The Lady Knight

"You should not lean so far right, Sire," Captain Everard advised, "you are a very tall man, and you can lose your balance very easily."

"I will be perfectly fine, Captain Everard," the Prince answered breathlessly, "come again."

I glanced up from my book again, more interested in watching them than doing my work.

As the Prince had excused himself from the ball a few days ago under the pretext of a passing illness, Lady Olivia had declared this morning that he needed some fresh air for a speedy recovery.

She had suggested a picnic in the fields of Tessensohn for his well-being, but I suspected that she had initially planned it such that the Prince and she could spend some time together in private - in the presence of a chaperone, of course.

Unfortunately for her, the Prince had insisted that the Captains and I were to accompany them both, so here we were.

In the beginning, the Prince had no choice but to converse with Lady Olivia, as she plunged into a long and weary recount of the ball. As entertaining as his misery had been, I had brought my own work with me to keep my mind busy, while the Captains had been practising their steed fighting in the fields.

Steed fighting was an aspect of duelling, where parties parried with their swords while seated bareback on their stallions. It was very difficult to master.

It had not taken long for the Prince to notice them training. Curious about this form of warfare, and desperate to escape from Lady Olivia's company, he had demanded for some lessons from them at once.

I was not surprised that he had not learnt it during his own military training in Osterlund. The King had forbidden all the Prince's duelling masters from teaching him that particular skill, as he had lost his brother during a tournament in the past.

However, here, miles away from the King, nothing was preventing the Prince from learning what he wanted to. Captain Everard had willingly agreed to coach him, and the rest of the Captains were also giving him advice and tips to improve.

It was thus that they had all left me alone with a fuming, listless Lady Olivia, who had nothing else to do but munch on a few slices of buttered bread, stroll around the area, and sit down beside me again. She was constantly grumbling under her breath, arranging her hair once in a while.

The whole lot of menfolk were so distracting, and the urge to leave Lady Olivia and fight alongside them was so tempting, that I had to truly slam my back against the tree trunk which I was seated under to force myself to concentrate on my work instead.

"When will they finish playing?" Lady Olivia muttered beside me.

I flipped a page of my book. "They will finish when they want to."

"All right, when will they want to finish playing?" she shot back at me, growing increasingly irritated.

Still, I did not look up from my book. "Well, you can ask them that. Do I look like I can read their minds, Lady Olivia?"

"Well, command them to stop playing!" she burst out, hissing, "are you not their Head General, or something of that sort? You can order them about, yes? Force them to cease this foolishness, and ask His Royal Highness to come here."

"I am their Commander General, not their Head General," I answered with some exasperation, "and they are fighting, not playing. Which aspect of their swords look like playthings to you?"

"I do not give a damn about whoever you are, and whatever they are doing," she snarled, "I suggest you hold your tongue, my Lady, and do as I say."

I was fast losing my patience. Why would she not let me read in peace?

I stood up. "Remarkable, Lady Olivia. I knew not that sailors' curses were part of your vocabulary," I drawled, "is that not against social etiquette?" I walked away from her to find another spot to sit.

She followed me, and rounded on me, towering over me.

"Listen to me when I am talking to you!" her furious blue eyes bore into mine, "dare not pretend that an inanimate book is of more significance than what I am telling you. You will listen to me. You will obey my every word. And whether you like it or not, I will marry the Crown Prince one day!"

"I have no need to pretend that your words are of no significance to me, my Lady," my voice was ice cold, "as you so eloquently put it, I do not give a damn about what you say."

Her sapphire eyes blazed, as she knocked off the beret on my head in a fit of rage.

"What the - " I began, furious that she would even dare to touch it.

It was my pride, my joy. I did not allow anyone touch it, with the exception of my former Commander General Laxier, who had passed it down to me after his term of office had ended and I had taken over.

In the short second that my eyes had darted to my fallen beret on the ground, Lady Olivia had grabbed hold of my bun to hold my head still, and raised her other hand, no doubt to deliver a stinging slap.

I caught her hand before it could strike me. "Big mistake, sweetheart."

Before her mind could process what I had said, I had elbowed the crook of her arm to loosen her hold on my hair. The moment her hold slackened, I had stepped closer to her, grabbed hold of her upper arm, slipped an arm under it, and flipped her to the ground.

She blinked up at the sky, gasping loudly for air.

Before she could react, I straddled her, raised my fist and brought it down to her cheek good and hard.

"Ow!" she howled in pain, her hands flying to her face to nurse her wounded cheek.

I tied my hair up into a tight bun once more, grabbed my beret and tucked my hair under it, as she continued to groan and howl, clutching her cheek.

