Tassin watched him strip down to his shorts and don his cyber issue clothes, her overtly admiring gaze making him a little uncomfortable and embarrassed. When she walked back to the feast with him, an air of expectation had fallen over the guests. Tarl had enlisted the aid of several servants to rig a wooden bar some four metres above the ground, supported by rickety scaffolding and ropes attached to pegs.
Sabre eyed it, then Tarl. "You're kidding, right?"
"No. Acrobatics on the ground is too easy for you. This will be a little bit of a challenge."
"That's not going to be strong enough."
"It's pretty sturdy, and these fine lads are going to brace it as well." Tarl indicated the servants.
"You're going to pay for this."
"It'll be worth it. I've always wanted to see a cyber show off."
"Didn't you see enough of them being put through their paces on Myon Two?" Sabre asked.
"That was different."
"How?"
Tarl shrugged. "It was a set exercise, and they didn’t enjoy it."
“Who says I’m going to enjoy this?”
“Oh, I think you will, even if just a little, and you should.”
Sabre glanced around at the guests, who appeared spellbound. Tassin looked a bit doubtful, but took her seat beside Dena. Tarl stepped back and gestured to the bar, and the servants braced themselves. Sabre sighed and looked up at it, gauging its width, which was no more than six centimetres. He leapt up and grabbed it, swung himself atop it and stood up. A soft 'ooh' came from the audience. Sabre walked to the end of the bar, his arms at his sides, then flung himself into a series of backflips, his hands and feet finding the bar with unerring accuracy.
Reaching the end, he repeated the manoeuvre in forward somersaults, the bar bouncing under his weight. A louder 'aaah' of amazement came from the guests, but he was just warming up. Back flipping to the middle, he did a handstand, then swung himself around the bar three times, performing a handstand at the top of each swing for several seconds. Tiring of that, he stood up again and leap into a triple twisting backflip, wobbling just a little when he landed as the bar creaked and bent under his weight. The guests gasped.
Sabre did a forward triple twisting somersault, then jumped off the bar, caught it and swung around it. Releasing it at the top of the swing, he did a quadruple twist and grabbed the bar as he fell. Swinging around it again, he released it at the top and did two back spins before catching it once more. Letting it go as he swung upwards, he landed on his feet and stood up, then ran to the end and jumped off, performed four somersaults and landed easily. The guests sat in stunned silence for several seconds, then burst into enthusiastic applause, shouting their accolades. Sabre returned to his seat, frowning at Tarl when he grinned.
Tassin smiled at him, her eyes sparkling. "That was incredible."
Sabre shrugged, pouring a glass of water. "Standard cyber capabilities."
"Don't do that. Those skills are yours. You should be proud of them."
He sipped the water, watching the servants dismantle the scaffolding. "Well, I guess I could always become an entertainer."
Tassin took his hand. "You can be whatever you want. I just want you to be happy."
"Anything will be a vast improvement on being a cyber host."
"Don't settle for anything less than what you want."
He nodded, lifted her hand and kissed it. "I won't."
Later that evening, Sabre caught Tarl unawares and emptied a flagon of ale over his head, much to the amusement of all but Tarl, who had the grace to take it in good humour. Tassin insisted that Sabre change back into the velvet suit for the dancing and take to the floor with her several times. Finally the newlyweds retired, the guests left, and Sabre escorted Tassin to her room before going to bed.
****
The following morning, Dena joined Tassin and Sabre in the sunroom for breakfast, and Tassin smiled at her when she flopped down opposite them.
"How are you this morning?"
"Wonderful."
"Good. That's how you're supposed to feel after your wedding night."
Sharmian came in, and Dena jumped up to kiss him. The young King looked a trifle embarrassed by her effusion, but took it well.
"All is prepared, Tassin," he announced. "Four thousand men are ready to march on Pradish tomorrow. Another thousand are in training, and more are still enlisting."
