by Deirdra Eden
We set camp on the outskirts London, and Philip went into the city to scout for business opportunities. It was almost midnight before he returned. He tied his horse to a tree and stood next to the fire. The men all looked as anxious as I felt. We were running out of money and needed to find work.
Philip kicked at the dirt and stuck his hands in his pockets. This couldn’t be good news. “I have spoken to several of the innkeepers ….” He wagged his head, drawing out the suspense. “And, it looks like this city has lots of trouble.” A smile flared across his face. The men cheered, and I let out a sigh of relief. Lots of trouble meant job security. “In the morning I will assign each of you to new posts, except for you, Auriella.”
I narrowed my eyes and rose to my feet. “Except for me? Why can’t I help? I’m just as good of a fighter as anyone here. I can do the job.” Philip’s eyes saddened. He looked to the ground. His pained and ambivalent expression stabbed at me. I balled my hands into fists. “Philip! You know I can do the job.” I didn’t hide the hurt in my voice. Why was he holding me back?
Philip took a lamp and motioned for me to follow so we could speak privately. We walked until we were near the woods. I folded my arms under my chest and shrugged away when he tried to put a comforting hand on my shoulder.
“Philip, I’m not going to take ‘no’ for an answer. I’m going to help, whether you like it or not.”
“Maybe this will change your mind.” Philip reached into his vest and handed me a rolled parchment.
I tightened my jaw and took the parchment. “What’s this?”
“Open it and see.” He leaned against a large tree and smirked like he was about to laugh. This must be one of his jokes. I unrolled the parchment. It looked official and the seal on the bottom was authentic.
Hear ye, hear ye! By order of King Henry the Third, the kingdom has a shortage of knights to protect England. Therefore, King Henry invites all able-bodied men to apply for knighthood.
Signed,
The Captain of the Royal Army
Philip laughed and waved one hand in front of my face. “Auriella, wake up, lass.”
I read it again before responding. “I … I.” I tried to regain composure, though I felt like screaming for joy. I wanted to charge into the castle that moment and start testing to become a royal knight.
Philip put his arm around me and pulled me into a bear hug. “Here’s your chance to become a knight.”
He set me on my feet. I clasped my hands and bounced. “Yes, yes, yes!” I grabbed his hands and spun with him in a circle. “This is a dream come true.”
Philip laughed, and then noticed the men watching us from a distance. He regained his rugged, stern composure and forced a cough. “Tomorrow we will go into town and get you some armor.”
The next morning, Philip escorted me into the city. There were so many people and a shop for everything. It was like the Harvest Festival every day. I could’ve spent so much money there. I gripped my purse tight and focused on the armor smith’s shop ahead.
Philip opened the door for me. The air in the shop hung thick with ash. Orange flames lit the room and reflected off tools and metal scraps.
“Ehem ….” Philip cleared his throat over the sound of clanking metal and caught the attention of a muscular man shaping a round shield. “I hear you’re the best armorer in town.”
The armorer looked up and eyed us with his one good eye. “Aye, for a price, I am.” He wiped his sooty hands on his already soiled shop apron. He glared at me and looked offended by my presence.
I shifted my weight and averted my attention to the works in progress around the shop. Maybe he was too busy to help us. His unsettling glances stabbed at me. Something was wrong. He acted like he hated me, and he didn’t even know who I was or why I was there. I squirmed inside and casually half-turned behind Philip’s bulky frame.
“I need you to fit some armor for the lady here.” Philip pointed at me. I inwardly cringed. Now all the attention was on me, and it wasn’t good.
The armorer wrinkled his leathery face. “For her?”
Philip nodded.
“You can’t be serious,” he argued. “She looks like a girl, not a knight. Take her to a dress shop.” He spat on the ground and turned to his work.
Philip leaned forward, snatched the man by the back of his shirt and whirled him around. I had never seen Philip so angry. Even the muscular armorer looked intimidated. Philip’s crimson face pulsed above his strained neck, but he spoke calmly. “You’re right. She is a girl, and the best warrior I’ve ever trained. She’s quick and agile and can spill all your organs before you can draw your sword. I need you to make armor tailored for that kind of warrior.”
I repeated his words in my mind. Me, a warrior? The best he’s ever trained. A smile pulled across my face, but I tried to stay firm and regal like a soldier. After all, I had to keep a good appearance for Philip’s reputation.
Philip released the armorer, pulled a pouch from his tunic, and dropped it on the table. The unmistakable sound of coins clinked inside. “No, Philip.” I reached for my purse.
