Nicolas was sleeping on a haystack when two French invaders entered the barn.
"Hey there! Get down, The King wants to see you!"
Nicolas shook his head, after yesterday's party it was working poorly. He couldn't answer, what king? There is no king in Brittany!
Under French escort, Nicolas was brought to the house of the village elder. At the table sat a rather affable fellow of about 20 years old. There was an older guy (about 30 old) standing nearby, dressed in a general's uniform.
"The headman said that you are the master of this village, are you?" asked the general.
"This is my stepfather's village, and where is the king? I was told that the king wants to see me."
The general flared up at such impudence and put his hand on his sword.
The affable fellow raised his hand in a sign of appeasement. "I am the king, I am the king of France," he said.
"As you understand, my troops are laying siege to your capital," said the king. "All the villages in the area are devastated, but à la guerre comme à la guerre," The king's face was distorted with regret at the suffering of the common people.
Nicolas listened without understanding what he had to do with it.
"Do you understand me?" the King asked Nicolas.
"Of course, sir," carefully answered Nicolas, "there is a war going on, the peasants are suffering, but no one has cancelled the sowing season, Duchess Anne is defending the capital, Your Majesty is besieging her."
"Absolutely right! Are you nobleman?" asked general.
"My stepfather is baron Malestroit!" Nicolas answered proudly. "He promised to arrange for me to be the Duchess's page-boy next year."
"You are, you are exactly what we need," The General took a letter from the table, "The King wants you to deliver this letter personally into the hands of the Duchess."
"But with all due respect, I am not a vassal of the King of France, my lord is the Duchess of Brittany, and I don't know how she will take it that I serve as a messenger for her enemy."
The king stood up and walked towards Nicolas. "Listen, young nobleman. You are right, but this mad war will end soon. Negotiations are underway, but I do not trust these Breton scoundrels. They will intrigue, because the Duchess and I love each other and not everyone likes that. I hope for you to deliver my letter personally to the Duchess."