Date: Tue, 15 Jul 2008 22:31:01 -0600
From: jim <jorgen401@hotmail.com>
Subject: Prince Terence and the boy. pt 5

			Prince Terence and the boy
				 Chapter 5

         Of the many things that had happened on his land, Terry could
never remember anyone that had ever been beaten, either by his father or
his grandfather. There had always been a peaceful way to resolve the
issues.
     Terry was lost in thought as he moved throughout the house, visibly
upset by the actions he had seen and the actions he had taken.

     John carried the sobbing boy to the bath. He hummed and murmured soft
words of comfort to Charlie, remembering some of the times he had seen the
men in his old village punish the other boys. He hoped that the scars would
not be visible. Entering the bath room, John set the boy down and started
to help him remove his clothing. The sight of the angry red welts made him
sad and angry. Here was a boy who always smiled and had warm words to
say. He did his chores with pride; he took care of the horses the same way.

     Removing his own clothes he stepped into the bath with the boy. Using
a cloth, he ran some water over the boy's back. Charlie felt devastated, he
had done all his chores this morning.
     He had made sure that the stalls were clean and that clean water and
feed were in each one of them. He had removed all the waste and had even
had time to fill the lamps with oil, before Prince Terence and the new boy,
John, had come in to ask for horses saddled and ready to ride. Why did his
master always drink? What could have made him strike him like he did?

    Although Terry was upset about the day's events, his heart thumped hard
in his chest as he watched John soothe the young boy.  Here was a boy that
he had found on the side of the road, taken into his home, started to fall
in love with, comforting a boy not much younger than he was.

   Again Terry was amazed at the tender care John was showing to
Charlie. He said soft words of comfort and hummed as he washed the boy's
back. Smiling at John, who was looking up at him, his heart was bursting
with love and affection.
  Moving over to talk to John, Terry told him to take Charlie to his room
and let him rest for a while. "I have some things that I must take care of,
John. Will you please see to Charlie for me?" he asked. "Sure I will." John
said.

  Terry left the room and walked down to the court yard where the guards
were going through their training.  Walking over to the Master at Arms,
Terry asked if he could use one of the men for a while to work on his
skills as he had some anger to work off. "As you wish, my lord." Said the
man.  Motioning for one of the head guards to come over, he explained that
he was to be the Prince's sparring partner for as long as the Prince
needed.

  Terry looked at the man.  "Please understand that I am not angry with you
for the service you have given my family or myself, but my anger at today's
events will be taken out on yourself. Defend yourself!" Terry said as he
drew his sword and started the attack.

  While Terry took his anger out on the guard, John dried off Charlie and,
placing his shirt over his head and shoulders, took him to his room and
proceeded to get the boy in bed. "Please stay here while I get something
for you to eat. Then I would like you to sleep for awhile." John
said. "Don't worry, I'll be right back." He said.

  Going to the kitchen, John was able to get some food for Charlie to
eat. Nothing heavy, just something light to help settle his stomach.  On
his way back to the room, John noticed out one of the windows Terry in the
courtyard working with his sword.
     Standing there for a few minutes watching, John was impressed with the
skill Terry showed. His heart felt for the Prince as he was sure that he
was hurting from what had happened.

  Stepping into the room with the food for Charlie, he saw that the boy was
sleeping already. Placing the food on the table beside the bed he left the
room closing the door behind him.

  Terry was starting to let his anger control his movements. He knew this
was a bad way to battle anyone. Calling a halt to the fight for a minute,
he regained his thoughts and noticed John watching from the
sidelines. . "Thank you, you have helped me greatly." He said to the
guard. "Your most welcome my lord" the guard said.
    Looking at John he said for him to go to the Master at Arms and get
something to learn to fight with. Then, turning back to the guard he
started his attacks anew, this time with purpose to his movements.

  John wasn't sure if he could ever use a sword. He had never held one, but
had played with sticks while he watched the herds back in his
village. Walking over to the Master at Arms, he asked if he had any
fighting sticks. "Have you ever used a bow stick before young man?" he
asked. "Only in play sir." John replied.  "Well, let's see how you play
then, follow me." He said.  Looking at John and then at the staves he had.
He selected one and handed it to John. "Looks about right, move it around
and let me know how it feels."

   John held the stave and did what he did when he played. First finding
the balance point then moving it around some. "It feels good sir." John
said. "Good then, lets go over to the other area and we will see what you
can do with that wispy little branch." He said with a smile on his face.

  Terry watched out of the corner of his eye as John walked to the other
area with the Master at Arms leading the way, picking up a stick for
himself as he went.

  Terry made his way over to the area where John and the Master at Arms
were starting to circle each other and watched as the two squared up.
   "Defend yourself, boy!" The man said. John wasn't sure what the man
meant when he said the word "boy" but he didn't like the tone used. It set
his blood moving. Taking up the stick, he took what he thought was a
defensive stance.  I John soon realized that this man meant business.

    It started slowly, both man and boy stepped around each other, the man
bringing his stick down on the boy and the boy moving the stick up to
block.  As the two of them moved around, the sticks started moving
faster. John didn't think about what he was doing, he just reacted.  Faster
and faster they fought.

   Terry sat and watched as John and the Master at Arms started moving
around faster than he thought John would be able to move.  After a while
John called an end to the practicing.  Replacing the staff, he walked over
to Terry.  "How do you feel John?" Terry asked.  "Good and tired." John
replied. "Let's go and have a relaxing bath and then we will get something
to eat." Terry said.
   They made their way to the bath room and proceeded to relax in the warm
water. Neither said anything about what had happened that morning.  After
washing each other they went to the kitchen to eat.  Cook knew that they
would be hungry after working themselves as hard as they had and after a
nice relaxing bath they would want lots of food.

   After the meal, they went to check on Charlie. He was still
sleeping. Going beside the bed, Terry replaced the sheet over the sleeping
boy's back.
  "I have some things to do that will take me out of town." Terry said. "I
would like you to take care of things here for me while I'm gone. I would
also like you to keep an eye on Charlie and keep practicing your skills
with the bow stick." Terry continued.
  "How long will you be gone?" John asked.
   "I'm not sure. I have to talk to a few nobles about some things that
concern us all." He said.
   "When will you leave?" John asked.
   "I shall start out tomorrow morning." He said.
   "I will make sure that your horse is ready for you and a pack of food
for your journey." John promised.  "Now you should go to bed yourself. You
will be up early and I need to make sure things are ready for your
leaving." Said John.

   Once Terry had left for his room, John went back to the kitchen to ask
cook to put together a bundle of food for the Prince, as he would be
leaving after his breakfast the next day. Then he went to the Master at
Arms. "Excuse me sir. Would you please have one of the guards saddle the
Prince's horse in the morning? He is leaving on a business trip and Charlie
may not be up and able to do his chores that early." John said.

  "I will see that everything is ready for him, young sir." The Master
replied.  John was happy that everything would be ready for Terry when he
got up. He felt good about doing something to help out.  He decided that
this time he would not make any mistakes. He would take care of things the
best way he could, so that Terry would be proud of him when he returned.

 * I would once again like to thank Eric H for his support and editing
skills. Comments can be sent to Jorgen401@hotmail.com