Honor of Duty 2 -ch3- (Patreon)

Phil was quietly reading next to Mildred.

He’d forced the soldier to sit on the couch with him and was pressed up into her side. A book balanced against his knee and one hand as he leaned into her bodily.

She’d resisted him for all but a handful of seconds and then given in to him.

The door being locked and that they immediately break apart if anyone knocked was her only stipulation. To which Phillip readily agreed.

“Turn the page,” Mildred murmured, reading the book over his shoulder.

Reaching up, he flicked the book to the next page and began reading once more.

He was trying to read at a slower pace so Mildred could keep pace with him but it was difficult at times. Regardless of that he wasn’t going to trade this away for anything else.

It was quite possibly the first time he’d felt secure since coming here.

“Strange that you haven’t seen your sister,” remarked Mildred.

“She trains all day with the royal guard,” Phillip answered, turning his head to look up at her. “You don’t train much anymore, do you?”

“I train constantly. Just in my head,” she replied with a smirk. She reached up and tapped her temple with two fingers. “My days of line fighting are gone. It’s personal skill and tactics that’ll keep me alive now.

“As for physically training, I do that at night and in the morning. I do it every day to keep myself sharp and ready. I’m not likely at my peak condition but there’s no reason for me to be either.”

“You sound like my mom,” grumbled Phillip, looking back to the book.

“I would hope so. I learned a great deal from her. I earned my reprieve from the lines. Was aiming for an officer till I met you. You screwed it all up.”

“Did I? Well. I’ll not apologize for it. I need you, Milly. I know I’m selfish and holding you captive to your own feelings. But if you truly wanted to escape, you most certainly could.”

Sighing loudly Mildred lifted one hand and left it atop his head. Her fingers spreading out through his hair.

“Yeah, I know. I’m here of my own free will. I’m just a lovesick fool and I know it. Told your mom, by the way.

“She gave me an odd look, then told me she pitied me. That you were far more like a fire racing across a forest. You’d burn everything up on your way through and be an amazing spectacle to watch as you did it.

“Apparently she knows exactly what you are to a casual observer. Maybe I was never as secretive as I thought I was.”

Phillip grunted at that. It wasn’t the first time he’d heard something akin to those words. Nor did he imagine it was the last.

From what he’d already seen, his looks, voice, and attitude had a way of drawing women in. That having been around women so much he knew how to crack through their tough exteriors.

Though the more he thought about it, the more he found that there was a rather open and obvious secret here.

Women didn’t get much in the way of compliments or positive feedback. That the camaraderie they shared with others didn’t extend to a deep level with many.

To them, those they were the closest with was only a handful of people and family. That outside of that, they were closed off and guarded.

Phillip could remember having quite a number of intimate conversations with male friends. Long talks about what they’d gone through, their families, and what was going on around them.

Where conversations could easily range across any number of topics and subjects. Each being able to drop into quite deep territory.

Comparing that to what he knew of his sisters, of what they talked about, and what he’d seen of other women as a whole, that didn’t exist in the same way. Their relationships didn’t hit deeper levels as often or with the same frequency.

They lacked intimacy and the ability to give themselves over to that.

And here I am… slipping right into that space.

Kind words, a compliment or two, a smile, and they’re all infatuated. Even if I was only trying to be kind, it gives off mixed signals to them.

It’s not that they’re taking it wrong, its that most of them don’t have the experience to tell them what it is.

Taking in a short breath, Phillip let it out with a sigh.

He wasn’t very happy with his newfound knowledge or power. In fact he was decidedly feeling quite sick with himself realizing what he could do with it.

There was a firm and sharp knock on his door.

“Ah, dinner,” Phillip said and started to get himself up out of the couch. He paused only briefly to kiss Mildred for a scant second before he began walking over to the door.

He’d done it without even thinking about it. Not even considering what it would do to the poor woman.

And that’s the danger that I am, I suppose.

Opening the door, Phillip found one of Max’s counterparts standing there. A lieutenant by the name of Henrietta. Or Henry, for those who’d talked to her at all.

“Hello, Henry!” Phillip said with a wide smile for her.

She wasn’t an attractive woman and she bore the distinct scars of battles upon her visage. There was also a slight dip to one of her eyes that was clearly caused by some type of trauma.

