English Knight (2 page)

We had chosen the ship in which we travelled because my father assured me that the Genoese were allies of the Emperor. Further west there were enemies who might decided to take revenge on these Varangians. The surly faces which greeted us did not seem to be that friendly. We had many chests to be unloaded and Ralph and Garth went to negotiate the purchase of horses.  I asked about servants when the two white haired warriors wandered off into the bustling port to negotiate.

“Servants?  My son, there will be no servants until we reach England.”

“What about cooking and grooming the horses?”

“We will do that.” I think my mouth must have dropped open.  I was certainly speechless. Groom my own horse?  It was unthinkable. “We have many leagues to travel.  If we hired servants here they would, in all probability, steal from us and return here.  When Aelfraed and I travelled down the mighty rivers of Rus to get to Miklagård we not only cooked for ourselves we hunted, rowed and even pulled our ship. This will be luxury for we will have horses to ride and, occasionally, inns in which to stay.”

Whenever my father said Miklagård I knew he was talking of a different time and place.  That had been the old name the Varangians gave to Constantinople. There had been a time when I had been amused by such things. Now it left a sour taste in my mouth.

The two retainers came back with a string of horses. Old Ralph shook his head.  “They are robbing bastards here, my lord. We have paid far more for these horses than they are worth.”

My father shrugged, “They are worth what we pay for them.  We would have to walk and carry our armour else.”

As we packed the leather travelling cases on to the horses I asked, “Will it be wise to travel without armour?  We are travelling through a strange land.  What if we are attacked?”

Garth had laughed, “It we are attacked it will not be by men in armour it will be by bandits. We will leave the armour in the chests. If we cannot handle a few bandits then we deserve to end our lives in a foreign forest. Just keep your sword by your side and your bow handy Master Alfraed and we will get through this journey.” I saw him exchange a look with my father. “Aye and we may all come through it better men.”

Inevitably Ralph and Garth led the string of horses loaded with our goods. They were the senior retainers and my father’s closest warriors. Wulfstan and Egbert were the youngest but they rode some way ahead of us while Athelstan and Osric rode behind.  As we headed towards the distant mountains I asked my father about this.

“It is simply a matter of choosing the best warrior for the task in hand.  Ralph and Garth are like me; they are past their days of fighting.  Once they were the fiercest warriors who ever fought in a shield wall.  But now? Our senses are dulled and our hearing is fading.  Wulfstan and Egbert have the best eyes, ears and noses.  They will sniff out any danger.”

“How long will it take us to reach our destination?”

He laughed and suddenly looked much younger. “Ah the impatience of youth. In all honesty I do not know. I have never travelled here before. The captain told us that it would take three long days to reach Turin where there will be lodgings for us. The first days will harden us for the long journey ahead.”

“This may be too much for you father.” I was genuinely concerned for my father was no longer a young man.

“I am not fated to die on this road.  I dreamed a dream and saw myself dying in England. It is meant to be. I had a sword in my hand. This journey will help to prepare me.”

We rode in silence and I wondered about death.  My father seemed resigned to it.  I wanted to live and enjoy life.  He appeared happy to embrace it. I did not even see the country and the mountains through which we rode; I was contemplating a life in the west, far away from the joyous life I had known.

We rode until dark. Wulfstan found us a small dell by a mountain stream and we made camp. I dismounted and dropped the reins of my horse. Ralph’s voice stopped me, “Master Alfraed your horse will neither unsaddle itself nor will it water and feed without assistance.  Unless you look after your own beast then you will be walking before any of us.  We have no spare horses!”

I looked at my father for help but he merely nodded his approval at Ralph’s words. This was getting worse.  In our home in Constantinople we had had slaves and servants to do everything for us. I had to watch the others as they unsaddled their beasts of burden.  When I had laid down my saddle I followed Egbert to the river where he led his own horse.  I noticed that he spoke to it.

“Why talk to the beast, Egbert? We will get decent ones when we get to England.”

He laughed, “Until we get to England, Master Alfraed, these are the decent ones. Get to know your horse and treat him well.  He may well save your life.”

“But you were not a horseman, Egbert.  What do you know about them?”

“I spoke with the troopers in the Tagmata and they instructed me.” He nodded at the others.  “When we knew we were returning home we prepared.”

I detected a hint of criticism in his words.  In the months before we had left I had spent my time drinking and giving all the pretty girls as much attention as I could. I had no doubt that some of my seed had taken. Now I wondered if my time could have been better spent. I looked at the horse as it drank from the stream.  It was a chestnut colour with a golden mane and on his forehead there was a white cross. I realised that I had been given a fine looking animal.  I glanced over at the others and saw that mine was in the best condition.  Why had they given me the best horse? I idly stroked between his ears and his head came up to nuzzle my chest.

“Good boy.” He whinnied and, for the first time since leaving Constantinople, I did not feel alone. The men with whom we rode were my father’s men.  This horse was mine and the nearest thing I had to a friend. “That’s a good boy and what shall we call you?  It needs to be a noble name for you carry a noble knight. Should I call you Bucephalus? Do you carry another Alexander?” Annoyingly the horse went back to drinking from the stream.

“He will tell you his name when he is ready. For now he will answer to good boy.”

I looked around and saw Wulfstan watching me. “And are you another one who learned about horses by asking others?”

“No, Master Alfraed, I rode when I served with my former liege lord.  We rode to battle and fought on foot.”

