His Girl Knight novel Chapter 1

"No," I say firmly.

"Son, you must," my father, the king, replies. "You know the law. If a girl wishes to become a knight, she may do so."

My father had just received word that the first girl in the history of the kingdom had requested to become a knight. Just this past year, a new law had been passed that any lady wishing to become a soldier for the king, was allowed to do so. I myself had gone through the training and had eventually become in charge of the training myself. However, I believe that the men were to do the fighting.

"But girls are too weak and emotional," I argue stubbornly. But my father will not listen.

"You will write to her family immediately, accepting her request," he said.

"But-," I start.

He cuts me off, "I do not see why you are so against it, my son. What if we compromise. Lady Iris shall stay for a year. If she appears incapable of becoming a knight, then she may return home. But if she proved herself worthy, she shall stay."

"Fine," I mutter angrily as I stalk out of the room.

When I have made it to my room, I pace back and forth until I can handle it no more. I walk outside to the training area where there are a few soldiers loitering around. As soon as they see my angry expression, they quietly walk away. I grab the nearest sword and began swinging and slicing it in a rhythmic motion that I have been used to since I could carry a sword. It felt good to release some of my anger this way as I continued to step and swing. Once I am calm enough to function again, I enter the castle once again to reply to the letter that I had received.

On the way to my office, I run into my mother. She's a very beautiful woman whom everyone says I look like. I have the same emerald green eyes with light freckles and jet black hair. My mother looks young despite her age. With one look at my face, she can immediately sense something is wrong.

"What's troubling you my son?" She asks.

I explain to her the letter and the conversations with my father. She places a hand on my shoulder. "You mustn't be afraid to try something new," she says. "Perhaps she will surprise you." She sees the doubt in my face and chuckles. "Us woman are stronger then we look you know."

Feeling slightly better, I enter my office and sit down at my desk. I look in the envelope that I had received from her family and look at the portrait of the girl. She looks strong enough, I think doubtfully. Throwing the picture down, I lean back and rub my hands across my face, trying to think of some reason as to why I cannot train this girl.

Finally, I give in to the thought that there is nothing that I can do and begin writing. Once I've finished, I wander around the castle grounds thinking. I see my little brother, Samuel, sitting by himself, bouncing a ball.

"Bored are you?" I call out to him.

His face lights up at the sound of my voice. He drops his ball and runs towards me. Samuel is ten and looks like my father. He has brown hair and eyes and is a bit chubby.

Throughout my life, my father and I have been extremely close. He always helps me get up when I fall down. Most things that I know how to do were taught to me by him. Don't get me wrong, I love my mother just as much, but I have a stronger bond with my father.

As I reread the letter, I notice something.

"Why do I have to prove myself worthy?" I ask my father. "Any other man who wishes to become a knight can."

"I do not know," he replies, also confused. "But I do know something else. You are stronger than any man out there."

Encouraged by his words, I work even harder on my sword and archery skills all that afternoon.

As I lay in my bed, I can't fall asleep. I'm still in shock from the news. I get up and throw on my clothes from the day before. As I jump out the window, I suddenly stop as I see a figure in the forest. Being as quiet as I can, I head in that direction to investigate. The smell of pine is in the air as I run silently through the dark forest. When I get closer to the area that I thought I saw something, I surprised that nothing is there. I turn in a circle knowing that I saw something earlier. Confused, I begin heading back.

Suddenly, a hand grabs me from behind and covers my mouth as I try to scream. My fighting instincts then kick in. I can tell that my kidnapper is a male because of his bulk and muscle. I stop struggling for a second and then turn in a quick motion. Catching him by surprise, I kick him in his crotch. He grunts in pain and drops me. Behind me, I can hear him as he falls to the ground in pain. I turn around to face him and I immediate drop down next to him. "Caleb!" I say with surprise. "I'm so sorry!"