In Which Falidor Is Actually Right

August 1, 1178

Of all the days Falidor could have gone home early.

He'd known that the duke was in town, and he'd known that the duke had left the castle an hour or so before he himself had, but he'd figured the man would have headed over to Searle and Lettie's to meet the new baby. Had Falidor known the duke planned on visiting Raia instead, he would have stayed longer; he liked his grandfather-in-law, but he could be a bit... much.

Speaking of 'much', Tavrin was also seated at the table. Yes... really picked the wrong day.

"Uh... hello?"

Raia greeted him with a smile. At least he had one good reason for getting home when he had. "I see my father set you free."

"Until tomorrow, yes." He nodded toward the two guests, about to dismiss himself on the grounds of checking up on the children--only when he remembered that they had a play-date with Had and Lyraina's two. Knowing his luck, they'd taken the dog too. "Your grace. Tavrin."

Tavrin's brows nudged upward. "Fal'dor."

"It's Falid--ah, never mind, close enough," he dismissed after a warning glare from Raia. He liked that she didn't sit around pining for him all day, and he loved that their marriage hadn't gotten in the way of her old friendships, but... well, her family had the strangest taste in company. Then again, what did that say about him? "I'll just take a seat and pretend you're wearing pants."

Raia groaned, but the duke chuckled. "Interesting fellow, isn't he? You know, I think we could take a hint from this society. What does it take to see a woman naked, really? Wine? Money? Hours and hours of courtship? Really takes a toll on a man if you add it all up. But if everyone was naked all the time..."

He trailed off, apparently interrupted by the bliss of his own imagination. Falidor sat down and tried to remember what it was like to know normal people. "God, I'm glad the kids aren't here."

The back of Raia's hand smacked into his arm. "Be nice."

"Yes, dear."

The duke flicked his wrist and made some juvenile whipping sound before turning back to Tavrin. "So, tell me more about this tribe of yours. Is everyone even naked in the winter? God, what a sight that must be! All these shapely young women pelting each other with snowballs, their bosoms bouncing as they run away..."

Tavrin shook his head. "We have three grown women. One sister. One grandmother."

"Oh." Falidor couldn't quite pinpoint the duke's expression. He must have been aiming for sympathy, but some part of him had to have been thinking that it wasn't his sister or his grandmother. This was the duke, after all--a man who would no doubt still be siring bastards every which way when Falidor was dead and buried. "Well... that's hard luck there, son."

"It's fine. Not that interesting, really... but Metal Man thought like you."

Heh? Falidor glanced over at Raia, hoping she was a little more well-informed. She wasn't. "Metal Man?"

"Metal Man. Shiny Dovan living in woods."

Spoken like he thought he was helping. At least they weren't talking about nudity anymore. "Uh... you mean there's some sort of... statue thing just walking around?"

Tavrin shrugged. "Kind of clunky walking, but I guess so."

"Like a knight in a suit of armor?" Raia suggested. Probably a long shot--who randomly went about in a suit of armor in August during peace time?--but it wasn't like there was a better explanation.

"Maybe. But his arm fall off once, I saw it. No flesh in there."

The duke frowned. "Can it talk?"

"No, but sometimes he waves. Plays tag with the kids, too--but he can't run fast."

"I'll bet." Raia smirked. "At least he's friendly?"

Her friend nodded. "Oh, yes. Never steps on flowers, always putting baby birds back in nests. Very nice... whatever."

What perplexed Falidor most might have been the fact that the rest of them seemed satisfied, mildly curious at most. Friendly or not, this whole notion seemed a little...

Wait. "Raia, did Lorn and Leara ever find that suit of armor that went missing last spring?"

Raia squinted. "No, but it's not like suits of armor just walk away. It had to have been stolen."

"Not saying it wasn't. Just... that was just a couple weeks before Remiel went on the run, wasn't it?"

The room already housed more characters than Falidor could usually handle, but it figured that the one time he was actually right about something, Florian wasn't around to see it. "You know... I think it was."

NEXT CHAPTER: