The One Knight Stand

.: Slinging Mud :.

10 | Slinging Mud

Pilar had never seen the Prince observe squire training once during her career as Head Knight, barring any cursory checks in their progress, but Bo making special trips to watch shouldn't have been as surprising as it was.

"Ah, good day, Bo. Especially interested in the proceedings today?"

Bo raised a curious eyebrow at the woman who practically raised him.

Today the squires were wrestling in the mud pit. Rain worsened the soil conditions, and all it took was a careless misstep to send the swiftest boxer onto their ass.

Two of the largest squires squared off in the center, jabbing and probing for weakness. Blue and the others stood on the sidelines, calling out encouragement and advice to both challengers.

"Get him by the legs, Wu!"

"He favors his right side! No, the other right, you idiot!"

All of them were wearing minimal clothing, not wanting to destroy their uniforms.

A heat erupted under The Prince's high collar.

What's the point of this? He asked.

"It's a test of their adaptability. It's not often we fight in favorable conditions. There will be times when our Dhas are out of reach and all we have left are our wits, our strength, and... a bit of cloth."

Bo crossed his arms, unable to blame his sudden flush on the weather.

When it was Blue's turn Pilar paired her with a pale, wiry man boasting a slight beard and a messy topknot.

Just when Bo thought it couldn't get any worse, Blue hooted in excitement and pulled off the last shred of modesty, her too-long tunic, leaving her in the patchy briefs and chest wraps typical for common women.

"She's quite a spitfire, isn't she?" Pilar knowingly asked. It wasn't often she got to tease the cool as cucumbers prince. "What she lacks in talent she makes up for with energy."

Bested, the Prince stormed away from the training grounds with cheeks as crimson as the blood spurting from the youngest squire's eyebrow.

.:.:.:.

Studying was absolute hell, but so was going hungry.

With Saffron, Sienna, and Violet in school, Blue couldn't back out now. Red sent letters through Violet about their full stomachs and the patched roof and repainted walls. Indigo and Chandra had moved out with the baby and were living comfortably on their own land.

Red even mentioned how their mother opened her mouth for something other than whining for her next opium fix, which touched Blue more than she could admit.

This was all well and good, but Blue still couldn't read for shit and Pilar expected them to memorize the Honor Code forwards and backwards.

In the barracks, two squires squabbled about the origin of chivalry and Blue furiously eyed them from her top bunk.

She just wanted to sleep. Sir Pilar seemed to go extra hard on Blue during their sessions, and she never went a day without bone deep aches and a vengeance.

"It's an outdated philosophy. It explains why mercenaries are on the rise and knights are a dying breed."

"At least now we can tell the virtuous from the scum. When they go low, we go high!"

She just wanted to sleep.

"It's to set an example for the common people! How can we be the images of justice if we're not actually just?"

"It's irrelevant in this day in age. We can't fight fair when the other Kingdoms are playing dirty."

Ugh, nobles, Blue shoved her pillow over her face.

They went on for some time until the Master Swordsman got a bright idea. Blue climbed down from her bed, slapped on her best dumb face, and shyly approached the two bickering men.

"E-excuse me? I was listening in on your conversation, forgive me, but I was wondering if you two have already read the materials Sir Pilar gave us?"

Basking in superiority, they both puffed out their chests and nodded that they, indeed, had already read the tomes five times over.

Perfect, Blue thought with glee.

"Well, would you mind, um, telling me what it all means? It's a bit too difficult for me to understand, and I get so frustrated with the big words." She stuck out her lip and huffed.

Sharing a haughty glances, the squires readily filled her in on the information, paraphrasing the entire book in two hours, adding their notes and breaking down details they'd worked over themselves.

Once finished, Blue nodded at them in thanks with fake awe in her eyes.

"Wow, you two are both so smart and kind."

The taller of the two looked so smug it was sickening. "If you'd like a recap, please don't hesitate to let us know, peasant."

"You know, I think Sir Pilar would really appreciate it if you shared your theories with her. She'd be so impressed."

"Really? At this hour?"

"Mhm, yep. She's always talking about how Torrance and Yana are the best students she has. Beyond compare. But if you both show up she'll think you collaborated on these brilliant ideas. Whoever she hears first will probably get the most favor from her. I doubt hearing the exact same logic from a different person will dazzle her nearly as much."

Yana suspiciously glanced up at Torrance and the other looked horrified.

"Well..." The shorter rubbed the back of his neck. "Maybe I should... go."

"Me... me too."

Once allies, the squires saw each other for what they really weren't: competition.

Anxious to be Pilar's favorite, they raced out of the barracks, scrambling to find the Head Knight first.

Pleased at the peace and quiet, Blue turned in for a well deserved rest.

Hard work deserves reward, doesn't it?

She snickered to herself, kicking her unread knighting manual down to the foot of her bunk.