Heya Guys sorry for the wait, am currently redecorating and doing my coursework for A levels. There's quite a lot of view points in this chapter and a nice twist, am hoping to go back to the tv show with Autumn in the storyline in the next chapter. Wish me luck ;) x
Chapter 4 Mellee
What kind of a mellee was this? Autumn thought to herself. A group of peasants were paying in coins and handed a sword in return. In all the books she had read it had always been trained men fighting for the amusement of the spectators. She walked over to a gaurd and asked to look at his blade. Obediantly he pulled it out and Autumn ran her finger down it. The blade made a small incision in her finger.
"Is this the blade you are using in the mellee?" She asked.
"Yes, The king has said there is no need to blunt weapons." The gaurd answered. Autumn handed him back his sword and thanked him. Walking away she was full of thought. Thankful that she hadn't blunted her weapons yet, but fearful of the people who were fighting who were not trained. In the distance a trumpet sounded. Autumn had been so lost in thought she had missed the start of the announcements. With a quick sprint she made it to the enclosure to catch the end of the announcements. Three different competitions? This was definately not like the mellees she had read about.
Jogging over to the sign up stand Autumn bumped into Tuck.
"The weapons are not blunt." She said before continuing to run to the battlefield. She had warned him, that was all she could do.
Reaching the stand she signed up and handed over her other weapons. However her father chose that moment to walk over.
"Daughter leave your weapons with me in the royal box. They will be safe there. You are only allowed swords in the first contest. I see you have changed back into your fighting outfit." He added with a look of discontent on his face.
"Can't you where armour?" He asked.
"No. That would defeat the object of distraction." Whilst they had been talking they had reached the royal box. Leaving all her weapons, except the two swords strapped to her back, she ran off to the battlefield. Her father shouting "Good Luck." behind her.
The prince had now entered the box.
"The guards have orders to maim, but not kill, the peasants. The more of them who aren't working the less rebellion there will be." The prince said.
"And Autumn?" Guy asked, not caring for the peasants but his daughter.
"She will not be permanantly hurt. But I do not believe she is as strong as everyone makes out to be. Especially against my army in the mellee. Her spirit will hopefully be knocked down a few pegs." Prince John replied. Guy nodded, glad to hear his daughter would not be permantly hurt, but curious to the Prince's plan. A trumpet sounded. The mellee was about to begin.
Autumn reached the battlefield just as the trumpet sounded. She ducked under the rope that marked the edge and gasped. All the trained soldiers were on one side of the field, and the peasants on the other. This wasn't going to be a mellee, it was going to be a slaughter. Shaking her head, she joined the peasants and engaged in conversation.
Robin watched as Autumn ran to the field. He had already noticed how the field had been layed out. He clenched his fist in frustration on how he had no chance to help save the villagers he cared about. Tuck was right, if he was caught, it would do more harm than good. Robin was sure Autumn was going to join the gaurds as to not raise suspicion. But instead she went over to the villagers. He smiled. Autumn continued to surprise him. She had grown into a resourceful woman. He was glad that she was willing to put herself in danger to protect the innocents. However this feeling was quickly wiped out by one of worry. Autumn had put herself in the front line and was sure to get seriously hurt.
Autumn looked around. Everyone was drawing their swords. She looked to her left and right. Some of the people were having second thoughts. The trumpet sounded, signalling the start of the mellee. It was then Autumn made a decision, she would not let these people get hurt. Without drawing her swords she ran out to meet the Prince's army.
Robin gasped with the audience. Autumn had left the safety of her side and sprinted forwards, her arms out behind her to increase her speed. What was she doing? Robin thought, she hadn't taken out her swords. What was she thinking?
Kate leaned in to him, not bearing to look.
Autumn looked at the line advancing in front of her. Continuing her pace she noticed three of the men escape from the safety of the line. Changing her course slightly she ran up to the three men. Without altering her speed she flipped over them hitting one on the back of the neck as she passed. The man fell. The other two looking at him in confusion.
Autumn needed to turn around, her back was to the approaching line. If she didn't turn fast she was in danger. Sweeping one leg along the floor she tripped over one of the other men. Standing on his hands she grabbed the other man's sword hand before he could react. Using his hand she butted the man on the floors head. Knocking him out cold. The man's hand she had she snapped in half with a hit then turned around to face the men who were mere feet from her.
As the men approached Autumn, Robin prayed. She was going to die. How could she be so foolish? As he watched she changed course. Before he could blink one man was on the floor, in quick succession the other two followed suit. One screaming in pain. Kate looked up and cheered with the crowd. Autumn turned just as a sword went for her head.
Seeing the sword Autumn ducked at the last minute and struck the man in the ribs with her hand, bursting his kidneys. He'd be dead in a couple of days, until then he'd be in excruciating pain. Half the gaurds ran straight past her, towards the peasants. Autumn could only hope they could hold them back for the time being. She turned. She was facing at least 30 of the opposition. Standing up straight she took a deep breath. Stepping back into a pose, she raised her hands.
