Standing in the field that the knight captain had indicated the previous day, Franco said “You can’t be serious. Jona wants to serve the duke?”
“I speak not in jest,” replied Alex in an educated manner that he always took on when speaking of something humorous, “Our dear friend has decided to do something with her life, rather than waste it away picking apples and bewitching boys. Look, here she comes now.”
With that, the two boys turned to see the figure of Jona walking towards them, along with her parents. Her mother held onto the hem of her dress and had tears running down her face, while her father was doing his best imitation of a crab by scuttling alongside her, all while gesturing angrily with his hands and shouting. However, Jona was not to be deterred, and she didn’t break her stride as she drew closer.
“Good morning Franco, Alex.” She said in greeting, all while ignoring the banshee-like screams of her mother and the red-faced roaring of her father.
“Good morning.” The boys said hesitantly.
“You!” shrieked Jona’s mother, as she seized Alex’s hand, “What have you done to my darling girl? She was fine yesterday, but after speaking to you it’s like she’s been possessed. All she ever speaks of is being a knight, and now she’s trying to participate in the trials. I ought to wring your neck for this! Don’t you remember why many of the children, including the two of you, are lacking fathers? They were levied for war and perished!”
If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.
“I do remember!” cried Alex as he wriggled his hand out of her grasp, “And I did no such thing!”
“Really?” said Jona innocently, “I seem to remember someone whom I gave an apple to brag about how he was to be a knight, win many medals and honors in battle, be rewarded with a barony, and then marry me. I figured that I may as well cut out the middleman and get a barony of my own.”
“If I may–” interjected Franco, but he was quickly silenced by a chorus of “shut up!”, and so he sat back to watch his friend get a verbal beating.
After a good fifteen minutes of yelling, angry gesturing, and Alex receiving a few slaps from Jona’s mother, Jona’s parents finally relented, and they walked away, all while muttering about bad daughters and street hoodlums (which Franco took to mean he and Alex). The three of them sat quietly, and each was swept up in their reveries of glory (or in Jona’s case, a large estate with servants) until this peace was broken by a trumpet call from an approaching group of mounted knights.
“Listen up you children!” roared the knight captain, “After these trials today, you will belong to one of two groups. The strong, talented, and brave amongst you will accompany us back to Kokorum, the duke’s city, and the rest of you weak fools will crawl on back to your mothers and ask for your diaper to be changed. Do you understand me?” Every one of the twenty aspiring young men, and one woman, aside from the knights shouted affirmatively, and the knight captain grinned darkly.
“I’ll see if you’re still so energetic when I’m through with you! Indicating a tree and a rock that were about twenty yards apart, he shouted “Line up between that tree and that rock. The first test will be running.”