Gazing At The Moon

Chapter 4

Me? Partake in a tournament?

This is awkward. Val has never done jousting before. Why is the King so hell-bent on making her do this? The Princess doesn't seem to like it, barely looking at her parents at all while she eats.

I don't like it either... The last thing she wants is to be humiliated right in front of Amaryllis's eyes. And the worst part, the King threatening to dispose of her if she doesn't do well. The Princess and the Queen probably won't allow it, but there's still that underlying fear.

It doesn't get any better, especially not when she's saddling up her horse and adjusting the shield on her arm. The anxiety radiates off her, she worries that the others can feel it.

"Not yet, Abel. You're on in one of the last rounds." A man stops her as she attempts to walk outside with the horse.

"Ah..." She sighs. "Right."

She listens to the sounds outside, the crowd cheering and the angered cries of the contestants. Every now and then someone walks in clutching an arm or a leg- the defeated ones. They can't look anyone in the face.

Val peeks out of the gates, at the challenger currently in the lead. He's a huge guy, with quite the bravado. Every time he knocks someone off their horse he makes a triumphant gesture and the crowd cheers, only fuelling his ego. The sand floats in the air from all the commotion, making it harder to see. The flags flutter and wave because of the wind, the sound is a little distracting.

Can someone defeat him already...

Someone grabs Val's shoulder.

"Abel. You're up."

No, wait, not me-!

-

Val's seriously nervous now. She attempts not to show it, lest Amaryllis sees. She glances up at her in the box. Her eyes are just a little wider than normal, her lips pressed into a tight line. What is she thinking?

I don't belong here... There's too many eyes on me. It's too open, it's too grand. It's too loud. Everyone's screaming and cheering and hollering, it hurts my ears. This isn't what I signed up for.

Val shifts on her horse, casting her gaze to the big brute in front of her. He scoffs at her, and she rolls her eyes.

Let's get this over with...

He charges. She does too. What are the rules? She's not quite sure. Is she holding the lance right?

She attempts to jab it into his shield, but he's quicker, delivering quite the harsh blow on hers. She winces, her arm trembles a little from the force. The horses turn around. She grits her teeth, gripping her shield tighter. Why can't I hit the centre properly?

She swears, if she could see under Red and White's helmet, he'd be grinning like a bastard. Again, he rams the lance against her shield with too much force. Val struggles to keep her balance.

This time, when the horses turn around, Red and White looks up at the royal's box and shouts.

"Hah! I shall be your guard instead, princess!"

What?

Val grits her teeth harder. Her eyes widen, her nose scrunches up. "You fucking...-" A deep rumble erupts from her chest, subconsciously. She kicks the horse into a gallop, charging at the man with reckless abandon.

How fucking dare you!

The man, stupid as he is, is too slow to react. Val, with the intent of impaling him, rams her lance into his shield so hard that the sound of it reverberates through the environment. She launches him off his horse and he crashes into the fence, then falls face first into the sand. She gallops forward, keen on trampling him, but stops.