A Dark Knight

1.Rookies

A war was coming. Lord Ozzie Cookie of Drogheda had left a message on the town bulletin board, warning that nobody was allowed to leave the town walls. This usually meant that an army was attacking. I didn't mind too much though. The soldiers of Drogheda may not be the strongest in Ireland but we could hold of any attacking army, as the best soldiers in Ireland are King Liam's and he doesn't need to take Drogheda because he basically owns Ireland.

Usually whenever the soldiers of Drogheda left, I would go down and sit at the edge of the River Boyne with my friends, Ruth Murphy, Taylor Lloyd, Clara White, Kelsey Hays and Niall Cullen.

Ruth was a very talkative girl. had grey blue eyes like those huskys i've heard of and ginger hair. She was a little below average height but was very kind towards everyone.

Taylor was also quite talkative but she was a bit more quite about it. She had brown eyes and long brown hair. She was also slightly below average height and she was also very kind towards everyone.

Clara was quite around people she didn't really know, but she was very chatty with us. She had brown eyes and black hair. She was about the same size as Taylor but she was very kind hearted.

Kelsey on the other hand was very talkative, average height, blonde hair, blue eyes and liked to kick Niall.

Niall was loud, brown hair (he insists its blonde), green-blue eyes and was very full of himself. But he was my friend so I basically ignored his comments on himself.

As we sat at the edge of the Boyne, we roasted a pheasant Clara had shot down with her bow and arrow. Herself, Kelsey and Ruth were very good with bows and arrows. But myself, Taylor and Niall were better at hunting up close. I used a sword that Taylor's father, (who was a craftsman) gave me as a gift for my birthday. Taylor used a hammer her father made and Niall used a spiked ball flail, (a spiked ball on a chain) that my father made him before he got killed in a war against Dundalk.

While the phesant cooked, Taylor threw in some vegetables she had gathered. Once it was ready, we split the bird between us and had a handful of vegetables each. It was delicious. We didn't do this often because the guards wouldn't allow it because the houses were all wooden. But all the knights were out fighting to keep us safe.

That night after curfew all men,boys and male babies would have to go to Lord Ozzie's castle to be inspected (Babies were never chosen to fight, just to train for the future). This only happened whenever we were losing the fight. Niall had done this many times before but he was never picked. We were all grateful for this.

In the morning all the women crowded around the gates leaving the town to see the new knights ride off on horseback to see them off. Some would never return again, some not the same and the lucky ones would be able to return to their families with only the memory.

Once all the men left I breathed a sigh of relief. Niall wasn't there! Those men had just gone out to fight Navan. The gates closed and everyones attention turned to Lord Ozzie. He was wearing a black top hat, white shirt and black suit. He cleared his throat,

"Hear ye! Hear ye! Well, I hope all these brave men will return to us alive and well!" he announced. I felt sorry for the families who had just lost a member, I remember when my father had been dragged out. I was only six and I didn't really understand what was going on, but my mother was crying and I knew something was wrong. But when the news came of my fathers death I had ran out and hid so nobody could see my pain. Lord Ozzie continued,

"But those women out there who haven't seen their loved ones. Do not rejoice yet because Navan isn't the only town attacking us. Dundalk have also attacked. We will move to the gates at the other side of town!"