The day was dark with overcast as the knight slowly rode his weary horse to and from kingdoms looking for a place to lay his weary head if only for a night. His armor was dull, cracked and slightly bloodied. His shield hung from the horse and was also cracked and the coat of arms had been worn off showing he no longer had a kingdom to defend. The sword on the other side was dull, unable to do much damage and wasn’t even something to be feared. His poor horse was tired and limping. Slumped into the saddle he knew that this ride was going to be long and possibly pointless. He was looking for a new kingdom. He had made may stops but upon looking at him the princes and princesses sent him away.
Soon he found a village unaffected by the overcast and rain, as he rode his horse up to the castle he swore even the flowers were smiling at him. He arrived at the castle and slid off his horse allowing it to finally rest. The knight wobbled a bit from all the injuries he had received in the recent weeks, using his sword as a cane he slowly made his way up to the large wooden doors of the castle. He composed himself, put his sword away and knocked on the doors.
He waited and waited outside, his horse had walked up next to him to help support him and hoping to a carrot from his pouch. Realizing what the horse wanted the knight petted him on the head and pulled a carrot out for him. While the horse ate from his hand the knight spoke in a soft voice, “Maybe this castle isn’t the place for us buddy. We will have to keep looking.” They turned and began to walk back to the road. When the large doors opened revealing a small man obviously the keeper of this castle, “Well hello there fair knight, I am sorry it took me so long for I was making sure the dinner was being prepared correctly. May I ask what brings you here?” “Yes sir I am a knight with no home. My old kingdom fought against me, I lost and was exiled. I am weary and in pain. I just ask for a place to rest. If only for the night. My horse here needs food as well. Once the morning reaches we will leave. You have my word” “allow me to ask my princess and see what her thoughts are” the man said “please wait here.” With that he was gone. The doors still open revealing the blue drapery and lively flowers. Soon the man was back not allowing the knight to look around too much. “The princess would like to speak with you before she makes a final say. Follow me.” “Well of course but what is my horse to do?” with that question just barely out of his mouth a young lady appeared with a bucket. “I will take great care of your horse sir. We are lucky to have a knight within the kingdom again. Your horse will be treated like royalty here.” “Thank you ma’am, I appreciate that, watch out though. He gets moody without his carrots.” With that he patted the horse telling him to be good and then followed the man to meet the princess.
The small man knocked on a door just up the stairs from the entrance and was greeted by the princess as she opened the door. The knight stood back a bit, out of the way, she looked past the man and to the weary knight. “My lady, this is the knight looking for refugee.” She examined his armor and caught the lack of a coat of arms. Opening the door wider she spoke to the knight alone, “Please come in sir. I would like to speak with you for a while.” The knight bowed and entered the room. The princess followed motioned to a chair as she herself sat down. The knight plopped down not thinking with a large sigh. Realizing where he was he shot up straight in the chair and asked for forgiveness. The princess smiled and told him it was okay, then asked, “what happened to fair knight?” “I will give you the short version my lady. I was the knight in a kingdom for 3 years when the princess there turned on me. She had her people come and attack me from the village. Unable to attack an unarmed civilian because I stick to my code as a knight, they beat me, they attacked with ruthless force following her word blindly, not realizing her lies. They ripped my coat of arms off my shield. Shot an arrow at my poor horse and sent me away. I have been wandering from kingdom to kingdom since looking for a new place to serve but as you see my armor was damaged badly, my shield was cracked and my sword well after constant battles its gone dull. So I have been sent away many times. I ask you only for a bed for tonight then I shall leave.”
She looked at him and took in his story. There was a silence in the room which made the knight uncomfortable. Soon she opened her mouth to speak, “Sir knight, your story intrigues me. I would like to test your skills. Your armor and shield may be damaged but I see a fire in your eyes and I can here sincerity in your words. You may stay here as long as you need. I wish to know you better. For our kingdom has been tore apart by a former knight and is in need of protection. You may be the man for the job.” She walked to the door and opened it to reveal the small man outside just about to knock. “Please take the knight to the guest room. He will be staying with us for a while.” “Right away my lady” he said with a bow. “Follow me sir knight. I will take you to your room.”
The pair walked down a hallway, the man decided to give the knight a tour of the castle. As they walked the knight asked the man, “Sir what is your name?” “It is Fredrick sir.” “Well Fredrick I appreciate the tour of this castle it is quite lovely. However, I had a question. The princess mentioned that another knight had torn this kingdom apart. What did she mean by this?” Fredrick stopped for a moment and looked around. “Sir, I am not allowed to tell you that. This is something to ask the princess herself. Now follow me to the dining area. The dinner for tonight is ham. Our cooks here are very good. The princess is very kind and lets the workers eat with her at the royal table. I am most positive you are welcome to eat there as well. I will take you to your room and then I will be back to take you to dinner…. Here we are.” Handing the knight the key Fredrick scurried off.
