When news of Miles' Knighthood reached Baldwin, he was furious! He immediately went to see Samuel the same day. He wanted to find out if the news was true .
Kingdom of Largo
Chapter 16
Baldwin
When news of Miles' Knighthood reached Baldwin, he was furious! He immediately went to see Samuel the same day. He wanted to find out if the news was true .
“Sir Samuel! Is it true that the forest man has been knighted by the king?”
“Yes, it is!” answered Samuel.
“That is ridiculous! Weren't we supposed to go there to arrest the unidentified man? How did things turn out so differently? Why is he receiving all this royal treatment? Why is he permitted to live in the palace with the king? I don't understand it! Do we know who he is?”
“Yes, he is the same magician that came to the kingdom 12 seasons ago before Prince Theo was born.”
“So, are you saying this is the same magician that fed the magic potion to the king and the queen to conceive Prince Theo?”
“Yes! Listen, Baldwin. I did not have a say in this matter. I was just as surprised as anyone else. The king announced it without consulting me first. He announced he would knight Sir Miles on the following day. It was too short a time for me to even prepare any documents to reject his proposal. Everything happened too fast for me to respond to it,” Samuel continued to explain himself.
“This is grossly unethical of King Aylard's behavior! He just can't knight anyone he likes. He has knighted a total stranger. What about the brother whom the stranger said had been killed 14 seasons ago? Did we find out his name and how he was killed?”
“Nothing! Baldwin! Nothing! That part is still a mystery to us all!” Samuel sighed heavily.
“See my hand... my finger is gone because of this bastard! I shall have revenge! This I vow to you, I will never forget what this man has done to me!” Baldwin held out his left hand to show Samuel. His hand was fully bandaged.
“How is your finger? Did the nurse manage to reattach it?”
“No! The nurse couldn't do anything. By the time I got to her, the skin on the severed finger was dead and she could not reattach it back to my finger. Damn that bastard! I shall have revenge! I shall cut off all his fingers!” Baldwin was mad.
“Baldwin, I know this is unfair to you, and to many others. I am going to talk with the king to see if he will knight you too. I shall make that recommendation because you have suffered the loss of your finger during your work. If he refuses to knight you now, perhaps he could compensate you for the loss of your finger with a hefty sum of gold because your hand won't be the same for the rest of your life. Don't worry! You will be compensated in one way or another,” Samuel comforted Baldwin.
“We still need to find out where his brother died and how. Will you be able to continue with that investigation? Use the same group of people to investigate since they know something about this man already. He and his brother must have belonged to a tribe or a kingdom, and we need to find out which one,” Samuel said in a softer tone now.
“Yes, I will do that. I will continue the investigation on this hermit. He isn't going to get away with this!” Baldwin responded.
“And tomorrow morning you will come to court to file a case about your missing finger, and I will make a suggestion to the king for you to be compensated. Would you like to be compensated with a knighthood? Or would you like to be compensated in gold?” Samuel suddenly felt sorry for Baldwin. He had been serving the royals for many seasons already, and he still had not earned his knighthood yet. He understood where Baldwin's anger had come from.
“I don't care for the knighthood. It means nothing to me now. I don't want to follow in some stranger's footsteps by going against the palace's policy to obtain the title without having truly earned it. The king should have known better! I shall prove my worth to earn the title and be proud of it! I'm not going to cheat or use any shortcut to obtain it,” said Baldwin.
Well, for once, Samuel was appreciating what Baldwin had said. He couldn't have agreed more.
“Okay! Let's do it this way. You shall be compensated for in gold. Will 500 gold bars be good enough for your loss?”
“Make that 1000 gold bars since I won't have the same hand for the rest of my life and I'm still a young person,” Baldwin answered.
“Okay, we'll do! I will make a recommendation to King Aylard to reward that amount to you, but I can't do it until you file a case in court first. You must do this first thing tomorrow morning! Then, I shall meet you in my chamber tomorrow afternoon. I need you to find two more people for me which may lead to who this magician is. I will tell you the details then.
Baldwin agreed to the terms, he was glad to be of service to Sir Edward again. If he was really going to be compensated with 1000 gold bars, he knew exactly how he would spend it, he was already planning his revenge on Sir Miles. Besides, he really enjoyed being a detective rather than a warrior. He thought he was born to do investigative work.
He went home and prepared the document for the case to be presented to the court the following morning. He knew he must use utmost diligence in drafting his case. He must win!
In the court document, Baldwin listed the reason why compensation is being sought. He stated that he was injured during a work routine, and the defendant was no other than Sir Miles, who was a stranger living in the forest at the time. He claimed he had lost his finger during a confrontation with Miles and it was Miles who had deliberately cut off his finger.
