T is for Truth
“Who are you boy?” demanded the man again.
Kenrick stepped forward. “This is my son by marriage, David.”
“And you trust him?”
“I do,” said Kenrick.
“David, aye? And what can you offer us, David? What good to us are you?”
Godwin shuddered. “I can offer my skills as a swordsman. My life. My blood.”
“Swordsman are you? How long have you studied?”
“I held a sword before I could walk.”
The man laughed. “Oh well then. By all means.” He continued to laugh. Abruptly he stepped forward and pulled Godwin’s head back by the hair. The man scowled down at Godwin, sneering. “And what happened to your face then?”
“I was tortured,” said Godwin. “Left for dead.”
The man released him and stepped back. “By whom?”
“Twas Aldred,” Godwin said. “Well, his man anyway. Grant.”
The man snorted. “And why would Aldred torture you? Peasant.”
Godwin considered a response, but the man cut him off. “Is this why you would stand against Aldred?”
Godwin nodded. “In part. But the man has tortured and killed many, including Bertram and his children.”
“So you’re loyal to King Bertram, then?”
Godwin shrugged. “Yes.”
“Are you or are you not loyal to Bertram?” The man pressed closer.
“Aldred is pure evil,” said Godwin. “Bertram, naive and arrogant. He meant well, I think. I’m sure he thought he was doing right by his people.”
“Bertram arrogant?” The man howled with laughter. “Such a statement would be treason. Were Bertram still with us, he would kill you.”
Godwin focused his eyes on the man. “I have said so much to him in my life. I’ve screamed it in his face. I’m still here.”
“You called Bertram arrogant to his face?”
“I called him many things.”
“And you live?”
“I was punished, to be sure. But yes, I live.”
“How?”
“For the same reason Aldred wanted me dead. He believes me dead. Because of who I am.”
“David, son of Kenrick?”
“No. Godwin, son of Bertram. His bastard son.”
Penny Higgins - Storyteller • Artist • Scientist 