Chapter 12

Ven stood patiently at the main entrance of the Police Quarters. He had decided to wear his Inspector uniform as he didn’t know what to wear for this occasion. It was a sunny day, but the morning chill was still in the air, which he was thankful for, he still wasn’t comfortable wearing the Inspector uniform without an overcoat on top of it.

It was ten minutes over eight and no one had shown up yet. Perhaps they are stuck in traffic he thought, or perhaps they were having trouble finding where he lived.

Since looking at the time every couple of minutes wasn’t helping in any way whatsoever, he pulled out his phone and decided to get some reading done while he was waiting. He didn’t know when or if he would be able to get his Assistant back, so instead of wasting time he had decided he would dig around for information on Ravendra and The Honor Guard on his own. It wouldn’t be as fast as if Vikram did it, but it was better than completely abandoning the idea.

A honk made him look up, a black car was slowing down as it approached the front gates. As it came to a halt, the front door opened, and an elderly man got out of the driver’s seat.

“Sorry I am late!” said the driver as he bowed.

“Don’t worry about it, I just got here myself,” said Ven as he felt embarrassed by the unexpected behavior of the driver.

“Thank you so much, sir! Please may I take your luggage and put it in the trunk?” asked the elderly man.

“No no, I can do it myself, could you just open it for me?” said Ven. Asking people older than him to do small everyday tasks was something he wasn’t used to, it wasn’t how his mother had raised him, his fake mother in the simulation, he reminded himself again.

“What’s your name?” asked Ven, he needed to change the direction his thoughts were going.

“Frank,” said the driver with another bow.

“That’s a great name, I used to have a good friend called Frank. And please you don’t have to be so formal in the future,” said Ven as he made his way to take a seat in the front seat next to the driver.

“Oh no sir, you can’t sit here, you must sit in the back,” said Frank with a panicked look.

“Why not?” asked Ven with a perplexed look.

“I am sorry, I forgot to introduce myself properly. My name is Frank, and I will be your chauffeur until you either choose to hire someone else or I retire. It’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Knight Ven, I look forward to working with you for many years,” said Frank with a half bow.

“Nice to meet you too. But that doesn’t tell me why I can’t sit in the front,” said Ven.

“I am your chauffeur, so I drive while you relax in the back seat, that is just how things have always been done. The chauffeur and Knight never sit in the front seat together, Knight Ven,” said Frank.

“I don’t see the big deal, but I can see it makes you uncomfortable, so I’ll sit in the back,” said Ven as he got into the car.

He couldn’t help but smile as he sat back and put on his seatbelt, this Frank was nothing like the Frank he used to know. He was far too polite! But then again, to expect two people to be similar just because they had the same name was being silly.

“So, why did your parents name you Frank?” asked Ven.

“Well, according to my mother, when she was growing up and reading the stories of His Majesty’s younger days, about how our great nation was founded. She always loved King Ravendra’s best friends and when she was a teenager she had decided if she had sons, they had to be called Pratabh and Frank. So, as you can probably already tell, my older brother is called, Pratabh,” said Frank.

“Is he a chauffeur too?” asked Ven.

“Oh no sir, when we were younger, he tested positive for having a gift, so quite naturally he is in the UTF. He is the pride of our family,” said Frank with a large smile. “He’s going to be retiring in the next couple of years and I think the only thing he regrets is he never managed to make it into The Honor Guard. But if it were easy to join the Honor Guard, it wouldn’t be so prestigious.”

“So, I keep being reminded. Say Frank, when they told you you’ll be my chauffeur, did they mention anything else?” asked Ven as he moved forward to hear Frank’s reply.

“Not that I can recall, but then again, I was so excited to hear I would be working under a newly appointed Knight, I didn’t really ask any questions. Was there something I should have been informed about, sir?” asked Frank.

“I suppose it’s better if you hear it from me, instead of someone else. The thing is this, yes, I am joining The Honor Guard, but I am giftless,” said Ven.

“You surely jest sir,” said Frank.

“Afraid not, I am serious about this. So, if you no longer want to work for me, just say the word and I’ll look for someone else,” said Ven.

“Please do no such thing! While I am a little taken aback that you have been appointed as a Knight even though you’re giftless, I am still proud to be working as your chauffeur. After all, clearly you must have earned the right to this title, it is not something His Majesty gives out light heartedly,” said Frank with a smile. “Plus, I wouldn’t trust any of these other whippersnappers with you, they might be young, but their priorities in our line of work are completely wrong! They are not chauffeurs, they do not understand what it means, they are nothing but drivers!”