"A force to be reckoned with. As soon as you attack Lord Morrel, Torrian will come to his aid, and we leave for Arlin. Your wedding guests will spread the word of my return, and Torrian will come himself. He will think I will be with you."
"He is no fool. He may set a trap for you at your castle in case you go there."
She nodded. "I am expecting a trap at the castle. If Torrian does not set one, Dellon will."
"Then you must take some men with you, to counter it."
"We intend to travel there in secret. We can hardly do that with a troop of men, and if Torrian or Dellon learn of our location, a troop will not keep us safe. As long as there are only a few of us, and we stay in the wild lands, they will not know for certain where we are, although they will probably suspect that I might to go to the castle to confront Dellon. Keeping them guessing will be the best strategy, then they have no way to prepare well for either situation."
"But how will you counter the trap at your castle? Surely you will not rely solely upon Sir Sabre's skills, impressive though they are. He is only one man."
Tassin glanced at the cyber. "I hope some of my men who remain at the castle can be persuaded to join us when they see me. If not, then yes, I shall be relying solely on Sabre."
"You have a great deal of faith in him."
"I have seen what he can do."
Sharmian nodded, sipping the cup of tea Dena had poured for him. "I am tempted to make a stand with the men I have. I believe they could do serious damage to Torrian's army."
"Then you would be a fool. Torrian will bring a large force, possibly six thousand men, and you will be crushed. You must retreat as soon as he draws close, and keep him at a safe distance. He will be loath to give up the chase after travelling so far to confront you, and that will give me time to establish my rule in Arlin. If enough of my men turn against him when they learn of my return, they will join you, and I ask that you heed my generals, who are skilled at warfare. Torrian may attack them when they leave, in which case they will keep him busy."
"If none of them turn against him, I will be on my own," he said.
"Unfortunately, yes, until I can come to your aid. In that case, you must circle around and march to Arlin, where you will join forces with me."
"If all your soldiers remain with Torrian, what army will you have left to fight with? And there's Bardock."
Tassin inclined her head. "There is that. It is unlikely, however, that all my men will remain loyal to Dellon. Bardock will have to march for a month to join the battle."
"But if it happens, we will lose."
Sabre looked up. "Then we cut off the head of the snake, and the rest will die."
"Kill Torrian? That will not be easy while he is encamped with an army. Who will do it?"
"I will."
Tassin nodded. "That would be a last resort. Not because I am averse to killing Torrian, even though it will throw Pradish into chaos, but because it will be dangerous."
"Not if I use a laser. I can kill him from a kilometre away in open country."
"Why don't we do that then?" Dena asked, looking excited. "That way we can stop the war before it even starts."
Tassin shook her head. "Tempting though that idea is, it is not a good one. I did not mean it was dangerous for Sabre to kill him, I meant the consequences will be dire. He would be charged with Torrian's murder. The Pradish nobles and royals will demand his execution, and, when I refuse, they will foment war between Arlin and Pradish with the aid of Traynar."
"If I kill him from a distance, no one will know who did it,” Sabre pointed out. “They might even think it was a bolt of lightning, or divine intervention, since they’re a superstitious bunch of primitives."
"That plan will only work if Torrian is with the army that comes to Mandor. He might stay in Arlin. But finding out if he is with his army will put us in danger. We cannot risk it."
"We'll pass his army on the way to Arlin. I could spy on him in disguise."
"He'll have scouts. It's too dangerous. I need you with me, to protect me. If I fall into Torrian's hands, he'll kill me."
Sabre nodded, leaning back with a sigh. "All right. Your plan is better."
"Thank you. A fine compliment from one so skilled in the art of warfare."
"Usually, the loss of one life would be inconsequential, but in this case it would result in defeat. That's not a common scenario. People whose lives can affect the future of an entire country don't usually go into battle. Which is why you mustn't."
Tassin smiled. "I don't know what's going to happen, but I don't plan to lead any cavalry charges."
"Good, then you've acquired some sense since the last time, when you wanted to."
