Page 9 of Chivalry in the Meadow
Mia willed her heartbeat to slow down, to not be so affected by the dark knight.
Sir Alaric’s eyes, dark brown, and unreadable, swept across the crowd once more, and then returning, fixing briefly on Mia again. Unlike Sir Cedric’s gaze, his felt like a challenge.
A warning. A weight.
Mia’s heart began to beat faster, and she caught her breath.
Sir Alaric, she thought, not daring to whisper his name, in case she conjured his attention.
Lilly leaned closer and spoke in a low voice. “Ooh, he’s a handsome brooding man.”
“Yes,” Mia agreed.
The Herald was already announcing the third knight. “Sir Gareth of Silverer!”
They turned their attention to the next knight, and Mia took a deep breath and released it.Who would have thought the sight of knights on horseback would affect me so?
Sir Gareth rode tall in his saddle, upon a gray horse. He rode straight-backed, his pennant green and silver. His armor was polished as if it were a mirror, and as he moved, he made sure it caught the sunlight. His brown hair was short like Sir Alaric’s and his brown eyes were shining.
A cluster of swooning girls squealed, as he gave them a practiced smile, his teeth almost unnaturally white, as he smiled and winked at them.
His eyes then lingered long on Sir Cedric's back as he gripped his reins tighter.
Mia could both see and feel the tension in the movement. She sensed something sharper behind his charm, and that it was directed at Sir Cedric.
He doesn’t like Sir Cedric.
It was a knowing. Mia’s excitement dimmed for a moment. She didn’t want to know. Instead, she turned her attention to the fourth knight in the line-up, a shadow in steel blue.
“Sir Rowan of Duskvale,” the herald announced.
Sir Rowan’s face was nearly hidden beneath his helm. Only his sharp gray eyes visible, and his long black hair tied back.
“It’s like he doesn’t want to show his face,” Mia whispered.
Sir Rowan didn’t wave. Didn’t smile. His horse moved with eerie grace, as if trained for stealth rather than pageantry. And he scanned the crowd like a hunter, his helmeted head turning.
“He gives me the creeps,” Lilly muttered.
“I can understand why,” Mia whispered back.
“I’ll bet he sleeps with a dagger under his pillow,” Lilly said. “Like a spy.”
Mia was contemplating that thought, when the herald announced the fifth knight.
“Sir Elias of Sundholm!”
“Oh,” breathed Lilly.
Mia turned her attention to the man who’d captured her best friend’s attention.
Sir Elias wore less flashy armor than the previous knights. A simple, weathered bronze, with a sunburst emblem, as warm as his genuine smile, was a welcome change from the first four knights. His dark hair was short and like Sir Alaric he kept his beard and mustache trimmed. The warmth of his personality shone through stronger than the setting sun.
A child dropped her crown of daisies off her head, and he paused, alit from his horse, picked it up and, offering her his hand, placed the daisies gently back on her head.
Mia saw how Lilly watched him, with a light in her eyes, as if his warmth had spread to her, bringing forth an inner glow.
Lilly looked away quickly, but not before Mia caught the tiny smile playing at her lips. Before she could say something to Mia, the herald interrupted her thoughts.