Baldwin sought compensation in two areas:
1) To compensate for his inability to use his left hand in the same manner as he did before he lost his finger, which he must endure for the rest of his life.
2) He also sought the action to revoke the knighthood of Sir Miles, who was the defendant in this case, who had actually committed a crime by deliberately cutting off his finger.
And to support his case, Baldwin grouped together his warriors who were there as witnesses to the incident. They would be there to protest if Baldwin doesn't get his way. He wanted to make sure that Miles would be stripped of his title and be sent to prison.
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The following day, Baldwin and his 50 warriors stood in front of King Aylard, Samuel and the other court councils to make his case. There were a few disruptions in the court as the case was being heard, notably when the court learned that Miles was knighted through a ceremony.
It took King Aylard and Samuel some effort to silence the courtroom. By mid-morning, the court took a recess. The king, Samuel, and the other council members then met in the small chamber at the back of the courtroom.
“We will have to settle this today, we don't wish for anyone to protest in the courtroom, or out in the streets,” Samuel quietly warned the king and others. He boldly suggested to the king of what he had promised Baldwin the day before, “Why not give him some gold bars as compensation for the loss of his finger? After all, as he has stated in his statement, the use of his hand won't be the same for the rest of his life.”
“Yes, but shouldn't Miles be in the trial as the defendant? Shouldn't we treat this as a preliminary hearing and move the trial date to a later date which will include the defendant?” asked one of the council members.
“No!” Samuel stared straight into the council member's eyes, “Haven't you noticed how unsettled the 50 warriors are out there? They're all ready to protest. If we delay the settlement, there may be riots out there in the street. All they need to do is to go to the villagers and the farmers to inform them what has happened, and before you know it, the streets will be full of protesters. We can't let that happen. Once the protest begins, the kingdom will be out of control. And believe me, it will be huge! Do you want that to happen?”
“Of course not, I do not want that to happen! But what trial is this that the defendant is absent? Doesn't the defendant have a say in this?” The council member continued his argument.
“A knight can only stand on trial for his misbehavior while he is a knight, and the title can be revoked, but in this case it is a different scenario. According to Baldwin's own statement, this happened while Sir Miles was living in the forest as himself. He was not a knight then. He was just somebody who lived there and Baldwin and his men were the intruders trespassing on his property,” Samuel said.
“What are we going to do then? I suppose we can't revoke Miles' knighthood either because he has not done anything wrong?” asked the council member.
King Aylard watched Samuel intently. He hoped Samuel would come up with some great ideas again to remedy the situation, and he did not have to wait long. Soon enough, Samuel spoke again.
“I have a suggestion!” Samuel volunteered.
“Yes, Sir Edward! Please let us hear it!” King Aylard's mind was now foggy, he figured any suggestion from Sir Edward would always be a good suggestion. He couldn't wait to hear it. Sir Edward had never failed him before.
“Reward him 1000 gold bars! Such a hefty sum will satisfy him and dissuade him from creating havoc. That will pretty well quiet him down for now. In the meantime, we will propose to him that he will be in charge of an investigation into Sir Miles' background. The time it takes for him to deliver the result to us will determine how soon we will conclude the case. He will be in charge of the investigation. He will be taking his 50 warriors along, so this will also keep the warriors busy, and too distracted to engage in riots or protests in the street. They all will be required to be sworn to secrecy of this case while working, so they are not allowed to tell anyone about Sir Miles. This will stop them from going to inform the villagers and the farmers of what has happened.” Samuel explained.
He looked across the chamber, everyone, including King Aylard, seemed to be nodding their heads in unison. Then he continued, “While Baldwin and his men are out there investigating, we will send Sir Miles out to the southern borders to fight those bandits. This will be the time that Sir Miles could prove his self-worth as a knight. Hopefully, by the time Baldwin and his warriors come back to deliver to us the real identity of Sir Miles, he would have proven his loyalty to the kingdom as well. What do you all think of this?”
“Splendid idea! Just splendid!” said King Aylard, almost as if to congratulate Samuel for his cunning ability to solve problems, “By doing this Sir Miles will be able to retain his knighthood, and the 50 warriors will be quiet and not be out in the streets rioting, and this will allow Sir Miles to prove himself to the kingdom! Seriously, I think this will work.”
“I agree!” said one of the council members and raised his hand at the same time.
“I also agree,” said another, and then another, and then some others.
Now, all eyes rest upon the one who has been protesting about Miles being absent in the courtroom. He felt there was no sense in opposing the idea since everyone else had already agreed.
