Oxford
Legacy Name: Oxford

Mouth agape, I stared as an old man bustled around the study, stuffing pens and papers into packs, shouting instructions to servants while pointing this way and that. 'HEY! You over there. BE CAREFUL!' he roared. 'That's a thousand year old text you're manhandling! These are precious books! I'm not so old that I can't give you a good beating!' The servant quailed under his scruitny, and lay the book down as gently as possible.

I decided to take this moment to alert him of my presence, even as part of me was considering retreating through the safety of the doorway. 'Ahem. Master Oxford?' I coughed loudly to get through the noise of the bustle. He turned around swiftly and glared me down. 'What do you want boy? I have no time for nonsense, hurry up, spit it out!' I swallowed. He did have a reputation after all. 'Sir, may I ask what you're doing here? The King.. He requests your presence in the council room at once.'

'BOLLOCKS TO THE KING!' He raged. 'I am doing something I should have done twenty years ago.' Swallowing again, and regretting the fact I had drawn the short straw for this duty, I winced and prepared to ask another question. 'And.. what exactly is that Sir?' His anger abruptly died. I was nervous. His mercurial changes in mood were well known to all the castle staff. Was he just lulling me off guard? I braced for a rap of his cane.

'I may have waited too long' he whispered. 'But I have to do this, I must. I can't die without trying! I can't, do you hear?' He glared this last bit at me. I did what any sane servant would do. I nodded. 'Yes Sir!'. 'Bah, what do you know.' He turned away from me. 'Tell the King I will not be present at council tonight. He will ask why. Tell him..' He turned back to me, with a wistful gleam in his eye that I had never seen before.

'Tell him I am going to travel the world. It is time for me to write my own history. I'm sick of reading of other men's deeds. The time has come.'

He turned back to his packs, completely forgetting me. 'Come Bede' he called to his assistant, 'help the servants finish the packing, then saddle my horse. We must leave immediately. I won't let anyone get in the way of this journey.' I took this as a dismissal. Shaking, I bowed and backed out into the hallway. The king was going to be most upset with this development. I just hope he remembers that I'm only the messenger.