Torgan Wine Ch. 25

Huge thanks to Todger65 for editing!

*****

Another week had passed before the priests had decreed Isonei fit to travel. It was decided that she should be taken directly to the Torga Kroscur; the less she had to travel the better it would be for her delicate health. A break in the weather, alternating rains and snows finally coming to an end and allowing the sun to shine in the frigid valley, meant that travelling could be done with more ease for the moment.

Thanking Prince Burgath warmly for his hospitality and generosity with a kiss on the cheek, she joined the two priests and Krouth in the carriage that was lent to them. Two guards, one of them Taugh, rode on top. The royal carriage had left with Prince Rogath.

Isonei gazed out of the window at the passing landscape, the steep snow covered sides of the valley slowly gave way to trees as they moved deeper and the twisting road descended into another valley. She didn't bother listening to the indecipherable Torgan conversations being carried on by the men.

When they finally stopped for the evening, the inn was one the priests were very comfortable with but it left Krouth looking dismayed. The lodgings were austere and the better, larger room was given to the priests. Hers at least had a small oven in the corner, the door to feed the fire inside it opened into the hall. She asked Krouth to have the innkeeper keep it well fed after he stoked it himself.

As her room started to chill again she left the room and found Krouth arguing animatedly with the innkeeper. Isonei stood watching with a frown until she was noticed and the innkeeper made a sharp gesture toward her.

"Lady, are you well?" Krouth appeared to be seething but he solicitously advanced on her attempting to herd her back toward her room.

"I'm freezing."

"The innkeeper does not believe the room should be kept as warm as you wish it. I will have to see to it myself." The slim Torgan turned to fetch wood from the pile and was stopped by a barked command. The argument seemed to begin again.

Isonei advanced on the innkeeper and he scowled at her speaking sharply, she was almost certain she didn't wish to know what he said. "Will you translate for me Krouth?" She carefully put her icy hands on the man's warm one and he jerked it away. "I'm from Ara. In Ara it is a great deal warmer. I am freezing here in Torga. I've been ill and I require a warm room. Will you refuse the Duchess of Kroscur when she asks very politely to have the fire fed?"

Krouth's tone was much cooler than hers and the man looked at him with less animosity as he began to ask questions.

"He wishes to know why you did not complain when you were given the smaller room, my Lady. He mistook you for a wealthy pilgrim." He added with a pointed look, "Something I do not discourage, travelling with a Duchess and only two guards is not safe."

She nodded and gave him a rueful smile, "Tell him, a smaller room is easier to keep warm. Being warm is my most pressing concern at the moment. And if you can keep my room warm I will defer to you on what people need to be told."

He inclined his head and translated. The innkeeper reached out and took hold of her clasped hands and winced, before releasing them and asking Krouth another question. At his answer the man gathered an armload of wood and gave a resigned reply.

"Your fire will be kept well fed, my Lady." The slim Torgan led her back to her room and looked at her with what might have been a hint of amusement. "He asked how warm Ara is after touching your hands. I told him you had never seen snow that covered the grass."

"I thought the Torgan gowns were far too heavy and warm when I tried them in Leria, now I almost wish they had more layers."

"You will become accustomed to the cold, Lady Isonei. It is much easier to warm oneself than to cool oneself."

"I have to disagree." She let her lips twist. "I can stay cool in Ara quite easily but I haven't felt warm since I got out of bed this morning."

"I will have a mug of warming tea brought to you, my Lady. Your delicate health will be taken into consideration with our next lodgings, I assure you."

"This isn't an unhealthy place, it's very clean." Isonei offered him another rueful smile. "I would appreciate it if you would see that the innkeeper is paid for his wood and his trouble. My father always grumbled about the cost to heat our house, I can't imagine heating an inn is less expensive. Especially here."

Krouth offered a shallow bow. "Will there be anything else, Lady Isonei?"

"I don't think so, thank you Krouth."

A short while later a maid came up nervously with a large mug of hot tea, the priests followed, frowning, on her heels.

Offering them a wan smile, she gratefully accepted the mug from the maid. "Thank you."

Brother Jannun said something politely in Torgan and the maid responded with a question. The priest's disapproving reply prompted the woman to give Isonei a pitying glance as she left.

"Why did she look at me that way?"

"You are ahh not speaking Torgan. It makes you..." He mimed pushing her away.

