“I’m not sure what you mean.”
“That disconnect where one minute we’re out chasing gryphons and for me, making a fool of myself, but then within seconds of being back in the castle, there I was fronting a meeting with twoof the councilors who simply wanted to talk about next year’s taxes.”
Winter’s eyes widened. “You didn’t let them raise the rate, did you?”
“Definitely not. I am well aware of my father’s views about taxation, and I happen to agree with them. I think a couple of people who are supposed to be advising my father are positioning themselves around me, hoping I’ll heed their counsel when…you know.”
Rupert was glad he was spending more time with his father – and yes, he was surprised about that too. But there were some things he wasn’t ready to face just yet.
He knew it was going to hurt when his father was gone. It had been thirty years since his mother had died, and Rupert still lived with the hurt he’d felt at that abrupt change in his life. Knowing his father was ill and having Winter by his side, Rupert hoped he could hold himself together when the inevitable happened.
In the meantime, he had more immediate problems, but instead of facing them alone, he now had Winter to talk to. “I’m beyond grateful for your man Pippin, saving me the way he did. He kept a calm head, and he acted quickly… I’m truly impressed. But I found myself overwhelmed about it too, and I can’t stop thinking about it.”
“More details, please, Rupert dear. What was overwhelming about it? It was only the other day that you were saying that you wanted to have that sort of support, to be part of a team. Pippin would have done the same thing for me, or for Sigmund, or for one of the guards, and he would have expected that we would have all done the same for him, if the need arose. It’s whatpart of being a team is all about. You’re part of our family now, remember? A member of our team.”
Nodding, Rupert idly twirled one of Winter’s curls around his finger. His husband had wonderfully soft hair that gleamed in the soft lamp light. “I know it’s what I’ve always wanted. I just didn’t realize how much of an impact it would have on me on the inside, when I sampled what that was like. I’m jumbled up, thankful for Pippin’s actions, but also knowing that it was my stupidity at the time that led to him putting his life in danger for me. I’m probably not explaining this very well…”
“You’re explaining things just fine.” Winter was always kind to him, which was a little overwhelming at times in itself.
“You could have yelled at me,” Rupert persisted, feeling he should be fair as well. “I expected you to yell at me. It wasn’t until after I’d done it that I remembered I wasn’t supposed to draw my sword like that or to make any direct attack on the gryphons. You’d already said that they needed to be treated calmly so they could be captured more easily.
“And by the goddess, when I saw you sitting there on your beautifully calm horse while that gryphon was coming toward you… My darn horse wouldn’t even let me get near you because it didn’t want to go near the gryphon. My horse had sense, but yours was coping just fine and I…I…”
“I would never yell at you in front of other people,” Winter said firmly. “And that’s not just because we’re married, or you’re a crown prince. I would never disrespect you or any member of my team that way. If I have something negative to say, that’s always done in private.
“But Rupert dear, my heart was ready to jump out of my throat when I saw you racing toward a lumbering gryphon with your sword out, raised above your head like a barbarian warrior? Youmade a very dashing hero figure, but in that case, it wasn’t called for. I will tell you when it is.”
“Thank you.”I think.Rupert didn’t mind being called a hero figure, even a misguided one. “But how…”
“I trust my team,” Winter said simply, meeting his eyes with a smile. “You’ll feel the same over time, I’m sure. But in this instance, I knew that if I could keep the gryphon focused on me that Pippin or Sigmund would have gotten behind the gryphon, completely unseen.
“You may have noticed that the flying form of a gryphon has a surprisingly narrow face, and their eyes and nostrils are both facing forward. It means their senses are limited in respect to anything that’s behind them. By getting the gryphon to focus on me, your horse could calm down, and one of my men could capture the gryphon, which was a benefit for the gryphon because I was already holding it’s mate in my hand.”
“See, even you saying things like that sound so surreal,” Rupert admitted. “You were carrying what is, in its normal form, a massive creature that outweighs a half a dozen horses, and you were holding it in the palm of your hand.”
“That’s the joys of magic,” Winter said. “A lot of what we do is reliant on what magic can do.”
Rupert remembered something else. “Like the puff of fire that didn’t burn anything, you mean? That was a distraction device?”
Winter nodded. “Oh yes, although that was a new device, and hadn’t been tested in the field before today. Every now and then, we get potions, weapons, and devices sent to us from a very secretive lab at the World Council. Poor Sigmund. He hates it when they do that.”
“Why? That thing seemed to work.” Rupert was intrigued about what other gadgets Winter might have access to.
“It was meant to create the illusion of fire, without burning any of the vegetation or people around it. So it did work, as was intended, thank goodness.
“But every time we use something new, Sigmund has to write up a ten-page report on how the device operated in the field - what was helpful, what didn’t work effectively, was the tab easy to remove, things like that.
“You can imagine how difficult it is to recall every minute detail when you’re in the thick of a dangerous situation. But that’s what makes Sigmund’s contribution to the team all the more valuable. He has amazing recall, even under stress.”
“Better him than me,” Rupert grumbled. “I hate report writing. I feel as though I’ve got so much to learn. I worry it’s going to take a lot of time.”
“But we’ve got that time.” Winter’s hand was warm against his cheek. “It’s not like we’re out chasing rogue creatures every week, and you already have most of the skills you need. Rupert dear, you did really well today. It was your first time ever seeing creatures that you’d previously only thought were in storybooks.
“When you saw that there was a danger and the plan had to be changed, which does happen more times than I care to consider, you did adapt quickly. The only rule you actually forgot was about running toward the gryphon with a sword in your hand.
“If you had simply stood a safe distance away and just blocked the gryphon without being antagonistic or violent in your approach, the gryphon would have stopped to see what you would do – but it wouldn’t perceive you as a threat automatically.”
“You mean like a game? A standoff with the creature?” Rupert tried to imagine doing that with a deer or a boar.Definitely wouldn’t work with a boar.
