Published: 18 Mar 2021
For the next few minutes, Dmitri stood, staring at the man who had professed to being his father in this ancient world. For Dmitri there was a certain sadness in the way the Baron had passed and yet, now he was expected to take the Baron’s place in a time he knew little about.
As he stood there, looking down at the body of the Baron, Dmitri felt the presence of the other three men close to him. The Viceroy was the first to speak.
“My Lord Baron, we can only offer you our sincerest condolences at the passing of your esteemed father and please, be assured that the King will always support your rights to these lands.”
The Alchemist was now busy preparing the Baron’s body for the funeral which, he had told Dmitri, would be held the following day. Just as soon as the announcement had been made to the people of the Barony.
The Captain of the guard was next and, as he stepped in front of Dmitri he took a knee and reached for Dmitri’s right hand. Dmitri let the Captain take his hand and watched in confusion as the older man bent his head and kissed the ring on his second finger after which he said, “My Lord Baron, I vow to protect you and yours as my family has done for all the Barons of Skoffia for generations. I, and my sons to come, will forever stand for you in times of trial.”
Again the guard Captain kissed the ring, then stood and stepped back. By this time the Alchemist had now bound the Baron’s jaw closed and placed two copper coins on his eyes. Dmitri thought the old Baron looked almost peaceful, except for the paleness of his skin and the coldness to his touch.
Dmitri knew there was little more he could do and so, gave a light cough to get the attention of the three men.
“I feel I must return to my companions and inform them of events today. I also feel the need to rest for a little time before facing the rest of the day. Captain of the guard, I would ask you to send two guards to my chambers to protect my companions should the need arise. Also, I would like two Paiges sent to my rooms at the middle of the afternoon for further instructions.”
“Very good my Lord Baron, the guards will be awaiting your arrival. Do you wish for the house staff to ready more rooms for your companions, as it appears there was little enough time last evening to do so?”
“Yes, thank you Captain. Please make sure they are in this part of the citadel for their own protection and I will need them close to help advise me on future events. They all come from noble families and are more familiar with the workings of large estates so would be of great help to me.”
“Very good my Lord. It shall be as you require.”
“My lord Viceroy, I will not detain you further as my father had requested the urgency of carrying the message to the king. If there is anything you need to make your journey then you are welcome to it.”
“Thank you my Lord, if there is nothing further then I shall be on my way. The sooner the King is notified the sooner you can be ensconced as the Baron of Skoffia.”
Dmitri nodded his head as the Viceroy left the bedroom to prepare for his trip to the King’s court. As the Alchemist had now finished the preparations of the dead Baron, Dmitri turned to him next. He dearly wanted to go to his friends as it had been nearly two hours since he left them alone in the other bedroom.
“My father had great store in your advice and honesty and told me you were to be trusted above others. I would ask that you serve me as well as you did my father and, given time, you would train another to take your place in the fullness of time. Next I would ask for you to find a good teacher in language for my companions. They all come from other domains and do not have our language. I wish to remedy this as soon as possible.”
“Yes my Lord, I had already given my oath to your father that I would watch over your formative years when you took over and I swear by my life I shall fulfil that oath to both you and your departed father. If I may make a suggestion, my Lord?”
“Please do. I will need all the assistance you can offer me for the near future.”
“My Lord, if you trust your companions fully, may I suggest you select one that could fill my place should the need arise. I am sure you will be aware that the position of advisor requires someone you can trust with your very life if needed. And, as you seem to hold great stead in your companions, then perhaps, one can fill that role for you?”
“Thank you. I shall make inquiries of them and inform you of our decision.”
“Thank you my Lord, if there is little else then I shall finish the preparations for your father.”
“Thank you. I shall return to my companions and inform them of these latest events and to get their opinion on our future.”
“Thank you my Lord.”
Dmitri turned and left the now darkened room. It was time to return to his friends and try to work out where they go from here.
The five boys had searched every nook and cranny in the room and although they had seen many interesting things, they had now come to a stage where they were all becoming concerned about the long absence of their friend Dmitri.
More than two hours had passed without a sight or sound of Dmitri. Pierre was the most worried as he paced around the room like a caged lion; his worried thoughts written plainly on his normally inexpressive features.
It was the sound of heavy footsteps outside the door that brought the boys out of their silent reverie. Now they have more to worry about. Was this the start of trouble for them? When the heavy steps stopped outside their door the boys stood and reached for their weapons, if it was going to be a fight they were not giving up without causing the enemy some serious damage.
For a few minutes there was no sound from outside the door. Nor was there any attempt to enter the boys’ room. After a short time, they all heard what sounded like softer voices passing along the passageway but they did not stop at their own door.
About ten minutes later, they all heard more steps coming towards their door and this time it seemed there were more of them. Again the heavy boots stopped outside their door and they could hear some mumbled words before the door began to open.
