Dearest reviewers: Keep reviewing! Thanks to Lulai and EvenSong! Here's another chapter for you to enjoy!
Kate's feet were sore after walking for so long. Just when she was about to demand that she be released, the old lady stopped and lifted a shaky hand to point directly ahead of them. "There it is! The Old Abbey of Shairwood," she croaked. Kate's mouth dropped. Before her eyes, a gigantic brick building rose from the ground, topped with towers and dotted with large stained-glass windows. The main gates, made of solid oak and iron and flanked by statues of griffins, towered over her. Directly above them two giant bells tolled ten times, indicating the time of day.
The old lady stepped in front of the doors and banged the door three times with the heavy brass lion-headed knocker. The door creaked open, and Kate was swept in without further ado. As soon as Kate and the old lady were inside, the doors slammed shut. The old lady gripped Kate's hand even tighter, and led her through giant halls, long corridors, past rooms of varying sizes, and finally into a huge study, so large that Kate's entire house could fit into it comfortably and still have room to spare. In the middle of the gigantic chamber there was a large desk, and behind it a small figure hunched over a pile of books and dusty papers. The old lady let go of Kate's hand and stepped forward reverently as, in the background, Kate nursed her aching hand and glared.
"Mother Abbess," the old woman croaked loudly, "I'm here!" The hunched figure slowly and creakily straightened and stood up. Kate was amazed. The figure was actually another old lady, older, more wrinkly, and frailer than anyone Kate had ever seen. When she spoke, her voice was as wavy and thin as a reed flute. "So I see, Sister Nutface", she said, fixing Kate with a piercing gaze. Her eyes, despite the rest of her, were as bright and sharp as the edge of Kate's sword. "And who is, may I ask?" she continued, her gaze unwavering. Sister Nutface cleared her throat.
"This is another young lady in need of training, Mother Abbess. I found her wandering around. One look told me that fate had set her on a course for our Abbey, and so I immediately brought her over here, as per instructions."
Mother Abbess nodded, her sharp eyes looking Kate up and down. "Good work, Sister Nutface," she approved, "Excellent. Now take her away and feed and bathe her. Oh, and dress her in decent clothes, please. Look at those rags!" She eyed Kate's ragged tunic the way one would a dead worm. "One of the first things she needs to be taught is how to choose good clothes. Well, that'll be just for starters. I'm sure we'll have a lot to teach her during her stay here." Sister Nutface nodded vigorously in agreement. "Quite so, quite so, Mother Abbess!"
Throughout this entire conversation, Kate had not managed to get in a word edgewise. Now she decided that things had gone too far. "Now look here!" she exclaimed angrily. "What're you two nutters on about? What do you mean, during my stay here? I'll be damned if I'm going to stay here a moment longer with you old hags!" As the two old ladies gasped at her language, she put her words into action and spun on her heel and strode determinedly towards the door. But just as she reached the intricately carved oak door, it slammed shut right in her face, inches away from her nose. Kate instinctively jumped back, then spun around again at the sound of manic cackling. She stared at Mother Abbess and Sister Nutface, who were chuckling evilly while they watched Kate with evil sneers on their faces.
"I am sorry," Sister Nutface drawled in her cracked voice, "But I'm afraid we can't let you leave until we're finished with you."
A shiver traveled up and down Kate's spine, leaving her cold with dread. "Whaddya mean, you can't let me leave?" she asked slowly, still staring at the two nuns.
Mother Abbess tucked her hands into the wide sleeves of her robe. "We mean what we say, miss. We can't let you leave. Not until we've finished with you."
"Finished with me?" Kate's mouth was suddenly dry, and she swallowed.
Sister Nutface picked up where the Abbess had left off. "Of course. Don't you know who we are? We are the Order of the Sisters of Ladyness. It is our duty to train all young women who come to our Abbey in how to be a proper young lady. And you, my dear, are one of them."
Kate, who hadn't been able to speak while she stared, paralyzed in disbelief, at the two old women, suddenly regained use of her voice. "What the bloody hell! You can't do this to me! Don't you know who I am?" She drew herself to her full height and stared down her nose imperiously at the women, who gasped again at the words 'bloody hell'. "I am Sir Kate Dragon-defeater Steelfist, appointed as such by His Majesty King Arthur of Great Britain and all the rest of it!"
Mother Abbess, recovering from the shock of bad language quicker than Sister Nutface, who was still looked pale, spoke to Kate sharply. "Language, missy! And yes, we do know who you are, which is why we have you here in the first place! You, miss, are a disgrace to feminism! We, the Order of the Sisters of Ladyness, are thus duty-bound to bring you back to the true path of womanhood! We will make you a lady if that's the last thing we do! Sister Nutface, take her away to the Cleanerizing and Mannerizing Rooms! Dismissed!" Banging a gavel on her desk, Mother Abbess waved her hand in dismissal.
As Sister Nutface seized her arm and dragged her out the now-open doors, Kate, for the first time in her life, felt afraid. She let out a blood-curdling scream that was heard throughout the entire abbey.