Chasing Destiny [SYTYCW15]

France, 1307

"My lady, a rider approaches from the rear," a guard said as he rode up alongside Lady Eleanor.

Lady Eleanor was never one to sit idly in a carriage and preferred to sit astride a horse. Some would think it scandalous, but she had never been one to care what others said or thought. The small party was traveling from Paris to the port of Calais as Lady Eleanor was on her way to London for an extended stay. Six guards, a carriage with two maids, and a wagon for the lady's belongings driven by a footman comprised the small party. A chestnut stallion trailed behind the last wagon and a very large, furry dog padded next to the carriage. It was the dog that garnered much of the attention as they passed through tiny villages. He was as big as a pony and unlike any the local villagers had ever seen.

"Come. Let us see who approaches," she said to the closest guard. Lady Eleanor pulled her mare up and turned her around. She galloped past the carriage and ignored the two faces of her maids peeking out from behind the curtains. She nodded to the driver of the wagon as she passed and reached the end. She pulled her horse up and stood up in the saddle to get a better look.

A single rider approached the small party. Even from this distance, Eleanor could see the man was pushing his horse. The chestnut was at a flat out run and slowing. Eleanor's eyes moved past the single rider to see a few more riders appear on the horizon.

"What should we do?" the guard asked her.

"Nothing at the moment," she replied. The rider continued to approach and Eleanor could tell the horse was almost spent. White lather covered the animal's chest and shoulders, the animal's pace noticeably slowing. It wouldn't be long before the other riders would ride the man down and capture him. The pursuing riders drew closer to the lone man and Eleanor's eyes moved from the small group to the banner one was carrying. Flying above the men was the banner of King Phillip IV of France.

Her eyes went back to the lone rider and a flash of a red cross on a field white on a shield strapped to the saddle caught her eye. Anger spiked inside of her. A Knight Templar fleeing from the King's men. The whole business of the knights arrested and accused of heresy made her wroth. Phillip was a greedy bastard, much like most other kings, but to trump up charges against a noble order was crossing the line. "Order the carriage and wagon to keep moving," she told the guard next to her. "Stay with them. Order the rest to come with me and bring Zeus."

The guard looked at her as if she had suddenly gone crazy for wanting to interfere with the King's men.

"Now!" she yelled at the guard.

He kicked his horse into motion. He called to the other guards and they broke ranks around the carriage and wagon to join her. One paused long enough to untie the lead on the stallion and he brought the horse up, handing the lead to Eleanor.

"Delay the King's men,," she ordered them. "Kill only if necessary." She kicked her mare into a gallop and went charging toward the lone rider. The large dog ran alongside her horse.

Her mare quickly closed the distance between the fleeing knight. "Come with me," she said to the knight as her horse pulled alongside his.

The man pulled his horse to a stop and eyed her for a moment before taking a glance back over his shoulder. The king's men were getting closer. He slid off of his horse and stumbled over to the waiting stallion. A swath of crimson on the knight's side caught Eleanor's eye and she knew he was wounded. A severe would judging by the amount of blood. Her guards continued past her and the knight on their way to delay the king's knights.

Eleanor maneuvered her mare around and reached down to grab the knight's sword belt to help him onto her mare. She had brought the stallion for him, but it didn't look like he'd be able to ride much further on his own. "Ride with me," she said and helped pull him up behind her. It took him an eternity to mount, but once he was in the saddle behind her, Eleanor kicked Hera into a gallop. "Hold on."