He noticed that on the edge of his bed was a pile of clothes with a note on top of it. Kaiser strode over to it, the bare bottoms of his feet making his steps silent, and grabbed the note. He read the elegantly scrawled writing on the paper.
Kaiser,
I need to ask you to wear this. Your armor
is nice, but I’m afraid that it might scare some people.
- Esmedella
I need to ask you to wear this. Your armor
is nice, but I’m afraid that it might scare some people.
- Esmedella
He looked from the sheet of paper to the pile of clothes and sighed. Kaiser personally liked the idea of scaring a few people. Better to have them fear and respect you rather than have them like and take advantage of you. But Esmedella’s orders are still orders. He set the sheet of paper down on the bed and began to get dressed.
* * * * * * *
Kaiser entered the dining hall dressed in his new attire. He wore a crisp, white shirt with a large collar that reached up to the middle of his neck. This outrageously large-collared shirt was accompanied by loose black pants and a blood red sash that was tied around his mid section. He put on a pair of boots with greaves attached, knee guards, a pair of gauntlets, and a vest that had various pieces of metal attached to act as armor. To top it all off, his blade rested at his hip. It’s not what he’s used to, but it would work in the off chance he needed to fight.
Kaiser walked over to the table where Esmedella was sitting and bowed to her. “Good morning, your Highness,” he said before standing up again. The Queen smiled back to him and nodded to him. “Good morning, Sir Kaiser. Would you like to accompany me for breakfast?” He shook his head from side to side and responded, “Forgive me, my lady. But I must refuse. Only those of nobility are allowed to dine at your table. I shall get something from the kitchens and then come back when you are finished.” Kaiser bowed again and began walking towards a pair of swinging double doors.
He pushed the doors in and looked around. There were many people of many races working the kitchen, each wearing a white coat with a white hat. The entire kitchen was designed to match the dark red brick ovens. He walked over to one of the chefs, a woman who seemed to be a demi-dragon, and asked, “Could you please give me some toasted bread with butter?” The woman smiled, showing her sharpened teeth, and nodded. She went over to the oven, pulled out a roll that was cut in half, and then went to the refrigerator. The dragon-woman came back with a small container with butter. She took a nearby knife and used it to spread the butter. Handing it over with another smile, Kaiser took it and said, “Thank you very much.” He began to eat the roll there in the kitchen.
* * * * * * *
Kaiser left the kitchen and back to the dining hall. The room was empty and he assumed that Esmedella was waiting for him in the entrance hall. He began his walk to the supposed meeting place, his boots echoing through the halls. The guard came to the entrance hall and walked up to the Queen, giving her a short bow.
Esmedella looked at him with a serious look and turned to the entrance doors. “We’re going to check on what’s going on in the grounds,” her voice said flatly. Kaiser nodded and followed her out of the large, blackened, metal doors.
As they walked along the cobblestone path, neither of them spoke for a minute or two. The silence was broken by Esmedella asking, “Kaiser, why did you refuse to eat with me? You ARE of nobility. You’re the Duke of Naden, so there’s no reason for you to have to eat in the kitchens like my servants.” He looked at the queen and responded, “I may be a duke, but you must understand that as your guard, I am your servant. That means that my noble status doesn’t have apply.” Esmedella looked down at the ground as they walked, then she looked up at Kaiser with a smirk. “Then, as your queen, I give you my full permission to dine at my right hand side at every meal. For security purposes.” Kaiser looked at the blonde haired girl with a grin. “You always were good with finding loop holes.” Esmedella giggled, turning a slight shade of pink from being complimented.
They spent the first half of the morning checking up on various tasks that needed to be done or needed to be inspected. These ranged from seeing if the horses had enough water to examining the work that the groundskeeper had done with the bushes. It was a little boring for the both of them, but it had to done and, at the least, they were doing enough walking. Around mid-morning as the two of them were walking back to the palace, Esmedella began complaining. “Tomorrow, I’m going to avoid wearing heels,” she groaned. Kaiser chuckled softly, holding open the door for her.
The next few hours were nothing but paperwork. Esmedella was constantly reading papers and signing those that she thought were worth signing. The only time she stopped looking at her papers was when it was time for the mid-day meal or when a random servant came in to ask her a question. Five hours after having eaten, Esmedella signed and stacked the final sheet of paper off to the side with the others. She looked at Kaiser with a smile and sighed. “Finished.” But she had spoken too soon. A servant boy came in, bowing to the queen, and said, “There is a squire who wishes to speak with you, my lady. He hopes to see you now, if you have the time.” She looked at Kaiser and he simply nodded. Esmedella stood up and walked out of the study with her loyal guard following her.
Kaiser noticed that Esmedella was exhausted, not being used to this kind of tedious work since her childhood when her parents constantly made her study with little time to have fun. As she walked, she said in an irritated voice, “The sooner I get this over with, the sooner I can get to relax.” He then thought to himself, “Then I guess I’ll have to watch what you do.”
Once in the audience chamber, the queen sat upon her throne and her guard stood next to her. In front of them was a man bowed on one knee. He was a fairly young man, possibly in his early twenties. His dark brown hair reached down to just below his chin, which was just as scruffy as the rest of his unshaven face and his piercing blue eyes shined out from the darkness of his hair. The man was still wearing his silver armor, which bore the insignia of the kingdom on the chest.
