Post by Elizabeth Severn on Apr 25, 2010 14:18:08 GMT
A bright sunrise had just broken over Camelot, casting long shadows on the castle grounds. Morning was coming up fast, but it was already well underway for Elizabeth. While it had been still dark out, she was down at the stables, getting the horses fed and watered. And her day hadn't even really begun yet.
Coming straight from her work, she jogged up to the training grounds for the Army. Over her shoulder was a leather bag and her three blades. They bumped against her back slightly as she moved, jogging lightly toward were she could see Arthur was. As she came up in front of him, Elizabeth saluted. Turning his attention from some of the recruits who had already started training, he looked her over once and frowned slightly. "Is that what you plan on wearing to train?"
Looking down at herself, Elizabeth grinned slightly. She only had on her gray cotton shirt and linen pants, along with her boots. "Well, with permission, sir," she said lightly, "I'd like to put on the rest of my training amour."
The prince looked at her for a moment, his expression almost unreadable, and then waved a hand dismissively. "Just hurry up with it, you're late already." Saluting once more, Elizabeth turned around and walked the few steps to the side of the field, dropping her bag. She strapped on the two belts with her weapons and the reached into the bag, pulling out her corset and braces. Wrapping the ridged leather around her, Elizabeth buckled it up in the front, making sure it was tight enough.
As she strapped the braces onto her forearms, she loped back over to where the recruits were forming up. As she looked at them, a dull, heavy feeling dropped into her stomach. By the looks of things, today they were going to be using pole-arms, most definitely not one of her best skills. She accepted at heavy halberd from the squire who was passing them out among the ranks. The wood was worn and smooth beneath her hands, but also quiet heavy, which wasn’t exactly something that she appreciated.
“Form up into pairs!†she heard Arthur call from farther down the line. With a tired look, she turned to the man next to her, and found him looking at her with something along the lines of confusion. Before she had a moment to respond to his look, she heard the prince once again, only closer this time.
“Not you two. William, go find another partner.†Arthur approached the pair, a long spear of his own in hand. Internally, Elizabeth let out a deep sigh. Toady was not looking to get any better any time soon. Hefting the heavy weapon, she planted her feet, getting ready for whatever was going to happen next. “We’re going to do some sparring. Alternate attacking and defending roles. Begin!†called the prince, turning to face his unfortunate partner.
With surprising speed, he started the attack. Whipping the butt of the pole around, he brought it towards Elizabeth’s knees in a fraction of a second. Responding out of pure instinct, she shoved her halberd downwards, planting the end of it in the dirt and managing to deflect the blow. Lifting her right foot, she kicked out viscously, propelling the weapon back the way it had come. But, this wasn’t all that helpful. Moving with the turn of events, Arthur swung the top of the weapon in an arc and brought the flat of the blade down on Elizabeth’s shoulder, using the force she had provided.
She felt the impact and let out a little grunt of pain as her arm went numb. The front of the halberd fell from her grasp, digging its point into the ground. Holding onto the bottom half with her left hand, Elizabeth rolled her shoulder, trying to get some feeling back. The dull rosettes of pain coming from there at least told her that it might work again in a moment. Looking over at Arthur, she saw a faint grin on his face. “In case you couldn’t tell,†he said, “I was attacking.â€
Picking up the fallen shaft with her half-functional hand, Elizabeth turned to the prince with one thought on her mind. Well bugger this.
More than an hour later, the sun was quiet clear in the sky now, and the day was getting considerably warmer. But still the recruits were swinging away on the field.
There was a resounding crack as both Arthur’s and Elizabeth’s weapons clashed together. Putting some force behind it, the prince shoved forwards, pressing against Elizabeth’s defenses. She took a half step backwards, regaining her footing and retracting her weapon for a moment to counter attack. But that was too much of an opening. Elizabeth saw it coming, but there was very little she could do about it.
Taking advantage of the moment, Arthur stepped forward once again and slammed the wooden pole forward. It connected solidly just under Elizabeth’s chest. She felt the crushing impact and let out the little bit of air she still ha din her lungs. Powerless to save herself, Elizabeth went over back wards, lending flat on her back on the hard ground. Her leather armor had absorbed most of the force, but she still felt it all the way through her chest. Laying there for a moment, she let the dizziness wash away slightly and just heard Arthur speaking.
“Alright, that’s all for now. Dismissed.†As the prince turned back, he looked down at Elizabeth for a moment before speaking. “You have to be quicker with your weapon. You’re leaving openings in your defense.†He extended a hand and helped her up, the first time he’d done that all morning.
She got to her feet and ignored the pain in her chest from the last blow. Leaning against her weapon, Elizabeth gave him a wry grin. “Well sir, it weighs nearly as mush as I do.â€
The prince chuckled slightly, and passed his weapon to the squire who was collecting them. “Well, you’re better then you were when we started at least. Hopefully you’ll be better at it.â€
Passing off her weapon, Elizabeth couldn’t help just smile in amusement. Shaking her head slightly, she saluted the prince and started to make her way off the field.
