The Young Gladiatrix

Overheating

Ash and Sir Howard once again returned to the rail. This time, Ash needed to learn how to take hits, and stay in the saddle. With Sir Neville and Lord Stafford watching from the side, and with her father still glaring, Ash charged towards Sir Howard. No lance in her hand as this was purely to teach her to take hits and stay in the saddle. As Sir Howard hit her for the first time, she was thrown backwards, but managed to regain her balance within a few seconds. Shaking off the slight pain in her shoulder. It had visibly hurt her, but she remained quiet. Turning Stephi down the rail once more.
Lord Stafford watched with his arms folded across his chest, leaning against the wall in a relaxed position. The sun was hot, burning down on the arena sand. Heaven knows how Ash and Sir Howard were feeling under their armour. As he watched Ash and Howard, he kept a close eye on Ash, Sir Howard and the horses. The last thing they wanted was either of them to faint from the heat.
Sir Howard hit Ash several times with the lance, each time striking her full force. He could see how hard she was trying not to fall, but the warmer she became. The more her focus began to slip. He couldn't blame her really, it had gotten awfully warm in the past hour or so. "Last few passes Ash, then we can take a break!" he called down to her, hoping she was coherent enough to understand him. When she gave a slight wave of her hand, he knew he had to make these last few passes quick. For Ash, and for the horses who were visibly tiring.
As the final passes went on, Ash began to slouch in the saddle. Her hand visibly shaking on the reins. And with the final pass, a strong hit sent her to the ground. She remained where she had fallen, her horse trotting off to the nearest patch of shade and a water trough. "Get that armour off!" called Sir Howard, jumping from his horse to run over to Ash, Sir Neville and Lord Stafford.
Lord Stafford had already pulled off Ash's helmet and was working on getting her chestplate off. Overheating was to be expected under the armour. Especially since it weighed more than the knight wearing it. Why she hadn't asked to stop was unknown. But they had to admire her commitment to training.
Once all of her armour was off, they removed her shirt. Just to get some air onto her body. She was still wearing chest wrappings of course. The bruising from previous fights was emphasised by the sweat that beaded her skin. Sir Neville used her shirt to rest over her forehead as he poured cold water onto the fabric. Just anything to cool her down. Sir Howard receiving the same. "This heat will make the tournaments quite difficult for her. We may be more or less used to the heat under our armour. But she isn't used to it yet" commented Lord Stafford as he helped Ash to sit up now, allowing her to lean back against him slightly. "I'll get used to it. Just really caught me off guard today" murmured Ash, shifting her shoulder again. A couple of the hits had hurt a little, the landings hadn't been all that great either.
In the background, Kaiser was heard to snort slightly in laughter. Earning a glare from the three elder knights that sat with Ash. She merely ignored him, focusing on cooling herself down. "I did good though, right? I really tried not to fall. It just got so hard towards the end" sighed Ash quietly, looking to the trio. This was the first time she'd asked for feedback on how she'd done in training. And they had to be honest with her. "You actually did really well. And considering this was your first time training in increasing heat, you did great. You can more or less take hits now without falling. Though I did catch you grabbing your saddle for support. Remember you can't do that. If you feel like you're going to fall and there's no way of saving yourself. Just fall, but try and do so safely" said Sir Howard with a kind smile. He was proud of her today, she'd impressed him. She'd given it her all in sweltering heat, and he couldn't have asked for more from her.
Ash nodded, closing her eyes for a moment. "Can I lay down for a second. I feel dizzy" Lord Stafford instantly allowed her to lay down, again, hearing her father snort behind them. The more that man made noises behind them, the more frustrated he became. The heat had just became a little too much for her under the armour. That was all that it was. And her father was behaving like a child about it. Such a pathetic man. Returning his attention to Ash, Lord Stafford looked down to her, checking her skin with the back of his hand. She was cooling down a little. But the sun beating down on them wasn't helping.
"Let's get inside. The coolness inside the barracks might help you cool down. Come on"
With that, Lord Stafford lifted Ash into his arms. No way was he letting her walk if she wasn't feeling too great. He knew that feeling dizzy in extreme heat was a bit debilitating at times. She made no protest as Sir Neville aided Sir Howard to get back to the barracks. Both knights feeling the effects of the heat.
"Cold water and cold rags on both of your heads" said Sir Neville, handing the two knights the water and rags. "One thing with being a knight, Ash. Is that the heat when it gets like this. The armour becomes a slow cooker. If you ever, and I mean ever. Feel ill under the armour when it's this warm. Raise your lance or throw it aside, and the joust will stop" Ash merely nodded at his words, too focused on trying to cool down.

Heat like this. Under armour that weighed more than her...
No one would get out of it unscathed.

[Authors Note: I'm literally so tired, and feel so ill myself right now. But hey. I'm still writing. Kind of. I'll be trying to update the Kingmaker tomorrow if I'm feeling up to it. But I will start it as soon as possible. For now, who likes Lord Stafford, Sir Howard and Sir Neville? Raise your hands!! *raises hands. both hands* I love them <3]