Philip put his hand up. “I insist. It’s an honor for a father to purchase his son’s first set of armor. I know you’re not my son … or daughter, but you don’t have a father, and I never had a son. Please, allow me this privilege.”
“I … I don’t know what to say.” I dropped my shoulders.
“Say ye’ll show those pretty noble boys how real men fight.”
I beamed mischievously. “Yes, Sir!”
The armorer opened the pouch and looked inside. He counted the coins and said, “Fine, I will make armor for the lady.”
Philip turned back to the armorer and jerked him closer. “Are you married?” he asked.
“Yes,” the armorer replied in a hesitant tone.
“That’s a surprise—poor lass.” Philip shook his head. “Imagine me coming after your wife with a sword.”
The armorer knocked Philip’s hand away. “Are you threatening me?”
“Of course not.” Philip feigned innocence. “But I want you to make Auriella a suit of armor you would feel comfortable having your wife wear if she had to face me in battle.”
“I only make the best,” the armorer replied. “I’ll have it done in two weeks.”
As promised, two weeks later, the armor was ready, and it really was the best armor I had ever seen. The craftsmanship was second to none. Cassi purred with excitement, while Ruburt helped me pack the last of our belongings.
I looked to the castle. Tonight I was going to be dining with knights and royalty in the palace. If I worked hard enough I could be knighted by my next birthday. I took the proclamation scroll from my pack and read the words, just as I had many times the previous night. This time I saw something I hadn’t noticed until now. “Oh, no!”
Ruburt took the scroll from me, his eyes scanned the page. “What’s wrong?”
“Don’t you see? It calls for ‘All able-bodied men.’ Men! I am not a man. When I ride to the castle, they will turn me away as soon as they see me.” I recalled the way the armorer reacted to me. Obviously the idea of a female fighter offended him. Lady Hannah hadn’t even like the idea of me fighting in battle. What if this prevented me from being knighted?
Ruburt’s eyes opened wide and he read the parchment again. “Well, I, uh …,” he stammered. “This’ll make things difficult.”
I closed my hands into fists and stared at the high castle in the center of the city. “We’ve got to create a plan. Maybe if we explain things to them ….”
Ruburt shook his head. “Explain to the captain of the guard? He has a reputation for being a tyrant and hosts a beheading once a month.”
I dropped my head and exhaled the breath I was holding. There had to be a way. This was so unfair.
Cassi’s eyes opened wide. “Cassi know! Cassi show!”
I looked up, but had little hope Cassi actually had an idea that would get me knighted.
R
uburt rolled the scroll and handed it to me. “Cassi, this better be a good plan.”
The mid-morning light gleamed off the new armor like jewels as I rode toward the gates of London. Inside the metal shell, sweat beaded on my brow and trickled down my neck. Wearing full armor in the sun felt like roasting in an oven, but at least it offered a convincing disguise.
The pixie and dwarf hid under my billowing cape. I led Ruburt’s small horse beside my own mare and feebly hoped it would pass as a packhorse. We approached the first guarded gate of the city. I clutched the scroll with the call for knights in my fist.
“Halt!” one of the guards called out. “Who art thou and what is thy business in this city?”
From under my cape, Ruburt spoke in his deep voice, “My name is Bronson. I have come to answer the king’s call for knights.”
Bronson, I thought. Where was he getting that name from? I would have chosen a more romantic name like Gladimer or Nathanial.
The guard gave me a suspicious look. “Where do you hail from?”
My heart raced. No one was going to believe this disguise. They might as well behead me now.
“I’m a pure Englishman through and through and will hail from wherever the king sends me,” Ruburt said.
That was a pretty good answer. I gestured with my hands and drew the guard’s attention to the scroll with the proclamation on it.
“You may pass. Report to the captain of the guards.”
Cassi started to giggle as we rode into the city. Even Ruburt chuckled from under my cape. “If knighthood doesn’t work out for you, Auriella, maybe you can become an actor,” Ruburt teased.
I wrinkled my nose. “A woman actor—how inappropriate.” In theater, if a woman’s role was needed, a young boy played the part. Young men who aspired to become actors were initiated in the performance community by strapping on corsets and prancing around like women until their whiskers came in and ruined their soft baby faces.
“And you see nothing wrong with a woman becoming a knight?” Ruburt let out a surrendering sigh. “I swear, I’ll never figure you out, Auriella.”
I wasn’t sure what he meant, but I wasn’t going to make a fool of myself. We rode through the merchant district and passed the elaborate homes of those who could afford to live within the protective walls of the city. It looked like Cassi’s plan was going to work—at least for now.
