, magick and a lost boy. By saying this is a fantasy I don't really need to stress that it is a work of fiction. Set in a nameless land, maybe even a nameless world, our rules and conventions do not apply here.
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ovote@unseen.is
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Over the next days the council took to meeting each evening in a large hall, where people could sit to watch the meetings. Their days were spent mostly putting into action the things they had decided. A number of other names were suggested as being useful men or women of the city, and by the end of the first week the size of the council had grown to twelve people. As quickly as one matter was dealt with, it seemed as if there was another three of four came along. A decision was taken to empty the Grand Duke's palace of all the expensive furniture, have it taken to storage and at some point in the future transport it all out of the city to be sold. They wanted every last part of the previous regime exorcised from the city. The men who had emptied Sir Samuel's home of similar valuable items were hired by the council from the trading house to undertake this work. The emergency measures announced days before the coup fell along with the Grand Duke, a decison that was agreed without any discussion by the council. The clearing of the berths and repair of the dockside was given as a priority to the Military engineers corps, for there was no further need for them to ever used for building bridges and fortifications. It was discussed whether they should now be considered as non military, and for them to be used as a public works section of the city workforce. A completely different committee was set up to investigate the profiteering of some of the landlords renting houses in the city, and a tribunal system was to be created where tenants having been subjected to it could claim redress. Within a week or so there was over a hundred men and women working on many different parts of building a complete bureaucracy in the city. A group of honest lawyers had been found, as difficult as that was to imagine, to overhaul the whole system of courts, and to ensure that judges ruled in a completely impartial way. No more would they sit and carry out the demands of the man in the palace.
Ten days after the great meeting in the arena Thomas mentioned to Simon while they were all sat to dinner that he felt it was soon going to be possible for Simon to be setting firm plans in place for his trip to the neighbouring land and present himself to the King. Jacob thought it was time to speak to Jamil about his hopes for the boy.
Taking him to the library after the meal he told him "When Simon leaves on his trip I will be going with him. Tancred and I would like you to come along with us" Seeing Jamil's face light up with excitement at travelling out of the city he had never before left he cautioned him " Don't be so eager right away, when we go we will be staying there for a much longer time than you may be thinking. It will mean you being away from Donae. I would like you to think carefully and talk to her about it. You both should know that when I say much longer we mean years. Whether you decide to go or to stay, you will both always be a part of this little group that has become a family in this house. Donae will always be loved and wanted by Sarah, who sees both of you as her own second family. If I tried to take Donae away from her now I think I would need three of Captain Jard's armies to help me. I am not going to tell you much about what we will be doing while we are away from here, because I don't want anything I say to be something that makes you decide to come with us. You and Donae living for a time in different places is something for you both to decide, and without any carrots dangling in front of you. When you have spoken with her I will sit with both of you, and Sarah, so we all know what will happen in either case, you staying here or coming with us" At that he sent the boy off to think and went looking for Sarah to tell her of his talk with Jamil. Whichever way things went he knew there would be some tears to be shed. He knew it was a terrible choice he had given Jamil, leave Donae or leave Tancred.
Later that night he sat and wrote a long letter to Tancred's father. Travel had now been allowed between the two lands, and messengers were riding between trading houses opening first discussions about trade being established. It served as a perfect cover for the King to recieve almost daily briefings about the things underway here in the city. He told him that he would soon be keeping his promise to return with Tancred before the first day of winter. And that when he arrived with the new envoy he could have another few surprises to reveal. When they went into the city the next day he took the two boys to a tailor's shop and had them both Tancred and a very subdued Jamil measured for new clothes. Paying the tailor generously, because he would not be ordering clothes for them here, he added the measurements to the letter and asked for the royal tailor to make proper fitting court clothes for the size Tancred had grown to since he had been away. And, due to final arrangement not being certain, a further set for someone who may, or may not, be accompanying them to the court. Jacob wanted to make sure Jamil was suitably attired for the court if he chose to travel. When the little bouts of tears continued from both Jamil and Donae for another day or so Jacob decided to bring all of them together to discuss everything, and by everything he meant except Tancred's true parentage. By now even Tancred was moping around looking sad at the idea of leaving without Jamil. Following their morning meal Jacob and Sarah brought the three children to the library for them all to talk it out and see if any conclusion could be reached.
