Banished Prince Charming

Chapter 100 - Sweet Talk

Jack understood what I was trying to imply by mentioning that 'we nomads' before. He knew I was trying to pull in these nomads to give up roaming around the country and to stay here, contribute to the village one way or another and increase its population.

"Alright, Sir. I would be glad to show them around in where our little village here had hidden their real gems to the outside world. We may be small and insignificant but if you were to stay here for some time, you would understand how great this potential this village would be."

"As an elder of Gracehaven, I implore you to stay for a few days before we both decide what would be best for both our people to co-exist, would that be alright?"

"Hahaha. If you insist, elder of Gracehaven, we would stay for 3 days and 2 nights in this village to learn more of your potentials." replied the elder earnestly as I pointed out that I will arrange for another row of houses to be erected within a day and they could accommodate the houses instead.

Now we have 36 houses and soon there would be 48 soon.

"W-H-A-T? You could build 12 houses in a day?" queried the wide-eyed leader of the Irish Travellers.

"Hahaha. Welcome to Gracehaven where anything is possible." Jack clasped the shoulders of the leader of the Irish Travellers just like buddies that had not seen each other for a very long time as they went to visit all the shops and stores in the courtyard before heading down to where the engineers were working.

=*=

"Husband, what do you think of this village? These people claimed they were nomads before and now they finally settled down and made a living in their own." a young wife nudged her husband aside as they walked, falling the elder from the village as he showed the production areas.

These nomads realised that the work areas were actually made up some of their current handicraftsmen that made these weaven wares to sell for a few coins or exchange for some grains. It was exactly what they were doing but Gracehaven was doing it on a bigger scale.

"Wife, look at what these women are doing... Their method is much faster than we think it is. See this? They have some people to make a certain job, then they passed it to another group and on to the next. In just a single foot of shadow's length, they could easily complete a basket here, a cot here and some other wares too."

"Yes, husband, I can see how systematic they work in such order and their looks, they seemed so happy and with a hue of rosiness. It is as if they are happy to put to work." the young wife replied to her husband as she finds that the villagers shared their joys and fruits of their labour after each and every sale the young Lord had gotten.

"Excuse me, could I ask a few questions to clarify somethings?" asked the leader of the Irish Travellers to a group of ladies that were doing a bit of looming inside a store. Jennings and Innes looked up from what they were doing and pleasantly replied to their queries.

"Wife, did you hear that? They worked without getting paid. Every output they made was put on sales to a certain merchant. The profit from the sales was then turned to buy grains, flour, seeds and other products. The balance of the coins is kept by the Lord."

"Yes, husband. I heard that too and I still can't believe that they were happy even though they never get to hold the coins. It is as if their Lord is the one that controls the welfare of the villagers here. They even claimed that they could take anything they wished from the shed to prepare food for breakfast and lunch. Then dinner would be separate altogether along with supper. There is no restriction at all...!"

"Yes... I can understand it. Well, let's hurry along and see what else we can discover about the secrets of Gracehaven. The way of governance is totally unexpected and unorthodox. The villagers seemed to enjoy their carefree time too lunch could be taken at any time. They could take breaks at anytime soon. It's the freedom that has been bestowed to these fortune villagers by their Lords."

So many of the families were discussing in hushed tones and even confided with some of Gracehaven's citizens. Every question they asked had been given similar answers. Among some of the citizens there, the Irish Travellers found that the majority of them came from nearby towns and had no signs of improvements to their lives.

Only when they made their way here and build the economy of the village, would then the citizens were able to reap what they had sown. There's future in Gracehaven and they would continually work ahead to forge a better future for everyone.

=*=

"Come, my friend. Let's take a visit to meet our young Lord's parents." the Irish Travellers were then ushered to the grounds of the residential lots and found that every lot had been clearly marked and all the houses were built on stilts and skids.

They knew about the stilts which meant the house floor is being elevated to prevent flooding and from bringing dirt into the house. They peered into the house and found that it was big enough for a family of 5. Of course, it can't be compared to a cruck house before where the occupants would cook, done and sleep in the same space as their livestock too...!

They noticed the houses were very quaint and very bright despite not having any windows except for a raised thatched roof and a large doorway. The interior was very fresh as it was made from woven walls and its uniform yellowish colour seem to accentuate its size and spaciness.

"Very cosy indeed, these houses. The designs are simple and it's very cosy too. They walked past the latrine pit and Jack explained that this was a waste management system where the citizens were ordered to empty the contents of their potties over it. Then dry kindling and wood would be thrown inside and set ablaze.

