In the Name of the King (R)

[itsallinthespelling]

awesome update card, i find it funny that lois got spanked at her age. and lana finally started having feelings for clark, i wonder how her father and bruce will mettle in the clana that will eventually happen. ppms

[Nemu]

oh man that ending was buying back some (and i do mean some) of the grrrr from post introduction Bruce/Lewis discussion about keeping clana separated...

I know we haven't seen her yet... but I hope something happen to Chloe to stop Kal from having to marry her...

I wonder how Lana would react to learning the true id of Clark... Because the secrecy will help in stopping Lana from "pursuing" her feelings... all Lewis has to say is the Squire Clark is not from an acceptable family...

Well that is for now anyway... clana's love and passion will get through much of anything...

PPMS !!!

[shortcircuit85]

Another couple of great updates. Please keep them coming.

Thanks,

[maitriniazngurl]

Poor Lois... its kinda funny though

Nooo!! Don't keep Lana away from Clark! They belong together Lord Lang... lol

I hope Chloe and ends up being more of friends when she realizes how he feels about Lana...

----- Added 32 Seconds later -----

Ppms!!

[NYC300Z]

Lois is going to be so mad with Clark it's almost unthinkable! I wonder when we'll hear an apology from her? I wonder what Lord Lang will tell Lana about Clark if anything?

PPMS!

[Cardinal]

Chapter 11

Watchers
Bruce entered the bedroom not too long after Clark got there, to find that Clark had already completed preparations for sleep, and was staring out the room’s one small glass window.

“So…how’re you going to insult the Lady Alicia, Squire?”

Preoccupied with thoughts of another Lang daughter, Clark half turned toward Bruce, and said, “What?”

“Well…the way I’ve got it figured, you’ve already insulted Lord Lang’s eldest daughters, so why not go for the clean sweep and make everyone here hate you?”

Bruce had Clark’s full attention now. “Lady Lois deserved whatever insult she felt, and nothing will make me think any differently on that subject. She only tried to apologize because the castellan forced her to; had she meant it, I would have listened to her and accepted the apology.

“Lady Lana…” Clark sighed heavily, and Bruce snickered.

“What the Hell was that, Clark? You sounded like a girl.” Just the way Clark had said Lana’s name reinforced the idea that Clark had it bad for the admittedly stunning Lady Lana Lang.

Clark shot Bruce a look that hinted he was taking risks he didn’t need to be taking, and continued with what he’d been trying to say. “Lady Lana was completely different. Is completely different.”

“How do you know that, Clark? You’ve barely had time to do anything more than insult the girl.”

“But did you hear how she accepted my apology? With a graceful ease. She even had the class to admit it was partly her fault, even after I tried to take all the blame for myself.”

“Beauty, grace, a hard-worker…” Clark shook his head, “…a man could do worse.”

Bruce decided he’d better try to head this off before it got worse. He knew there was no way King Jor-El would even consider letting the boy marry Lady Lana. True, her father was a noble, but one of the most minor sort. And he’d only marry the prince to a homegrown noble in the first place if he couldn’t find a foreign power which would want to forge closer ties with Alemannia by sending a royal daughter to be Prince Kal’s bride.

Bruce supposed once Kal married he could choose to have a mistress, maybe even a handful of mistresses, as it had been a royal prerogative throughout Alemanni history. What he didn’t know was if this prince would be the type to want a mistress, or if this lady was the type to be inclined to be a mistress.

Bruce realized however that worked out, it was far in the future and thus not his problem. He also realized that Lord Lang’s wish to keep his daughter away from Clark wasn’t his problem either. His one and only problem was to keep Clark alive and out of Dru-Zod’s hands, and if he could manage to teach the boy a few things along the way, so much the better.

Lord Lang, Bruce thought, when it comes to keeping Clark and Lady Lana apart, you’re on your own. I’m not going to help them, but I’m not going to stop them. Still, I’d better give the boy a warning.

