The Unexpected Truth

<p>Kaylein looked at King James Alistair with a look of surprise that his own father would back her up, let alone, in front of her. "Hmm... I see your point, old friend. However, he is the only eligible male in all of the kingdoms, what other choice do we have? Just let her marry some commoner from our village and throw everything her mother and I had built for her? I can't do that, not to our people or our country." He announced to King James and Kaylein, then Kaylein walked up to her father, and responded, "I understand father, but, what if there was another way for our kingdom to continue to be peaceful and not torn into chaos?" King Philip looked at his daughter with such curiosity that he questioned with, "And, what pray tell, do you purpose we do?" "Well, we could do a jousting tournament or a Falchion sword fighting to find out if Prince Rulf is a good enough fighter for me to actually marry." She spoke with a hidden agenda in mind for she was secretly taught by her own knights how to use a Falchion sword, however, she hadn't had an opportunity to learn jousting, but with sword fighting, she will be able to hide her identity at least until the end of the match. She had a clock also a mask to hide her face so no one would notice that she was a female not to mention the princess of the kingdom which would cause her to get automatically disqualified and or banished for being a female as well as not following the rules for only MALES could sword fight. However, if all goes well, females would be able to do sword fights with the males too, but, Kaylein wasn't holding her breath with such high hopes on that sort of future. She was going to give it a shot none the less even if it is the fourteenth century, but she was going to do whatever it takes for her father to see that she is capable of handling the kingdom and is willing to fight to defend it, even if it means that she will die for it, she will go down with no regrets. "Well, my daughter, I think a sword fighting tournament is a marvelous idea and they will be fighting for your hand." Her father beamed at this suggestion that Kaylein proclaimed and was more than ecstatic to say the least before continuing, "We shall make preparations immediately!" He announced, then clapped his hands together three times, the servants took Kaylein to her room to get ready, and the kings made their way to the courtyard where they have a circular area for people to practice sword fighting as well as actual matches. Mean while, back in Kaylein's chambers, she isn't wearing a fancy or anything that would be making her overdressed, she is wearing custom made peasant clothing that hid her gender, as for hiding her face was her light brown cloak, now she was appearance ready for the tournament, finally she gets her sword, and heads to the courtyard. Once all of the participators were signed in, including Kaylein, or in this case, Merl, she didn't want to use a girly alias name for it would be too obvious that a woman joined in the event. So, Merl went against some of the strongest men in her kingdom, truthfully, they were pretty strong, but they never watched their stance so it was pretty easy for her to read their weaknesses and where she can take them easily down. However, her final opponent, was non-other, Prince Rulf himself, she tried not to smile from having such satisfaction of taking him down, but he is really good at holding his ground against her and she can somewhat see him making movements of what he was going to do next. So, she really tried to keep him on his toes where he couldn't read her actions at all, he was suddenly caught off guard by her skills and swift attacks that he stumbled upon his own feet. She quickly took this opportunity to get him to the ground by swiftly getting to the ground, where she is able to spin her body a little when she had her right leg fully straight to kick him off balance, and it worked. He fell on his back and now her sword was pointing at his throat, there were roars of applause and cheers for their match, she sheathed her sword, held out her hand to help him up, but instead of taking it, he got up, wasn't thrilled about the outcome, and punched her across the face. She spun around, landed with her hands supporting her weight, looked up at him with full-on rage in her eyes, not realizing that her hood isn't covering her any longer, and there was now nothing but silence all around, almost as if time had been frozen. Her father stood up with widened eyes and jaw dropped as he was making his way to them, he then finally spoke in a loud tone for all to hear, "My daughter, Kaylein, is here by BANISHED from this kingdom! She knew full well that the rules only allowed MEN to be in this tournament, and YET had the gull to embarrass me in not only proceeding, but managed to best the one man I chose for her to MERRY! TRUE, she had provided proof that Prince Rulf is short tempered, but, rules... are rules, and they MUST be obeyed!" He turned to her with such a pained and distasteful look in his eyes, she didn't say a word and ran as far as her legs took her, right through the gorgeous forest, which, she didn't admire for she was now a fugitive and an outlaw. It was now nightfall and a bit nippy, she must find shelter out of the blustery evening, as she wondered through the forest, blindly for it was a new moon and she could hardly see a thing, but she eventually she wondered up to a cave and thought it would do at least for this night. She headed into the cave, found a nice dried patch of soil, it's cold, but it beats the chilly air outside, but Kaylein came up with an idea of how she could stay warm without starting a fire to give her location away. She scooped tons of the soil over her enough to cover herself halfway, she was now warmer than she originally was, and drifted into a very deep slumber. Kaylein had been staring off into space remembering how she got into this predicament in the first place, "Amillia?" Greg had snapped her back to the present when he called out her name when she closed her eyes and quickly shock her head then looked at Greg, "Yes?" She wondered how long she had stared off into the distance and how long he had been trying to