The Knight and the Peasant [FIRST DRAFT]

Chapter 3

Today was the sixth day since he had met Sir Gerard. Tomorrow, he would be leaving. Salvador's parents had invited Gerard over for lunch today and Salvador planned to make the most of it.

When Gerard entered their household and sat down at the table, his father immediately asked him how his attempts at gaining an audience with Lord José Rivera went.

Sir Gerard shook his head. "In fact," he began, "I was told that Lord José would not have an audience with me at all."

Salvador looked up from his food and saw the grim expression set on Gerard's face.

"When was the last time anyone hired you?" his mother asked abruptly.

"Six months ago," Gerard replied, albeit reluctantly.

"For how much?"

"Two thousand corounem." Two thousand gold crowns in the Merchant Tongue.

Everyone's jaw in the room dropped.

The Sersalvon currency system was simple, based off of ten. One corounem was equivalent to ten mercantii―ten silver merchants―and one mercantii was equal to one hundred aestarii―one hundred copper coins.

So two thousand corounem was a lot of money.

"Surely you wouldn't need to be hired for a long time after that job," Salvador said.

Sir Gerard smiled. "The expenses of keeping a horse, armor, horse armor, weaponry, and food for a knight drains my purse much more rapidly than you might think."

"Oh."

Sir Gerard's faced turned grim once more before he said, "I am in need of coin. I'm afraid that I live off of trouble in Sersalvon. Without bandits, thieves, or quarreling lords, I go out of business."

"Couldn't you just swear fealty to a lord or lady? If it was Duchess Florjes who knighted you I would imagine she would like to have you in her service?"

"Perhaps," Gerard conceded, shrugging. "However, I wish to roam free across Caraíbes and perhaps all of Arkenheim. I can't do that penned up in the service of a duchess."

"Where you will go if you are not able to meet with Lord José?" Father asked.

Gerard shrugged. "I don't know. I might try my luck around some of the other islands in Sersalvon."

"Do you have your lands?"

Gerard shook his head. "I'm afraid I'm not a lord. However, I do have a few friends who own land."

"You have no other source of revenue?"

Gerard shook his head solemnly again.

"What does the financial situation look like?" asked Mother.

"I'll have enough food to last me for about a week and a half."

"You must eat a lot!" Salvador exclaimed.

Both his parents immediately turned to scold him, but Gerard gave a deep, throaty, roar of laughter. "You have to include the horse as well," he said after he had finished.

Everyone at the table chuckled a bit. After the laughter quieted down, the room descended into an uncomfortable silence.

Salvador decided to ask, "What're you going to do now?"

Gerard simply sat there in silence for so long that Salvador thought he simply wouldn't reply. But when he did, his voice was grim, "Maybe I will go back to Duchess Florjes. Not to enlist in her service, however, but simply for a place to stay."