It was a sunny day up in the fields of the kingdom of England. In peaceful times like this, the nobles would take the chance to go outside and enjoy the nice weather. In fact, today was a special occasion for the nobles to attend a jousting tournament that was taking place in the glades of Sherwood Forest.
On the far left side of the field, there was a knight wearing a gold-trimmed red surcoat over his armor with an embedded white cross in the chest, standing beside a horse that was covered in a red caparison with white squares over the sides. The other knight who was standing on the far right side of the field, was wearing a light blue surcoat with the golden lion embroidered over the chest as a reminder that he's still the loyal knight to King Richard.
He mounted on his horse covered in matching caparison, as a squire handed him the helmet and a lance.
"Lords and Ladies! This is the moment that we've been waiting for! On the left side, we have Cedric of York, and his opponent, The Hero of England, Henry! Which two of the best knights will face head on to decide which one will take the title of a champion? We're about to find out in the final clash that will mark history!" The crow herald announced as the crowd cheered loudly.
Both knights saddled up on their horses as their squares handed their helmets, their shields and the lances. Everyone in the stands went silent as they watched the contestants preparing themselves. Among them was the beautiful vixen, Maid Marian, sitting with other nobles in the center of the stands. When Henry met her gaze from afar, the beautiful lady waved at the brave knight, wishing him good luck.
Henry smiled under his helmet as he waved back at Marian. He then closed the visor of his helmet and turned his attention back to his opponent while preparing his lance. The only thing he could know about his opponent was that he was a noble, if not from a family, who showed support to Prince John back when he seized the throne. Last time he heard about them, they had to earn King John's forgiveness by giving away some of their funds and belongings for charity. It wouldn't come as a surprise if Cedric was holding a grudge against him.
Pulling the reins of his horse, Henry and Cedric waited for a prolonged moment until the trumpeter sounded the start of the duel. The crowd cheered in excitement as the knights began to ride their horses across the field with their lances raised. The crowd held their breath as Cedric and Henry were now a few meters from each other, even Maid Marian restrained herself from looking away.
And in a split second, their lances collided before they snapped into bits before the horses passed each other. To everyone's surprise, however, none of the knights had fallen off their horses, though Henry was the one who almost fell off the saddle the moment his shield blocked Cedric's lance.
Reacting quickly, Henry pulled himself up as his horse reached the end of the list field. He turned his mount around and saw Cedric also reached the other end, but one of his squires just handed him another lance before charging once more.
"Lance! Hurry!" Henry called to one of his squires, and a young one hurried to stand beside his horse and handed him his new weapon before cracking the reins and charging.
The knights broke forward and readied their lances. The crowd once again held their breaths as the riders closed the gap between each other, and in the blink of an eye, their lances collided.
All of a sudden, everyone gasped when one knight was knocked off the saddle and fell to the ground in defeat.
"We have a victor! Henry, The Hero of England!" The herald announced on top of his lungs.
The crowd erupted into cheers, Maid Marian even stood up from her seat with her face filled with happiness and relief, not only because the tournament was finally over without her lover suffering any kind of injury, but also that his victory
Henry rode to the front of the stands, taking off his helmet so he could face the crowd, and waved at them in gratitude for their praise. But the moment his eyes set upon the beautiful fox noblewoman, a smirk plastered across his face.
Marian blushed as she wore a suggestive smile, aware what was going through her knight's mind and she was very much excited to give him a reward he fought to earn it.
It's been a few hours since the ceremony took place at the camp to award Henry for winning the tournament, and the prize for the victor was a decorative sword with the handle made of gold and gemstones embedded in the crossguard. The funny fact was, Maid Marian was the one who personally delivered the prize to Henry.
After the ceremony, everyone gathered around to celebrate the end of the tournament with a feast. A few hours had passed after the feast, as Henry and Marian went to take a stroll inside the Sherwood Forest to have an intimate moment together and enjoy the fresh smell of nature around them.
"How does it feel to be the champion, Sir Henry?" Marian asked as she leaned herself against her lover.
"Pretty good, I guess. To be honest, I didn't think I was gonna win the tournament to begin with, but your presence was so inspiring to me that I couldn't afford to lose." Henry replied with a smile.
Marian found herself flattered by his remark, though it was very obvious that she attended the tournament so she could encourage Henry to give it all he got to win, and she was very happy that it paid off. She glanced around the forest as they wandered further, looking up to the leaves of the trees rustling by the blowing wind. "You know, this place brings a lot of memories."
"Yeah... Remember that time I got wounded after I rescued you and you treated my wound? I wanted to take you for a walk, even though you insisted I was supposed to stay and rest." Henry chuckled heartily as he helped Marian to get off the slope.
