Prologue:

It was our childhood dream as cliche as it was to be a knight. It was the only game we played and though we got nasty looks from the older women of our small village in France, we went along our way in ignorance. We thought it would be easy to become a knight, I mean how hard could it be. All we had to do was try our hardest and it would be possible ,but what our childlike minds didn’t take in heed was that we were girls. As children there were only two women knights and of course they were our favorite knights, the bravest of them all and we longed to grow up quickly so that we could become replicas of them.  That dream came to a sudden end when Rayne told me one afternoon that she and her family were moving back to Spain.

Years later and I forgot my childhood friend however I hadn’t forgotten my dream. I became the youngest woman knight in France at the age of 18. When I became a knight ,there were 4 other women knights in France so everyone accepted me with open arms.

Then 6 years later, two days after my 24th birthday, I was celebrating with the other knights of my band at a festival when I met with a familiar figure dressed in a dark cloak with only his face peeking out. He noticed me staring at him and took off in a sprint towards a dark alley and out of curiosity, I found my legs moving on their own accord towards the alley he just entered. As soon as I entered it, I was shoved against a wall. I grabbed the persons shoulders and shoved them against the adjacent wall. He let out a grunt and I finally was face to face with him. I was shocked when I realized that I had seen correctly. It was Louis, a knight that joined the knights of France at the same time as I, but had left to be a knight for spain after finding love there.

“What are you doing here?” I frantically whispered in case someone was lurking nearby.

“I was asked to come get you and bring you back to Spain with me” he answered still out of breath from running, and rubbed the shoulder I had shoved against the roughly textured alley wall.

“Why would I come to Spain with you. Have you lost your mind!” I hissed.

“Because my commander wants to meet with you” he replied like it was the most obvious answer.

“And why would I want to meet with your commander especially when my country is at war with yours.” I questioned still very confused from this sudden predicament.

“She told me not to tell you this but I guess you wouldn’t come with me unless I gave you this detail,” he sighed then continued, “My commander is Rayne.”

So that’s how I found myself snuck into Spain the very next week for a meeting with the commander.

***:

I sat on the edge of the bed, my head resting in my hands. I had been crying for approximately half an hour. “How could she ask this of me,” I thought to myself,” she’s so selfish that she would ask me to leave everything i’ve worked so hard for just to get something handed to me, that’s not who I am, I work for everything I have.”  I thought back to just a couple hours ago when Rayne had asked me to walk with her in the garden. That’s when she informed me that I would have to leave Spain by sundown tomorrow. I was upset because I didn’t want to leave her but then she gave me a choice. I could return to France and never be allowed to return to Spain, or I could give up my knightship, my kin, my friends and my home in France and stay in Spain to be a knight under her command. In a shock that she would give me such a difficult choice, I excused myself back to my room to think.

I let out a frustrated groan and finally looked up, glancing around the quarters given to me during my stay in Spain. It was right next to Rayne’s of course ,because she just couldn’t leave me alone. It was a really lovely room it had obviously been decorated by one of the royal’s finest, I glanced to the left side of the room where there was a bookshelf filled with thick novels mostly for education but also held a few for entertainment purposes. There was a soft abrupt knock on my door interrupting my thoughts “speak of the devil”, I muttered under my breath getting up to answer. I was expecting to see Rayne but instead, when i opened the door it was Louis who stared back at me.

“Hey, sorry to bother you, I just thought I would give you some advice considering I’ve been through the same thing.” he explained and gave a sympathetic smile when he saw my face which I assumed was pink and swollen from crying.

“That would be nice, come on in.” I replied and stepped aside letting him into the room. He looked around like he had never seen the place before I looked at him a little confused and asked “Isn’t yours and Sebastian’s quarters identical to this one?”

“No this is nicer than ours because this the the guest quarters, it’s meant to impress upon the people that visit the band.”

I acknowledged him with a hum, and walked to the seating area in the far left corner of the room. There, sat two crimson cushioned seats facing each other, with a small sized mahogany writing desk to the right of them. I sat down in the one with it’s back against the wall, it was just a knightly instinct to want to sit in a position that gives you a panoramic view of the room. Louis sat in the one across from me but also turned his chair slightly to the left so that he too could see the expanse of the room.

