The Knight of Chivalry

Chapter 40

Simon was summoned to the palace the next day and so he dressed in his best clothing and went there on his own. This time he didn’t go into the throne room but was taken by a steward and some guards to the kings’ room. There the king waited for him sat behind a desk reading letters, he looked up when the door opened and smiled when he saw Simon.

            “Here is the champion of the melee tournament, welcome Sir Simon, please take a seat I would like to talk to you” the king said. Simon bowed to him and sat down.

            “You do me a great honour sire” Simon replied.

            “That I do but you have earned it. Now tell me how does it feel to win such an auspicious tournament?” The king asked.

            “I feel very proud and happy sire, it was very tough to defeat all the knights but now at the end of it I can look back with a smile on my face” Simon replied.

            “No doubt it was, I was very impressed with your skills especially during the last two matches against Sir Arthur and Sir Charles. Arthur is known to me only a little but I know him to be a fine fighter but Charles being my champion for a great number of years now I know to be the best swordsman I ever saw and you managed to best him” the king said.

            “He was a very tough opponent to best and I just used the right tactics to do it, I have no doubt he would of beaten me with enough time, he wields his sword with such skill that I have never known” Simon said.

            “I have no doubt you will be his true equal with time and I look forward to seeing you fight again in future tournaments but of course you would have to live closer for that” the king said.

            “It’s true the lord Reiner’s lands lie far away from the capitol and its quite a journey to get here but then again it has been my home for the last few years now” Simon said.

            “I understand what you mean, to leave it would be hard but there are opportunities elsewhere which you should consider carefully, to have a knight of your skills to serve me would be greatly appreciate and you would be reward for your services” the king said.

            “I live to serve sire but in what way would you have me serve you?” Simon asked.

            “You would see that justice is done in my realm and take care of troublesome factions that plague my realm and one day perhaps you would replace Sir Charles as my champion, he is old and will only get older and will slowly lose his ability to fight, you are young still and will gain more skills with time” the king said.

            “That will be a great honour sire but it is a big decision to make please allow me some time to think on your offer, I shall give you an answer in a few days” Simon replied.

            “But of course, take your time, we shall talk again but in the meantime, Steward bring the chest in” the king shouted and the steward came back into the room carrying a small chest. “These are your winnings, spend them wisely” the king said.

            “Thank you sire, I shall” Simon replied.

            “You may leave now Simon, I look forward to getting your answer and seeing you at the feast” the king said, Simon bowed to him and took the chest and was guided out by the steward. He returned to the lord’s estate once he left the palace and he put the chest within the lord’s vault to keep it safe but he did take a purse full of gold out of it.

            He went to his room and spent some time looking after his armour, polishing it and looking at where the damage was, if a piece was greatly damaged he set it aside. He then saw to his weapons and shield and gave them the same treatment. Once he was done he had a bit of lunch from the kitchens and then left with his armour. He found a smithy and asked him to repair the armour and paid him the gold to do so. He then went to a tailor in the upper quarter and got measure for a new doublet which cost him quite a bit of gold but it was very fine and was fashionable for the capitol. Once he had gotten this he took it back to the lord’s estate and hung it up in his room. He then went down to the lower sections of the city and sought out his friends, he found them in their usual tavern playing dice games and drinking. He got in a round and then told them about the king’s offer and asked their advice as to what he should do. They all said that it was a great honour and was definitely worth considering. The bear he should take it because it would give him opportunity to travel around the realm and do good and the rewards would be great. Ginger said that he should go where his heart told him too. The dwarf agreed with the bear saying that if the king had asked him personally he would have agreed straight away as you don’t turn down the king. The twins said he deserved this position and he would only get better with it. The prince said he should stay so to be closer to all of them and they would be able to visit each other more often. The silent knight just nodded along with the others. He spent the rest of the afternoon with them and then returned to the lord’s estate for his dinner.

After he had eaten he went to the lord and told him of the king’s offer and they discussed all of his options in great detail. The lord echoed his friends saying that for the king himself to ask this off Simon was indeed an honour and didn’t happen very often at all. It would give Simon a lot of benefits to take this position but that being said the lord would miss Simon as he now thought of him as a friend and loyal companion. The other knights too would miss him in the yard and he was sure his family would miss their talks with him. Simon said he would miss them too and the town as well, it had become his home after the years he had stayed there and it was such a nice and peaceful place compared to the hectic capitol and that he would consider everything that had been said before he made his decision. They then talked of the upcoming feast and what Simon would have to do as champion. Once they had finished Simon went to bed with a lot on his mind.