"Krouth says Draeseth wants to have me taught at his home."

"Aing."

"That's yes?"

"Aing."

Isonei gave him a warm smile and sipped her tea. "You think I should be learning now, aing?"

He grinned. "I think ahh it will be fast."

"No, it took me years to learn Lerian and I spoke it poorly until... until after the fever and the strange dreams."

"Torgan is light. You will learn." Jannun turned to Brenough and spoke briefly. The older man smiled, nodding and replying before approaching her. She turned her face up with a smile as he extended his hands to cover it and intoned something warmly, completing the gesture, smoothly sliding his hands toward her ears.

"We teach you."

"What will you teach her?" Krouth entered and gave her a dubious look.

"They want to teach me Torgan." Seeing his frown, she sighed, "Would it be so terrible if I learned a few words before I arrived at Draeseth's home? Perhaps, yes, no, and thank you?"

"Lady, he wishes to oversee your education. A few days more will do you no harm and would mean a great deal to him."

"I don't know that it would. He's been... different. He sent no letters for me, despite my having sent him two, and I know he responded to Burgath's."

"Prince Draeseth is not one for correspondence, my Lady." Krouth's frown deepened.

"If he was thinking of me at all a short letter would not have been difficult." Isonei sipped her tea. "I feel so isolated. In Ara you always have your family and your friends, even in Leria I knew people and enough of the language to be able to socialize. Here... the few people I can speak to are so distant."

"Distant?" Jannun looked perplexed.

"People barely smile and flinch when you touch them."

"You are associating with men, Lady Isonei. It is inappropriate." Krouth studied her with a displeased expression. "You require a female companion. But even a woman may not be as affectionate as you are accustomed to, Torgans are not as demonstrative."

Isonei placed the tea on the small table next to her to rub her temples. The priests and Krouth began having a quiet, clearly concerned, conversation.

Krouth spoke to her again after something had been decided. "You grew up with a large family; a family is something you require. They will give you a small but proper wedding to Prince Draeseth when you both arrive."

"I promised I wouldn't marry in this year. Even if I wanted to, and I'm uncertain of that, I can't." She felt exhausted. "I'm going to finish my tea and go to sleep."

"You sleep too much." Jannun frowned at her. "The room is too warm. I will speak to Adrim."

His words felt like a threat and she couldn't keep herself from trembling. Krouth stepped in immediately speaking icily in Torgan and the wave of gratitude she felt must have been apparent on her face. Brother Brenough raised his hand and spoke in a measured tone making a gesture at her.

"You ahh feel things for Krouth?" Jannun looked at her searchingly.

"What do you mean?" Isonei was certain she was misunderstanding the question.

"He wants to know if you have tender feelings for me. Your expression was affectionate."

"My expression was grateful. I've been cold all day and because I'm tired he wants to make this room cold again. You argued on my behalf, I am very grateful for that." She looked at the pair of priests incredulously. "Are women not even permitted gratitude in Torga?"

"No, ahh..."

"No?" Covering her face she took a breath, "Take me back to Leria. I can't..."

"Your Daga released you, my Lady." Krouth's voice became soothing. "Things will get better in the Torga Kroscur. Once you are settled-"

"If women here aren't even permitted gratitude Krouth, I can't... I promised him I would try but-"

"No! You ahh-" Jannun lapsed into Torgan hurriedly.

Krouth replied in a very careful tone and then awkwardly patted the top of her head. "My Lady, that was not what he meant. He meant that you were mistaken. I think you are tired and need to rest. Your room will be kept warm, you have my word."

"Thank you, Krouth. My Draeseth is very lucky to have you in his service."

"Please tell him so. He is still angry that you spoke to me and came to the conclusion you are ill suited for each other."

"I told him it wasn't your fault."

"I am aware." He smiled faintly. "If the Lady Lislora is in her house near the Keep I will have her brought as soon as we arrive. You require a companion and she is Prince Draeseth's cousin on his mother's side, she will be willing to serve. She is a very gentle and caring woman."

"I would like that. Thank you."

"I will return later to look in on you and bring you something to eat, my Lady."

"Thank you Krouth."

