Sunset gripped the spear Rainbow had brought for her and weighed it in her hands. She balanced it in one palm and grinned at her friends. “It’s perfect.”
Rainbow nodded, “cost me the last of our coin, so you had better win with it.”
The morning sun bore down on them as Sunset swung herself into the saddle, preparing for her first joust. The armor she got from Sunburst was still ill fitting but they had padded it enough to be functional. With a brand new javelin in hand she felt as knightly as she looked.
Her opponent’s herald stepped toward the stands and raised his arms. “My Lords, I present to you: Sir Blueblood, heir to the duchy of Foalsland, fiercest of all, master of his enemies!” There was an approving roar from the crowd that shook the small stadium.
Rainbow, with her far better grammar, was next. “My Lords, and my ladies, I present to you my Lord: Ser Solaris Incarnate.” There was nothing more to say, no fancy titles to be provided, and Sunset tried not to flinch at the silence. She pulled herself to her full height and rode steadily to her place.
She kept her gaze on the flag until the attendant holding it let go. Then, and only then, did she ride forward. Her heart was in her throat.
The abruptness of it all would always be a shock. There was the flag, floating to the ground. There was the rumble of the horse’s hooves kicking up dust. And then there was the impact. She felt her own lance snap and that of her adversary hit her in the shoulder.
When the world returned to its normal speed her shoulder ached, but her lance was broken and the other knights was intact. She had won the first round.
Blueblood, while a decent enough knight, was not known for doing well in the joust and it showed. He managed to break the second lance on Sunset’s chest but she broke hers on his helmet, giving her an extra point. The third round was over even more easily. As luck would have it, Blueblood’s somewhat ostentatious armor had a lip near the bottom of his sternum. Her lance caught on the lip of his chest plate, and she had just enough strength to throw him from the saddle, winning both the match and his horse.
Sunset’s shoulder throbbed as AJ yanked her off the horse and immediately began checking over both her and the armor. “You’ve cracked the damn pauldron,” she growled, “that’s going to cost us out of your winnings. If you take another strike there in the melee you’ll be finished.”
Unable to keep a smile from her face, Sunset replied, “Then I’d better not let them hit me again.”
The javelin throw was next, a staple of any tournament. With her shoulder mostly numbed with some herbs from Rainbow’s pack Sunset felt ready. Only three other knights were competing with the javelin. They lined up in the open field and each weighed their weapons and awaited the call. A horn was sounded and as one they hefted their spears, and threw them with all their might. Sunset let out a roar like a lioness and let the spear leave her hand, giving it just the slightest horizontal spin.
AJ held her breath; Sunset had been just a beat behind the others with her throw. It sailed, as if in slow motion and she sucked in a gust of air when it landed, nearly level, with the farthest throw of another knight. The crowd stomped and roared and an attendant ran out to measure the spears.
There was another round of cheers when the attendant stood and thrust his arm toward Sunset. “Ser Solaris wins the Javelin!”
There was a break between the javelin and the melee event. Sunset's shoulder was throbbing again and the adrenaline of the earlier competitions was wearing off. She let AJ tend to her sore muscles and rested for a while. When she was finally allowed to get up and about again she wandered the tournament grounds, and that is where she saw her.
She was the loveliest woman Sunset had ever set eyes upon. She had long, purple hair that framed her face, and purple eyes that reminded her of the richest fabric. She would not have been out of place in a palace and she was dressed in a soft blue gown that told Sunset she was nobility.
With a bravery she didn’t know she had, she hurried to follow her. Weaving in and out of the crowd she nearly caught up until a rough shove sent her sprawling. She found the tip of a sword inches from her face. “What is your business following the lady Sparkle?” The soldier barked.
Sunset puffed out her chest and put on her best imitation of a slighted noble. “I am Ser Solaris Incarnate. I was following no one and you will mind your tongue or I will cut it out,” she snapped. The soldier seemed startled enough that she knew she had the upper hand. She smacked the blade away with the back of her hand and leaped to her feet. “Now have you any more accusations or can I be on my way?”
It was not until she turned to go that she realized the girl had stopped to watch the altercation. She nearly ran directly into her. The dark haired woman smirked at her before turning to her guard, “it’s alright Shinning.” Her eyes sparkled when she looked back at Sunset, “tell me the truth, were you following me?”
Sunset readied herself to lie again but found that her mouth would not obey. Instead she said, “I might have been. If only because I was entranced, my lady.”
The woman laughed a soft, beautiful thing that made Sunset’s heart thunder. “And why would you be so entranced, Ser Solaris Incarnate? Do you see something worth your attention?”
“More than that, in fact I would say that you are worth far more than any one person’s attention. Having only spoken to you for a moment I would say you have the wisdom of a scholar and an unmatched wit,” Sunset answered earnestly. “I might have followed you, my lady, but only because I was convinced that a goddess had taken human form. So yes… you are worth my attention and more.”
The girl raised an eyebrow and smirked again “are you always so flattering to ladies or am I special?”
“I confess, I am from a small duchy to the south of Trotham,” Sunset lied. “I have never before spoken to a lady such as you. And I would never speak to another if you would give me your name.”
The girl hummed and then shook her head. “I think I will keep my name to myself a while longer, you strike more as a hound than a knight.”
It was an insult but Sunset could tell it was not meant to offend by the tone of her voice. “Then I will be Ser Hound until such time as you see fit to give me your name and call me by my own.” She turned her face to the sky and sighed, “I hope you will watch me in the melee, my lady. I will take my leave now.” And with that she hurried back to her company.
Shinning Armor sighed and removed his helmet, “you shouldn’t speak to the knight’s like that Twily. You know dad wants you to marry well and insulting them will not make that easy.”
His sister snorted, “She wasn’t insulted.”
“Clearly this Ser Solaris is perfect then. Will you watch the melee?”
They go to watch the melee. Sunset rides fiercely, or so Shinning armor tells her. Twilight has never watched many tournaments. She had only agreed to come because Trottingham had an impressive library. Her attention was only partially on the battle going on in the arena… until Ser Solaris was unhorsed.
Sunset knew she was in trouble; another knight had managed to ride up behind her and yank her out of the saddle. She lost her sword as she was thrown and hit the dirt hard. As she tried to rise a kick to the back sent her sprawling and she was forced to roll out of the way or be trampled. When she finally found her feet she was immediately engaged by a mean looking knight with an axe.
He was big but when he swung at her, he was slow. She immediately ducked under his arm and snatched up the shaft of a fallen knight’s spear. The tip of her improvised weapon was broken off but the broken end was sharp and when she found an opening she thrust it at him. The jagged end of the spear pierced under his arm and he dropped. And the fight continued.
Twilight practically tossed her book away when Shinning announced that Ser Solaris had fallen. She watched with wide eyes as the knight, who now looked very small, fought an opponent twice her size. She was unable to tear her gaze away until the event finally ended.
Sunset felt rough, and if you had asked Twilight, or her friends they would say she looked rought. There was blood seeping from an ugly wound on her shoulder. The left pauldron of her armor was broken completely in two, her chest ached from having the wind knocked out of her, and Sunset... had never been prouder. With a wide smile the host of the tournament, a portly Count with a large mustache, congratulated her on her win.
“I present to you, our tournament champion, Ser Solaris Incarnate, a red knight of the fiercest kind!”