get her attention, she knew the answer to her questions when he responded with, "Are you alright? You were staring into nothingness and I had been calling out your name for twenty minutes." Greg looked at her with much concern in his eyes, she nodded and replied, "Sorry, yes, I'm alright, I was just having a past memory immerge suddenly. No need for alarm though." She half smiled at him, Kaylein had almost forgotten about how she was exiled from her kingdom five years ago, luckily for her, she adapted her way of living in the forest from studying and closely observing the creatures in how they eat, adapt, how they live, and more importantly, find water. So, Kaylein learned so much from the woodland animals, but gained the most knowledge from the Whitetail doe before the doe and stag had their doe fawn in the spring. Kaylein was entirely grateful for all the vast information that she gained from the forest's residents, she even witnessed many of them giving birth to their young, for her it was intriguing and a wonderful sight to behold the wondrous joy in bringing new life into the world. This increased her affection for animals, which is why she protected the family of deer for she saw the death of the Whitetail fawn's parents die by a small group of horseback riding huntsmen, killing them both without any hesitation or remorse for them. Luckily for the little fawn, Kaylein was with him to calm him down and adverted his eyes from seeing his loved ones getting slaughter right then and there. Once the danger had passed, both of them came out of their hidden location and that was when the Whitetail doe and her fawn appeared shortly appeared in front of the two of them. However, the Whitetail doe thought Kaylein was dangerous, until the Whitetail fawn made its way towards them, unharmed, the doe looked back at Kaylein, and walked up to her with no need of being cautious, for she knew that Kaylein posed no threat, because of the orphaned fawn. The doe reached Rosalina, lowered its head, licked her hand, and nuzzled her cold, wet, nose under her hand until it was placed flat upon the lower bridge of her navel, and slowly closed her eyes. Kaylein, without removing her hand, knelt down to be eye leveled with the doe, and softly also slowly started petting the doe's bridge, then whispered, "Take care of him, will you? He has no one now, thanks to some hunters, the cold-blooded murderers, killing his parents like that, and he didn't see the violence, thank goodness. But, he still needs a mother for he is still very young, think you can handle it?" Once she asked that question, the doe opened its eyes once again, looking at Kaylein intently, as if she understood Kaylein, backed away, and turned around making her way to the fawns. Once she got to them, the three of them walked back to the thicket of the forest, where they will be safe, and the fawns will be able to grow with the doe watching over them both. Kaylein looked at King James Alistair with a look of surprise that his own father would back her up, let alone, in front of her. "Hmm... I see your point, old friend. However, he is the only eligible male in all of the kingdoms, what other choice do we have? Just let her marry some commoner from our village and throw everything her mother and I had built for her? I can't do that, not to our people or our country." He announced to King James and Kaylein, then Kaylein walked up to her father, and responded, "I understand father, but, what if there was another way for our kingdom to continue to be peaceful and not torn into chaos?" King Philip looked at his daughter with such curiosity that he questioned with, "And, what pray tell, do you propose we do?" "Well, we could do a jousting tournament or a Falchion sword fighting to find out if Prince Rulf is a good enough fighter for me to actually marry." She spoke with a hidden agenda in mind for she was secretly taught by her own knights how to use a Falchion sword, however, she hadn't had an opportunity to learn jousting, but with sword fighting, she will be able to hide her identity at least until the end of the match. She had a cloak also a mask to hide her face so no one would notice that she was a female. Not to mention, the princess of the kingdom which would cause her to get automatically disqualified and/or banished, or worse, for being a female as well as not following the rules for only MALES could sword fight. However, if all goes well, females would be able to do sword fights with the males too, but, Kaylein wasn't holding her breath with such high hopes on that sort of future. She was going to give it a shot none the less, even if it is the fourteenth century. But, she was going to do whatever it takes for her father to see that she is capable of handling the kingdom and is willing to fight to defend it, even if it means that she will die for it, she will go down with no regrets. "Well, my daughter, I think a sword fighting tournament is a marvelous idea and they will be fighting for your hand." Her father beamed with pride at this suggestion that Rosalina proclaimed and was more than ecstatic to say the least before continuing, "We shall make preparations immediately!" He announced, then clapped his hands together three times, the servants took Kaylein to her room to get ready, and the kings made their way to the courtyard where they have a circular area for people to practice sword fighting as well as actual matches. Meanwhile, back in Kaylein's chambers, she isn't wearing fancy gowns or anything that would be making her overdressed. She is wearing custom made peasant clothing that hid her gender, as for hiding her face and hair was her light brown cloak, and a jet black mask that went over her eyes that she used for their masquerade balls when she was a bit younger. Now, she was, outfit wise, ready for the tournament, finally she gets her sword, and heads to the courtyard. Once all of the participators were signed in, including Kaylein, or in this case, Merl, she didn't want to use a girly alias name for it would be too obvious that a woman joined in the event. So, Merl went up against some of the strongest men in her kingdom, truthfully, they were pretty strong, but they never watched their