°°°°°°°°°°

The remaining days of travel were much the same. Isonei's insides felt knotted by apprehension and she spent the days chilled while admiring the scenery. Torga seemed to open up in the middle, the valleys they travelled through opened into a broad area of gently rolling hills, with steep mountains in view on either side. Krouth explained that Torga had been raised by Ganas to protect his chosen people; the Great Gate on one side and the Vrutyrt Chasm on the other were the only ways in and out of Torga.

Their cliffs even prevented them from reaching the sea. But, she was told, they also protected them from the Phaethians as the fleets of the Sons of Mun and the Northern Isles did for Ara and Leria. The Northern Isles had been at war with them off and on since the Phaethians had conquered their way to the sea, they sank their ships on sight. The Sons of Mun did the same, possibly, Krouth speculated, because they traded so often with the Northern Isles.

The Torga Kroscur rose above the land below, the sides of the mountains studded with hardy trees bearing needles so dark they looked almost black. The well kept road wound up toward an imposing Keep and the town that seemed to encircle it. The land looked as if it had been terraced and large lumbering animals that only vaguely resembled the cattle she knew from home, watched the carriage warily as it passed.

"Krouth?"

"Yes, my Lady?"

"What are those?"

"Have you not seen cattle, Lady Isonei?" A hint of amusement crossed the man's face.

"Not like that. Those are... different," she studied the massive shaggy animals. The large thick horns looked dangerous and the animals themselves didn't look nearly as docile as the usually hornless creatures she knew from home.

"Torgan cattle are prized, my Lady. They are used for meat, milk, leather, and their fur is often collected and woven to make rugs by the peasants. Your husband owns a very large herd."

"They are impressive looking. They don't look as docile as Aran cattle."

"Docility is not something they are bred for, no. Did your father own cattle?"

"No, he owns some goats but he isn't fond of them and they were always kept well away from the house."

"Why ahh did he keep them?" Brother Jannun asked with a smile.

"He likes goat milk and cheese, and the meat is good. He would have a few roasted for parties."

"Often?"

"Whenever the flowers were blooming." Isonei gave the curious priest a warm smile. "The air was heavy with the scent of blossoms at certain times of year and he would have such wonderful parties. Good food, our fine wine, and dancing into the night." She turned back toward the window, the pleasant memories made her ache to go back to Ara.

"Prince Draeseth's mother often held parties. The King occasionally attended. Should you hold them as well, you would find a great many of the nobles in Torga willing to attend, I think." Krouth sounded speculative. "It would serve to enhance your husband's standing in Court as well."

"Does he like parties? My Draeseth and I met at one but he was very uncomfortable."

"He could be persuaded to hold them for your happiness, my Lady." Krouth inclined his head.

"They would make me a great deal less happy if they make him miserable, Krouth."

He smiled faintly, "An occasional party will be bearable. You should find his garden enchanting, his mother began it and there are times of year when the air around the Keep is perfumed by its blossoms."

"That is something to look forward to." The memory of Draeseth saying he wanted to lay her down in his garden came bubbling up and she smiled looking out of her window feeling hopeful.

Brother Jannun spoke quietly to Krouth and the three Torgans began another conversation as she gazed intently out at the animals and approaching town.

The town was bustling and loud. The road that led to the Keep passed through their market and Isonei beamed at the normality of it, people going about their lives, buying and selling food and goods. Entering a tunnel, the carriage climbed up to the Keep of Kroscur.

At the top, the massiveness became apparent, there were several buildings within the fortress walls and none of them seemed to be crowded together. It felt open and spacious. The carriage came to a stop in front of the most ornate and Krouth exited the carriage to help her out. The stone building was imposing, dark, and surprisingly lovely. The inside was clean, but the bare tables lining the walls and lack of rugs on the stone floor suggested, to her, a lack of interest in the house.

Krouth gave commands in Torgan to the gathered servants who were looking at her expectantly and they scattered. "Neither Prince Draeseth nor Lady Lislora have yet arrived. I thought perhaps you would like to bathe and rest?" With a gesture, he led her up, through the large house.

"Yes, thank you Krouth. When will they arrive?"

"Prince Draeseth is expected sometime this week, he was not more exact. Lady Lislora should arrive tomorrow."

"Do any of the maids speak Aran or Lerian?"

"I will make inquiries, my Lady. There may be some of the lower nobility who would be glad to have their daughters serve the Duchess of Kroscur. Aran is considered a fashionable language."