There was a sudden expelling of air as the five boys let their breaths out. The tension they had been feeling was finally relieved, as the figure of Dmitri strode through the door with a sombre look on his face. It was as though a sudden heavy weight had been placed on his thin young shoulders, as he forced a smile for his friends.
Dmitri closed the door as he entered, but the boys had managed to glimpse what appeared to a number of soldiers lined up outside their room before it closed. Dmitri walked to the large bed and, with a deep sigh, sat down with his head bowed. The boys waited for him to gather his thoughts.
After a short time, in which Dmitri gathered his thoughts, he finally looked up at Helmut and began to speak in Russian, with pauses for the young man to translate to their other friends. Helmut, when given the time, revealed to his friends what Dmitri had said and at the end, they could all only stare at their young friend in awe and wonder as Helmut finished his translations.
“Well we certainly have jumped into a nest of wasps.” Helmut began.
“Our Dmitri is now a Baron of a place called Skoffia and he has just seen his ‘father’ of this timeline die from poison and has been given his new position as Baron. It would appear we are now his close companions and he has made arrangements for us all to return to school to learn the ancient language so we can communicate with the people of this new timeline. Dmitri is also getting some other rooms ready for us and we will each have our own personal guards for protection. Now, Dmitri has told them we all come from titled families. So, we have to now sort out what we are going to use for titles that they would accept in this time. Peter! You know more about history than any of us, so perhaps you could make some suggestions?”
Before Peter could speak, Spider jumped in to voice his own opinion.
“Somehow I don’t think a cockney from the West End of London will be mistaken for a toff, even in this old age place. Better make me a servant or something; I ain’t never going to pass for one of them.”
Peter was the next to speak as he had spent the time thinking through what he knew of history in the 12th century.
“I don’t think you have to worry Spider, the West End didn’t even exist in those times so we can make up whatever we want in all truth. Now all I have to do is have a little time to think back and try to remember what countries existed during that time so we can make the titles seem real to the locals.”
The others nodded their agreement at Peter’s suggestion as they turned to look at Dmitri once again in the hope they could garner more information, unfortunately there was not much else Dmitri could tell them and could only sit on the bed looking up at them.
Pierre had moved to his friend’s side and was comforting him with one arm over his slim shoulders as silence descended over the room. What did they do now?
A short time had passed in silence as the boys considered their options. It was a soft knock on the door that broke them from their individual thoughts as Dmitri looked up and spoke in the old language to whoever was on the other side.
The door pushed open silently and a young guard stepped into the room and bowed to Dmitri before speaking softly. At a nod of Dmitri’s head, the guard bowed again and backed out of the room, closing the door behind him. Dmitri looked up to Helmut from his seat on the bed and spoke quickly and then waited for Helmut to translate for his friends.
“Well the guard said they have some Paiges waiting outside to show us to our new rooms. They are all on this passage so we can be close to Dmitri. Dmitri will be staying in this room until after they bury his ‘father’ and then he will have to move into the Baron’s room at the end of the passage but we will all be close. Pierre, you will be staying with Dmitri, he has told them you are his special personal bodyguard so they will allow it. The rest of us can stay together as we were, so we only need two of the rooms and we can select which one we want. I suggest we select the ones closest to where Dmitri will eventually be.”
The other boys looked at each other and then nodded at Helmut’s suggestion. It would be safer for all of them if they were as close as the times dictated. Helmut looked for Peter and then spoke to him and the others, for Dmitri he quickly translated what the words were.
“Peter have you had time to work out the titles for us and where we would have come from?”
Peter looked up and nodded his head, it had taken some deep searching of his history knowledge to finally come up with something he hoped would work for them and so now he passed onto the others what he hoped would be right for this timeline. The rest of the boys looked over to Peter and waited for him to begin.
“Well the simplest one is Helmut. I think he should have the title of Baronet Helmut von Swartz from the Holy Roman Empire. As with most of us, these countries of that time did not have the greatest of communications so we should be safe enough that they cannot check it out. Next is Pierre. I suggest he be titled as Prince Pierre Fouse of Abyssinia. Next is Alberto, he should have the title of Don Alberto De Souza of the principality of Cordoba. For Spider, we have the Heir Apparent to the Marquis of Westshire in Angevin. And now, for me. I think I should also be from Angevin as they would know nothing of the USA, so it would be better just to pretend I was from another province of England, or Angevin as it was known then, so I’m going to be The Heir Apparent to the Duke of Malmesbury of Wiltshire. Do you want me to go over all that with each of you so we don’t make any mistakes? It will also give Helmut time to translate everything to Dmitri so we all understand who we now are.”