stances, so it was pretty easy for her to read their weaknesses, and where she can take them easily down. However, her final opponent, was none other than, Prince Rulf himself, she tried not to smile with all her might from having such satisfaction of taking him down. However, he is really good at holding his ground against her and she can somewhat see him making movements of what he was going to do next. So, she really tried to keep him on his toes where he couldn't read her actions at all, he was suddenly caught off guard by her skills and swift attacks that he stumbled upon his own feet. She quickly took this opportunity to get him to the ground by swiftly getting to the ground, where she is able to spin her body a little when she had her right leg fully straight to kick him off balance, and it worked. He fell on his back and now her sword was pointing at his throat, there were roars of applause and cheers for their match. She sheathed her sword, held out her hand to help him up, but instead of taking it, he got up, really wasn't thrilled about the outcome, and punched her across the face. She spun around, landed with her hands supporting her weight, looked up at him with full-on rage in her eyes, not realizing that her hood and mask isn't covering her identity any longer, and there was now nothing but silence all around, almost as if time had been frozen. Her father stood up with widened eyes and jaw dropped as he was making his way to them, he then finally spoke in a loud tone for all to hear, "My daughter, Kaylein, is here by BANISHED from this kingdom! She knew full well that the rules only allowed MEN to be in this tournament, and YET had the gull to embarrass me in not only proceeding, but managed to best the one man I chose for her to MERRY! TRUE, she had provided proof that Prince Rulf is short tempered, but, rules... are rules, and they MUST be obeyed!" He turned to her with such a pained and distasteful look in his eyes, she didn't say a word and ran as far as her legs took her, right through the gorgeous forest, which, she didn't admire at this time, for she was now a fugitive and an outlaw continuously running. It was now nightfall and a bit nippy, she must find shelter out of the blustery evening, as she wandered through the forest, blindly, for it was a new moon, and she could hardly see a thing. Fortunately, she eventually she wandered up to a cave and thought it would do at least for this night. She cautiously approached into the cave for she knew not whom has resigned there and wished that she wouldn't wake them up for it is so late, found a nice dried patch of soil, it's cold, but it beats the chilly air outside. Then, Kaylein came up with an idea of how she could stay warm without starting a fire to give her location away. She scooped tons of the soil over her enough to cover herself halfway, she was now warmer than she originally was, and drifted into a very deep slumber. Kaylein had been staring off into space remembering how she got into this predicament in the first place, "Amillia?" Greg had snapped her back to the present when he called out her name when she closed her eyes and quickly shock her head then looked at Greg, "Yes?" She wondered how long she had stared off into the distance and how long he had been trying to get her attention, she knew the answer to her questions when he responded with, "Are you alright? You were staring into nothingness and I had been calling out your name for twenty minutes." Greg looked at her with much concern in his eyes, she nodded and replied, "Sorry, yes, I'm alright, I was just having a past memory immerge suddenly, no need for alarm though." She half smiled at him, Kaylein had almost forgotten about how she was exiled from her kingdom five years ago, luckily for her, she adapted her way of living in the forest from studying and closely observing the creatures in how they eat, adapt, how they live, and more importantly, find water. So, Kaylein learned so much from the woodland animals, but gained the most knowledge from the Whitetail doe before the doe and stag had their doe fawn in the spring. Kaylein was entirely grateful for all the vast information that she gained from the forest's residents, she even witnessed many of them giving birth to their young, for her it was intriguing and a wonderful sight to behold the wondrous joy in bringing new life into the world. This increased her affection for animals, which is why she protected the family of deer for she saw the death of the Whitetail fawn's parents die by a small group of horseback riding huntsmen, killing them both without any hesitation or remorse for them. Luckily for the little fawn, Kaylein was with him to calm him down and adverted his eyes from seeing his loved ones getting slaughter right then and there. Once the danger had passed, both of them came out of their hidden location and that was when the Whitetail doe and her fawn appeared shortly appeared in front of the two of them. However, the Whitetail doe thought Rosalina was dangerous, until the Whitetail fawn made its way towards them, unharmed, the doe looked back at Kaylein, and walked up to her with no need of being cautious, for she knew that Kaylein posed no threat, because of the orphaned fawn. The doe reached Rosalina, lowered its head, licked her hand, and nuzzled her cold, wet, nose under her hand until it was placed flat upon the lower bridge of her navel, and slowly closed her eyes. Kaylein, without removing her hand, knelt down to be eye leveled with the doe, and softly also slowly started petting the doe's bridge, then whispered, "Take care of him, will you? He has no one now, thanks to some hunters, the cold-blooded murderers, killing his parents like that, and he didn't see the violence, thank goodness. But, he still needs a mother for he is still very young, think you can handle it?" Once she asked that question, the doe opened its eyes once again, looking at Kaylein intently, as if she understood Kaylein, backed away, and turned around making her way to the fawns. Once she got to them, the three of them walked back to the thicket of the forest, where they will be safe, and the fawns will be able to grow with the doe watching over them both.</p>