by A. J. Bell
Rogue and I had some experience together, so saddling him wasn’t a task for me. In a matter of minutes, we were ready to head through the obstacles. We jumped a big puddle of mud, a three-foot raised bar, and went around a few barrels. It was so easy! We were moving swiftly and smoothly until we reached the stable, but my damsel in distress was Rosie instead of my mother, as I had agreed with Sir Richard.
“Where’s Mother?” I demanded. Rosie stuttered, trying to give me an answer. I looked at the benches where my family was seated and realized what I hadn’t noticed before – Mother was among them. Father and Sir Richard looked at me with a “what are you waiting for?” expression on their faces, since I was supposed to rescue Rosie. While I was battling with my own feelings, Sir Daniel’s squire arrived to save Sir Daniel’s sister. He moved quickly, I needed to move faster than he did.
I got down from the horse and helped Rosie mount Rogue. Then I joined Rosie in the saddle, sitting in front of her. “Hold on tight!” I said. She put her arms around me, her hands positioned right on top of my breasts, which added to my discomfort. We picked up speed and caught up with Sir Daniel’s squire. We then started to go back through the obstacle course so quickly that I soon passed him. I could feel the task was about to be mine; we only had to pass through the mud.
“I love you,” Rosie said out of nowhere, “and I know you love me too. It’s just hard for you to express your feelings for me.”
I lost control. I snapped the reins and hit Rogue hard on the stomach with my boots. He stood on his back legs and kicked with his front ones in the air with such force that it sent Rosie straight into the mud, which covered her completely. Everyone in the audience laughed, except those on my bench. I offered my hand to help her out, but she was angry and walked away in the opposite direction. Needless to say, I lost the challenge. Sir Daniel’s squire – Shane – won the task.
All I now hoped for was for Rosie to give up the stubborn love she proclaimed to feel for John; it was getting beyond the point of annoying. When the winner was announced, the crowd cheered for him, I was ablaze with disappointment. I could have won! Instead of victory, I tasted the bitterness of defeat. And the sour taste didn’t fade during the couple of hours we had to rest before the next challenge took place.
I was sure Sir Richard would lecture me when he asked me into his tent. He was so protective of Rosie. If he only knew…
“I do not approve of what you did this morning.” I rolled my eyes, sat down, and got ready for the sermon. “What exactly did Rosie say to you?”
I felt embarrassed to answer such a question. “I love you,” I muttered.
He looked surprised, but still concerned. “She lied to us then.” He paused. “She said she wanted to apologize to you for lying about what happened yesterday morning.” He took a deep breath. “I’m angry at myself for believing in her words. I don’t think a man needs to force himself on a woman–”
“What? She said what? I would never!” I stood up, angry at such a lie.
“I’m sending her home this afternoon. She’s not going to interfere with your participation in the challenges again, so you can be calm,” he said.
I was filled with disgust. “The damage is done. She has been spreading lies about me all around. If she does it one more time–” I warned.
“She won’t. I’ll talk to her again, and I’ll make sure she understands the consequences of her actions,” he concluded.
I walked towards the door. “I doubt her understanding will help heal my back any faster.” I walked out.
He came after me. “I said I was sorry about it. What else do you want me to do, John?” he asked.
“Nothing! I just need to be alone for a moment. I will be back so that we can discuss the next challenges.”
The time for the second task arrived without me having the chance to speak to him once more. The spectators gathered around the arena, but the obstacles that were there in the morning were gone. The horses were back, but they were saddled already.
Father and Mother sat at our designated bench, but Sir Richard was missing. In front of us, on top of a table, there was a pile of rope, a few knives, some arrows, bows, and axes, along with other weapons and tools I did not recognize nor care about.
We were allowed to take two items from the table. I took the rope and a knife. After we retrieved these items, all the others were taken away, along with the table. The announcer proceeded to explain the challenge.
Each squire was to make his way to the stables at the end of the arena and climb to the top of the building by using only the items that we had taken from the table. Our masters were on the upper floor, and we needed to rescue them.
“Your masters have another item that can help you on your rescue mission. This item was chosen by them. The pair that arrives first safely will earn the victory of this challenge. As an extra obstacle to this challenge, the stable will be set on fire.” The crowd gasped unanimously. “Once again, may the best squire and knight win!”
I looked to where the Prince was standing. “Fire?” I mouthed. He read my lips and shrugged. No doubt he was crazy. I would have a serious talk with him about this later, but for now, I needed to focus.
The trumpet gave the signal to begin. Here we go, I thought. Immediately, the flames started to spread consuming the stable walls. Sir Richard was standing by the last window to the left of the structure, keeping his gaze on me. I was worried because fire was treacherous and could get out of control easily and harm those nearby, including Sir Richard.
On my way to rescue him, I stopped for a brief moment to analyze the situation. I had the advantage of being close to an eight by eight post, so I quickly dismounted Rogue and half-tied him to it. Rogue tried to pull back once the post smelled of the fire, but he wasn’t going anywhere unless I cut him loose, my knot tying skills were excellent.
