James cracked open his eyes.
It was still dark, morning light not yet peeking unwanted through the bedroom windows. The room was cold. Too cold. He should have closed those shutters on the windows, as the glass panes (which he was lucky to have at all) were not the highly insulating windows from home. He was warm, though. Ewa was snuggled against him, her soft skin all the heat he needed. The blankets and quilt, too, helped. His eyes looked across the room to the fireplace. Warm coals glowed faintly. Franklin stoves. That's what these people needed. Franklin stoves. He'd have to mention it. See if, as with canal locks, he knew enough to spur those smarter than him. James wasn't even sure what made a Franklin stove special. Was it just the idea of a metal stove in the middle of the room? Did these people have the extra iron, cast iron, whatever, to spend on that kind of thing?
He'd have to find out.
A noise came from beyond the bedroom door. Probably what had awoken him. People came in during the night to check on him. He knew that. The fire of late had been tended in the dark of night, reports were sometimes waiting for him on the table by the door. A King had no privacy.
The door opened, no attempt made at silence. Felek entered the room, the lamp in his hand spilling light onto the bed. James sat up, bare chest shivering as cold air made contact with skin. The boy, the previous day's clothing hurriedly tossed on, ran over, placing the lamp on the nightstand beside the King.
"Your Grace! Captain Putaski is here! He needs to see you right away! It's important!"
Given that the man had been on the continent when James had gone to bed, this really had to be important. Braving the sea at night, with no lighthouse yet marking the harbor, was madness. He threw the covers completely off, naked lower half joining upper in bitching about the cold. Ewa rose on one arm behind him, nude body still covered.
"What is it, Felek?"
Her brother was already over by the wardrobe, grabbing clothing.
"They didn't tell me! I think there are people with the Captain, though!"
"Our Captain isn't one to panic," James said, stepping into a pair of pants. "Nor is he one to leave a critical situation. So, I doubt it's war, unless we've lost the town of Fredrick already and he's withdrawn to here. I doubt I'll be back to bed, though."
"I'll join you." Ewa tossed her covers aside. Her pregnancy wasn't visible yet, her young body still trim. As her feet touched the floor, sounds began to come from a nearby bassinet. Her attention was immediately diverted. James chuckled.
"Take care of him, then wake the kitchen. We'll need food, warm drink." He slipped the white shirt Felek offered him over his head. "Actually..." James looked out the door. "RUTA!"
The ten year old girl was in the room in an instant. She had an aversion to seeing James dress, he knew. She stood before him, excited and nervous.
"Your Grace?"
"Wake the kitchen, then come back and help with little Marik. Go!" She was out the door as fast as she had entered. Shoes now on, James turned to Felek. "Lead the way."
****
James entered a throne room surprisingly crowded. Guards and servants lined the walls, some trying to look busy, others openly gawking. All were much more awake than this ungodly hour would suggest. Five strangers stood with the Captain before the throne. They were nervous, somewhat unkempt. Clothing that had once been fine was now dirty, worn. Captain Putaski himself looked... not nervous, no. The man who had saved the humans after the murder of the Royal Family, had led that retreat from the only home these Poles had ever known, could not be nervous. Agitated, perhaps. Yes. That was a better description.
Ola, standing beside the throne, raised his voice as James stepped onto the dais.
"All kneel before His Grace, King James the First."
Every human dropped to one knee as James sat on his throne. His eyes stayed on the Captain. The man was definitely not himself. That worried him. He leaned forward, hands on his knees.
"What's going on, Captain?"
"Your Grace," the man said, rising, voice tired. His black hair seemed to look grayer, clean shaven face more lined. "Hours ago, before sunset, scouts found a large band of refugees approaching Fredrick."
James nodded. Small bands had been joining them ever since the migration had ended at the ocean's edge. Those who had been unable to join the column as it retreated across the countryside, those elsewhere when the Elves attacked the small city state. Every human joining them strengthened the Polish nation.
"How many?"
"Four to five thousand." The Captain almost seemed to wince as he said it. James sat there, his mind taking a moment to comprehend. Four to five...
He shot to his feet.
"God! Where are they? What shape are they in?"
A man rose and stepped forward, hand on the shoulder of a young teen boy rising beside him. His eyes were wide, with hope, fear. His hair was blond, shaggy, but there was the feel of a noble about him.
"We are unorganized, Your Grace. Tired. Starving..."
"I have Kosciuszko's riders sweeping on either side of them," Captain Putaski said, straightening. "Encircling, protecting. We should know by morning..."
