The Swordswoman of Arden

The quest for King Maudred

"Good luck," I passed the assigned horses off to each knight wishing them well. The groom had tacked and prepared each requested horse long before we arrived to the stables, Quince had visited him after the tavern to assist. Vesta was reserved for Lex and I, and as soon as I handed Treacle the palomino to Harry, Lex walked Vesta over to me for mounting. Mounting was effortless for us, I didn't need a step if she was already on the horse. She took her foot out of the stirrup for me and held out her hand. I accepted it, placing my foot in the stirrup and springing upwards, allowing her to pull me all the way up until I could swing my leg round Vesta's hindquarters. I settled into the saddle behind her, and I gave her back the stirrup once my arms were looped around her mid-section.

Both Quince and the stablehand seemed impressed, and Quince handed me a lit torch for the journey ahead. Both wished us luck as Lex urged Vesta into a trot, circling her towards the wood. We were assigned the North-West quadrant to search, and our partners Edward and Oliver were already out there searching. We set off to meet them, but didn't want to urge Vesta into a canter unless we absolutely had to. She was a strong horse easily above 17 hands tall, but she was carrying two, and it would not be wise to tire her out. 

"Are you nervous?"

She turned her head slightly to the side to answer me, her profile an outline in the flame from the torch. 

"Only for King Maudred and his knight Sir Giles, are you?"

"Of course, I never go out on knightly duties, what if something happens that I'm not ready for?"

She chuckled softly, a sweet sound emitting from the silence.

"I don't think you need to worry about being unprepared my Lady, you may as well be knighted yourself at this point. Need I remind you how much time it took me to have you at sword-point during training the other day?"

I scoffed, unable to take her seriously.

"Lex, you were concentrating so hard on not hurting me you could barely focus on taking me down, if I were a true enemy I would have been floored in seconds."

She chuckled again, the silvery notes easing my troubled mind even more so.

"You didn't seem to take issue in hurting me though?" She poked light-heartedly, but I immediately retorted.

"That was an accident! I offered to tend your wound but you turned me away, you should have wounded me back to make it even."

I had gripped to her sides tighter in my annoyance without realising, and she shifted in her seat a little to loosen my vice-like arms. 

"Now how could I ever hurt you, Princess?" Her voice was gentle, unbothered by my agitation or angst, just calming to listen to and her words held meaning. 

"I..."

My sentence fell short. The need to defend myself didn't seem so valiant after she spoke so kindly. 

"I would never harm you or anyone in ill temper, that's hardly gallant or in my nature," she explained truthfully.

"But you are a swordswoman, you harm others all the time," I answered, scouring the forest for signs of life as we conversed.

"For the good of my Kingdom, and under instruction of the royal family, nothing more."

Her wisdom and outlook on anointment seemed simple enough, but I didn't respond, thinking it best we concentrate on the task at hand. I could hear Edward and Oliver's voices in the distance which was a relief, and Lex turned Vesta in the correct direction.

The closer we became, the easier it was to pick up on the signs of distress in their voices. Lex and I exchanged puzzled glances, they'd definitely found something, and I clutched onto Lex tighter as she urged Vesta into a steady canter. My nerves were jumping all over the place, I could barely sit still in the saddle. 

"What is it?" Lex called into the night as the two figures became apparent in the torchlight.

Vesta halted in front of Oliver, and Lex slid off her back to the floor. She quickly held her arms up to me, and I fell into them, concern overthrowing the sparks that shot through me whenever the swordswoman laid a finger on me. I stood next to her, Looking up at Oliver expectantly.

"Princess, I think we ought to prepare ourselves for an unwanted outcome..."

He moved to the side and revealed Edward crouched over Sir Giles, who was face down in the mud with an arrow in his back. I squinted closely, and then even closer. 

Was that...? 

It couldn't be. 

The feathers which composed the fletching were a bright sienna orange. Everyone in Palestine was fearful of that colour and what it meant. Edward scolded Oliver for allowing me to witness the body, and Lex placed a shaky hand on my shoulder.

"I think..." she swallowed nervously. I turned to face her, this was the only time I had ever seen her look truly petrified. 

"I think I know who is behind this," she finally finished, and I frowned, both of us confused as to how the other would know the mark of the person who did this. 

"Isobella..." I uttered with vehemence, and Lex twitched slightly at the mention of the name, whereas I felt anger as molten as white gold flow through me. It was the same female knight to cut my own mother's life short all those years ago. I was aware she went missing after Pâllais set her the death penalty, but no one had seen her since, everyone just assumed she was dead. The arrow said otherwise, and I shuddered at the sight of it, feeling violently ill at the thought of her return.

"The Knight responsible for Queen Genevieve's demise"... Edward muttered, looking upon the fletching with hatred, and Lex snapped her head towards me in horror. 

Why was she so taken aback? I understood that not many knew the identity of the swordswoman that murdered my mother, but she was pacing incessantly, the whites of her frantic eyes gleaming in the torchlight. She was pacing so much she accidentally bumped into Oliver, who had clearly had enough of her strange attitude switch.

"Lex, what is it? You're behaving as if you knew Isobella personally, why are you so pale all of a sudden?"

The realisation dawned on me as quickly as the words escaped Oliver's mouth. I had so many questions, I didn't even know where to begin. The only thing that brought me comfort was the fact Lex didn't know about who Isobella was to Pâllais until now. There was only one question that remained in my mind. 

Who was Isobella to Lex?