Wings of Grace

Chapter 5

Enter Antoine Conner, handsome young red fox from france, of royal blood inherited through his mother. As a youth, he had been very agile and a swift runner. However his athleticism was observed by the wrong people, human aristocrats who were then vacationing in the area where the Conner family resided.

Seeing a golden opportunity here, they captured Antoine and transported him to england to become the prey in their prestigious fox hunt, this move, they figured, would make the sport more challenging then they had ever known.

The young fox was much more fleet of foot then they anticipated, and he was always able to elude both the hounds and the hunters. If he hadn't realized it was his life they were attempting to take at each hunt, he may have found this all so very amusing. Perhaps he would have delighted in his cunning avoidance of them time after time. When the lords saw that it was futile to continue their hapless venture, they elected to reward him his freedom, at least for now.

Rumors began to emerge about Antoine's true royal ancestry and the lords consequently decided upon a more appropriate gift; they presented him with the keys to an abandoned castle in the vicinity. Apparently the were of the opinion that this new information of indeed true, warranted more than just a pardon for one who had been such a worth opponent.

It had crossed his mind to question them about this sudden generosity, but he chose to keep silent for now. Was there a method to their madness, so to speak? Why were they eager and agreeable to unload this fortress and so much surrounding property? Well. he'd ponder this later when he had settled in and his mind was not so overloaded. But first it was time to briefly inspect his "gift".

On his initial glance, Antoine's opinion was that the entire structural arrangement fit more into the category of a tower-house gone wild! He deduced that the original construction would have been done around the 1600's; the additional features of an earlier style castle were incorporated. What the owner had built for him would have depended upon his financial status. The lesser affluent would have erected a simple four-story tower, needing only living quarters for their families and a scant domestic staff. Whoever was responsible for this particular property must have been in the upper scale of landed gentry, enabling him to afford adding to extra buildings to the basic house plan, perhaps out of necessity or perhaps to impress neighbors.

this castle with its surrounding wall was old, that much Antoine could determine immediately yet nothing appeared to be crumbling, or for that matter uninhabitable. "If these stones could talk." he wondered to himself, "What tales would they tell?" Why he felt the sense of mystery, yet an unexpected familiarity he didn't know. Perhaps someone he had known, or maybe even he himself, had been here once upon a time.

Despite its obvious age, the buildings and walls still maintained an appearance of strength. He turned the key in the heavily fortified wood and iron door and slowly entered.

Beyond the opening lay an open courtyard, reasonably well maintained, and he wondered who would possibly be tending this abandoned property. He was greeted by several stone benches, a bit of statuary, and even a working fountain.

General living quarters were located on either side of this courtyard, with servants areas along the back wall. He guessed there would have been rooms for cooks, blacksmiths, stable boys, and other general staff and their families. He also observed what must have stables and animal stalls away from the human habitation areas.

To the left and right just inside the front door were pairs of stone stairs whereby one could reach the ramparts and upper walkways safely from the inside. These presented a roundabout vantage of lands below, should defense tactics become necessary. This he would check out more fully tomorrow after he had a good night's rest. He decided upon a general area where he would locate himself for now. He expected his chosen room to be quite Spartan, even dank or musty. To his amazement it was clean, almost cheery with fresh bedding and other household amenities, even foodstuffs having been provided. It would not have surprised him in the least to have discovered a blaze in the fireplace, but that was unecessary at this time of year. He had no idea from where all these provisions came, but exhaustion bgan to set in and, without further argument he allowed sleep to quikly follow. In the morning he would set out to more thoroughly inspect his ownings, but for now...

After a hearty breeakfast left by the mysterious benefactor he ascended the stairs. A tall square adefice on one corner contained projecting parapets ( known as machicolations) near the top. In times of battles, fiery objects, boiling water or pitch, whatever was readily available, could be dropped onto the enemy below. Conveniently and safely, one could reach this tower by means of an enclosd circular staircase.

As antione took a lingering look from all the sections of the tower's walkway, he appreciated how it cartainly did afford a more accurate overview of only his newly acquired holdings, but of the surrounding landscape. He hoped he would not have use these arrangments to defend his property, especially sense he was the lone inhabitant, as far as he knew. Then, who had been tending the courtyard and moveover, who had furnished his room and left food there? Was he alone, he wondered. He now descended the tower's stairs and decided that this would be a good time to examine the ground floor.

The side room held the main guard where the soldiers would have lived, ready and on call when needed. There was a minstrels gallery here onw would have been serenaded by the finest poets and musicians.

It had crossed his mind to locate the dungeon... he assumed there was one, but wasn't about to investigate that area just yet, niceties was his first plan. Perhaps that strange mysterious feeling he had experianced when first seeing the property influenced his decision not to search for such an evil area. Maybe he really didn't want to know what was there, or who!

Antoine spied a pair of large gilded doors. Since they were unlocked, he availed himself of the oppertunity and pushed them open. The splendor of what was behind them nearly overwhelmed him.

This was the castle's great room, of often referred to as the Great Hall. In more glorious times baquets were held here for lords and ladies from near and far, some of whose family crests adorned the walls, along with flags, shields, antlers, hunting trophies, and various forms of weaponry.

The magnificent richly carved tables would have been laden with all manner of foods, from local game and wild birds to exotic tastey treats; no one dared to ask what drastic measures were used to obtain such delicacies, "Don't question just delight in the repast presented before you" was the unspoken rule.

Antoine even imagined hearing music from harps and lutes echoing through the hall. Then he shook his head and allowed reality to reenter his being. Maybe some day he could host such festivities... maybe...