dining room amid the hearty welcomes from the Castle’s senior staff. The visitors were welcomed and after a celebration that went on for hours, the three went to their rooms and fell asleep.
• • •
The next morning Tgon woke and decided to go to the landing pad and see what the city looked like during daylight. He walked out of the portal and looked out over the wall and was stunned. The Castle was surrounded by a two mile circle of parks and blooming plants and not one inch of it was visible due to the millions of people standing there in silence. The crowd saw Tgon standing there and briefly stirred but then settled back into silence.
Tgon ran to the portal and Gregory saw him exit into the main dining room. “Have you seen the crowd outside?”
“I have.”
“What are they doing here?”
“They’re waiting for the Duke to come greet them.”
“Have you told Sam…I mean the Duke?”
“No, he needs his sleep.”
Tgon looked at Gregory and said, “I don’t know what kind of relationship you have with Sam, but what do you think he’ll say if he finds out his citizens were kept waiting?”
Gregory thought a moment and said, “Perhaps I should tell him.”
“Perhaps you should!” Tgon linked with Sam and said, “Sam, you better get up here.”
Tgon heard Sam yawn in his mind and say, “Why?”
“There are millions of people outside the castle just standing there in silence.”
“How did they find out?”
“Don’t ask me. I’m just visiting.”
Dort chimed in, “Gon, are you kidding?”
“Dort, they shocked the groad out of me when I went up to take a look at the city.”
Sam thought, “You both need to get dressed in your Realm Uniforms. I’ll meet you in the dining room when you’re ready.”
Five minutes later Dort and Tgon stood in the Dining Room and Sam walked in wearing the Royal Colors. “Sam, what are you wearing?”
“Dort, this is my formal attire for official occasions.”
“How did those people know you were here?”
Gregory shook his head and said, “The defense fleet launched all their ships last night. That was all some of the newscasters needed to speculate on the Duke’s presence.”
Gon stared at Gregory, “You mean they don’t know for certain he’s here?”
“They don’t.”
“Why are they silent?”
Gregory looked at Gon like he was missing the obvious, “They do not want to disturb his sleep. They know he left to train to defend them and they respect his need to get a good night’s sleep.”
Dort stared at Gregory, “How long would they have waited?”
“Until an official report is issued from the castle that the Duke is not present, they would wait. However, the castle will never issue a report that is untrue. When no report was forthcoming this morning, they knew the Duke was in residence. This will be the first time the new Duke might view the people.”
Sam saw his two brothers look at him and he shrugged, “I only attained the title after Jon became King. Trust me on this one; it’s good to have the freedom of those around you not knowing who you are.”
“That’s why you used the name Sam Mica.”
“Only Royals in the succession may have the name Anglo as their second name. I was forced to use my initials and third name. Most citizens of the Realm don’t know about it. They only know Duke Scott Anglo Mica Robbins.”
Tgon said, “My second name is Gee.”
Dort was startled and said, “My second name is Gee.”
The three looked at each other. Sam said, “I didn’t know that.”
Dort said, “Neither did we, Sam. I’m the first for six generations to have that name.”
“We’ll have to think about this later. Are you ready to go greet the people of Ross?”
Gon sighed, “I’ll never know how you could ever get used to this.”
Sam smiled, “You don’t, Gon.” Sam took his two friends by the arm and stepped through the portal. He pulled them with him and stood at the edge of the wall. The giant mass
Back in the Saddle (v5.0)