Not once had she ever looked to him in a sexual way, though more than once he’d found that she looked like she wanted to talk to him. As if she wanted to unload her thoughts. That they were heavy lode-stones around her neck.

“How are you today? Did your husband respond to our plan?” asked Phillip excitedly.

He’d been able to quickly make friends with Henry when she asked him how he felt about books as a man. If reading was something he really enjoyed.

Blinking and looking a lot like a spooked mule, Henry eventually gave him a smile.

“He did, yeah. Found a small book club for him that also teaches readin’ and writin’. He was… he was really excited. Thanks, Phil,” admitted Henry, the smile on her face brilliant and open.

“Perfect. Now the second part is all on you. Reading a book with him and discussing it with him.

“You said you wanted him to open up to you, and for you to be able to talk about… things… this is the opportunity.

“Now, I’m assuming you’re here to take me to dinner with Sadie?”

“Just so, Phil,” admitted Henry with a dark chuckle. Then she leaned her head in partway to the door. Her eyes fell on Mildred who was standing not far off. “Dread Maiden, a pleasure to meet you. I’ll return him here after dinner. Would you… mind waiting here?”

“Not a problem,” agreed Mildred with a dip of her head to Henry. “Thank you for your kindess to my lord. He’s a good man and tends to dive in when caution would be advised.”

Henry snorted at that and then shook her head, grinning at Phillip.

“He’s just fine as he is. Alright, come on, Phil,” asked Henry, turning away from the door and walking outward. He caught up to her very quickly. Henry turned her head to give him a quick once over. “Good thinking to wear everything she bought you.”

“I mean, she spent the time and coin. Least I can do is make sure to put it all out there for her at the dinner she invited me to,” answered Phillip, peering up at Henry. “Something I should know?”

“I… just… be careful, Phil. The queen is a good woman. A strong leader, a smart strategist, a determined fighter. Just… just not a woman with any real experience with a man.

“She looks at you sometimes like I did my husband when I first met him. Happy to have him in front of me, though not really sure what to do with him now that I have him. Her thoughts may not be matched up with her feelings. Ya know?”

Phillip could certainly see how that could happen.

“I’ll be careful, Henry. Thank you. My honest goal is to return to my wife and get back to family making,” confessed Phillip. “At this point I’d be happy to trade away many things for those slow and easy days again.”

Henry went absolutely quiet. Her mouth a slim line and her eyes facing dead ahead.

He imagined she was doing her best to not spill the beans about Mim and Alice being in the court. That they were actively trying to likely see him and Sadie had been stalling for some reason.

“Just up here, Phil. Go ahead and head in. She’s expecting you and uh… she’s… alone,” Henry warned him, coming to a stop next to the door.

He’d already noticed there were no other royal guards moving with him, though there’d been a considerable increase in guards throughout the palace. They were watching him from where they were stationed, but they weren’t moving with him.

Sadie trying to change how I perceive my environment? How curious.

I wonder what’s happened now.

Entering the dinning hall Phillip found that Sadie was indeed here and alone. There were no guards nor servants.

All the doors were closed and all the food had already been laid out upon the table. Some of it in warming trays with candles lit beneath, though a great deal of it was food that was edible regardless of temperature.

“Ah, Phil, I’m so glad you’re here,” Sadie said from where she stood at the end of the table. She’d been staring off into the middle distance at a wall until she’d noticed him.

Turning toward him she walked toward him as the door he’d just entered through closed behind him. Leaving him truly alone with the queen.

Hm. To give me a chaperon only to have them separated from me.

She’s really sending mixed signals here.

Smiling at her approach, Phillip did his best to calm his mind. He was feeling quite confident at the moment given his success with Max, Henry, and even Sadie’s mother so it wasn’t too hard to master himself.

The problem was he was still very much a prisoner living at the whims of another. He needed to walk a fine line between prisoner, guest, confidant, and married man.

His reputation and honor could be irreparably damaged here if he made a misstep.

“Happy to have dinner with you, Sadie,” allowed Phillip with a small bow of his head to the woman. He knew she wouldn’t like him showing her any more deferential treatment than that.

“Heavens, I knew what I bought you would suit you but I didn’t think it’d come together so well,” whispered Sadie, coming to a stop a few feet away from him. She had lifted one hand to her chin and was quite literally inspecting him from head to toe. Her eyes roaming over him in a daring way that wouldn’t be acceptable in public.

