Young Writers Society

Author's note: The entire time I was reading this, I kept getting the impression that it was going too fast, but let me know what you think. Also, please tell me if you think I should add more description in places. Would be appreciated. Thanks!

Joan’s eyes widened and she smiled at him. “I was born and raised on a farm. Life didn’t revolve around war and the world, and we never really cared much for it.”

“Even with that, did you ever think that other people might forget what’s important?” Jean asked, his eyes darkening with anticipation as he watched her.

“Of course,” she replied. She reached across with her left hand and yanked down on her sleeve. Her lips tightened in a slight grimace. “Human nature is flawed, so we obviously wouldn’t always focus on what’s most important at the moment, but rather on the little stuff that doesn’t really matter in the big picture.”

Jean nodded, “I agree with you. You seem to have either thought about this, or were taught by somebody who has, though.”

The grimace on her face smoothed away, and a smile replaced it. “I talked with my confessor, and have often thought about such matters. It didn’t seem right to me, that I should only focus on the matters of the world, but also on the spiritual world.”

She really does seem very holy, Jean thought wondrously. Even her wording is so correct, that it’s hard to think that she’s being misled.

A shifting in the formation, caused Jean’s horse to move slightly away from her, and turning around to see the cause of the change, he saw the litter carrying the girl moving away from the main group and towards the forest.

Frowning, Jean ran his hand through his hair in frustration. “Did you order her to be moved?”

Joan’s eyebrows turned down in a frown. “No…” she said, trailing off in her speech, as she turned around to see what he was looking at. “I told them to put her in the back with the doctors.”

Halfway wheeling her horse around, Joan stopped her horse in the thick of soldiers. They passed around her, in little trickles—not taking notice of her sudden halt.

“They directly disobeyed my orders!” she exclaimed. Glaring in Gourcout’s direction, she turned firmly around and clapped her heels into the horse’s side, causing it to jump forward. It narrowly missed a line of soldiers that quickly jumped out of the way.

Glancing at Jean, she whispered to him out of the corner of her mouth. “Am I supposed to confront Sier de Gourcout about this, or do I just deal with it?”

“Oh, I wouldn’t bother with that just yet,” Jean said. “You should look at what’s ahead of you.”

Joan turned and looked beyond the dusky forest, and road.

“Blois!” she exclaimed. “I thought we weren’t going to arrive without another four hours of travel!”

With one tree cutting into his line of sight, Jean could see a single tower rising up above the forest line. Shielding his eyes from the glare of the sun, he tried to see what the purpose of the tower was, from its top.

With the sun glinting off it, Jean could make out the outline of a bell within its dark depths. Must be a bell tower of some sorts, he thought, of a monastery or church.

The tree momentarily covered the entire tower, and then reappeared, the clear white stone shining like a beacon.

“That is Blois, right?” Joan asked, her voice rising in excitement.

She has forgotten the girl, Jean thought. No matter. She’ll remember soon.

“Yes, it’s Blois,” Jean replied, a faint smile appearing on his lips. “That must be a tower from one of the churches.”

“How long until we get there?” she inquired, her voice full of curiosity now.

Jean ran his eye over the position of the army and then over to where he could just start seeing Blois. Although, the tower could be seen, far off, only faint glimpses of the rest of the city could be spotted from his viewpoint. “Around an hour, if we’re lucky.”

He turned to look at her and smiled. “Even with God on your side, it will take a while to get an entire army into Blois. You will have to be patient.”

“Is she going to be brought in with us?” she asked.

“Who brought in with us?”

“The girl,” she replied patiently. “The one who we found beaten on the road.”

“Oh, yes. I remember. I had wondered if you were going to recall her, sooner or later.” He smirked. “After you’d seen Blois, for the first time, that is.”

“I never forgot her,” she said. “Just put that matter to the back of my mind to focus on what is ahead is all.”

She reasons like a leader, Jean thought. Thinks of what is important, before all else.

“She will be brought in with us. But I doubt she’ll be allowed past the walls.”

Joan nodded and smiled. “I understand. Better safe than sorry, when dealing with possible witchcraft.” She nodded towards the road, her dark hair swinging forward as she did. “She won’t be put with the men, right?”

Jean sighed, and shook his head. “Not if you get your way, she won’t. She’ll be put somewhere proper; I can assure you of that.”

He could hear the sound of the bell ringing now. They must be ringing for the Angelus now. It’s nearly six a’ clock. He smiled, and remembered the monks in the monastery on top of the hill back home. They always sang it beautifully.

Taking his mind away from the ringing pearly sounds, he remembered her. What they had been talking about earlier, and her endless questions, pertaining to the supposed witch.

He glanced at her, but only saw the side of her face. She was staring ahead at the bells, her lips moving. Her horse moved slightly towards the pages on the other side of her, but she did nothing to stop it. She only sat there; in her saddle, not a muscle twitching, except for the movement of her lips.

Shaking his head, he began to pull his horse slightly away from hers. Would be best to not distract her, in her prayers.

The horse snorted lightly through its nose, before moving, but grudgingly moved after a sharp prod to its gut. Stubborn horse, Jean thought, smirking.

Glancing behind, he noticed the soldiers pointing towards the tower and jostling each other in excitement and out of line. Nobody enjoys three days on the road, he mused. Not even the hard core soldiers of France.

One of the soldiers riding in front of the first group of foot soldiers, snapped an order, and the lines went uniform straight once again.

Jean smiled inwardly. “If only they all listened so well,” he muttered to himself, his lips twitching with humor. “The world would be a better place, I’m sure.”

Ignoring the light breeze grabbing at his brown locks, he leaned down and tightened his stirrup.

“Trouble with the horse?” Joan asked her voice merry.

Jean grinned and sat up straight again. “Not really. Just fixing my stirrup. It came loose again.”

She nodded, her eyes still snapping with slight merriment. “You have a problem with that, it seems.”

“You might want to keep the so-called witch in mind, when we go in,” Jean warned. “I don’t know how Sier de’ Gourcout works exactly, but you should keep an eye on her, just in case.”

“I understand, “Joan answered softly. She smiled wryly. “He didn’t seem pleased with you, when we were discussing the girl.”

Jean’s laugh sounded above the clamor of marching feet. “I haven’t had experience with him before this, but I think he just wants to protect his troops.”

“That does make sense,” Joan admitted. “A lot of sense actually.”

Her eyes moved away from his face and towards the direction of the tower. “Look!” she cried, excitement brimming once more in her voice. “You can see part of the town now!”