The Knight Queen

Chapitre Six: Ma Nouvelle Bien-aimée

   R̤̈Ä̤F̤̈Ä̤Ë̤L̤̈ burst into the Valliere armoury, his eyes running over all the men assembled; some were sparring, some were sharpening their weapons while others were punching an inanimate object which was held by their fellows. Then, he caught sight of the middle of the room, where a fight was going on and there was the person he was looking for; her hair was tied into a high ponytail, sweat matting the hair on her forehead and trickling down the sides. She was adorned in her normal attire: a burgundy shirt and a pair of brown breeches. In front of her was a youth in the same state of exertion, huffing and his fists extended towards Estelle, seeming to be on guard.

  However, at Rafael’s entrance, the youth seemed to have lost his focus as he hurriedly glanced at his direction, seeing who had come in with such a commotion. And it was then that Estelle swiped his legs and he fell on his behind with a thump!

  “When you are sparring, never get distracted by anything. I could have been your enemy and could have taken this chance to finish you off. Never repeat a folly like this again, am I clear?” Estelle gritted out as she watched the youth scramble up to his feet.

  “Aye, Majesty,” he mumbled, his voice barely audible as he fiddled with his fingers, his head facing the floor.

  “While speaking to me, you look me in the eye, cadet.” Immediately,  the cadet snapped up and looked at the Queen with a determined yet embarrassed look upon his countenance. “And speak like a soldier! Repeat what you said earlier,” she commanded.

  “Aye, Majesty!” the cadet spoke up this time and his voice echoed round the armoury. After nodding, while the cadet had saluted her, Estelle turned to Rafael, her face as blank as an unwritten piece of parchment. When he still stood there, not speaking, Estelle raised an eyebrow up at him prompting him to look up at her.

  “I’ve been looking everywhere for you. What are you doing here?” he asked, stepping closer towards her.

  “I’m training my men,” she answered simply, unwrapping the cloth round her fists and setting it on a stool next to her. “What do you want?” Straight to the point, no beating about the bushes. That was Estelle for him. But, he still couldn’t stop wondering what exactly he did to warrant himself such curtness.

  “I wished to speak to you,” he said, his face softening. Estelle inclined her head, motioning for him to say what he wished to say. But, Rafael looked around at the men watching their interaction and held in the words he wanted to spill out and shook his head. “In private,” he added. What he had expected, was for them to take a walk outside. Instead, Estelle raised her head to look at the males collected in the room and with a jerk of her head, they all stepped out wordlessly.

  “You know how to spar?” he asked, this time walking up to her and fingering the cloths that she had discarded. A puzzled look flitted across Estelle’s countenance; she certainly hadn’t been expecting this to be what he wanted to say.

  “Aye, along with swordsmanship, duelling and archery.” Yet another simple answer.

  “Do you think that you are a match for me though?” he asked, raising his brow at her in a challenging way, a devious smirk raising a side of his lips.

  “I think the real question is whether you are a match for me,” she countered, her eyes lighting up in what Rafael perceived to be arrogance.

  Arrogance? Well that is a first, he thought.

  “How about we try that out?” he asked, finally taking hold of the binding cloths and wrapping them round his fists. A smirk claimed its place on Estelle’s countenance as she took out more binding cloths from her pockets and wrapped them around her soft knuckles. Rafael could hardly believe whether those soft things could hit something without breaking or even bleeding. Once finished, they looked into each other’s eyes as they each took some few steps back and began circling each other.