“Sir Gilbert, what a pleasure to see you.” I look up at John, who is giving me a big smile. 

“It is good to see you as well.” I say as he sits down at my table.  “How have you been?” 

“Fine” He answers. He then gives me an inquisitive look. “Though, I'm wondering what brought you all the way here. Weren’t you living the good life in the Duchy of Widewich?” 

“Yes, this is only a small trip, I’ll probably only be here for a couple months.” I respond. “My uncle wanted me to send a message, I asked for some time to see the capitol.” 

“So, can I ask what plans you have? If you want you can spend some time with me and my friends.” He offers. 

“I shall take you up on that offer. However, I was wondering if you knew how I could get a look at the treaty of  Merey.” I ask. He just shakes his head. 

“You were always obsessed with paperwork, why did you ever become a knight. You would have made an amazing diplomat.” He jokes. I give a small smile. Perhaps it is because my interest lay in being a protector and not a diplomat. I also noticed how he deflected my question. Not surprising. 

“The reason is because I respected the previous emperor a great deal. 

“You and me both, the knights and military haven’t gotten the respect they deserve ever since he died.” John complains. That is true. We could not win against the Arrians. To the public they don’t care, but for the nobility it was considered a complete loss. Many people wonder if our emperor is strong enough the keep our empire safe. 

“Yes, if only we had an emperor like William.” I sigh. John just nods in silence. 

“Ah, if you’re interested, I know of an up and coming new knight. Perhaps you could offer him a couple pointers.” John says. So that’s why he came here. 

“Instead of a private lesson, why don’t I join one of your training sessions. I need a good warm up.”  

“Perhaps someone might finally beat you.” He says with a grin on his face. 

“I don’t think so, I've only met a handful of people on my level, even less that are superior.” I respond to his goading; he already knows that I'm caught. Anything else is just a waste of effort on his part. 

“Arrogant as ever. Then again, I think that’s why I like you so much.” 

“And here I thought it was my honesty.” I respond calmly.  

“That as well.” He gives a small chuckle. 

“I see...” With that I get up from the chair. He continues to sit down. “I’ll be taking my leave; will you be fallowing me?” 

“Of course, I haven’t seen you in ages. I’d like to spend this fine evening with you.” He says, finally getting up. We begin walking down the avenue. There are few people walking, fitting since it’s getting dark. “So, what was the message you had to deliver.” 

“Ah, it was a message for sir Baldwin. As for the contents, I do not know. It is not my place to look into what their correspondences are.” He does seem highly interested in the message.  

“Do you not want to know what’s going on between the two of them.” He asks with a questioning look. He has always been to inquisitive for his own good. 

As we are walking down the street, I see a group of thugs accosting a lone woman. I really hate these kinds of things. Is it too hard to ask for some basic human decency? Well, it is the duty of a knight to protect the citizens. 

“Don’t tell me you’re going to get involved. There are five of them and one of you.” John says. 

“Now, now there are five drunk thugs who can barely stand and two well trained knights with swords. I don’t think this is a fair fight in anyway.” I respond with a cherry tone, changing my course to get closer to them. John just sighs and fallows along. As we close in the drunk thugs notice us. I quickly slash at one then stab another. John meanwhile kills another. One of the thugs takes a hint and starts running away. Unfortunately for him, he is a stumbling mess. The other one, not quit so smart tries to attack us with his knife. I dodge to the left, then slash at his back. I look back to see John has already killed the one running away.  “See, I told you they stood no chance.” 

With that I look at the poor lady who is getting up. Her light brown dress is old and truly unbecoming. She has yellow hair and emerald eyes. Truly a beauty. Probably also poor. Especially if she is out at this time of night. 

“Thank you.” She says. She has a lovely voice. Quite entrancing. 

“It was my pleasure, my lady.” I say giving a small bow. I’m a cultured man, I won’t stand around gawking at a lady. “If you wouldn’t mind, I can escort you back to your house. That way, you won’t be accosted by anymore ruffians.” 

“I would be very grateful for your assistance. However, I don’t have any money to repay you.” She responds. 

“Do not worry about that, it is my pleasure to help a damsel in distress. Just think of it as me doing my duty. 

… 

“You could have spent a good night with her. I don’t think she would have turned you down.” John says after we drop her off. 

“It wouldn’t have been right. I cannot take the purity of a woman and ruin her life.” I seriously don’t know what he is thinking. 

“She’s a singer, I don’t think you have to worry about that.” He says casually. Just because of her profession he thinks that she is a loose woman. I can’t say I approve of this attitude even if it might be true. 

A/N: This is an introduction to Sir Gilbert. He won't be appearing in my book for a while but I wanted to establish his existence right now. This also brings up the fact that many view James as inferior to William who they see as a great ruler and is well respected. As for some more world building I think I am going to need to talk a bit about the House of Nobles. While the emperor is indeed head of the state it is the House of Nobles that makes the major law changes. Often if someone wants a law to pass they need to use bribes. Something James has stated he despises multiple times.