Lady Stoneheart was a fine little girl. At the age of two, she had lost not only her dear Lord Father but soon thereafter was also made bereft of a mother. Her older brother Stephen, himself a child, raised her until she was 9 and then he two passed away, leaving her the sole heir to their 2000-year-old family legacy.
She, the nine-year-old was left to govern their vast lands by herself and make sure that her people received all that they needed. She took her charge very seriously and never left anything up to chance. The little lady usually got up at the crack of dawn and started by attending to the complaints and queries of the household servants, then taking her morning lessons with the tutor, afternoon court with the peasantry and minor nobility and then finally ending the day with the etiquette class with her governess.
She was assisted in performing her duties by her vassal Lord Edgar Frond. Lord Edgar was a short, rotund fellow, with a feathery beard and a liking for parrot-bright and flamboyant clothes. He always spoke at a whispery low volume, contrary to his appearance, and tended to be nervous, and was always waffling around while making decisions. This forced Lady Stoneheart to decide most of the important stuff herself. She was therefore very anxious and always worried that something would go wrong. Once, she had to resolve a dispute between a goatherd and his neighbouring farmer. The goatherd’s flock had eaten through half a field of carrots and caused a loss to the farmer yesterday. The farmer was demanding that the entire flock be handed over as a penalty. They petitioned Lady Stoneheart to resolve the dispute.
A Short Story – To be continued…
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