"Bring it." She smiled. Five men came at her. With another sweep kick she got one on the floor, whilst coming up though she had to dodge two swords in close quarters. Back flipping out of the circle she kicked one of the men in the back, letting him land on the other man. The other three were soon joined by the rest of the group. This was going to be fun, Autumn thought as she drew her swords.
Guy neither knew if his daughter was insane or brave. Watching her run into battle he felt the fright. Which was quickly followed by pride as she fought back. When she drew her swords, Guy drew in a breath. This is what he wanted to know. Was she any good with a Sword?
Watching the battle the crowd gasped and shouted as the oncoming gaurds passed Autumn to reach the villagers. The crowd shouted encouragement. Praying for their safety. Robin and his men watched in awe as Autumn stepped into the old age dance of sword play. Moving with speed and grace she used her swords to cut down her opponents in quick succession. Maiming but refusing to kill whenever possible. Much stood with open awe, his mouth hanging open. When he had been in the Holy Land he knew Autumn was skilled with a sword, but seeing her in action was another thing all together. She was a killing machine in action.
Kate watched as Autumn sustained a small cut to her upper right arm, the blood running freely. Kate flinched as another cut hit Autumns leg, a bit deeper. However Autumn took the pain in her stride and seemed to move faster. Sweat was starting to bead on both the girls brow. Autumn's from exertion, Kate's from worry.
Autumn looked around as she defeated the last man. Thanking Richard for her heavy training she looked at her wounds. Nothing major. A scream jerked Autumn from her daze. A young boy had fallen, but the soldier was still advancing on him. Autumn ran over and rolled infront of him, blocking the oncoming sword blow as it went for the boy.
"Leave now, get to the back of the line!" She shouted at him, holding the soldiers sword in the block.
"Didn't your mother ever tell you to pick on someone your own size." She said as she deflected the soldiers blow and ran him through. Turning to find a new opponent, the trumpet blew. It was the end of the first contest. Looking around, most of the villagers had come through relatively unscathed. The ones that had fallen were quickly being treated by worried family members. Autumn ran over to see if she could help, nodding to Much as she passed him.
"Very interesting." The prince said.
"What my Lord?" Guy asked, overwhelmed with pride.
"She is good with a sword. If she makes it through the next contest I will have to pair her with my best man. And look now. She is not coming over here, to speak to her father, but instead has ran over to help the injured peasants." Prince John smiled at the look on Gisbourne's face. Guy looked over at his daughter. It was true. How dare she? How dare she not talk to him but instead mingle with the lowers. It was not reasonable. She would be taught differently as soon as they got home. The prince was right. She was too headstrong for a women. Marian was headstrong and look where that got her. No this was going to change. And soon.
The battlefield was soon cleared of the injured and targets set up at one end of the field. Villagers dropped out of the mellee, no longer caring for the coins they had spent. Autumn looked around, there were about 15 of the prince's men left and about ten villagers. Sighing she decided she would have to go over and talk to her father whilst getting her bow. Walking over she was waved over by Kate.
"Hey, how are the injured?" Autumn asked. Her own injuries had been cleaned and had been bandaged. An unneccesary thing in Autumn's eyes.
"Healing. Only one died. His family are with him now. Robin wanted me to pass you this." Kate held out a bow. It was Robin's. Autumn gasped, to Robin this bow was his life.
"I will look after it." She said as a trumpet sounded. Kate nodded and Autumn grapped the quiver of arrows. Running off to her line, Autumn took a glance over at her father, he looked angry. Kate returned to Robin to watch the procceedings.
"My Lord look." Guy said, drawing the Prince's attention to his daughter.
"She has a bow." Prince John said.
"Yes but she has not returned here to collect hers." Guy informed through clenched teeth.
"You see how she lacks the bravery to come over to her father. She knows you would not approve of her fighting with the lowers." Prince John smiled. Guy was consumed with anger. He had only just found his daughter and she was already wanting to leave him.
"Gisbourne!" Prince John inturrupted his internal tirade.
"Yes my Lord."
"The child must be controlled. Centered. You know how to do that don't you."
"How?"
"Marriage. To someone who can restrain her. She is of age is she not?" The prince smiled.
"Yes she is." Guy said unsure. He would only see his daughter married into money. That way he would be guaranteed a wealthy life.
"Then prepare her to be married. Once her spirit is broken she would make a fabulous queen. She is trained in politics, war and languages. She is well educated. Don't you agree?"
"Yes my lord but if the king raised her I do not think he would marry her." Guy growled. The prince laughed.
"No Gisbourne. She shall be my bride. What better way than to keep her in line. She is all I have said and is very pleasing to the eye."
"Yes your majesty. I would be most honoured for her to marry you." Guy smiled. He would have all the wealth in the world. He may even be able to become the new sheriff and lord of Nottingham to boot.
"Then make the plans and break the news to her. But for now lets enjoy the mellee." The prince sat back, a grin spread across his face. He had rigged it, only Autumn and his best man would be able to get through.
