Stand By Me ~ Chapter 2

Jocelyn sat by the window of the Windsor Castle, staring blankly out the window, her hands folded in her white, heavily brocaded lap. She twisted the old diamond and ruby ring on her finger nervously as she grimly watched carriages leaving to make their way to St. George's chapel for her wedding . She didn't know what she was searching for. A knight on a bay horse with a green shield of phoenixes to perhaps coming riding up to rescue her ? She knew he would not have gotten the letter in time to make a daring rescue, Adhemar had made sure of that.

She flirted with the notion of for a brief moment of escaping to Canterbury to be with Will, but she knew she could not and would not do such a thing. For however large the independent streak was in her, Jocelyn knew her duty was to obey the wishes of her father. In this case, it would mean marrying the Count and then obeying him.

A knock on the door interrupted her reverie. Her new handmaiden, Isabel, came in. She had replaced Christiana and Jocelyn didn't trust him, as she was hired by Adhemar.

"Are you almost ready, mistress? Your father and the carriage are waiting." the bride quickly wiped away the tars that had escaped from her eyes on to her cheeks. She stood up and came to the door.

" I'm as ready as I'll ever be. " with that, she headed down to meet her fate.


~*~ Early Spring ~*~

It was opening day of the jousting season. Will had finished first over Adhemar, which left him in quite a good mood. In the days since the wedding, his hatred of the count had festered until he would do anything to hurt Adhemar. At the tourney, his eyes had been distracted searching the seats for Jocelyn, to know avail. Thus he went to the ball with the hope of seeing her again, even though she could not be his.

He took his seat as champion at the head table and searched for years. It seemed like years to him as he watched the couples enter. Kate, as his escort, noticed his tension. He had just given up hope for their appearence when he saw her shining face emerge from the crowd. He experienced a flurry of emotions at that very moment, none stronger than the feeling of utmost love. And then, his eyes traveled lower, and his heart crashed from its high in the clouds to his feet.

He watched, seething silently, as the were escorted to the other side of the king and queen. As they ate he had to use every once of willpower (no pun intended) he possessed to keep his eyes averted from the her and to not leap across the table to throttle the lord's throat. His hands stayed clenched in his lap. Kate noticed him, and tensed, laying a hand on his thigh, trying to quiet him.

As the plates were swept away, and the orchestra struck up a waltz, the knight of the phoenix made his way past the dancing couples to the count's table. He forced himself to greet the Count civilly, who wore an extremly smug and satisfied look in his eyes. It was all he could do to not slap the pompous face. Finally, he allowed himself the pleasure of basking in the beautiful light that was Jocelyn. He bowded down in front of her and kissed her raised hand, which had her ring on it. He gritted his teeth as he stood up, searching for the love that used to be in her eyes. He was rewarded.

" Good evening Countess."

"Good evening Sir Thatcher," Jocelyn answered, smiling more in her eyes than her face. William knew it was because of the count's presence.

" I see that you are expecting." Will commented dryly, a lump in his throat. Jocelyn opened her speak as the Count jumped to answer.

"Yes, my wife is with child. We are throughly blessed to be so fortunate so soon after our marriage." Once again, Ulrich had the urge to hit him as Adhemar snaked an arm around her body. He bowed again that Countess.


"I must visit others now. Congratulations Countess. Count," With that he turned and briskly walked to the door, trying very hard not to shed the tears that were building. Kate saw his departure and hurried after him.

Will was just mounting his horse and whipping her into a gallop as she reached the Mews. SHe sighed and grabbed a spare horse and followed him. Will lost all sense of the world as he urged the mare to go faster, the tears coming freely. He heard the staccato of Kate's gelding struggling to keep up. Earlier, that win over his rival had made him feel like the victor. But Adhemar had Jocelyn, and thats all that mattered. HE finally came to his sense as the mare slowed down of her own accord outside the city limits She was old and breathing hard, and Will dismounted to make his stupidity easier on her . Kate arrived a few minutes later, in time to watch as Will attacked a tree trunk with his sword. She led her horse over to drink and watched as he slashed pieces from the tree.

"God, what did it do to you. Make an acorn drop on you head? Now I'm afraid what you might do if I yelled at you for something," Kate commented, trying to liven up the situation. WIll didn't answer but his thrusts into the tree, slowed down. She stood beside him and laid a hand on his arm. "Will..."

"I. don't. want .to. talk .about .it. Period," he answered briskly walking away. Kate shook her head and turned to leave, but decided against it. She went in front of him, her hands on her hips.

"Get over it Will. She's with Adhemar now. You can't do anything about. She may love you still, but she is with another man. If you don't stop looking towards the past and examining whats in front of you then you will never be happy again. You will love and be loved again. Maybe if you opened your eyes to see whats right in front of you, you'd see that." Kate said, and the next moment regretted it completley. WIll looked up and regarded her closely, almost as if seeing her for the first time. He didn't say anything but stood up, and walked away. He got back on his mount and looked down at her. THere was no evidence of his earlier outburst.

"Are you coming?" he asked. Kate shook her head at the fickle ways of men and got on her horse and together they made the long journey back to the city.