Page 4 of Chivalry in the Meadow (Hope Runs Deep #2)
Chapter Two
“ W hat did they do, give you the last one?” Lilly asked Finn, breaking Mia out of her thoughts of magic, as she saw that his tent was at the very end of the row, near one of the trees that framed this side of the meadow.
“Haha,” he laughed. “No, silly Lilly,” he laughed again as he used his childhood nickname for her.
Lilly frowned at him.
“I picked the one on the end because there’s more privacy. Single man, remember?”
“Oh, I don’t want those images in my mind, Lothario, and don’t call me that,” she retorted with her hands on her hips.
“But Lilly is your name,” he said. “Unless you’re changing it for the weekend.”
“We can do that?” Mia asked with surprise, interrupting them.
“Of course!” he said. “Many of us perform under different names. Who would you like to be? Pick it now, before I introduce you to people.”
“I’m happy just being myself,” Lilly said. “Just plain Lilly.”
“There’s no ‘just’ or ‘plain’ about you, cousin,” he said. “Your name suits you.”
“I’m okay with my name as it is,” Mia said. “My grandmother named me, and I’m not here to be acting like someone I’m not.”
“Good enough,” he said. “Lady Mia and Lady Lilly, it is.”
Opening the flap to his tent, his he showed them the set up. Three cots with three sleeping bags on top, two lawn chairs, a cooler, and a couple of plastic tubbys. “It’s not much, but it’s home for the next three months,” he said.
“I think it’s very nice,” Mia said. “The tent is so old timeish.”
“These tents are period reproductions,” he said.
“The canvas is heavier than modern tents, so it will get hot in here during the day. But we always have water in our coolers, and we can open the flaps when we’re inside.
Go ahead and help yourself to water now, before we go, if you’re thirsty.
I don’t have free refreshments anywhere else. ”
They each took a chilled water bottle, dropped their bags on their cots, and then headed back out with him.
As soon as they neared the main medieval road, which was covered with straw, they saw where a crowd was gathering to watch the parade.
“Just in time,” Finn said. “Look!” he pointed. “The herald is about to begin.”
The crowd surged forward.
Trumpets blared.
“Milords and Milady’s! Hear ye, hear ye!” the herald announced.
All heads turned toward him.
“All may attend! Six of our most valiant knights, who compete in the joust tomorrow are gathered here tonight, for the Parade of Champions!”
Excited energy spread through the crowd.
A line of six knights appeared at the far end of the camp, riding to the edge slowly, on large powerful steeds. Knights ready to ride.
Mia’s breath caught again. This time for an entirely different reason.
The sight of the six manly knights in armor, upon their strong steeds, stirred her blood.
Then the air shimmered again.
The herald, wearing brightly colored red and purple garb, announced the first knight riding forth, “Sir Cedric of Goldmane!”
Every bit the white knight, Sir Cedric rode in first, upon a powerful white horse, as the setting sun’s rays shone upon him, gilding his long blonde hair like a halo.
Wearing white and gold, and polished silver steel armor which gleamed and was etched with golden filigree and a gold cross on the front of his chest plate.
A white and gold pennant trailed from his lance as he rode and as he raised a gauntleted hand to the crowd, his rakish smile widened, showing a dimple in his chiseled chin.
Mia was very much aware of how atop his stallion; he was controlling the animal with powerful hands and thighs.
How strong he must be.
She sighed at the sight of how handsome he was, like a character stepped out of one of her romance novels.
“Mia!” Lilly whispered. “There's a cover model for one of your -romance novels if I’ve ever seen one.”
“Yes,” Mia whispered back, unable to look away from the handsome knight. It was as if he’d stepped out of her dreams. “Sir Cedric,” she spoke his name low.
Suddenly his blue eyes, bright, amused, knowing, met hers for a heartbeat too long, as if he’d sensed her saying his name, before he rode past her. In that moment, a thrill went through her, and she shivered with excitement at the connection.
“Sir Alaric of Ravenwood,” the Herald announced the second knight, who rode behind Sir Cedric.
Of course he would be the black knight , Mia thought. And he really fits the part.
A dark figure, upon a black horse, he was in complete contrast to Sir Cedric.
Wearing black, his armor storm-gray steel with gold filigree, his pennant black and gold.
With short dark hair, and a dark trimmed beard and mustache, his mouth maintained a hard line where no smile escaped to grace his handsome face.
He and his horse moved in sync, as if in a perfected dance. A powerful one.
Mia tried not to look at Sir Alaric’s thighs, which were as powerful as Sir Cedric’s.
He guided his steed in an easy way, different than Sir Cedrick had. The smooth way that Sir Alaric used his strong legs to guide his horse, made her hyper aware of his masculinity.
Try not to look there , she told herself as she forced her gaze up and away from his legs.
Stern and strong, his intense dark brown eyes landed on Mia.
She gasped and suppressed a shiver as their eyes met.
His massive horse, coal-dark, with braids in its mane, showed muscular strength, every bit a stallion, giving a loud snort as he neared. She’d never seen such a large horse or such an intimidating man.
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.
“Sir Thorne of Black Hollow!” the herald loudly announced, startling both women. Sir Elias had quickly returned to his saddle and ridden on.
The first five knights rode on, as the sixth and last knight brought up the end, making no sound, giving no greetings, not even a smile to acknowledge the watchers in the crowd.
His coal black horse moved like smoke, as his pennant, black with a deep red thorn, flapped in the wind.
His armor was jagged, almost thorn-like, and his helm had a slotted visor which completely obscured his face.
His long dark hair could be seen beneath his helm.
If the others shone like stars, Sir Thorne cast a dark shadow behind them.
The crowd’s excited cheers quieted as he passed.
Then he turned his head, slow and deliberate, and Mia felt the hair on her arms rise, knowing his gaze would land on her.
And as it did, his dark gaze chilled her to the bone.