THE BEGINNING OF THE KNIGHT

THE KNIGHT SERIES INSTALLATION

Synopsis

Henry Campbell is a young knight. And he's at war. His childhood home was rough and stormy, so he feels quite comfortable in the Kaotian war camp. And although Henry could hardly be outwitted, practically never fooled, he almost overlooked the love of his life...

Chapter 1

The jeers of the men increased. It was damn hot in the tent and Henry was sweating on his bare chest. It was no different for his counterparts. Henry looked at the clasped hands seemingly calmly. The ankles of his opponent and him were already white. "What is it, Rufus? Let's finish it?"

Rufus's round search was grumpy. He hated Henry. "You try, son of a bitch."

Henry let him fidget for a moment. Then he met his eyes, smiled charmingly, and finished the handshake without any effort. Rufus had lost. And he couldn't take it at all.

A few paws slapped Henry's shoulders in congratulations. Meanwhile, Rufus jumped up, snorting. "It can't be true! You're nothing!"

Henry grinned unperturbed. Aware of his dimple, which made Rufus all the more angry. He meant it mocked him. Well, Rufus wasn't a normal person. "A nothing that hit you."

The insane expression in Rufus' blue eyes came out and he tensed his muscular arms. "Get up and repeat that."

Without hesitation, Henry rose and spread his arms. "And now?"

Rufus swung back and punched Henry, who ducked and threw Rufus to the ground with him. The jeers in the room grew louder. The bets were increased, the cheering was getting heated... But before they could decide again whether Henry or Rufus was stronger, both were torn apart. But instead of being simply held back like Rufus, Henry was dragged outside and dropped onto the cold, trampled grass.

"You're a disgrace, man!"

His linen shirt landed on top of him. So he pulled it on and got up comfortably, if reluctantly. "Sir."

"Save that shit! Look at your damn eye!"

"Calm down, cousin." Henry was only twenty and had just been knighted. And because he had no other money, he swore an oath of fealty to his cousin Raven.

Raven was a thirty-year-old guy with the same black hair as Henry. Even with the same dimple. But he had always had more patience and insight. But you could steal horses with him. He stood by Henry and was often his best friend.

Raven slapped Henry across the face with the palm of his hand. Something only Raven could survive unscathed. "That's for breaking your promise."

"I said I'll moderate myself before the commander. Not become a pious lamb."

"But I would advise you. If Uncle finds out, he'll come up with something else. You know that."

He couldn't hear that anymore. He could hardly bear it. So he turned his eyes to the sky and stared at the stars. "Was that, my lord? May I retire?"

"My God, don't be so upset. I mean you well."

"Yes, my lord."

Raven shook his head. "Be as formal as you want. But uncle wants to see you."

Henry felt his knees go weak. He wanted to spit in the grass because he still felt like that when his father sent for him. But his father had never lost power over him. It wasn't until Henry was a brat that his father had power over him and called it education. Now he was his commander. And now he was calling it consequences for an unruly knight. And it hadn't happened once that Henry was punished in front of the assembled crew. But he should be damned if he admits, let alone show, that he dreads an interview with his father and commander.

But Raven knew anyway. "I don't know what he wants. But promise me you'll shut up if he provokes you." Henry on didn't answer him. He couldn't promise anything he could never keep. "Henry?"

Henry grinned nonchalantly, turned away and strolled between the tents to his father's large and more spacious tent. He had to force himself to enter.

His father, Theo, stood in front of a table with his back to the tent entrance and thought about the next line-up. His shoulder-length black hair was well-groomed, as was his beard. Without turning around, Theo growled, "Come in, Henry."

He stood behind his father, folded his arms behind his back and gritted his teeth. When Theo turned, he noticed the blue eye. Henry had already picked up the second slap. Nuner Two, damn it!

"Is this what a commander's son looks like?" his father growled.

Henry grinned humorlessly. "You remember that I am your son?" He would have already broken the promise if he had given it.

Theo raised his hand and hit Henry again. But worse has happened before. "Anything else to say, brat?"

I'm not a rascal anymore, old sack, would have been there. But Henry kept his mouth shut, albeit with great difficulty. Theo glared at him for a long time anyway. As if he hoped Henry would still say something so that he could strike again.

Then he turned back to his table. "I don't deserve anything like you. Honestly not." Me too, old man. You ... me too. Theo leaned his bottom against the edge of the table. "You're one of the only ones in our camp who doesn't have a tentmate yet. Also, you're missing a squire. Although you're to blame for this, here's a lad who's your squire now. Where are you brat?"

"Here, sir." Henry had to force himself not to roll his eyes. This was a kid whose voice wasn't even breaking yet. Big dark blue eyes and an almost defiant look.

"Introduce yourself to your Lord."

The boy bowed inappropriately. God, I'm going to have to teach that brat everything , Henry thought resignedly. Good move, old man. "My name is Nash."

Henry nodded. "How old are you?"

"Nearly twelve."

"Where do you come from?"

"From a village in Kent." A squire without a noble background? Wonderful.

Theo smiled wickedly and walked over to Henry and put a hand on the back of his neck. "I hope you like your new squire. You will have him for a long time."

