Free The Kingdom on the Edge of Reality by Gahan Hanmer Page A

here?" I asked her.
    "I don't have any idea. Albert could tell you roughly how many holdings there are. With all the little babies, there must be several thousand at least."
    "Does anybody count them from time to time?"
    "What for? There's a tithe to be collected, but tithing is done by the holding, not by the head. I suppose I shall have to know more about this when I am queen."
    That made me look at her more closely, for she said it so sadly. After a few moments she turned to me. "Oh, Jack," she whispered, "I hope it won't be too boring! Albert is always very busy when he's here, and now that we're staying forever . . . Promise me I can count on you for some diversion now and then."
    "Of course you can count on me, Jenna." I didn't know what else to say. I felt like I could see her nude body right through her riding habit, cloak and all. But I couldn't be sure what she was asking, or what I was promising either. I had never had an affair with a queen in a medieval kingdom before. And yet I wanted her. I yearned for her.
    "I think we're ready to go," said Jenna, reaching under my cloak to give my hand a squeeze. Albert was mounting up. I could not see his face in the lingering twilight. The old woman was nowhere to be seen. Only two or three children still remained. I was wondering how the eight of us, including Maxine's little daughter, were going to ride down the other side of the pass in the dark, when I heard distant hoofbeats and saw lights approaching from below.
    Five mounted men, two with torches, were coming up the draw. Even from a distance they had the look of soldiers, sitting on their horses very straight, and riding in a rhythm that connected them all as a unit. As they drew near, I saw that they were wearing leather armor with iron trim. They had very light saddles that resembled leather cushions with stirrups. Four of them wore long daggers and carried iron-trimmed staffs. The fifth man wore a rapier, and was every inch an officer. His hair and beard were dark and curly, and he had alert eyes that looked black in the torchlight. He must have been around forty, and was in excellent shape, wiry, close-knit, centered.
    "Hail, King Albert!" he cried as they all reined in. Each of them thumped his chest with his fist in a robust salute. They all looked happy to see Albert.
    "Hail, Sir Leo, well met," said Albert. "How did you know we were here?"
    "Good news travels swiftly, my liege. The hare told the deer and the deer told the bird. Is this the fencing master?"
    "Leo, this is Sir Jack, the last but not the least. Jack, this is Sir Leo, marshal of the garrison."
    "Well met, Sir Jack," said Leo, smiling and extending his hand. When I reached out he grasped me by the forearm, so I gripped his in return, and that was the way we shook our greeting. It seemed quite natural and I rather liked it. He had a slight eastern European accent and I liked that too. In fact, I took an instant liking to him and I hoped we would be friends.
    "Well met, Sir Leo," I replied. "Were you expecting me?"
    "I've been looking forward to meeting you. The king says you have a way with a sword."
    "I'm a bit out of practice."
    "No matter," he said, indicating the valley below with a wave of his hand. "Here we have plenty of time to practice."
    "It's late, Leo, and this girl is shivering," said Albert, pointing to Mimi. Leo quickly organized the march, and soon we were riding down into the valley by the flickering glare of the torches.
    It had been a long day and a long journey. It had begun with our loading of the bags and horses into a huge iron bird that growled like thunder as it flew. That had been at least a thousand years ago, or maybe it was a thousand years in the future. I didn't care anymore. My brain had gone to sleep. By the time we reached our shelter for the night, I hardly glanced at it though I saw there was a fire inside. Someone put a bowl of soup in my hands, but I could barely eat for yawning.
    "Put him to bed, Leo," said