The Swordsman's Wish

1

He opened his eyes. As he lay there, he closed them again, and listened. He listened to the sound of the trees, and the chirps of the birds, and the talk of the people. He could hear them all so clearly, and as he listened he heard something that was out of the ordinary for this town.

He heard the clink and jingle of metal, metal on a horse or it's carrige. He listened to this sound, this peculiar sound to this small town, and he heard people talking about how this was so unusual for their town, miles from the nearest city, and weeks from the capital. So he opened his eyes and stood from where he lay on his straw mat.

He was lucky in the fact he had far more straw than the average townsman, and aslo lucky in the fact he covered his with a large piece of cloth. He was begining to dress himself when a knock came on his door. "You ought to be out here for this friend! Today seems mighty special with what's happening!" He called out to whomever it was knocking on his door, "I'm coming out, I just need to dress." He heard a huff through the door and a few incoherent grumbles before the person walked off. He finished dressing before going to his door and walking outside.

The bright morning sun blinded him for a few moments before he could look around. What he saw, when he could see, was a bit puzzling to him at first. But then he began to make sense of what his eyes were telling his brain. There was a Knight of the Highest Order of the Following of Quintry riding a horse of such magnificent size he was awed for a few seconds before his eyes kept going. A carrige with the royal crest upon it, two hands on a field of red, a clean hand holding an olive branch and a rose, the other hand bloodied and holding a sword, was there as well. And he could see at least one figure in there, possibly two.

The Knight began to speak. "Villagers! If there are any not here please go get them and then come back here, for the royal princess has a request of you!" There was some muttering before two of the villagers left. They came back a few minutes later with some other people. The Knight seemed satisfied at this, and began to speak again. "Thank you all for gathering here! May I now introduce her royal highness, princess Rosena!" A second after that the door to the carrige opened and the princess stepped out.

She had slightly longer than shoulder length hair, and it was raven black. She had dark green eyes, and they almost looked black if you were too far away. She had a thin mouth, as though she didn't talk much and she was shorter than the average person, at least, for this town. She seemed to look around for a while, about a minute or two, before seeming to sadden and shake her head at the Knight. But as she was turning back to get in the carrige, she locked eyes with him. And she seemed to light up. She said "Sir Vakten, that one there." And she gestured at him.

The Knight seemed startled before looking at him and asking, "Are you sure my lady?" She nodded. He began to walk his horse over to him. "You there boy, what is your name?" He was startled for a second before answering, "Janston, sir."

The Knight raised an eyebrow. "That's an unusual name. And how old are you boy?" Janston responded, "I'm fifteen sir. Next month and two days from now I'll be sixteen." The Knight then asked him a question that he had been hearing for most of his life. "And where are your parents? Shouldn't you have gotten them when I asked earlier?" Janston gave Sir Vakten a sad smile before saying, "My lord, if I were to get them it would be a few days from now that I got back. Digging them back up would take a while."

The Knight paused for a second before continuing on. "I see. My condolences. Is there anyone here who takes care of you?" Again Janston smiled his sad smile, and replied, "No sir, it's just me. I work the odd jobs around here for what I can get and my home is over there." And he gestured to his home behind him. It was a rickety thing, built to just keep the rain and wind out. "Well boy, I'm sorry, but I need you to come with us." Janston stood there as the Knight explained what he meant. "I need for you to get in the carrige with the princess."