The Royal Knight Academy

Chapter 9: A Way Inside

Molly and I quickly rode to the castle of Supiria. We went past countless shops and houses, past the clothing store, the farmer's market, the large clock tower, and even Kathleen's house. As I went by her house, I wondered what she would think if she knew that I had left to go join the Royal Knights without telling her. I tried to block out those thoughts, not wanting to regret my decision. A short time later, we finally arrived at the castle. It was beautiful, built of many shades of gray stones with large wooden doors. Molly came to a steady halt a short distance from the front of the castle where there was a small table set up. "This must be where you sign up," I whispered to myself as I hopped off my horse.

I confidently walked over to the table where surprisingly, there was no line present. Either I came extra early, or extra late. Sitting at the desk was a young woman who looked like she was in a trance, staring at a piece of parchment in front of her, examining it closely.

"Hello?" I said, trying to get her attention, hoping she didn't pay any attention to the fact that I wasn't a boy. She looked up with a confused expression on her face. "Hi ma'am. Is this where you sign up to be a royal knight?"

"Yes," she replied.

"Oh that's great. I'm here to sign up."

''You're a girl. I'm sorry, but I can't let you do that."

"Why not?" I asked as the lady rolled her eyes.

"Because girls are restricted from becoming knights."

"But, why? That's just not fair!"

"Look kid. I don't know, but rules are rules. You can go join the other girls coming right now. They're here to try to catch a glimpse of the prince."

"Where? I don't see-"

My words were suddenly interrupted as a large crowd of girls my age sprinted down the path to the castle.

"I think I'll pass," I said, watching them.

"Well if you aren't here for that, then you need to go home."

"Goodbye," I muttered, annoyed.

As I turned around to leave, I had an idea. I wasn't just going to give up that easily. I hopped back onto Molly and waited for the woman to go back to looking at her papers so she wouldn't see what I was up to. It didn't take long for her to become fixated on her work again.

As soon as no one was looking, Molly quietly trotted over to the side of the castle. When we were safely and secretly out of sight, I climbed down off of Molly's back and opened the small gate to let her into a field where I could see other horses grazing on the grass. Molly looked at me with sadness in her eyes. I promised her I would see her again soon (hoping that the castle stable workers would take care of her).

As Molly made her way into the grassy field surrounding the castle, I slowly began looking up at the castle walls, trying to find a way in. I paced back and forth trying to find an entrance, until I finally spotted an open window adorned with two stone eagles on both sides. "Ah ha!" I whispered in the quietest of voices. "But how am I going to get inside?" As I debated my options in my head, I stepped on a dirt covered rope that seemed to have been left behind and forgotten. I realized that I could use it to help me get to the window. I grabbed the rope, made a loop on one end, and threw it as hard as I could, hoping for it to catch on one of the stone birds. I was surprised that on my first throw, the rope caught.

After the rope was secured over the stone eagle's head, I grabbed the other end and started to climb up the castle wall. I used every bit of energy I had to pull myself up with sweat dripping down my face feeling like raindrops during a storm. Every step I climbed it got harder and harder, but I had to keep going. Finally, when I got to the open window, I gathered what strength I had left and hoisted myself up into the castle. I tumbled onto the floor, landing on my stomach. I pulled myself up on my feet with excitement as I realized that I had actually snuck into the castle, forgetting the pain from the fall.

Now inside, I took a second to look around at my surroundings. I seemed to be in the middle of a long hallway with unlit torches on each side of the walls, lined ever so perfectly. Each torch was separated on the wall with a hanging blue tapestry. The cloth looked like intricate works of art, with two swords ablaze with colorful flames and beautiful stitching to display the kingdom's name, "Supiria".

I took the helmet out of my bag and put it over my head just in case I was seen by someone making their way through the castle. "Now I just have to find out where the knights that already signed up are," I said to myself quietly. I started walking down the hall with quick and light steps so I wouldn't be heard. On my way, I went through many more corridors and staircases, getting more and more exhausted (and lost) as I traveled. Every door I opened was useless with nobody inside any of them. After what seemed like forever, I came to a door at the end of a long hallway as my last hope. "If this isn't it, then I don't know what I'll do," I thought desperately. I opened the door ever so slightly to find out what was awaiting me on the other side.