The Young Gladiatrix

Permission

It had been several days since the knights and Decimus discussed that they would be leaving the arena. The thought of leaving was exciting, and gave them a sense of hope. But there was one thing that still lingered.
"Should we allow Ash to confront her father before we leave?" questioned Sir Neville as he walked with the knights and Decimus. "And what? Allow her to be slain before we have a chance to leave the arena? I won't allow it" commented Decimus, not happy with this conversation. "Decimus. Ash and her father need to end this war that has been going on between them. We should allow her to confront him before we leave. And of course, we will be at her side as she does so"
"And what if she is wounded by him? Will you step in to prevent her from being slain?" Decimus was struggling to allow his love to confront her father. Really struggling. "Decimus. Look at it like this, my friend. Allow Ash to confront her father. Allow her to slay him on her own terms. Allow her to slay the thorn in her side. And we may see a new Ash. Her father may be the reason for her behaviour. I am not saying she will change completely. But we may see a change, Decimus" said Lord Stafford, watching Decimus. He could see the man was now deep in thought. It really got him thinking now. They hadn't even seen Ash for a few days. She'd been quiet and had only tended to her horses and ocassionally left the stables for food. They knew she was more or less fine. If she was feeling ill or unhappy with something, she'd tell them. "I agree gentlemen. I just fear that she will be wounded and killed as a result" sighed Decimus,  looking to the knights who now nodded in understanding. "You underestimate her, Decimus. When I jousted against Ash, she showed much desire to win, and the fire in her heart and her eyes was most inspiring. She will not lose, Decimus. And if she is wounded, we will be there to treat her wounds. But remember this. She has the tendency to let her emotions control her. We need to work on her emotions. The emotions she shows during a fight... They affect her ability to strike. A few days ago, we trained her in hand to hand combat. And whilst she gave it her all and did manage to take down both myself and Sir Howard, she showed some reluctance to strike, and took on a more defensive stance. We will work on this with her before we allow her to confront her father. And that is a whole other thing. How she confronts her father, will be down to her, and her alone. We will only step in if we feel as though it is necessary for us to do so" said Lord Stafford as he gazed down the hall. Ash was talking quietly to one of the guards. For once, they weren't fighting. Which was something new already.
"We will work with her Decimus, you have our words as knights" replied Sir Neville as the group now entered the same room they had used previously. They left Ash alone for now. She probably had reasons to distancing herself. Maybe she too realised that she needed to change her attitude.

[Authors Note: It's been a while, huh? I needed a break. And this is just getting back into the swing of things. Now this is a serious question. In what way do you guys think Ash should change?]