It was definitely a tough choice between the two entries, but a tiebreaker vote had to be cast. There is not much I can say about either entry that hasn't already been said, but I believe that Briza hit the mark on what I was aiming for as far as theme and tone goes. It was short, yes, and a bit cliched, but the snapshot of two people, despite being so far away from each other in wealth and class, sharing a moment of understanding and acceptance made me warm and fuzzy inside. While initially the nobleman had some rather off-putting inner thoughts("A man of my honor had no need for a lady, nor a used one at that."), he quickly became quite a warm character, showing care for the woman and her child, eventually going so far as to invite the two to dinner. The woman in the story had a hard time talking clearly, but that on top of her gratitude towards the strange man who was obviously several leagues above her own class(a rich man whom she, if real-world social dynamics are in place in this story, would have plenty of reasons to despise) made her endearing. We do not know what happens after the story ends, but I am sure the nobleman spent much more time with the young woman and her little boy, as he seems predominantly a good soul on the inside.

SleepingSilence's story still deserves much praise. I liked the choice of giving the characters titles instead of names. It gives a very quick description of each character and their personalities without having to spend pages explaining their nuances. The entry is general is very well written, with good detail in the scenes. It was easy for me to imagine the setting of each part of the story. Overall the The Wanderer On Wilhelmsvale Trail was a good read but it had a bittersweet taste, which wasn't entirely what I was going for. I understand and appreciate the overall message, expressed through the ending song, but it just didn't flicker a fire in my heart, so to speak.

Well done to both of you! Like I said it was very hard to vote either way, and I loathe being a tiebreaker as the official holder of the contests as I fear my own biases, but I also wish to stray from repeated instances of multi-winner situations.