“Okay, I will agree. Let's do it then. I think 1000 gold bars is a lot, but that may be the right amount to shut Baldwin up for now and keep the peace in the kingdom,” he said.
“So, we will make the ruling today to ensure we keep that peace,” said Samuel. He felt as though a big load seemed to have been lifted off his shoulders.
“Yes, I think the sooner this is settled, the better,” said King Aylard to the group.
At that, all members and the king left the back chamber and the court was resumed. Baldwin was awarded 1000 gold bars as promised, and the instructions that followed for his lead to participate in the investigation of Sir Miles. He was happy to have been awarded the same team of warriors to work under him. Later, they all went to Samuel for a ceremony to be sworn to secrecy regarding the case.
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This had been a very exhausting day for Samuel. He went back to his chamber, and Cateline and Emma were already there waiting for him to have supper.
“What happened, Father? You look drawn and tired today,” Emma asked, she was concerned about her father's health. Samuel seemed so tired lately.
Samuel looked at his daughter, Emma. He noticed Emma had grown again! In just this past several months, she had grown another few inches. He felt as though his children were growing too fast. He was contemplating whether or not to tell Emma about Baldwin's case today, but then he decided to not tell her anything. He must keep to secrecy too since this involved Miles. He knew how dissatisfied Emma was when she found out Miles had become a knight before her future mate, Theo did. He wanted to explain to Emma that the world is not always fair, but he thought about this and decided to tell her another time.
They had supper together, but his mind had drifted off to Drake and Durwin, who had also been sent to work at the southern borders. What would their days be like? He was concerned for his two boys' first mission as warrior trainees. Not to mention that the southern borders, were deemed the most dangerous borders. Are the boys missing him as much as he misses them? It's times like this he wished he had his two boys around. He vaguely remembered the last time they had supper together: it was at the king's chamber when they welcomed Miles to the palace. He remembered how surprised Queen Isabella was to see Miles again. There seemed to have been some kind of recognition upon her face when he brought Miles to see her. That moment of recognition came as a flash of lightning and then gone.
That moment of recognition seemed to have gone beyond recognizing just a magician from 12 seasons ago. Did they know each other before that? Samuel couldn't help but wonder. He wished that King Aylard had not invited Miles into the palace, but it was too late to object to anything now. He just prayed that Miles did not descend from the Kingdom of Kebia!
But then again – What if he is? What are they going to do with him? What is Miles' motive in agreeing to move into the palace? What will the people in the kingdom do if they found out that Sir Miles is actually a warrior from our enemies in the past? How will the people react to the king for keeping an enemy in our palace, and knighting him? Samuel had all these worries, and yet, he could not consult the king over any of it, since he knew anything he said about Sir Miles would thrust the king into a defence mode.
Samuel was deep in his own thoughts. He seemed rather absent-minded, even was not aware that Emma and Cateline were talking to him. He seemed to be in another world. Both women were now wondering what has happened to Samuel. He had not been himself since the day Sir Miles joined the palace.
If Miles came from the kingdom of Kebia, then he is our enemy, we cannot keep him. Samuel told himself. He wondered if Miles knew the whereabouts of the king and queen of Kebia.
He had made up his mind. He must convince King Aylard to send Sir Miles out to the southern border as soon as possible to battle the unknown bandits over there. Hopefully, by the time Baldwin and his men come back with the findings, Miles would have proven his true colors, one way or the other. It would seem to be much better to handle everything by that time.
First, he must ask Theo and Emma to stay away from Miles. Just letting them know that the man may be dangerous should do the trick. After all, that's all they need to know.
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Baldwin was happy that he got rewarded the same day he filed his lawsuit. That was a quick 1000 gold bars he got from losing his finger. He had never seen so much gold before in his life. He wanted to make use of them most appropriately. King Aylard has written him a voucher to obtain 1000 gold bars from the Kingdom's Treasurer. He could go fetch the gold bars anytime he wanted. What's more, he had been assigned yet another important task - he would be a Lead Detective once again! He had been congratulating himself on his good fortune as of late. He had been assigned one important task after another. Hopefully, by the end of this successful investigation, he too would be knighted by the king. He had now approached his 20th season and was indeed a ripe enough age to be recognized as a knight. That would elevate his social status to a much higher level. With the 1000 gold bars, he would be considered to be of a wealthy caste. He had secretly congratulated himself many times already today.
He set off to the cookery to see what the team could bring along for the road. He had an army of 50 to feed, so he knew he must choose wisely what foods to bring along with them. His next stop was Woodworker William's workshop, to see if he would have some larger wagons to transport his daily supplies from one place to another. This was going to be a big project and he wanted to be well prepared for it. He would not let his 50 warriors down. These were his men, and he needed to care for their well-being.
