The Robber Knight's Protege

36 - The Value of Bad Manners

Hi readers, I'd like to insert this annoying author's note to let you note that I'd be super-duper grateful if you nominated me for The Fiction Awards 2017 (Best of the Little Category.) Thanks in advance for being so awesome.  https://www.wattpad.com/407146068-the-fiction-awards-2017-nominations-open

"Are you all right?" Fye asked Xander while they were waiting in line to register for the tournament. The sheer size of the line made her stomach do funny things. How many knights participated in this thing, anyway?

Xander nodded.

"You don't seem like you're all right."

He cast her a tired smile. "My mother is going to cause trouble for us. And I'm no longer so sure I'll be able to stop her from marrying the duke."

"So let her marry him. She deserves—" Fye cut herself off. Perhaps saying that her husband's mother deserved a life with a worthless, cheating backwards-brained codpiece wasn't the best thing to do. After all, he had said that she had one or two good qualities.

"You love her?" Fye asked.

He nodded.

"And you don't want her to marry someone who isn't honorable, even though she isn't honorable herself?" No, maybe that hadn't been the best thing to say, either.

A long moment passed before he said anything. "My mother did her best to protect me from my stepfather. I want to protect her now."

"But... it's her decision, right?"

"Fye."

"Yes?"

"It's all right if you hate my mother, but could you please at least respect my efforts to keep an evil duke from becoming part of my family?"

Her cheeks grew warm. "Yes. I'm sorry."

"It's all right." He kissed her forehead. "Who knows? Maybe you can change her mind about the propriety of lady knights in red armor."

She beamed as her insides did that warm and fuzzy thing that made her ashamed to be a female. Sure, Xander's quest to save his mother might be silly, but she could forgive him for it. It was kind of sweet—and really, if she was being honest with herself, it was less silly than Fye pretending to be in a courtship with Xander just to get her mother to stop trying to find a husband for her.

"I plan on changing everyone's mind about that," she said.

When they finally got to the front of the registration line, Xander registered first, quickly indicating the events he would participate in and then signing his name. Fye bounced on the balls of her feet as she waited for her turn to register. Xander had taught her how to write her name—and now she would actually get to sign something!

The balding man behind the registration desk looked right past her, his eyes on the knight who had been waiting behind Fye and Xander. "Welcome to Palermo, sir knight," the man said. "Your name?"

"Excuse me," Fye said, placing her hand on the man's ledger. "You skipped someone."

"Miss, please get out of the way."

She didn't budge. "Dame Fye Millicent Underbush-Willows," she said, enunciating each syllable. The man seemed a little dense; he probably needed her to speak slowly. "I will be participating in all the tournament events."