of their contract. This was a harsh world of politics into which we had stumbled.
I went down to the river to wash the blood from me and my sword. I heard a noise behind me and I whipped my sword around. It was the Empress Matilda. Her eyes widened when she saw the sword. I lowered the blade, "I am sorry, my lady. You should not be out alone. It is not safe."
She walked close to me and put her hands on mine. She reached up and kissed me gently on the lips, "I am safe when I am with you, Baron Alfraed of Norton. You have saved my life over and over on this journey. When you raced out to fight these wild animals I thought I had lost you and I would have no protector. Keep yourself safe, my English knight. I know now that our destinies are intertwined."
Guy suddenly appeared with his sword in his hand, "Thank God! I thought one of them had managed to return and abduct her."
She turned and smiled at him as though no words had passed between us. "I needed to bathe my face and cool it down. Thank you for your concern, Sir Guy. I am lucky to have such noble knights to protect me."
When we finally saw the towers of Worms, in the distance, I was relieved beyond words. We became more relaxed once we knew we were close to this centre of Imperial power and took off our mail. Our horses were beginning to suffer. We had travelled hundreds of miles and even a good horse like Scout could not continue to travel each day with a mailed warrior on his back. It also felt good to be riding without helmets and let the fresh air blow through our hair. The journey had been fraught. I had known it would be a hard task but I had had no concept of the twists and turns the road would take. What I did know, as we rode through the huge gates of the town, was that Matilda, Empress of the Holy Roman Empire, was someone for whom I would lay down my life. When I had raced from the hunting lodge on the Lauter, half dressed and barely armed, I had expected to die. That told me much about my feelings for Matilda for I would have done so gladly.
Gottfried spurred his horse on to warn the Emperor that his wife was coming. We saw the crowds gathering in the distance. Guy was quite amusing and, now that the journey was almost done, he entertained us with some stories of his cousins when they were younger. The three of us were laughing as we approached the first of the crowds. Matilda waved cheerfully to them.
As she did so I spoke to Guy on her other side. "I envy you, Sir Guy. You grew up with young cousins. I had old warriors to play with. They were good tutors and stalwart warriors but there was little laughing and joking."
Matilda turned to me and, putting her hand on mine said, "And no mother too. You had a hard upbringing."
I laughed, "And yet, like Sir Guy, I appear to have survived." She laughed too but, as I looked up I saw her husband, the Emperor for the first time and his face was dark with anger. I wondered what he had read into the Empress' harmless gesture. The anger was replaced by a smile as we neared them. We waited outside the gates whilst they were reunited and then the Emperor, on his white charger, led her into the palace. We were left to our own devices. I felt a little lost. Did we just turn around and head back to Caen? I did not understand the protocol involved. Rolf laughed when he saw my puzzled expression. "Come, Englishman, we have our own quarters here for you and your men. This may not be Paris, London or Caen but we will be comfortable here. We rode through the gates. The Swabians appeared to be well known but we were the focus of attention and all stared at us.
The stables were enormous, clean and well equipped and I knew that our mounts would be well looked after. Due to the deaths and our success we now had plenty of spare mounts. The squires would be kept busy. I made sure the men at arms were taken care of in the old warrior hall. It looked like it had not changed since the time of
I went down to the river to wash the blood from me and my sword. I heard a noise behind me and I whipped my sword around. It was the Empress Matilda. Her eyes widened when she saw the sword. I lowered the blade, "I am sorry, my lady. You should not be out alone. It is not safe."
She walked close to me and put her hands on mine. She reached up and kissed me gently on the lips, "I am safe when I am with you, Baron Alfraed of Norton. You have saved my life over and over on this journey. When you raced out to fight these wild animals I thought I had lost you and I would have no protector. Keep yourself safe, my English knight. I know now that our destinies are intertwined."
Guy suddenly appeared with his sword in his hand, "Thank God! I thought one of them had managed to return and abduct her."
She turned and smiled at him as though no words had passed between us. "I needed to bathe my face and cool it down. Thank you for your concern, Sir Guy. I am lucky to have such noble knights to protect me."
When we finally saw the towers of Worms, in the distance, I was relieved beyond words. We became more relaxed once we knew we were close to this centre of Imperial power and took off our mail. Our horses were beginning to suffer. We had travelled hundreds of miles and even a good horse like Scout could not continue to travel each day with a mailed warrior on his back. It also felt good to be riding without helmets and let the fresh air blow through our hair. The journey had been fraught. I had known it would be a hard task but I had had no concept of the twists and turns the road would take. What I did know, as we rode through the huge gates of the town, was that Matilda, Empress of the Holy Roman Empire, was someone for whom I would lay down my life. When I had raced from the hunting lodge on the Lauter, half dressed and barely armed, I had expected to die. That told me much about my feelings for Matilda for I would have done so gladly.
Gottfried spurred his horse on to warn the Emperor that his wife was coming. We saw the crowds gathering in the distance. Guy was quite amusing and, now that the journey was almost done, he entertained us with some stories of his cousins when they were younger. The three of us were laughing as we approached the first of the crowds. Matilda waved cheerfully to them.
As she did so I spoke to Guy on her other side. "I envy you, Sir Guy. You grew up with young cousins. I had old warriors to play with. They were good tutors and stalwart warriors but there was little laughing and joking."
Matilda turned to me and, putting her hand on mine said, "And no mother too. You had a hard upbringing."
I laughed, "And yet, like Sir Guy, I appear to have survived." She laughed too but, as I looked up I saw her husband, the Emperor for the first time and his face was dark with anger. I wondered what he had read into the Empress' harmless gesture. The anger was replaced by a smile as we neared them. We waited outside the gates whilst they were reunited and then the Emperor, on his white charger, led her into the palace. We were left to our own devices. I felt a little lost. Did we just turn around and head back to Caen? I did not understand the protocol involved. Rolf laughed when he saw my puzzled expression. "Come, Englishman, we have our own quarters here for you and your men. This may not be Paris, London or Caen but we will be comfortable here. We rode through the gates. The Swabians appeared to be well known but we were the focus of attention and all stared at us.
The stables were enormous, clean and well equipped and I knew that our mounts would be well looked after. Due to the deaths and our success we now had plenty of spare mounts. The squires would be kept busy. I made sure the men at arms were taken care of in the old warrior hall. It looked like it had not changed since the time of
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