The knight stepped out of the warmth of the castle and instantly got a chill. He wasn’t sure if it was from the cold that seemed to cut to the bone or because he was thinking about what he had to do. The king had just given him his orders and it was a task that he wasn’t looking forward to completing.
He stood with his back to the castle and looked out into the emptiness of the night. The flickering lights of the torches behind him caused the shadows to dance in an eerie way. He could smell the smoke from the many fires that were burning in fireplaces throughout the castle. The scent of burning wood seemed so crisp and vibrant in the cold air. Sounds of laughter drifted to his ears from some nearby place. This was a slightly comforting sound to him at the moment. Only slightly and only for a moment. He tried to concentrate on the sights and sounds that surrounded him but his thoughts kept going back to what the king had just told him.
He had been summoned before the king only an hour ago. The king was furious. This was immediately obvious to the knight as soon as he arrived. On every other occasion that he had been called before the king it would be hours before he actually spoke with his majesty. Not this time. He was immediately ushered into the throne room and the king ordered everyone out and the massive wooden doors closed.
The knight was awed every time he had been in the large immaculately decorated room. The room was full of various things that the king had taken as prizes of war in previous conquests. The knight had been in several of the battles before and after he was knighted for saving the king’s life. He had seen an archer take aim at his majesty and had stepped in front of him just in time to stop the arrow from reaching its intended target. He still had pain in his shoulder from the wound that he received.
The room had always been so clean. This time was different. There was blood on the floor where the knight stood. He didn’t dare ask any questions about it but was soon informed by the king. It was more than he cared to know at the time. The information soon became insignificant as the king began his tirade. “Someone has dared to speak against me! This cannot be allowed! You are to go find the offender and silence him! Make an example of this blasphemer and silence all who have heard the words that he has spoken! We cannot allow mutiny or treason in this kingdom nor can we allow a simple peasant to speak such terrible things aloud! Now go and do what you must to end this problem! Do whatever it takes even if it requires you to silence an entire village! Accept no surrender and give no quarter!”
The knight knew the king was very serious about this matter not only by his demeanor but the fact that the blood he was standing in belonged to the person that had informed the king of this terrible thing. The king had ordered the man’s life be taken as soon as the message was delivered. This was not only done because the king was furious but out of fear that the words would be repeated by the messenger. The man had known this was a possibility and had begged for a private audience with the king. He had hoped that the king would spare his life and possibly reward him for his good deed but this was not to be. The king had immediately ordered a guard into the room and the man’s life taken.
Another chill brought the knight back from his trance. The past hour would be very hard to forget but he knew the future would be even harder once it came to pass. He shook off the cold feeling and headed towards the king’s stable. He had been ordered to take the fastest of the royal steeds so that the solution to the king’s problem could be carried out in an expedient manner.
The horse’s caretaker already had the animal prepared for the journey when the knight entered the stable. It was a magnificent animal, one of the most impressive the knight had ever seen. Its solid black coat and long mane both seemed to shimmer under the dim light of the torch that the caretaker held in his hand. The immense size of the animal was astounding. The king only had the best horses in his stable and this was by far the best of all of the royal stock. The knight took the reins from the old man and led the animal outside before climbing atop and riding away.