"Jesus above. Ola!" James turned to his Chamberlain, the man just standing there mouth agape. "Send my regards to Chief Ajani with your fastest messenger. Ask if he would be so kind as to send everything he has in his store houses or in his ships to Fredrick. We'll work out payment later. Tell him we'll need everything the Kikker fishing fleet can bring in. I also want Tadeusz awakened. We need winter housing for five thousand immediately. Anything he can cobble together, here and in Fredrick. I don't care if we have to turn the pews in the chapel into bunk beds. Captain!" He looked back at the second most powerful Pole. "I assume you're going back immediately. What do you need?"
"I think you are taking care of it, Your Grace." He bowed, shoulder's seeming to slump.
"Anything you need," James said, moving forward, "just pass the word." He stepped off the dais, eyes on the stranger. "Jesus Christ. Where the hell did you come from?"
The man bowed his head, eyes on his feet as the King came to a stop before him.
"The Western side of the Warta."
James couldn't help it. He shot his eyes to the Captain. Putaski didn't meet his gaze.
"We lost the western bank. That's what you said. You pulled everyone into Nowy Kiev and the Elves swarmed up to the river."
"I got everyone in we could. I didn't order the gate shut and the bridge burned until Elvish devils were riding right up to the docks. I saved everyone I could!" His eyes did come up, haunted. James took a deep breath. Now was not the time for this. What was done, or not done, had no bearing on what had to be done now. Besides, they were alive. No matter how many had died, trapped outside the city walls, THESE people had lived.
James caught movement over by a doorway. Ewa was there. He turned to the five survivors.
"You all must be tired. I've awakened the kitchen, and hot food and drink should be here soon. Come, let's sit, trade stories." He stepped aside, motioning towards the doorway. The leader let out a tired sigh.
"Thank you, Your Grace. I am Ludoslaw Jasinski. This is my son, Lubor." James saw his hand squeeze the boy's shoulder. Turning, he motioned to those behind him. "My wife, Halina, my two daughters, Lusia and Gizela."
James nodded to the three women. The wife was attractive, dark haired, eyes a bit unfocused. The younger girl looked to be six, hair the same shade as her mother's. The other...
His eyes lingered an extra moment.
She was blond, the same blond as her father and brother. Sixteen, maybe, close to the same age as Ewa. Her hair hung loose, past her shoulders. Her eyes... something about them seemed to tug at the young King. There was something behind the light blue. A mind.
James looked back the others. There were more important things.
"Welcome to all of you. Captain, would you care to join us, before you go?"
If the Captain took his tone for one of dismissal, he didn't show it. Putaski bowed his head.
"Thank you, but no. I must get back."
"Keep me informed."
"Of course, Your Grace." He turned, walking swiftly towards the far doors. James motioned Ewa over as he turned back to the others.
"This is Ewa. Come, let's get something warm in all of you."
****
"When we heard there was a King, well, you can imagine our joy and surprise. We had heard of the loss of King Lawenza, and his sons, before we were cut off from the city. It was chaos, let me tell you."
James nodded as Ludoslaw took another sip of his warm drink. It was something made from the bark of a tree, the exact details James had not bothered to learn. It seemed to have caffeine and tasted good, which was all a drink of this sort needed. He wrapped his hands around his own cup, warming them. A fire was now started in the dining room hearth, its heat slowly radiating.
"All I know is what they have said it looked like from inside the city. Tell me what happened."
The man sighed.
"I was the head of a village a few miles from the western border. Far enough for raids to be more likely to hit someone else, and far enough from the city for us to consider ourselves our own little nation. Those in Nowy Kiev didn't treat us badly, you understand. They just..."
"They left us alone if we didn't cause a fuss," the oldest daughter put in. James gave Lusia a quick glance as her father nodded. He was obviously used to her speaking her mind. Seeing his eyes on her, the girl looked down, the start of a blush seeming to touch her cheeks.
"And we appreciated that," Ludoslaw went on. "Nothing worse than Kings and nobles sending out decrees telling you what to do. We paid our taxes, supported the troops at the border, sold our goods. All was well."
He took another long drink. James waited, Ewa taking his hand on the table. He felt the eyes of the others on that union.
"We knew something was going to happen. The raid that burned Renki to the ground was not going to be the end of it. Either we would strike them, or they would hit us. There was talk of running to the city. Leaving our homes, our crops. But... to just abandon the crops in the ground? To leave the sheep and cattle in the fields? No, we couldn't do that. Not unless we knew an attack was certain."
"Perfectly understandable," James told him. "I knew of a nation where everyone, man and woman, could be called to join the army in case of war. They would only do this if absolutely needed, as it left nobody to do the work of the nation."