Once they had settled he began by saying "When Tancred and I first came to this house it was my intent to only stay a few weeks before heading for home. But business here took longer than expected, and by the time it had been dealt with it was much too late to risk the journey with the signs of an early winter upon us. Now if you remember you came to us towards the end of the summer, and Donae was found with you trying to clean her injured foot a short time afterwards. Had we left on time you two would have stayed here at the house as serving staff with Sarah, and still been here when, or if, we returned for more business. But everything changed over the winter we all spent together. I found myself growing to love you two children very much, and at the same time Sarah also ended up caring for you both in the way of a parent rather than someone in charge of you as servants here. Also the feellings between you Jamil and Tancred grew from friendship to what it is today"
Seeing the two boys both blushing he paused for a moment then went on "Don't be embarrassed, I am happy and proud of you both for the way you care for each other. During the winter and right until now we all let ourselves forget our roles that we started off in, and today here we are, a mixed up family who love and care for every other one of us deeply. And if I could have looked into the future then I would have been so happy to see what was to come. What is set, as if in stone, is a firm promise to be back in my home by the first day of winter this year, a full year later than planned. And whatever happens is going to make us all sad at not being all together. What we need to do is make that sadness as small as we can for us all, because even if there are leagues between some of us, the love we have must not be allowed to wither away. What do we know for certain? First Sarah will be moving to the orphanage and be in charge of all the staff there. I must go back to my home, and Tancred must come with me. We both have firm commitments there, and once again winter will be upon us before any chance comes of travelling here again, so we will be gone until next summer. If you travel with us Jamil you will be staying until the start of summer, but I promise you now, even If I do not come back then you will be brought home to be with Donae and Sarah as many times as you wish to travel, and by next year she will also be able to travel to visit us all at our home, And with Sarah coming as well"
To finish his long speech Jacob then dropped the biggest bomb on the two of them "Over the last few weeks Sarah has been talking to me of the possibility of her adopting both of you as her very own son and daughter. I have spoken to Thomas, and you know he is a lawyer, and he says there would be no problem doing it. If you both wanted, Sarah would be your mother once it has been done" The answer was clear, and no words were needed as both children jumped from their seats and jumped on to Sarah's chair, hugging and kissing her, and leaving her face wet with tears of happiness from all three of them.
In the end it was level headed Donae who made the decision for them "What would have happened to us both if it had been the night watch that found you trying to clean my foot Jamil?" It was a question nobody needed to answer, but Jamil turned to look out of the window in the direction of the ocean. She went on in a quiet voice "Everything we have is because of their kindness, even our lives. If we have some sadness at being apart for some of the time we still have every other thing. But I want nice presents every time I see you"
Jacob could see how much it was hurting her to make this sacrifice, so he gently pushed the pain away from her upon hearing her words. He knew that there were still episodes of tears to come as they got used to the idea. Thomas was called in to the library and asked to start immediately the process for Sarah to officially adopt Jamil and Donae, and also for Jacob to become a financial guardian for the new family in the future. Being so long in the world it was inevitable that money had grown, and there had been other times in the past when he had acquired fortunes in the same way as he had with Sir Samule's stolen gold. Sometimes there was no clear cut way to return it to where it had been stolen from. His life at home was essentially cost free, living in the palace, and he was often more or less giving it away to others anyway. The figures he quietly mentioned to Thomas would be enormous to Sarah, if she ever knew the sum that was put to keep them secure. He also suggested to Sarah that she talk to her daughter, and ask if she was interested in moving to this house, to work here when Sarah went to her new place in the orphanage. This house, being bought by the King's gold, would likely become the new residence of the first envoy sent to the city to represent him.
By the day things were becoming more settled in the city as people got used to the new ways of life. There were still lots of anxious looks towards the constables patrolling with the men in yellow coats, but trust was slowly and steadily building. Captain Jard's well trained trained military men sometimes needing to put a steadying hand on a constable's arm, when he first went to use the former ways he had long been used to. Gradually, between now and the time Jard's contract ended, his men would change their yellow coats and start wearing the same uniform as the constables. Note was taken of those unwilling to change their ways, and they were soon took from service and offered different work around the city, there was much to be done in all manner of ways. One way Jacob did influence events was to stop an ostentatious military funeral being held for the Mountain, he was another who would go to an unmarked grave.
There came a point when Jacob realised he was just putting off the day when he and Tancred had to leave, so sitting with Simon he set the date firmly and vowed to keep it. Zachary and the trade master sat with Jacob for a long time going over all the things that were planned, or likely to be needed, in the city. He also asked Zachary to purchase four good horses for the journey, rather than take the ones at the orphanage and the house. It would likely be the following summer before an envoy appointed by the King would travel to the city, so there was no urgency for Thomas and Simon to move from the house. He was also very pleased to see the ways in which Thomas was growing into the job of leading the city. He had been negotiating with Captain Jard to have him make the city his new base of operations, which ensured he would remain here throughout the winter's months. His men would, in time, start forming relationships and finding homes in the city Jacob expected. It could only end up being a good thing for so much new blood to come in where many men had been transported away to slavery. It would build strong families, and strong minded people who would never allow themselves to be held down by a wicked figurehead again. Another thing that Thomas was unsuccessfully arguing against was the proposal for the city to be renamed as Talcar City, his mother's family name. Despite his objections, the rest of the council decided to have the name voted on in the forthcoming election.
It was a long and very tearful goodbye the morning they left the house in the small carriage. Seeing so much of Jacob, Tancred, and Jamil's clothing and posessions left there was a good way for Donae to always know it was not a permanent separation. They took with them only changes of clothing for the journey, Jacob and Simon also carrying document bags. Simon had already seen Jacob riding a horse when he took the long journey to meet the brothers, so it was only Jamil who seemed concerned about Jacob being strong enough for the ride by horseback when they only went to the orphanage to get the horses. On that journey Jamil would be shocked to see the strong Jacob appear. Over time Tancred's hair had been allowed to grow longer from the short cut Jacob had fashioned back on his first night of freedom in the city, in later months he had also weakened the spelling that had turned it brown. Tancred now looked just as he did before he ran from the palace, albeit nearly a year and a half older. That night they planned to spend at the very same inn that Jamil had already spent the night at when he went with Zachary to collect the horses. When they arrived at the inn the people from there remembered Jamil from that visit and assumed that the group were, once again, horse traders. Simon was quite happy to let them continue to think that, and spend an evening with nobody knowing him, or his part in bringing the Grand Duke down. There was an air of celebration about the place with all the good news filtering out from the city, so they were pressed for any latest news. After dining the serving girl started to entertain the customers by singing, Jacob surprised everyone by standing up and joining her in a duet, with a deep baritone voice nobody had any idea he was capable of. Soon everyone was joining in singing well known songs. Simon and Jacob shared one room, the two boys were given a smaller room at the top of the inn. Tancred didn't know what was likely to happen when they got back to the palace. He and Jamil made the most of that night together, neither knowing when their next opportunity to be together would come.
It was early in the afternoon when they reaching the crossing point into their own land. Simon was shocked to hear his name called loudly from one of the men guarding the point. Upon looking carefully he realised it was someone he had known in childhood. Once the formalities had been taken care of, which more or less meant just handing in the document that allowed them to travel, that the previous ruler had made people carry, Jacob suggested to Simon that he sit awhile and renew his friendship. Jacob and the boys would walk the horses ahead, and Simon could catch up easily. As the three made their way on that first few leagues of the King's land Jacob turned to Tancred and smiled, then said "Jamil, there are going to be quite a lot of things coming in the days ahead that will shock you. There is a lot we had to keep secret so we were safe from the Grand Duke, if he had known we would most like been thrown into gaol. Firstly, Tancred's father is still alive and well, we had to keep his identity strictly secret for he was a sworn enemy of the Grand Duke" Jacob was stopped then by Tancred's sniggering. "It was my insistence that Tancred didn't say anything to you, or anyone else, so please don't be upset with him because I know he wanted to tell you. He told me a few times he didn't like there to be any secrets between you, but as you will realise in days to come, not knowing also kept you safe. It will also be a nice surprise for Simon, so when he catches up with us don't tell him anything, wait until he gets to our destination, then you can laugh at it all" Despite Jamil pleading and cajoling, the two would tell him no more. Once Simon caught up with them they dicussed whether to make another overnight stop, or press on. If they did then they would arrive in the main city quite late that night. Simon, anxious to set things moving was eager to keep going, it would save a full day, and he didn't know how long he would have to wait before being granted an audience with the King.