We sat in silence for a couple of minutes before he blatantly asked, “Do you love her?”

“Yes so much it kills me to even consider returning to France,” I replied with a sure voice.

“Then why do you hesitate?” he questioned.

“I’ve worked so hard for everything that I have in France.”

“And what is it that you have there?”

“I have my knighthood, I was the youngest woman knight to ever join the band in France and I have gained respect for that.”

“Anything else,” he questioned nonjudgmentally.

I pondered over the question for a couple minutes. My parents had died a year after Rayne left, so I have no family left. I had the quarters at the palace as a shelter, but not a place to call home, and I didn’t have any sentimental possessions.

“No,” I replied softly after having my epiphany. “But it will take away everything I worked for,” I groaned.

“Rayne said that if you choose to transfer she will give you the same rank you had earned in France.” Louis reminded.

“Yes I know but I worked for that title in France ,here people will just think I was given that title because the commander is my lover.”

“No one will think that, everyone here knows who you are and that you have truly earned this rank. You have to remember how accepting this country is Rowan ,I have been in the same position before. I remember when Seb asked me if I would join the band of knights in Spain. I thought he was insane to even suggest it at the time, but believe me it was the best decision I ever made.”

As soon as he finished the sentence I stood up from my chair and quickly made my way to the door with Louis following in my footsteps.

“Lou, thank you for helping me with my decision but I need to talk to Rayne.” I said quickly and let him and myself out of the room. I walked across the narrow hallway to her room. I knocked and when she didn’t immediately answer I knocked again, too excited from my decision to have the patience I was trained to have. I reached up to knock for the third time when the door swung open revealing the exhausted commander who had just obviously awakened with a worried expression on her face. “What’s happening, are we under attack?” she frantically questioned before she realized it was me who stood before her.

“Oh it’s just you, are you alri-”

“I’ll do it!” I exclaimed, cutting her off because I just couldn’t hold it in any longer.

“W-what?” she asked confused.

“I’ll do it, I will give up everything I have in France to join Spain and be with you”

I watched as the realization spread across her face and she gave me toothy grin, before I could register it she pulled me into a crushing embrace. Once my brain caught up I moved my arms to wrap around her back. She unconsciously squeezed me tighter into the embrace ,and it took a pained groan from me before she pulled away.

“Sorry.” she apologized sheepishly, “let’s go talk through the details of the knighting ceremony” she said excitedly.

***

I stood in front of the mirror in the far right corner of my room near the bed. I studied my reflection, I was dressed in my full silver armor, my dark brown wavy hair barely touching my shoulders. I sighed this was going to be the last time I put this on because I was going to be given new armor during the ceremony. There was a soft knock on my door, I turned and quickly made my way to the door.  When I opened it I was met with the most beautiful sight, Rayne was standing there with her full armor on. Her long black bangs of her pixie cut were shielding her eyes as she looked down at her feet, like she suddenly grew shy, I assumed it was because of the nerves.

“Hey, I thought I would help you get your armor on but I see you’ve already done that,” she said, softly smiling down at me.

“You don’t have to make excuses to see me,” I teased.

“I know, do you want to move into my room after the ceremony” she blurted out suddenly like she had been holding it in for a while.

“Yes,” I simply answered.

She gave me yet another one of her beautiful grins this time showing her perfectly whitened teeth.

I stepped back inside the room with Rayne following me, I walked back to the mirror and reached for the royal blue cape that was draped on the edge of the bed. But before I could purchase my fingers on it Rayne gently brushed my hand away and grabbed it herself. She picked it up letting it extend to its full length, I watched in the mirror as she laid it across my right shoulder.  Then connected the ends together at my left shoulder and delicately tyed the silk string into a small bow. She grabbed the blue sapphire from the nightstand and clipped it to the bow, making it invisible to the eye. After that she turned and grabbed my sheathed sword handing it to me. As she did so her eyes met mine, we didn’t have to say anything because we already knew what the other was thinking. And I was already comforted just by her presence. We slowly exited my room making our way towards the grand room for the ceremony.