She was already sporting a fine blue-black bruise where I had hit her. Pressing my lips into a thin line, I crouched down in front of her, taking special care to ensure that she can see and hear me well and clear.

"If you value your life, Lady Olivia," I murmured, staring straight into her defiant eyes, "you will never touch me again."

With a feral snarl, she tried to strike me again, but I caught her arm in time, and dug my nails into it.

"I am no longer that little girl you used to torment at your whim and pleasure," I hissed, "I am a Knight, a Commander General, and if I wish to, I can injure you beyond recovery this very moment. Am I understood?" I roared with an intensity that made her flinch.

From across the field, I could feel the Prince's intense, bewildered gaze trained on the both of us.

***

"Oh, my poor darling!" Lady Françoise cried the moment she set her eyes on Lady Olivia, hurrying towards her with all the grace of a lady of the society, "how did you get hurt?" She cupped her daughter's cheeks and ran a thumb over her bruises, distressed.

In the meanwhile, the Captains, the Prince and I strode into the receiving hall from our eventful trip to the fields, exhausted.

However, I, on the other hand, was not as happy as the rest, and I made no move to disguise it. I kept my distance from the Prince and his severe, probing gaze, which were demanding answers that I did not wish to divulge at the moment.

For once, Lady Françoise did not even notice our entrance, filled with concern for her only daughter.

Lady Olivia's eyes met mine from across the receiving hall, and I cocked an eyebrow and stared straight at her, challenging her to confess to her mother that I had punched her.

After what seemed like an eternity, she looked away from me. "I slipped on some ice and fell down, Mama," she mumbled, as Lady Françoise ran her hands over her extremities to check for further injuries, "nothing to worry about. I am perfectly fine."

I thought so, I snorted under my breath.

As Lady Françoise began to lecture Lady Olivia on the virtues of being careful outdoors, I cracked my knuckles and proceeded up the stairs towards my chambers without waiting for the others, wanting to be alone.

"Julie, wait."

I pretended not to hear, and walked on up the stairs.

"Julie."

The silent force of my name stopped me at once. I raised my eyes to the skies above, and turned to face him.

"Sire – "

He leaped up the stairs towards me before I could finish. "I am not looking for an explanation," he started, "I watched and heard the whole debacle."

"No surprise there," I muttered, "neither of us were attempting to be quiet."

He gazed at me for a few moments in silence, before he spoke again. "I usually do not poke my nose where it does not belong, but this is getting out of hand. The Lord knows Lady Olivia has been wearing on all our patience – and she did hit you first - but you...you threw her to the ground," he pointed out, before a thoughtful look crossed his features, "well, granted, that was rather amazing to watch – "

A ghost of a smile tugged at my lips. "Why, thank you, Your Royal Highness."

" – still, this cannot go on," he shook his head, "Julie, have you and Lady Olivia known each other long before the Potential Quest? This amount of animosity between you is impossible to be cultivated in a mere few days."

I was surprised that he even had to ask. "Of course we do. Your Royal Highness, do you not remember?" I frowned, "Lady Olivia is Tess' best friend, and I am on terrible terms with both."

He still did not seem to understand. "Who is Tess?"

I stared at him, more shocked than horrified. "You do not remember my cousin Tess?" I raised an eyebrow, "Lady Therese De Beauharnais of Roche? Your favourite friend when you were younger?"

I could not believe it. How could he have forgotten Tess? He had joined forces with her and Liv so often alongside Ned in the past to torment me.

"Poppet?" a gentle voice asked.

I kept my gaze on the lake, clutching the locket on my neck tightly. "Leave, Kat. I wish to be alone."

"You have been here for hours already," another voice spoke just as kindly, as I sensed two people sit on either side of me, wrapping an arm each around my shoulders in comfort, "it is not good to be alone for so long. Max, especially, has been very worried about you."

"I suppose he has forgotten what day is it today. Again," I snapped sourly, gritting my teeth, "if he had bothered to remember, then he would have known where to find me. Butthen again, he was not the one who watched Mama die here in this very lake. Whyshould he remember?"

I felt tears prick my eyes. I knew it was not fair of me to accuse Max thus, but I could not help it. Mayhap he had remembered what day it was today, but did not wish to grieve in public. My brother was the kind of boy who preferred to suppress his emotions and release them at night when he thought that I had fallen asleep.

But I heard him. Every time.

There was a heavy silence for a while after I had spoken those thoughtless words.

"Poppet, you know that is not true," Kat ventured softly.

"I know. I am sorry."

I said nothing else for a while, as I removed my locket from my neck and opened it to show them.

"See?" I pointed to the miniature portraits inside, "that is Papa, Mama, Max and me. It was painted when I was five."