Esmedella tried to hide her exhaustion as she said, “State your purpose here young squire.” The man slowly stood up and looked at the queen with fierce determination in his eyes. He spoke with a strong and deep voice, “I wish to be knighted, my lady, for I believe that I have proven my worth to receive that honor.” Esmedella glanced back at Kaiser, who simply stared at the older man. She turned back around and faced this ‘would-be-knight’.
“Tell me, what is your name and why should I give you the honor and title of knight?” the queen asked as casually as possible. The man looked at her and responded, “My name is Samiel Rockrest and I wish to be knighted for what I’ve done in the capital. I’ve asserted the law, caught several criminals, trained myself in swordsmanship to become the best of my division, and have been loyal to my country all my life.” Esmedella sat quietly for a few seconds, her exhaustion finally catching up to her. She then began speaking, “You have responsibility, a judicious outlook, skill with a blade, and powerful loyalty to this nation.“ As she spoke, Samiel grinned and his breathing began to slowly quicken. Esmedella then said, “These are the qualities that I think make a knight and I would be most pleased to --” She was then cut off by a voice behind her saying, “Wait.” Kaiser stepped forward and said, “Let me test the lad.”
Without allowing Esmedella to answer, he unsheathed the blade at his side and said to Samiel, “Draw your blade.” Kaiser glanced at Esmedella, who was wearing a look of disbelief. For the brief second that their eyes met, he clearly showed her his intentions and she fell silent. Samiel drew the small broad sword from its sheath and looked at Kaiser. In response, he simply stated, “I just want to test you, but that doesn’t mean you have to hold back.” The older squire gripped the handle of his sword and rushed forward at his opponent, wanting to prove his worth.
Samiel raised the blade up over his head and sent it down towards Kaiser’s head. His blade stopped in mid-air against his opponent’s. Kaiser smirked, twisted the blade, and pinned it down with his own. Samiel looked down at the blade and tried to pull it free, but the guard’s knee crashed with his arms. The blow sent him forward a few feet and he turned to see that Kaiser was now holding two blades in his hands. Not wanting to give up, he ran forward in an attempt to tackle Kaiser and reclaim his sword. Looking at the racing squire, Kaiser twisted his body and raised his leg, crashing his heel into the young man’s ribs and sending him to the floor a few feet away. As Samiel got up into a sitting position, he found that his tester was holding the point of his blade to his throat. “I’m sorry, but you’re just not ready for knighthood,” Kaiser said bluntly.
He sheathed his blade and extended an arm towards Samiel, who took it and was raised to his feet. Kaiser handed him his blade, which he took with disappointment and shame. He placed a hand on the older man’s shoulder and said, “Do not doubt this when I say that your heart is in the right place. As the queen said, you have all the qualities of a knight.” Samiel looked into the blue-grey eyes of the royal guard. “What you lack is wisdom. Not wisdom gained through books, for that is knowledge. The wisdom you lack is wisdom from experience.”
Samiel looked at Kaiser with a questioning look. Noticing the change in the squire’s gaze, he clarified. “What I mean to say is that by experiencing our life in certain situations do we gain the knowledge that will truly help us later in the future. You, I’m sorry to say, have not experienced your life enough to be wise enough to be a knight.” Samiel nodded and lowered his head. Kaiser then shook his shoulder a bit. “Don’t worry about this little test. Consider it as a new experience, one that makes you ever closer to knighthood,” he said. Samiel was silent for a few seconds and then nodded with a smile. “Thank you, sir. You have taught me an important lesson. And, my lady,” Samiel said, turning to Esmedella at the last moment. She looked at the smiling squire with a lot of attention. “When I return to you regarding my knighthood, I will not ask you for it, but instead have earned it the right way.” Esmedella smiled as the squire bowed and then left the chamber.
Esmedella got to her feet and stepped down from the throne. She looked at Kaiser and beckoned him to leave with her. As they walked through the palace corridors, he spoke suddenly, “I think I have a little wisdom to impart to you as well, my lady.” Esmedella glanced at her guard and asked, “What might that wisdom be?” Kaiser responded flatly, “You too lack experience when it comes to doing the daily tasks of a ruler.” Esmedella seemed almost as confused as Samiel did. He sighed and shook his head, hating to have to explain himself. “You see, since you are not accustomed to this, you become exhausted easily. This exhaustion then takes its toll on your focus and you begin to want to rush through things, as you did with the last of your documents and with the squire.” Esmedella slowed down to a stop and turned to face Kaiser, who also stopped and was facing her. He continued to speak, “With time, you will face times when you need to make a decision and the outcome of that decision with provide you with experience. Also with time, you will begin to grow accustomed to being constantly focused with your tasks.” Esmedella looked at Kaiser as if he were his teacher. She then smiled and nodded. “It seems you’re right. So the true question isn’t how long will that take, but how long will it take before you don’t need to keep me focused.” He smiled back and then began walking with her again. “It all depends on how long it’ll take for you to start focusing on your work rather than your aching feet.”
