As the young master donned the proper attire, he walked through the halls of his father’s manor. The servants and maids he met along the way bowed their heads in a polite and quick, but graceful, way as they met the young master on his way.
Not usually patrolling the manor in this way, the young master inadvertently heard the servants discussing what today’s lunch would be, and the young master decided to visit the kitchen as the first place to learn more about his father’s servants.
A bit out of the way, but connected to the main dining hall, the kitchen was abuzz with activity. The young master managed to peek his head through a doorway leading to the kitchen, without causing a commotion or drawing the attention of anyone other than the people going in and out of the doorway he occupied.
In the kitchen the older servants barked orders at the younger, and a system was maintained so that each step of the process of cooking was as fast and efficient as possible. Though the young master had originally thought to himself that the older servants must be who he should observe to understand what it means to be the master, he found himself mesmerized by a much younger servant.
The young master did not have to stare long, nor did he mean to, to view the splendid performance before his eyes. The servant moved with such graceful and light steps that it almost seemed as if she danced. Whenever an order was barked, she responded immediately and move in and out of the chaos while dodging collisions elegantly going to and fro. It seemed to the young master, that hers was the job of moving the items prepared by the other servants to the places they needed to be, and no matter how many plates she had to carry, she never lost her balance or dropped anything.
It was a beautiful unintended performance for anyone with the time to witness it. Working for so long in the kitchen seemed to have impacted great agility on this servant, and as the young master retreated into the main dining hall of the manor, he thought for a moment about what he could learn from seeing such a sight.
His thoughts were disturbed almost as soon as they started, by the shouts and yelling of the drill sergeant a couple of stone throws from the manor. His voice had a particular strength to it, and when drills were ongoing, his voice was easily heard throughout the estate.
The young master decided that the barracks should be the next place he visited, after all, this was where the soldiers trained to defend his father’s estate. Surely, he would be able to learn something about being the master from them.
As the young master was preparing to depart for the barracks, the young maid, who had previously been worried about him, saw that he was preparing to leave, and insisted that she joined him, thinking she might be able to ease his worries.
Though a bit annoyed he were being babysat, he allowed the maid to accompany him, because he did appreciate her concern for him.
The two made their way to the barracks, and all the while the loud voice of the sergeant grew ever more in strength. And soon you could also hear the grunts of the soldiers exercising amidst the loud, commanding voice of the sergeant.
Standing near the gate to the barracks, the young master peeked into the courtyard, just as he had peeked into the kitchen while trying to avoid attention.
While the sergeant was moving around, the young master could see how proudly he displayed the medals he had won in wars. The young master did not know all the medals but knew enough to recognize some, and while he knew the sergeant used to be a dignified soldier, it was not very often the young master would see him doing drills.
As the sergeant was instructing the soldiers, he shouted words of loyalty. He reminded the soldiers why they were training, to protect the young master, his father, and the entire estate from those who would wish them harm. He bellowed out the creed of the dynasty, went to lengths to explain why the young master’s family had to be protected and why each of the soldiers should be proud to serve such a noble house.
To the young master, the sergeant seemed like a great pillar of strength that the other soldiers looked up to. His words carried a certain weight to them, and there was no doubt that this man was the reason for his family’s loyal soldiers. He did not preach either, but instead embodied the very same values that he was trying to instill in the other soldiers. He had already done his part, and for some reason, out of a love for the young master’s father, were also trying to prepare future soldiers to do the same.
The young maid that accompanied the young master got curious after seeing the young master peek at the gate to the barracks. She asked him, if he was perhaps trying to learn more about what it means to be a master, and to that the young master nodded.
“Then, I have a suggestion. Why not go into the fields and see the men and women working? Surely watching the slaves do their labor will give you some idea how to govern?”
Before the young master could reply, the sharp voice of the sergeant could be heard right next to them.
“What’s this? The young master wants to inspect the slaves at work?” Said the sergeant.
The young master, quite startled, had not heard the sergeant approach. For such a big man, he was deceptively silent when he wanted to be. He must have spotted the young master peeking and overheard the conversation between him and his maid.
“If so, then take one of my recruits with you, young master. It will do him good to learn how to protect, and who knows what might happen if you visit the slaves” Continued the sergeant.
And with that, the conversation was over. The young master had hardly gotten a word in and already was a younger recruit standing tall right in front of him. He saluted and awaited the masters next choice of destination.
The young master, feeling even more crowded than before, let out a sigh and accepted his fate. Now walking towards the vast fields of his father’s estate, along with his maid and soldier, he realized how much time had passed.