Date: Thu, 6 Jan 2011 19:24:12 -0800 (PST)
From: Robert <robertx5sf@yahoo.com>
Subject: Squires of Telisan Keep - 8

This is a work of fiction.  All characters portrayed in this story are fictional
and not representative of anyone living or dead.  (c) 2011 by
robertx5sf@yahoo.com, all rights reserved, may not be reproduced in any form
without the author's consent, with exception of license granted to Nifty.org per
Nifty's terms of use.

Author's Note: Catching back up after the holidays, will trying to be getting at
least two chapters out each week for a while.  All always comments are
appreciated.  Thank you, Robert - robertx5sf@yahoo.com

Squires of Telisan Keep -- 8

Rynil

     Rynil stood patiently, watching as the Chamberlain busied himself reviewing
numbers in a ledger.  The Squire had been summoned to the Chamberlain's Office
as he was headed to begin his morning of service cleaning the several latrines
strategically strewn about the keep and castle grounds.  Upon arriving, the
Chamberlain, Sir Balren, had motioned for Rynil to wait.  So wait he did,
standing silently until the Chamberlain should indicated otherwise.  As the
minutes passed Rynil started trying to think how he could cut corners and try to
make up for all the time he was wasting just standing there waiting.  It was
already tough enough to complete the task in the allotted time since he was
doing the work of two people.


     Eventually the monotony of waiting was interrupted by a knock on the door.
Without even looking up, the Chamberlain barked out, "Enter".  The door opened
and Squire Mikel hesitantly entered the office.  "It's about time," said Sir
Balren.  "You have missed two days of service already, I was starting to think
you were going to miss a third.  Squire Rynil will instruct you on your current
duties.  In the future you will meet him at the Quartermaster's on your service
mornings.  You WILL be making up for your two missed days eventually as soon as
I find a suitable task for you.  Now you two are dismissed."


     Rynil gave a slight bow in acknowledgement of the orders and headed for the
door.  He saw Squire Mikel imitate the gesture and then fall into place behind
him as he exited the Chamberlain's Office.  Rynil led the way to the
Quartermaster's.  As they made their way through the keep, Rynil briefly
explained their task, "Not much to the job.  Most of the hard work is carrying
water from the moat to the latrines in the old keep.  Once that's done it's a
quick splash, scrub the outside and the lip of the waste hole, use the remaining
water to rinse it all off, then give it a wipe with some towels to get most of
the water up.  It stinks of course but you do sort of get used to it after
awhile."


     "Can't be any worse then back on the farm," replied Mikel.

     "Oh right, I'm sure you're used to worse," said Rynil, feeling foolish.
The two Squires went about getting their buckets, brushes, and towels from the
Quartermaster's storage and then headed out to get water from the moat.  They
carried the water back into the keep and begun giving the first latrine a
cleaning.  The silence was awkward as Mikel struggled to maintain any
conversation beyond the basics required of their work.

     Eventually Rynil mustered up the courage to say what had been on his mind
since Mikel entered the Chamberlain's Office.  As they scrubbed away Rynil spoke
without looking over at the boy next to him, "Mikel, about what happened at the
Squire's Tournament, I'm sorry."


     Mikel stopped and looked over at Rynil who continued to work, avoiding eye
contact.  "Why?  You didn't do anything wrong.  You're the better fighter, you
should've won.  Why'd you offer me a draw?  You had the fight won."


     "Because I...I just couldn't keep hitting you.  It wasn't right.  The
Lord's Champion should have stopped the fight but I think he was enjoying seeing
me beat you.  And it was more then just the fight.  I was wrong to call you a
coward.  I was the one that was being a coward," said Rynil.

     "Huh?  How were you being a coward?" asked Mikel confused.

     "I don't know, just, I'm sorry about it all," lied Rynil, not wanting to
explain to Mikel about The Dream and how he had been trying to prevent Mikel
from becoming a Squire.  Now he was trying to not like the peasant boy turned
Squire because he knew in his dream he had strong feelings for him and perhaps
if he never got to like him then that would prevent The Dream from coming true.


     "Well, uh, I forgive you then.  After all I think it all worked out okay.
I like being Sir Valen's Squire.  Magic isn't as bad as all the stories say,"
said Mikel.

     Rynil gave Mikel a dubious look, "Thanks."  Rynil tried to go back to
working in silence but Mikel had other plans.  Mikel told the story of growing
up in a peasant farming family that worked the Lord's land under the protection
of a local Knight.  He gave the edited version of his family being killed, then
talked about spending the last couple of years at the Temple of the Harvest and
finally about deciding to travel to Telisan to join the Squire Games in the
hopes of becoming a Knight to try to avenge his family.  After hearing Mikel's
history, Rynil was feeling even guiltier for calling him a coward.


     Having finished the first set of latrines, the boys returned to the moat
and refilled their buckets.  As they carried the buckets full of water up a
flight of stairs towards the second set of latrines they heard the sound of
someone rushing down the stairs.  They both moved to the side to clear the
center of the stairwell just as Squire Mekrin came running down.  At the last
second he seemed to veer towards Mikel and his shoulder struck him square in the
chest.  The force of the impact knocked Mikel back into the wall, his head
smacked hard against it, and he fell to the ground while the bucket full of
water crashed down the stairs.

