Subterfuge {for Monk}

[animefangirl]

Alex was out in the courtyard with the other pages and she was pretty excited because there was a rumor that some traveling knights had arrived and they were coming to check out the new batch of pages and she was in her last year of her page training so she was ready to become a squire should she get lucky enough to be picked. They'd already done their warm ups and sword fighting and now they were getting ready to demonstrate their skills on horseback, practicing with the lance they had to hit the target square on and duck to avoid the sandbag flying around to try and strike them back. It was difficult to do but it was something Alex was good at. She had to be better than the boys if she was going to prove her point some day.

She was the only girl in the group, and she was the only one that knew that fact. Through a mix of being clever and sneaky she managed to avoid anyone finding out her true gender over the last three years and she was thinking that if she could make it all the way to being knighted then she could reveal herself and force the King to see that girls were able to do this and should be allowed to join the knights if they wanted to. It was a dangerous prospect, and she knew that but she didn't care. Her trainer called her name then and she mounted the borrowed buckskin charger that she'd been given to train with, the horse was past his prime but he had been a real knights horse in his younger years and he was a good mount to learn on.

She picked up her lance and signaled the horse to gallop, flying down the lane she balanced the lance carefully and struck the target shield right in the center, shattering her lance and ducking just in time to avoid the sandbag 'counter strike'. She smiled slightly at her success and slowed her mount, turning the gelding back towards her trainer and she was a bit startled when she saw that the knights had arrived while she was doing her run. She bowed to them from the saddle but didn't dismount since she wasn't sure if training was over and she didn't want to get into trouble.

[monk2024]

there were eight knights in total watching on their chargers, three foxy headed northerners, two dark haired riverlords, two hooded desert knights and a mountain lord called Sir Icaret. Icaret had seen Alex and he liked what he saw, the squire was good but well disciplined.

He nudged his black charger forwards ten feet so he could have some space to meet the squire then he gestured to Alex "Come to me."

[animefangirl]

Alex eyed the knights curiously after she straightened up from her bow and then she just sat there straight in her saddle since she really wanted to make a good impression on the knights. She watched as one nudged his black charger forward and when he ordered her to come she immediately tossed aside her broken lance to the pile where those were kept and then nudged her horse towards him, pulling it to a stop once she was close enough to the knight and giving him a small bow, "Sir?" She asked, acknowledging his order and trying not to look too hopeful though she of course was hoping he would pick her.

[monk2024]

"Sir Icaret of Dragons Fell." He introduced "You did well and you stayed humble, that is good." He said, his home as most people in the realm knew was the site of the last battle of the Dragon Wars and its character was set from that time, there wasn't a single desk knight north of Owls-hollow at the southern end of Mt Gretlin, any squire who went into the mountains would be fighting most of the next four years. "Will you come north with me?"

[animefangirl]

Alex nodded respectfully to the knight when he introduced himself but she didn't give her own name because he hadn't asked for it and she didnt' want to be rude. Instead she just listened as he praised her, getting a small smile on her face at the praise before listening as the man asked if she would ride north with him. She thought about it for a few seconds, since she knew that the life of the mountain knights was hard and dangerous, and that she would spend most of her time fighting, but that was what she wanted. So after a few seconds of thought she nodded again and met his eyes as she answered, "It would be my honor Sir Icaret" she said in a clear voice, not wavering at all she'd made up her mind and she was going to stand by it. Now all they had to do was settle things officially and she would be bound to him for the next four years or so while she learned at his side. She couldn't help looking excited, since this was what she'd been training for since she was six years old and her father had cooked up this idea, and she was eager to start.

[monk2024]

He nodded and nudged his horse towards the recorders desk where it would be registered "Who are your people squire, where do you come from?" He asked on the way there.

[animefangirl]

She nudged her horse towards the records desk to follow him and when they got there she dismounted and moved to hold her horses reins as well as his so he could dismount as she answered his question. "My father is Earl de Valence of Kandor" She answered, which was actually true since she was a noble girl she just had been raised to do this little experiment and try to better women. Her father was not an extremely powerful man but an Earl was high enough ranked to be respected in court but she doubted that Icaret would have heard of the man.

[monk2024]

She was in fact mistaken, there were few enough Earls that Icaret could name them all and their holdings from boyhood, he didn't know many of them personally or care for most of them though. He dismounted and led his horse by the reins to the recorders so he could sign and seal the registration document.

[animefangirl]

She would have been surprised to know that Icaret knew of her father, but since he didn't say anything she didn't know. She just followed him as he headed over to the records keeper and watched as he signed and sealed the document that officially bound her to him as a student. He was now responsible for her training and for making sure she behaved by the code of civalry, and she was responsible for serving him, caring for his weapons and horse and most importantly learning from him. She wasn't daunted though she was excited. "When are we leaving Sir?" She asked, trying not to sound too eager though she probably failed.

[what does she call him? Sir or Master?]

[monk2024]

(Sir is fine)

Sir Icaret smiled at her obvious eagerness "Soon, first you must be equipped for the trip north and what you will find there." He said "I will need to inspect everything you have and add anything I think you are missing." He explained once he had finished with the recorders.