Chat room adventures

"Would you care to join me for the evening meal?" Lionel asked, entering the room and closing the door behind him. Scipio still had his sword drawn and Lionel's eyes touched the blade tentatively.

"No," Alice rejected vehemently, standing a step behind Scipio, her hand on his shoulder.

"Then you do not wish to eat?" Lionel asked.

"Bread and water will be fine if you can spare them and if not, we will wait until tonight when we can celebrate at an inn," Scipio replied.

"Very well then. If you were a real man, you would starve yourself by all means but you would allow Allison to dine with me or better still you would have run me through with that sword and swept her to safety. Of course it would not have worked but you would have tried."

"No. Only a man of your own disposition would follow that suit of action. I remain a man of honour and by our lances we will be judged, not by these swords that any man may wield."

"When I have you in my dungeon, I think I should very much like to know how a man in your position came to be educated but for now, if you will not dine with me, I will return in two hours and we will joust."

Alice sighed and leaned back against the wall when he shut the door and locked it.

"Are you okay?" Scipio asked, "you look really pale."

"He unsettles me," Alice said, "if I am ever around him again I know I'm going to faint."

"Don't faint, that wouldn't be good."

"But it would buy you time to get out."

"I wouldn't go without you," Scipio protested. "And you must promise that you wont faint during the match. I want you to watch me knock him off his horse."

"I'll try not to."

"Good. Now do you have any idea how we can pass the time?"

"I spy?" Alice suggested with a sheepish grin. Scipio shrugged.

"Why not. Okay, I spy with my little eye something beginning with b."

_______________________
Heather

Heather ran a moist tongue over her dry lips and wondered how long she had been trapped. Certainly long enough for her body to have grown stiff and tense with the effort of huddling in the cell and also long enough for her throat to have grown hoarse from calling out into the dark.

"Hey?" she tilted her head to one side as best as she could, resting it against her shoulder, and listened for a response. Nothing.

"I think I'll go mad from boredom if I'm here much longer," Heather mumbled, holding still and closing her eyes so that she could almost imagine that she were in a larger room but the effect was ruined when her arm brushed against the cell bars.

Alice looked aroud the room, "bed?"

Scipio nodded, "you're turn."

"Okay...Um....I spy something starting with a w."

"wall?"

"Nope."

"Wardrobe?"

"Yup, your turn." Alice started to grin, this was more fun than it should be.

"Hm... I spy something starting with an A"

"Umm... Atlas?" Alice guessed, noting a small pile of books. Scipio turned to glance at them and shook his head.

"Didn't even know that was there."

"This one's hard... oh! I know, Alice!"

"Yup. Your turn."

"I spy with my little eye something beginning with s."

"Scipio?"

"No."

"Shoes?"

"Wrong again."

"Socks... Shirt... Sword..."

"nope nope and nope."

"I give up, what then?"

Alice pointed out the window, "Sky."

"that was cheap."

Alice grinned, "so? Okay...I spy with my little eye something.....blue!"

"Sky?"

"Yup." Scipio and Alice played a little longer but then they began to bore of the game and sat, wrapped up in their thoughts until the sound of a key turning in the lock drew their attention to the door. A small boy of about twelve scuttled in.

"Please, sir. Miss. You are to prepare for the joust. You are to come down to the stables and be given armour and a horse." The two stood reluctantly and Alice intertwined her fingers with Scipio's before they followed the child out of the room. He led them through many deserted hallways and outside into a small courtyard where a wooden structure stood. Two men greeted them there, one carrying a joust and the other various parts of a suit of armour and a helmet.

"You can leave your sword with us," the first man instructed. Scipio shook his head.

"I'll wear it over the armour."

Alice watched as Scipio and the small boy put his armor on him. When neither were paying attention she double checked that her dagger was still attached to her calf. She had one of two uses for it, kill Lionel and free scipio, or kill herself if Lionel hid Scipio from her. She didn't want to have to use it but better safe than sorry.

When scipio was compleately encased in the armor Alice pulled out the ribbon she had holding her braid together and gave it to Scipio, "I suppose its how its supposed to work," she said shyly, "the lady gives the knight she favors a token for luck?"

"I guess that is how it works." He took the ribbon and tried to tie it around his wrist to no avail so Alice took over.

"This is going to be fun undoing," she said when she was done, "there must be at least twelve different knots in there."

Scipio

"Well how do I look?" Scipio took a step back and almost stumbled as the weight of the armour shifted.

