The king turned to make his way out of the hall, he turned to Etienne, “Son come with me.”
“Olivier you come as well. I want you by my side,” whispered Etienne in his friend’s ear.
Olivier and Etienne followed the king along with; Jean-Louis the Captain of Avalon’s army, Philip the Marshal of Avalon, the Bishop of Avalon and the three surviving kings from the neighbouring lands, Citerne, Valines and Machiel. They entered the room adjacent to the great hall. Etienne realised that he had never been in this room before. From the simplicity of the furniture, a solitary round wooden table surrounded by nine high backed chairs, he could tell that this is where only the most secretive and important discussions were held. Its circular shape with the wall only broken by a singular door, further intensified the reticence of the room. The lack of windows was deliberate in design, ensuring that whatever words spoken within could not escape. Spoken and left forever enclosed in a collapsed cave. They entered and each of the men took their place as if they had sat there before. The king was flanked either side by the Captain and the Marshal. Clockwise from the king sat Olivier’s father, the King of Citerne, to his left the chair remained under the table, Etienne presumed this place was for the King of Limoux who had been killed by Chaval’s army, then sat the King of Valines, another place remained empty, presumably for the Paulo’s father the King of Allenay also slain at the hands of Chaval. Beside the empty chair sat the King of Machiel, and finally completing the circle remained another untouched chair. As the men sat, without talking they all looked at the empty chair to the right of the Captain. Etienne’s father stood up and walked to the chair, slid it back form the table, and with a ferocious swing smashed it against the wall.
“Chaval will never sit at this table again,” the king said as he returned to his seat. Etienne looked at Olivier in shock at his father's rage dilating his eyes.
Olivier, Etienne and the Bishop stayed standing. “Son I must leave. I have word that Chaval’s army has grown to an unimaginable size. Even if we had all our men we would still be outnumbered four to one. Our great city is in grave danger and so are the people I vowed to protect. I will ride to Chaval to seek the king’s counsel, to try and find a way to stop this bloodshed.” Etienne looked around the room in disbelief, ‘did nobody else think this was ludicrous’, ‘was no one else willing to offer themselves to take the king’s place’, ‘surely they knew that the king was needed here’, ‘why wasn’t anyone saying anything?’
“Father you cannot go, your people need you here. These people need to fight father. There is nothing that Chaval can offer which will appease them.”
“Son I will ride to Chaval. We are not ready to fight Chaval yet. We need more time.”
“The boy is right Sire, your people need you here,” the king’s Marshal and closest confident Philip finally interjected, much to the relief of Etienne. “You should not go. Let me go.”
“Father, Philip is also needed here to prepare the army. Let me go. I want to help. If I go it will not be seen as an attack on Chaval,” continued Etienne. “We need to speak with calm words, as you said we need more time. I will ask for parley. We do not want to strike up a battle until we are ready.”
“He will not agree to parley,” replied the king. “He is aware he has the upper hand. He knows our city is at its capacity, resources are running low and we are vulnerable.”
“But he also knows we have a lot of men sire,” continued Etienne. “Men who are angry and seeking retribution for the atrocities they have had bestowed on them. Men that, within a short period of time, will be fit again and would form a formidable opponent. He would be unable to defend the land he has taken, and may well be willing to find a compromise. And even if he doesn’t it may give us the time we need.”
“Perhaps you are right Etienne and I am proud that my son would make such an offer, but I will not agree to this,” said the king.
“I realise how painful a decision this is for you sire, but he is our best chance of a peaceful negotiation,” said Philip.
“I will not send my only son alone to that monster’s city,” the king shouted as he stood from his chair.
“I will ride with him.” Olivier stepped forward. The men around the table turned to see who had made this gesture. “I will protect him Sire as if he were my brother.” The boys looked at one another.
“You show great bravery Olivier, and I applaud your loyalty but,” the king was cut short by the Bishop of Avalon who had been standing quietly in the shadows.
“There is another option Sire,” he said in a quiet voice. The bishop was a small man, slight in frame. His angular face met at a sharp point at his chin. The site of the bishop had filled Etienne with fear as a child. “The house of Chaval has wanted for years to forge their family with Avalon. If Chaval and Avalon stood together they would not only be a formidable force in South West France, they would have an army capable of ruling the entire country. Chaval’s daughter is now of age.” The king flashed a glance at Etienne who had understood exactly the Bishop's implication. Chaval’s daughter, Marianne, was the same age as Etienne. Her father had tried unsuccessfully before to forge alliances with other kingdoms through his daughter. Her mother, as with Etienne’s, had died in child childbirth and she was also an only child. Her and Etienne’s similarities were consequential, and it had been rumoured that she was waiting for him, however Etienne had only ever believed this to be circumstantial. Before the king could say anything Etienne replied to the Bishop.
“I know what you are suggesting Bishop, the unity of Avalon and Chaval would truly make us powerful, however it would not end our struggle. If I married Marianne do you think he would let both our lands live peacefully together? Do you think he would equally split our lands and let our neighbours have their homes back?” The Bishop offered no response. “He will become even more powerful and inflict the same misery he has here throughout all of France. Is that what you want?” continued Etienne. “I will ride to Chaval and I will explain why I will not marry his daughter. I will take our offer of parley and leave it with him. We can not spend our lives in fear, running from this man.” Etienne turned from the Bishop to face his father. “Father do you forbid me to go?”
The king turned from the expectant faces and paced around the table as if a penned animal. Without turning to face the men the king replied, lethargy clear in his voice. “I will agree, but you must ride with my finest knights.” Philip rose from his chair, “Sire I fully understand your worry with sending your son," he said crossing the room to stand beside Etienne, "but I feel sending him with your knights will be viewed as an act of distrust.” He placed one hand on Etienne’s shoulder. “Etienne, I wish there were another way. I wish I could ride with you, but I fear that this is our only hope.” Philip turned to the king, “The two should ride alone Sire to show our intent of reconciliation.”
“Father," Etienne added, "Olivier and I shall deliver your offer of parley to the king’s hand. We will then leave and ride back the same day. If we depart at first light, and ride with earnest we shall be back by sunset. The more men we take the slower our progress. Father let me do this. You are needed here with your people. Our city will be evermore vulnerable without you here.” Etienne knew now that his father had to agree.
The king hadn’t stopped pacing, and was now rubbing his forehead. He stopped and looked at his son, and then the men sat around the table whom had already lost so much. The king uttered under his breath, barely audible by those in front of him, ‘my dear wife forgive me for what I am about to do’. “Etienne, you and Olivier will go to Chaval.” The boys clenched their fists, ensuring that the king couldn’t see. “It is against my better judgment but I see no other path. You will ride at first light the day after tomorrow and return before nightfall. If you have not returned by that time I will send my knights to find you. I will prepare the parley for you to give to Chaval.” The king turned to his Captain. “Have my two finest horses made ready.” The king then left the room. The men looked at each other, the silence deafening. Olivier walked over to Etienne and put his arm around his shoulder. “My brother I will ride with you every step of the way. We will give Chaval his parley and return to our people.”
“Only if you can keep up,” Etienne replied. The boys smiled at each other again, their lives as knights were about to begin.