“Well then Frank, I look forward to working with you,” said Ven with a smile as he leaned back.

“The feeling is mutual, sir. Now sit back and relax, I have your whole day planned out,” said Frank.

“Whole day? I thought I am just joining the UTF today?” asked Ven with raised eyebrows.

“Oh, you’re already officially in UTF, they don’t need you to physically come to their offices. Today the highlight of your day is that you’ll be meeting Knight Captain Rendall! He’s in charge of the Honor Guard, as I am sure you are already aware. But sir, I am sorry to say this, you just can’t meet him the way you are dressed. You need the uniform of your office, not just that, you will need clothes for formal occasions. I have spoken to one of my acquaintances, Angela, she is a very highly respected fashion designer cum stylist. At the peak of her career, it was impossible to get an appointment with her unless you knew His Majesty! Your wardrobe will be the talk of the town!”

“We also need to select a residence, you will need to host a welcoming dinner for the other Knights, it is tradition for the new Knight to introduce him or herself to the other Knights. I went ahead and short listed three Mansions around the city, hopefully one of them is to your liking. If not, I have some backups in mind we could try. Once you have selected a mansion, I will take care of hiring staff to tend to your premises, it is a mundane task you need not worry yourself with. And of course, we will need to find an interior decorator for your mansion, I must say I haven’t made any efforts to find one yet as I am hoping we can manage to secure Angela as both your stylist and interior decorator. We might need to pay her extra, but having the same interior decorator and stylist means that there will be a harmonious theme. You have no idea how many new Knights I’ve seen make the mistake of hiring two people with opposing styles,” said Frank with an eye roll.

“You’ve really thought this out,” said a surprised Ven, being a Knight clearly didn’t have the same definition now as it did back in the day.

“Oh yes sir, first impressions are everything, and I will make sure your first impression on the other Knights is spectacular!” said Frank.

“How exactly will I be paying for all this?” asked Ven.

“You’re not paying for anything, sir. For your service to our great nation, this is but some of the compensation you get from Nagiri,” said Frank.

“You’ve worked for a Knight before, haven’t you?” asked Ven.

“Yes, many years ago, but we don’t have time to talk about my past, we have a busy day ahead of us!” said Frank as he changed the subject.

Frank wasn’t exaggerating when he said they didn’t have time to talk about the past, the rest of the day seemed to fly by in a blur for Ven. Especially Angela, she had taken a lot of time and energy. After getting her assistants to take his measurements she had spent the rest of the day trying to find out which color suited him best and what brought out his best features. Ven had expected her to be appalled by the scar on his forehead, but quite the contrary she was elated by it. In her words, the Knights had started going soft and needed to see some sort of action. In the beginning Ven protested against some of the ideas she was suggesting, but in the end, he had to yield as Angela would only work for him as his interior decorator if Ven gave her artistic freedom.

Being drained of energy, Ven readily agreed for the first mansion they visited to be his new place of residence. Frank on the other hand was still full of energy, he chattered away with the lady showing off the mansion. Ven wished he would be as energetic when he reached Frank’s age.

“Are you absolutely certain, sir?” asked Frank.

“Yes yes, I mean what can be better than having a mansion with a lake in the gardens,” lied Ven.

“Very well, sir, if you are certain then that is that. You have an hour of rest before our appointment with Knight Captain Rendall. Your new uniform should be arriving any moment, so I suggest you change as soon as it is delivered,” said Frank.

“You just said we had a whole hour and how do they even know what size fits me?” asked Ven.

“I had Angela send your measurements to the main office and being early for your meeting with Knight Captain Rendall is a must! It shows that you’re eager, respectful of his time and a humble man,” said Frank.

“Do I have something to eat while we’re driving there?” asked a tired Ven.

“Oh yes sir, there is always time to eat something while we are driving. I’ll show you where I keep the snacks and beverages in the car,” said Frank.

Ven threw the eaten apple into the waste basket in the car, it had been something, but he was still hungry. Hopefully, the Knight Captain offered him something to eat or drink while he visited him. Looking down at his so-called Knight uniform, he couldn’t help but scoff a little, he had expected it to be something which provided him protection from an attack. But he had been wrong, they were just ordinary clothes. He had been delivered a black suit, with matching black shoes, a white shirt and an azure-colored tie.

“Where am I meeting the Knight Captain?” asked Ven.

“At the Palace, sir,” said Frank. “I was told that he would be awaiting your arrival at the main entrance.”

“How long till we get there?” asked Ven.