She herself was dressed quite modestly in a way that matched him to a degree. The colors of the clothes she’d purchased for him were all in her own house colors. He’d assumed she’d done that on purpose and now he was certain of it.

They looked more like a pair at the moment than acquaintances. A part of his mind warned him to Henry’s words in this moment.

Maybe she doesn’t actually know her own wants after all.

She offers me safe harbor with one hand, strips it with the other. Provides me with gifts that match a situation, only for them to all match what she wishes.

Ahhh… I want to go home.

I miss Alice and Mim.

Smiling somewhat weakly at Sadie, Phillip held his hands up to his side as if presenting himself.

“Thank you. I felt it only appropriate given the circumstances,” he demurred. “Thank you for allowing me a chaperon by the way. It was incredibly reassuring to have Mildred about.

“As someone who was close to me as my bodyguard in the Rias household, she always made me feel safe. It’s good to have her here. I won’t lie that I wish I could have Frankie, Vinnie, Bobbie, and Tonie here, too.”

Sadie’s face morphed through several emotions that Phillip couldn’t identify. Or at least, not all of them.

There was one he saw and knew instantly what it was.

Disappointment.

At what, he wasn’t sure. It was clear to him that Sadie wasn’t too happy with him talking about either his guards or the Rias household.

I’ll have to be… careful… with that. Henry was absolutely right about Sadie, I think.

She wants… me, I think. Wants me to herself but also knows that it isn’t right. That I’m a married man and being held prisoner.

She’s trying to make me feel less like a prisoner all at the same time. If I feel less like a prisoner I’m more likely to be warm to her?

I’m not sure but that feels right.

“Yes, I’m sure,” offered Sadie. “I know I would feel that way if I was in your position. Though I can’t really allow such well known soldiers protect you. They would serve you, not me, and that would of course create problems. I hope you can forgive me.”

“Of course, I understand it completely,” affirmed Phillip. “I get it and would very likely do the same if I was in your position. I can still yearn for it.

“Just as much as I wish I could go home to Alice and get back to my life. That’s just how it is.”

Once again, Phillip saw the momentary flicker of disappointment on Sadie’s face. Surprisingly there was even a flash of anger that came after it.

Only for all emotion to be swept away as Sadie reasserted her emotional hold over herself.

Drat. I’ll need to compliment her or… something.

She’ll take it out on Jamie later even if she doesn’t actually mean to. She’s just lashing out at a target that she can.

Stepping forward Phillip entered Sadie’s personal space. Something he simply didn’t do. That was one of her own tactics, not his.

Reaching up, he used his fingertips to lightly brush at her shoulder. Then moved his hand to the front of her clothes and carefully adjusted the collar.

As he did so, he made sure to keep his eyes downcast and not meet hers.

“Speaking of looking good, you look incredibly well put together this evening, Sadie Karen. It’s a wonder you don’t have a gaggle of young men on a leash following you around. I have no idea why I merit you dressing up so marvelously for,” murmured Phillip as he adjusted one of the buttons on her jacket. Then he reached down to the hem of it and pulled down on it gently. Stretching out the fabric until it sat quite well on Sadie. “There. It wasn’t fit to your figure as well as it could be. All set now.”

Glancing up Phillip met Sadie’s eyes for a fraction of a moment, then stepped away from her. He folded his hands across his middle, turned his head to the side, and looked to the table.

In that moment when their eyes met he’d seen what he wanted. Whatever hurt he’d caused her had been smoothed away and forgotten. As if they’d never existed in the first place.

Unfortunately it had also confirmed his thoughts and Henry’s concern.

Sadie did indeed have unacknowledged feelings for him. He’d have to be much more careful after all despite being given Mildred as a chaperon.

“Ah… ahem, let’s have dinner then,” sputtered Sadie, motioning one hand to the table. “At the same time I can finally get your opinion on things.

“Because tomorrow things will be changing. This morning I got word about the movements of the Tralins and where they’ve drawn up their forces.”

Surprised at being given such information, Phillip went and took the seat that’d clearly been put out for him. He picked up his napkin and laid it out in his lap.

When he looked to the setting he realized there was only a single spoon, fork, and knife laid out. There were no other implements in any way.

Well, simple is certainly fine.

Noble settings can be tiresome.

