"The King has issued an order! Summon the Castilian noble, Don Christopher Columbus!..."
"Columbus! The honorable King João summons you. Behave yourself in the presence of the King!..."
The guard opened the dim stone prison, escorting the important "noble prisoner" out of the eerie Lisbon Prison. The blinding sunlight made it hard to keep eyes open. When the guards, holding spears, pushed the "prisoner" into a horse carriage under Officer Ruben's orders, the light dimmed once more.
"Clip-clop!"
The light tapping of hooves trotted along the cobblestone streets. The unobstructed route, the slightly noticeable smell of urine, and the minimal bumpiness of the road all testified to the good governance of Lisbon City, far better than the filth-ridden Paris of the time. And as the bright sunlight appeared again, the Sintra Palace of the Portuguese stood prominently before them.
"This is the prisoner summoned by the King, the Castilian noble, Columbus."
"Routine body search."
