Chương 5: Chapter 3
As I walk from my room to the dining area, I realize that I'm lost. Looking around, I don't see a single person; not even a servant. I start running down a hallway. As I start to turn down another hallway, I smack into someone. I fall back into the ground with a loud thump. Groaning, I touch my head gingerly.
"I'm so sorry," I hear the person I just into saying "Are you okay?"
He kneels down next to me and I look up. In front of me is a strong boy who looks about three to four years older than me. He has wavy brown hair with golden highlights. His soft blue eyes are looking into mine with concern.
I get up quickly and realize that I haven't answered his question. "I'm fine," I say quickly. Still holding my head, I take a step. The world spins for a second. I stumble into the wall.
"Whoa easy there," he says as he steadies me with his hands. I jerk away from his touch. Looking slightly hurt he says, "My name is Zander."
Embarrassed I reply, "Iris."
Finally able to get a hold of myself, I look down the hallways I ask, "Do you know which way the dining room is?"
"So you're the new knight, eh?" He replies. "I'm headed there myself so you can just follow me."
I follow Zander in silence. While we walk, I try to memorize the different passageways, but there are so many turns that eventually I give up. When we get closer, I begin to hear jolly voices and a lot of laughter. The second I see everyone inside, my stomach begins to churn again. Holding my head high, Zander and I walk in.
Immediately, everyone is silent. The prince reluctantly stands up."Knights and friends, I would like to present to you, Iris, daughter of Henry of Balboa," he says in a bored tone.
A few people clap. Most just cough or don't do anything. My face turns red as I just stand there. Eventually, the talking and laughter starts again. Zander leads me to a mostly empty table. Servants immediately serve us our food. My plate is heaped with food. Lamb, vegetables, chicken, and all sorts of good food. By the time I'm full, not even half of my food is gone.
"Are you going to eat that?" Zander asks.
I push my plate towards him and he gobbles it down. Looking around, I notice that the prince is very close with his knights. I'm not surprised that he doesn't want a girl here.
"So do you think you're good enough?" Zander says breaking into my thoughts.
"Yes I do. I've been holding a sword since I could walk," I say proudly.
"I think you can do it," he says.
"Thanks."
We sit and he eats in silence until everyone is finally done eating. It's disgusting how much these men can eat. The prince stands up to make his announcements.
"Comrades, it pleases me to tell you..." He continues to talk about things happening in the kingdom for a while. When I hear my name, I tune back in to what he is saying. "You are to treat her like anyone of us. You shall not treat her like she is ranked higher because she is a girl. But you shall also not treat her like she's worse than any of you. While girls may be weak and emotional," many people snicker at this, "my father has great faith in Iris. You are dismissed."
People start to get up and leave. Zander says goodnight and goes his own way, too. I find a servant to take me back to my room. When inside the comforts of my own room, I can finally breathe a sigh of relief. I change into my nightgown and climb into the small bed. Exhausted, I immediately fall asleep.
The next morning, I wake up to a servant shaking me. "Miss," she says. "You must get up. Breakfast is in a half hour."
Groaning, I get up and stretch. The sun is just starting to come up. I wash my face in the basin that was brought to me and change into a pair of light gray breeches and a white shirt. I put on the black boots that I wore the other night and comb my hair back into a braid. The butterflies have returned in my stomach. I managed to survive dinner, but will I last a whole day? I head out of my room.
On the way to the dining room, I bump into Zander again. Thankfully not literally this time.
"How did you rest?" He asks politely.
"Quite fine, thank you." I reply.
"Are you ready for today?"
"Not really."
We continue on in silence. When we arrive, we appear to be the first ones there besides the prince. Zander and I sit at the same table.
"Did you have a good night?" The prince asks me in a tone that gives me the knowledge that he doesn't really want to talk. I nod my head.
The other men begin to pour in one by one. Joyous sounds begin to fill the room again.
Once breakfast is over, it's time to head to the training grounds. I'm terrified. My fear is that I will be much worse than the men and he'll decide to just send me home right away. No. I will be brave and strong. My father and the king believes in me. I have to prove that I can be just as good as anyone else. Slightly more encouraged by these thoughts, I follow the other men to the training grounds, waiting for what is to come.
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