Now alone in the guest room the knight took his armor off and got into the clothes that Fredrick had left for him. The clothing was nothing fancy just a simple pair of pants and a white shirt with a raised collar accompanied by a blue coat to go over it. He slipped on his simple black shoes and sat in a chair to look at a mirror and fix his hair. He didn’t want to admit it but he liked this princess. He realized his face was dirty; he rushed to wash his face before Fredrick came to get him. He had just walked back to the mirror when there was a knock on his door. “Sir it is time for dinner”
Fredrick lead the knight to the dining room, they stop just outside the doors due to Fredrick seeing the worry on the knights face. “Sir, you’re fidgeting. Let me help you” Fredrick adjusts the collar to where it didn’t bother the knight. “There you are sir. Trust me there is nothing to worry about. You look fine. Now let’s go eat, she’s waiting on you.” Fredrick slowly opened the door to reveal a long table, decorated with candle sticks and delicious looking food. The people sitting at the table were indistinguishable between servants and lesser royalty. The knight scanned the table looking for a seat and trying to avoid the gaze of the princess. He suddenly felt a tug on his sleeve; he looked down to see a young boy. “Are you the knight that has come from far away?” He smiled and knelt down to be eye level with the kid, “I am said knight. Who might you be?” “My name is Joseph” “Well it is very nice to meet you Joseph” The boy ran off quickly when the princess stood and made her way to the knight. “Hello there sir” Staying knelt the knight bowed his head in respect “hello fair maiden” he slowly lifted his gaze and was stunned by the woman standing over him. The silver shoes were the first thing he saw, simple yet elegant, then the beautiful royal blue dress. Her hair was curled and falling over her shoulder. “You do not have to bow to me knight, you are technically not part of this kingdom therefore have no obligation to do this.” “Ma’am I must bow in the presence of such a beautiful and kind princess. My code says that I will be respectful to those that are respectful to me.” “Well then, I cannot ask you to go against your code sir, but please rise and follow me to your seat.” It was at this moment when he realized the whole dining area was staring at him as if he were a foreign object. The children stared with wonder, the staff with hope, and those closest to the princess gave him a hard stare he swore went into his soul. He ducked his head and followed the princess to a seat next to her (she was sitting at the end of the table, he to her right) Fredrick sat across from him with a smile on his face. The ladies in waiting were still glaring at the knight. He was beginning to get upset. Soon they were muttering among themselves and occasionally looking at him, judging him while everyone ate.
After the meal was over the knight stood with the princess as she said her goodbyes to each and every servant individually. The ladies approached him. He was still upset and hurt over what happened at dinner. They surrounded him and sized him up. The one directly in front of him spoke up. “You. Why are you here?” “I was banished from my previous kingdom, ran out and left to wander.” “Hmm… you are different than that last one aren’t you?” The girls around him giggled. “Listen ma’am I am only here for shelter and a good night’s rest and will leave when my horse is healed and I am feeling better. I don’t want any trouble.” The knight stated confrontationally. “With the way you were looking at the princess you expect us to think you are only here for a night or two? We will see about that. You better hope that you do not hurt her.” With that the ladies walked over to the princess said their goodnights after a quick and quiet chat. Soon it was just the princess and the knight. He stood there wondering what to say or do, but she spoke first. Her soft voice reached his ears, “would you like to take a walk in the garden with me sir knight?” “I would love to” He replied.
Alone in the garden, the knight looked over at the princess and how the moonlight lit up her feature. “Ma’am, this may not be my place to ask, but what happened to your previous knight?” The princess stopped walking and picked a flower off the bush and tucked it behind the knight’s ear. “Sir Knight, I must apologize but I must leave you now.” With that she hurried back into the castle leaving the knight alone in the garden. Seeing a small bench he sat down and removed the flower from behind his ear. It was a simple white daisy; it looked so small in his hand. He looked up to the stars, when the sudden burst of memory hit him once again. The memories of his former… ruler; anger rose inside him as he replayed their last conversation in his head. He crushed the flower in his hand, kicked the bench and stormed back into the castle. A servant asked him if he needed any help on his way down the hall to his room, wrong time and wrong place. He grabbed the servant and pushed him against the wall. “Do you think I can’t take care of myself?! That I need help?! I don’t need help. I don’t need your help or anyone else’s help. Now get out of here.” The knight yelled. The servant ran off once released from the knight’s grip, and the knight turned on his heel and marched into his room, the door slamming behind him.
The next morning after breakfast the knight was sitting in the library trying to relax. He snapped last night and didn’t sleep well. He heard a knock at the door. “Come in” and in walked the one person he didn’t want to see, the princess. She took the seat across from him leaned forward and put her hand on his knee. “I need to know what happened last night. The hall cleaners are scared to even look down your hallway and they refuse to tell me why.” She said in a voice that was strong yet caring. The knight looked into her eyes, he could tell she genuinely cared about what happened. “Last night… I got angry, I was pissed off and your servant was in the wrong place at the wrong time. I grabbed him, yelled at him and then told him to get out.” The princess withdrew her hand and sat up straight in her chair. “These things will not be allowed in my castle. If you want to act like a fool you may do so outside my castles walls.” The knight was taken aback. Those words were so harsh and forceful. “I am sorry my lady. I will try to not let it happen again.” With that she rose and headed towards the door. “Oh and knight, your armor has been repaired. You will start training and testing tomorrow. Your horse is outside in the stables doing much better. Feel free to explore the kingdom today. The people are quite nice though they may not trust another knight right away. You will have to earn their trust and respect. Be prepared.” And she left leaving the knight stunned at what just happened and worried about what being prepared meant, how bad could it be they were just civilians after all. Right?
