Disclaimer:

I do not own William Thatcher, Kate, Wat, Geoffrey Chaucer, or King Edward, but all of the other characters in this fan fiction are my creation.

Author's Note:

This story begins about a week after William dies. Jocelyn died when her twin children were very young. Kate and Wat helped Will raise children after their mother died. Christiana and Roland had married and moved to a small farm on the outskirts of London to raise a family. Chaucer has returned to London to teach and pursue his writing career.

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A Daughter's Tale

Chapter Four – Paris

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The streets of Paris were lined with tradesmen and vendors all talking loudly about the tournament. Josephine sat proudly atop her horse dressed in her brother's old clothes to hide the fact that she was a woman. She had cut her hair so that it hung to her shoulders much the way her fathers had done in his youth. Lenior had been telling her all about the proper way to conduct her self at banquet. She had decided that although she would compete as a man, she would go to formal functions as herself. It was a good way for her to get to know her competition on a more personal level. She knew most of the knights by reputation alone, and knew that she had to know more than that. She watched as Chaucer presented her paitence to the council and enroll her in three competitions, swords, archery, and of course the joust. Roland took the reigns of the horse and led him to the campsite on the outskirts of town. Josephine watched everything around her very carefully.

When they reached the campsite she decided as soon as the tent was set she would change into one of her frocks and set about with Lenior and explore. The two young girls still were not very fond of each other, but they had grown accustom to the company of being together. They decided that the center of the town would be the best place to start since that is where all of the knights had to register. Almost instantly a young man sitting atop a brilliant white stallion caught her eye. She leaned close to Lenior, "Let the games begin." She whispered.

Lenior caught her friends gaze and smiled. This man was most definitely intriguing. His dark hair was nearly to his shoulders and his eyes were the most amazing shade of blue. She admired his chiseled jaw line; she felt that that showed power. Looking at Josephine it was easy to see that the knight mesmerized the young blonde. "Shall we try to get his attention?"

Josephine smiled, "Most definitely, we want him to come to us, don't we?"

Lenior shook her head, "That is how a Lady would do it." She stated, a bit sharper than she intended.

The two young women watched as the handsome man dismounted, for a moment he was out sight but soon they both saw him heading their direction. His smile as he neared was amazing; it made his azure eyes gleam like precious gems. Josephine could hear her heart in her ears and she began to feel weak in the knees. Nothing like this had ever happened to her before. "And just what are two Ladies of such beauty doing out here with out an escort?" He asked when he finally stopped in front of them.

Lenior saw the stunned look on Josephine's face and decided to speak up, "My lady likes to see her brother's competition first hand Sir."

"How very cleaver of her. And who is her brother?" He directed his question to Lenior but his eyes never left Josephine.

"Sir Joseph Thatcher, of London. And you are good sir knight?"

"Oh, dear where are my manors, I am Christopher Lord Dover. I must say it is quite an honor to be in the presence of a Thatcher. Your father is a legend, will he too be competing?"

Josephine turned her dark eyes to the ground unable to answer. Lenior could see her sadness and replied simply, "I am sorry Sir Christopher but William has died, just over a month ago."

Christopher hung his head shamefully. "Please accept my apology, I had no idea, I have been away from home for so long."

"How could you have known? It is all right, really. I know that I am going to have to answer a lot of question this week." Josephine stated, speaking for the first time since the young man had joined them.

"So you do speak. Will you tell me your name My Lady."

"Lady Josephine Thatcher. It is an honor to meet you Sir Christopher. Perchance we will meet again sometime."

The handsome brunette smiled, "I look forward to that. Tell your brother that I wish him well."

"There you are, I've been looking everywhere for you two. Roland's been frantic with worry and Wat has sworn to giving you both a good flogging for running off with out warning." Geoff stated appearing behind the women.

Josephine turned to face her herald, "I'm sorry Uncle Geoff, we just wanted to get a better look at my brother's competitors." She explained with an innocent smile.

"Well, I better get you two back to camp now. Kate needs you both to help her with dinner." He turned his pale eyes up on the stranger. "Well, I see you two have made a new friend already."

"Yes Uncle, this is Christopher Lord Devon, Sir Christopher may I present to you my dear Uncle Geoffrey Chaucer."

Christopher's sculpted chin dropped in awe; "It is a great honor to meet you. I am a bit of a fan of yours, will you be heralding?"

"As a matter of fact, I am." Geoff replied simply.

