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True Chivalry

 
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Mogsam
Street fighter


Joined: 24 Apr 2011
Posts: 68

PostPosted: Mon May 02, 2011 5:35 pm    Post subject: True Chivalry Reply with quote

Gaspard

The wine tasted like garbage but he drained it anyway. Reaching out he beckoned the serving boy through his gloved hands, a thin layer of taut leather covered his fingers. He couldn’t remember the boys name as he poured out the worthless red liquid. The child was covered in pox marks and had stains down his tunic, the pure white of the panda was painted a dark crimson. Obviously he was as clumsy as he was ugly. “Is this really the best that Nez has to offer now?” he asked no one in particular.

“It is the best we can purchase from the merchants ser, ser Martin says we can‘t afford to buy any… .” The boy was interrupted as the knights hand connected with the side of his face throwing him onto the floor. Blood dripped from a fresh wound on his lip.

“You do not speak unless I give you leave boy. This is your first lesson boy.” The child whimpered in pain trying to avoid the gaze of his assailant. Calmly Gaspard continued “You spilt some of my wine with your impudence. Get up and refill a goblet… and stop making that pathetic noise.”

Gaspard watched in distain as slowly the boy started to drag himself up “Yes ser Gaspard” he whispered …again? Obviously the child was born slow. The second blow came from a boot and caught him square in the neck. The servant went down hard clutching his neck struggling to breathe. Perhaps he would die. Casually Gaspard sat down in a plush chair.

“Did you learn nothing? Pouring does not require your tongue. Jacque!” He spoke loudly to attract the attention of those outside the room. After a brief few moments a man wearing Gaspards yellow and blue livery walked through the heavy wooden door barely stopping to look at the gasping servant, his face showing no emotion. “This servant needs educating. He does not understand the way of things. See that he receives a lesson in courtesy.”

Bowing the squire moved outside the door and gave a quick command. Two burley guards came through and dragged the boy out none too gently. He gestured Jacque back into the room, perhaps he was only ever meant to have one competent servant. “What exciting news do we have today?” Gaspard asked without so much as looking at the servant.

“Two men were caught stealing apples from a shipment of food. Both proclaim that the high prices are starving their families.”

“How dreadful I’m sure.” He replied with no absolutely no empathy in his deep voice. “Of course that is their fault for breeding without a lords permission. Should they be out in the fields they would be provided for by law would they not? The King is quite clear on tithes.“ His fingers played with his empty goblet as he subtly looked around for someone to fill it with the dreadful wine. Fresh red stains covered the dark leather coating his hands. Silently his squire took the hint and moved to fulfil the duty. As a second thought he added “What family do they have that is so obviously worth dieing for?”

“One has a child, though slow and crippled as a babe.”

Now that wouldn’t do, stealing for a cripple? How wasteful. “Hang him. His family will no doubt be better off.”

“Very well my lord. The second man has five children. Four young men and a female. All between sixteen and twelve.”

That’s better he thought to himself. “The girl?”

“Fifteen and homely. For a commoner she has some appeal.” As usual Jacques voice betrayed none of his thoughts. Prompt and to the point.

“Good. Bring them to the district. The girl can enter my service. Find her something to do, the boys will be inducted into our forces.”

“And the father?”

“Oh hang him of course. He is a thief. If any of these men are particularly unruly then kill those too. Two useful ones would be better than four useless ones. Remind them what would happens to their father could happen to their sister.” Perhaps it might happen anyway should she prove to be as stupid as the boy had been. “They will of course be fed. They can learn the folly of stealing what they could earn.”

Jacque inclined his head to show he understood his lords command. “It shall be done. Do I have your leave ser?”

