"Pack yourself five days' provisions and saddle your horse, Thomas, for in an hour, we depart for Alconte." 

Tom Holt glanced up from where he propped his booted foot on an empty ale barrel and polished the battered toes. He eyed his grandfather Alden in the young rays of the rising sun that filtered through a lattice in the nearby stone wall. Tom's own brow furrowed, an expression the hoary-headed man's features constantly retained without any particular effort. The old man possessed a face ridden with scratches and tears acquired over the years, chief of which was a jagged vertical scar running from just under his left eyebrow to the cheekbone beneath it, the mark crossing over a missing eye. 

"Alconte?" Tom echoed, "What have I missed?" 

"You have missed only a High Council meeting where your attendance would have been quite illegal, I'm afraid." 

"Ah, I see. I still fail to understand why we're called the Knights of the King's Table, when in reality only ten men at any one time are given such an honor. While the rest of us stand around and get the lowlier tasks relegated to us." 

Alden chuckled as his good eye, cobalt blue in hue, darted over his grandson's face. "You fail to see many things, Thomas. But alas, that is indeed the curse of youth." 

"And what's the curse of old age? Thinking you know everything?" 

The old man laughed again and laid a warm hand on Tom's shoulder. "At times, perhaps. But do not fail to forget the honor that attends being even the lowliest of knights in our fair kingdom. For even if you are given the task of cleaning the very horse stalls, you are still contributing to the success of your brothers. And that is not to mention the honor and renown we carry with us everywhere, merely for being Monteraynian knights." 

Tom shrugged. "I suppose you're right. But may I finally have an answer to my question? Why are we going to Alconte?" 

"You are an inquisitive one." Alden remarked affectionately. "Senator Alice Delquez has requested our order's services in sending two knights to serve as bodyguards for an upcoming trip of hers." 

"But...if she's a senator...surely she has her own security force. How then can our presence be anything more than redundant?" 

"Her messenger proved quite sparing in details, so even I know not much more than you. But even if our presence merely makes the lady feel safer, I should be glad to attend to it." 

Tom rolled his eyes. "I'm absolutely certain you only agreed to this because you're sure it'll be nothing more than a bread run. If it were...say, a Rostacian border town crying out for assistance in staving off an Innutukian encroachment, we both know you wouldn't lift a finger." 

Even more lines appeared on Alden's forehead. He grunted. "Just...just prepare yourself for our journey, Thomas, will you? We shall not discuss this any further." 

"Typical." Tom muttered, pivoting on his heel. 

His shoulders moved in tempo with his legs as he strolled down the corridor hugging the outer wall on the east side of the hall for his order, the Knights of the King's Table. A well-kept longsword swung at his hip in its scabbard, the reddish mahogany hilt accented by a ring of silver in the middle. The pommel gleamed in the trickling sunlight, adorned by the seal of Monterayne. 

The clean-shaven man's masculine gait prompted his meandering fellow knights to steer clear of his purposeful steps. As he passed, he glanced over the shoulder patches fixed to each swordsman's gray uniform jacket. Invariably dyed in hues of red, blue, or violet, the patches represented the three styles of swordsmanship in the kingdom, and whatever color a particular knight donned indicated which discipline he had studied. 

Tom observed the vast majority of the knights sported violet on their shoulders, suggesting they had at least an acquaintance with the ancient Halotinian style, revered above all others for its efficiency and versatility. Tom found himself somewhat biased toward the discipline, as he himself carried the same purple hues on his broad shoulders. 

At last, Tom pushed a wooden door open and found himself outside. He deeply inhaled the fresh scent of the early morning outdoors after a light rain the night prior. Before him stretched a vast field where the knights' horses grazed freely. The meadow was hemmed in by metal fencing on all sides, but yet the enclosure was so large that the gentle beasts hardly seemed confined in its boundaries. It was as if they were free. 

Tom opened a gate, and after latching it behind himself, he stepped across the field. He took care not to step in excrement as he went. Before long, he spotted his chestnut-colored steed Exuberance grazing in the lush grass. A grin leapt to his lips and spread all the way to his cheeks when the horse's head raised from feeding to eye him. The stallion trotted up to Tom, and the young knight's face brightened even more as his animal nuzzled him, ears pointed right his way. 