Under the cape, Cassi wiggled back and forth, trying to see all the people. Her wings tickled Ruburt’s nose as she fidgeted, and he let out a tremendous string of sneezes. A passerby called, “God bless thee!”
Ruburt swatted at the pixie in annoyance. “I think I’m allergic to pixie dust.”
We passed the execution stage. My stomach twisted. What if we were caught and I ended up being executed? The blood-stained wood drew out my guilt and prophesied as to what my fate would be if I was caught impersonating a man to become a knight.
I slowed the horse. It wasn’t too late to turn back. My heart pounded against ribs. What would Lucas do?
I knew exactly what Lucas would do. He would serve his country, even if that meant giving his life.
I urged my horse forward, and I made sure my helmet covered my face. In the courtyard, a tall man draped in a crimson and black uniform held his helmet at his side with one hand. A gold shield was embroidered on his tunic. This had to be the captain. He looked just as fierce as Ruburt had described him. His seasoned face was lined in a way that made him look permanently irritated by everyone and everything around him.
I whispered to Ruburt, “When I stop, I will be in front of the captain. I need you to ask him where we are to go.” Ruburt nodded. I rode toward the captain and halted a short distance from him. I lifted the visor of my helmet and saluted. I might have been overly paranoid, but I squinted to make my large, almond-shape eyes seem less feminine.
“I understand you are the captain of the guards?” Ruburt’s voice questioned.
The captain turned toward me and replied, “I am he.”
“I am Bronson. I have come in response to the call for knights,” Ruburt said from under my cape, and I tilted my head and nodded as if it was me speaking.
The captain rolled his eyes and motioned for a couple of squires to assist me in dismounting. Before they reached me, Ruburt swung from the horse and held out his hand to help me down. The squires stepped back and looked startled before they snickered at the dwarf.
“Be on with your work!” The captain scowled and turned toward me. “I see you have brought a small squire.”
Ruburt and I both opened our mouths, but hesitated. If either one of us spoke, the captain would know we tried to trick him and there would be a double beheading.
The captain waved his hand. “Never mind. With the short supply of men these days, even a dwarf is needed as an assistant.” Ruburt and I looked at each other. “You, Bronson, have your small squire get your things and follow me.”
Ruburt and I gathered our belongings and followed the captain through an arched doorway into the castle. Ruburt swatted at his beard, obviously trying to get Cassi to hold still. I said a prayer in my heart that this would work. We followed the captain up a stone staircase and came to a halt in front of an open door. The walls were stone and devoid of decoration except for a single torch in one corner above a wooden bench.
“Here is a changing room,” the captain said. “We dine at sunset. A bell will ring six times to call everyone to the dining hall. Change out of your armor, get cleaned, and come in dinner apparel.” He pointed to a set of clothing laid out on the bench. “This is the tunic for the candidates who wish to become royal knights. You will need to wear this when walking around the castle and grounds.” The tunic looked like the one the captain wore, with the exception of the gold trim. A green belt lay in a pile next to the tunic.
The captain pointed down the hallway. “Take your armor to the armory where it will be stored. You will be assigned a place to sleep after dinner.” The captain scowled at me. “Do you understand?”
I nodded.
“Good,” the captain stated. His black leather boots clicked against the stone floor as he marched back to the courtyard.
Ruburt helped me out of my armor, and I went into the dressing room. I pulled several shirts from my pack and bulked up to hide my feminine frame before tossing on the uniform. I braided my hair and stuffed it in my chainmail hood. I flung a cloak around my shoulders, and then pulled the hood of my cloak over my head as well.
I opened the door and strutted out into the hall. I puffed out my chest and flexed my muscles. I threw Ruburt a debonair smile and dropped my voice to a low growl. “Do I look like a man?”
Ruburt raised his eyebrow and cringed like he had swallowed something bitter.
I slumped. “Come on, we can’t have you hiding under my cape speaking for me at dinner. If young men can play the part of women in theater, then why can’t a woman play the part of a young man?”
Ruburt shook his head. “I can’t believe you’re going through with this.” I narrowed my eyes and Ruburt put up his hands like he was surrendering under my glare. “Just don’t talk to anyone and you’ll be fine.”
Six chimes echoed through the castle, indicating it was time for dinner. We entered the dining room and found it full of young men recounting tales and bragging about their skills. Most of the young men were sons from noble families. I hoped I wouldn’t run into anyone I had known while I was in Oswestry. I tried to avoid conversation, but a man approached me. He looked so young; he probably couldn’t even shave yet.
