DisPLACEd: Beginnings

Chapter Eighteen

"Ye will be needing this, and this, and this..." Corbin stood in the doorway of their room in the castle, directing his servants who hustled all over. "Come on young Prince."

Reb stirred, the clatter rousing her from her slumber. The absence of traffic and roadworks gave way to a more peaceful sleep, and she had to take a moment to remember where they were. Peeking out from under the covers, she saw the sun had yet to rise, though a pinkish hue spread across the horizon. The day of the melee had finally arrived.

"Old man, can you try and keep it down, everybody's still asleep."

Corbin dismissed Ryan's demands with a wave of his hand.

As the door shut behind Ryan, Reb quietly got out of bed and tip-toed out of the room. As she stepped out into the silent castle hallway, she could hear Corbin's voice echoing off the walls heading away. She carefully closed the door behind her and continued down the hallway after them.

Roosters crowed their morning alarms; the sun struggling to creep over the city walls.

Ryan strode out of the tent, donned in his melee armour, followed closely by Percy. Reb ducked behind a neighbouring tent, waiting for Ryan to leave. She pulled her hood over her head till it completely hid her face, tucking her long hair inside.

She entered the tent, her eyes alighting on Ryan's last suit displayed temptingly on its stand. The candlelight danced off the dark metal. Reb moved quickly but quietly. With some difficulty she got the suit on by herself. She grabbed the helmet and turned to leave the tent when she caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror. She stopped and looked at the sight. A pang of doubt shot through her, freezing her in place. With a shake of her head, Reb rid herself of its grasp. Her face hardened and she adjusted her hood before putting on her helmet, becoming the warrior she felt inside.

She snuck out of the tent, the sun finally making its presence well-known. Other knights were making their way to the melee field. They stared in confusion as Reb tried to sneak through the crowds, inadvertently bringing more attention to herself. She straightened up, and carried on tall and proud alongside the fellow combatants.

Ryan stood with Corbin, waiting for his instructions. Each knight had received a red or blue tunic to place over their suit of armour. Ryan received a red one and was sent to the front line of the battle with his horse, sword, and shield. The student had begun to settle into his role as knight and prince and found himself looking forward to the battle. He chatted excitedly to some of the other fighters he had met through Corbin. All seemed relaxed, with their helmets tucked under their arms. It hadn't escaped his notice that a sizable chunk had been eliminated from the tournament due to injury, but he did his best to block those thoughts. Ryan rolled his shoulders, his injured arm still stiff and sore. He tried to forget about it, burying his worry under his excitement to get out on the field.

Reb had entered the pack of melee competitors, searching for Ryan through the sea of metal. Just when she thought it a pointless endeavour, she ran right into the back of him with a loud clash.

Ryan turned around and looked at the clumsy knight with their helmet on. "Are you okay?"

Reb nodded, straightening up after the hit.

Ryan frowned curiously at the knight and reached for the helmet. "You know you could see a lot better without this on."

Just as Ryan was about to lay his hand on the it, the tournament official called upon the red team. Ryan turned his head towards the official, forgetting all about Reb. She sighed in relief. They began to file onto the field. A hand reached out, grabbing her arm.