A Time of Tigers - From Peasant to Emperor

"I wonder what happened between them…" Nila murmured. Your adventure continues at My Virtual Library Empire

"As do I," Oliver replied.

"Doesn't it bother you?" Judas said. "I mean, having that many enemies, and all? I don't think I'd be able to sleep, knowing they could be coming for me at any moment… I couldn't sleep for two weeks after our battle with the Yarmdon – and I already knew, almost for sure, that it was over."

"I'm fine, Judas," Oliver assured him. "I'm a peasant that's been given a noble title. Who wouldn't sleep soundly at that? Besides, their assassination attempts have failed. If they were to try again, it would look far worse for them than it would for me. Even the masses would begin to ask questions."

"That's the right attitude," Greeves said. "But enough chat. You only have a few hours left before you need to be sent on your way, boy. Don't you have things that you want to do?"

"Ah! You need to see mother!" Nila declared, just remembering. "And David and Stephanie too. They've been waiting. I told them that you'd be seeing them soon, and they've been patient… so you better be kind to them!"

"I ought to speak to the villagers too," Oliver said. "I left them out in the cold last night… That wasn't particularly good manners."

"Bah. You were chatting to them for a good while before I got there. That's far more than they could ever expect from a damn noble. You're not their friend, boy, you're their ruler. You don't need to be asking every little thing about them," Greeves said.

"True enough, but I should at least make an announcement, or something, to all of them before I leave," Oliver said, frowning in thought. In truth, he didn't know particularly what he should be doing, or what he'd even speak to them about. But still, it seemed like a good idea to do so, as a mere formality. "I'll go for a walk in the village, I think. I haven't seen it in a while, after all.

And there's Mrs Felder to see."

"What you mean is you're eyeing how we've remodelled it, ain't ya? You're already thinking about that wall, and the soldiers that you're planning to station. Don't think you can get one past me, boy. I still know a thing or two about you, even if that information is starting to seem outdated," Greeves said.

Oliver smiled. "You might have got me on that. True enough. I want to see just how defensible we can make it. I want to sear it in my mind properly, even though I think I remember it regardless. Solgrim has to be a tougher nut to crack than it is.

Far tougher."

…

…

As soon as Oliver left his home, the villagers in the marketplace were looking towards his entourage, stopping everything that they were doing. A huge blanket of quiet descended down over them. Even those that were mid-transaction paused to look.

Not every villager in the village had been there to greet Oliver when he came in by carriage the previous night, though there had been a good portion of people there. Big enough that those who hadn't been in attendance had felt remarkably left out, as though they'd missed a big opportunity.

He gave them a nod and a smile as he came out, indicating – he hoped – for them to be at ease.

After seeing Ferdinand dash off as quickly as he had, and make no moves to even acknowledge the peasants, there was a little of bit of uncertainty in the air, as they'd been made to doubt their way of behaving in front of nobility by a few angry shouts from Ferdinand's guardsman.

The nod seemed to break that tension somewhat. The silence faded away like a trickle, and some men hurried to conclude their business at the stall, whilst others were carefully picking their way in Oliver's direction, hoping to share conversation with him.

"Come on now, you're not a herd of cows, don't try and stampede the boy," Greeves said loudly, though Oliver was a little surprised by the amount of patience that he heard in the merchant's voice. Ordinarily, he'd be using harsher remarks than that, and chasing them away as if they had the plague.@@novelbin@@

"Miss Nila! That venison you hunted last week is the best I've ever had! How'd you manage that in the middle of winter?" A cry rang out, for Nila, rather than for Oliver.

"Fuckin', what? Are you blind?" Greeves said in exasperation. "It's no wonder the nobles want nothing to do with you lot, you're as dull as a box of rocks."

There were a few snickers through the crowd after the man's call, but apart from Greeves' light admonishment, there was no indication that he'd really done anything wrong. Nila shrugged somewhat bashfully at Oliver, doing her best to hide the proud look on her face, before she went over to speak to the man that had called for her.

"Ser Patrick…" The villagers murmured under their breath as Oliver passed through the marketplace. It was as though they were chanting a spell of courage, trying to work up the resolve to go and speak to him, just as those villagers had the previous evening.

"Thank you, Ser Patrick!" One man took the initiate, throwing himself in Oliver's way, kneeling at his feet. There were tears in his eyes, just as he'd seen on their faces the previous day. Oliver was able to endure the look a little better now, after he'd already spoken to Nila. "Because of you, we've a new daughter now. My wife was pregnant through the whole incident, and we feared a miscarriage.

It's only because of you that I'm alive to see them both now. Thank you, Ser. Oh Gods, thank you!"

"Rise, good man," Oliver said, adopting a more noble tone of voice, but softening the formality with a smile. "You villagers are mistaken. It was not a single man that defended this village, but a whole group of villagers, unified in their purpose. You repelled an invasion of Yarmdon, and you survived Francis' aftermath."