Ludoslaw gave him a steady look.
"The Captain said the Relic found you somewhere else, somewhere closer to the Poland of old than to this world."
"That it did. I arrived with the city already lost, its people on the move." Ewa squeezed his hand.
"We heard about the King," the man went on. "We were shocked, of course. King Lawenza was like any other king, neither good nor bad, but it was obviously a horrible omen. Almost at the same time, we heard the noise of battle. That was NOT good. If you can hear fighting, it's too close to outrun. Some tried. My brother took his family into the woods. I know not what happened to them. I told all that would listen to stay put. The sounds were between us and the river. To run towards the Elven border seemed the height of folly. So... we waited."
"I saw the Elf first," the boy said. He glanced up at his father, who nodded permission. "An ugly green soldier came up and asked to talk to Dad. I was out with my friends, pretending we were soldiers. I was scared."
"He told us we were cut off. They didn't want to massacre us, if they didn't have to, but were more than willing to do the job if we gave them trouble. It was the city that concerned them. I talked with everyone, sent out runners to the other towns." He took another drink. "We waited."
"You could SEE the city burn!" Lubor interrupted, his eyes wide. "We could hear the fighting!"
"Five days we waited. Five days we waited for the Elves to be driven off. Five days we waited for a wave of our Winged Hussars to crash down on the Elven soldiers marching down our roads."
"We hid some soldiers," the son said. "From the garrisons. They never found them. One even slept in my room!"
"When the city fell," Ludoslaw said, "the Elves came to us. Said they wanted our crops. If we did nothing foolish until harvest time, we could stay on our farms, in our homes. Give them most of the crops, but keep our lives. Again, we talked. What was our option? To burn the crops and die? So... we stayed."
James nodded. Patriotism and self sacrifice were noble things, but self preservation was a more powerful instinct. What could they have done, against an army which had taken down the walled city? What would he have done?
"There were survivors from the city, too. Prisoners. They were sent to us, to work the fields. They said most had escaped. We talked about escaping too. Of rejoining you. But the Elvish scum were everywhere. They held the roads, the river banks..."
James leaned forward.
"So what happened?"
"We don't know," Lusia said. James raised an eyebrow at her. Her face blushed a bit as she straightened. "Seriously. We don't know. The crops were in, and they had, as they had promised, left us just enough for the winter. Everything was OK. Then there was fighting. Elves fighting elves. Our storehouses were ransacked. Looted."
"And the river was left unguarded," her father said. "Something bad was happening, and the way east was open. We took it."
****
Shanna walked into the dinning hall, scratching under her left armpit as she yawned. She could smell the coffee, or what they called coffee, brewing. Heard the sizzle of eggs. Her compound had its own chicken coop, an addition she was now grateful to Anelie for suggesting. The girl was full of good ideas. Good worker, too. There were days when Shanna wondered what the hell she'd do without her.
"Lady Shanna!" The red head in question came out of the kitchen, white apron tied over her dark green housedress. The tray in her hands held a steaming mug, as well as a plate with four fried eggs, a piece of fish, and two slices of toast. It was like the girl was psychic.
"Morning, Anelie." Shanna plopped down in her usual chair, the tray set down just a moment later. "Four eggs? Were there that many?"
"You've been working hard," the girl said. Shanna thought her cheeks were a bit red, but then they often were. She shrugged.
"Well, I am hungry. Thanks."
"You're welcome. Are we sparring this morning?"
"I think so. I'm in the mood to hit something."
"Should I wake my good for nothing brother, then?"
"I heard that, little girl!"
Bogdi's indignant shout brought a smile to Shanna's face, even as she refused to turn to greet the man. The laughter behind her told of the other soldiers joining them. She looked up at the little girl in question.
"I'll spar with you. He's too easy."
More laughter, Anelie's face seeming to flush more. She whirled, racing back into the kitchen as other women came out with mugs and platters. Bogdi set his huge frame down across from Shanna, others taking chairs around them as they grabbed empty plates from a stack, filling them before the women even had the platters fully on the table. The room filled with the sound of men being men.
Shanna was happy here. She belonged here. It was... home. They did not treat her like a girl, like a woman, although neither did they ever ignore her gender. She was off limits to serious flirting or the like, but if she called out their manhood Shanna could expect the same in return. She was respected, and the protection of her men came from that. They would do anything for her.