“A word of wisdom regarding Lady Lana, Clark.”

“Hmm?”

“Her father is dead set against any sort of match between you two, for reasons that make a lot of sense. He’s afraid of what the king might do should a romance blossom that interferes with any possible match he might make for you, especially now that your marriage could be vital to securing a needed alliance.

“So…before you go off and start singing under the lady’s balcony or start reciting bad poetry, keep in mind that your host is risking much to keep you hidden out here. You might not want to repay his loyalty by going after his daughter.”

“You’ve obviously never heard me sing,” Clark said dryly, as he tried to joke away the realization that Bruce was right. “And the only poetry I’ve had time for is the harsh tone of Sir Emmerich’s bark paced by the steady meter of sword on shield. I can speak four languages as if I was born to it, but all the words I’ve studied are trade laws, treaty stipulations, and diplomatic niceties.

“I can dance, in fact I do it very well, but ‘Squire Clark’ will never get to show that to Lady Lana.

Clark shrugged his shoulders and turned back the lone window. “As much as I sense there’s something special about that young woman, I should really leave her alone. Not so much because of her father’s loyalty, but because of the lady herself.

“When it comes right down to it, what do I really have to offer a woman? My position and wealth are a result of my birth, nothing more, and those will go to the woman my father chooses for me, not to any woman I might love.

“And once I marry, all else that I am will belong to my wife, too. For when I stand before the altar in the cathedral and swear to ‘love, honor, and cherish,’ I mean to give it my all: to learn to love the woman I’ve likely just met days before the ceremony, to honor her as my wife and the mother of my children deserves, and to cherish what she brings to our union, instead of dwelling on what she does not.”

“No mistresses?” Bruce asked, though by now the answer was painfully clear.

“None. I’m nothing if not a man of my word. So all we could have together is this short time here, and then Father will sell me off and both Lana and I will have to start all over again with someone new.”

Bruce thought of something he’d heard once, a very long time ago, from a woman who lived still in his memory. She had been on her deathbed, and both of them knew it. A newly-minted Sir Bruce was trying to be her strength during her last hours, but he’d ended up leaning on her instead. And as he lamented her imminent passing and the end of all they’d meant to each other, she’d looked up and stroked the side of his face, and said softly, ‘It is better to have loved and lost, than to have never loved at all.’

“What was that, Sir Bruce?” Clark asked.

Bruce realized he must have said that out loud, and blanched. That was a part of him that stayed locked away where no one could see it, where no woman could ever find it, and hurt him thus again. That door slammed shut with finality, and Bruce glowered at Clark, telling him it was time for sleep as they had a busy day ahead of them.

The next day was busy for everyone. The household servants spent all day unloading wagon after wagon of supplies, furniture, clothing, and other belongings and then lugging them into the house under the watchful eyes of Marie the head housekeeper, and all three girls.

Clark’s day started with more hand-to-hand training with Bruce, and once he was done with breakfast, he found Marie and being mindful of Lord Lang’s hurried instructions regarding Squire Clark and Lady Lana, she assigned him to work with the servants who were thoroughly cleaning almost six weeks of road grime from Lord Lang’s best carriage, as he hoped it would be needed the next day.

Lord Lang had sent a liveried messenger to the grand ducal palace in Varshova to announce his arrival in the grand duchy and to ask for a brief audience to pay a courtesy call just long enough for official introductions. He wondered briefly if he should also send a note to the Alemanni ambassador, who if Lord Lang remembered correctly, was Lord Eduard Pierzynski, Count of Ellsinore. Figuring it would do no harm, and might help at some point, Lord Lang decided he and his family would pay a courtesy call at the ambassador’s home on the way back from the palace…should they receive an invitation to the palace in the first place.

By the time Clark was ready for his evening weapons practice, his filth made Lady Lana’s soot-coated appearance from the day before look like the height of cleanliness. Bruce nearly couldn’t stop laughing when he saw how thoroughly dirty Clark was.

