"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.
"Where is yer tunic?" The official enquired.
Reb tried to shrug through the heavy armour.
The official sighed in annoyance. "Someone get this man a tunic!"
Reb was handed a red bib and tugged it on. She sucked in a few deep breaths, feeling the cool morning air burn her throat, and ventured forward.
Eric was the first to wake as the sun shone straight through the only window in the room and right into his eyes. He shielded his face with one hand, and stretched out wide with the other. It suddenly hit him: today was the day of the melee. A rush of panic and fear washed over him. The thought of Reb battling trained warriors in deadly combat turned his stomach. He looked to the bed, hoping she was still asleep and that it was too late for her to join the other knights. She was gone.
"Guys!" He called, while trying to find his shoes. "Guys. Get up. We have to go. The melee's gonna start soon."
The young adults groaned, unaccustomed to getting up so early.
Jake stood and moved to put his shirt on when he noticed his sister was missing. "Where's Reb?" He asked Eric.
Eric froze, not sure what to say.
"Eric?" Jake pushed.
"Ahhh." he stalled, trying to think of something to say. "She went with Ryan to help him prepare."
Jake was unsure, but figured he had no reason to argue with him. Eric had a better chance of knowing his sister's whereabouts than he did.
"Come on, let's go." Eric rushed them out the door.
The group found a spot within the crowd. The two teams were in position on the large battlefield. The red team presented a strong formation. The front line was a force of twenty strong men on horses with their house shields; some had swords, others had spears. Behind the horses were a barricade of men holding six-foot shields. Flanking the shielded knights were the foot soldiers armed with their swords, shields, bow and arrows, axes, maces, and various other weapons.
"What's the aim of this game, anyway?" Aadita asked.
"It's like a mock battle and one team has to break the other team's rank. They pretty much charge at one another until the other team crumbles," Harley explained.
"Crap, so Ryan could actually get seriously hurt?" Jake asked.
"Yeah, I guess. There are typically more injuries, and even deaths, on the melee fields," Harley said.
Another pang of guilt hit Eric. He wanted to tell Jake, but he had promised Reb he wouldn't. He shifted nervously as he looked at the battle-ready knights.
"Remind me again, why did we let him go ahead with this?" Aadita asked, looking concerned. She looked at the field, foreseeing broken bones and concussions.
Jake and Harley shrugged; they didn't have an answer for her.
Eric eyed the field intently, trying to see if he could spot Reb. He had no chance even catching a glimpse amongst the throng of men.
The audience's excitement intensified as three men with trumpets walked to the middle of the field. They raised their instruments and sounded the beginning of the battle. The two teams charged forward and converged in the centre.
An opening appeared in the crowd of metal chests and a knight rushed towards Reb. She was quick to block his sword's blow. They danced around one another, their swords clanging. Reb managed to get the upper hand and knocked him down, his weapon flying from his hands. She spun on her heel to catch the next knight charging towards her. She was taken aback by the hit that knocked her back a few steps. Her sword arced up, meeting his mid-swing. The man put all his strength into pushing his body weight against the swords. Reb's back bent under the pressure. She managed to get out from underneath him as he struggled to make purchase on the muddy ground. She raised her sword, and with all her strength brought it down hard on the man's chest. His breastplate caved in and he fell to the ground in agony. Reb's helmet begun to feel loose. She adjusted so she could see out of the peep holes again. She charged forward, dodging running horses, swinging swords and axes, and side-stepping any fallen knights.
Out of nowhere, Reb was thrown to the ground. Her face met the mud hard and the wind was knocked out of her. The back of her armour crumpled under a powerful blow. She struggled to roll over onto her back; her chest ached and she fought for breath. When she finally managed to turn, all she could see was the sky through the slits of her visor; shadows danced on the outside of her view. She craned her neck to see a solid giant of a man standing over her. He held an axe high above his head. In a rush of pure adrenaline, Reb managed to roll out of the way, the axe just missing her. She scrambled backwards on her hands. The large knight chased her, holding his axe, ready to strike again. She was hit from behind, another fighter running into her in amongst the battle. The hit threw her to the side, sending her face-first into the muddy field again. She pushed herself to her feet and the large knight stopped dead in his tracks. He removed his helmet, a look of astonishment on his face.
"Woman!" The knight hollered.
Reb moved her hands to her face and felt the cold touch of her metal gloves. She looked to the ground and saw her helmet stuck in the sludge. The knight's shock turned to anger. He moved fast for a large man, and before Reb knew it, he had her by the collar of her armour. She thrashed her body around, trying to shake the man's grip but she had no luck. He dragged her across the battlefield.
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