“I shall send for Albert, as I believe his eyes to be the strongest of the menservants’.”
“Chancellor, is this the self-same Albert whose carriage was placed before mine, and whose lord is a drunk and a charlatan?”
“Indeed lord”
“And who was instructed to be there by a most trusted member of the court?”
“I... believe he may have misunderstood his instructions. At least, according to the version I heard.”
“Indeed, Chancellor.” A runner was sent to find Albert and a short while later he joined them by foot. As he approached, Ethelred was struck by the particular tilt to his head as he gazed with consternation at the sky. “What, good sir, are you looking at? The pit is at your feet, have a care or you’ll find yourself at it’s bottom.”
“hmmm? Oh yes, I was in fact looking at that very odd cloud.”
The sun then went behind it, and the Chancellor cried out, “Lord King, the Keep of Mount Ethelred is as a cloud!”
“What, are you mad? You claim that the keep is flying, all I see is a most peculiar cloud.”
“Nay, my lords,” Albert said, “that is indeed the keep.”
“What other powers do these merchants posses, what crimes will they perpetrate next?” The king was pacing back and forth fuming, muttering and sputtering. Dangerously close to the edge, he seemed to have forgotten his earlier concern with it entirely. “Are there any men upon the walls, that either of you can see?”
“Nay, Lord.”
“And you, Albert?”
“Aye, there are perhaps a hundred. They are waving a flag and ahh! They have a horn.”
No comments:
Post a Comment