“No need to ask how your first day of service went,” Bruce chortled.

“What about your day, Sir Bruce?” Clark asked, as he slipped on the training amulet and then a few pieces of armor.

“There are too many soldiers for me to train all at once, so I have to break them up into smaller groups and train them an hour or two at a time. It looks like it will be, at least at first, an all day process.”

As the two men grabbed blunted practice swords and began to work together, clanging their swords together as they moved back and forth in what some refer to as “the dance of the swords,” they had an audience for a brief amount of time.

Lady Lois watched intently, admiring their sword work, and hoping Sir Bruce might slip a few painful shots past Clark’s guard. She wished she could be out there learning with them, but after yesterday’s ‘discussion’ with her father, Lois suspected her days wielding swords were over. She knew his threat to find a dancing master to help her freshen up her knowledge of the currently fashionable dances was not an idle one.

Lana was also watching, but from a different window on a different floor. She had managed to catch brief glimpses of the squire during the day, and had been impressed to find him working as hard as any of the servants on cleaning the carriage. She’d overheard a couple of her father’s soldiers talking about Clark’s morning’s workout with Sir Bruce, and was curious to see how he’d fare in his late afternoon workout after a full day of scrubbing.

Lana knew little about swordplay, nor did she want to, but she watched them nonetheless, wincing each time either man was struck, but doing so a little harder when the injured party was her Clark. Not my Clark, damn it! He’s just a squire, Lana. Get that into your thick skull now.

By the time Lana had to stop watching the men and go on to get ready for the evening meal, she’d been sure both men would be bruised once they were done, and she’d been duly impressed by Squire Clark’s stamina. It seems like that bull of a man can go all day.

Even the Lady Alicia had managed to sneak a look at the cute squire. She was disappointed to find they were working out too far away from the manor for her to see individual body parts, like the cute butt and the sharply chiseled arms she’d seen earlier in the day as he’d worked on the carriage.

Still, she could recall what she’d seen and imagine those strong arms wrapped around her, just like the main couple in one of her father’s books. She was smart enough to know she couldn’t tell anyone though, or the squire would spend his days cleaning out the soldiers’ stables far out back, where she’d never see him again.

All she wanted was a chance with Clark. She already knew that as the third daughter of a minor lord, her chances of making a good marriage were slim, at best, so she was determined to find a decent marriage with someone she could actually love. Squire Clark looked like her first good candidate.

[treker]

I feel like I've gotten the first real glimpse into Squire Clark's
soul, and he's a very sad and solitary figure indeed. He knows
what his fate is and is resigned to it. He seems to have the power to see underneath the illusion that people try to project to the world and see the real person. It's sad that he and Lady Lana cannot find a way to be together.

Lois is showing herself to be a truly spitfull person; I must confess that if anything bad happens to her that I wouldn't be sad at the event.

Oh, and now Alicia is throwing her hat into the ring....oh, what a tangled web you weave Cardinal.....I like it.....

[itsallinthespelling]

another great update card. it was sad to see clark seemingly accept his fate of an arranged marriage, i look forward to him breaking out of that thought process and going after lana. liked how Lana already seems to have fairly strong feelings for Clark. Hope she will get around to acting on those feelings soon. ppms

[Nemu]

lol at Bruce opening comments on how Clark would insult Alicia...

But with the last paragraph... I fear that unwillingly Clark will insult the youngest...

Alicia... first of all... it will never happen with Squire Clark... he is the prince... and second... you would step on your sister's toes... and that is a bad move lol...

Now... Lois? man that woman is stupid....

Lana was funny too... Her Clark...

Even with the situation now... the future looks grim... war is on the horizon...

Who knows which side the Grand Duke is on... and anything could happen during the war... By the end of the story Lana could be the only choice in Jor-El's eyes... Or maybe Queen Lara will have a say in Kal's favor...

PPMS!!!

[NYC300Z]

Kind of saw that coming with Alicia didn't think that she would be that set on it....I wonder that will make Lana feel if they ever confide in each other. I guess it's time to see how Lord Lang's mission goes huh?