“Go.” Quietly the man left Gaspard alone to think. Between these unruly peasants and these stealing merchants this town was going to hell. The lady was quite clear about how society is run. People need to know their place. Perhaps the merchants would learn through words, but the peasants would probably need the sword.
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Last edited by Mogsam on Mon May 02, 2011 10:59 pm; edited 2 times in total
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Mogsam
Street fighter


Joined: 24 Apr 2011
Posts: 68

PostPosted: Mon May 02, 2011 10:24 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Lucille

Her fathers face was turning blue as he desperately gasped for air. The wooden structure groaned under his weight as legs failed in sheer panic. Choking back her tears Lucille tried to take her eyes off the horrific spectacle but she couldn’t. Her father was dieing in front of her and she was caught in a dreadful fixation, the veins in his neck seemed to have grown tenfold where the rope was stuck fast. She wanted to scream at the men to stop. He had done so little, it was just a few apples! Yet she knew why they did it. Her father had been foolish to steal from the knights, he knew the risks and had done it anyway. He was so stupid to steal from their protectors. She hated him for it. The coward was too scared and proud to work for others. He had always told them to dream high and now look at how low he hung. It was all his fault that he was dieing. Her nose crinkled and her lips pushed upwards as she fought against her emotions, the desire to scream and cry crushing and confusing her.

As her fathers struggling stopped she could hear Ser Henry shouting his plump armour barely holding in the fat of his stomach, though she could little understand what he was saying. The crowd had turned to move away so she followed them, wiping the few tears that had escaped onto her grey wool shift. Brushing her fringe behind her ears the hair stuck to her wet fingers. Gaunt men at arms and small servants were moving all around, their heads hung low after the example was made. She thought she saw Orillia the maid look at her but she couldn’t be sure. There was no compassion of feeling in any of their glances at her, they all knew who he was and they resented her for his actions - another upstart trying to ruin the country. There was little love in the keep for Lucille from the servants, not when she came to them as a traitorous spawn of a thief.
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Last edited by Mogsam on Mon May 02, 2011 10:58 pm; edited 1 time in total
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Mogsam
Street fighter


Joined: 24 Apr 2011
Posts: 68

PostPosted: Mon May 02, 2011 10:57 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Gaspard

Gaspard watched as the old man died. He was hanging by the neck and was making quite the spectacle of it with all his cowardly panic. Hopefully the chap would get on with it and die quickly with some dignity left before he met the lady. Though frankly if he was the lady he would reject this one. Apparently he had begged for his life before they took him to the wood, it was simply disgraceful, hopefully the sons and daughter would be less pathetic. Though he would be damned if he knew which ones were this chaps spawn.

“Which one is the child?” He asked Jacque his servant stood at the shoulder.

“The girl is the brown haired one in the second row my lord.” He replied in his monotone voice. “The sons are also in the crowd. Two are at the back and one is on the stage itself as it were.”

“The son hangs the father?” Gaspard queried with a raised eyebrow.

“He wished to prove himself. Apparently the father is not quite as beloved as he thought. Ser Henry is ready to strike him down should he prove troublesome my lord.”

“Most queerly done. Yet let him have his moment. The lady knows these are not normally interesting enough.”

He hated watching these executions, they were so slow and inefficient. You had to wait for the man to die and then of course he had to be pulled down. Once or twice they had refused to die. Sometimes they soiled themselves there and then and proved their stink was natural as well as caused by their poor hygiene. Yet he was a lordling and the small folk needed to see him whenever their was justice to be meted out. They expected to see him ride down foes with lance and blade as much as they expected him to be there too punish those who broke the rule of the King. There was a good few dozen servants and soldiers watching, if the attendance wasn’t mandatory you could say it was a good turn out. They all watched.

He had known a man from the Empire who had claimed that the little people of his land would shy away from death and their women would wail. As if to prove his inferiority the man had vomited all over his elaborate puffy clothes after seeing one such demonstration, Jacque had implied they had found lumps of turnip jammed in the holes for days. Presumably this was a jape yet it would not have surprised him considering the ludicrous clothing of the eastern lands. The folk of the Bretonnia were not so weak and pathetic. They accepted the necessity of death as punishment for past and future deeds.

Not soon enough the old bugger breathed his last. Gaspard watched as they cut the man down and the crowd disappeared. For a brief moment he wondered what they would do with the corpse. He never had bothered to ask before. If it was a lordling they would present it back. The thought soon past. It would not matter what they would do with this single corpse. There would be plenty more to come when they rode down the traitors. The lady knows there are enough of them in this town.
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