Sorry that's it has taken me a while to get this chapter up, but my short term class is taking a lot of my time this month. How knew that Medieval Calligraphy would be so time consuming? Thanks for your patients with me and I hope you enjoy this chapter, plus it's really important to the plot! Yay for plot!
Chapter 9 - Lies, Pain, and Betrayal
"ALICE!"
I wasn't precisely sure how many voices were yelling my name, but I knew at least two of them: Michael and Father. Both concerned. I couldn't think clearly at the moment. It was like the pain in my shoulder was creating a veil in front of my eyes and placing cotton in my ears so I couldn't hear everything. I had not known that pain could do that…
The next thing I knew I was surrounded by Father, Wat, Roland, Geoff, Noah, and Kate. Father seemed to be holding me up on my horse… had I been slipping off of it? I couldn't say. They were all talking at once and all I could do was shake my head and try to clear my mind. The pain in my left shoulder was now more of a pulse than just sharp pain. It was like I could feel my heartbeat in it. My left arm was losing the feeling in it and becoming numb. The rest of my body just ached. I was actually surprised that there wasn't much blood…
"Alice, can you hear me?!" Father finally got through to me.
"Yes. It hurts, but I'm alright." I replied.
"I know. I know." Father said smiling a smile that I didn't understand the meaning of it. "We're going to get this out of your shoulder, than we're going to withdrawn you."
"No!" I said nearly in really a panic. The last thing in the world I wanted to do right now was withdraw! "I can continue! Just get this out of my arm. My right side is fine, so I'll still be able to joist!"
"Alice!" Why did everyone feel the need to yell my name at the moment? I looked over and saw Michael getting ready to dismount and come over here as well.
I glared at him. "Stay on your damn horse Michael! We're finishing this match." I sat up straight again. "Now, Father, if you'll please remove this from my shoulder." I said firmly.
"She is certainly your daughter, Will…" Geoff said shaking his head a little.
"If you know what's best for you, you'll stay on that side!" Wat said already ready to fong Michael... and I was about ready to let him.
Another pain was starting to build in my chest, only this one was a little below my current wound. I hadn't truly realized it, but my heart was breaking and betrayal was filling into the cracks. All I wanted to do was finish this match… and never see Michael again if I could help it. I didn't hate him. I couldn't hate him, but I could want to be away from him as soon as possible.
"Father, please?" I said looking down at him. He looked up at me with an odd mixture of pain and amazement in his eyes.
"Will, if you don't get that bloody lance out of her, I will." Roland stepped forward then. I looked around for Noah. Since his match had been earlier he was had to be here somewhere. To my surprise, Wat was holding him back from going to beat Michael.
"Fine." Father said, but rather then stepping aside he gripped the lance and looked back up at him. "Take a deep breath and steady yourself." I nodded, and then took a breath as he told me. I also closed my eyes and gripped my reins tightly. "Ready?" I nodded again. The pain was sharp again and I cried out unable to stay silent. Oh God, I was going to need a lot of rest after all of this.
My breathing was a little uneven, but I knew that I could make it until the end of the match. "Alright, let's get me back to one." I said as firmly as I could manage. Father handed the piece of lance off to Wat as he and Roland led my horse back to the starting point. I finally got my breathing under control again just in time for Kate to hand me a lance and for the flag to drop. I raced forward, but Michael stopped at the beginning of the diving fence.
I slowed my horse as I neared him. I all but threw my visor up as I brought my horse to a stop before him. I regretted this because of my left shoulder, but I gritted my teeth and waited for the pain to return to it's now usual level. "What do you think you are doing?!" I rested my lance on my right foot so I didn't have to deal with it.
"Losing. What does it look like?" He answered without raising his visor.
I glared. "Michael, we started this match and I'll be damned if we are going to end it in a forfeit after what you have done."
"I had nothing to do with this! I swear! And I'm not forfeiting, I'm making sure you win without further injury."
"Michael if any of the words you spoke to me yesterday had the slightest bit of truth in them then you will strike me." I said in a calm that I did not know I could manage at the moment.
He looked down at me, or at least I assume that he did, for a long moment before he spoke again. "Ask anything else of me, Alice, and I shall do it, but I will not strike you."
"Then you lied to me." I closed my visor before he could see the tears forming in my eyes. I heard his father yelling at him to get back to his starting point, so I returned to my end of the stadium before Michael could try and stop me.
"Alice, you should not be doing-" Father started in on me the moment I was close enough.
"I'm finishing this match. One way or another…" I said in the same calm voice I had used on Michael and that silenced everyone. Wat was back to his usual task of handing my lance and he did it without a single word. It pained me to see everyone like this because of me, but it would be over in a moment and they would all converge on me once I was back at my tent after the surgeon was done looking at my wound.
This time I didn't bother with the fact that Michael sat like a statue on his horse, I just struck him and called it done. After that Father led me back to our camp still on my horse while Noah and Roland divided to find the surgeon quicker. Kate had helped me get my armor off before we left the lists. I could breathe a lot better without it. The left side of my padding was bloody.
I looked up at the sky and silently began to pray again. 'God, why me? I don't understand. How can he all but say that he loves me and then turn and strike me with the same under handed blow his father used on mine? It's too much for once soul to take! Oh, God… why?'