"Good," Alice told him.

"Your lance, sir," one of the guards said with a little flourish and a slight incline of his head.

"Sir?" Scipio echoed, taking the heavy pole.

"Yes, sir. From now on you must be of a class high enough to face Sir Lionel in combat," the guard explained.

"In that case, it's 'my Lord' and he wants his horse now," Alice informed them with a wide grin. The guards obeyed and after being helped into the saddle, Scipio reached down with his free hand and pulled Alice up beside him.

"There. Traveling in style," Scipio stated happily.

"I'm going to fall off," she said.

"I won't let you fall," Scipio assured her.

"So you're going to fall off with me?"

"Neither of us are falling off."

THe horse started moving and Alice started clinging to Scipio, "thats very comforting," she said scarcasticly.Scipio mearly chuckled.

Scipio chuckled and propped the lance up in the stirrup so that he could hold both that and the reigns in one hand.

"What are you doing?" Alice demanded, clinging to him harder.

"This," he replied, reaching back to loop an arm around her waist. He drew her closer to him until she was sitting side-saddle just in front of him, his arm securely wrapped around her. "Better?"

"No! A little actually..." Scipio laughed and urged the horse to walk a little faster, basking in the stares of admiration from the crowd.

"Since when did you learn to ride anyway?" Alice asked.

"Back home," Scipio replied. "Oh look, doesn't Lionel look happy?" Scipio sniggered as they both glanced over at a rather fierce, slightly nervous Lionel.

"I bet he was expecting you to not know how to ride," Alice smiled, "ANd i don't think his shoulder is completely healed. Hit him there once and I bet he'll be done."

"Good, which shoulder was it?"

Alice strained to remember but couldn't, "I don't remember, just hit both, there are three rounds. Hit both shoulders and the head and you'll win, as long as he doesn't knock you off your horse."

Alice slid off, "I'll be waiting here with your other horses, I'll look for weaknesses."

Scipio lined up and waited for the first charge. There was a pause as some announcements were made and then the man in charge instructed the two to ride past each other and shake hands. As they reached the centre, Scipio gently clasped Lionel's hand and tried not to grimace as the other man squeezed roughly. Instead he smiled and inclined his head.

"Good luck, my Lord, may your aim be true." As Scipio hurried on, leaving the bewildered opponent behind, he smiled.

"Three...two...one..." Scipio readied his lance and charged, aiming for Lionel's right shoulder but then he allowed the point to drop and it smashed into the other man's shield as Lionel's lance took Scipio on his unprotected side. Scipio lurched, clutching at the reigns to remain in the saddle as his horse panicked and pranced. Was the creature not trained for this sport? Typical. And after he had decided not to take advantage of Lionel's injury. He rested a hand on the horse's neck and calmed him before turning his head to see that Lionel, ashen faced, had turned and was sat staring after him.

"One point each!" the man in charge announced as Scipio smiled at Lionel.

"Good pass. That really hurt." With that, he proceeded to join Alice and receive the second lance from the boy.

"Go for the helmet this time, or better yet, just knock him off of the horse."

"How do I do that?"

"Don't go for the sheild," ALice sightly teased, "aim for his heart, hit hard." She looked over at Lionel, "he aimed for your left shoulder, roll it back when he goes to strike, he'll miss and even if you don't unhorse him you'll still be up a point."

Alice handed him the lance and spoke a few comforting words to the horse and it became a lot calmer.

"How'd you do that?" Scipio asked.

Alice shrugged, "I'll tell ya later, go!"

Scipio nodded and raised his arm, showing off the ribbon proudly before riding out to take his position again. Lionel's gaze seemed to be drawn to that small piece of fabric and Scipio's smile faltered. Poor guy.

"Three...two...one..." Scipio readied his lance and rode forward again, this time aiming for Lionel's chest. As suggested, he rolled his shoulder back as the two met in the middle but Lionel's target had been Scipio's head and his lance impacted with a heavy thud. Scipio was knocked from his horse and landed on the floor, a sharp pain coursing through his limbs. Expecially his head. Alice rushed over and helped him to sit up at which point he glanced across to see Lionel shaking, half out of his saddle.

"Are you alright?" Alice demanded. Scipio nodded, causing his head to ache further but he dragged himself to his feet and accepted the reigns of his horse from the boy as well as a third lance.

"You almost had him out of the saddle that time," the boy remarked cheerfully.