"PAPA! papapapapapa!"
The shrill yell followed quickly by the angry bellow of the affronted mare drew the old man's attention. With a soft sigh he quickly made his way to the paddocks to see what his grandson was getting into this time. The sight that greeted him drew a mixture of concern and amusement, round and round the boy and colt went and with every turn the mare seemed to bellow louder at the two.
It was easy to guess what had happened as the bag of carrots had been dropped off to the side and were now forgotten in the wild excitement. Finally the colt seemed to have had enough of the fun and with an abrupt crow hop sent his young passenger...for it wasn't quite right to call him a rider...sailing into a pile of hay.
He gave the boy a few moments before making his way over, he was getting old enough to learn about pride and at this stage it was all too easily bruised. By the time he made it there the kid was picking hay out of his shirt and frowning.
"I almost got him! Did you see us? we're gonna be the best team there ever was!"
That got an indulgent smile as he glanced over him to be sure nothing was broken. "Not if you break your neck first. Why do you keep harassing the poor horses?"
The boy paused and gave his grandfather a look then puffed out his chest "Cause I'm gonna be a knight and everyone knows knights need good horses!"
With a soft chuckle the old man turned to head back to the house confident that he would be followed "Are you now? Has a knight agreed to take you on as a squire so young?"
An indignant huff was his reply before the boy finally admitted the truth "No...but Illeia said I could be hers when she became a knight!"
The man stopped and turned to kneel down, "Kordrion, you are barely nine years old," holding up a finger he stopped the boy's objection before it could begin "You are still young yet to be a squire and Illeia still has years to go before she will be made a knight. Do you not think you are rushing ahead before you even know what the road looks like?"
"But you always tell me it's best to be over-prepared then under! that's what I'm doin isn't it?" Even before he had finished speaking his grandfather was shaking his head.
"Perhaps...but this is not one of those times. Forcing yourself and that cold before you are ready is no good for either of you and could end up hurting both of you." At the boy's crestfallen look he sighed again before adding, "I will make you a deal. You leave the horses alone and let things happen as they will...and I will send a letter up to the tower and ask them to consider you on their next round to see if you are ready to be a squire alright?"
Kord brightened immediately "Oh! really?! I promise I will be the best squire ever so they will be sure and pick me when they come! Thank you papa!"
The man grunted as Kord latched onto his neck in a fierce hug. "Easy boy, Pretty soon if you keep hugging me like that you'll break me. Just an old man you know."
That got a scoff "You aren’t old, you're my papa. Gonna hug you like that always so you know I mean it and you won't ever break, I promise."
Chuckling softly and standing his grandfather held out his hand "come on then, I think grandma was baking a pie..."
Kord never heard the rest of that sentence as he was already closing the distance to their house and the promised pie.
--
With a start Kord awoke and rubbed his bleary eyes. Giving him a baleful look Harlequin mumbled something about fire and wood before rolling over to claim Kord's foot as a pillow again. Following his look the man found the source of what had awoken him, one of the logs had split and settled deeper into the ashes.
Leaning over Kord snagged the kettle and poured himself a new mug of tea. Settling back with his prize he let out a soft sigh, "Have you ever wondered how fate could be both kind and cruel at the same time Harley?"
If he had expected an answer he was sorely disappointed.
Some might argue that the rogue had to be one of the luckiest people alive, He in turn would argue otherwise. The promised letter had never made it out of the town, he assumed it had burned with the rest of it when the scourge swept through leaving death and shattered lives in its wake. While Fate had taken away that path...it seemed that even though his feet made his own trail it still found the end.
Taking a sip of his tea Kord let his hand drop down to trace the pattern of the tabard draped across the arm of his chair. A soft glow rewarded his touch and brought a rueful smile, "I told you papa, I was going to be a knight.
The shrill yell followed quickly by the angry bellow of the affronted mare drew the old man's attention. With a soft sigh he quickly made his way to the paddocks to see what his grandson was getting into this time. The sight that greeted him drew a mixture of concern and amusement, round and round the boy and colt went and with every turn the mare seemed to bellow louder at the two.
It was easy to guess what had happened as the bag of carrots had been dropped off to the side and were now forgotten in the wild excitement. Finally the colt seemed to have had enough of the fun and with an abrupt crow hop sent his young passenger...for it wasn't quite right to call him a rider...sailing into a pile of hay.
He gave the boy a few moments before making his way over, he was getting old enough to learn about pride and at this stage it was all too easily bruised. By the time he made it there the kid was picking hay out of his shirt and frowning.
"I almost got him! Did you see us? we're gonna be the best team there ever was!"
That got an indulgent smile as he glanced over him to be sure nothing was broken. "Not if you break your neck first. Why do you keep harassing the poor horses?"
The boy paused and gave his grandfather a look then puffed out his chest "Cause I'm gonna be a knight and everyone knows knights need good horses!"
With a soft chuckle the old man turned to head back to the house confident that he would be followed "Are you now? Has a knight agreed to take you on as a squire so young?"
An indignant huff was his reply before the boy finally admitted the truth "No...but Illeia said I could be hers when she became a knight!"
The man stopped and turned to kneel down, "Kordrion, you are barely nine years old," holding up a finger he stopped the boy's objection before it could begin "You are still young yet to be a squire and Illeia still has years to go before she will be made a knight. Do you not think you are rushing ahead before you even know what the road looks like?"
"But you always tell me it's best to be over-prepared then under! that's what I'm doin isn't it?" Even before he had finished speaking his grandfather was shaking his head.
"Perhaps...but this is not one of those times. Forcing yourself and that cold before you are ready is no good for either of you and could end up hurting both of you." At the boy's crestfallen look he sighed again before adding, "I will make you a deal. You leave the horses alone and let things happen as they will...and I will send a letter up to the tower and ask them to consider you on their next round to see if you are ready to be a squire alright?"
Kord brightened immediately "Oh! really?! I promise I will be the best squire ever so they will be sure and pick me when they come! Thank you papa!"
The man grunted as Kord latched onto his neck in a fierce hug. "Easy boy, Pretty soon if you keep hugging me like that you'll break me. Just an old man you know."
That got a scoff "You aren’t old, you're my papa. Gonna hug you like that always so you know I mean it and you won't ever break, I promise."
Chuckling softly and standing his grandfather held out his hand "come on then, I think grandma was baking a pie..."
Kord never heard the rest of that sentence as he was already closing the distance to their house and the promised pie.
--
With a start Kord awoke and rubbed his bleary eyes. Giving him a baleful look Harlequin mumbled something about fire and wood before rolling over to claim Kord's foot as a pillow again. Following his look the man found the source of what had awoken him, one of the logs had split and settled deeper into the ashes.
Leaning over Kord snagged the kettle and poured himself a new mug of tea. Settling back with his prize he let out a soft sigh, "Have you ever wondered how fate could be both kind and cruel at the same time Harley?"
If he had expected an answer he was sorely disappointed.
Some might argue that the rogue had to be one of the luckiest people alive, He in turn would argue otherwise. The promised letter had never made it out of the town, he assumed it had burned with the rest of it when the scourge swept through leaving death and shattered lives in its wake. While Fate had taken away that path...it seemed that even though his feet made his own trail it still found the end.
Taking a sip of his tea Kord let his hand drop down to trace the pattern of the tabard draped across the arm of his chair. A soft glow rewarded his touch and brought a rueful smile, "I told you papa, I was going to be a knight.
