Starve
(Part Two of With a Lance)
By BookwormDragon
Disclaimer: A Knight's Tale and the Characters therein do not belong to me. I'm not sure exactly who they do belong to, but I know it's not me.
Will stared at Christiana in shock. Her clothing and bearing marked her as the servant of a wealthy noble, but it did nothing to soften the words she had spoken on behalf of her mistress.
"Has she gone mad?!" He demanded. "Would she have us starve? Does she not understand that the coin I earn from Jousting goes into our stomachs, to keep body and soul together?"
Christiana closed her eyes for a moment, her face and stance softening slightly.
"Nay, Sir Ulrich, she does not understand such things at all. She is highborn, her family is wealthy and favored by the King. She has never lacked for food, never known want, never been denied anything she might desire. There is no malice in her request, I assure you, for she is a generous and kind-hearted mistress, she but lacks understanding of such common concerns."
"And how would she have us feed ourselves, if I lose for her?"
"I doubt that she has given the matter any thought, good Sir. She has never had to worry about such things, she has but to request something and it appears, with no effort on her part. If she considered it at all, she would probably expect you to tax your peasants more harshly, but such reasoning has never been needful for her."
"Tax my peasants?! What peasants? That is, I mean to say, does she believe that they are made of gold?"
"I beg your pardon, My Liege, but Mistress Kate bade me tell you that she is ready to check the fit of your armor. We have little time left before the next bout, should adjustments be required."
Chaucer's interruption was most timely, William thought with relief. He had almost given the game away, for surely Christiana was no fool. If anything, she was more of a threat than any noble, for she was well used to noticing the smallest of details in order to better serve her mistress, whereas nobles were mostly concerned with themselves and each other.
Checking the fit of his armor was merely an excuse, of course. They had taken care of all that already. Still, it would not do to be caught in a lie, no matter how small, so Kate was rechecking and adjusting everything once again. William let his thoughts whirl while Kate poked and prodded.
What was he going to do?
"My Liege?" Chaucer's respectful question interrupted his frantic and frustrated thoughts. He had almost gotten used to it now – used to being called Sir and My Liege and Sir Ulrich.
"What am I going to do, Chaucer? We need the coin from winning this tournament. We need it. But it's Jocelyn. She's beautiful, and clever, and noble. And she's interested in me. Me, Chaucer, me!"
"Her maid speaks the truth, you know. There is no malice in her request, she simply doesn't see the world as you or I do."
"I know. I want to prove that I'm worthy of her attention, her…affection. I do. But I have responsibilities. To you, to Rolan, to Wat, and especially to Kate. We still haven't paid her for the armor, you know. I can't risk all of that on the whims of a spoiled girl, no matter how beautiful or noble she is. I guess it's time accept reality and see Jocelyn for the unreachable dream that she is."
"You've decided to ignore her request and win the tournament?"
"Of course. What else can I do?" He expected Chaucer to agree with him, to applaud him for pulling his head out of the clouds and being sensible for once. So he was rather surprised by his herald's response.
"That would be most unwise, Sir Ulrich – Will."
"What?!"
"Lady Jocelyn is a powerful young woman. Her father is a confidante of the English King and her guardian and host while she attends this tourney is a powerful man in his own right. She is also beautiful and much sought after by almost every man who meets her. She has a great deal of freedom for a highborn lady – how many other unmarried noble women have you seen traveling the Tourney circuit? She is not the sort of woman you wish to have as your enemy, Will."
"Enemy?!"
"Think, Will. Powerful she may be, but she is still very young. She will see your refusal to lose for her as an insult, a very public and humiliating rejection of her worth. She would never forgive you for such a slight. Truly, hell hath no fury like a woman scorned. And she could easily make our lives a living hell: a few words in the right ears…"
William felt a wave of icy terror flow through him.
"I hadn't thought of it like that! If people start asking too many questions, they'll find us out! Geoffrey, what are we going to do?!"
"You're going to start losing and pray to God that she changes her mind before it's too late for you to reverse the damage."
Author's Note: Well, this is the second part in a series of stories based on the movie A Knight's Tale. The first story was titled A True Knight, and was the first piece of fanfiction I ever posted. I have several more parts to this series already written, but I haven't written them in chronological order, so I have a few filler pieces left to write before I can post them all.