PPMS!

[shortcircuit85]

Oh this is going to be good. Lois is mad at this guy, Lana and Alicia are going after the same guy, and Lord Lang doesn't need him to be involved with any of his girls. This is going to be priceless. Can't wait for more.

Thanks,

[kewl]

brilliant update!
yikes! the two sisters are going for the same guy...at first i didn't think alicia would really go for clark...but then, we all know better than that

[clana-lives-on]

welll....
its been a loooooong time since ive been on here..almost a year.
(yikes!!!)
ive read what you've written so far and i love it..like always )

[Cardinal]

welll....
its been a loooooong time since ive been on here..almost a year.
(yikes!!!)
ive read what you've written so far and i love it..like always )

Welcome back!

Clana may be rolling on toward its bitter end on "Smallville," but it 'lives on' with us writers.

[Cardinal]

Chapter 12

Change of Plans

Zod’s original plan had been elegant in its simplicity. Not one-hundred percent sure whether the King’s Legion was completely loyal to him or to the king, he had planned to use them only to block off all access to the summer palace, and then use his own Walachian troops, and the troops of his closest allies, to move in on the palace itself.

Once they’d overcome the expected stiff resistance from the king’s household guards and had the royal family safely in hand, the king and prince would have been quietly and privately executed, as Zod couldn’t have afforded a rival claimant to the throne coming back to haunt him years later. The queen’s good behavior would be purchased with a not-too-subtle threat against the princess’ life. Zod had then planned on declaring himself Lord Protector of Alemannia, and after a suitable period of time, marrying the Princess Mara and declaring himself king.

But when he called his battle staff into session, their opinions upon hearing of the disappearances of the prince and princess were unanimous: the king and queen knew what was coming and would be on the move themselves before any of Zod’s forces could reach the summer palace.

The idea of a quick and almost bloodless palace coup was gone. What was going to replace it was some sort of civil war. Most important now for Zod was mobilizing his forces and getting them into the field as a cohesive unit to overawe the nobles who hadn’t made up their minds to fight for the king, and to overwhelm the ones who had, piece by piece, before they could link up and form an effective resistance.

His army had moved in an attempt at cutting off the king and queen from their strongest support base, which was in the kingdom’s far south and east, but Zod expected the royals to get there as they’d had a head start. There was a second, and more important, reason for attempting to cut off the royals. Finding out where they were headed would make it easier for Zod’s main army to get there first and to break up any royal army before it could form.

The best way to win this war, in Zod’s estimation, was to keep it from ever really getting underway.

Once the king knew Dru-Zod meant to challenge for the throne, he'd acted to place his children in safe, widely separate locations, in case something went wrong. No one in the kingdom besides he and his wife knew where to find both of the children, which just added to their protection. Once the king’s children were as safe as they could be, he felt free to act.

The biggest problem Jor-El faced was giving the loyal nobles, primarily located in the south and east of the kingdom, the time and space necessary to gather their small armies into one large one that might be able to deal with Zod on something like equal terms. Figuring Zod would expect any army buildup to center on the king himself, Jor-El planned to lead Zod out of the way and hole-up in a well-supplied, strongly defended castle in the far south of the kingdom.

While Zod surrounded that castle and considered his options for siege or even assault, the loyal Dukes, Counts, and Barons would be gathering their troops in the far east, which should give them enough time to organize and supply themselves. Holing up in a fixed location was a risk, but it was a calculated one. Jor-El thought it was the one most likely to give his supporters the chance they’d need.

As Jor-El and Lara raced southward in a carriage, with a heavy guard of knights and other armored horsemen, they reflected that they were about to be safe, and that their children were safe, too. Kal-El was hidden in the Baron of Roskilde’s household across the border into Krakovia, and Mara had taken ship and headed to Anglia, where she was to have an honored place in young King Richard’s court.

