“Then our foes will surely have to watch out for him!” yelled another boy.
There was another chorus of laughter, and Thor’s humiliation deepened.
“Enough!” yelled Kendrick, sternly.
Gradually, the laughter subsided.
“I’d rather have a sheepherder any day who can hit a mark than the lot of you—who seem good at laughing but not much more,” Kendrick added.
With that, a silence descended on the boys, who weren’t laughing anymore.
Thor was infinitely grateful to Kendrick. He vowed to find out who he was, to pay him back any way he could. Regardless of what happened to him, this man had, at least, restored his honor.
“Don’t you know, boy, that it is not a warrior’s way to tattle on his friends—much less his own family, his own blood?” the knight asked Drake.
Drake looked down, flustered, one of the rare times that Thor had seen him out of sorts.
But one of his other brothers, Dress, stepped forward and protested: “But Thor wasn’t even chosen. We were. He is merely following us here.”
“I’m not following you,” Thor insisted, finally speaking up. “I’m here for the Legion. Not for you.”
“It doesn’t matter why he’s here,” the general said, annoyed, stepping forward. “He’s wasting all of our time. Yes it was a good hit of the spear, but he still cannot join us. Has no knight to sponsor him, and no squire willing to partner with him.”
“I will partner with him,” called out a voice.
Thor spun, along with the others. He was surprised to see, standing a few feet away, a boy his age, who actually looked like him, except with blond hair and bright green eyes, wearing the most beautiful royal armor he had ever seen, chainmail covered with scarlet and black markings—clearly, another member of the King’s family.
“Impossible,” the general said. “The royal family does not partner with commoners.”
“I can do as I choose,” the boy shot back. “And I say that Thorgrin will be my partner.”
“Even if we sanctioned it,” the general said. “It does not matter. He has no knight to sponsor him.”
“I shall sponsor him,” came a voice.
Everyone turned in the other direction, and there came a muffled gasp amongst the others.
Thor turned to see a knight, mounted on a horse, bedecked in the most beautiful shining armor he had ever seen, wearing all manner of weaponry on his belt. He positively shined, and it was like looking at the sun. Thor could tell by his demeanor, his bearing, and by the markings on his helmet, that he was different than the others. He was a champion.
Thor recognized this knight. He had seen paintings of him, and had heard of his legend. Erec. He couldn’t believe it. He was the greatest knight in the Ring.
“But my lord, you already have a squire,” the general protested.
“Then I shall have two,” Erec answered, in a deep, confident voice.
A stunned silence pervaded the group.
“Then there is nothing left to say,” Kendrick said. “Thorgrin has a sponsor and a partner. The matter is resolved. He is now a member of the Legion.”
“But you have forgotten about me!” the King’s guard screamed, stepping forward. “None of this excuses the fact that the boy has struck a member of the King’s guard, and that he must be punished. Justice must be done!”
“Justice will be done,” Kendrick responded, steely. “But it will be at my discretion. Not yours.”
“But my liege, he must be put in the stocks! An example must be made of him!”
“If you keep up your talk, then you shall be the one going to the stocks,” Kendrick said back to the guard, glaring him down, steel in his voice.
Finally, the guard backed down; reluctantly, he turned and walked away, red-faced, glaring at Thor.
“Then it is official,” Kendrick called out in a loud voice. “Welcome, Thorgrin, to the King’s Legion!”
The crowd of knights and boys let out a cheer. They then turned away, back to their training.
Thor felt numb with shock. He could hardly believe it. He was now a member of the King’s Legion. It was like a dream.
Thor turned to Kendrick, more grateful to him than he could ever say. He had never had anyone in his life before who cared about him, who went out of his way to look out for him, to protect him. It was a funny feeling. He already felt closer to this man than to his own father.
“I don’t know how to thank you,” Thor said. “I am deeply indebted to you.”
Kendrick smiled down. “Kendrick is my name. You shall get to know it well. I am the King’s eldest son. I admire your courage. You shall be a fine addition to this lot.”
Kendrick turned and hurried off, and as he did, the huge boy that Thor had fought shuffled by.
“Watch your back,” the boy said. “We sleep in the same barracks, you know. And don’t think for a moment you’re safe.”
The boy turned and stormed off before Thor could respond; he could hardly believe he had already made an enemy.
He was beginning to wonder what was in store for him here, when suddenly the King’s youngest son hurried over to him.
“Don’t mind him,” he said to Thor. “He’s always picking fights. I’m Reece.”
“Thank you,” Thor said, reaching out his hand, “for choosing me as your partner. I don’t know what I would have done without it.”
“I’m happy to choose anyone who stands up to that brute,” Reece said happily. “That was a nice fight.”
“Are you kidding?” Thor asked, wiping dried blood from his face and feeling his welt swell up. “He killed me.”
“But you didn’t give up,” Reece said. “Impressive. Any of the others of us would have just stayed down. And that was one hell of a spear throw. How did you learn to throw like that? We shall be partners for life!” He looked at Thor meaningfully as he shook his hand. “And friends, too. I can sense it.”
As Thor shook his hand, he couldn’t help but feel that he was making a friend for life.
Suddenly, he was poked from the side.
He spun and saw an older boy standing there, with pockmarked skin and a long and narrow face.
“I am Feithgold. Erec’s squire. You are now his second squire. Which means you answer to me. And we have a tournament in minutes. Are you going to just stand there when you been made squire to the most famous knight in the kingdom? Follow me! Quickly!”