“I will not fail. I will not falter. I will not cease in my pursuit until justice is done.”
The court was silent. She kept her head down, kneeling in silence behind her father’s sword, praying that her nerves would not make it shake.
“Such an oath is not to be taken lightly.”
She swallowed. The King rarely spoke directly to anyone.
“I do not take it lightly, sir,” she said, not looking up.
“Rise,” he said. She looked up. He was holding his hand out to her. She took it, and rose to her feet.
“It is easy to make such an oath in the heat of passion,” the King said. “Harder, however, to carry it out. Justice can be a nasty business, even for my hardiest knights.”
“I am sincere, your majesty,” she said quietly. “I will catch the man who killed my father, or I will die in the attempt.”
He looked down at her, his head cocked to one side as he assessed her. She hoped that she was not blushing.
“Justice lies in the hands of the knighthood,” he said. “Personal vengeance is against my law, so I have little choice in this matter.” He reached out. “Give me the sword.”
For a moment, she did not move. Her gaze met his, and her hand tightened around the grip of her father’s sword.
She wanted to rebel, but he was the King. She lowered her gaze and presented the sword to him.
He looked along its length and held it up, appreciating its fine balance.
“This is a good sword,” he said.
He held it high for a moment, then lowered it to her shoulder.
“Wear it well, as a Knight of my court.”
© Kari Fay
Sheilagh Lee said:
what a noble and intelligent King.He knew she wouldn’t be swayed so he allowed her the tool to do as she needed, I love your story.
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Kari Fay said:
Thank you 🙂
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akweelife said:
Very good! I really like the characters. And I love the insight of both her and her King. Very well done. You did good conveying the dialogue too. That is a real challenge for me. You have a good story line. And you conveyed emotion, but not so much as I got mired down in it as I read. Very nice. Keep writing.
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Kari Fay said:
Thank you
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Jae Rose said:
Made me think of Joan of Arc – I love how you plunge us right in there..with one fair swipe of the sword..or the keyboard! Jae
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Kari Fay said:
Well, when I read the words, I got the second half of her oath in my head straight away. I thought about adding more at the beginning but it seemed to work better by diving straight in!
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Kim Nelson said:
I always enjoy the tale of a strong, vibrant woman!
http://www.kimnelsonwrites.com/2011/07/09/altered-reverie/
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mindlovemisery said:
Wonderful story! I love the concept of a strong, female knight
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