sat at the table of honor in the large banquet hall, filled with hundreds of guests of the Duke. He had not expected his arrival here to cause such fanfare, and was a bit overwhelmed by all the attention. He knew he was an important person in the kingdom, especially because of his relationship with the King, but he had not anticipated the extent to which the Duke would roll out the red carpet for him. It was their second day of feasting in celebration of Erec’s arrival and in anticipation of the tournament to come. Erec was stuffed with good food and wine. He knew that if he didn’t compete soon, his skills might not be as sharp.
As Erec leaned back on the deep cushions and looked around, he observed knights from all corners of the Ring, all dressed in different-colored attire, speaking with different accents, using different mannerisms. They all looked like formidable warriors, and while the Duke was confident Erec would beat them all, Erec took nothing for granted. It was part of his training. While the servants re-filled his goblet with wine, he only sipped at it. The tournament was tomorrow, and he wanted to be in a good space. After all, he felt that his actions, and his performance, reflected on the King. And that was something he took very seriously.
Whether he would find a bride here was a different matter entirely. He smiled to himself at the thought of it. The last two days, it seemed that every fine woman in the kingdom had been introduced to him. Indeed, as he looked about the room, he saw dozens of beautiful women seated throughout, and could not help but notice that most of them looked his way. He seemed to also draw the jealousy of the other men in the room, who competed for their attention. But Erec himself did not feel jealous or competitive. He had been introduced to all of them, and had been impressed by them all, each more beautiful, more fine mannered, dressed more elaborately, than the next. He felt honored to have met them all, but he had decided long ago to choose his bride based on his gut instinct. And for whatever mysterious reason, he had not felt that certain feeling when meeting any of them. He did not mean to be picky. He felt certain that these women would all be great for someone; he just did not feel that they were right for him.
“Erec of the Southern Island Province of the Ring, may I introduce to you Dessbar, of the Second Province of the Lowlands,” the Duke said to Erec, as he turned to meet yet another fair maiden. The parade of introductions seemed to never end. This one was beautiful, too, dressed in white silk from head to toe, and she curtsied and smiled a gracious smile.
“It is a pleasure, my Lord.”
“The pleasure is mine,” Erec said, standing out of courtesy and kissing her fingertips.
“Dessbar comes from Emerald Plains, and from a noble family of the East. Her mother is third cousin to the Queen. She is of noble blood. She would make a fine match,” the Duke said.
Erec nodded graciously, not wanting to offend her, or the Duke.
“I can tell that she is of a fine lineage,” Erec said with a short bow. “It is a great privilege to meet you.”
With that, he kissed her hand again, and seated himself. She looked somewhat disappointed, as if she wanted to talk to him more; the Duke did, too.
But Erec did not feel whatever it was he was supposed to feel when he met this woman. And he wanted to approach finding his wife with the same discipline he did battle—with a single-minded focus and intensity.
The feast went on, deep into the night, and Erec was glad to at least be in the company of his old friend, Brandt, seated on his right. They’d been sharing battle stories for half the night, and as the fires grew long and people filtered from the hall, they were still recounting stories.
“Remember that hill?” Brandt asked. “When it was just the four of us, on patrol? Up against the entire company of McClouds?”
Erec nodded. “Too well.”
“I swear, if it wasn’t for you, I would be dead.”
Erec shook his head. “I got lucky.”
“You never get lucky,” Brandt said. “You’re the finest knight in the kingdom.”
“It is true,” the Duke echoed, seated on his other side. “I fear for any knight who