The knight wandered around the castle till he found the stable. Wearing obvious knight clothes he approached the stable girl who jumped when he said hello. “A kn- kn-knight, can I help you sir? Please I’ve done no harm to anyone nor have I done anything wrong. Take what you need and leave me please.” The knight raised an eyebrow, maybe he looked different than when they met the first night. “Ma’am it is me, the knight that came to the door begging for shelter and someone to tend to my horse. I mean you no harm. Why are you frightened?” “Oh I am sorry sir. You look different without the armor. I was scared the old knight had come back. Here let me get your horse sir. He is doing much better!” she hurried into the back part of the stable and return with a healthy looking horse. “Oh my goodness you work miracles, I have never seen him so happy! I appreciate your hard work. How much would you like? I must pay you for what you have done.” “No sir, no sir I cannot accept your money. You are a kind and generous knight. My only wish is that you pass the challenges tomorrow, and prove you are worthy of the princess.” She left with that. Patting the horse on the head he spoke softly to it. “Well Shadow, I am glad to see you are doing better. I am sorry about what happened to you my friend, but we are in a better place now. This castle has been very kind to us. I hope you are ready for tomorrow. For now we are going to explore the town. Come on now, buddy.” The knight handed him a carrot he took from the kitchen. Man and horse walked from the castle down to the village. From the window the princess and her ladies watched the two walk to the village. One of the ladies spoke up, “Princess do you think it was a good idea sending him to the village? I mean after what happened last time a knight was there?” “I do think this is good. The villagers need to see that not all knights are like the last. They need to remember what a true knight does and how a true knight cares.” “My lady we have heard of his anger. What if the villagers cause him to snap again? What if he cannot change their minds?” “I will speak no more of this. I believe in this knight.” “You do not know where he is from, or his name, or even the name of his horse. What if he was sent by-” “That is enough. This conversation is over.” The ladies looked at each other and decided to leave.
Man and horse stood just outside the village. The knight turned to his horse, “Let’s see how bad these villagers treat us eh buddy?” The horse neighed in response. Hand on the horses back the pair entered the village. The first building they come to is a hospital; the knight loosely ties his horse to a post and walks inside to see if he could help out. The first nurse scowled at him as he approached her. “Can I help.” That wasn’t a question but he answered it anyways. “I was wondering if there was anything I could do to help out around the hospital?” “We don’t need help from your kind, now please leave.” “Ma’am I do not know what the last knight was like but I can assure you I am not the same. I only wish to help. I just wish to make your job easier. I know it can be stressful.” “No. Now leave.” “As you wish ma’am” The knight turned to leave when a voice called out, “Lucas? Lucas is that you? Come over here!” The knight’s head snapped behind him. Seeing a familiar face he ignored the nurse and walked over to the man lying on the bed, legged wrapped in bloody bandages. “Charles? Is that really you?” “Of course man! See after you got thrown out of the kingdom the peasants started to rebel. I tried to take your place next to the princess and calm them down but they wouldn’t have me. They trashed the kingdom setting fires and refusing to produce food for the castle. Soon the servants of the castle themselves left and I have been trying to find them since. I ended up here after rounding up a large amount of the unfaithful villagers. Have you seen any here? I got cut by one little miscreant which is why I am in this crappy hospital.” “Why does it not surprise me that you tried to take my place? You were always after the princess even when she was mine. I am glad the villagers realized what a tyrant she is and revolted against her. They deserve to live somewhere that is good for them. Honestly I am glad to be rid of her and everything surrounding her. Just know that someday she will tire of you as well and have the people turn on you like she did to me. You don’t have respect for this kingdom. You don’t have a code and I think that as soon as you can walk you need to leave it.” The knight didn’t wait for a reply but instead just left the hospital with a short bow of the head to the nurses.
He undid the horse’s reigns and walked away from the hospital. He was now searching for a pub. He needed a drink to calm his mind and he knew that was would find the majority of the villagers at this time. Passing blacksmith, cobble smith and a church he finally found the pub. Once again tying his horse up to a post he walked inside. The villagers were all cheerful having fun conversations, gambling and just joking around. He approached the bar and sat away from the crowd to not draw any attention. A large hand slammed down on the bar in front of him. “Look kid, your kind is not welcome around here. No knights allowed. Sorry but it’s for the villagers safety.” “I understand sir, may I ask for one drink and I will leave. Here I have the money for it.” He pulled out a small pouch and the coin to cover the drink and placed it on the bar. The bartender looked around, realizing no one had noticed a knight in the bar yet he decided to serve him since after all he did have money. “Alright kid, one drink. Hang on” The bar keep filled up a glass and gave it to the knight. “Thank you sir. I appreciate your kindness. I understand this kingdom is fearful of knights due to recent events. My code is to obey the wishes of the villagers and I will leave after this drink and head back to the castle.” “Now wait just a minute. You just said two things that made me think twice about you. First, that you have a code. Second being that the princess trusts you enough to have you stay in the castle with her.” “Yes sir my last princess turned on me, convinced the whole village