I'll Always Be A Peasant

"Trenton!" the knight shouted. "He's over here!"

Giving Henry no choice, the blonde knight grabbed him by the arm and dragged him out of his hiding spot. The cold metal of the knight's glove dug into his scrawny arm.

Henry's face was flushed with embarrassment as he turned away from the group of men. This is not how he wanted to be discovered. He wondered what kind of trouble he was going to get into.

"Oh, look up, boy!" Leo shouted from behind the knights.

Not knowing what else he could do except plead his case, he started rambling some kind of apology, though his eyes never landed on Trenton - whose sword he ruined.

"I apologize for what I did yesterday," Henry said. "I'll work the rest of my life to fix your sword. I swear on my father's grave."

Loud laughter erupted from the knights, and his eyes snapped up. He looked at the faces of the three men in confusion.

"Maximus, do you hear him?" Trenton shouted and slapped the third knight with light brown hair and green eyes in the arm. "He thinks the onyx sword was damaged because he dropped it on the street."

The blonde knight who had taken Henry from his hiding spot crossed his arms and shook his head.

"How would you expect a peasant stablehand to have the knowledge of a blacksmith?" The blonde knight asked the rest of the group. Diverting his blue eyes away from the others, he looked at Henry and offered his hand to shake. "I'm Alix, third in command for the Knights of Hydrogia."

Henry took the other man's hand hesitantly, but he tried to give it a firm shake despite the metal glove the knight wore.

"Trenton was impressed with you yesterday," Alix explained. "It caused me to wonder what an experienced swordsman is doing in a place like this. Though now I see you're hardly a man."

Henry's brown eyes widened, and he looked quickly left and right, searching the knights' faces for evidence of their joke.

"I-I have no experience with a sword, sir," he quickly explained himself. "I can hardly lift the damn thing over my head."

Trenton burst out laughing once again and was quickly jabbed in the side by the quieter knight, Maximus.

"Language, Henry!" Leo exclaimed. "I tried telling them they were making a mistake by looking for a peasant who can hardly read."

Trenton pushed Alix to the side and pushed Henry's shoulder with a closed fist. Henry was shocked at his actions and could only remain silent.

"I don't care about that," Trenton said, his red hair blowing in the breeze coming through the trees in the forest. "It just so happens I need an apprentice who can pick up my slack when I join expeditions."

Henry had obsessively researched knights, knowing that neither he nor his mother could afford for him to become an apprentice. Having no previous title, he would have to buy his way into the ranks, even the lowest rank.

"I'm sorry, sir," Henry said once more. "I can't afford that. I can hardly afford to eat more than once a day as it is."

The big, burly knights in front of him raised their eyebrows at this revelation. None of them knew what it was like to skip a meal, especially Trenton, who stood a head taller than everyone and was nearly twice as wide as Henry. To them, it was no wonder he was so scrawny.

Maximus, who had been silent throughout the interaction, spoke after a moment with a quieter voice and a much less abrasive tone than the other knights.

"If I may," Maximus said and stepped forward. "There is a sword competition being held in one month's time. If you catch the eye of anyone, you may not have to worry about the cost of an apprenticeship."

Henry sighed. Even now, the life they could offer him was just out of reach.

"As I've said before," Henry explained. "I don't know a thing about combat. I can hardly lift a sword."

His eyes fell to the ground, and he felt ashamed of his shortcomings. You needed money and titles to have a good life - neither of which were attainable to him.

"We have four weeks!" Trenton exclaimed. "We'll train you in the mornings."

Upon hearing this, Leo's face started turning red.

"I still need my stable tended to!" he butted in, and the eyes of all the knights pierced him.

To Henry, Leo looked much less intimidating now that he was standing next to knights. Their armor and large stature made the goblins he had faced the day before seem insignificant in comparison as well.

For the first time since Henry knew him, Leo looked sheepish and stepped back.

Trenton waved the words of Leo away with a small flick of his wrist, and he shrugged his shoulders, the metal plating of his armor making a clinking sound as he did so.

"No one said you couldn't do your job," Trenton said. "We'll only take a couple of hours before we have to complete our own tasks."

Alix, who seemed to be more uptight than the other two knights, scoffed.

"If only we could all be so lucky," Alix sneered at the others. "Some of us have more responsibilities than the other unranked knights."

Trenton couldn't resist cracking a smile, and he slapped Alix's shoulder. The two metal objects colliding made a loud noise, and Henry grimaced.

"How will the Knights of Hydrogia survive without their third in command?" he asked. "Or are you hoping the princess appears and falls for your blonde locks and lack of charm?"

Henry's eyes widened at the jab. Blonde hair was associated with royalty and was highly sought after. He wondered if Alix was from the nobility.

Alix's scowl caused Trenton to erupt with laughter.

"There's your shining personality again!" Trenton yelled. "Chivalry died with you, Sir Alix."

Trenton's booming voice was so disruptive that a few shopkeepers nearby and various other people peeked out of windows or doors to see where the noise was coming from. They pretended not to be eavesdropping, but it was painfully obvious. Nothing exciting ever happened on this side of the kingdom. Peasants led the same life nearly every day.

Attention like this made Henry more nervous. He could feel his armpits start to sweat more.

The knights didn't give Henry another choice, and they all patted him on the shoulder or shook his hand as they left. They assured him that at least Maximus and Trenton would arrive at the stable at sunrise the following day so that they could see what kind of skill he was working with.

Once Henry was left with only Leo, he nervously met the old man's eyes and offered a sheepish smile.

"Don't think you're off the hook!" Leo exclaimed, shaking his head and walking away. "You're going to have to work harder to make up for the time you'll miss in the morning! Get to raking hay."

"Yes, sir," he responded.

Henry expected nothing less of Leo and went to get his rake. He was feeling a little bit lighter after the interaction with the knights.

As much as he didn't want to be bothered by the knights, he couldn't help his curiosity. This all seemed too good to be true.

For the first time in his life, he appeared to have been struck by a lucky stick, and things seemed to be looking up for him.

As he continued the rest of his work for the day, making sure to do a little bit extra in case he was late the next day, he wondered how he was going to break the news to his mother.

Despite her writing of battles and passionate love stories, she didn't like the thought of violence in real life. There was also distrust between peasants and knights due to their lack of protection in the area and their taking advantage of people who had no authority.

He nervously made his way to his aunt's house as the sun started lowering in the sky, showing it was early evening.

As soon as he walked through the door, his mother and aunt's eyes snapped toward him, surprised to see him even though this was their daily routine.

"Did anything interesting happen today, Henry?" Aunt Sylvia asked with an expectant smile on her face.

Henry swallowed hard. This was going to be a long evening, and he had to wake up early the next day.