I tied one end of the rope I had picked up from the table around the post at the height of my waist, and I pulled on it with all my strength until it was so tight that I almost made my hands bleed by doing so. The remaining rope I kept still looped around and put my arm through it so that I could carry it upward. While I used the end tied to the post as a step to pull me up, I used the knife as a lift, stabbing it into the post above my head and pulling myself up with my legs tightly wrapped around the post. Then I removed the knife, stabbed it again, and repeated the climbing process. I slid a few times but didn’t fall. I heard the crowd gasp every time it happened. I made it to the top and kept my legs wrapped around the post to help me maintain my balance.
To my right, I saw Shane down below, having issues about climbing. He had shot a few arrows into the wall and tried to climb on them, but his weight was too much. The arrows either broke after he stood on them or his feet were slid if the arrows weren’t stuck deep enough.
I saw another squire start chopping away parts of the wall, trying to cut a door for him to enter the stable, but it was taking him too long. I also noticed that the smoke was scaring not only the horses but also other little creatures nesting in the structure. I saw a tiny little lizard, not bigger than two inches, scurrying quickly on the beam that connected the post that I was clinging on to the burning structure. The lizard had its back to the floor, which gave me an idea. Instead of foolishly trying to somehow swing myself to the window as I had originally planned, I crawled from the post to the beam. I wrapped my arms and legs around the beam and swung myself around it until I ended up with my back to the floor. I crept along the beam, just like the lizard had done, until I reached the window. Sir Richard was either amazed or scared to death. I couldn’t really tell what was going on in his head when he saw me hanging like that. Without saying anything, I unraveled the rope that was still looped around my arm and tied it to the same beam on the inside wall, betting it would hold the weight of both of us. He looked at me, still wondering about what I had in mind to do next.
“Are you ready?” I asked him. He was still staring.
“A
re you not curious as to what item I got for you to help with my rescue?” asked Sir Richard. There was a sack on the floor behind him. “All of us got the same for all of you, something to help our squires accomplish this rescue mission.”
I looked around. Behind each knight was a sack of the same shape. I walked towards the sack, intrigued by its contents. When I opened it, I looked at Sir Richard, annoyed.
“More rope,” I said, disappointed.
“Take it out,” he said cleverly, which I did. It was a rope ladder. All along, while I was trying to climb up like a stupid lizard, he had a ladder. “All you squires needed to do was ask,” he said.
I was upset and annoyed, seeing the look on his face. He seemed proud that his little ladder would help me to win this task.
“Thanks for sharing, Sir Richard, but I didn’t ask for help, so we will do this my way, since you didn’t offer it either!” I said stubbornly.
We stood at the window frame, which was wide enough for both of us to stand there together. I cut a small piece of rope and tied Sir Richard’s hands together.
“What are you doing? Don’t be stupid, lad. Take the ladder,” he said.
I chuckled because I knew he was not trying to help me but wanted to avoid standing on that ledge – he was scared of heights. I cut two more pieces of rope about three feet long and made a pair of bulky knots at each end. Then I twisted them around to make it look like one big fat piece of rope. I ducked in between Sir Richard’s arms so that I could lift him with my back. My right shoulder went beneath his and my left shoulder over his. It looked like he was hugging me from behind.
“John!” Sir Richard yelled a warning when he realized my intentions.
I took the big fat rope, threw it across the one that I had tied to the roof beam, wrapped each end of the fat rope in my two hands, and off we went. We slid down, gaining speed the closer we got to the ground. As if I had planned it before hand, Rogue positioned himself at a perfect angle for us to land on his back when I let go off the rope. I cut the rope off of Sir Richard’s hands, and together we rode to the finish line.
We made it with enough time that we got to see the end of the challenge. The structure began to give way, swinging from side to side. The knights that remained on top threw their ladders down and began climbing down on their own. A knight in distress is not often seen. However, I didn’t care about who made it on time and who had to jump to save their lives. I had won the challenge, and I was proud of it.
“You are insane!” Sir Richard said. “You could have fallen and broken your back. All you had to do was ask for help… not pretend you are some sort of flying hero,” he said, still astounded at what I had accomplished in a manner of minutes without his intervention.
“My actions might have been reckless, but these challenges are a chance for the squires to prove to others that we’re made for more than just cleaning your horses, shining your armor, or fetching your sword.” He remained quiet by my side.
When everyone else had made it back, the official announcement was made. The crowd roared in excitement when Sir Richard’s and my name were mentioned as the winners of the challenge. There were two more tasks before we called the day complete: Greased pig catching and knot tying. By the end of the day, I had two more victories for Sir Richard. I was very satisfied that my name was included among the favorites to win the tournament, along with Sir Daniel’s squire.
The next morning, the sword tournaments would take place. Our names would be sorted in front of the crowd to create the matches, and then the fights would begin. For the first time, squires would be allowed to wear partial armors since we were using real swords. The objective of this part of the tournament would be either to disarm or have your adversary yield.
In years past, there had only been a few splintered squires, but this year there would surely be blood. The rules said not to kill each other, but there were no guarantees about not getting a finger sliced, or worse.
We had dinner together in Sir Richard’s tent to celebrate my victories. Rosie was gone, so for once, I felt at peace for the first time since we had left Stoneburg.