In the city Jacob had often used an inn near to the palace for meetings where he did not want his connection to the Royal family known, and it was to this inn they were heading now. In the darkness of the city there was little worry in Tancred being recognised as they made their way through the city, like all the royal children they lived a very private life until being presented to the court when reaching their sixteenth name day. Reaching the inn they stabled the horses at the rear, and Jacob went in to speak to the innkeeper to ask for rooms and a meal in a private room, also to ensure he did not show any sign of knowing Jacob already. Being a large inn they were able to take three rooms this night, Jacob and Simon being given a room each, and the two boys getting another night together. It had been a long day's travel, so the weary group were eager to be to their bads after that meal. On the way to the rooms Jacob stopped to write a note to be sent to the Palace, once the others had all settled in their rooms Jacob instead slipped quietly out and made his way the short distance to the Palace. The Palace guards were well used to the long absences, and strange times he might appear, so there was no problem with him gaining admittance and sending a note to the King. Few saw him as he went to the private rooms and waited for the King. After waiting only a short time the door opened and the King walked in to the room, coming to Jacob he embraced him warmly and said to Jacob "Grandfather you've been away so long this time, I've missed you both greatly. Come sit and tell all, and don't miss anything out, I will sit all night with you if needs be"
And indeed it was very late by the time they finished speaking that night. And Jacob had told all, even told all about Jamil and Tancred, gently reminding the King of another young boy, a generation past, who had dalliances with friends as he was growing. They spoke of the ways which Jacob could ensure the succession if this relationship with Jamil would be lasting. And Jacob, knowing many of the Kingdom's deepest secrets, spoke of eligible girls of noble families, who believed their secret of loving another girl was known to none but them alone.
That next morning when they met up late to break their fast. The boys needing a few calls to get them to join the table, after having a lot of fun with Tancred showing Jamil the differences between the shower and the bathing pools he was used to. Jacob said a reply had come to the inn early, they were to go to the Palace directly, rooms had been made available for them to change into court clothes, and then to meet with the King.
Speaking silently into Tancred's mind he told him "I met with your Father late last night, don't worry about Jamil, he knows all, and is not upset about anything"
The walk to the Palce took a little longer than Jacob's the night before. Simon and Jamil were in a new city, and all the sights were there to be seen for the first time. They also went to a different entrance to the small gateway Jacob had gone to the night before, one fit for a visiting envoy to present himself at. Jacob spelling the guards who met them to show no sign they knew Jacob and Tancred when they arrived there. The four were escosted through luxurious hallways to a set of drawing rooms to await the King's audience. While the two men sat being served with a light wine the boys were shown to a changing room, where suits of beautiful clothing were laid out for them both. Jamil had never seen such richness, and could not keep himself from the mirrors around the room once he had dressed in the court clothes.
Turning to Tancred he said "We look like two real Princes" and went to him. For a quick moment the two hugged and kissed, careful not to spoil their beautiful appearance.
Rejoining the men they all burst into laughter when Jacob stood, took a deep bow and said "My Lords" And while they were all still laughing the door opened and a footman appeared to take them to the King. The large double doors of the recieving room were opened by two footmen and the four adventurers waked through. At the far end of the room were sat the King and Queen.
They walked towards the seated royals. Tancred nudged Jacob and whispered to him "Now that we're home will you do something about Rama's dripping nose" Jacob greeted his King laughing as they stopped a few paces short and all bowed deeply. The Queen stood first, then as she took a step towards them the King also rose. She reached for Tancred and pulled him close to her. Jamil felt Jacob's arm go through his as he heard Tancred say "Mother, I've missed you all so much"
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Not quite the end.