Courage of a Knight: Sir Erric's Rebellion

The bells rang, sharp and clear. Erric had spent the last few weeks studying with their chimes, rising at dawn and falling asleep to their quiet hum in the late hours of the night. He knew every note, every nuance. He knew them by heart.

But today was different. Today was the day he would receive his promotion. Today was the day he would finally be knighted.

Erric stood up from his bed and grabbed his pants from a nearby chair. As he dressed, he heard his mother stirring in the kitchen. She was preparing breakfast for him and his father, something she hadn't done in years. Her health had been on a steady decline since her husband's passing; a broken hip coupled with an infection had nearly claimed her life a few years back. But now it seemed as if she had regained some of her strength; she even took on a helper who helped her around the house once a week. Erric didn't want to think about how much all this must have cost them, but he knew they could afford it now that he had passed his trial by arms set by Lord Berenzeiros three days ago.

"Did you sleep well?" His mother asked as he entered the kitchen.

"Yes."

He kissed her on the cheek and took one of the freshly baked rolls she handed him. It smelled divine - his favorite: cinnamon and sugar - and just looking at it made him smile. His mother noticed this immediately, returning his grin with one of her own before handing Erric's father another roll and kissing him on the forehead as well.

"I hear you'll be knighted today." His father said between bites of food "I never thought I'd live to see this day."

Erric shook his head in disbelief himself; it still felt like a dream to him too "I can't believe I actually did it!" He replied after swallowing down a mouthful of bread "I mean... I don't know what I expected really..."

"And what do you think will happen next?" His mother asked with sparkling eyes while piling eggs onto her husband's plate "You'll be given your own land? You'll become lord Berenzeiros' right hand man?"

His father chuckled at these questions "No chance in that first one," He said between bites "We're not noblemen anymore; our family's fallen twice from grace over the last hundred years or so."

"So what then? Are we going to move away? What happened to our house?"

"Don't worry about that; there are many people who would love to take your place here." His mother assured him while placing another slice of toast on Errics plate "In fact, I've already received an offer from my sister-in-law."

Erric sighed and nodded, picking up another piece of roll after finishing off his portion of eggs "It's still hard to believe we used to own all this land..."

""Well you don't anymore."" His father replied bluntly "Lord Berenzeiros is buying out everyone who doesn't want to be part of his new realm."

Erric nodded again, silently chewing on another piece of roll while thinking about how much things had changed over the last few months - especially for someone like him who'd lived most of their life within these walls without ever leaving them aside from occasional trips into town for supplies or entertainment purposes. And now here he was - about to leave everything behind for good - all thanks to that old bastard who'd decided to return home after decades abroad without saying anything beforehand...