Kat and Lisa smiled tenderly when they looked at it. However, before they could say anything else, the locket was snatched rudely out of my hands.

"What is this?" a smooth, silky voice murmured, like the quiet before the storm.

I turned around to find Tess, dressed in a blood red evening gown, scrutinizing my locket very carefully in almost predatory interest. Her best friend Liv, and their empty-headed giggling entourage merely smirked at us, as they looked at the locket over her shoulders.

"What an ugly piece of jewellery," Liv commented in distaste, as she glanced up at me, "of course, I would not expect the likes of you to own anything more worthy. You are an embarrassment to society."

Her voice was dripping with derision, garnering the mocking laughter of her friends.

However, Lisa, Kat and I had tensed into defensive positions, only eyeing Tess as her ocean blue eyes flashed dangerously upon gazing at the portrait in my locket.

Her voice was tinged with dark humour. "All of you look very happy," she murmured, "a doting father who pampered you at every opportunity. A loving mother who only wished for your happiness. A protective brother who ensured your physical and emotional safety at all times. One, big happy family. Perfection." Her fingers shook the slightest bit as she fingered it, her countenance still empty.

I grew cold in the meanwhile. "Return it, Tess."

She pretended not to hear me. "Of course, that is no longer the case, is it?" she raised her eyes, twisted satisfaction dancing within them, "all that is left of this family is a silent father who despises the very sight of you. A distant brother who no longer has time for you. An absent mother whose existence was erased because of you. It seems perfection is but an illusion." She laughed softly, as Liv and their friends cackled along with her.

My eyes swiftly filled with tears, my lower lip trembling, as I silently bore the brunt of her poisonous words. Usually, I would have been able to come up with a retort, but not today.

Today was the day my mother had perished seven years ago within the depths of that lake yonder. I was too drained to fight with anyone, least of all Tess.

"Keep quiet!" even the usually calm Lisa yelled now, as she stood by me.

However, Tess fingered the portrait, still musing. "What eludes me," she continued quietly, "is how you still have the audacity to wear Tante Jeanne's locket despite the fact that you killed her with your own two hands. A single push was all it took, did it not?" Her eyes flashed viciously once more.

Tears began to pour down my cheeks in torrents. I could not refute it. I could not refute what she said, because it was true.

Kat fumed. "Give her back her locket and leave our line of sight, Tess," she snarled, clenching her fists, "or - "

"Or what, Katherine?" Liv cut in, putting her hands on her hips, "what will you do to us?"

"You - "

"You forget that our fathers are Dukes, while yours is a mere, lowly Earl," Tess smiled dangerously, "there is difference in our class, dear friend. Be careful when you use that tone with me."

"Class will not stop me from ruining your face!" Kat was about to fly at Tess, but she was held back by Lisa before she could do so.

"Nay," Lisa whispered, "not today. Jules needs us."

I wiped my tears away. I should not be so weak and fragile. It was why Tess and Liv took advantage of me so easily.

"I am all right," I composed myself, "it hurt for a moment, that is all. As of this moment, I only wish to retrieve my locket from them and return home. We will deal with these witches some other day."

With that, I looked up at the smug faces of Tess, Liv and their friends. "If you truly had the courage to torment me, you would have come alone, dear cousin," I remarked softly, "because only mutts travel in packs for protection."

Their eyes widened in shock at my words.

In that second of their hesitation, I strode forward and grabbed my locket from Liv's hand. "And thank you very much," I muttered sarcastically, as I turned on my heel and walked away from them.

At that very moment, I felt someone push me down hard from behind, causing me to lose my grip on my locket. It bounced several feet away from me, to the very edge of the bank, almost as if it was going to return to its owner who was buried within the lake beyond.

Lisa hurried to catch hold of it before Tess or anyone else could, and slung it around her own neck to protect it. Kat rushed to my side, but was waylaid by Liv.

The rest of their friends had fled upon the first sign of violence.

In the meanwhile, my hair was gripped, and my head was turned up to face my aggressor none too gently. I was looking up into the fiery, clear blue irises of Tess, who was glaring down at me.

"How dare you speak to me like that?" she hissed.

Summoning up all the strength I could draw from my loathing for her and taking a deep breath, I raised my hand and slapped Tess hard across her cheek, with a blow that would definitely have her ears ringing.

She cried out in pain, and her grip on my hair loosened in that one second.

One second was all I needed.

I drew myself up to my feet and hauled her up to her feet by her arm, and forced both her arms behind her back. "I care not who you are, you devil reincarnate," I growled, "but you do not have the right to disrespect my Mama's death anniversary. Understood?"

"Well said, Jules," Lisa observed, smiling faintly from the lake bank.

