Chapter 5
Sir Julian left behind a chest of royal gifts–its contents unknown but unmistakably significant. With a final bow, he departed down the carpeted hall, his boots near silent against the woven runner.
William gaped after him, dumbstruck. “You the King made you an officer? How in God’s name did that happen?”
I kept my voice even. “Turns out I’m more capable than you thought.”
“She’s spent her whole life coddled behind manor walls,” Beatrice murmured. “What could she possibly know that impressed a royal envoy? If the court starts asking questions, we’ll all wear the shame of it.)
Mother’s eyes flared “You fool! You were meant to attend a quiet audience and return unnoticed. Instead, you’ve dragged the King’s eye onto this family
and with it, every danger court life brings.”
Ishrugged. “I’ve been appointed Captain of the Western Guard. If you’re so afraid of ruin, perhaps you should pack up and leave Hawthorne Manor yourselves.”
- d. She’s under the C
Crown now.
“You ungrateful brat!” Her hand shot up, but her maid caught her wrist mid–air. “Milady, remember what the envoy said. Mother stiffened, forcing her voice into cold civility. “Then so be it. If you insist on parading your pride through court and camp, we’ll wash our hands of you entirely. You’ll no longer bear the lawthome name.
William spat the words through clenched teeth. “When your title means nothing and your fortune runs dry, don’t come begging at our door.”
“It’s late,” I said calmly. “You can show yourselves out!
I turned my back on them.
Three Days Earlier – The Royal Audience
The great hall had shimmered with silles and sighs as the maidens took their tums, each curtsying low and praying for the King’s notice.
When my name was called, I stepped forward without flinching Your Majesty,” said, clear and strong. “I bring a skill to offer, if you’ll grant me the chance.”
The King blinked awake on his throne. “A skill, is it? Let’s see it, then.”
I drew my blade–not the ceremonial kind, but the worn steel I’d trained with since I was a child–and began the sword dance my father once taught me. Every are was measured, every step anchored. My body remembered what grief and practice had carved into it.
When I knelt at the end, breathing hard, I lifted my eyes. “I seek to marriage, nor title–only a place in your ranks. Let me serve the Crown, as my Eather did ”
The King liesitated, scratching his beard. “A woman in the guard?”
Beside him, the Duchess of Grandtham spoke, “There’s precedent, Your Majesty. Lady Eleanor is Lord Roland’s blood. He was a knight of rare loyalty, taken before his time.”
Sar Julian stepped forward, bowing low. “With pirates raiding the southern coast and Norsem testing the northern sea walls, we cannot afford to waste talet — no matter its form. Let her prove herself,”
The King gave a slow nod. “Then let her try”
It was more than I’d hoped for. It was everything
Tuter days later, I was boil for the northem parrisons
Mother did nat
appear, Willian stayed hicken. Neither gave me so much as a forewell
But Beatrice came—of course phe did. She waited by the stables, all silk and smugness, tilting her head as I checked my
saddle.
“Army cangu,” she mused, “muddy boots, soldier’s rations, cold tents. All to chase a little glory. Is that really what you want, cousin Eleanor?”
“You probably haven’t heard–Margaret’s already set on betrothing me to Lord Codric.”
et her gaze, steady and cold. “Better the mood under my own feet than velvet stolen from someone else’s. ”
With one last look at the faundly crest carved above the manor gates, I mounted my horse and rode out.
The northem wind was cruel and constant, like something alive.
For two weeks, I ate what the men did–crusts of black bread, water so bitter it stung the throat. No servants, no fire–warmed baths, no silks or civility.
The barracks were full of hardened veterans–scarred men who’d fought beside my father in the border wars. But they didn’t greet me as a comrade.
“What’s a noble girl doing out here?”
“Marry a baron. Wear jewels. Leave the blades to men.”
“Swords don’t care how clever you think you are.”
The jeers stung more than I let on. But I stayed. I listened. I followed them into drills, shadowed their tactics, and learned with both eyes open.
I had studied warfare from books, trained with my father in the safety of courtyards. But here? Here, steel meant survival, not ceremony.
And though they mocked me, they never stopped me.