Piotr was going to have to understand that, when they were married. She wanted to live here. In the barracks. She was not moving into Piotr's quarters, next to the palace. Next to HIS men. They each had a job. That job required being with their men, as the King could call on them at any time. Being married wasn't going to change that. SHOULDN'T have to change that. They found time to be together now, almost every day. Wasn't that enough? If they had children, WHEN they had children, then they could talk about it. Decide which of them was moving.
The fact she had a room built next to her quarters that could work as a nursery was just planning ahead.
Bogdi was looking at her, his mouth chewing something large. Shanna raised an eyebrow.
"Yes?"
He swallowed. She could see the lump pass down his throat.
"How's Anelie's training coming? She won't spar with me."
"That," said Helmut, at the other end of the table, "is because you insist on using your ax!"
"Well, if your opponent doesn't have a sword, you still have to know how to defend yourself!" The table laughed, Shanna included. Over Bogdi's head, she saw Anelie peeking around the doorframe. Shanna looked away before the girl saw that she had been noticed.
"She's good," Shanna said, taking a drink. "Picks it up fast. Her arm strength is getting better, so I think we'll be able to move her to a better sword, larger shield."
He nodded, expression pleased.
"Good, good. She was always one to want to play soldier. It's good to see she's improving." He paused. Shanna frowned.
"What?"
"It's... well, it's about our scout."
"Oh." Shanna blinked, looking around the table. Every eye was on the two of them. "Did you find someone?"
"Well..." Bogdi's expression turned sheepish. "What about Anelie?"
"Anel... what?" She caught the girl ducking behind the doorway. Shanna's eyes focused fully on the redhead's brother. "You're kidding. You want to have her fight?"
"She's agile," he said, raising a meaty hand and ticking items off on his fingers. "She's stealthy. She can fight. She's GOOD at maps, at reading landmarks. She can track a bit, too. City tracking, yes, but she once followed a rat back to its nest. She'll learn." He had run out of fingers at that point, starting over again with his pinky. "And, we trust her."
That got Shanna's attention. She looked around the table, over at the other tables. Every soldier was nodding. She shrugged.
"Well, obviously her gender isn't an issue. Sure, why not. We'll give it a try."
A loud whoop came from the kitchen. Shanna closed her eyes. She already regretted this.
****
James stood before the large second story picture window, looking out of the Palace, down the hill to the small city below. Five thousand. Five thousand more people. Maybe. He expected more reports soon. Now that it was daylight, flags could be used to pass short messages, first across the ocean from the town of Fredrick to the mouth of the Anne river, then through the mountains surrounding the island to the communication tower on the Palace grounds. The Chief of the Kikker village had sent word he would do all he could. That took a load off of the King's mind. Food would be tight, the humans already counting on the frog people's fishing boats to keep away hunger. It would not be possible for them to increase their catch too much. Not with winter approaching, with the seas cold, stormy. Still, they would make do. His people were strong.
The door to his office opened behind him.
"Your Grace, Lady Shanna is here."
James turned as the door closed again, Shanna already well into the room. She grabbed the back of a chair before his desk, flipping it around and sitting with her legs straddling the back. She was wearing a black tunic and blue slacks. The inability of the Poles to replicate bluejeans was still a sore point for both of them. She met his eyes.
"What's up?"
"Too much." He walked over to his desk, sliding into the leather chair. James leaned back. "You heard?"
"As soon as we finished breakfast. Thanks for letting me sleep in."
"I knew there was nothing for you to do just yet." He let the chair rotate left, then right. "This is the worst best news. That's what's killing me."
"Almost makes you wonder if they let them go just to make things hard on us."
He shook his head.
"If the Elves had wanted to, we were sitting ducks all the way to the coast. You know that. We all know that." He sat up. "It's the thing about a civil war that has me worried."
She straightened.
"What's this now?"
"The people Captain Putaski brought here think some sort of Elvish civil war broke out, and they were forgotten about. I don't like that."
James could see her mind working behind those glasses.
"Which side is the Queen, if that was the Queen our Polish King was screwing around with, on? Which side do we want to win?"
"Do we want any side to win? Do we want a winner, needing to shore up his support, to decide yet another war against the Humans is a good idea? We're in no shape to beat anybody."
"We need information."
He nodded.
"I'm thinking of sending you out. Ride these people's back trail. See what you find."
"No," she said, shaking her head. "I don't see what good that would do."
"What do you suggest?"
"Traders. They hear much. We could go to one of the coastal cities. Poke around. See what the gossip is."
"Hmm..." He considered. "I'll talk to Chief Ajani. See what he recommends. Make sure Polocks are welcome." A thought occurred to him. "Oh, this works out. You can take Piotr with you."
She blinked.
"Why?"
"He said something about you two needing a honeymoon.”