A Time of Tigers - From Peasant to Emperor

More than delight her, it seemed to surprise her. "Wait, really? I was sure that they'd find what I do to be easy, at best…"

"What you do is a fuckin' miracle," Judas said, "don't be expecting the world to go along with your bloomin' miracles. And you as well, Beam. I bet you haven't met a match in that Academy, have ya? There's no chance you would, not with kids your age, when you were already overturning adults."

"No," Oliver agreed. "Not with the sword, anyway. When it comes to the academic stuff, I'm nowhere near as good."

"Numbers and scribbling is that?" Greeves said, wrinkling his nose. "That's just a formality. They'll probably teach coin there, but being able to write and talk about it all pretty much ain't going to help much if you don't get out there and properly do it. You can't talk theory about the way a man's going to react when you try to lowball him.

"What have you been up to, then, Greeves?" Oliver asked. "You look well. You've lost weight, eh?"

"I have," Greeves said with a grin. "And let me tell you, the women just can't get enough of it. Always devilishly handsome, and now even more so. As for what I've been up to… Well, I've gone as far as Ernest as well, as I bloody well said I would. I've got two stores in that godforsaken city, and I'm already sick to death of their like. Those Serving Class dolts are some pompous fricken' bastards."

"Two stores? Already?" Oliver said, just as surprised by that as what he'd heard from Nila. As Greeves had pointed out, he'd thought that only Serving Class men would be able to purchase property of a business sort within the city.

"Gold talks, boy," Greeves said, indirectly answering that question. "I have five Serving Class men on my payroll now, seeing to those stores for me. Ain't nothing that screams justice to me more than that. Arrogant fricken' bastards – and now they're working for me. Money will bring the lot of them to their knees, all the way up to the nobility."

"Are you talking against me, Greeves?" Oliver said, narrowing his eyes dangerously.

Greeves flinched. "No… Er… I forgot."

"I'm joking," Oliver assured him with a smile. "The nobles are just as tiresome in the Academy as you imagine them to be. Though, there's some good among them. I've some retainers of my own now that I'll have to bring you to meet."

"Oh, aye… I think I heard a stir like that," Greeves said, putting his hand to his chin as he tried to remember. "I've been fishing for news on you, you see, but bloody no one wants to tell a merchant like me nothing about noble politics."

"We were relying on him too," Nila said. "The whole village was – but we barely got even the slightest whisper. I wonder if you can understand a little more now why we were so worried about you?"

"You know, that does warm my heart a little…" Oliver said awkwardly. "To hear you say it, and mean it like that."

Nila reddened. It was strange to see her redden then, even though they'd bother cried in each other's arms just minutes before. It was as though Oliver's own awkwardness kickstarted her self-awareness, and made her pause. "Don't say it like that… Of course, we'd be worried about you… You're the Hero of Solgrim, after all. And more than that – you're my friend. You saved Stephanie for me."

"Do I have to wait until you've finished your little lover's spat?" Greeves said, rolling his eyes. "Can you remember what that was like, Judas? When you danced around the issue with a woman, neither of you wanted to give ground and show weakness."

"I can…" Judas said, scratching his chin. "That soon fades. I'm not wanting to go back to that any time soon. It's easy when things are straightforward. I'd rather take a knife in the night than have a woman try and embarrass me like that."

"But you've got a woman of your own now," Greeves teased, his grin widening as he cast a glance towards Oliver, sure that he would latch on to that fact.

"Really?" Of course, Oliver couldn't help but press it.

"Fuck," Judas cursed, growing red himself. "Damn it. Why'd you have to bring that up, it's embarrassing."@@novelbin@@

"What? You got married? What's embarrassing about that?" Greeves teased.

"But it's me… You know. Me? Gods, I can see even the boy reckons it's stupid… Me ever settling down with a woman, after all I've done," Judas said.

"You're a hero in your own right," Nila said kindly. "I don't think you should be so embarrassed about the fact. Felly is a lovely woman. The wedding was cute as well, Beam, you should have seen it. Judas was blushing the whole day – he looked like he was about to die on his feet."

"Don't tell him that…" Judas said.

"We've had about six weddings in the last month," Greeves said. "Everyone seems to be moving faster after what's happened. Made men out of some of the youngsters. It's even got me thinking that I ought to have settled down by now. But since Loriel… Naw, there's no way there's room for that in the world for me."

"…Why not?" Oliver said carefully. Read latest chapters at My Virtual Library Empire

"What do you mean, why not?" Greeves said. "The things I've done? The things I continue to do? It wouldn't be right. No woman could deal with me like Loriel did. Naw, boy.

The boats passed. I'm content with that. There's other things to be filling in for. Besides, we were in the middle of discussing news, and I saw you fricken' wince. Don't think I didn't. Something must have gone down for you to get a look like that."

"Ohh, now you're really grimacing," Nila said. "It must be bad if you're looking like that."

"Well, I mean, I don't want to worry you," Oliver said, doing his best to get out of it.

"Worry us? You mean more than not knowing if you were dead or alive for two months?" Nila said hotly. "Hurry up, and tell us."