I was like a disease and they attacked me. I being unable to strike a civilian fled on my horse that was injured during the events. I traveled from kingdom to kingdom searching for a place to rest till I found this one. The princess was kind enough to let me in. Said something about how bad the last knight was and that she saw something different in me and told me to try and make the villagers see that not all knights are the same.” “Well then, I guess she is going to be putting you through the challenges huh?” Yes sir. Tomorrow in fact” “Haha I guess me and everyone else in the village will at least know of your strength!” He chuckled as he walked away. The knight quietly finished his drink and made for the door. Accidently he bumped into a man that looked to be the blacksmith. “Well well well look what we have here boys.” He grabbed the knight by the back of the neck and turned him into the middle of a group of large, burly men. “Tis a knight if I ever did seen one.” One of them said. The first man spoke again, “Son you best run along. We don’t take too kindly to knights around here.” “S- Sir you see I am a- a guest of the p-princess. I mean no harm.” The blacksmith punched him squarely in the jaw. “No one believes you boy. Best come up with something a bit better than that.” “It is the truth sir. She asked me to stay. I go through the challenges tomorrow.” “We will see about that boy” the group closed around the knight, he slowly started to panic but it was replaced once he was slammed against the table and beaten by the five men that had circled him. They dragged him out of the bar towards his horse which began neighing and rearing up at the sight of his beaten master. One man grabbed the horse by the bit and pulled him to the ground, and then they threw the knight on the horse, undid the reigns and sent him off with a hard slap to the rump. The horse ran as fast as he could back to the palace, driven by the sound of painful groans coming from its master. Once the horse reached the front gates he neighed over and over as loud as possible until Fredrick came to the door looking very annoyed, the princess standing at the top of the stairs to see what was going on. “Horse, go back to the stables. You are not allowed at the front doors.” As soon as Fredrick had said that he noticed the knight on the back of the horse. “Oh dear…” he called out for a few more servants and the castle doctor to help him. The princess ran down the stairs and got to the knight just as Fredrick had gotten him safely off the horse and onto the ground, waiting for the help he called for. She stroked his face begging him to wake up. “Please sir knight please. I need you. I don’t know why but I need you. Please wake up sir knight. I cannot lose you before I have known you. You are supposed to save this kingdom… I just know it... Please… wake… up…” she began to sob on the knight’s chest. The help had arrived and they carried him away from her to the medical hall.
The princess paced outside the medical room that the knight was in. After over an hour of pacing she sat on the bench down the hall. Head in her hands she muttered to herself, “This is all my fault. I sent him to the village. I should have known better and now I’ve gotten him injured. I knew I shouldn’t have. I just thought he could fix things. I cannot believe this happened to him.” A hand fell upon her back, she whipped her head up with the hope that it was the knight, but it was not. One of her ladies had come to console her. “Princess, I know that the others and I have been rather skeptical of this knight but we all know his heart is pure. The villagers will see that when they see the smile he puts on your face after he succeeds tomorrow. When they see how happy you are now with this knight they will see that he is different. That he cares. I promise you they will regret this choice when they realize this. He will be okay. I know he will. A knight as strong as him not only in physical strength but mental as well will use this to rise and conquer.” The princess pulled her into a hug and cried on her shoulder, constantly blaming herself as the lady in waiting tried to calm her. “Alice, Alice why did they do this to him? He is a good knight. He means no harm. I feel so terrible that this happened and it’s all my fault.” “There, there” replied Alice still trapped in the arms of the princess, “He will be okay. He will show everyone the knight they are.” The two girls hugged on the bench until a soft yet gruff voice spoke up, “Excuse me ma’am is all this worry over me?” The princess’ head snapped up to see the knight standing at the end of the bench, lip busted, eyes blacked, nose still had dried blood on it, wounds on the sides of his head and cuts on his cheeks, shoulder bandaged up from the table impact. The princess was in shock that he was okay and as bad as he looked when brought in he seemed fine now. She threw herself onto him, “I am so glad you are okay. I am so sorry for what happened this is all my fault.” She began crying on his shoulder. He held her awkwardly with one hand, “It is okay my lady. I know you had no intentions of this happening. It is not your fault. I would have fared much better had I fought back but code you know. I promise I am fine and ready for the tests tomorrow.” She tightened her grasp on him. “I really did think you were going to leave after this.” She said softly, “I am so glad you have decided to stay” “Of course my lady. This kingdom has been very kind to me. I would not abandon somewhere I am needed. However, I do need to get some rest before tomorrow.” “Oh of course let me escort you to your room.” The princess had her arm around the knight’s waist as she walked down the halls with him. His arm was draped over her shoulders. Alice followed at a distance trying to be nosey as well as making sure the princess didn’t do anything she shouldn’t. The pair reached the knights door, being the gentleman he was raised to be he left her with only another tight hug, however she placed a kiss on his cheek anyways. “Goodnight my knight” “Goodnight my princess.” He closed the door gently and lay down in his bed, confused by what he was feeling little did he know the princess went and did the same thing.