“We are almost there, if you look out the window you can see the fabulous mansions of the most powerful nobles in King Ravendra’s court,” said Frank

“I was wondering who lived here the last time we drove by. Maybe I’ll run into His Majesty at the Palace again,” joked Ven.

“I wouldn’t get my hopes high about that, sir,” said Frank seriously.

“I was joking, Frank,” said Ven.

“I am sorry I didn’t realize, sir,” said Frank. “Ah, it would seem that it was a good thing that we decided to be here early, you see that young man standing over there talking to the UTF Officer, he’s Knight Captain Rendall’s chauffeur, William.”

“Someone so young is the Knight Captain’s chauffeur, I can’t say I expected that” said Ven.

“He’s older than me. It’s just he has been gifted his youth again, which is why he looks the way he does. I am sure the Knight Captain had something to do with it, otherwise a normal man like him who has done nothing remarkable in his life would never have been selected,” said Frank.

“Well, it’s hardly fair if they break the rules to suit their needs,” said Ven.

“Sir, the world is never entirely fair, why else would some of us be born with gifts while the others are giftless. At the very least, this bending of the rules has no negative consequences on anyone,” said Frank.

“Which means sometimes the rules are bent in a way that have negative consequences on others,” said Ven.

“Sir, you twist my words. But we are here, I hope your meeting with the Knight Captain goes smoothly,” said Frank with a smile.

As Frank had said, Knight Captain Rendall was already waiting for him by the time Ven made it to the main entrance. Ven was surprised by his appearance, Rendall was a tall broad-shouldered man with short black hair, his skin was tanned for a Gaard, but nowhere close to how tanned Naari were. Most shockingly he was wearing armor and had a large two-handed sword sheathed on his back. The man looked like the personification of the word Knight, there was simply no other way to describe Knight Captain Rendall! But a man with a sword and armor in this age of guns, it made no sense. Not knowing how he should address the Knight Captain, Ven gave a deep bow and waited to be addressed.

“You’re taller than I expected,” said Rendall.

“Thank you?” said Ven.

“It wasn’t a compliment, merely an observation. Let us talk while we walk,” said Rendall, “You probably didn’t know this, but I have been asking Ravendra for years to let a giftless join our ranks.”

Upon noticing Ven’s shocked expression he laughed loudly.

“Yes, the King and I speak to each other without using honorifics. I always forget how unexpected that is for normal people. Anyway, it seems we both have gotten our wish, I just wish Ravendra would have consulted me first. We could have done things more methodically, chosen an ideal candidate, as truth be told, you’re not someone I would have chosen to join our ranks,” said Rendall.

“Why not?” asked Ven.

“You can’t fight, you don’t know how to use a gun and you don’t have the backing of a powerful noble. Those are just the first three things I can think of. Furthermore, I have no idea if you can work with the other Knights in our ranks and most importantly, when things get messy, I don’t know if I can trust you to have my back. That kind of trust is earned over time,” said Rendall, “With the rank you’ve been given, you get security clearance to a lot of sensitive information, with all the disadvantages you have, if someone from Shor, just an example, were to try and capture you. You wouldn’t be able to fight back and through you they would have access to a lot of our secrets. You are currently the weakest link in our ranks!”

“I don’t know how to use a gun but give me a sword and I’ll show you what I can do,” said Ven through gritted teeth, his pride getting the better of him. He had gotten sick of people looking down on him ever since he had been pulled out of the simulation, he might not have a gift, but when it came to swords, there were few who could match his skill.

“Don’t let pride blind your judgement, don’t make childish claims you can’t back up,” said Rendall dismissively.

“What’s the matter, afraid to lose?” said Ven provokingly.

“If you are someone who loses his temper so easily, it is just one more reason why you are unsuitable to join our ranks,” said Rendall as he turned around to walk away.

Getting dismissed as if he was nothing was the last straw for Ven, he looked around for anything he could use as a weapon. Upon find nothing he could use; he did the one thing he knew would get any real Knights attention.

“Knight Captain Rendall! You have done me a great injustice today, you have insulted and challenged my pride not only as a man, but also as a Knight! I therefore challenge you to a one-on-one duel!” shouted Ven.

“I’ll give you one chance to take that back. If you don’t, I can promise you I will not go easy on you. You clearly need a lesson in humility!” said Rendall firmly.

“Bring it on, old man,” spat Ven.

Sorry for the delay everyone, been really busy at work and then I took a much needed break to get some r&r.

So, what do you think? Can Ven back up his words or is it going to come back to bite him?

As always take care and stay safe.

Anderoth