He came in front of Lambert and Son's Playhouse. The building was much larger now compared to the time it first opened for business several years ago. The shop was not just for creating playthings for the children anymore. Lambert and Son's Playhouse was now also creating large wagons for the farmers to use in transporting crops and supplies from one place to another. Thanks to the workers' diligence and creativity, many new products had been created!
The wagons were now so large that both supplies and people could sit inside a wagon, drawn by two horses. Some fancy wagons were called carriages because they were of different style: they had fancy seats inside a beautifully-designed large wagon with a top, the whole contraption shaped like an elegant box, with windows on either side for the travelers to watch the world outside as they journeyed from one place to another. Inside, the carriage was spacious. It was large enough to seat four people – two on each side, facing each other. These newly created carriages were reserved for the upper classes within the kingdom as they were more expensive to buy.
“Good day, sir! How may I help you?” Woodworker William came forward to greet Baldwin.
“It's Baldwin. The name is Sir Baldwin,” Baldwin introduced himself as “Sir” as if he had been knighted already. He was confident that after this investigation is over he would be knighted by the king.
“How may I help you, Sir Baldwin?”
“I will be going on a long journey with 50 warriors under me. As you can see that winter isn't too far away now, the weather will turn cold very soon. I will need a wagon that is large enough to store food and supplies and also for the storage of winter clothes as well,” Baldwin informed Woodworker William.
Woodworker William watched the young man in front of him as he spoke. He noticed that the young man appeared to be close to his age, yet he spoke in a tone that displayed his arrogance. Baldwin could not help it. Whenever he was assigned an important task, his ego got the better of him.
“The wagon must be very sturdy, as we will be on a very important mission,” he warned Woodworker William.
“Sure! We have just the wagon for your needs. It needs to be pulled by two horses,” said Woodworker William, “and Stanley, from the stable which is not too far from here, can help you choose your horses."
On that note, William pointed to the stable which Baldwin could see was within walking distance.
“Okay, should I go pick up my horses first and then come back for the wagon?”
“I think it's better,” replied William.
“Okay, just pick me a good and sturdy wagon! It will be paid by the treasury for my mission. The horses can be included as well. You can send the bills to the treasury directly."
“Don't worry, Sir Baldwin! You will have a good wagon,” said Woodworker William.
William went around his shop. He picked out one of the wagons that was made of solid oak. The wood was hard and sturdy, and with those extra-large wheels that he was famous for creating, the horses would not have any trouble pulling the wagon. He inspected the nuts and the bolts, making sure everything was securely in place. This one is good for running on long journeys and for the winter months as well when necessary. He told himself - and later he would tell Baldwin the same thing.
Baldwin came back with the help of Stanley, leading the two horses, and tying them to the large wagon. At last, it seemed both the horses and the wagon were ready to take on this most important journey.
Woodworker William and Stanley wished Baldwin a pleasant journey, and they parted. Baldwin was thrilled to be seen horsing down the street with an expensive wagon behind him. He was proud of himself. He couldn't wait to show his 50 warriors what he had just bought for the mission.
Sandie, how on Earth do you do it?! I’m amazed at your inventiveness of character
Plot and situation…you keep us intrigued and always wanting more…
You are amazing!
Sandie, you are very creative in the developing the story line as it moves along....You leave your readers in suspense and then you develop a new plot, keeping your readers in anticipation as to what's to follow.
And so, "the plot thickens." You keep your readers wanting to know more as to what may or may not happen. Continued success and inspiration to you, Sandie. Love, peace, and best wishes,
Sandie, I am amazed with all the twists and turns of the story. I don't know how you could come up them.
I like the courtroom drama you have created. Baldwin's sudden fortune after losing his finger was a bit too much, but he was smart to have his 50 warriors in the courtroom to threaten the peace in the kingdom. A well-done and well-thought-out chapter!
Thanks for taking the time to read this, and I appreciate your feedback!
Oh, that was just the way how Samuel put it. He, personally, had been wanting to investigate Miles for a long time. If you can remember, he had even enlisted the help of Lord Gaston to look for Miles as well. Samuel could not bring up the subject of an investigation to King Aylard just in case he would not agree to have Miles investigated. But now, in front of all council members and because of the court case, it seemed more logical to have Miles investigated, and the king would not have a reason to disagree with his suggestion.
Baldwin and his warriors will get to the bottom of this and when the truth is found, it will become easier to deal with Miles one way or another, and with good reason too.
But then again, nothing is concrete yet. The story may go in other directions as well. We'll have to wait and see.
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