Hardly Any Left
"There's hardly any of us left now," the lady sighs. She sits under a tree in a clearing, looking at the ground. Her horse, who is tied up nearby, snorts. She glances up. Seeing nothing wrong, she looks back down at the ground.
"Soon, there will be none. Everyone thinks Lady Knights aren't needed anymore. The realm is at peace and suddenly we, who have served as well as man for decades, are expected to stay at home and have babies." She slams the ground with her fist.
"Fewer and fewer of the pages are girls nowadays. Why are female knights only needed when there aren't enough men to do the job properly? Curse it, the worst thing is that most of the girls aren't being forcibly kept home. They are simply convinced that it's a better life being a proper lady." She glares at a rock, daring it to disagree.
A breeze blows through the trees, ruffling the lady's brown hair and cooling her anger. "Here I sit, complaining to myself, when I should be getting on my way. I must be getting senile in my old age." She chuckles. "Old age, that's something no one used to be able to look forward to." Slowly, she gets to her feet and walks over to her horse. She mounts up then looks to the sky and sighs.
"Mother Goddess," she prays, "I know that one day the realm will need Lady Knights again. When this time comes, please guide the girls who will lead the way. They'll be tough, to even consider the life of a knight, but even the toughest need a little help every now and again." She smiles and kicks her horse into a walk.
As she leaves the forest, the trees rustle in the wind, then settle down. The lady looks back. The forest looks like it's set to wait. I hope it's waiting for the right person. She turns, shaking her head at her own silliness, and kicks her horse into a gallop. Forests don't wait. No more than cats can talk .. . .
Authors Note: I've had this story up for ages, but you can thank UnDeadGoat for this new, improved and beta read version! I had to take it down and repost it, so all the reviews I had for it are gone! Please review so I feel I didn't loose them for nothing!