"Do not let her go!" Kat encouraged me, as she held on tight to the tigress Liv, "we will make them pay today for everything, poppet."

At that moment, an arrogant voice spoke up from behind me. "What is going on here?" it sounded as dangerous as Tess's own voice, "ah, I knew I smelled trouble the moment I saw Julie."

I inwardly groaned, but made sure to keep a tight hold on the struggling Tess.

Nick always appeared after Tess during such confrontations. It was almost as if the duo were made for each other, leaders of their two revolutionary groups intent on destroying poor, indestructible, resistant old me.

"Your Highness!" Tess cried out in relief, "save me from this insane girl, please! She is hurting me."

She let out a pitiful little whimper at this point, which played on Nick's sympathy very well indeed.

How could he not feel sympathy for her? The both of them were allies, soul mates, meant and destined for each other, after all. He was bound to come to her rescue, like her own personal knight in shining armour.

Lord, they made me sick.

Nick and Ned appeared in front of us presently. "Leave her be, Julie," he threatened, "or I will make your life an absolute hell from this day forth."

I burst out into mirthless laughter. "You already make it a living hell, you demon. What difference is it going to make whether I let her go or not?"

The brute Ned stepped forward at that moment, and violently tugged Tess out of my arms, causing me to almost lose my balance. In the meanwhile, Tess had hidden behind him, burying her face on the side of his arm.

"Jules, are you all right?" Kat and Lisa cried out in alarm, but I had fiery eyes only for Ned in front of me.

"When Nick tells you to do something, you do it," Ned snarled at me.

It was almost as if grief and hatred supplied me with emotional strength. "What are you now, Nick's personal herald?"

"You - " Ned was about to fly at me, but Tess's whimpers stopped him short.

"What is it now, Tess?" he stepped up to her side, "did she hurt you anywhere else?"

"Tell us, Tess," Nick encouraged her, "we will make Jules pay for it."

"They took my locket," she pretended to weep, "it was my favourite. The one my Mama had given me."

She rubbed her hands over her face as if she were crying, and shot me a stealthy wink from between her fingers.

The lying witch! If I could get my hands on her, I swear I would -

"You took her locket?" Nick narrowed his eyes, "that is low, Julie, even for you."

"Return it, Van Helsing," Ned growled.

"The locket is Jules'!" Lisa cried out, rushing towards my side, "Tess and Liv tried to take it!"

She glanced at Lady Olivia, who was still bound tightly within Kat's arms, with absolute disgust.

"He will not listen, Lisa, do not bother," I muttered to her, "he hates me to the point of insanity, and he loves his precious Tess too much to see the truth beyond her. Love is beyond all rhyme and reason, is it not, Nick?"

Upon uttering those words, all hell broke loose.

Nick lunged at me with all his boyish indignation at being accused of being in love with a Lady.

I frowned darkly at the memory. Kat and I had not come out too well from that particular fight, and neither had Lisa.

In fact, I should think that it was Lisa's first physical combat. She usually hated even watching violence, but she had fought off Ned that day for my sake and up till today, Kat and I were in awe of her for it.

In any case, we had managed to save and keep the locket. Even after all these years, it still hung around my neck.

Returning to the present, I blinked, astonished at the Prince. He had been ready to attack me, a defenceless little girl, for Tess's sake all those years ago.

On many instances besides this memory, he had always defended her with a passion I never understood. Was it because he had despised me so intensely, or was it because he was genuinely fond of her as his strongest ally?

"Nay, I am afraid I do not remember your cousin," the Prince frowned at me at the moment, "you say she was my favourite friend?" He scrunched up his head, trying to remember.

"She was your most supportive ally," I let out a small smile, "she was often by your side, with Lady Olivia by hers, when you and I used to fight. Any recollection?"

The Prince seemed rather constipated with the effort of rummaging his mind, before he shook his head, defeated.

"Julie, I - I remember little of our childhood before James died," he admitted quietly in a moment of weakness, "even you had been a vague memory until I met you again that day in Papa's study." He glanced away, frustrated with himself.

I tilted my head, surprised. Mayhap his grief had caused him to block most of his memories of Prince James and Richard, and by extension, memories of his childhood as well.

I reached out to pat his arm. "Worry not, Your Royal Highness," I assured him, "like how you had remembered me, I am certain that you will remember Tess the moment you see her in Roche in a couple of weeks. Ten years is a long time, after all."

"Was she very mean to you?" he seemed curious, as well as a little sad, "as mean as I was?"

I nodded, shrugging. "She makes Lady Olivia look like an angel," I smiled sadly, "and she was a large part of our childhood. I believe it is impossible for you to ever truly forget her."

***