Coming straight from her work, she jogged up to the training grounds for the Army. Over her shoulder was a leather bag and her three blades. They bumped against her back slightly as she moved, jogging lightly toward were she could see Arthur was. As she came up in front of him, Elizabeth saluted. Turning his attention from some of the recruits who had already started training, he looked her over once and frowned slightly. "Is that what you plan on wearing to train?"
Looking down at herself, Elizabeth grinned slightly. She only had on her gray cotton shirt and linen pants, along with her boots. "Well, with permission, sir," she said lightly, "I'd like to put on the rest of my training amour."
The prince looked at her for a moment, his expression almost unreadable, and then waved a hand dismissively. "Just hurry up with it, you're late already." Saluting once more, Elizabeth turned around and walked the few steps to the side of the field, dropping her bag. She strapped on the two belts with her weapons and the reached into the bag, pulling out her corset and braces. Wrapping the ridged leather around her, Elizabeth buckled it up in the front, making sure it was tight enough.
As she strapped the braces onto her forearms, she loped back over to where the recruits were forming up. As she looked at them, a dull, heavy feeling dropped into her stomach. By the looks of things, today they were going to be using pole-arms, most definitely not one of her best skills. She accepted at heavy halberd from the squire who was passing them out among the ranks. The wood was worn and smooth beneath her hands, but also quiet heavy, which wasn’t exactly something that she appreciated.
“Form up into pairs!†she heard Arthur call from farther down the line. With a tired look, she turned to the man next to her, and found him looking at her with something along the lines of confusion. Before she had a moment to respond to his look, she heard the prince once again, only closer this time.
“Not you two. William, go find another partner.†Arthur approached the pair, a long spear of his own in hand. Internally, Elizabeth let out a deep sigh. Toady was not looking to get any better any time soon. Hefting the heavy weapon, she planted her feet, getting ready for whatever was going to happen next. “We’re going to do some sparring. Alternate attacking and defending roles. Begin!†called the prince, turning to face his unfortunate partner.
With surprising speed, he started the attack. Whipping the butt of the pole around, he brought it towards Elizabeth’s knees in a fraction of a second. Responding out of pure instinct, she shoved her halberd downwards, planting the end of it in the dirt and managing to deflect the blow. Lifting her right foot, she kicked out viscously, propelling the weapon back the way it had come. But, this wasn’t all that helpful. Moving with the turn of events, Arthur swung the top of the weapon in an arc and brought the flat of the blade down on Elizabeth’s shoulder, using the force she had provided.
She felt the impact and let out a little grunt of pain as her arm went numb. The front of the halberd fell from her grasp, digging its point into the ground. Holding onto the bottom half with her left hand, Elizabeth rolled her shoulder, trying to get some feeling back. The dull rosettes of pain coming from there at least told her that it might work again in a moment. Looking over at Arthur, she saw a faint grin on his face. “In case you couldn’t tell,†he said, “I was attacking.â€
Picking up the fallen shaft with her half-functional hand, Elizabeth turned to the prince with one thought on her mind. Well bugger this.
More than an hour later, the sun was quiet clear in the sky now, and the day was getting considerably warmer. But still the recruits were swinging away on the field.
There was a resounding crack as both Arthur’s and Elizabeth’s weapons clashed together. Putting some force behind it, the prince shoved forwards, pressing against Elizabeth’s defenses. She took a half step backwards, regaining her footing and retracting her weapon for a moment to counter attack. But that was too much of an opening. Elizabeth saw it coming, but there was very little she could do about it.
Taking advantage of the moment, Arthur stepped forward once again and slammed the wooden pole forward. It connected solidly just under Elizabeth’s chest. She felt the crushing impact and let out the little bit of air she still ha din her lungs. Powerless to save herself, Elizabeth went over back wards, lending flat on her back on the hard ground. Her leather armor had absorbed most of the force, but she still felt it all the way through her chest. Laying there for a moment, she let the dizziness wash away slightly and just heard Arthur speaking.
“Alright, that’s all for now. Dismissed.†As the prince turned back, he looked down at Elizabeth for a moment before speaking. “You have to be quicker with your weapon. You’re leaving openings in your defense.†He extended a hand and helped her up, the first time he’d done that all morning.
She got to her feet and ignored the pain in her chest from the last blow. Leaning against her weapon, Elizabeth gave him a wry grin. “Well sir, it weighs nearly as mush as I do.â€
The prince chuckled slightly, and passed his weapon to the squire who was collecting them. “Well, you’re better then you were when we started at least. Hopefully you’ll be better at it.â€
Passing off her weapon, Elizabeth couldn’t help just smile in amusement. Shaking her head slightly, she saluted the prince and started to make her way off the field.
1052 of 250