Unaware of the plans that involved her, Autumn raised the bow, an arrow notched into it. All she had to do was hit the centre of the target five hundred yards away. Many people had failed, but none of them was trained by Robin. Breathing in, Autumn focused. As she breathed out she let the arrow go. It sped towards the traget, splitting the air in two. It hit home. The crowd cheered and Autumn ran off with a smile to chose her weapons for the next round.
Only one other man had hit the bullseye. He was a man of six feet in height and heavely built. Autumn looked at the weapons he was picking up. They were allowed to chose three types of weapons and bring on as many of those weapons as they could carry. As she watched the man picked up his sword. Autumn slid her Sais into her shoe pockets. They were well built for fighting with swords. The next weapon her opponant picked up was a battleaxe. Autumn looked on in shock. That was one of the only weapons she couldn't face. An axe would not fit her size and was not easily dodged. She picked up her leather bindings and put them on. Attaching a staff that was taller than her on it. The strings were hard wearing but a little bit of a pull on them and they would snap. She would not be able to flip with it attached to her and this was Autumn's disadvantage. The staff would stop her from doing any of her air manoveurs.
The last weapon the man chose was a shield. It had been voted that a shield counted as a weapon. However Autumn's size wouldn't enable her to hold a decent sized shield and fight. Instead she attached a small pouch onto her belt. It was buttoned shut and contained her last choice of weapons. They would only been used on a last resort. Taking a breath Autumn looked at her dad and nodded. He had not talked to her except to congratulate her. Autumn walked forward to meet her opponant.
Robin listened to Alan's reports of the weapons Autumn had chose. What was she playing at? The most dangerous weapon she had picked was her sais, and even then they were mostly a defence weapon. Her staff could easily be cut in half by a sharp axe. And the pouch wasn't any bigger than a water bottle, what on earth could be deadly in there? Robin could only pray that this would turn out ok.
After bowing to one another the fight began. The man towered over Autumn. He pulled out his swords and raised his shield. Autumn spent the pause thinking through her strategy. The shild was going to be a problem. The man brought down the sword at her head, catching it inbetween the blades of her right sais, Autumn twisted, her opponant losing his grip slightly. Autumn backed up. The sword was a long distance weapon, whilst her sais were close range. The soldier attacked again. And again Autumn was on the defensive.
The sounds of clangs filled the air and the battle lasted a good couple of minutes, the crowd's cheers filling the air. Finally Autumn managed to disarm her opponant. His sword landing with a soft thump on the grass. The trumpets blew. Round one had gone to Autumn.
Both fighters returned to their starting positions. The soldier withdrew his axe and Autumn sheathed her sais. She would not risk breaking them as they would be no match for an axe. She reached behind her and broke the staff's bonds. The red oak staff was strong. One of the strongest woods. Autumn only prayed it would survive the oncoming onslaught of the great battleaxe. Sweat was again beading on her forehead.
The soldier attacked and Autumn slowly took up the offensive landing a good few blows with her staff. This was the beauty of it, the staff was fast and her opponant was having to go on the defensive. With a quick sweep to the feet she tried to upturn her opponant, but he was too quick for her and jumped over it aiming a blow for her upper arm. Autumn only managed to block in time. The closeness of the shot scared her, he would be happy to cut her arm off.
Suddenly stars shone infront of Autumn's eyes and a ringing began in her ears. She landed on her hands and knees as the trumpets blew. The crowd gasped as the Prince smiled and her Father drew breath. Autumn had been hit in the back of the head with the shield. The soldier stepped back. Autumn tasted blood and spat it out. Slowly she stood up and swayed. Round two had gone to her opponant. Autumn lowered herself into a crouch, catching her breath and clearing her head.
She had lost her staff in the fight, it had touched the ground, unable to be picked it. The soldier had lost his swords in the same way. That would be a good thing if it didn't leave him with a battleaxe.
The trumpets blew. The man charged. Autumn dodged. The final battle had begun. The soldier continued his attacks, Autumn using her speed and size to manuver every one.
"What's wrong girl? Ran out of weapons? This is why you woman never fight. You're better suited to the kitchen." The man baited. That was it, Autumn had never been told any of this and was shocked at the disrespect of the man.
"That's what you think. I hope you've made your peace." Autumn said carefully. The soldier swung his battleaxe in an arc that headed for Autumn's waist. Autumn leaped over him, at the same time reaching into her bag and grabbing her last weapon. Flinging it from her hand she landed safely on her feet, her back to the man. Blood spurted out the back of his neck and lower back. He keeled over forward. Silence filled the field, then the crowd cheered.
Autumn stood up and grabbed her fallen staff, reattaching it, she took the bag of coins offered to her and took out 3 silver coins. They would be enough to purchase the metel she needed to replace her throwing stars. She did not want the ones that killed the man. Pocketing her three coins she whistled and her horse Argo ran through the crowd towards her. Without stopping him, Autumn leaped onto his back and steered him into the direction of the oncoming ground, dropping the bag of coins at Robin's feet before galloping into the forest.