Tom sighed with contentment, closing his eyes and running his hand over Exuberance's snout. "I'm glad to see you too, friend." 

The horse whinnied at him in reply. 

Chuckling, Tom reached into a leather pouch clipped to his belt. He removed a baby carrot and offered it to his stallion with a flattened hand. With a couple twitches of the horse's lips, the vegetable had vanished into his mouth. 

"Come along." Tom said, leading the way to another gateway that led to the expansive stables. 

Exuberance followed without any further prodding. The two soon found themselves inside, with the sweet smell of stored hay wafting into their nostrils. Tom strolled down the rows of empty stalls until he reached the one with his steed's name etched into the wooden door. He stepped inside and ascended a little ladder in the back. From there, he reached up into a recessed shelf where he stored a saddle and several bags. After pulling the contents of the shelf down, he set himself to preparing for the journey. 

**** 

Exuberance and Alden's mare Headstrong nuzzled one another where they waited at the trailhead on the east side of the knights' hall. Their owners stood at the gate, chatting with one of their fellow swordsmen. 

Alden engaged himself in the conversation more than Tom, who stood respectfully at his side, mostly silent, and observed the familiar knight, Juan Feliz. The man possessed a handsome face, aged about ten years more than Tom's own, and tan from the sun's frequent kisses in his southern birthplace. His every movement appeared controlled and well thought out, but yet also oozed grace and charm. The patches on his shoulders were red. 

Tom's mind drifted even further from the conversation rolling before him as he thought about the Raskan swordsmanship Juan practiced. Aggressive and bold was the style, always pressing the attack and never giving the opponent a second to breathe. And it had been developed recently, too, within Tom's lifetime, by the still-living Peter Raska. He had just seen the man in the hallway, in fact. 

"I suspect we will be gone twenty-one days at most." Alden said to Juan, "And shorter if we push the horses here and there." 

Juan nodded and gave the old man a grin so gracious it made Tom feel almost a compulsion to embrace him. But he didn't. 

"Your presence will indeed be missed, Alden." Juan replied, "But we will manage. Please send Lady Delquez my regards." 

Alden's head bobbed up and down. "I shall do so. If the Lord wills it, I shall be seeing you soon." 

"Indeed. Farewell." 

After Juan patted Tom on his purple-patched shoulder, the two travelers approached their horses and mounted them. Then, saluting their fellow knight one last time, they galloped down the dirt path and toward the ring of mountains enclosing the kingdom of Monterayne in a circle of safety.

**** 

A/N: Well, there you have our first chapter! I have to admit, reading this gives even me warm feelings every time, so I hope that indicates this story has a real heart to it and it's beating strong. If you thought so too, I'd appreciate if you click the little star to vote, and maybe even leave some comments! 😊 

So, I plan to update this story on Fridays normally, two chapters each time. But today's an exception, because I figured an early release would be a good birthday gift for my good friend Fennagin. I know you'll be reading this, my soster, so happy birthday! 

Anyway, since I'll be doing double updates, I'm gonna be veering off from what I do in my other works. So not every single chapter will have an authors' note, but mainly every odd-numbered one, I suppose. And I'm not gonna have a "random question" every time, because, well, there are only so many questions to be asked. 😂 

But nonetheless, I do have some questions finally about that chapter you just read. And since some people only read the first one for whatever reason, I'll try to put a good number of 'em. 

Okay, so first, what'd you think of the general writing style? 

Thoughts on the characters we've met so far? 

I guess there's not a whole lot to talk about here yet, but what did you think of the setting? 

Anywhere you see room for improvement? 😁

And finally, are you excited for what lies ahead? Predictions? 

I promise I'm not usually this inquisitive, lol. Just again, if you only plan to be here once, I suppose I'd like to get outta you what I can. 😝 

Okay, so thanks for reading! I really hope you enjoyed this first chapter as much as I did writing it, and if you're planning to stay in your seat for this whole expedition, I'll be glad to have you! I've gotta go for now, but Friday, I'll be posting chapters 2 & 3. Stay tuned, and I hope you also stay blessed! Bye for now! 😀👋🏻