The morning light peaked through the window of the knight’s room causing him to stir. With a groan he sat up and looked out the window. The trials were later on in the day, he knew he needed to get back to sleep but he couldn’t. He was nervous. He knew he had to prove his worth, he wanted to stay in this kingdom and then there was the princess. She was wonderful; he had real feelings for her. She made him feel things he hadn’t felt for years with the other princess. As he sat on the edge of his bed head in his hands trying to figure out what he was going to do and how he was going to focus in those trials. There was a light knock on his door. He got up and opened it only to reveal the princess standing there. “Oh! Princess! I wasn’t expecting you! I’m sorry I’m in night clothes. Excuse me I will go change!” “No no it’s okay sir knight. May I come in?” “Uhm, sure ma’am come in and sit wherever you’d like” He opened the door wider so that she could come enter and she sat on his bed. “May I help you ma’am?” He said taking a seat in a chair. “Well I only have one question and plus I couldn’t really sleep so I decided to come see you. See I want you to do well today. I want you to prove to the village what I already know. Anyways, that is another conversation. But sir knight I am here to ask what your name is. I know it seems like I should have asked already but if I didn’t know your name and you turned out to be like the last knight I could have protected myself better. I do hope you understand. I would just like to know who to announce as the kingdoms new knight tomorrow after the trials.” “Of course my lady I understand. I would like to start with the fact that I could never hurt you nor even dream of it. My name is Sir Lucas of… well I feel that part doesn’t matter. I am the son of a man who was a drunk and a mother who spun thread. My father never expected me to be anything and I joined the academy at a very late age. I was instantly seen as something special. I never understood why the other knights hated me but once I receive my knighthood my mentor told me. They had been training since birth, from families who had names that mean something. I walk in at 14 and become best in the class. I was taunted daily because of my family. Mainly my father. See he was always drunk. He only was sober for maybe an hour. He didn’t attend my knighting mainly because I didn’t want him to. He never thought knights were anything to be proud of. He hated them. That made my joining so much easier. I looked up to knights. They were honorable and sober. They were there when my father wasn’t. My mentor soon became my father figure. I was personally taken under the wing of the academy head. He trained me at night away from the others, taught me skills that were past what anyone had learned. I absorbed his wisdom and he taught me his personal code. I made it mine. I wanted to be just like him. An honorable knight, a feared knight, most of all he was humble. Anyways at the end of the academy I took on the whole class, by the heads orders, and defeated them all. Those who had made fun of my family fell to my feet and regretted comparing me to my father.” “Well Sir Lucas, you’re life seems to be burdened with hard times. I knew you were special when I met you. No knight can take a beating like what you took and have been able to walk to my door. May I ask who this mentor was?” “His name was Sir Nicholas. He was a knight that led a battle against invading forces. He defended my home town and I have looked up to him ever since. I watched him, as a 10 year old boy myself, kill barbarians that tried to burn down the town church. There must have been about 10 or 15 of them. He took them all alone. These crazy loud barbarians, murderous look in their eyes, daggers and swords already covered in blood from people I mean there was blood on their clothes and I was so afraid. I was stuck in the middle of the road watching all of this happen and then he came. He came and saved our town. He came and saved my life. He remembered too. When I joined the academy, he told me that he was waiting for me.” “I have heard the tales of the great Sir Nicholas. He is a true hero and it is such an honor for me to be here with someone he took a great personal interest in. Where is he now?” “Once I found a kingdom the princess there made me cut ties with all my past. My friends and family and even Sir Nicholas, however he and I would meet or write in secret. I know where he is, but he swore me to secrecy.” The knight got up and walked towards the princess, he motioned to the bed, “May I sit next to you my lady?” She scooted over a little and said, “Of course sir.” They sat next to each other in silence. She slid her hand onto his leg and said, “Lucas, I have never been more comfortable around a knight than I have with you. I really appreciate you finding this castle.” He put his hand on hers and said, “Ma’am I am grateful you let me in.” She once again embraced him in a tight hug and this time he gladly returned it. “Ma’am I need to get a little more rest for the trial.” “Sure lay down sir” “But ma’am I would like to walk you out.” “Oh I did not plan on leaving. I wish to stay in here with you. The only place I feel truly happy and safe.” “Oh… uh as you wish my lady” The knight laid down and the princess followed. She placed her head on his chest and listened to his breathing as is got shallow when he fell back to sleep. She closed her eyes and soon followed him.
Fredrick went to wake the princess as he does every morning and then he would be off to make sure everything was ready for the trials that were to take place that afternoon. He knocked on the door of the princess and heard no movement behind it. This however did not faze him because he was accustom to the heavy and deep sleep of the princess. He knocked again but louder this time, constantly getting louder with each set of knocks till he started to get worried. By now the princess should be groaning about waking up but there was nothing, not even the shuffling of the blankets. He reached in his pocket and pulled out his master key and opened the door to the room while saying, “Now princess you know you must wake up the knight may not begin his trials without your blessing and you must be there to watch them and be his judge. Princess… Princess… She must be with Alice…” Fredrick turned and walked out of the room locking the door back behind him. He walked down to Alice’s room and gave a quiet knock. A groan answered, “Yes?” “Uhm yes hello there it is Fredrick I was wondering if I could speak to the princess for a bit?” “Fredrick? What do you mean? She isn’t here” “THE PRINCESS IS MISSING?!?!?!?!” Fredrick dropped to the ground. Behind the door Alice quickly threw on clothes and opened the door to Fredrick in the doorway on his knees with his head in his hands. She placed a hand on his shoulder, “Fredrick we will find her.” They began to make their way to all of the princess’ favorite spots, not finding her anywhere. They began asking the workers if they had seen her and none had. “Look, Alice, What if she was taken by well you know…” “Do you think we should get the knight? Maybe have him help? Tell him it is a part of his trials?” “Very well then. We shall go to inform the knight and ask for his help.” They hurried down to the other side of the castle where the knight was resting peacefully. With no regards for the knights personal privacy Fredrick unlocked the door and flung it open and what he saw made him freeze in place. The knight had jolted up at the sound of the door, sword draw and pointed at the potential attacker, one arm still holding the groggy princess. Alice let out a loud gasp causing the knight to realize who was at the door and drop his sword onto the ground the clang snapped the princess out of her groggy state and had her eyes meet with Fredrick’s and then with Alice’s. Alice walked over to her grabbed her by the arm slapped the knight and dragged the protesting princess out of the room. There was a long silence before Fredrick spoke, “Sir, I need to know what happened here last night. I cannot allow you to stay if you made advances on the princess.” “No Sir nothing happened. I promise. She came to my room to ask of my name and past. After we talked for a while I asked to go back to sleep and got up to escort her out but she refused and told me to lay back down then she placed her head on my chest. That is all.” While Fredrick and the knight talked about what happened the princess was also pleading her case to Alice. “Alice look nothing happened. I think he is a great guy and I didn’t want to be alone anymore. I’m sick of sleeping alone. He has done nothing but prove himself to be a good man.” “You do not know that. How do you know anything he said was true and not some lie he tells to every princess so that he can bed a princess in every kingdom. How do you know any of this is even real and he isn’t just using you?” “Do you really think someone would let themselves get beaten as badly as he did just so he can play some ruse? He cares for me and this kingdom. I want him to stay here and you will see that he is a good knight.”
