Chapter 7: Chapter 6

After changing his attire with the help of his parents, Henry went along the corridor and entered the magnificent banquet hall. The walls were adored by splendid frescoes that represented various battles and events important to the history of the ducal family. As he entered through the doors, with his parents holding his hands, Henry felt the gazes once more fall upon him. In his previous life he would be terrified from that amount of attention, but this time it was different. He felt the warmth of his parents through his hands and felt as if he could face anyone or anything. He made his way to the slightly elevated podium and stood in front of the orchestra. After making a perfectly elegant bow he scanned the room and found all the people he cared for looking at him with gentle eyes.

“Once more, I thank you for making the long trip to our territory's capital. Please enjoy this day to the fullest. I look forward to meeting all of you.” (Henry)

Henry’s final sentence was the cue for the orchestra to begin a light sonata that Anna picked out. As he stepped down from the podium Henry was flanked by his parents. This marked the beginning of the second tour of greetings of the day. This time Henry would have to talk to the highest ranking people of the region, a much more difficult task than the one done at the beginning of the reception.

“My lords Alfred, Henry, lady Eleonora. I, Marcus Cromwell of the Cromwell Trading Company greet you. Allow me to introduce my wife Fiona, daughter Elizabeth and her fiance Guy the vice-captain of the Blue fortress.” (Marcus)

Henry returned the bow and began the plan Anna had cooked up while preparing him for this event. The people before him were rich, one could tell from their attire. Yet they did not exude the aura of your typical rich folks he remembered from his previous life.

“Welcome to my celebration sir Cromwell, lady Fiona, lady Elizabeth and sir Guy. I was told of your company and its great accomplishments sir Cromwell. I would very much like to hear your stories of the far away lands that you have visited.” (Henry)

“Oh my lord, of course, nothing makes a merchant happier than to brag about his journeys and business.” (Marcus)

“Master Guy I know of your exploits in the Greenwood forest, the vice–captain of the blue fortress is a famous hero to us in the rear. I hope to one day serve next to you and protect our territory from the monsters that dwell in the depths of the forest.” (Henry)

As Henry spoke these words he did his best not to stumble or lose his breath. The two men before him were quite famous in the entire kingdom after all.

“My lord, you know of my service, nothing makes a knight happier than to see that the people in the rear are safe. I thank you for your kind words and promise to double my efforts in safeguarding the northern line.” (Guy)

“My lady Elizabeth, you have truly been blessed with a kind and loving fiance.” Eleonora used the opportunity to give Henry a moment to recover from the long sentences. 

“Yes my lady, thank you. Guy and I have been friends since childhood and now that relationship has grown into something much more.” Elizabeth said this, blushed and looked down.

Marcus decided helped her out by turning the talks back to Henry. “Haha, my lord, your son will become a hit with the women once he grows up a bit. He has inherited his parents good looks, he will be a scourge upon the capital.”

Elizabeth stepped on her father’s foot on one side and Fiona did the same with the other one. Guy on the other hand had a strained smile on his face, after all his family was showing an unsightly appearance in front of the territory's lord.

“What a lovely family you have, Fiona. Our husbands seem to still be the same, talking out of line all the time.” (Eleonora)

“Indeed Eli, they will never change will they.” (Fiona)

The two women made a similar face of annoyance and understanding and continued to chat ignoring their husbands defeated looking body postures. Henry was aware of the family links but did not expect to see it show up in the middle of a formal greeting.

The pleasant talks were pretty much the norm in the following half an hour. Some people were stiff as they were not used to meeting the duke and duchess in a formal setting but as soon as they rushed through the formal part they were chit chatting about old events and future plans.

‘Anna, why did I have to study so much when they are all friends, if you told me about it I would not be as worried over the past few weeks.’ (Henry)

At the same time he finally understood Anna and her predicament. The people of the territory were obviously not comfortable with a formal, uptight noble code of conduct. Some even seemed like they wanted to do anything else rather than mind the level of their bow or the positioning of their body.

The one good thing was that everyone was impressed with his knowledge about the people who he interacted with. Of course he could not know everyone, but the most important people of the military and economy of the region, their families and backgrounds were drilled into his head by a zealous Anna.

The meetings were soon over and Henry was relaxing on the balcony. Anna was standing next to him, she was infamous among the people of the territory for her strict care for manners. She was the best shield a tired Henry could get at this point in time. Soon the doors opened and his father popped his head out on the balcony.

“Henry, there you are, I was looking for you. Anna take a breather for a while, I’ll attend to Henry.” (Alfred)

With a swift bow Anna left the balcony and the two men of the ducal family were left alone. Alfred took Henry into his arms and brought him closer to the railing.

