Page 42 of Chivalry in the Meadow
The fair felt alive, brighter even then the fire from the night before.
The herald raised his staff. The crowd fell silent.
“The first pass,” the herald announced. He lowered his staff down sharp, the signal to ride, as the trumpet blared.
Both knights lowered their long lances and spurred their horses forward, hooves pounding in thunderous rhythm.
Sir Cedric leaned forward with perfect poise; his form as elegant as it was strong.
Sir Alaric thundered down the list like a storm front, unyielding.
Their lances crashed with a splintering crack, Sir Cedric’s striking Sir Alaric’s shield, Sir Alaric’s lance driving hard against Sir Cedric’s breastplate.
Both men rocked in their saddles, but neither fell.
The crowd erupted into cheers.
Mia let out her breath she’d been holding again.
Lilly clutched her arm. “Oh heavens, they’re evenly matched!”
Sir Cedric wheeled his horse about with a flourish, raising his splintered lance for the crowd before tossing it aside with a rakish grin.
The crowd cheered and it was clear he thrived on that attention.
The two knights rode back to their starting points and to make ready again.
At his end of Sir Cedric’s side of the list, his squire rushed to hand him another lance.
Sir Alaric didn’t bother with theatrics; he simply took his fresh lance from his squire, nodded once, and lined up at the tilt.
“Second pass!” the herald announced, dropping his staff.
Again, the trumpet sounded. The knights thundered forward.
This time Sir Cedric angled low, his strike grazing Sir Alaric’s side just enough to make sparks flash from his armor.
The crowd roared approval.
Sir Alaric’s lance, however, struck Sir Cedric squarely on the shield with brutal force, nearly unhorsing him.
Sir Cedric wobbled but clung to the saddle, laughing as though the danger were part of the show.
“Show-off,” Finn muttered beside Mia, arms folded.
Mia’s stomach twisted. Sir Cedric’s laughter set her heart racing, but Sir Alaric’s steady, punishing strike left her unsettled in another way entirely.
The two knights readied to go at it again.
“He’s an odd one,” Finn said, watching the herald.
“He’s very colorful in his red and purple,” Lilly said with a laugh. “It’s not hard to pick him out in a crowd.”
“That’s the thing, Lil,” Finn said. “He only wears that when he’s announcing. The rest of the time he wears black and skulks around the encampment. I caught him picking up some of my equipment to look at it and then he put it down quick, made a lame excuse of being curious, and walked away.”
“Maybe he was just curious,” Mia said. “I’ll bet a lot of people are. I know I was before you explained how it works.”
“Possibly, but I doubt that’s the reason,” Finn said. “They say he’s been at the Ren Faire since it began, and I know they’ve hired a fire breather every year. So, it won’t be a new thing to him. Like I said, he’s dodgy. I’ve started locking my equipment in its travel trunk in between performances. Fire isn’t somethingto mess around with and I don’t want anyone messing with my equipment.”