Everyone nodded their heads for Peter to take them through it all again, or as it happened, a number of times again, before they could all remember their new titles and where they would have come from. Finally, with their new titles and countries finalized it was now time for the boys to call it a day and find their new rooms. When Dmitri opened the door, the others were able to see, not only a number of guards standing at attention, but also six young Paige boys dressed smartly in the style of the time, patiently waiting for their new charges.
It was now that the other boys realized there were going to be language problems. For now, Dmitri took over and allayed their fears as he gave out instructions, in the old tongue, with a certain authority that the boys had not seen him use before. It appeared Dmitri would be well suited to his new role in this land of 1125.
Helmut suddenly called the boys attention, there was something he had forgotten to tell them earlier and he didn’t want any mistakes now.
“I forgot to tell you all before that we now have to call Dmitri, Petrus or Baron Shoveskya if we are with others so I think it best to call him Petrus from now on so we don’t make any mistakes in front of others.”
The other boys practised the new name a few times before they all nodded their understanding and then turned to Dmitri and smiled as each spoke his new name. All of them were surprised to see a tear forming in Dmitri’s eye and it wasn’t until Helmut continued and told them why that they finally understood. The death of the Baron had hit Dmitri harder than he had thought and the boys did not know that he had been in the room when the older man had passed on.
Dmitri talked to those waiting outside the door and next turned to Helmut to translate for the others.
“Dmitri…oops sorry, Petrus has told the Paiges that you will each select one of them to go with you so they can attend to your needs. He said just select one of the rooms down the passage that you want and take that as your main bedroom. There will be two guards on each of your doors for protection. He didn’t say why we would need it, but it’s best to do as he wants for now until we know more.”
The others nodded and paired up with their friend before signalling one of the Paige boys to follow them to their new room followed closely by two guards who, once a room had been selected by the pair, took up a guard station outside, no one seemed to think it strange that they had all paired up to stay in a single room.
Peter and Spider were amazed at the size of the new bedroom and the fine condition of the furniture and fittings inside. It was certainly an improvement on living in their tents, as they had done for so long. Peter thought it was a good change except for the fact they were now in the 12th century and had none of the things they were once used to.
Peter and Spider dropped their packs to look around the room further, but were suddenly caused to turn back as Spider’s Paige boy tried to get their attention. The two boys watched as the Paige boy tried to open their packs but was totally confounded by the buckles and zippers used to close off the various pockets.
They noticed the boy was trying hard to suppress his irritation at not being able to open a simple carrying case and the boys tried hard to cover their smiles as the Paige finally looked up for help. The redness of his face told both of them he had tried all he knew to please his new charges but the carrying case and its special locks just confused him too much.
Spider stepped up to their packs and called both Paige boys to him. With signs, he slowly showed the boys how all the clips and zippers worked. Once the packs were open the boys stood back and stared at the strange items inside. To their minds, they were certain some of what they saw were clothes but nothing like they had ever seen before. The Paiges’ minds just could not grasp what they were seeing and they could only stand and stare at all the strange things before them.
Not knowing what to do, they looked at Spider and Peter for some answers. It took a little time but eventually Spider was able to indicate to the boys to leave everything as it was and that Peter and he would empty the packs and put things away themselves, the boys seemed somewhat relieved at this turn of events and stepped over to the bed and began to lay back the bedclothes for when their two new charges would want to use it.
With more signs and patience, Spider and Peter finally got through to the boys that they were hungry and would like some food. The boys smiled and bowed to them as they backed out of the room and took off along the passageway in the direction of the lower floor. They would be away for nearly a half hour but when they returned it was with large wooden trays covered in dishes with metal lids over them. The delicious aromas coming from the tray had the boys’ mouths watering in no time.
The Paige boys set the tray on a nearby round table, began to remove the lids and then took some old fashioned cutlery from the side of the tray. They consisted of a two prong fork and a knife, more like a dagger than a table knife the boys were used to, but their hunger over-rode their need to inquire about the cutlery and they took a seat on opposite sides of the table as the boys stepped back and stood near the wall to wait for their charges to finish so they could clean up after them.
As it turned out, the same scene was being played out in the other rooms as none of the boys could remember eating since they found themselves in another time although for Dmitri it was more just an afterthought as his mind still had the fresh memory of watching the old Baron die before his eyes. Not something he was liable to forget easily. Fortunately he had found Pierre and he knew the older teen would help him through what was to come in the future.
With their meals finished and the near empty dishes cleared away from their rooms by the Paiges, the boys sat back with full bellies for the first time since finding the citadel. Now it was only a matter of finding out what was next and only Dmitri or as they now had to call him, Petrus, would be able to tell them. It was time for a group meeting so Peter and Spider left their room to look for the others and join together to work out what they were going to do now.
That they were going to congregate in Dmitri’s room went without saying as he would be the only one that would have even the slightest idea now that he was the new Baron of Skoffia and the citadel.
TBC
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