“Sir I believe your story” Fredrick began “But I am afraid I have to have the trials pushed back. Please understand the slight control I need to regain due to this situation. Also Alice is probably convincing the princess to throw you out so you may need to do some control yourself. If you follow the hallway all the way down and take a left you should hear them talking. I would hurry if I were you. She is very persuasive.” The knight threw on clothes and ran down the hall shouting a thank you to Fredrick. After taking the left the knight stopped and listened for them. He heard crying. He ran towards the sound of sadness to find the princess crying into her hands sitting across from a teary eyed Alice. “What have you done? Why is she crying? Princess everything is okay.” He put his arm around her in an effort to comfort her. Alice glared at him, “What are you doing?” “I am comforting her. She is crying. She must be sad or upset about something and I want to make sure she knows that I am here and I want to make her happy again.” The knights words were nothing but genuine and the look in his eyes showed only concern and caring. There was no way that was fake. Alice spoke up, “I am constantly proved wrong about you Sir Lucas. I thought you were faking all of these stories and actions to bed the princess and leave her. Because she is in a fragile state from the last knight I was overprotective and didn’t get a chance to see that you and him are nothing alike. I am sorry Sir Lucas. Best of luck in the challenges tomorrow and I hope you can change things around here. I hope to be seeing more of you.” With that Alice left. “So the challenges were pushed back to tomorrow. Would you like to do something today?” The knight asked the princess who looked up, tear stains on her face still. “I would love to do something with you today sir. What though?” “How about we go for a ride then a lunch?” “Sounds good, I will go get changed and have the cooks prepare a lunch for us!” She rushed out of the room. The knight stayed, still on one knee hand raised in as if to comfort someone, he was left slightly shocked she was so ready and willing to do something so simple as a ride and a lunch with him. He relaxed and sat in the chair the princess had just left. He rested his head on one of his hands trying to figure out his thoughts and his feelings.
The knight and the princess met at the stable later that day to head out to lunch. The knight was grooming Shadow when the princess tapped him on the soldier. “Hello there! Ready to go? I can’t wait to ride again. It’s been so long!” She said with excitement in her voice. “Where is your horse my lady? I can groom it and saddle it for you.” “Oh Ella should have already done that and there she is my beautiful Sunshine.” The stable girl, Ella, was walking out with a white horse that had grey spots on its back half. The horse had a beautiful saddle on it, trimmed with gold. She was a beautiful mare. The princess hopped up onto her horse and looked at the horse the knight was fitting with a saddle. The horse was pure black, his coat shined though, obvious battle wounds were on the horses’ hind legs, but they seemed to not both him. The horse was thinner than that of a normal horse but he was also covered in more than enough muscle to balance that out. Once the knight was on his horse he turned to the princess and said, “Got everything you need? I know a beautiful spot I passed on the way to this kingdom. I just know you will love it. That is… if you can keep up.” With that the knight gave a wink and Shadow went into a trot. Not having been on a horse in a while it took a little time for Sunshine and the princess to get back into sync but once they did they were right next to the knight. “Not bad princess, but this is the easy part!” he kicked his heels into Shadow having him start a light jog. The knight kept his eyes on the princess knowing that Shadow would let him know when he needed to look. She impressed the knight with her riding skills. He was also impressed by her clothing. Instead of wearing royal looking garments to take this ride in she was wearing clothes not that uncommon among the middle class. She and her horse were only a few steps behind the knight and as he turned to look in front of him again he realized they were closer than he thought. He slowed Shadow down allowing the princess to catch up and they had casual conversation as the horse walked along side each other, until they reached a clearing. The knight brought his horse to a stop and the princess stopped next to him. In front of them was a crystal clear lake that had the sun gently shining on it. The trees were greener than any she had seen, and the wildlife was so active. Deer were drinking on the opposite side of the lake; birds were flying and chirping above them. She wondered why she had never seen this place before. She had traveled these woods more than once but this place was new to her, and she instantly felt a connection to it because the knight brought her here and just her. They got off their horses and let them roam around eating the beautiful grass and standing in the shade of the large trees. The knight helped the princess set up the food and lay out the sheet. The sight of carrots cause Shadow to trot over and stand above the knight who was sitting next to the princess on the ground. Shadow licked the knight’s face, “Hey cut it out! Shadow stop! What is it? What do you want? Here here have some carrots. Now go on and stop licking me you crazy horse.” The princess giggled at the whole scene. “What’s so funny my lady? Me or that crazy horse?” “Both of you actually. You’re horse just licked you until he got some of these carrots and now your hair is messed up from it.” She smiled at the knight’s reaction to his appearance being messed up by his horse, glaring at Shadow who was drinking from the lake he jumped at the touch of the princess fixing his hair. “There we go, much better.” He smiled and gave a small chuckle. The pair ate and talked and laughed until it got close to sundown and decided to ride back to the castle. Being alone in the woods was never a good idea even if the knight had his sword within reach. The ride back was slower than the ride there. They continued to talk about everything and anything. Once back at the stables they cleaned up and put away their horses and walked to the castle. “I had a really good day with you sir knight. I do hope for many more adventures with you. You have been here mere days and you have changed me already. I have become happier and more open. The past happened and that cannot be changed but you have changed my outlook on the future. I knew there was something special about you when you came to my door that night. I am so glad that you have found me and I have found you.” they entered the castle to be greeted by Fredrick and Alice eager to know about the trip and lunch. The princess explain that she would tell Alice tomorrow and she would be spending the night with Lucas again. As the two walked down the hall together the knight put his arm around her shoulders and she slid an arm around his waist, they laughed all the way to the knight’s room. Outside the door the princess grabbed the knight and pulled him close in a tight hug which he gladly returned. They parted just enough for the princess to sneak a kiss onto the knight’s lips. She left him standing outside the room in slight shock before turning and following the princess to sleep.
