Over the course of a week, we all 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. Yon would keep an eye on the other children. He was not invited here after all. That meant he was free. 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 all dressed in fancy clothes for the occassion. I was thriving in this environment. We were sat at the table with the lowborn knights. Raolin was good company. He had not been able to find a wife. Having a bastard child was a turn off. His child with my children and Yon. It was nice to have a playdate once in a while.
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 delicious meal, the king gave his speech. It was only right as the monarch of the land. I could see that he had a ton of energy and a healthy vigor for once. Everyone else could see the same thing. This was great for the future heath of not only the king, but the nation as a whole. Lord Jeffery Swiftheart was the next to speak to the gathered attendents. He was the host of this royal hunt and feast. They were good speeches as far as I was concerned. He and his wife were called to stand before the king. All of us watched. Jeffery had a sword at his hip. This was to symbolize his power and authority to keep order and maintain the land in the name of the king. They were raised to count and countess. Counts were the fourth rank of landed nobility. They were higher than Barons, Baronets, and the landed knights on the edges of the borderlands.
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 fruition! I am so happy for you all!!" I said.
