The Knight and The Fair Maiden
Chapter One: The First Joust
Her name was Mara. Everyone knew her as Fair Maiden Mara. She was a sweet girl. An innocent girl, who didn't cause things and didn't get drug into things. That was until the day she met Sir Joseph, the count of Moldova.
It was nice summer day in England and a festival was going on. Everyone walked around to the many shops and shows that were going on. Her family and her decided to go out that day and walk around and enjoy the festival. Her best friend Dayle decided to tag along with them, so Mara and her ended up going different ways than the rest of the family. It was the perfect opportunity to spend some time together and they weren't going to waste it. They walked into a nearby store and looked at the variety of corsets and dresses. They were so beautiful and there were so many choices. Dayle picked one up in her hands and smiled. She loved it.
She smiled over at Mara and said, "what do you think of it?"
"I think it looks perfect" she answered with a smile.
Dayle then turned to the woman running the shop and smiled. As she talked to the woman Mara stepped outside. She looked at all the passing people and smiled. Such a variety of people. It wasn't hard to tell who had money and who didn't, but that kind of thing didn't matter to her. As she looked around something caught her eye. There was a group of people dressed in red and black. Yes, people wore red, but it was odd seeing so many people together wearing it. Maybe they were visiting from another country? She didn't know, but she hoped if they were they weren't going to cause any trouble.
"Alright, we can go now." Dayle said as she stepped out of the shop.
Mara didn't respond. She stood there watching the group of men. They all had the same outfit on of red and black. It was so strange.
"Mara?" Dayle said and then tapped her shoulder.
"What?" Mara asked as she snapped out of it and turned to Dayle.
"You ok?" she asked curiously.
Mara nodded and smiled "Yes, I apologize. I was watching all the people walking by"
Dayle smiled and then headed down the dirt road. There were so many shops to look at. The people laughed and stumbled around as they enjoyed their day and their beer. Mara noticed that people were rushing toward the arena. Dayle looked confused and tried to look ahead to see what was going on. They decided to stop in a store and ask.
"Excuse me, but is there something going on at the arena?" Mara asked.
The man was trying to get stuff put away so he could close shop "You haven't heard my lady? There's going to be a joust. Now hurry along you and I both don't want to miss it."
Mara nodded and then walked out of the shop. The streets were beginning to clear out and many of the shops were closing with signs saying "be back after the fight".
"There's gonna be a joust." Mara said as she walked out.
"between whom?" Dayle asked.
"Not sure. Should we go check it out?" she asked.
Dayle nodded and they made their way for the arena. There were no seats in the stands available anymore. Luckily there was room up front along the outer gate. They made their way through the crowd to the open spot.
"I wonder who it's gonna be" Dayle said as she leaned on the fence.
"I don't know, but I hope no one gets hurt.." Mara said.
People were already cheering. She could hear people cheering for their king Sir William, but there was no one out there yet. Mara wondered whom it was that came and challenged their king. He never lost jousts, ever.
"Sir William will be jousting" Mara said.
Dayle nodded "He must have been challenged by someone from another country"
Mara nodded "Must have.."
The gates to the arena opened and four squires emerged from the opening. They were carrying the helmets, some hoops, and some ribbons. Walking over to a hay bale placed off to the side, they set the things down. There was a silver helmet, a white and red one, a blue and white one, and a red and black one. Mara gasped a little when she saw the red and black one. Dayle turned and looked at her confused.
"Are you alright Mara?" she asked.
"I saw a group of men in red and black earlier. Do you think they're with the man that's going to be wearing that helmet?" she asked.
Dayle nodded, "Most likely. It is probably someone with a higher up status and people are coming to root for him."
Mara nodded and then listened as the queen stood up from her seat and began to talk. Once she finished the gates opened once again. Sir William and another man in silver and black, Sir Sancho, came out. Sir William gave a small speech and declared that he would take the other man down. The man in the silver and black only laughed. He than began to talk about a man named Sir Joseph.
"Who is Sir Joseph?" Mara asked.
A man behind her answered, "He is from Moldova. He came to challenge Sir William."
Mara frowned. She didn't want to see anyone get hurt. She knew that these sometimes ended up as a fight to the death. Once the other man stopped talking, the gates opened again. This time a man with blue and silver on rode out. Behind him came a man in red and black. He had brown hair that hung to his shoulders and some facial hair covered his chin and around his mouth. Mara just stared over at the man. Dayle smiled and nudged her.
"Don't tell me you're checking out that guy." she teased.
Mara blushed, "I don't even know the guy!" she paused. "there is something about him though.." she admitted in a softer tone.