***

I was standing before a raised platform that Rayne stood upon staring down at me.  There were only about 50 people in the room, the other 7 knights of the band I’m about to join were all sitting in the first row, on the left side behind me.

“Rowan Aubel the conditions of joining the band of knights in Spain are as followed: you may never return to France, you may never make contact with your kin, friends or any other ties in France, you may never set foot upon the soil of France unless you are commanded to do so by me or a higher rank than me. Do you understand these conditions?” Rayne questioned from her towering position.

“I do,” I replied having already been told these conditions yesterday when she had asked me to join.

“And do you Rowan Aubel accept these conditions and agree to never break them?”

“I do”

“Then at this time you may remove your armor and cape and place them on the table to the left of you” she directed. I swiftly walked over to the large oak table, once there I removed my armor and cape gently placing them upon it. Leaving me in a beige undershirt and brown tight fitting pants with brown leather boots. I walked back to my previous position in front of her. My eyes once again wandered over her she was dressed in her elegantly fitted armor, with the crimson colored cape delicately draped across her shoulders. Her black hair glistened beautifully in the sunlight that was coming in from the windows that lined the walls on the left and right side of us. I was snapped out of my thoughts when I heard her next command.

“You may surrender your sword,” she stated next. I untied the sheath from around my waist and carefully placed it horizontally into her outstretched hands.

“Now that you have surrendered from France the conditions to become a knight of Spain are as followed: you must remain on Spanish soil unless ordered to leave or given permission to do so by me or a higher rank than me, you must remain loyal to this country and remain ready and willing to fight at anytime during your knightship unless wounded or given orders to stand down. Do you understand these conditions?”

“I do”

“Then do you Rowan Aubel agree to these terms and wish to become a knight of Spain?”

“I do” I answered confidently.

“Then you may retrieve your new armor and cape from the table to the right of you,” she instructed. I walked to the identical oak table and picked up my new armor, that was beautifully crafted by the most talented blacksmiths of Spain. It was all made of silver similar to my last one, but it had decoration imprinted onto it ,unlike my last one that was purely for protection. I quickly put on my new armor and went back to stand in front of Rayne.

“Kneel,” she commanded once I stopped in front of her. So I followed her command and gently fell to my knees before her, bowing my head in respect.

“Rowan Aubel, I now pronounce you a knight of Spain,” she stated in her commander voice. Rayne was handed a new cape by Louis ,who stood to the right of her, and she draped it around my shoulders. Then clipped a ruby to the bow, and as I remained kneeling she pulled out her sword from where it was sheathed at her side. Then gently tapped both of my shoulders.

“I now pronounce you Rowan Aubel, a knight of Spain under my command,” she pronounced boomingly.

***

A couple years later, the war against France was over, Spain had won. The band of knights were still working hard to restore the land, but at least the dangers of battle were over. Or so I thought…

I didn’t even realize the arrow had impaled me till I gazed down, my eyes landing on the half of the arrow hanging out of my abdomen. I then took a dazed step toward the other knights of my band, and felt my legs give out on me. On my way to the ground my hand flailed in a clumsy haze and knocked into the end of the arrow. I felt the arrow further lodge itself into my abdomen,eliciting an involuntary shrill of pain. This caught the attention of my fellow knights. I felt a pair of arms wrap around my shoulders pulling my torso up ,and felt my head being placed into someone’s lap. I heard Rayne’s calm voice tell me everything was going to be okay, but when I looked up I saw the panic in her eyes. Then her eyes met mine and in that moment it felt like we reviewed our whole relationship, from when we first met till now. Is this it, is this my demise I wondered, is this how my story ends? Then I figured that I had a decent long life for a knight, and I felt myself being lulled to a peaceful sleep, my eyelids involuntarily drooping. But then I felt her shaking me ,begging me not to close them. So I tried to keep them open for as long as I could before the struggle was too hard to bare. I looked up at her one last time studying her face, thinking that if this is it. Then at least I got to see the person I most loved in the world before I went into eternal sleep. I let my eyes shut thinking it was for the last time.

