Bolt From the Blue by Leslie Claussen (best books to read for women .txt) 📖

most of the others. We were both doomed.
There was a sudden hush as two men addressed the people from above; both very commanding, Sir Arthur and Lord Brutus Marius Warden looked down on the mass of villagers.
Lord Warden was the first to break the silence. “Greetings, my people; today we have gathered to honor our guests with a tournament for page-hood. A winner from both age groups will accompany Sir Arthur and his Knights to their home, Camelot.”
Arthur then spoke, “The two groups, age ten to thirteen and age fourteen to seventeen, will compete in three events: swordsmanship, archery, and riding. Any tie will result in a combat fight. The older will start with swordsmanship and the younger will attempt to ride my Knights' stallions. Now, enough talk, let the competition begin!”
A Knight led my group to the riding area. I looked at the boys around me. They all had fancier armor than I had on; theirs were shiny and new, mine was old and worn.
But appearance did not dictate their abilities as riders. I lasted the longest on the wild horses, far longer than anyone in my group. A few boys were even injured and had to be taken out of the tournament. I could hardly watch as one boy, Jonathan, was carried away as one of his bones stuck out through the skin on his leg.
After the riding was all over, we reconvened in the square. Once there, Sir Arthur spoke again, “I can see that some boys are already out with the end the first round. In the lead, young Lucas of Warden and the older, Thomas of Hexham, now comes the next test. The younger boys will continue to archery and the older will go to riding.”
I did as was said and followed the other boys and another Knight to an old, deserted field one hundred and fifty yards north of Warden. Set up at the far end was a line of targets for shooting. We all pulled our bows off our backs and loaded them.
We all did well, but I was nervous and missed a few easy shots. Again, we returned to the square, all of us were tired and there was still one more round to go. The older boys were already in the square with only half the number that had left; the ones remaining looked as worn as I felt.
“Again, we have had a great show of talent.” Sir Arthur stood in front of the exhausted crowd with a smiling face, as if he enjoyed all he surveyed. “The leaders have shifted, now, in the lead for the younger boys, Owen from Hexham, and for the older boys, Kay of Kent. The last round has come, so give it your all, boys; swordsmanship for the younger and older to the archery field.”
The Knight that led us now was the great Lancelot, a master swordsman with a boyish smile. The boys around me were all on their last strings of energy as was I. I would guess that most of them, at this point, didn’t even care if they won. I felt the same until I thought back to my talk with Sir Galahad; the memory stirred in me a fire I didn’t know existed. I was going to try my best to fight boys that would probably beat me.
Each boy was armed with a very light sword as not to hurt each other. We all were assigned a fighting partner, paired with a boy about our own size and. My partner looked gruesome, a thick boy from another village. He came at me when Lancelot raised his sword. I defended myself as best I could but he still gave me a small cut on my cheek. With that, I fought back with an inhuman fury. I lunged and dodged and fought with a renewed strength.
I had him pinned to the ground with my sword at his throat and gave him a cut on his right cheek. Sir Lancelot came over and declared me the winner.
I was paired once more and again I fought with a mad energy that flowed from my toes to my head. My ears pounded with the beat of my own heart as I pinned the boy to the ground.
They allowed me to rest for a short while as the other boys finished sparing. Then I was paired with the strongest boy in my age group. He had more muscle than even Lancelot as he pulled his sword from its leather sheath. With all my raging, I feared facing this boy, for he seemed to have the same zeal as I did. He had fire in his eyes as his sword touched mine.
Then Lancelot called, “Begin!”
Before the word was finished, the boy came at me with his sword flying. I defended myself from almost every blow but missed one as it hit my leg. I walked back, drawing my mind away from the wound, and raised my sword to attack. I fought back with speed, as I was smaller, and hit him a few times on his stomach armor. He looked offended at this and, looking me in the eye, pushed me back. I began to fall to the ground and landed hard. He went to pin me when I whirled on my side and missed a potentially deadly blow.
I hopped back to my feet, ignoring the pain, and drove him back with an onslaught of hits. Sweat poured from my hair and momentarily blinded me, but I kept fighting. I could tell, with all his energy, the boy was becoming tired. He moved ever slower as I weaved and landed a blow on his back. I hit him again from behind and he lost his breath. He fell to his knees and gasped for air. As a sign of surrender and defeat, he held up his hand.
Lancelot walked over and caught my body as I, too, fell from exhaustion. He splashed some muddy water onto my face as I lay on the ground. Sitting up, with his help, I began to come to. His voice was distant as he said, “I think, boy, you are the winner.”

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The next day, I stood in front of the crowd that had gathered again to hear the results. I had slept past dawn because I had been so tired and in pain. I looked at all the boys that stood beside me and wondered if I had beaten them; and what about Brian, he hadn't said a word when he walked home with me the night before. He stood at the far end of the village square, looking worn but excited, much like me.
Between the two groups of boys stood all of Arthur’s Knights, all in full armor that shined in the morning sun. It was quite a sight.
Lord Brutus Marius stood in front of everyone, ready to announce the two winners of the tournament. All the boys began to twitch with anxiety as he spoke to the crowd. “Greetings again, my good people; we have gathered again to declare two boys as pages. They all fought strongly and bravely, showing much courage for ones of such young age. I am proud of you, boys,” he said as he turned a hand towards us. Then he went back to his people, “But only two will be honored by accompanying Sir Arthur’s knights. Sir Arthur, himself, will announce his new pages.”
The Lord made way for Sir Arthur without leaving his position of authority. Arthur was smiling as he addressed his audience. “Your humble village and many others have brought us young men with all the sand of future knights. But only two boys stood against our trials and triumphed over the others. I am proud to say that both boys are the best I have seen since young Galahad was still a puny boy. But enough of my babblings, these are the boys who will defend your land and live in the glory of knighthood. The older boy, tough and unrelenting, Kay of Kent; and the younger, though he is small for his age, he is the best archer my Knights have seen in a long time. The second page will be Lucas of Warden.”
I had thought, perchance, he had been speaking of me, but the idea of being a page was only a dream, something I had fought for in those last moments of the contest. I had done it; I had taken Sir Galahad’s words and used them to make a distant dream come true. I was on the path to becoming a knight.

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It took three days for me to pack and say all my goodbyes. Leaving what I had known all my life was something I had never thought I could do, but I would have to. My mother hugged me for the longest time and my father began to cry. Brian said he could still beat me and I didn’t doubt him; I told him he would join me one day because he would be a far greater knight than I.
Sam hugged me the same as my mother and gave me a kiss. “You will return, and when you do, I will be waiting for you to take me as your bride.” I returned her kiss and promised I would return to her.
Hadrian gave me his best suit of armor and a knightly sword. “You will grow into it. I was saving the armor for the winner, so I tried my best to fit it to your figure.” I thanked him for the gifts and for all he had taught me.
On the third day, with everyone from Warden saying their goodbyes, the pages, Kay—the other tournament winner—and I departed on horseback. I let one tear fall from my face and then looked forward, into my future, as we rode off under the noontime sun. Imprint

Publication Date: 08-18-2010

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