The next morning Fredrick woke the two with hard knocks on the door. “Ma’am you need to start getting ready for the trials. Sir Knight I believe you should do the same.” They were groggy, the knight stretched while the princess tried to curl up closer and tighter to him. She finally got up which allowed the knight to get up. She opened the door for Fredrick to come in and the three awkwardly stared at each other. “Well I think I need to be putting on my armor and preparing for these trials.” “Uhm yes and I need to consult with Alice on what I should wear.” She gave the knight a tight hug, then she placed both hands on his face. “I want to wish you good luck Sir Lucas. I know you will prove yourself.” She pulled him close to her and kissed him, however this time he willingly returned it.
The knight was outside with Shadow getting both himself and his horse ready for these trials. His armor had been fixed to where the dents were gone, and it was polished so he felt like a regular knight again. His horse was groomed and saddled, and his coat glistened in the sunlight. The pair sat at the stables munching on carrots waiting for Fredrick to come and get them. “Sir! It is time to head to the stadium.” The knight looked up to see Fredrick on a brown horse with a white blaze on his nose. Fredrick was dressed very nicely making the knight realize how important these trials really were. The knight was led through the town on the way to the stadium. He was booed and insulted by the people that couldn’t make it to the actual trials. Children were making faces at him, the older men were telling him to leave and insulting him, and the women were chattering about his appearance. He didn’t let any of that bother him. He kept his focus on the princess and her kindness. He kept the smile on his face, and waved to the people insulting him. As he reached the stadium he heard the roar of the crowd. He entered through the main gate and stood in the middle of the stadium with his back to the princess. She stood up and the crowd became silent. “Ladies and gentlemen, I want you to welcome the knight known as Sir Lucas. He is a great knight and I promise you this knight is much different that Sir Brandon” at the sound of his name the crowd went into an angry booing frenzy. “Calm down please my fair people!” she repeated, until the crowd finally settled. “Now the trials will begin. Sir Lucas are you ready?” The knight turned to face the princess and was stunned by her beauty. “Yes, my lady, I am.” “Then we will begin with the jousting trials. Go and ready yourself.” The knight was led into the tunnel. A young boy handed him his lance another person fitted an armor plated bridal on Shadows head to keep him protected. The boy came to the other side and handed the knight a shield. He was lead out to his side of the arena. Across from him was Charles, lance up and shield ready. The knight began to relax and get ready for the signal to go. They both readied their lances and shields, the horns sounded and the horses sped towards each other. The princess grabbed onto Alice, scared for the knight and his safety. There was a crack as the lances ran into each knight. Lucas broke his lance on the chest plate of Charles and was able to block with his shield at the same time. They trotted to the end and were fitted up again to go again. The horn sounded again and they ran towards each other again. This time they were both his directly by the lances. Lucas managed to get Charles in the shoulder, the weakest part of his armor. While Charles made a hit into Lucas’ stomach, however, as the horses parted Charles began to wobble in his saddle. He was able to stay in the saddle meaning there was to be another round. Lucas patted Shadow on the head and told him he was doing great. Once more the horn sounded and the knights were attacking again. Both lances broke against armor, Charles fell as soon as he was hit. Lucas was slightly slumped in his saddle. He raised his head after a few seconds now that he had recovered. He waved to the crowd which was cheering for him now. Charles was being carried off while the knight waved to the princess with a smile. “Sir Lucas is our winner!” She shouted out to the crowd with a smile on her face.