"That was an impulse brought on by extreme duress."
"But you would have done it," he said.
"Must we argue about this now?"
He shrugged, looking away. "I just don't want a repeat performance."
"I can't guarantee that. I would do whatever it took to save you, and you know it."
"That would be foolish."
"No it wouldn't. All I’ve done has been to rescue you. What would be the point if I lost you?"
Sabre glanced at her, then away again. "Perhaps this isn't a good time to discuss it."
"There is no discussion. That's just the way it is. If you think I'm going to stand by and do nothing while you're killed, you're a fool."
"And if you rush in and get yourself killed to save me, so are you," he said.
"Fine, we're both fools, because you'd do the same for me."
"Yeah, but I'm not the Queen."
Tassin frowned. "My title would mean nothing without you. If it cost your life to regain it, I'd rather not even try."
"I'm a lot harder to kill than you, okay? This plan isn't without risk, but I think you're the one who will need protection, not me."
"If we're going to die in this conflict, we'll do it together."
Dena sniffed and wiped her eyes. "As will Sharmian and I."
Sabre raised his hands. "This is ridiculous. No one's going to die."
Tassin nodded. "I agree. So we stick to the plan. Tomorrow Sharmian will leave for Lord Morrel's estate, and I'll set off for Arlin with Sabre and Tarl."
"I'm going with Sharmian," said Dena.
Sharmian shook his head. "No, you're staying here."
"I'll be safer with you and the army than in a poorly defended castle, which Torrian will certainly loot."
"Dena's right," Tassin said. "She should stay with you, My Lord. If Torrian captures her, he'll use her as a hostage."
"Very well." Sharmian did not appear to be particularly averse to the idea.
Sabre asked, "So, you're utterly committed to this course of action, Sharmian? You have no doubts, no remorse? You intend to see it through to the end?"
The King’s brows rose. "Of course. Why would you doubt it?"
Sabre studied him for several seconds. "It's a big step."
"I'm aware of that, but I want my kingdom free of Torrian's tyranny."
"Of course."
Sharmian rose to his feet. "I must attend to matters."
As soon as the door closed behind him, Tassin turned to Sabre asked, "Did he pass?"
"Yeah. Flying colours."
Dena frowned. "What did you do?"
"Just made certain Sharmian doesn't have a hidden agenda," Tassin said.
"How could you doubt him? He's my husband!"
"Affection can be faked, and your marriage would be of no consequence if he planned to hand you over to Torrian."
"But he doesn't, does he?" Dena demanded.
"No."
"You shouldn't have doubted him." She rose and stomped out.
Tassin sighed. "Love is so blind."
"You should have waited until we were alone," Sabre said.
"It wasn't my idea to test him."
"Dena didn't know what I did."
She nodded. "War is an ill thing. All this ugliness and death could be avoided if you would just call Fairen."
"I won't ask a boy to fight my battles for me."
"A boy with the power to achieve so easily what we must fight and many good men must die for. He wouldn't mind."
"It wouldn't be right,” he said. “Overlords only intervene in problems involving entire planets, or solar systems, not in the petty wars of countries on backwater worlds."
"Or where their affections dictate."
"My life isn't in danger, or yours, and we may not be. We can do this without his help."
"But it's not without risk, so why must we wait until we're in danger, by which time it might be too late? We've been through so much, and come so far; why must we risk it all now? If you're killed, everything will have been for nothing."
He took her hand. "Hey, have a little faith in me."
"I have the utmost faith in you. I know what you can do. You don't have to prove it."
"Is that what you think I'm doing?"
"Are you?"
"No."
She nodded, biting her lip. "Good. I'm just so afraid that something terrible will happen, when we're so close to achieving our goal."
"This is just another bump in the road, and there’s going to be plenty more. If you think all our troubles will be over once you get your crown back, you’re dreaming. I’m still got a mega-corporation after my blood, and an Overlord. This is a long way from being over."