Chapter 13 Visit

Part I

It was three past noon and there was a big feast by Am's cottage for her birthday. There were people inside and outside the house singing, dancing and chatting merrily. It was a true celebration for Am and Jocelyn were admired and respected by the the rest of the villagers. They were generous people who shared with others the little they possessed. Furthermore, Am was some sort of a teacher for the children in her village. She taught the kids how to read and everyone loved her for that.

The loud noise made by an approaching group of carriages made the music stop. The chariots and the blazon was not recognizable by the locals who followed the path taken by the foreigners with reservation. In the way the luxurious carts neared, it was obvious that those belong to a nobleman as rich as the king. Maybe a prince, or a duke lost on their way to the king's castle. Everyone murmured, glaring curious stares to the recently arrived caravan.

Instinctively, Maik and stood next to Am and his sister. The hooves of the horses hauling the three chariots halted at the same time, making a thumping dry clacking on the gravel. Then it was silence and then the stallions labored breathing showing they've made a long journey, probably without a stop to rest. As if coordinated, the three riders dismounted the carriages in an elegant and synchronized manner, and the one in the middle opened the door of the blue and silver wagon. Lord Roderick stepped out of the carriage leaving a surprised Amalthea staring with her mouth open. The man approached to her, smiling, looking regal in a light brown and green tunic with high leather brown boots. Except for Maik, Amalthea and Jocelyn, the rest of the villagers had not a clue of who that nobleman was and what was he doing there.

Lord Roderick snapped his fingers and the servants moved quickly to take some wooden boxes and fine leather sacks out of the carriages. Those seemed to be fancy gifts... for Am of course. The red haired was still in shock. Lord Roderick had come to her house on her birthday... Surreal... that's the best word to describe when a group of musicians climbed down from a third carriage, playing harmoniously gilded instruments. Time seemed to stop and the duke was standing in front of her, kissing her hand. "My beautiful Lady Amalthea. It has being an eternity since we first met in the king's castle. My heart longed for the time when my eyes could see you again and admire your beauty.

Maik rolled his eyes and mocked in disgust. He almost choked when the duke kissed softly Am's fist. The duke continued talking. "I've heard today is your birthday. Congratulations. I came to celebrate with you. I hope you dont mind, my musicians that want to join yours in this party. Also I've brought some delicatessens, exquisite dishes prepared by the cooks in the duchy. Oh, and of course these presents are for your birthday, from this humble servant of yours, Lady Amalthea."

Am was flabbergasted. She didn't know what to say. It took some seconds before she composed herself and was able to speak. "Milord, you shouldn't troubled yourself with all these. I feel grateful... Oh Heavenly Father, I think this is too much. I don't deserve all these... Of course you can stay with us. We will be honored with your company today."

Maik's purple eyes were about to pop out off their sockets and Lord Roderick immediately noticed how distressed Am's best friend was. The duke thought it was proper to greet him as well although he knew Maik wasn't precisely happy to see him in the village. "Sir Maik, it is good to see you again. Of course I expected to find you here my friend, you are Amalthea's best friend, aren't you?"

Maik gave the man a stern look, but decided it was better to play his polite game. He was not going to appear as the jealous fool in front of everybody. And what else could be wrong? The duke was now in his territory and he still had the lead being the first one to kiss Amalthea.

"Good afternoon, milord. Welcome to our humble village... A village too far from Lannishire, I must say."

"Certainly it is. The journey took us half a day, but no road is too steep or to long if it takes me to my lady Amalthea."

Mail felt he would vomit on the duke's face forced to tight curve a smile on his lips. Lord Roderick grabbed Am's arm and both left Maik to greet Jocelyn, who was very happy to see the duke again.

The feast continued and Lord Roderick proceeded to greet each one of the villagers claiming to be a good friend of Am and a fervent admirer of her talents and beauty... For his charms and good manners, the duke was well received by the villagers. He was kind and polite with all and conversed with everyone without any disdain or pretensions. The man blended with the humble people and ate, drank, danced and enjoyed the celebration as one of their own. He needed to be trusted by Am's friends and by Jocelyn in orther to be trusted by Am herself. For poor Maik, things weren't going exactly the way he expected. Everyone was charmed by the handsome duke... Even his sister Maeh who was dancing with him in that precise moment. 'Traitor', he thought.