"Wonderful, I can not wait to hear your introduction. My Father has always said that you were an even better herald then you are a writer." Christopher looked over his shoulder and saw his squire flagging him down to let him know that they had finished registering. "Well I suppose I should be going, will I see you at banquet?" He asked probing Josephine with his piercing blue eyes.

Josephine smiled shyly, "Of course, although I fear that my brother will not attend. He hates the formality of it all, as did my father."

"I'm sure he will be missed." With a final smile the slender knight turned and walked back to his horse. Josephine couldn't help but smile as she noticed the pride in his stance. There was something about this man that made her want to know everything about him, but at the same time she felt as though she already knew all she needed to know. She couldn't explain it; it was almost as though she had known him her whole life. Before too long he was lost in the building crowd.

She turned to Geoff, his face held a disapproving scowl as he looked at her, "What is it Uncle, you look as though I've done something wrong."

"Oh no little Josie, you have done nothing wrong, but I know that face. I have seen it all too many times. It is the same expression your father would get whenever your mother walked into the room. Remember one thing, love is a powerful force. It can help you rule the world, but it can also blind you so that you lose it all."

Josephine laughed at the writer's melodramatics, "Who said anything about love. He is just competition. Trust me, I am not being blinded by anything, I am here to win." She spoke in a low tone so that no one around them could hear. "Although he did have the most magnificent eyes."

Geoff rolled his eyes as he shook his head, "Forget those eyes, you will never be able to defeat him if all you can think about is how magnificent they are." He rested his hand on her shoulder, "Trust me, this is your first real competition, you don't need any distractions." He whispered carefully.

Sighing the teenager turned and started walking toward camp, leaving Geoff and Lenior staring after her. She knew that Geoff only had her best interests in mind, but she was old enough to make her own decisions. As she walked her thoughts wandered back to Lord Christopher. She knew that she would have to face him at least once during the tournament, but she also knew that with the King watching her, she had to win at whatever cost. As much as she hated the thought she decided to push the attractive knight from her mind until after the competition.

She reached the camp and found a red faced Wat pacing around mumbling something about pain. He looked up at her through narrow eyes, "Just where did you run off too?"

"Lenior and I went out to get a look at the other knights." She responded casually as she strolled past him into the tent.

Wat followed her in, "This isn't a game Josie, you have responsibilities here. This isn't going to be the same as it was with your father." He scolded.

Turning to face him the blonde challenged him, "I am well aware of my responsibility!"

At that moment Roland entered the tent, "Oh thank God your back. Where is Lenior?"

"In town with Uncle Geoff." Josephine retorted.

"Well at least you're back. They have just announced the order for the first round of competition; they want you in the lists first thing in the morning. You are going up against Lord Philipe of Aragone, it should be a strong match as long as you keep your head about you."

"Josie!" Lenior's excited voice called through the tent flap, "I have news for you." She said peaking her head through the door. It was easy to see by the smile on Lenior's face that it was news that would brighten Josephine's evening.

"Well don't just stand there, come in and tell me." The blonde urged, biting her lip in anticipation, secretly praying that it was news of Sir Christopher.

"As Geoff and I were heading back to camp we met up with your Lord Dover, he asked me if you would meet him this evening to talk over dinner at the pub."

Josephine's face lit up instantly, but then fell just as fast, "Oh what am I gonna do? I can't go; I'll make an idiot of myself. Unless…" she thought for a moment, "you come with me as my escort." She stated looking at Lenior with pleading eyes.

"Me? Why me, I am just a simple farm girl remember?"

"But you know how a woman should act with a man. My whole life I was brought up by men I never had to be a girl. Please help me Lenior, I'll do anything."

Lenior studied the face of the young woman in front of her; she could see true concern in her eyes. It was more than that though; it was the first time Lenior saw venerability in the tomboy. Josephine's eyes seemed to plead for her assistance even after she made her verbal request. With an exasperated sigh she agreed to help. Lenior now knew that this girl that she thought was hard as steel did have a soft side, she wasn't all about disciplined training and honor, deep down she wanted the fairytale. The younger woman knew that she could use that to her advantage to crack through Josephine's hard shell so that they could become friends.

Roland and Wat exchanged worried looks, "Are you sure going out tonight is such a good idea Josie, you have to be in the lists early." Roland reminded.

"Yes, I will be home early enough, but right now I have to get ready." With that Josephine turned and headed to her section of the tent with Lenior on her heels. She wanted to have a good time knowing that she would be under more pressure than ever before in the morning.