The Young Gladiatrix

Troubling Thoughts

It had been hours since Ash's meeting with Aleius and the jousters. She hadn't returned to Decimus as the night had drew in. As much as he had tried, Decimus had been unable to remain awake to wait for her, and had fallen asleep. His mind tired from the day.
As the arena slept, Ash silently made her way to the stables, tacking up Stephi with regular gear, before leading the mare from her stall. No armour would allow the team to connect properly. With a quiet sigh, Ash pulled herself into the saddle. Entering the arena as the moon bathed it in a gentle light, she put a hand to her head. Feeling the ache of a migraine. Impacts to the head were catching up on her. At this point, she didn't really know why she was in the arena at this time of night. Her mind just seemed to be elsewhere.
As she rode around the arena now with a lance in her hand to try and learn how to balance properly, a voice from the side distracted her. "Black Knight, is it not a late for training?" It was Sir Neville that had spoken. He had seen Ash leaving the stables with Stephi, and had followed shortly after. Lord Stafford had also accompanied him. "I guess it is a little late, Sir" murmured Ash with a sigh. The two elders shared a small look. "Something troubling you, Knight? You can speak with us, knight to knight" said Lord Stafford as Ash walked Stephi to them. The two men had brought out their own horses, Pallidin and Crispin, just to be at the same level as Ash when speaking to her. 
"My Lord, there is something troubling me. I took a lance to the head. And to the ribs. That may be as bad as it gets, but it's not that that is troubling me. When Caeser started mouthing off, I relatiated verbally. I only said 'Fuck you', pardon my language there My Lord. But in response to that, Caeser kicked me in the chest. My armour took most of the impact. But I cannot help but feel as though I provoked him by speaking the way I did. He instigated the attack, and I merely spoke to him the way he was speaking to me. It feels as though I have flouted the code of chivalry"
"Black Knight, you did not flout the code of chivalry. You have never laid a hand on him after a joust, correct? And you remained honourable during your joust, correct? Then you have not flouted the code of chivalry. Black Knight, there is something else on your mind. Your eyes say it all" replied Sir Neville, watching Ash as he spoke.
"Sir, I accepted the challenge from Lord Stafford because I wish to challenge myself and my ability. Will this joust be different to those I have been training in? Or will they remain the same? It has been on my mind since I accepted the challenge" It was understandable that she was worried over such a thing. Lord Stafford looked to her. "Knight, this challenge will be like any other joust with only a few small differences. We will have five passes. The first four will be jousts. And should we fail to unhorse one another, the fifth pass shall be hand to hand combat. If it does come to hand to hand combat, you will be given a choice of weapons. And as you know, if an opponent yields, you must back off and leave them be. But I am sure you already knew that. The aim of the hand to hand combat is to make your opponent yield, or, to put it simply, make it so that they are unable to continue. Either through death or inury. But as we have plans for you, my goal will be to make you yield"
Ash nodded. "Thank you for explaining, My Lord" Lord Stafford nodded, watching her for a second. He noticed the tired look she now had. "Black Knight, you should get some rest. The sky is dark, and the sun will be here soon" He watched her for a moment. "You will need your rest for training tomorrow. We will be training you whilst Cassius is working with his other jousters. Black Knight, we will make sure that you become one of the best"

Ash nodded, looking down at Stephi's neck for a moment. "I do not believe I will become one of the best. My father always said I was a mistake from the start and that I would never be good at anything. What, may I ask, makes you believe that I can become one of the best?" she sighed, looking to the knights before her.
Lord Stafford remained silent, whilst Sir Neville spoke. "Your father is not a man if he says that. It is unchivalrous of him to speak to you in such a manner. Regardless of your relation. And Black Knight, we see potential. And we will work with potential. Now go get some rest, Black Knight. We train tomorrow at midday"
The trio headed back towards the stables. Sir Neville riding infront of Ash, whilst Lord Stafford rode beside her. He was mainly doing so to size her up for the joust. He could see weak spots that could be worked on during training. He wanted to make this joust as fair as possible, so he would work with her tomorrow. And he would make sure that she was up for the challenge.

[Authors Note: Editied. Because I hated the last draft. And let's be honest. We've had enough of Caeser for a while. I don't think I've ever mentioned Ash's father before, have I? If not, in brief, her father strongly dislikes her, and only wanted sons. He doesn't appear a lot in this, and probably never will. But he's there]