Page 15 of Chivalry in the Meadow (Hope Runs Deep #2)

Chapter Six

“ I don’t see the owl now,” Mia said.

“It’s long gone,” Lilly said. “Let’s go shopping.”

“Okay,” Mia said, and they headed for the candle shop.

On the way there, they passed the crystal shop, an herbalist’s tent, and shop that sold toys like the wooden swords so many of the children were running about with.

Lilly had to look at and sniff nearly every candle in the place, for she loved candles. She was still shopping when Mia stepped outside.

She could only sniff a few candles before she would feel a headache coming on, even if the candles were made with essential oils.

The scents crossed the brain barrier so fast, that even if they were considered good for you, she had to be careful.

So, she purchased one lavender candle and one vanilla before stepping outside with her bag.

A strolling juggler passed her by as she stood watching all the people, and not long after that, a man on tall stilts came walking down the path.

Lilly stepped outside wither purchases to join her.

“I wonder how tall he is before he’s up on those things,” Mia said. “It must be terribly hard to walk in them.”

“He’s pretty amazing,” Lilly said. “Crystals next?”

“Sure,” Mia said. “You know I’m always up for looking at and holding crystals.”

“Yes, I know,” Lilly said.

Mia had a whole self of them in her living room.

Mostly small ones, though she had one amethyst geode about the size of on the left side and one crystal quartz geode on the right side.

Whether or not she bought a crystal had to do with whether any of the stones called to her when she shopped for them. Occasionally, a larger one did that.

Today, none of them were. She wandered and picked some up but then put them back down. “Not a crystal kind of day,” she finally said to Lilly. “None of them are calling to me, saying take me home.”

“You’re probably hungry,” Lilly said. “Lunch is probably what’s calling to you.” She laughed. “Those meat pies smell good.”

“Yes, I’m ready for lunch,” Mia said. “We may be back tomorrow,” she told the shopkeeper.

“I will be here,” the shopkeeper responded with a smile. “Enjoy your lunch.”

“Thank you, we will.”

Mia and Lilly both stepped outside and headed for one of the food vendors selling meat pies which had a long line.

“I guess everyone likes these,” Mia said.

“It might have been better if we’d headed here first,” Lilly said. “because of the line now. But I wanted to shop before the populace crowded the little shops.”

“It was a good idea,” Mia said.

They placed their order, got two meat pies and two fresh lemonades, then found seats at the end of one picnic table. The other end was occupied by a couple who sat holding hands and gazing into each other’s eyes.

Mia and Lilly started to eat, quietly. Both were so hungry they didn’t speak at first.

When the couple got up to leave, Lilly whispered, “Love is in the air. Maybe we’ll get lucky this weekend, too with two handsome knights. Are you still leaning toward Sir Cedric?”

“Yes,” Mia said. “Sir Alaric has that bad boy pull, though he’s all man, not so much, boy. Sir Cedric is a handsome knight, like the ones in my books.”

“They’re very different,” Lilly said. “And equally handsome. It would be hard to decide.”

“You decided right away,” Mia said.

“Sir Elias is beyond compare,” Lilly said. “I hope to get to know him.”

They finished their lunches and then headed back to the Jousting field for the second round of jousting. On the way they saw some ladies walking around with white lace parasols, and Lilly stopped one.

“Excuse me,” she said. “Did you buy your parasols here?”

“Yes,” one of the women said. “In the second clothing store on your right.”

“Thank you,” Lilly said.

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. This was more 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.

The fair felt alive, brighter even then the fire from the night before.

The herald raised his staff. The crowd fell silent.

“The first pass,” the herald announced. He lowered his staff down sharp, the signal to ride, as the trumpet blared.

Both knights lowered their long lances and spurred their horses forward, hooves pounding in thunderous rhythm.

Sir Cedric leaned forward with perfect poise; his form as elegant as it was strong.

Sir Alaric thundered down the list like a storm front, unyielding.

Their lances crashed with a splintering crack, Sir Cedric’s striking Sir Alaric’s shield, Sir Alaric’s lance driving hard against Sir Cedric’s breastplate.

Both men rocked in their saddles, but neither fell.

The crowd erupted into cheers.

Mia let out her breath she’d been holding again.

Lilly clutched her arm. “Oh heavens, they’re evenly matched!”

Sir Cedric wheeled his horse about with a flourish, raising his splintered lance for the crowd before tossing it aside with a rakish grin.

The crowd cheered and it was clear he thrived on that attention.

The two knights rode back to their starting points and to make ready again.

At his end of Sir Cedric’s side of the list, his squire rushed to hand him another lance.

Sir Alaric didn’t bother with theatrics; he simply took his fresh lance from his squire, nodded once, and lined up at the tilt.

“Second pass!” the herald announced, dropping his staff.

Again, the trumpet sounded. The knights thundered forward.

This time Sir Cedric angled low, his strike grazing Sir Alaric’s side just enough to make sparks flash from his armor.

The crowd roared approval.

Sir Alaric’s lance, however, struck Sir Cedric squarely on the shield with brutal force, nearly unhorsing him.

Sir Cedric wobbled but clung to the saddle, laughing as though the danger were part of the show.

“Show-off,” Finn muttered beside Mia, arms folded.

Mia’s stomach twisted. Sir Cedric’s laughter set her heart racing, but Sir Alaric’s steady, punishing strike left her unsettled in another way entirely.