Sixth Day of August, In the Year of the Empire 6777 Continued

Sienna's Point of View

Sienna could hardly believe what her mom just told her. Hartson was needed, but he was still asleep. She would have to be the noble for him. Reaching the front hall, Rita motioned her to stand up straight and into the study. Head held high and her coppery hair up in a bun that made her look a bit older, she walked in wearing a beautifully simple green dress.

Stepping into the study, she could see the four men. The oldest was in his fifties and wore the worn clothing of an impoverished noble. The three men with him were his sons. None of them wore smiles, but the older one looked hopeful.

"Good morning, Gentlemen. I am Sienna Green, Betrothed of Viscount Hartson Perrin. How may I be of service today?" I'm going to marry him. It was a fact. She hoped they could not see her big goofy smile when she thought that and she hoped Hartson would not be upset about her telling people.

The older gentleman nodded to her while his sons looked on doubtful. He spoke up then, "I'm Baron Billy Sing, of the

Barony of Henry. Thank you for seeing us. Would the Viscount be available?"

Hartson said that they would be truthful, and so she would. "I'm sorry, he suffered an injury two days ago saving my life, and he has not yet recovered."

The three younger men scoffed or looked disappointed, "This is pointless father," said the oldest.

The baron lifted his hand for silence. "I'm sorry to hear that. Was he gravely wounded, my Lady?"

Sienna shook her head, "No. He cast a great spell to protect us from an unknown number of bandits just two days ago, before evening. I expect he will fully recover soon."

The four of them looked at each other, the baron going a bit pale. "Was that the great noise we heard then?"

She nodded. "Yes, the Viscount is an Honored High Mage and was quite angered. I'm afraid he might have overdone it a bit." She did not lie, but she did not tell them which casting had affected him so.

The oldest son looked on in disbelief. "If he is such a great mage, how is it that he can't come to see us personally?"

Baron Sing snapped, "Robert, don't be a fool."

Sienna was mad now at the disdain that Robert had for Hartson. "Robert, is it? Well, Robert, please follow me, and you shall see." Sienna stepped out into the hall and waited.

The four men followed. Was the baron was frowning unhappily about what his son had said or my reaction?

Seeing that they were indeed following her, Knight Mayer offered her his forearm politely. That's when she noticed that four other armed men were waiting nearby.

Starting to walk out the back of the mansion, Sienna said, "To the meadow, Sir Mayer."

The knight knew what she was about to show these men. He still could not grasp what his Lord had done with one spell.

In a short time, they all stopped in the meadow where Sienna turned to look at them, waving at the destroyed forest, she calmly said, "This is the result of my Lord's single spell but two days ago."

Not only did the four men stand agape at the shattered woods, but there is not a way to clean up everything after four men are torn asunder and scattered across the scene.

Robert had gone pale and quickly stepped away to lose his breakfast.

Sienna did not remember it being so horrific, but she was determined not to fail Hartson.

She turned away from the scene and asked, "Baron Sing, shall we go back to the study to discuss the matter you wanted to talk about today?"

The baron was scared. The damage they could see destroyed acres of trees and had torn into a hill with considerable power.

Nodding, he said, "Yes, Lady Perrin, please."

She retook the knight's arm and walked back to the study with the now quiet Robert in the rear of the group.

Sienna sat down in a chair and kept her back straight. "Please, sir, be seated. And would someone please bring some water."

After the baron sat down, looking older now. Sienna smiled, "Now, sir, how may we assist you today?"

He bowed a bit toward her. "My Lady Perrin, we heard rumors about your arrival two weeks ago and had to come to verify the truth of it. This area has not had a Viscount in quite some time." He looked around nervously and wet his lips.

Sienna held up a hand. "Baron Sing, we, my Lord and I, are new to nobility and this area. Please feel at ease. What is it you want to tell me?"

Relaxing a little, he began again. "Thank you, Lady Perrin. For years this viscounty has been run by Regent Michael out of the town Mikaela in my barony. To my knowledge, he was never invested in the role, but is simply the son of the last Viscount."

He continued, "Two weeks ago, Baron Perrin showed up and started putting this barony back together and left. Now he has returned as Viscount Perrin with large numbers of soldiers used to wipe out the bandits in this barony, bandits that worked for Baron of Cullum. No one from Mikaela is saying a word, but they are sending their men out to claim taxes and harvests for the 'Defense of our Lands.'"

The baron thanked a maid who set a glass of water beside him. After taking a drink, he continued. "We came to see if these rumors were true. Then we encountered a host of soldiers constructing a fort and patrolling the roads here." He cleared his throat, "Plus, plus the woods," he added nervously.

I nodded, "Sir, my Lord, as he recently put it, 'simply wants to help people that need it.' In his way, this is how he became a Viscount. He helped others who needed help." Clearing my throat, I continued, "That is not to say we came into this situation knowingly. Originally my Lord wanted some land so he could study magic in peace. When he arrived, he learned of the issues here, and simply set about to fix them as is his duty. He is not asking for anything. I'm not sure how he will do it for the entire viscounty, but I am sure he will make things better."

The old baron visibly relaxed. "Please tell my Lord that we will return to our barony and serve him faithfully. I can't do much for my people, but I will tell them help is coming soon."

I paused, "Do you think you will be able to return home safely, sir?"

He replied, "Yes, we will be safe enough."

Sienna was thinking about what Hartson would want to do right now, and then she had an idea. "Sir Mayer?"

He responded promptly, "Yes, my Lady?"

"Would you please take the baron to the Commander. I bet the Commander would have some questions about these town soldiers."

Sienna looked at the old baron, "If that is okay, sir?"

The old baron grinned. "Yes, I'd be happy to talk to your Commander, my Lady."

She stood saying, "Thank you, Baron Sing. Please answer any questions you can to help the Commander."

The baron and his sons bowed and left with Sir Mayer.

After they were well and gone, Sienna dropped into the chair, shaking like crazy. "How does Hartson do these things so easily?"

Her mother came in, "You did great, honey."

It looked like her dad was shocked. He just watched her, saying nothing.

"Dad, are you okay?"

Her dad dropped into a chair, "Betrothed?"

After her mom started laughing, Sienna did too.

Jean stuck her head in the room, "So? When already?"

That just made her dad put his head in his hands, and the rest of them laughed more.

Sienna returned to her room and began to change clothes again. After a moment, she stopped, staring at Hartson. No, she would not hide anything from him. She wanted to be seen by him. So even though he was still asleep, she changed her clothes without feeling any guilt at all.

Laying down beside him, she put her head on his chest again and listened to his slow breathing until she fell asleep.