"I would appreciate it. Whatever my Draeseth pays you I'm almost certain it should be a great deal more."

A smug smile crossed the man's face before he schooled it back into its usual dispassion. "You are very generous with your praise my Lady."

"Only where it's deserved. I have only ever been looked after so well by members of my own family. And I promise you I will tell him that when he arrives." She gave him a grateful smile.

"This will be your room Lady Isonei." Krouth opened a door for her and allowed her into a suite of rooms that looked fit for a Duchess. The delicate, feminine furnishings and pale colors were nothing she could imagine Draeseth staying in.

"This is beautiful, Krouth, but these aren't Draeseth's rooms, I think."

"No, my Lady. His rooms do adjoin these but the Duke and Duchess have always had separate bed chambers."

"That seems so strange to me. My mothers always stayed in my father's chambers." Isonei shook her head.

"Your father is not a duke, nor were any of your," he hesitated, "mothers duchesses."

"That is true, but Ernelis is a waxing House, and Ivorith's mother was still considered to be Arranging herself beneath her station. Her sister is Princess Daeira's mother."

"Ah." Krouth looked at her with a faint smile. "That is why Ivorith did not pursue Princess Daeira. It was curious to me that the younger brother would pursue the Princess and not the elder."

"One of the reasons. Ivorith hasn't been concerned with finding a lover; he wants to improve our House's standing further."

"Ambitious. He wishes his sister to be Arranged to the crown prince?"

"He would like that now that he's seen it might be possible. My brothers thought me to be too playful and mischievous to have high hopes for. Apparently not everyone finds me charming."

His lips twisted and he cleared his throat, inclining his head. "Shall I show you to the bath?"

"Please."

°°°°°°°°°°

Isonei had begun to fret by lunch the next day when Lady Lislora had not yet arrived. The prospect of having a friend and companion, one who could supposedly speak Aran, was desperately appealing. Most especially if Draeseth was going to be keeping himself separate from her. When Krouth came to fetch her hurriedly, she was writing letters to keep herself distracted.

The servants had lined themselves up as they had for her arrival and Krouth looked almost nervous himself as he directed her to stand in the middle of the wide hall. The doors opened moments later and at the sight of Draeseth stalking through them, his eyes searching for her, she no longer cared that he'd been cold and not written to her. Beaming she bounded forward.

"Draeseth!" Isonei embraced him and felt his arms wrap around her protectively.

"My Duchess. How are you feeling? Was your journey difficult?" He stepped back from her embrace and looked down at her with relief.

"I'm feeling much better. Krouth has taken excellent care of me, I think I might have frozen to death if he hadn't looked after me so well. You should have seen him arguing with the innkeepers and the priests about keeping my rooms warm."

"Has he found his way back into your good graces?" His dark eyes glittered with amusement, "He will have to find a way to do the same for me."

"Keeping me alive, warm, and happy isn't enough to put him in your good graces, husband?" She gave him an irked look and barely managed to refrain from poking him.

Draeseth made a pleased sound in his throat, "I suppose that it is." A polite cough made Isonei look curiously around the large Torgan. "My cousin, Lislora, travelled with me. I stopped to speak with her on our way and found she had been summoned."

"Krouth has noticed that I'm desperately lonely and he thought she would be good company for me."

"I am home now, my sweet wife. You will be less lonely." He smiled down at her indulgently before turning and extending his arm. "Lislora, this is my Isonei."

The Torgan woman he was gesturing to had a frozen smile on her aristocratic face. She was barely a head shorter than Draeseth and, like him, she looked strongly built. Her height, broad hips and shoulders, along with her dark grey-green skin and nearly black hair made her look like Isonei's utter opposite.

"You must get your beauty from your mother's side, my Draeseth. Your cousin is lovely." Isonei beamed at her and stepped forward extending her hand. "Do you speak Aran, Lady Lislora?"

"I-I do, Lady Isonei." Lislora hesitantly reached out to take Isonei's hand and seemed surprised as it was clasped warmly.

"Wonderful! Someone hasn't taught me much Torgan yet." Isonei gave Draeseth a mischievous smile. "I'm told it's easier than Lerian but for now Aran will have to do."

The large Torgan Prince grinned down at her, "I wish to teach you myself, my Duchess. I had considered another teacher, but my time with you is being limited by propriety."