A CHRISTMAS WISH

Chapter 12: The Tournament, A deadly enemy revealed!

O.K people here is the chapter i have been slaving over for days. It has taken me countless hours of hardwork to get this one right and i hope everyone can appreciate the effort. There is a lot of detail here and unfortunately i couldnt write the trivia bit  at the end right now, but i will be adding that too later on. Sp plz read, COMMENT and VOTE. This novel needs all the support it can get. And also give "A Christmas Wish" some FACEBOOK LIKES and TWEETS too, especially if you like it lol.

THANKYOU FOR HEARING ME OUT, NOW WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR, READ AND ENJOY!!!

CHAPTER 12:

THE TOURNAMENT; A DEADLY ENEMY REVEALED:

Trumpets blared, as thousands of petals glided in the air, riding the gentle spring breeze. It was a beautiful day; the Sun was shining high up in the azure sky with hardly a cloud in sight. It was a perfect April morning. 

The whole field was abuzz with activity; buffeted by a cornucopia of sound, deafening and exuberant. The parade was well underway; knights with their teams were being announced to the surging crowds of people by bugles and heralds, the sports announcers of medieval tourneys.

Every team carried their own banner, emblazoned with the distinctive emblem of their particular Lord. Even the massive horses were dressed up for the occasion, draped with a long flowing cloth called a Caparason, which was patterned according to the owner's heraldic signs. And upon these mighty Destriers were mounted the knights, looking very chivalrous and resplendent in their shiny, polished armors, with kite shaped shields held in one hand and their teams of foot soldiers and arrow-men walking by their side announcing their presence to all and sundry with their own distinctive war cries.

None of the knights wore their slitted helmets at this point; they didn't have to, not yet. Right now they were too busy acting like movie stars, waving to the cheering crowds and enjoying the deafening response.

The field which had been earmarked for the event was huge. One could see for several miles in every direction. The whole thing was enclosed between two separate cities of tents or Pavilions as they were called, and it was from these two places that the knights would all assemble, forming two lines, either side of the field. But the main charge, the Estor was still some hours off, first they had to get the parade over and done with.

Everyone was having a whale of a time, everyone that is, except Sarah. She sat in the middle of the front row under a canopied wooden grandstand called the Berfois, watching the proceedings with a plastic smile plastered on her face that was definitely beginning to slip.

She had been here since eight in the morning and the whole thing was becoming a tad repetitive. Sarah had to forcefully suppress a yawn, she hadn't slept a wink last night, for obvious reasons and it was making her feel tired and grumpy, her head was throbbing and the hard wooden chair beneath her wasn't helping matters much.

To make things even worse Sarah being Sarah was actually responsible for her own misfortune.

Earlier that morning she had insisted on riding the pretty little brown horse she had seen standing serenely in the Bailey. None of the other ladies had travelled to the venue via horseback but Sarah had thought it would be fun, plus she had wanted to see the views outside, the carriage was all well and good but it was large and cumbersome and it was completely enclosed by wooden shutters and pieces of cloth to hide the inhabitants inside from view.

So with complete confidence in her ability to handle a horse, based upon a couple of riding lessons in the park, Sarah had decided to follow the Baron and his men to the venue, what harm could one short horse ride do any way.