𝕭𝖔𝖔𝖐 𝕿𝖜𝖔
𝔖𝔲𝔪𝔪𝔞𝔯𝔶: From trolls to dragons to foreign princesses, Astraea Aphelion grows stronger as she
continues to navigate medieval Britain using her wit and heart, standing unshaken beside Merlin and Arthur as they face every threa...
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📍 Camelot
⏳May, 505 AD
I put the knights through a jousting drill on a sunny morning, at Uther's request. He kept insisting that 'lady work' with horses was useless – referring to my habit of doing liberty work in order to improve the horse-human relationships. I deeply disagree, and I think that the results speak for themselves, but I figured that the men and their horses were ready for bigger things anyways, so I read an entire book on jousting and came up with a fun way to help them improve their skills.
"Alright, since you cavemen don't have pool-noodles, we'll be using pillows. Whoever hits their opponent in the face, wins," I instructed, nodding towards the big pile of pillows gathered atop a table. "My Lady, with all due respect, jousting is about knocking the other person off the horse. Using a lance," Sir Merrick told me, frowning in confusion. "Yes, I know, but this will teach y'all better reflexes and balance, so shush it, Rick," I replied with a pointed look.
Arthur watched from the sidelines, an amused look on his face. He refused to join my training sessions with the knights, claiming that he was too advanced for them. I liked to believe that I could possibly beat him at anything that involved riding, but I liked that he stayed out of the training, for I feared we would get into some sort of disagreement that could lead to a strain in our growing relationship.
Merlin helped me sometimes, when the Prince allowed him to put off his chores for a bit. Today was one of such days, and he'd be in charge of managing the pillows and the scoreboard – which was just a paper parchment with the knights' names on it. "Where did you get all these?" he questioned while eyeing the pillows. "Utah's room, don't tell him," I joked. The sorcerer snorted and rolled his eyes. In fact, I had bought them, but the thought of stealing them from the King had crossed my mind. However, in the end I'd concluded that purchasing them from the townspeople would be a nice way to help their struggling economy.
"Okay, here's the scoreboard. Whoever wins will go against Dallas and I," I explained, holding up the paper for the knights to see.
I'd always loved the idea of knighthood and everything that it entailed: cool armour, heroics, and horses. Renaissance fairs were always something I enjoyed attending in my time – once I even got to participate in a themed parade with my horse Skylo! But I knew that becoming a knight was pretty much an impossible dream in medieval England, given that I'm a female. I'd brought it up to Uther one time, but he'd quickly turned it down. So I figured that if I challenged the knights and bested them, I could get the King to reconsider. Or at least to agree that I'd make a good one.
"We cannot joust against you, my Lady," Leon argued with a wary look. "You shush it, too, Lee. I'm the boss here," I scolded.
"He is right, Astraea. You could get hurt," Arthur jumped into the conversation. "You're not a part of this, Prince Charming!" I called to him with a playful glare. He simply rolled his eyes.
