Maxim Falstaff looked up from surgery, his white apron stained with blood splatters both new and old. The apprentice boy who had entered the chamber gawked, hastening his gaze away from the gory scene. “Master sir.” The boy mumbled, “Black and white banners have landed shore-side.” The lad stole an apprehensive gaze of morbid curiosity at the limp body of the patient. “Right, thank you Johnson.” The doctor said, returning his attention back to the operation at hand. The boy nodded, closing the door and leaving with as much eagerness as he had entered. “How curious, that distant kin brace these shores, no doubt in search of fame and fortune. I hope good fortune meets my cousins in Guise, as our family histories are hardly pleasant.”