Hal never had much use for nobility. They were simply the men who ultimately paid for his services. He deferred to their rank but rarely respected the man, hardly giving them a second thought. The men he respected had proven themselves in battle, had lived in hardship in the mud and cold while the noblemen hid away in their tents — if they even attended the battle at all. And as a mercenary he was thankfully free of declaring loyalty to the lords in their castles. He only had to be loyal to the man who had hired him. And under Carolus Ferrum — a man who had worked his way up through the ranks of soldiers — he had become a trusted man, one of Ferrum’s werod to put it in the terms of his own people. A high honor for a mercenary.
So when the young prince had taken an interest in him, it was the first time Hal had to deal directly with nobility. At first he had gritted his teeth and indulged Kyle O’Riordan in his demands for sword lessons, hoping that the king would put a stop to it or the boy would tire of the game and go back to his studies with the priest. But Tiarnach approved of his nephew taking an interest in the more ‘manly’ arts and considered Hal a good influence on the boy. He had essentially ordered Hal to become the boy’s tutor, to “make a man of him”. And the youth himself …
Hal had labeled the boy weak at the start. What else could Kyle be with his gentle demeanor and pale skin and pretty words constantly tumbling from his mouth? But underneath the appearance of a spoiled prince, Hal found a young man who was determined and tough, pushing his way through the lessons when he was obviously exhausted or in pain. He was clever, too, and quickly picked up feinting and tricking his opponent into making mistakes — Hal had the bruises to prove that. And in Hal’s eyes, Kyle quickly earned his respect and his status as a man Hal could follow.