The problem they couldn’t do anything about was that, while their family was safe, everyone else was potentially at risk as the kingdom went to war with itself. That ate at Jor-El, and at Lara, but the potential long-term damage from having a brutish man like Dru-Zod as king overpowered all other considerations.

Clark’s world was considerably smaller at the moment. Ever since Lois had learned Sir Bruce was making him available for various menial jobs around the manor, she had taken great joy in giving him as many dirty, nasty jobs as she could find. When the guard captain decided the soldiers’ barracks needed a new latrine trench dug, Lois made sure Clark was part of the crew that got the job.

She was a general thorn in Clark’s side for a full week after they’d arrived at the manor. True to his word, Lord Lang located a new set of tutors for his girls. These weren’t worried about history or mathematics, these tutors were here to help the girls sharpen their ‘female’ skills, which included sewing, dancing, and music, among other things.

It was quickly established that the two oldest girls had lost whatever musical skills they may once have had, but Alicia blossomed, as she loved both singing and playing the harpsichord. The older girls were thus able to skip out on music lessons, but their father was insistent on them working on their sewing and dancing.

Lois muttered curses about how this was all Clark’s fault, and Lana, who was as unhappy about the sewing part as Lois was, found herself defending Clark and blaming Lois. Lana and Alicia quickly regained a basic competence wielding needles, but Lois had more difficulty due to the callouses on her hands from sword practice and her general unwillingness to learn.

All three girls, however, were interested in brushing up on their dancing skills. Their father was still waiting word on when he would have his audience with the grand duke, and they knew they’d be brought along to be introduced at court. It was their best chance of making local connections and being invited to join the social scene in the capital.

The girls had spent most of their young lives stuck in the cultural backwater of Roskilde. Parties had been few and far between, and had always been small. The chance to attend the various parties of the late fall and winter social season, when many noble families would come back to the capital until spring, was the best chance any of them had ever had.

The problem with dancing instruction, was that they didn’t have anyone to practice dancing with. There were no young men of quality in the household who might be reliably expected to know the proper dances. Only when Bruce overheard Alicia complaining to Lana about the lack of a proper dancing partner did a solution present itself.

“Ladies?” Bruce said.

“Yes, Sir Bruce?” Lana replied. She still didn’t like the idea of a man with such a brutal reputation being assigned to her family, and she wasn’t quite able to keep the distaste out of her voice.

“I’m sorry to have overheard what Lady Alicia was just saying, but I have a possible solution.”

“You, Sir Bruce?” Alicia said doubtfully, as she eyed the man who had to be twice her own age.

“No, milady,” Bruce said. “Not only do I not have the knowledge of dancing that is needed, but working with your father’s soldiers is pretty much a full-time occupation.” Bruce shifted his gaze toward Lana to see her reaction to what he said next. “But Squire Clark is supposed to be an excellent dancer, even though he claims to hate it.”

Just as Lord Lang had led him to believe she would, the young woman’s eyes brightened and she took in a deep breath. The thing he noticed was that the younger sister reacted in much the same way. Oh great! Bruce thought. Clark will have two daughters of the house fighting over him, while the third tries to break his neck.

Bruce knew he’d have to float the idea to Lord Lang first, but thought that having the contact between Clark and his daughters happen under the watchful eye of the dancing master would be enough to get him to agree, especially since he’d been the one to order the practicing.

“Before you ladies get too excited, please allow me to present the idea to your lord father, as I know he’s been concerned with, umm, how you ladies spend your time.”

Both girls thanked Bruce, but before he slipped away, Lana stopped him, waited until Alicia disappeared down the hall, and asked, “How is Squire Clark doing, Sir Bruce? I haven’t gotten more than a glance or two of him since the welcoming banquet.”

“He’s doing fine. Lady Lois has been assigning him the nastiest jobs she can, but if your father approves of this dancing plan, that will change. Then, the worst part of his duties will be trying to keep three lovely young women from stepping on his toes.”

