Tournament Trouble: Sword Girl Book 3 (6 page)

Tommy rushed through the streets of the town towards the blacksmith's, squeezing through the crowds of people.

‘Look, it's the sword girl,' someone said.

Tommy turned to see the morris dancers, Morris, Norris, Horace and Boris, waving to her.

‘Hi,' said Tommy, waving back, only to hear a sneering voice say, ‘Hey, Sword Girl, I heard your horse hates you so much you won't be able to ride in the tournament after all.'

Tommy spun around. It was Reynard.

‘Maybe you'll have to ask Sir Benedict if you can ride the crocodile instead,' he went on. ‘Ha ha! How stupid you'd look, riding a crocodile in the tournament. Then again, you always look stupid.' He ran away, laughing.

‘Who is that nasty boy?' Boris asked.

‘I know who he is,' said Horace. ‘He's the one who tied the ribbons of our maypole in knots.'

‘It took us hours to get them untangled!' said Norris.

‘Ignore him, Sword Girl,' said Morris. ‘The blacksmith told us you'll be jousting in the tournament. We'll be cheering for you.'

‘Thanks,' said Tommy. She didn't have the heart to explain that Reynard was right, and that she probably wouldn't be in the tournament.

The next morning, Tommy was feeling too anxious to eat breakfast. Instead she went straight out to the courtyard to see if she could find Lil. The cat was waiting outside the kitchen door.

‘Bess is going to let you ride her one more time,' Lil said. ‘But she says that you're hurting her when you sit on her. I thought I'd come see for myself.'

With a sense of dread, Tommy followed Lil into the small courtyard outside the stables. Was she about to get thrown off the horse again? What if the problem wasn't just with Bess? What if all horses hated her? She kicked at a flagstone. If they did, not only would she have to drop out of the tournament, she'd
never
be able to become a squire …

‘What's he doing here?' Lil hissed.

Tommy looked up to see a familiar figure tie a chestnut horse to a railing then hurry away. ‘Reynard!' she gasped.

When they reached Bess, Lil asked, ‘What was Reynard doing here?'

‘Reynard?' the horse asked. ‘Oh, you mean the red-headed boy? He just puts on my saddle and leads me here from the stables. Then, after the girl has finished hurting me, he leads me back again. I think he must be one of the grooms from town.'

‘That's no groom,' Tommy said. ‘He's the Keeper of the Bows. What's he up to?'

‘Take off the saddle,' Lil suggested.

Tommy unbuckled the saddle and, standing on the edge of a water trough, carefully lifted it from the horse's back. But she could see nothing wrong. Tommy was disappointed. She had been sure Reynard must be behind her problems with the horse, but it seemed not.

She patted the horse on the back, then quickly pulled her hand away. ‘Ouch,' she cried, as the horse winced. ‘What was that?' She looked closely at the chestnut coat and saw a number of small tacks embedded in the horse's hair. ‘Tacks!' she exclaimed. ‘Reynard must have been putting them under the saddle! That's what's been causing the pain, Bess. With my weight on the saddle they must have really dug into you. Hold still while I get them out …'

‘Why, that little sneak,' the horse said, outraged, when Tommy had removed the tacks from her coat. ‘Why would he do such a thing?'

‘He was angry because I was asked to fight in the tournament and he wasn't,' Tommy explained. ‘I guess he thought if he could stop me from learning to ride, I'd have to drop out. And he was right, too. The tournament starts tomorrow and there's no way I'll be ready for it.'

‘Oh yes you will,' said the horse. She sounded determined. ‘Can you get into the saddle?'

‘I think so,' said Tommy. From her position on the edge of the water trough, she put a foot into a stirrup. ‘Yes!' she said, as she dropped into the saddle.

For the next hour, Bess taught Tommy how to walk and trot around the courtyard. When she was satisfied that Tommy had mastered trotting, she said, ‘Let's go out into the field. It's time we had a proper gallop.'

A gallop! Tommy could hardly wait.

As they crossed the bridge over the moat, Tommy heard a voice call from below, ‘Hey, Sword Girl, look at me! Look how fast I can go.'

Tommy glanced down to see the crocodiddle speeding through the water, arms and legs moving furiously.

‘That's pretty fast, Mr Crocodiddle,' she called. ‘But look at how fast I can go … Come on, Bess – let's gallop!'

They set off across the fields, Tommy's heart thundering in time with the horse's hooves, her hair streaming behind her. They galloped for miles, jumping fences and ditches, and Tommy never once lost her balance.

When at last they slowed and turned to head back to the castle, Tommy was laughing with pleasure. ‘I've never had so much fun in my whole life,' she said.

‘You're a natural,' Bess replied. ‘I can't believe you've never ridden before.'

‘I haven't,' said Tommy. But then she remembered the crocodiddle saying those same words:
You're a natural
. ‘Actually,' she said, ‘I have had a lesson.'

When they crossed the bridge again, Tommy urged Bess towards the edge. She wanted to thank the crocodiddle. But there was no sign of him.

‘Mr Crocodiddle?' she called.

She thought she saw a ripple in the water, but when she looked closer there was no crocodiddle to be seen.

‘I'll come see him later,' Tommy said. ‘I don't want to be late for jousting practice!'

CHAPTER 9

T
OOT-TAROOT !

As the trumpet sounded, Tommy felt a flutter of excitement in her stomach. She was sitting astride Bess, surrounded by squires on horses. She almost hadn't recognised the chestnut mare when she'd first seen her in a blue coat and hood embroidered with pink flamingos. Then again, Bess said she almost hadn't recognised Tommy in the new blue tunic and long pink cloak that Sir Benedict had surprised her with that morning.

The trumpeters began to move off through the archway leading to the castle gate. The procession of knights and squires followed, their cloaks billowing.

The road leading away from the castle was lined with townsfolk, all cheering the knights and squires. ‘Flamant for victory!' they roared. ‘
FLAMANT FOR VICTORY!
'

They were dressed in pink and blue and waved pink and blue streamers. Even the horses in the procession had pink and blue ribbons woven through their tails. With a pang, Tommy thought of the crocodiddle. She'd looked for him again the previous evening but although she'd called and called, he hadn't appeared.

When they reached the field with the tents and platforms, the riders dismounted and stood by their horses. Tommy could see the knights and squires of Roses Castle at the opposite end of the field, the red roses of Sir Percy's crest bright on a white background.

Sir Walter the Bald and his wife inspected the line of Flamant Castle's knights and squires.

‘Really, Walter,' Lady Beatrix the Bored yawned, ‘this is so boring.'

‘Now, now, dear,' said Sir Walter. ‘Maybe you'd like to choose a knight to be your champion? That would make it more interesting, wouldn't it?'

‘Perhaps,' said Lady Beatrix. She ran her gaze over the knights. ‘But the knights are all so boring.' She turned to regard the squires. ‘And so are the squires … Wait. Who's that?' She pointed her fan at Tommy, who felt her face grow hot.

‘Why, that's our sword girl,' said Sir Walter, peering at Tommy. ‘What's the sword girl doing there with the squires, Sir Benedict?'

Sir Benedict stepped forward. ‘One of the squires was hurt during training,' he said. ‘Since Tommy has proven herself to be skilled with a sword, I thought we'd test her skill in the jousting competition.'

‘A girl in a jousting competition?' said Lady Beatrix, her eyes bright with interest. ‘That's not boring at all!'