     Rynil dropped his bucket and jumped between Mekrin and Mikel, who was lying
on the stairs dazed.  "Leave him alone Mekrin!" shouted Rynil as he gave Mekrin
a shove.


     "Heheheh, don't get all upset," said Mekrin while laughing.  "Why do you
care what happens to the little peasant snot anyway?"

     "Just leave him alone Mekrin.  He's on duty so I could report you,"
threatened Rynil.


     "It was an accident, I didn't see him until too late," said Mekrin
smirking.


     "Horseshit!  You hit him on purpose," said Rynil.

     "I'm okay Rynil, don't worry about," said Mikel from floor as he regained
his senses.


     "Yeah, listen to the peasant Rynil, you should be used to that after all,"
said Mekrin with a smirk as he pushed past Rynil and resumed his trip down the
stairs.


     Rynil helped Mikel get to his feet.  "You okay?" he asked.

     Mikel rubbed his chest then felt his head.  "I'll be fine.  Got a nice lump
on my head and my chest is sore, but I`ll live."

     The two Squires made their way back down to the moat to refill the now
empty buckets.  "That Squire, Mekrin is it?  I remember him, he spit on me the
day of the Squire Tournament.  I'm starting to think he may not like me," said
Mikel, chuckling at his understatement.


     "Yeah, well you aren't the only one he doesn't like.  He is an asshole.  He
doesn't have many friends among the other Squires but since he is Sir Galreth's,
nephew a lot of the Knights and a few of the Squires treat him better then he
deserves," explained Rynil as they re-filled their buckets and made their way
back to the second set of latrines.


     "Rynil, what did he mean about you being used to doing what a peasant
says?" asked Mikel.


     "He's referring to my mother.  Although, she isn't a peasant, she is from
one of the northern tribes," said Rynil.

     "Your mother's from one of the barbarian tribes?" asked Mikel a bit
surprised.


     "They don't consider themselves barbarians," said Rynil sharply.  When
Mikel started laughing, Rynil got upset.  "What's so funny?" he scowled.


     "I'm sorry, I am not laughing at you.  It's just this morning I had the
same tone when I corrected a Page for referring to Sir Valen as `the wizard' in
a kind of insulting way.  I guess it's easy to talk down about someone you don't
know.  So let me start over.  So your mother is from one of the tribes that live
north of Selarn, how did that come about?" asked Mikel.


     "Well my father's first wife died when she was giving birth to my older
brother, or half-brother I guess.  About ten years after that the King sent him
as the leader of a group of Knights to try to negotiate a treaty with the
northern tribes.  The strongest tribe was the Wolf Tribe and after meeting with
several of the tribes my father knew that if he could make a treaty with the
Wolf Tribe, the rest of the tribes would follow.  He spent a year living with
the Wolf Tribe and as part of the treaty he married my mother who was one Chief
Kalgar's daughters.  To symbolize the joining of his family to the Wolf Tribe my
father took the family name of Wolfe.  So Mekrin likes to try to lord it over me
like he is superior cause my mother isn't of "noble" blood," explained Rynil.


"Did you grow up with the Wolf Tribe then," asked Mikel.

     "No, after they were married my father brought my mother back south.  My
siblings and I were born up near Lord Petris's holdings, which is the
northernmost estate in Selarn.  My father is steward over a portion of his lands
near the border.  So I grew up there till I was eight and was sent here and
became Sir Alred's Page."


     "Why did you come here to be a Page rather then at the Lord Petris's keep?"
asked Mikel.


     "I'm not really sure, my older brother did his service at Lord Petris's
castle, but I was sent here.  My father told me that Lord Velarik personally
asked that I come here to serve as a Page.  I'm glad I came here though, even if
I do miss my family," said Rynil.


     The boys worked hard to make up for the late start and the time they lost
from their encounter with Mekrin.  And while Rynil was content to work in
silence, Mikel kept talking and asking questions, drawing reluctant conversation
out of him.  "Rynil, why do the Squires have to do work like this?  Why don't
the servants do it instead," asked Mikel.


     "Well the way Sir Alred explained it to me, when Knights are out fighting
bandits or on patrol along the border, they don't bring servants with `em, just
their Squires and maybe some men-at-arms.  So we have to be used to doing this
type of work and not view it as something that is just for servants to do.  Also
Sir Alred said that Lord Velarik feels it makes us appreciate the hard work of
the servants a little bit more if we have to experience some of it for
ourselves," said Rynil.


     After they finished the last of the latrines the boys returned the buckets,
brushes and towels to the Quartermaster's supply room.  Rynil showed Mikel the
way back to Sir Valen's tower.  He said goodbye to Mikel then headed to the
kitchen, grabbed a little something to eat then headed down to the stables to
get some riding practice in.  He always found riding relaxing and after spending
the morning with Mikel he needed some time alone to think.  He saddled up his
horse and rode out to do a circuit around the town and back.


     The morning's events weighted heavily on him, he wanted to not like Mikel
but the more time he spent with him, the harder it was to deny that he did like
him.  Then when Mekrin had pulled his stunt, Rynil had just reacted without
thinking and before he knew it, he was standing over Mikel, protecting him just
like in The Dream.  The ride provided him no clarity and be the time it was over
he was still torn between admitting he already had feelings for Mikel and
resolving to do whatever he could to push the boy away in order to protect them
both.