"We won't have to worry on steeping on faeces when we walk about in the dark anymore. This village is clean, fresh air all around and also very environmentally-friendly." Jack announced proudly because compared to cruck houses and other serf's accommodation in other towns, people visiting here would be astounded by its cleanliness.

Everyone plays their part and the Public Works Minister makes his rounds to ensure that everything is in place and in an orderly fashion. They soon were led to an empty ground next to a large 2x2 plots of farmland, each square lot equally measured 30' by 30' for plantations of other grains.

"We have arrived, my friend. The parents of our young Lord, King Richard, Queen Silvia and Princess Tanya." Jack knelt on one knee before the foot of the 3 graves and clasped a hand to his c.h.e.s.t and bowed his head low.

Seeing Jack doing so, everyone does the same and observed a moment of silence. Little did they expect that the parents of the village's young Lord had passed but most importantly the was of Royal descendant.

Only one thing separates a man among the rest and that was the Lord of the village was actually a Prince and also the future King of Gracehaven...!

The Irish Travellers were thinking that the elder of Gracehaven was pulling a joke in them but the sight of the royal crown, coronet and tiara that were placed on red coloured pillows clearly showed that the occupants before were really the King, Queen and Princess.

Little did they realise that a Prince walks among the commoners...!

"It's quite a surprise, isn't it? Our Lord himself doesn't want to be called His Lordship or His Majesty but most of us did among ourselves. He would like to be referred to as Young Master or Sir only. He explains that titles and honorific would make one confuse and it is just an addition to the name that we had."

"Our Lord is a very humble and down to earth person that we had encountered and worked with for so long. Do you see that clearing of trees when we walked through earlier? That place is going to be a domain and he intends to house all the Ministers and Secretary within."

"He's a very simple ruler, but with a very wide horizon and far-sighted too. He is able to forecast for what he believes in the future and steer us towards our goal. He is a justified person, never disrespect anyone and also is very well-liked by the children too. Where could you find a royal who would mingle with the commoners like a big family?"

'No doubt our ruler is young and may even look a bit childish as he is only 18 years old, but his upbringing from his parents had brought him where he is right now. I can tell you this, in 6 months or so down the road after winter ends, this village would grow in both population as well as in military and economic."

"Besides, he openly informed us that our sales turnover for a fortnight is equal to 12 gold coins and if we divide by the number of citizens, that amount alone is worth more than 11 silvers and 32 coppers per head, including children."

"Would you think other rulers would inform the citizens how much the treasury earns after each sale? I don't think so, am I right?"

"I am here to ask you, as the elder of Gracehaven to the leader of the Irish Travellers group, to consider my proposal for each one of you. After the 3 days stay, for those who would like to carve their future with us, are greatly welcome to stay here as citizens of Gracehaven."

"The option is free to choose. There's no forcing you, or to pacify you with false hopes and dreams of a better future, these 3 days, feel free to ask every single men, women and child how they find their situation here in GraceHaven."

Jack clasped Macintosh's shoulders tightly as everyone watched on and can't help to wonder what their leader would say next.

Would they suddenly give up their ways of a nomad and lead a life of a settler instead?

Would there be a future for the new residents that would be introduced into GraceHaven?

Would they further be ostracized even after being induced into GraceHaven?

There were a lot of questions left to be answered but who would they ask for these questions that continually gnawed at their hearts? The Irish Travellers knew that their future was uncertain as they moved from one place with no permanent fixture at all.

While their livestock was able to sustain by grazing, the men, women and children were depending on other forms of food as well. If they end up in an arid place, only impending doom awaits them.

No food means no survival, no survival means their extinction as well.

Jack led the Irish Travellers to the courtyard where they were allowed to roam around on their own and were assigned temporary accommodations to the new houses that were erected a day before.

They watched the men putting up the houses part by part, were joyful, laughter was always at their sides and a sense of bliss was in their faces.

"As elders, we sincerely hope you do give some considerations to both parties, both yours and mine. It is a win-win situation and everyone benefits from it. I sincerely hope you would be able to give me an ultimatum soon, yeah my old friend?" Jack smiled and tapped the shoulders of the leader of the Irish Travellers and told them that he can be approached at the blacksmith and his wife would take over for any queries that they might have.

And so, Jack returned to the blacksmith store and was meddling with his tools and such while he signalled to Kayla to take over his role to persuade and try to persuade or entice some of the families to be induced into Gracehaven's population.