The Commander

At the sound of such a deep voice, the hairs on the back of Henry's neck started to raise.

Without having to turn around, he immediately knew it had to be the commander. Such an overbearing, intimidating presence demanded respect. He imagined the commander causing monsters to return to their caves with one yell.

Henry had to shake his head to snap out of it and he spun around. He felt disrespectful and immediately bowed at his waist.

"Henry, this is Commander Callum Lothian," Trenton said.

The young man hadn't even gotten a look at the commander, too nervous to make eye contact.

"It's a pleasure, Commander Lothian," Henry said to the ground.

He was proud of himself for being able to keep it together enough to speak, but he couldn't help the dejected feeling he was having.

All hope for the future that he had been building started to disappear the moment the commander referred to him as a peasant. How stupid he was to think other knights of higher status could look past his lowly status.

"Stop bowing to me, kid," the commander said in an irritated tone. "I'm not, nor will I ever be part of the nobility."

Henry stood up straight, unable to do anything else besides what he was told.

He wanted to argue that a commander of knights could do anything he wanted, but instead, he remained silent and dumbfounded.

The sight in front of him was worse than he expected.

The commander was in a full suit of armor, covered from head to toe in dried black blood. He instantly recognized it as monster blood because of his experience with the goblin. The sight didn't help put Henry's mind at ease.

Commander Lothian was even taller and wider than Trenton, but his face was obscured by his helmet.

He started to realize the commander wasn't the only knight there - he was just wide enough that he covered Henry's view of the other knights behind him who were equally covered in blood.

The commander slowly took the helmet off of his head and Henry couldn't help staring with wide eyes as he did so.

Expecting to see the blonde hair or fair skin of nobility, he was shocked when black hair and tan skin were revealed to him from under the helmet.

He would fit in amongst peasants better than he would the nobles.

The commander's dark brown, nearly black eyes pierced Henry where he stood. He couldn't utter another word.

"We've just returned from subjugating a goblin nest further east," the commander said. He then turned to address Trenton directly. "All I wanted was to see your choice in apprentice." His dark eyebrow raised as he said, "Very interesting choice."

The commander gave Henry a dark look before he was called to other tasks elsewhere.

When Henry felt he could move, no longer under the intense scrutiny of the commander, he turned to Trenton who didn't seem phased by the interaction.

"Then that means it's time for us to see Lord Burien," Trenton said and turned heel to head back towards the brick fortress they had only just come through.

They approached the old brick building and went through what seemed to be a side entrance. Immediately they were met with stairs to higher levels of the building and they went up two flights before they got to a room with wide open space.

Henry realized this was the tallest building he had ever been inside of before.

Despite the thin, tall windows that were built for war more than observing the surroundings, he could occasionally get a glimpse of the Western Sea as he walked by.

The heart of the fortress was decorated in a way suited to welcome guests. Red and gold tapestries showing war heroes decorated the walls. Candles lined the walls and a gold chandelier hung on the tall ceiling. Underneath their feet was a large red rug that covered most of the room, but it was worn, likely having been overused.

Much of the furniture was brown and wooden, but a few, large cushioned chairs sat in the middle of the room. Henry opted for a wooden chair, feeling it was inappropriate to take a comfortable chair.

Despite there being only knights, apprentices, and squires who lived in this area of Hydrogia, servants still worked and managed the fortress under the direction of the commander. The servants made sure there was a place to receive guests, despite their master not being a knight who cared to get mixed up with nobles.

When faced with the commander, Henry had almost forgotten to worry about meeting Earl Burien of the Northeast Passage.

Maximus and Trenton had warned him the man was extravagant and to listen more than speak.

Trenton reminded Henry of his quirks and how he should behave in front of the Earl.

Only minutes passed before they heard an entourage being led down a hallway around the corner from the receiving room.

Henry stood up from the wooden chair he sat in just as the Earl walked into the room.

It wasn't hard to see who the Earl was considering he was decorated with white furs and wore fabric that was dyed purple. His light brown hair was cropped at his chin and he had a mustache that pointed on either side.

What surprised Henry the most was the man's paunch stomach. He wore it in such a way that his leather belt went downwards and his stomach hung over the side.

Henry was told by his mother to never stare so he took great care to only look at the man from the chin upwards. He had never seen someone with such a big stomach after spending a lifetime around peasants.

The earl's entourage stayed back and stood near the walls. It seemed to be a mix of servants and attendants.

As the man got closer to Henry and Trenton, they both bowed, but Henry's bow was much deeper.

Earl Burien laughed loudly and his stomach pushed in and out with each noise.

"You're an eager one, aren't you?" the earl asked as he found his way to a comfortable chair.

Henry stood up straight and followed Trenton's lead by sitting back down in his chair. When his eyes were on the earl again, he noticed a dagger strapped to his side that was decorated with more gold and gems than he had ever seen in his life. He doubted instantly that such a decorated dagger could cause someone harm.

"Earl Burien, thank you for coming out to meet us," Trenton said.

Henry nodded his head and said words he had been saying in his head over and over since Trenton told him what to say.

"Lord Burien," Henry started, "it's an honor that you went all this way to meet me."

The earl's eyebrows raised and he looked amused at Henry's words.

"I just had to meet the peasant who won the competition," he said. "Even though it was only by disqualification."

"If I may, my lord," Henry meekly started reciting more words he was told to say. "I will do everything I can to prove to you that I was meant to win in the first place."

Except the earl didn't seem to be phased by his words. He was still hung up on Henry's status as a peasant.

"When was the last time a peasant won the competition?" Earl Burien asked no one in particular. "I believe it was the commander after he had snuck into a breadmaker's shop within the wall."

Henry was told to not be so expressive with the earl, but he couldn't help his eyes widening.

The commander had been a peasant.

"Don't look so surprised, boy!" the earl laughed loudly once again. "The commander doesn't value his life and had no choice but to become strong after throwing himself into impossible situations."

Henry understood this all too well. Peasants were reminded their whole lives that their lives aren't important. It starts when they notice there's no wall protecting their village. They then work hard for others and are expected to die. No one gets attached to anyone else because they know they'll probably meet an untimely demise.

By trying to become a knight, Henry thought he had escaped that cycle, but it seemed he found himself in a new one.

For the next two hours, Henry and Trenton sat there listening to the earl stroke his own ego and brag about the riches that were all his because of his title and management of imports and exports.

He explained to Henry that the commander had riches more than he could ever dream of but was too cheap to make a frivolous purchase and he hoped Henry would be different.

Eventually, the earl noticed how low the sun had sunk in the sky and he slapped his knees before standing up.

"Now I must go," the earl suddenly said. "If I came this far into town I might as well visit the bazaar."

They stood and bowed for him again and he only laughed as he left the room.

"That went well," Trenton said. "I think he likes you."

"I still don't know why he's willing to pay for my apprenticeship," Henry confessed.

"He gets taxed less if he supports more causes like this," Trenton explained.

It all made sense to Henry.

He went back to the peasant village soon afterward, his mind filled with excitement and curiosity.

Trenton had explained to him how the following days would pan out. By seeing the earl, he had accepted his generous offer.

Next, he would have to convince his mother to let him go.