The man in the blue and white, Sir Tristen, rode over to the side of the arena that Sir William waited on. The man in the red and black, Sir Joseph, stayed over by Sir Sancho. Sir Tristen began to talk. His words were insulting towards Sir Joseph, but he only laughed. Once he got done talking, Sir Joseph began to speak. He had a deep voice that sounded so confident. It was the kind of voice that you could listen to all day, like music. However he was talking bad about their king. Something inside of Mara though told her that Sir William was wrong and Sir Joseph was right.
Dayle turned to Mara, "I think I'm going to root for Sir Tristen. Sir William is going to win so it's no fun to root for him."
Mara smiled, "I'm going for Sir Joseph."
The match began. The men started out by riding on their horses and catching hoops on their lanyards. First they had to just get the hoop on their lanyard and then they had to catch them in the air. Once that was done the men all stated that the arena was suitable and good to do the match on. Sir William then proceeded to make another speech.
"My people you must listen. This man over here is a bad man. He does not believe in chivalry and he has a thirst for blood. I can not allow this man to go on with blood shed. It's not good for the people to have such a ruthless person among them. Now I tell you this, Cheer for me for I am winning this battle for all the men, women, and children out there!"
The crowd roared with cheering and clapping. People began to chant his name once again. Sir joseph just laughed. Then he began to speak.
"Now listen to me. Your king over there tells lies. He doesn't want to do anything he just stated. That man is nothing but a cowered. That is why I have come here today. To prove what a cowered this man is. Also, I have come for a fight to the death with the undefeated Sir William, for I am also undefeated."
Quite a few people in the crowd began to cheer. Mara jumped in with the cheering and cheered for him. It was going against her king, but she almost felt like she couldn't help herself. The speeches were now done and the queen stood up once again. She stated the rules of the joust and then wished her husband good luck. First to joust was Sir Sancho and Sir William. They made their way to their spot on either side of the arena and had their squires bring what they needed. Once the helmets where on and the lanyards were ready the queen made the call to start. The horses charged at one another and once they were close the sound of the lanyards crashing against armor was all that was heard. The men rode to the other side of the arena and went again. They did this two more times and no one fell from their horse. The round ended and the men switched out. Sir Tristen and Sir Joseph were up now. They placed their helmets on and then took their spot. The horses once again charged at each other and the clashing of meddle and lanyard was heard. They went three times before Sir Joseph got a good hit, knocking Sir Tristen from his horse. He laid on the ground and then he sat up. He punched the ground and cursed. Sir Joseph rode by and knocked him back down with his lanyard. The crowd was a mix of cheering and booing. Mara cheered and yelled for him. The joust was over. Sir Joseph and Sir William unmounted their horses and walked to the middle of the arena.
"Sir Joseph! You dared to enter the arena with me which marks you as a foolish man!" Sir William shouted.
"Sir William, I only entered so I could finally stop your lies." Sir Joseph said with a smirk.
They both picked up a sword in their hands and got ready. The Queen however stepped in.
"The rest of the match will be finished later. The two of you still must joust one another." she said.
Sir joseph and Sir William both dropped the swords. They turned so they were facing the Queen and they nodded.
"When would you like it to continue my queen?" Sir William asked.
"We will resume this battle at six. Go and enjoy the festival in that time." she answered.
They both bowed to her and nodded. Sir William exited the arena and was instantly crowed by the people. Sir Joseph took his time and picked a glove up that he dropped. Mara watched him and Dayle smiled.
"tell him you love him." she said with a smirk.
Mara hesitated, but then pulled her hankerchief from her belt and waved it at him "I love you Sir Joseph!"
Sir Joseph looked up at her and smiled. He then pointed to his heart and then back to her. Mara blushed and smiled. Sir Joseph then made his way out of the arena. Mara rushed her way over to the opening so she could talk to him. She walked up to him with a smile and he bowed slightly.
"Hello Sir Joseph, did you hear my cheering?" she asked.
He nodded and smiled "Oh yes of course. It was truly inspiring to me."
"Well I'm glad to hear that. You did really great out there."
"Why thank you. I'm glad to hear that someone here appreciates me." he said with a laugh.
Mara smiled "Well I hope to see you around."
Sir Joseph nodded and smiled "I hope the same."
Mara then turned and waved her hankerchief good-bye to him. He smiled and watched as she walked away. Sir Sancho walked over to Sir Joseph and frowned.
"She's no good." he said bluntly.
Joseph frowned "and why do you say that? She seemed sweet to me and she was very beautiful."
He just continued to frown "She is one of Sir William's. There is no way she is truly rooting for you."
"Maybe she finally see's his lies as well. Not everyone is faithful to their king you know." Sir Joseph said. Then him and the others left to go get cleaned up. He stayed back a little and watched as Mara walked away.