Sir Richard wanted to practice some sword movements after dinner, but Prince Victor summoned me to the palace, and that was the end of Sir Richard’s training session. Upon my entrance to the palace, Prince Victor’s instructions were to go to his mother’s room where I had stayed before, and he would stop by later to see me. There was a warm bath waiting for me that felt like heaven. It relaxed all the tensed muscles in my body, and the oils mixed in the water left my skin soft like baby’s skin and took away the stink that the smoke and the pig wrestling had left behind. The night gown lying on the bed was a pale pink shade, with little red carnations embroidered on the seams. It was so silky to the touch.
The assortment of fresh cut flowers around the room made it smell like a garden was growing in it. I was brushing my hair when the Prince came in. I continued singing softly a song that had been stuck in my head for a few days now. He was holding a rose in his hand.
“You are amazing!” He sounded like a child full of excitement. “You defeated all the other squires! A woman beat them all!” He was making me laugh. He had jumped on the bed and was almost bouncing in excitement. “You never cease to surprise me,” he said.
I came to him and punched him in the shoulder. “That was for the smell your ingenious fire and pig tasks left in my hair.”
He pulled me down to the bed and ended up on top of me. “Funny,” he said, “I only smell flowers.” He buried his face in my hair and sniffed at it playfully. We were both laughing like little children, until he went silent for a second.
“You are wonderful!” He leaned forward until his lips reached mine. I wrapped my arms around him and enjoyed his kiss until his hands and lips began to move to other areas of my body.
“My Lord,” I said, pushing him softly to my side. “The time isn’t right. I’m not yet your wife. I don’t believe it would be correct for me to act as if I were.”
He gave me a little smile and kissed me again. “I am sorry. I should’ve stopped myself. You make me weak, in a good way.” He invited me to lie on his chest. “So when are we getting married?” he asked.
I knew that deep inside, he really wanted to know if I had made my choice. “Tomorrow will be a very tiring day. My Lord, I need to rest tonight. May we talk about it when the tournament is over?” I asked.
He hugged me tightly while he took one deep breath, and then another. From where my head was on his chest, I could feel his heartbeat accelerating. His eyes looked straight to the ceiling. I sat up, taking his hand in mine, and said to him, “If we marry, I want to make sure that there are no doubts about it. I need a little time, please,” I said pleadingly.
He sighed, not because he was disappointed with my reply, but because there was something else bothering him. “Elle, I want you to forfeit the tournament.” He seemed relieved after the words had escaped his lips.
“Forfeit? You mean shun the fight? I can fight just as well as any of the other squires,” I said, hurt at his request.
“I don’t want to see you in pain because of my stupid idea of using real swords this year. I would hate myself forever if you get hurt because of me tomorrow. Please forfeit the tournament,” he begged.
Out of all people, I would have expected him to trust me, since he had seen me fight before. “You know I can do this, I can fight. I came prepared for it and I want to do it.”
He stared at me in disbelief. “I will let you go under one condition.” He covered my mouth with his hand when I tried to object to his words “let you,” as if I needed his permission at all. “You’ll be protected by my breastplate–”
“It’s too big for me!” I interrupted.
“Every squire will wear his mentor’s breastplate, so you can wear my own. Richard won’t mind. You must understand that I would hate to lose my wife before I can even marry her,” he said.
“I will be careful.”
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He laid back down, pulling me again to rest on his chest. “Elle, try not to kill them either,” he said, resigned. Then kissing my forehead, he bid me goodnight.
When he left, I fell quiet until the silence brought only dreams with it. Then, without notice, morning came. The first rays of dawn crept quietly through the windows.
“Good morning, Beautiful,” said the Prince, sitting in front of me. “How did you sleep?” he asked.
There were no nightmares during the night, but there was a dream. Dare I say that I was disappointed to see the one in front of me was the Prince, and not Sir Dorian like in my dream, where Dorian had lain beside me on the green grass, his arms wrapped around me, as he softly whispered in my ears love’s promises that sadly faded when the dream ended.
“Did you hear me?” asked Prince Victor, looking intrigued.
“Sorry, I’m still a little sleepy, but I did have a good night, My Lord,” I replied.
“If you are still tired, you could always sleep in and forget about the tournament,” he said innocently.
“Good try, but I am fighting and I came to win,” I said, getting out of bed.
Chapter 11
All the squires who would participate in the matches gathered in the arena for sorting. After we knew who we were fighting against, we could either stay and watch the other matches or leave and practice for our own. Only the top ten victorious squires would participate, including me, of course.
According to Sir Richard, my biggest threat would be Shane, Sir Daniel’s squire, who’s known for spending a lot of time with the Royal Guard practicing his battle skills. His specialty was sword fighting.
Because the other squires were younger than me and very inexperienced, according to Sir Richard, they should be easy to defeat.
I was lucky or perhaps unlucky to be the first name drawn, so I could fight first. My opponent was Sir Walter’s squire named Edd. He was about seventeen-years-of-age, a scrawny little guy. The sword he carried was almost as big as he was. He held it with both hands and still seemed unable to keep his balance. No doubt, it was his master’s sword.