The knight was taken back as the arena was set up for the next event, archery. He was given a checkup by the doctor to make sure none of the lance pieces were stuck in him like they were in Charles. The knight was removed from his chest plate and he changed into clothing more suited for the archery trial that was about to begin. He was worried about this one. He hadn’t used a bow and arrow in a while. He practiced drawing back the string to get back into the motion until he was called to the stadium. He stood on one side of the stadium and there were a series of targets set up across from him in varying sizes and distances. The horn began the archery round. The knight drew back his bow and shot at the closest target hitting dead on center. He hit the middle of each target. The crowd was in awe of this. The princess rose again and proclaimed him a great archer as well as a fierce jouster. She announced that the next trial was fencing and the crowd grew louder. Once again Lucas left to change and he was handed his sword. Armored head to toe sword sharpened and shining, he stepped onto the platform created for this event. Charles once again stepped in front of him. “Charles I do not think this is a good idea. You are hurt from the joust.” “What’re you scared? Fight me Lucas. No holding back. I see you got your eye on that there princess. Maybe I will try my luck with her when I defeat you and embarrass you. She’ll find out what it’s like to be with a real knight.” “Don’t you dare talk about her like that. She is not some piece of meat or some trophy for you to win. I will never fall to you.” The horns sounded and the knights’ swords met in a clang. They continued to clash swords and finally Charles got a strong hit on the shoulder of Lucas causing him to stumble backwards. He raised his sword and slashed at Charles landing a blow on his side while Charles landed a hard hit onto Lucas’ back. Lucas fell to the ground, Charles laughed at him, and the princess grabbed tightly onto Alice. Lucas got up and immediately struck Charles in his injured shoulder causing him to stumble backwards. Lucas took the opportunity to land quick strikes on Charles until he fell and dropped his sword. He stayed down meaning he had lost. The princess once again proclaimed Lucas as the winner. The last trial was the one that Lucas was looking forward to the most. Horse handling and riding, Shadow and he were a great pair. He jogged back to the stable to get Shadow ready. Shadow knew it was his time to shine and was prancing around in his pin. The knight dropped his helmet and his bulky chest piece onto a table next to Shadows stable. A young boy took grabbed it and took it inside and left him clothing to wear for the riding. The knight jumped into the saddle and the pair trotted to the arena to see the next challenge. Jumps, barrels and other obstacles were placed in random order on the floor. He leaned down and whispered into Shadows’ ear “Ready buddy? Let’s give them a great show. After this you’ll get all the carrots you can eat alright?” Shadow reared up and whinnied. The horn sounded and Shadow took off without even needing the knight to guide him. The horse leaped over the first jump, circled the barrel and continued to perform to the cheering of the crowd. There was nothing Shadow couldn’t do and he made sure to show off for those carrots. Once he had finished the course, the knight hopped off and wrapped his arms around the horses neck and hugged him. He knew how well Shadow had done, he expected nothing less from him especially when bribed with carrots. He had finished the trials. The crowd was cheering loudly as the princess announced that Sir Lucas was now the royal knight.
The knight looked over at the princess who was smiling at his display of affection for his horse. Lucas walked over to the front of the royal court and got onto one knee as the princess walked down to him she took up his sword and appointed him her personal knight. He was finally home. In a place where he belonged and the villagers were taken with him as well, the women in the crowd cheered as he scooped the princess off her feet into his arms and gave her a kiss. She wrapped her arms around his neck and returned it happily. Alice ran down and gave the pair a hug once the princess was set gently back onto the ground, and Fredrick soon followed. The evil knight had been forgotten, and peace was restored in the village. The knight was welcomed everywhere in the village and the men that beat him begged him for forgiveness which he granted. The knight was set to marry the princess in a month’s time and everyone was working towards that day. Finally, it arrived. The knight standing next to the priest stared in awe as the princess dressed in white made her way towards him. The ceremony was beautiful full of flowers, caged song birds that sung after the ceremony were set free into the sky, children laughed and played with the knight while the princess stood next to Alice watching everything unfold. “You know Alice, I have never seen the people of this village so happy before” A group of Blacksmiths walked over and grabbed the knight and threw him up on their shoulders as a chant began. Alice laughed at the knight’s confusion, “Yes they all seem very happy. Men, women and children alike all love him it seems.” They set him down and handed him a pint Fredrick made a toast to him and they all drank. After the drink the knight walked to his new bride and bowed, “May I have a dance my Queen?” “Of course you may!” He grabbed her hand and led her to dance among the villagers. Alice looked at Fredrick who was now standing next to her, “After everything that last so called knight but her through Sir Lucas has erased her pain and sadness. I haven’t seen her smile this big in a very long time.” Fredrick nodded in agreement.
The pair lived together until death. They had the occasional arguments and not everything was perfect but life never is. The knight protected his kingdom with a passion; he started a school for young boys to become knights as well. He trained them as he had been trained, no holding back. The princess was able to help her village prosper once again. The pair had 3 children. The oldest was Evelyn, her beauty was that of her mother’s but she had her father’s will to survive. The middle child was his father’s son with no doubt from anyone. The two were inseparable. William was an average sized boy who wanted to be a knight like his father. Lucas trained his son as Sir Nicolas trained him. The pair would fight a lot, and their personalities would clash. Yelling and physical fights were common between the pair but after everything was over they were the best of friends. The newest addition to the family was a young girl who had been named Ella. She was newly born, her head sported her father’s brown hair and her eyes were as stunning as her mother’s. The family lived in happiness; the children were learning what it took to be a knight or a ruler. Once the princess had died the knight strived to be there for his children, but he too soon fell to sickness. William had become a knight and took his father’s place guarding the village and training more knights to do the same. Evelyn and Ella shared the throne and continued to help the village prosper.