Knight of Passion (Jenlisa)

Chapter 2

Jennie felt as though she'd been thrown straight into a wall. Standing across from her, in full plate and chainmail, was a woman, with brown doe eyes, short blonde hair, and a determined jaw.

She looked as though she was also in her twenties, and as Jennie stared at her, she gave the princess a look of confusion. "Is everything alright, my lady?"

Startling back to reality, the princess began to stammer. "Oh, yes, of course, my apologies, I was simply..."

The knight let out a chuckle, her mouth curling into a wry smile. "You were expecting a man, weren't you?"

Looking down, embarrassed, Jennie nodded. "Yes."

In response, the knight's smile grew into an amused laugh. "I'm sorry to disappoint you, my lady."

Immediately, Jennie's eyes went wide, and she did her best to apologise, much to the knight's enjoyment. "No! No, I'm not disappointed, honestly, I had just...well, you know, I'd always assumed that...almost all knights were...men."

Trailing off, the princess felt her cheeks burning bright red with embarrassment. Bemused the knight looked down at her, biting her cheeks to stop herself laughing at the young woman's awkward attempts to dig herself out of her hole.

Abandoning her rambling, Jennie let out one final cry. "Thank you for rescuing me!"

The knight smiled warmly, bowing her head to the princess. "It is an honor, my lady."

Jennie gave a nervous chuckle and smiled back. Inside, her mind was racing. It had never occurred to her before that her saviour might be a woman, never once in the whole time she'd been imprisoned here. Of course, she knew female knights existed, but for whatever reason she'd always imagined some brave young man coming to her rescue. She tried to clear her head, focus on the here and now, but the shock lingered.

In a haze, she asked the only question that came to her head. "Where's your shield?"

Again, Ser Manoban laughed. "Gone, I'm afraid. The dragon's fire was not kind, and after a chance encounter with some falling rubble downstairs, I had to abandon it. Well, what was left of it."

Looking around the room, the knight took in her surroundings, admiring the four poster bed. "Not terrible, for a prison. Although I suspect you'd rather see the back of this place?"

Jennie nodded, and the knight chuckled. "Come on, let's get out of here. Is there anything you want to take with you?"

For a moment, Jennie considered, but in the end she shook her head. "No. No there isn't."

Ser Manoban smiled, reaching out a hand toward her. "Alright then. Let's go, quickly. My horse is outside."

For a moment, the princess paused, considering, before sheepishly asking. "Is it...?"

Sensing what she meant, the knight replied. "Yes. It's white."

Jennie smiled, and took her knight's hand. At least she'd got some things right.

~~~

Galloping through the dense woodland, the princess kept her arms wrapped tightly around her rescuer's waist.

Ser Manoban, whose first name she now knew was Lisa, kept hold of her horse's reins, urging the white stallion on with her spurs as together they thundered through the underbrush, riding hard for the break in the treeline.

It had barely been an hour since they'd left the tower, and the noon sun still hung high in the sky above them. All around, the sounds of the forest rushed past as the pair travelled ever onward.