1456 A.D, The Kingdom of France is ruled by Henry VII (the seventh).
It was the thirteenth night of the fourth month. I had been sent to serve in the house de la Auxerre as part of my disciplinary action from the Vatican.
For some reason unknown to me at the time, it was insisted upon by the owner of the estate that I arrive under the cover of the moon. It seemed he spent full days in his study and entertained in the evenings.
The count de la Auxerre, had been known or rather was infamous for throwing the most outrageous soirées. These parties often included some sort of mishap or dramatic event. Events which became the hottest gossip among the lower crumbs of the noblesse in attendance.
The parties were the lifeblood of Burgundy at the time, which was in a near catatonic state of social boredom after the end of the Hundred Years' War.
I was led into the sitting room by members of my new patron's staff. My belongings were quickly taken and brought to another room where I assumed I would be sleeping. Not long after that, I was greeted by the master of the manor, or the Maître du manoir as he was called by members of the staff.
He introduced himself as Alain de Morte, a statesman from the north who handled the matters of the estate on behalf of the Count of Auxerre. He wore a deep blue jacket in the style of the French royal court and had curling blond hair and piercing green eyes that looked as if they were scanning every corner of the room tirelessly.
"And you must be Carlo! Eveque Bernardo has spoken of you fondly and often in his letters. It is a pleasure to have you under this roof despite recent unpleasantness…" the statesman cleared his throat with a dry cough as he pulled a small gold key from his jacket pocket.
"The key to your room, Lucien will show you the way. Now if you'll excuse me I have a small matter to attend to." Alain said, covering his mouth with a white handkerchief as he let out another cough and he gestured to youthful servant in white and black garb.
"Ah but before I forget, rules of the manor dictate you are not to leave the grounds unless under specific instructions from myself or the Father." He explained. It was unsurprising given the events that lead to my 'exile' in the first place.
"The Father?" I asked, there weren't any children on the estate as far as I knew, but there was a small church open to the staff and members of the household, could there be a priest on the grounds. Perhaps one, who'd suffered a fate similar to my own?
"Yes, the lord Amadeus. He arrived some years ago at the personal invitation of our Count de la Auxerre. A private man, I'm sure he'd spare a minute or two for a scribe such as yourself though." Alain responded, the tone of his voice left much to the imagination.
"But really, I must be off. We must speak again over breakfast sometime, goodnight." Alain gestured again to the servant Lucien as he took his leave.
Soon after, Lucien led me to my room on the second floor of the estate. It was unimpressive for such a luxurious manor, but still much finer than anything I'd slept in before. Even as a child on the estate of my father, before I was banished to the Vatican that is.