“Not if you do it well,” I said. I decided that maybe cajoling him would be better than trying to force him. Also it made him less likely to defame me if he agreed to where I was going with the story. “If you do it well, you’ll be a hero. Maybe it will even make the neighboring nobles take notice you. If you do well the king might even start paying attention to what you’re doing.” The nice thing about arguing with one of my characters was that I knew all of his weak points; it made him easy to convince. Though he acted reluctant about the whole thing, I knew that he was mostly putting on an act after I used that logic. So I was finally able to start telling the story, beginning with the day that Prince Dominique started on his black charger.
The prince, being a prince, had been well provisioned with supplies for his journey. He had a sword made by a credited smith, who had agreed to take credit. He had a lance that had been left in the armory since his father’s day, as well as his father’s armor, which luckily fit him well. He had only whined slightly about being given second hand weapons, indeed after I promised him that this might be his path to recognition and fame, he became much easier to deal with. Look, he even let that comment slide. Of course I will be making some concessions in my writing to appease him too, while he is being so cooperative, I feel I should be as well.
Anyway, the prince was also granted a companion who was to work as his servant as well as his friend, Alexis. If the prince was of a low standing, then this man was of the lowest level of nobility in the kingdom, but it was still a pleasing arrangement for both of them. To serve a prince was a position of honor, even if he was a lower prince, and Alexis basked in the fact that he had been chosen. Prince Dominique wouldn’t have been as happy with a regular servant at his side, not only because all nobles were taught to fight unlike servants, but also because he could talk to Alexis as almost an equal.
The nearby area was ruled by another prince, but the two provinces were completely different. The neighboring area was ruled by Princess Monique, who looked down her nose at her small and poor neighbor. They were cousins, but this was a fact that was generally ignored by Princess Monique, a pinch faced old woman who clutched greedily at her power. She had a grown son, who she spoiled to the point where everyone in the kingdom doubted his ability to rule someday. Despite the fact that he was already in his mid thirties, he still had no training in affairs of state.
“Finally, you’re ripping into someone other then me,” Prince Dominique interrupted me again.
“I do find that you are somewhat harsh on our beloved rulers. Their highnesses work at a higher level than we understand,” Alexis chimed in. I realize now that I forgot to mention before, another reason why Prince Dominique liked him as a companion was because he was a toady.
“I created them; I’m pretty sure I understand exactly the level that their highnesses work on. Now everyone shut up and let me write the rest of this story,” I said. They didn’t say anything thing else, I guess they got the hint, so I was finally able to get them across the border of Princess Monique’s province.
Simply the fact that it took more than a day to ride to the capital from the border of the province was enough to make Prince Dominique jealous. Once they actually reached the capital insult was added to injury, with the Princess not granting them instant audience. Instead they were forced to stay idle in the castle for several days before they were finally called to wait on her.
To be continued...
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