Page 41 of Chivalry in the Meadow
Once the ladies went on, she turned to Mia. “It’s hot for a day in May and these dresses are warm. Let’s get parasols and try to stay out of the hot sun.”
“That’s a great idea,” Mia said. “And they’re pretty too. Do you suppose they had those during the Renaissance?”
“I don’t know,” Lilly said. “And honestly as warm as it is, I really don’t care. I’m buying one anyway.”
Mia laughed. “Right there with you.”
They found the shop, purchased two parasols, and then headed for the jousting field beneath the shade of white lace.
The fairgrounds mid-day were alive with music, the clang of steel, and the eager chatter of festival goers crowding around to watch the jousting. Pennants streamed overhead, snapping in the breeze, and the air smelled of trampled grass and horse sweat.
Mia and Lilly found a place at the ropes, the best view they could manage among the jostling crowd.
Mia’s pulse thrummed as the herald announced the names of the jousting knights again. The first round of jousts had been so exciting this morning, she was sure this second round would be as well.
Sir Cedric rode in first, his armor polished so brightly it caught the sun in dazzling bursts. His long blond hair, bound in a loose tail beneath his helm, gleamed as he saluted the stands with his lance.
Women all along the railing sighed and clapped, but his grin sought Mia, with a cocky tilt of his head as if to say,Watch me.
Watch him, she certainly would.
Then came Sir Alaric. His darker armor, appearing worn in places, bore the marks of real battles. He made no show of it. He rode forward steady and grim, a knight with nothing to prove. And yet when his gaze slid briefly toward Mia… her breath caught.
There was no charm in it, no smile. Only intensity.
He could command her attention without the showy display Sir Cedrick put on.
Finn stepped up beside them again as the other knights were riding in. “I just had lunch with Sir Elias,” he said. “Word is, most Ren Fairs the jousters use fiberglass lances and hold them under the elbow. Those don’t break and are just for show.”
“But that’s not what happened earlier,” Lilly said. “These are splintering, and they don’t hold them like that.”
“Exactly,” he said. “I wanted to know more about it. I haven’t learned the why yet. But I did learn a lot. Ladies, what you’re seeing is solid lance jousting. Do you know what that this?”
They both shook their heads no.
“All these lances they’ve been breaking?” he continued. “The first four runs, the lance is made from one and a half inch thick Douglas Fir, and those lances are from eleven to twelve feet long. See how they hold them under their arms? Those suckers weigh ten pounds.”
“Wow,” Lilly said.
Mia stayed quiet, taking his words in and watching the knights prepare.
“I don’t know why they’re not just putting on a show, but ladies what you are seeing here is real jousting the way real knights did it,” Finn gestured to the knights. “You might as well have stepped back into the real renaissance.
Mia’s heart thudded. Thiswasmore than sport. Any of them could be seriously injured. The fire-show last night had lit a fuse, and now the joust would strike the spark. What she’d sensed was serious, real rivalries among the knights.
Finn said in a low voice, “This should be good. Sir Cedric has been boasting and riling up the others.”
The trumpet sounded. Sir Cedric and Sir Alaric lowered their lances.
The horses charged, hooves thundering, dust rising in clouds. Sir Cedric leaned forward, a golden blur, his lance angled perfectly. Sir Alaric thundered straight down the line, unshaken, dark as a storm bearing down.
The crash of impact echoed across the lists. Splinters flew, shields shuddered, and the crowd erupted.
When the dust settled, both knights remained in their saddles—neither yielding an inch.
Mia let out a breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding. The air rang with the clatter of armor and the excited cries of the crowd. Bright pennants snapped overhead, horses pawed the ground, and the lists gleamed with banners of red, gold, and black.
Mia and Lilly stood watching, excitement buzzing in their veins. It had just become more real, less like watching a movie.