The celebration ended with the dusk and everyone left home by night's fall. The duke was ready to leave, but Jocelyn asked him to stay for the night. It was dark out in the woods and the journey to Lannishire took almost twelve hours taking the Main Road.
Lord Roderick accepted with delight but Maik was not so enthusiastic having the Duke sleeping over Am's house. Feeling somehow defeated, Am's handsome best friend, left immediately, crestfallen, after helping Jocelyn cleaning the mess left after the party.

Some of the servants and guards tended their tents outside the cottage, while others stayed at some of the villagers dwellings. Inside the house, Lord Roderick admired the fine collection of books and the exquisiteness of some of the furniture and paintings that adorned the modest but comfortable cottage. He praised Jocelyn's cooking abilities and thanked her hospitality.

Sitting in the living area, Lord Roderick informed that he desired to take both mother and daughter to spend some time in his palace. "Why don't you come to spend some time in Lannishire, Jocelyn? I' ll be glad to have you both staying in the mansion. I'm sure you would have a wonderful time there."

"Oh, I' m so sorry, Lord Roderick, but I'm afraid I must reject your invitation. I must stay here to take care of my mother. She's sick and frail."

"Oh, that's terrible. Please, Jocelyn, let me know if I can do anything for your mother. I can send the healers to revise her." The duke said.

"Thank you, Lord Roderick, I know I can count with your generosity, but I'm afraid is a matter of her age." Jocelyn smiled.

"Jocelyn, I hope not to abuse of your kindness and trust, but, I'll be so happy if you could let Am come with me to Lannishire then. I consider her a wonderful lady. My intentions are pure and I would not disrespect her." The duke held Jocelyn's hands. Jocelyn meditated for some minutes in the proposal. However, she agreed to let Am go if he acceded to take someone else with them as a chaperone. "Absolutely! I have an idea. Why don't you invite Maik and his sister Maeh to come with us? They seem to be very fond of you, aren't they? Besides they appear to be very trustful for me. That way, my dear Jocelyn, your daughter would have her best friend, who happens to be her same age as a companion, and a grown man like Maik who can watch for both girl's integrity. What do you think?"

"That is a wonderful suggestion, indeed, Milord! I accept to let Amalthea go to Lannishire. I think she will have an excellent time there. I know that's what her father would wish for her, for he was a nobleman too."

"Let it be then. Tomorrow morning, I will send a servant delivering word to Maik. If he accepts he could come and take Maeh with him. They all will have a wonderful time in Lannishire. My mother, Lady Charlotte will be delighted with their presence."

Amalthea listened to the conversation with excitement. She had heard of the beauty of Lannishire. And she was happy she could take two of her best friends with her. The last time in the King's Castle, even though she received lots of attentions from everybody -except for Lady Katharina - she missed her friends. But this time she would travel with them and spend some good time with her two best friends.

Lord Roderick was no fool and truly wanted to take Am with him to his palace. He wished to impress her and gain her affection, and one day make Amalthea his wife. He had to take the risk of taking Maik with him to Lannishire. The duke thought the enemies were better to have them near, and even though he knew that Maik was a strong opponent the handsome archer was trusted by Jocelyn and Amalthea and this is why Jocelyn accepted at the end. He would eventually come up with an idea to share some minutes alone with Am in his castle, even if that meant to tie Maik in the stables.
No one,  including Maik, would stop him in his quest for Am's heart.

Part II

Sun rose peeping above the woods canopy announcing the arrive of a new day. In Am's cottage, everything was expectation for Lord Roderick first, and then for Am. In the other side of the village, Maik couldn't believe what his ears heard. When the messenger sent by the duke with his formal - yet surprisingly unexpected - invitation to Lannishire, he was left was astounded and he didn't know how to react or what to say. Maeh begged him to accept. Maik doubted on the sincerity of Duke's request. He thought it was some sort of a joke. The lord was inviting him to come to his manor! Had the duke become mad? However it didn't seem a bad idea after all. He didn't like the idea of letting Am depart alone with that obnoxious man and finally Maik accepted the duke's request.

As soon as the messenger departed with his approval, Maik and Maeh proceeded to prepare their luggage taking with them the best of their scarce possessions. An hour after they headed to Am's house, where the party was waiting for them to leave to Lannishire... It would be a long and tedious ride... For Maik.

What do you think of this idea of Maik coming to Lannishire? What do you think it will happen there? Who do you think will win the battle for Am's love?