I was learning much about myself and my companions. I was not asked to help with the cooking and I watched the men as they organised the camp.  I envied them their easy manner and their banter. They were a little too familiar with my father for my liking but he seemed to relish it. The food was bland but marginally better than on the ship.  Perhaps my hunger helped. I was about to roll into my blanket on the hard ground when my father said, “You and Osric can have the first watch, Alfraed.  See you in the morning.”

I looked in horror as the others all rolled into their blankets.  Osric chuckled. He was a big man with a wild mop of golden red hair.  He looked like the lions that they had in the amphitheatres. “You’ll get used to it, Master Alfraed.  The secret is to keep busy. Feed the fire; check the horses; pee regularly.  The time will soon go.” He gestured for me to follow him away from the fire where we would not disturb the others.  He took his cloak and fastened it about his neck. It seemed prudent to copy him as there was a chill in the air.

“How do we know when our shift is over?”

“You don’t but I will.  You get the time in your head.  We don’t cheat each other. We all take it in turns. Your father has been kind this night.  He has given us the best shift. The worst is the middle one when you are woken from a comfortable sleep to freeze in the night and then have to try to get back to sleep when you wake the last sentries.”

He began to pick up dead branches from the forest floor.  I copied him. “You are used to this?”

“Aye, on campaign we guarded a whole camp not just a handful of warriors. There you never know if enemies are coming to slit your throat.” I looked around fearfully as though an assassin might be creeping up on me. He laughed, “Do not worry, our horses are good sentries.  They will alert us to anyone who is close.”

Osric was right, the duty did pass quicker doing small jobs.  I learned how to keep the fire just right, neither too fierce nor in danger of dying.  I also learned much about my father. Osric was in awe of him as a leader and I learned more in that one shift than I had discovered in my life so far. I was so tired when our shift ended that I barely noticed the rock hard floor.

The next day we passed through beautiful mountains.  I saw snow on the peaks in the distance. It was spectacular scenery.  I spoke with my unnamed horse far more and I listened to the banter of my companions. Wulfstan was the one with the sharpest and wittiest tongue. He had the ability to make them all laugh. It became obvious to me that when they had faced death, fighting for the Emperor, it had bonded them.  These were brothers under the skin.  We had little danger on the road but I noticed that when we approached other travellers they all became alert.  Ralph and Garth moved closer to my father and their hands were never away from their swords. I began to see that while their faces smiled at the strangers we met, their eyes did not.  Once we had passed them then Athelstan and Osric hung back and watched for treachery. I was riding with warriors. They might be old but they had not forgotten their trade.

By the time we reached Turin with its high walls and promise of comfort, I was in a happier frame of mind. Once this journey was over and I had returned to Constantinople I would have some interesting stories with which to regale my friends.

We stayed in an inn and our horses were stabled. It was still ‘
good boy’
; he had not yet told me his name but I had come to know my horse and I almost missed not having to care for him when we stayed in the inn.

Osric took me out to buy clothes for the mountains. I had thought that we had already crossed them but Osric pointed to the west where the snow covered mountains rose to the skies. “It will be so cold up there, laddie, that you could lose your fingers or your toes.”

For the first time since our journey had started I was actually needed for I could speak a little Italian and I was able to negotiate a price for the goods we bought. I could see why father had chosen Osric to go with me.  He was the largest of his warriors and with his golden mane he seemed to tower over the locals. We were not cheated and, in fact, they seemed pleased to have us out of their markets as quickly as possible!

Wulfstan had been busy when we returned and discovered the route we would be taking. We had to buy a mule to carry the extra clothes and provisions.  It would take us four days to cross the mountains and reach Lyons.  As we left the next day I was just grateful to the Romans who had built such fine roads. They made the journey much easier. Wulfstan allowed me to ride ahead with him for part of the way. I wondered why.

“The man in the inn I spoke with told me that hundreds of years ago the Romans had inns called a mansio and they were spread out along the roads for visitors to use.”

That intrigued me.  The night in the inn had made me realise the pleasure of a roof and a soft bed. “Are there are any still remaining?”

“There are some but we cannot count on them.” He suddenly turned in his saddle to look up at the mountainside.

“What is the matter Wulfstan?”

“I do not know and that is what worries me. I feel as though we are being followed or tracked and yet I can see nothing.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “I just have a feeling.”

I stared around and it all seemed normal to me. “I can see nothing.”

He laughed, “And you have yet to fight.  You do not know danger.”

He was wrong.  “I have fought! I have used my sword and my dagger in combat!”

He shook his head, “No, Master Alfraed you have not. When you fought there was no danger of your dying. When you are close to death you find senses you did not even know you possessed.”

We rode in silence as I listened for these hidden dangers. “This is why my father wanted me here.  You are teaching me.”

“Your father is a wise man. He has been travelling through dangerous lands since he was younger than you were.”

I looked at him in surprise.  “How do you know?”

“Others told me. He and your namesake were legends. He was not made an outlaw in England just for poaching a deer.  He and Aelfraed led a rebellion against William the Bastard. He has fought the Norman horsemen and beaten them. Do not let his white hair fool you, Master Alfraed. You are being trained so that you may become a shadow of the warrior that your father is.”

We did not find a mansio; at least not one which stood whole.  We found a building which had four walls remaining but neither roof nor people.  It did, at least, give us some shelter from the biting wind and the fire had a hearth in which to burn wood. That night Osric and I had the middle shift. It was the first one I had had to take.  Osric had been right; being woken from a warm blanket to stand in the cold was not a pleasant experience.

Egbert took us to one side.  “We saw nothing on our shift but I shall sleep with my sword next to me.”

“Wulfstan was right then?”

“I think so, Osric. I saw nothing but the horses are nervous. I would keep your swords to hand.”