“Son, when you were born I was so happy, words cannot explain it. I hope one day you will feel such happiness. The land before you is one day going to depend on you good management and swift sword, and the people inside will be the ones helping you.” (Alfred)

“You too, right daddy?” (Henry)

“Of course, I will not be leaving any time soon. After all, if I left before my time, your mother would beat me up. You make sure to enjoy your childhood, play, learn and have a lot of fun creating memories that will be with you forever.” (Alfred)

“I will daddy. Do we have to go back inside?” (Henry)

“Yes, there are still a lot of people who want to meet you, and a lot of people I want to brag to about you. But for now let's just enjoy the view.” (Alfred)

“Oh right, did you know that your mother and I met at an event like this in our academy days. We were first years and we escaped the tidal wave of potential suitors that were running around us that night. On that balcony we had a chance to talk and laugh away from the people inside. That night I knew that she would be my wife as long as she would have me. Luckily she thought the same as me, and now we are hosting a party for our precious son, I truly am a happy man.” (Alfred)

They talked some more about various topics when Eleonora popped her head outside and urged them to come inside. There was a hint of jealousy in her eyes as Alfred got to have a private moment with their son and she had to rub elbows with a bunch of people.

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***

 

The grand moment of the party was the cake cutting. The children were lined up and awaited for the maids to give them their slices. Their eyes were glistening as they watched Henry cut the huge cake which was at least 5 times his size. To them he was a hero, a man who will provide them with the ultimate treat. The only thing they wanted now was for Henry to finish the job faster, and he did not disappoint them. Anna was observing the event and had a satisfied smile, her little lord was doing quite well. All the time she spent teaching him culminated in this day and the boy did well, there were some slip ups and mispronounced words but nothing that would cause a scandal even in the highest of societies.

‘The territory might become a more civilized place with him in charge, hopefully’ Anna decided to once more open her heart for the chance of a polite society being born in the East.

“Dreaming of a better future my lady?” (voice)

“Joshua, I have no time for your little jabs. I am enjoying a new dawn. This child might be the first one in this territory to actually care about proper etiquette.” (Anna)

“Anna, you care about stupid customs too much. This is not the place to put on masks and pretend like people of the capital. Here we fight and die along with each other, there is no need to pretend to be something we are not. I have seen your face in battl… ouch why?” (Joshua)

“Dear husband, mind your manners when talking to a lady, and stop bringing up the face people make in the heat of the battle.” (Mary)

“Yes dear, sorry Anna. I mean I apologize lady Anna.” (Joshua)

Anna had a smirk on her face. One of the strongest people in the kingdom has capitulated in less than a second. Mary truly had all the power in their household.

“Apology accepted, please try to be more polite in the future captain.” (Anna)

Their gazes then moved back to Henry who was still doing his best to cut up the cake for the children in attendance.

 

***

 

‘I wish this torture would end soon, I want some cake too you know.’ (Henry)

With this thought in his mind he continued to skillfully cut the cake into pieces. Each child would thank the maid and Henry and return to their table to eat. This continued on until the last child got its piece. Now a chef took over the job and Henry ran over to his parent’s table where he enjoyed his slice.

“Henry, eat slowly, do not devour the cake like that.” (Anna)

As she said this she had a smile on her face and Henry knew it was more a future talking point than something that was going to be forced upon him now. Even if she tried it would be impossible for a person who had a sweet tooth to stop himself now.

“Son, are you enjoying the cake? Eat up ok, there is a lot more where that came from so just eat until you are full.” (Alfred)

 

These words crushed the last rampart left and Henry made plans to finish any piece of the cake that survived the party. Though when he taught about the maids and butlers he decided to make sure they get some too.

After eating their fill and talking some more, the guests lined up once again and gave their farewells to their hosts. This part was over fast, after the last person gave his bow and left the room the maids and butlers began to clean the hall.

“Henry, it's time for you to take a bath and go to sleep. It was a big day today and you must be tired. Even if you don’t feel it now it will hit you tomorrow if you don’t rest properly. The same applies for training and battlefields. You must know your limits at all times.” (Alfred)

“Yes daddy. Mommy, daddy good night.” (Henry)

 

Henry wished good night to the people in the hall and left with Anna to the bathroom. After a short bath he was tucked in bed and waited for his parents to come and wish him a good night. Soon the two arrived and had a nice talk with Henry. It was full of praise for his attitude today and they even told him some gossip they learned from their interactions with the guests.

After they left, Henry fell into a deep slumber. His pleasant rest was soon shattered as he jump up from his bed while covered in cold sweat and with tears flowing down his cheeks. He muttered three words.

“The Last Sigurds.”

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