Cylus 25, Arc 717
King Cassander had said that he could have anything for saving his life during the premiere of his play (which he had done by throwing himself on top of him and shielding him with his body – he had been sore for trials afterwards). He hadn’t been able to make up his mind back then and asked him if he could have some time to think about it.
He had considered asking for the duchy (Alistair was mean, and he sucked, and he probably didn’t only have a few skeletons, but a whole graveyard in his closet.) or at least a duchy (Being rich and powerful was fun!). He’d also considered asking for a bunch of exotic kittens, a lifetime supply of wine and chocolate, a house – or absolutely nothing because the king’s friendship was more important than material goods, and he didn’t want to seem like one of those people that only kept the king company and were nice to him so that they could get free stuff.
He had also decided to give Cassander something to help him cope with the shock of nearly being assassinated. He knew from experience that pets were a great comfort when something bad happened to you. Mistral had helped him get over the loss of Faith and the terrible events in Treidhart (he had fallen over a dead body and lost consciousness, and his memories were still hazy at the best of times).
Since time was ticking, and he was worried that Cassander would refuse to give him anything if he waited too long, he eventually sat down and started to write a letter to him under the watchful eyes of his cat Mistral and his (hopefully) temporary guest that he had picked up a few breaks earlier. That letter turned out a bit different from what he’d originally planned:
King Cassander had said that he could have anything for saving his life during the premiere of his play (which he had done by throwing himself on top of him and shielding him with his body – he had been sore for trials afterwards). He hadn’t been able to make up his mind back then and asked him if he could have some time to think about it.
He had considered asking for the duchy (Alistair was mean, and he sucked, and he probably didn’t only have a few skeletons, but a whole graveyard in his closet.) or at least a duchy (Being rich and powerful was fun!). He’d also considered asking for a bunch of exotic kittens, a lifetime supply of wine and chocolate, a house – or absolutely nothing because the king’s friendship was more important than material goods, and he didn’t want to seem like one of those people that only kept the king company and were nice to him so that they could get free stuff.
He had also decided to give Cassander something to help him cope with the shock of nearly being assassinated. He knew from experience that pets were a great comfort when something bad happened to you. Mistral had helped him get over the loss of Faith and the terrible events in Treidhart (he had fallen over a dead body and lost consciousness, and his memories were still hazy at the best of times).
Since time was ticking, and he was worried that Cassander would refuse to give him anything if he waited too long, he eventually sat down and started to write a letter to him under the watchful eyes of his cat Mistral and his (hopefully) temporary guest that he had picked up a few breaks earlier. That letter turned out a bit different from what he’d originally planned:
Your Royal Majesty,
When I helped save your life during the premiere of “A Royal Tragedy”, you told me that I could have anything. I asked that you give me some time because I didn’t know what I wanted and wasn’t sure if I should ask for some sort of reward. I would have done the same if you had been a common citizen instead of the king of Rynmere. I still don’t know what I want, to be honest.
Most men that come from a secondary branch of a noble family, with no hope of ever inheriting the duchy or gaining any sort of meaningful political power would probably ask for land and a title so that they can serve their king better. It would probably be the reasonable thing to do, but I’m not entirely sure if I want to be reasonable.
I also considered asking for a rare and exotic pet, a little villa on the beach where I can create my art in peace or maybe a collection of fine wine and sweets from all around Idalos. But then I realized that I’d feel strange if I demanded something for saving a man’s life, even if the man in question is the king. So I decided to leave it all up to you. Whatever you are willing to give me, be it land, titles, political influence, a pet or wine and sweets, will be enough. In the end I care more about Your Royal Majesty’s friendship than any material goods.
I realize that a man in your position is probably very lonely and has few people that he can really trust. For that reason I also decided to give something to you. At first I considered gifting you a cat, but cats don’t always obey, so I decided to acquire a puppy from Andaris’ best pet store. He is trained, and he will always be there for Your Royal Majesty and defend you with his life so that you’ll never have to worry about somebody jumping at you and trying to stab you again.
Your friend,
Tristan Venora
P.S.: If you don’t want the puppy, feel free to return him to me. I will find a good new home for him.
When I helped save your life during the premiere of “A Royal Tragedy”, you told me that I could have anything. I asked that you give me some time because I didn’t know what I wanted and wasn’t sure if I should ask for some sort of reward. I would have done the same if you had been a common citizen instead of the king of Rynmere. I still don’t know what I want, to be honest.
Most men that come from a secondary branch of a noble family, with no hope of ever inheriting the duchy or gaining any sort of meaningful political power would probably ask for land and a title so that they can serve their king better. It would probably be the reasonable thing to do, but I’m not entirely sure if I want to be reasonable.
I also considered asking for a rare and exotic pet, a little villa on the beach where I can create my art in peace or maybe a collection of fine wine and sweets from all around Idalos. But then I realized that I’d feel strange if I demanded something for saving a man’s life, even if the man in question is the king. So I decided to leave it all up to you. Whatever you are willing to give me, be it land, titles, political influence, a pet or wine and sweets, will be enough. In the end I care more about Your Royal Majesty’s friendship than any material goods.
I realize that a man in your position is probably very lonely and has few people that he can really trust. For that reason I also decided to give something to you. At first I considered gifting you a cat, but cats don’t always obey, so I decided to acquire a puppy from Andaris’ best pet store. He is trained, and he will always be there for Your Royal Majesty and defend you with his life so that you’ll never have to worry about somebody jumping at you and trying to stab you again.
Your friend,
Tristan Venora
P.S.: If you don’t want the puppy, feel free to return him to me. I will find a good new home for him.
It was only after he had put the letter into an envelope and sealed it that Tristan realized that entrusting a random messenger with it might not be a good idea. Cassander probably had a lot of enemies. Somebody might steal the letter and read it – or worse yet, tamper with it, put poison into it and then blame the deed on him. So he put on his coat, placed the puppy into a wooden basket with a blanket in it so that the little animal would be warm and decided to walk to the palace to deliver the letter in person.
---
“Lord Tristan Venora”, he introduced himself to the guards. “I have a letter and a gift for His Royal Majesty. I realize that he’s probably very busy, so if he doesn’t have time to talk to me, could please just give both to him?” He showed them both the letter and the basket with the puppy that shyly looked at them from under the blanket. “Feel free to verify my identity to make sure that I’m not some sort of criminal that wants to hurt the king!” he added, realizing that people probably tried to get into the palace under false pretenses all the time.
---
“Lord Tristan Venora”, he introduced himself to the guards. “I have a letter and a gift for His Royal Majesty. I realize that he’s probably very busy, so if he doesn’t have time to talk to me, could please just give both to him?” He showed them both the letter and the basket with the puppy that shyly looked at them from under the blanket. “Feel free to verify my identity to make sure that I’m not some sort of criminal that wants to hurt the king!” he added, realizing that people probably tried to get into the palace under false pretenses all the time.
► Show Spoiler