“The Tralins are moving back to what is more or less their border with us,” Sadie said from her end of the table which was only three feet away. “For whatever reason they’ve got it in their head that we’ll just march right out from our camps and meet them there.

“If I had to guess they’re probably using whatever remained of your mother’s own plan just before her capture.

“It’d make sense to go to that location given the last battle that was fought had been to the north and west of that. It’d be a fall back position to regroup and then push forward. Likely right into our flank as we tried to maneuver back to our capital.

“Thankfully that didn’t happen and the Tralins ruined your mother’s best efforts. Otherwise I’m not really sure what would have happened.”

Phillip could accept all of that with a simple nod of his head. It made perfect sense to him. That all was something his mother would most certainly plan in advance. She’d have also made a contingency if they failed.

“Given that they would be unwilling to utilize her ‘if I failed’ plan, since it would be admitting they failed, that makes sense,” agreed Phillip, working at filling his plate with a number of items from the food around him. “But… how can I help with this? I’m not really sure what I can offer. I’m no tactician and will never be. I’m just… a man.”

“Even just now where you mention the fact that she would have had a plan in case she failed is more than enough for me to have ran it by you, Phil,” countered Sadie. “And you’re most certainly more than just a man. No one can deny you’ve got a great mind in that handsome head of yours.

“Now, I was thinking that if we can stall them out till winter, I can win this outside of the campaign season. The longer the war drags on the worse it is for them. After all, most of the lands that I hold were where much of the food came from.

“Or more directly stated, their food came from.”

Yes, I suppose that’s true. It’s also why you were in so desperate need of coin. You were going to have a hard time paying people in food alone but it was doable.

“The food shortage in the south is going to continue to be an issue,” Phillip advised after swallowing a rather tender cut of beef from his plate. “The drought that caused it hadn’t let up last I heard. That means most crops will be sold as futures at terrible prices.

“There’s also a problem with water in that situation. I had warned my mother about food, water, and the likely riots that’ll follow it. I imagine that’s why she was pulling all your forces to the north and away from that.

“If you make the situation worse for food I imagine the entirety of the country could go up in flames. That or Tralin will have to start deploying troops to beat back her own people as they try to make runs on warehouses and silos.”

Using his knife and fork Phillip daintily cut apart a carrot and then looked up.

Sadie was staring at him in an almost blank way. As if he’d dropped his pants in front of her and given her a private show.

“I… yes. That makes far more sense now,” muttered Sadie. “Your mother hit us every time we moved any direction other than west or north. She never gave us a chance to really act otherwise.

“We were suddenly pinned down up there and couldn’t get away. When our spies reported back we’d found that she was attempting to protect an unlisted military reserve up that way. That it was full of coin and provisions.

“We… we thought she was just trying to protect her means of keeping the war going.”

“Unsurprising. Mother has never believed that information can’t be bought or discovered. Her response has always been to mislead and misdirect, rather than prevent. Prevention is silly when you think about it.

“It belies the idea that you could never fail. One of the reasons she always forced my sisters and I to learn anything that might be taboo. Preventing us from learning it wasn’t going to make it so.

“It’d only put us on the wrong foot when we did find out what it all meant. Without ever understand the context of it or how to handle it.”

Snorting, Sadie shook her head and her eyes fell down to her plate.

“Your mother is amazing. If I only had her with me, I could win,” Sadie muttered.

“Try making your own then,” offered Phillip suddenly. This might be an opportunity to get Jamie some standing of her own here. “You have the heir of Clarissa here in your court. Her daughter, Jamie.

“She’s learned everything from my mother, you know. Her martial training was done side by side with the likes of Mildred. She served front-line service beside her.

“In fact, in this most recent war she was an officer and was already putting in work as such. If you’re looking for your own Clarissa Curis, bring Jamie Curis to your side.”

Holding onto her fork, Sadie moved several pieces of what looked like a pepper around her plate. Staring through the plate and not seeing anything at all.

“Anyways,” she said and then shook her head. “Other than that, we’ll be moving out tomorrow afternoon. The army leaves in the morning ahead of us.

“Your wife and her friend Mim are here at court. They’ve requested to see you. I’ll set some time aside for them to meet with you tomorrow morning. After that it’ll be unlikely that we’ll be anywhere that citizens should be.”

Yet I’ll be there.

Ah well… at least I get to see Alice and Mim.

I’m really looking forward to seeing them.

Really looking forward to it.