Lana smiled, both at Bruce’s refreshing forthrightness, and at the image of her and her sisters trampling Clark’s feet as they refreshed their abilities. “One more thing before you go, Sir Bruce.”

“Yes, milady?”

“Who is Squire Clark?” Lana bit her lip. “What is his family name?”

Bruce’s face, which only seconds before had been enwreathed with a smile, dropped as Lana asked a question he dare not answer. He thought about lying, but realized he’d likely get caught in the lie sooner or later, so he stuck with the truth. “I’m not allowed to say what his family name is, or even if he has a family, milady.”

“But why?”

“Sorry, Lady Lana, I’m not allowed to say why I’m not allowed to say…now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to talk to your lord father and see if he’ll allow my squire the company of his daughters.”

Troubled, Lana waved the knight away and headed for her spacious room. She understood there could be legitimate reasons for not revealing Clark’s parentage, but she wondered what reason there could be for hiding the reason itself. The only conclusion she could make in the short time before she entered the family quarters, was that he was likely the son of someone powerful. Whether a legitimate son who’d need secrecy to protect from a kidnapping or assassination, or a bastard son, who might be embarrassed for anyone to know.

Either way, Lana thought, he might be within reach of the second daughter of Baron. I could have a chance.

Lana floated the rest of the way up to her quarters, as she hoped Bruce was successful in convincing her father to allow the squire to help. She was just going to have to pretend indifference if her father asked about him, so he didn’t get overly protective. And as for Lois continually assigning him dirty jobs, well…she’d have to see about that little scheme.

Bruce found Lord Lang in his library, which now really looked like a library, as all the books they’d brought from Roskilde had been unloaded and carefully stocked onto the bookcases they’d brought. Close to the door were a pair of plain wooden reading tables with four sturdy chairs each table had two glass and brass candle lamps, none of which were in use at the time.

At the far end of the room, just in front of the lone window, sat a large, heavily carved desk. Behind the desk was where Lord Lang was located, reading through a few sheets of paper.

Lord Lang heard his new arms master approach, and held up the sheaf of paper as if wielding a club. “This damn move cost me a small fortune. Between extra food for the people and fodder for the animals, and all the wagons I had to hire, I’m out slightly more than 1,000 gold crowns.”

“A princely sum, milord.”

“Then there’s this place. Rent will not be cheap.”

“I’m sure the king’s favor is worth something, milord.”

“It is…it always is…but that’s not why I’m here.” Bruce waited for Lord Lang to continue. “I’m here because my king has called on me, because he needs me.” Setting the papers back down, Lord Lang focused on his guest. “What can I do for you, Sir Bruce?”

Bruce went on to explain the conflict between his desire to keep Lana and Clark apart, and his very real need to have a male dance partner for his girls to practice with. “I know you are still waiting for an audience with the grand duke, but I can’t help but think that at least one of your daughters will receive an acceptable invitation once you’ve had the chance to officially introduce them to Krakovian society.”

“Invitation to what?” Lord Lang asked. He really didn’t seem to know about the Harvest Ball.

“The Harvest Ball. At least, that’s what my squire calls it, and as he has a close relationship with a local noble, he ought to know. Furthermore, Clark says it’s both the highlight of the fall/winter party season in Varshova, and the event that acts as the semi-official start to it all.”

Lord Lang held his forehead in his hands before running them down to his mouth and off his chin. “So you mean to say my girls can’t afford to miss this dance?”

“Not if you have any hopes of getting one or more married while you are here.”

Lord Lang pondered the idea, feeling screwed whichever way he went. “Okay. Send your boy to the dancing master tomorrow after lunch…and have him put on that one nice set of clothes the tailor made for him. I’ll tell the tailor to make Clark another several sets of dress uniforms and the like,” Lord Lang took that moment to point a finger at Bruce and shake it while saying, “Just make sure that boy knows my girls are off limits to him.”

“It will be done,” Bruce said, before backing out of the room and turning toward his bed, and a long night’s sleep.