Chapter 3
Princess Emily Garnett sat quietly on her bed in her room. She listened for any sounds that came from outside her room. She heard footsteps, as a knock came at her door. "Yes?" The castle maid opened the door. "Do you need anything, your highness?" Emily laughed. "No, I'm quite fine, thank you, Amelia."
Amelia bowed and turned to leave her room. "Oh, and Amelia?" Amelia turned back to her. "Yes, your majesty?" Emily smiled. "How many times have I asked you to just call me Emily and not Amelia?" Amelia looked at the ground. "One time more than the last, your majesty." She gave a slight smile and exited the room.
When the door closed, Emily quickly ran up to it. She put her ear to the door. When Amelia's footsteps completely faded, she dropped the piece of wood in place, locking the door. She ran over to her bed and pulled out a chest from under it. She pulled out a necklace from under her gown. The necklace had a key attached to it. She unlocked the chest and opened it. Inside, was a full set of armor, and a sword. She pulled out the armor, rolling it in cloth; she tied it to a sash that she put around her shoulders. She tied the sheath of the sword to her waist. Also from the chest, she pulled out a rope of blankets that had previously been tied together.
Tying one end to the foot of her bed, she threw the other end out of the window. She took one last look at her room, to make sure everything was in place, then she closed up the chest, locked it and shoved it back under her bed. She jumped out the window, grabbing hold off the blankets, and lowered herself down to the walkway below. She jumped down from the walkway and landed outside of the castle gates. She did all this with such grace from experience of doing it for 2 months now. No one was in sight, because she had planned her escape when the guards changed shifts.
She ran through the village, looking for the right house. When she finally found it, she made her way up to the front door. She knocked a pattern of knocks and the door was opened by a middle-aged man with curly brown hair. "Hello Emily. You're quite early today." Emily nodded and grinned. "I couldn't wait to get started, Uncle." The man smiled. "That's the spirit. Now just give me a minute." He walked into the next room, returning with his own sword and shield. Emily unrolled the pack and started to put on the armor. When she was done, she retied the sheath to her waist. "Ok, ready. "Good. Let our sparring practice begin."
About 2 months ago, Emily went to visit her uncle. Her uncle specialized in training the soldiers for the military and she begged him to train her. At first, he was against it, but he soon gave in to Emily's pleading. So every other night, Emily would sneak out of the castle and train with him. The sound of metal clanging rang out into the silent night as the two fought.
The next day, Emily walked down the stairs and entered the Dining Hall. Her parents already sat at the table, waiting for her. "Morning Mother, morning Father." They both nodded politely and she took a seat. "How did you sleep last night, dear?" her mother asked her. Emily grinned a little, remembering the sparring. "Rather well. I had a wonderful dream." Her mother smiled, then turned as the servants brought in the food. The plates were put on the table, and the servants left.
Emily heard the sound of metal against metal and looked out the window. The boys were sparring outside, all hoping to become great warriors one day. Emily gazed at the boys. She wished that she could be out there too, and that it wouldn't be seen as weird that a girl knew how to use a sword. "Dear?" she heard her mother say. Emily shook her head and looked at her parents. They both looked at her, with worried expressions on their faces. "Pardon?" Emily said. "I asked if you would like to say grace." Said her father. "I would be delighted to." The three bowed their heads and Emily said grace.
While they were eating, her father looked at her. "Emily, the king of Leiland is coming today. He will be coming with his son, Amos. That are here for important business, so I hope you show them respect." Emily smiled. "Don't worry, Father. I shall show them respect." Her father smiled. "Thank you Emily. This meeting means a whole lot to this kingdom."
After breakfast, Emily walked out to the training grounds and sat down, watching the young boys fight. They fought ruthlessly, using wooden swords, and no armor. Emily smiled as she caught herself sizing up each and every one of the boys. She memorized their battle tactics and found that she should easily be able to defeat most of them, even some of the older boys.
She heard a trumpet in the distance, then the shout of a herald. "King Raefel and Prince Amos of Leiland have arrived!" She sighed. She hated when guests come to the castle. She always had to act nice to them, even when they were snobs themselves. She focused on the sparring, getting her mind off of the guests. A few mintes past, when the door beside her opened and a young, man walked through it.
The man had fiery red hair and dazzling blue eyes. He jumped a little when he saw Emily sitting there. "Ah, princess? Didn't expect you out here. Watching the boys spar, eh? Isn't that a little too roughplay for you?" Emily stared at the man. Who was he?
