Chapter Text
“May I join you, Pheris?” The boy shuffled up to make space for Kamet on the low wall outside the palace kitchens, where he was eating his lunch. It was a sunny spot favoured by the younger palace servants, though the older attendants and others who cared more about their clothes eschewed it as undignified and dusty. Kamet looked at the wall, brushed fastidiously at the brickwork, and sat, even as Pheris realised the issue and hurriedly stood up.
“It’s all right,” said Kamet, looking at his fine tunic which would certainly be dust-streaked already. Pheris sat down again.
“The king has been speaking to me, Pheris,” said Kamet. “He thinks you should continue your education.”
The boy looked at him, puzzled, and then suddenly understood. He reached for his slate. You’re going to teach me?
“I will teach you, Pheris, if you will also teach me something. I have studied several languages, and I would be most interested to learn your signs.”
Pheris liked Kamet, who had been kind to him. Pheris admired Kamet’s wide knowledge and also the careful and unobtrusive way he managed his life at the Attolian court, which Pheris thought must sometimes be difficult. Kamet liked Pheris for not dissimilar reasons. He was pleased to see how the boy had grown up during the past few months, even if it was war which had precipitated the change.
“I understand you studied with Relius at dawn, before the king’s day.”
Most days.
“Well, early mornings would suit me too, at the moment,” said Kamet. “Shall we try that as an experiment? And where shall we meet? I think my rooms are too far for you.” Pheris thought it more likely it was because Costis might be there, and hid a smile. “I don’t want to disturb the librarians so early, and anyway I already spend far too long in there. Perhaps your rooms?”
Pheris shook his head. He reached for the slate but decided it was too complicated. He led Kamet across the palace, through the waiting room, where guards stood at the door to the king’s bedroom, and along the narrow corridor with small curtained-off spaces where the attendants slept. He showed him his closet.
Hearing Kamet’s voice, Ion came out to speak to him. He laughed when Kamet explained.
“No, there’s nowhere else except the king’s waiting room, and that’s hardly private. I’m trying to persuade Pheris to move out of that closet now, but it’s uphill work.”
Pheris liked the seclusion of his closet, where he wrote his journals, transferring his scribbled notes into carefully-written fair copy in the notebooks Relius had given him, even though Relius would never read them now. And he didn’t want to take the room Ion suggested, which had been Philologos’.
“Use Relius’ workroom,” suggested Ion casually. Kamet and Pheris looked at each other. Finally Kamet shrugged. “I will speak to Baron Orutus.”
Pheris decided to speak to Teleus.
*****
Everything was dusty. Kamet walked around the room, occasionally touching books and scrolls gently but not removing anything. Then he looked at the maps on the walls.
“Relius made these himself, didn’t he? I never had a chance to examine them properly.”
Pheris touched a hand to the map Relius had drawn based on Kamet’s own work. Kamet came to stand beside him. Kamet missed Relius, of course, but looking at Pheris’ face he understood how bereft Pheris must feel. “Perhaps just for today we should walk outside in the gardens and talk about what you wish to learn,” he said. Pheris nodded. This was hard.
*****
In the early morning light the gardens were cool and quiet.
“So, Pheris, what do you think is most important? Perhaps if you tell me what you and Relius had been studying —“
Pheris shook his head. He tapped his slate emphatically. He had already written what he needed to know: How to be a baron.
“So,” said Kamet thoughtfully. The king had been characteristically opaque about what he thought Kamet could teach Pheris. Kamet knew about Pheris’ unexpectedly early inheritance, of course, but he hardly felt qualified to discuss the skills required of an Attolian baron, let alone a boy who was inheriting from one of the most powerful men in Attolia. He considered. “Of course you are familiar with the baronial system, and obviously there could be no better preparation for the council of greater patronoi than attending all the meetings you have done. You probably know as much about the barons as anyone. But running an estate requires different skills. It really depends if you are happy to leave the estate management in the hands of your stewards, or whether you wish a greater level of involvement.”
Pheris wrote You. Nahuseresh. Talking with the slate was painfully slow.
“Ah. Everything, then.”
Pheris nodded emphatically, relieved that Kamet had understood.
“I see. While obviously there is a great difference between my work for my master in Medea and what you may be called on to take on, there are certain skills involved in managing people, land and money where I may be able to be helpful. And we are fortunate to be at the palace, where we can call on experts who will know all about those areas where I can be of no assistance, such as Attolian laws and taxes. Perhaps it’s a good thing we have a little time before you have to take on all this.”
Kamet knew something of Pheris’ story. He knew Eugenides was waiting to hear from Dite in Ferria, who had been pardoned, along with Pheris’ younger brother Juridius, but apparently the king had not thought about preparing Pheris to take on his new role. He shook his head, not pleased at how the boy was being left to take on such a burden with little guidance.
“I will do whatever I can, Pheris, you can be sure of that.” He smiled and Pheris smiled back, a little hesitantly. He knew there were limits to how far Kamet could help his situation.
*****