"This is our tent. We don't have a tentmate yet, but trust me, my father will change that." mumbled Henry.

Inside the tent were two camp beds, two chests, two stools, and a small fireplace. On Henry's low bed lay his dark blue cloak, his sword and some daggers. Otherwise it was empty.

Nash sat down on the spare bed and made himself comfortable. "I think I can live with that."

Henry eyed the skinny kid and frowned. "You don't seriously think you sleep on the bed."

"Where else?" Nash was probably flabbergasted.

"Where a squire sleeps." Henry made a gesture that encompassed the entire floor. "Get some straw from the horse camp. This is your bed."

"What!?" Nash jumped up angrily. "I'm supposed to sleep on the floor!? Like a dog!?"

He would break the squire's habit right away. Anyone who had a disrespectful squire had to feel embarrassed in front of the others. And that's exactly what his father wanted to achieve.

Henry grabbed Nash's arm and threw him out of the tent. He staggered, tripped, and fell on the grass. He turned around rebelliously and gritted his teeth. Henry took a step towards him. Say something, say something and I'll smack your ears off.

Nash stood up arrogantly, said not a word, and stomped off.

I brushed the grass off my pants and pushed my hair back a little. Such a lousy bastard! I knew that squires were necessarily the losers, but I was probably quite blinded.

Instead of going to the stables, I crept away from the camp in the small, sparse forest. There I pulled the leather cord out of my hair and shook it out. Henry almost figured it out. Then he would have seen that my blond curls reached to my hips.

Because my name wasn't Nash. I wasn't a brat either. My name is Elizabeth and I was a nineteen year old woman.

I always wanted to fight and stand my ground. I had come to terms with the fact that as a woman I would never get the chance and buried my dream of leading a knight's life. But then the plague came and took away my parents and my two little sisters. I still had a sister, but she was married and didn't take care of her family. And before I starved, I pretended to be a boy. By god, I never thought it would work...

I rearranged my hair to make it look shorter again and then headed to the horse camps. There I swindled the straw and brought it to our tent, where Henry sat on the bed, face storm-struck.

"Where have you been?" he growled.

I jerked back in amusement. "You sound like your father."

Suddenly Henry was standing right in front of me, one hand raised as if to hit me. But he changed his mind and gave me a scowl that actually made me sick. "Answer, squire."

I lifted the straw in my arms. "By the horses."

"I was there looking for you and you weren't there. So?"

oops "Well, I didn't find it right away."

Henry threw back his head. "Look, Nash. I don't want to mess with you. I don't like babysitting some kid who doesn't have a clue either. But if you pull yourself together, don't make life difficult for me, then we can do it on her." have an easy trip." Then he lifted his head and looked at me seriously. His eyes confused me so much I nearly dropped the straw. "But if you think you want to compete with me and find out which of us is stubborn, then you can do it the hard way. Sure so far?"

I dropped the straw at the front of the tent and held out a hand to him. "Understood."

He looked blankly at my hand, raised an eyebrow and turned away. "Go to sleep."

"Where are you going?"

Henry didn't answer me.

Raven laughed into his mug. "I don't think that's funny at all. I don't like to say it because honestly it's work, but the boy is... uneducated, to be honest."

"You haven't had him with you that long."

Henry knew anyway. You could see that Nash liked to act on his own and liked to be cheeky. It wouldn't have been unsympathetic at all. It was because Nash was forced upon him by his father. Forced ! It was so awful that Henry almost suffered physically.

Raven grinned gleefully and pushed a mug of mead towards him. "Give the boy a chance. Maybe he'll settle in soon."

Henry nodded and downed the beer in one gulp. Then he got up lithely and sauntered over to one of the whores who were always ready.

When I heard footsteps outside the tent, I quickly blew out the candle and pretended to sleep. I would never stand a chance against Henry. Any resistance would be futile.

A woman giggled as the canvas was folded back. Almost at the same time, Henry's shirt fell to the ground in front of me. In the dark I saw Henry kneeling over the woman. Heavens, that can't be true! Immediately, my cheeks grew hot. Then, as Henry's pants followed his shirt, I jumped up and blindly ran away. Until I ran into a man's bear.

The man looked like Henry. "What are you doing out here, little one?"

"I... um..." what should I say? Where the boys of my given age should be sleeping. "I have to step out..."

"You're Nash, aren't you?" The man suddenly grinned knowingly. "You're probably not used to women? Don't worry, you can sleep with me."

At first I hesitated because I wasn't sure if I was allowed to. However, I didn't care because I certainly didn't want to watch it. So I wandered alongside the guy who looked like Henry.

"Who are you?"

"Raven. Henry's cousin."

Aha. "I don't think he's my greatest admirer."

Raven shrugged, smiling. "The employers treat their squires roughly. So that later they become tough men as knights."

"If you say so..." I was surprisingly cranky that there was a whore in Henry's bed. Probably because I had to clear my warehouse.

"Don't worry. Henry is a loyal fellow and seems far tougher than he is. If he trusts you, you can rest assured that he'll never be ashamed of anything you ask him to do."

"And how can I prove to him that he can trust me?"

Raven lifted his tarpaulin with a friendly smile. "Just never let him down."