The man stood silent, then pulled off his hat. "Oh, im dreadfully sorry, where are my manners." He bent down on one knee in front of Emily. "I am Prince Amos Harold III. Prince of Leiland." He grabbed Emily's hand and kissed it lightly, Emily looked in disgust at his fakeness. "Our fathers are having a meeting, so I decided to come out and show your boys how a real warrior fights. Now if you'll excuse me." He stood back to his feet and walked over to the sparring grounds. Emily's eyes followed him, a look of disgust on her face. She had only met him for two minutes now, and she already hated him.
Amos walked to the center of the circle, stopping the fight that already took place. "Hello, citizens of Pence. I am Prince Amos Harold III. I am the best warrior in all of Leiland. I am looking for a warrior who can put up a chalenge for me. We will fight fully clothed in armor and with real swords. Does anyone accept the challenge?"
Mumbles were heard throughout the crowd, but no one stepped forward. Suddenly the crowd parted and one man pushed his way to the front. "I accept." Emily noticed that the man was Derrick. Emily smiled. Derrick was one of he strongest men in Pence, he should be able to defeat Amos.
Amos looked at Derrick. "Good,good." Amos turned to Emily. "This win shall be dedicated to you, my princess." Emily snarled in disgust. Amos put on his helmet and unsheathed his sword. "Let's go then, shall we?" Derrick slid his helmet on and drew his sword too. "Ready when you are." Amos grinned. "Good."
With blinding speed, Amos dashed at Derrick. Derrick caught off guard, raised his sword to his face. He barely managed to deflect Amos' blow, but Amos soon withdrew and lunged out again. Derrick ducked under the blade, only to receive a blow to the stomach from Amos' knee. Derrick stumbled backwards and Amos jumped towards him. Derrick received a crushing blow to the chest, sending him onto the ground. Amos started laughing. "This country is weak." He looked back up at the rest of the crowd. "Isn't there anyone here who is worth the effort?"
Emily couldn't stand it anymore. She stood up and rushed into the castle. She ran into her room, locking the door behind her. She pulled the chest from under her bed and unlocked it. The armor and the sword reflected the light of the sun, making them look as if they were glowing. Emily smiled, and started putting them on.
Emily arrived just to see Amos striking down another one of the boys. "Haha, your all such ametuers. Haven't any of you actually seen battle? Is there anyone here who can make this trip worthwhile?"
"I will." A voice said from behind him. Emily walked towards Amos. "I will fight you." Amos looked at her, he didn't know that it was Emiyl ,cause she was fully dressed in her armor. "Who are you?" Amos asked. Emily drew her sword. "Does my name really matter. It's a battle you want, right?" Amos grinned, holding his sword in front of him. 'Very well then."
Amos dashed at Emily. He was fast, but Emily was still able to track his movements. She blocked his attack and then pushed him off. Amos stumbled fom the push. Emily dashed in, seeing an opening. Amos quickly recovered and rolled to the right, dodging Emily's blade. "Wow, very good. You almost had me there. But almost in not good enough."
Amos rushed in again. Emily, seeing Amos' battle tactics, quickly blocked and pushed him off again. Once again, Amos was left open, and Emily dahsed in. Amos put his sword up to deflect theb low, but at the last minute, Emily jumped to the left, and then lunged at Amos. Amos, caught off guard, could not respond in time to the sudden change of location. With a spinning strike, Emily's sword connected fiercly with the side of Amos' helmet. Amos fell backwards onto the floor.
He tried pull his helmet off, but had a little trouble doing it, due to he dent that had been made. He finally got it off and stared at it. "Bloody hell! Look at my helmet! I'll have to get a new one now." Emily grunted and turned to walk away. Amos looked up. "Wait, stranger. What is yor name?" Emily quickly thought of the first name that came to mind. "It's…Vincent." Amos grinned. "Good battle Vincent. You really caught me off guard with that last leap of yours. Now will you do me the favor of showing me your face, so that I may fight you if I were to ever see you again."
Emily laughed. "It is not important for you to see my face. I already know yours. I'll just challenge you." Emily started to walk away, glad to finally get away from the pressure. Suddenly, she felt a tugging at her head, and felt her helmet being pulled off her head. "I just want to see your…….face."