Over the course of a week, they tracked and stalked the stag before taking it down for good. The master of the hunt got the final blow with an arrow between the beast's eyes. The butchers cut the meat off the bones. Then it was up to the women to cook it up for a modest feast. Everyone would be at the Swiftheart manor. I was a married knight, so it made sense I bring my wife with me. Johna was 4, so she could come along with us. Bonnie would keep an eye on the other children. 4 of them were hers after all. She also was pregnant again. Spring came again and she had wanted to be bred. Her new liter would be coming out soon. Johna was very happy to be coming along with us. She was going to see the king and queen. I was very proud of my Johna. She was already taking well to both Common and Elvish lessons. Hopefully the others would follow her lead. We were dressed in fancy clothes. I was thriving in this environment. We were sat at the table with the lowborn knights. Ottie was good company. He had not been able to find a wife. Having a bastard child was a turn off.
Mighel and Barat were in his house with Lady. Ottie had learned his lesson and did not breed her again. It was very upsetting for her. Still, he was a knight now. He could not toss the mother of his children out on the streets. The fact she was in his house was also a reason why he was not popular with the human women in town. I had the foresight to build a separate house for my bastards. I could see if there were some of the mercenaries were willing to marry their daughters off to him. It was not the most prestigious marriage, but it would make that daughter a noblewoman. Being the father in law to a knight could have some perks down the road too. This was a simple 5 course meal. We were not that special. The Swifthearts were not rich either. During the meal, Johna got too full. I smiled at her and let her sit in my lap. I then let her bounce on my knee. She laughed and had fun. At the end of the meal, the king gave his speech. Lord Jeffery Swiftheart and his wife were called to stand before him. All of us watched. Jeffery had a sword at his hip. They were raised count and countess.
I was very proud. I helped this family achieve greatness. The king granted them the county that this resort was in. The catch was that he was taking this town for himself as crown property. It was much too tempting. It was not too surprising. We had the charter to develop this area for the crown. As the count and countess, they would simply have to found another settlement elsewhere to be the county seat. We had done the hard part of getting this whole area off the ground. With the king's coffers, this could be a great city if he wanted to build up the area. Lord Jeffery Swiftheart and his wife were fine with that. There was some very convenient farmland to the southeast of the territory drawn out by the king. Building a simple castle holding with a town would not be out of the question for a count favored by the king. We all would also be given a pension for our service to the crown. That was really nice to hear. With all of that done, the feast reached its conclusion. Approaching the new Count Swiftheart, I bowed my head. "My lord, it has all come to pass. I am so happy for you all." I said.
