Chapter 11: The Feast of Heroes

The archer brothers pressed Ryota's navy work jacket with a hot iron borrowed from the laundry next door, and only scorched one sleeve.

"You should wear a proper coat," Gautier said. "Silver goes to the castle in velvet."

"This is my proper coat." Ryota pointed at the stitching on the chest. "It's got the shop's name on it."

"Nobody up there can read it."

"I can read it."

Gautier looked at him for a moment and then straightened his collar with his one hand, roughly.

"Eat before you go," he said. "Nobles never feed you properly."

The castle's great hall was hung with red and gold banners.

Three long tables ran the length of it under a thousand candles.

The nobles sat in their furs and jewels.

Every one of them turned to look at the man in the scorched work jacket with a Silver card around his neck.

A steward led Ryota to the very end of the lowest table, next to a wine merchant who moved his chair away.

At the high table sat the king, with his circlet and his rings.

On his left sat Lord Morvaine, in gray silk, eating nothing.

On his right sat the four heroes in white and silver.

Tsubasa had lost weight since the Lowmarket street.

He saw Ryota and lifted his cup an inch off the table, and put it down again.

The student from Sendai was pushing food around her plate, and the salaryman was drinking steadily, one cup after another.

Asako sat at the end with her strawberry hair tie on her wrist above the silver cuff of her sleeve.

She caught Ryota's eye down the length of the hall and smiled, small and tired.