I awoke with a cry and tried to sit up in a panic but I quickly learned that I was being held down by a pair of strong arms. I looked down to see the bloody arrow being held by Louis and before I could register that. I felt my skin being seared by a heated sword, to cauterize my wound, and as quickly as I had awakened I passed out again. The next time I awoke I was on the back of a horse and was leaned against Rayne for support. I groaned when the horse stumbled, causing my abdomen to jolt.

“Shh, it’s okay not that much longer and we will set up camp again,” she murmured soothingly. I then let the ride lull me back into my rest.

When I awoke once more I was in a tent, lying on a bed roll. My armor removed and replaced with a common beige shirt, with a bandage wrapped around my wounded abdomen.

“How are you feeling?” she calmly inquired.

“Like I’ve been impaled by a log,” I groaned in response.

“Good to know you still have a sense of humor,” she chuckled.

I looked up at her and saw the worry etched into her face.

“I’m fine,” I reassured her. She let the tears that she had been holding in fall from her eyes in long streams, rolling down her sharp cheekbones and collecting at the bottom of her chin, before falling to a pool in her lap. I reached up and slid my fingers under her chin making her face me.

“I thought I lost you,” she whimpered.

“Yeah well you’re not going to get rid of me that easily,” I teased hoping it would cheer her up.

“I’m like a curse, I will forever remain with you till the end of time” I smiled up at her and she couldn’t resist returning a tearful smile. She leaned down and captured my lips in a tender kiss, when she pulled back she looked at me like I was a treasure.

“I love you,” she murmured sincerely

“And I love you,”I replied.

I reached up and wrapped my arms around her muscled shoulders, pulling her down to lie next to me. She gently pulled my head to rest against the crook of her neck. Which I appreciatively nuzzled, and let her soothing breaths lull me once again, into a healing sleep.

We finally arrived back to the band’s quarters the following day right at sundown. We didn’t find out till a week later who the shooter was, as it turns out it was a frenchman who had fought during the war. He held a grudge against me since I had joined Spain. The news of who shot me spread across Spain and France, and unlike the shooter had hoped, his own country didn’t even congratulate him. They actually shunned him,and France forgave me for my transfer. Since they found out I did it under the influence of love.

***

“I want his head on a spike,”Rayne told me seething with anger. As we walked down the hallway, heading towards the dining hall.

I took another step, too caught up in what Rayne had just told me to realize how hard of a step I took. I winced and stopped, Rayne stopping with me. She quickly moved her arms to support my weight, relieving my abdomen.

“Are you alright?” she asked worried.

“I’m fine. But love you can’t kill him and put his head on a spike,” I replied, giving her a glare.

“Okay,okay, I won’t put his head on a spike,”she promised.

“Rayne, you’re not allowed to kill him either!” I quickly responded, catching the way she sneakily worded her promise

“And why doesn’t he deserve death for what he did to you,” she questioned, confused as to why I was protecting him.

“Yes he shot me, but I survived, and if I were to put myself in his shoes who’s to say I wouldn’t have done the same thing,” I explained.

“You make a good point,” she reasoned.

A full month after the shooting and I was finally able to move freely around the headquarters, without wincing every time I took a step too fast. Then it was another month after that when I was promoted for my sacrifice to my country.

Everything in my life seemed to be going pretty well with Rayne, my friends, and my country by my side I felt like I could do anything. My childhood dream was finally complete.

Epilogue:

It was five years later, our daughter August ran up to me yelling “Mommy, mommy!”.

I bent down and scooped her into my arms, “What’s got you so excited little one?” I asked her with an admiring smile. While I brushed her black hair from her forehead ,to get a better look at those sapphire blue eyes that matched Rayne’s perfectly.

“I know what I want to be when I grow up!” she exclaimed wriggling in my arms.

“Oh really, and what’s that love?”

“I want to be a knight like you and momma,” she replied giggling as I tickled her stomach. Caught off guard by her answer I immediately stopped and looked at her in surprise.

“Did you hear that darling?” I asked Rayne, who was sitting at her desk in the corner of the room. She looked up, her glasses still balanced on the end of her nose, and returned my surprised look.

“Yes I did, you will make a fine knight my little angel,” she told August, with a proud grin.

I was wrong to think that my childhood dream had been completed those five years ago. They haven’t been complete, they have just been passed on.