The Knight’s Seduction
By
Renee Rose
Chapter One
Daisy gripped her sword, staggering under the weight of the chainmail. Her intent had been to join the fight to hold Hohenzollern but now Princess Susanna had run a white flag up after Lord Eberhard abandoned them. The sounds of splintering wood and the screams of the dying had stopped, for the moment.
Daisy struggled under the heavy war gear she’d just taken from the armory and donned over squire’s clothing as she climbed to the top of the turret to watch her lady negotiate with the sacking army. Below, in the bailey, Lady Natalia herded children, including the lady’s small stepdaughter, into the chapel.
Panic coiled in her belly, slithered up her spine and strangled her.Not again.
She knew too well the fate that befell women when a castle is sacked by mercenaries. She’d lost her two sisters and her own innocence because of what had happened the last time. It was the reason she’d disavowed men forever. She wished the fighting had not stopped. She’d rather go out there and die as a soldier than give those monsters one moment of lewd pleasure with her body.
The portcullis opened wide and soldiers streamed into the bailey and then through the castle doors, whooping and calling with the excitement of plunder. She set down the heavy sword and fit an arrow to her bow, but she couldn’t make her fingers release it. It was one thing to be willing to die to save Hohenzollern. It was quite another to take someone’s life in her name. And shooting a man was far different from hunting a buck in the woods.
Kill or be killed,she schooled herself.Do it.She sighted down the length of the arrow at the melee below.
A large burly knight caught sight of her from down below and boomed, “Stand down, squire! Your lady has surrendered.”
She bristled. Her lady may have surrendered, but she had not. She aimed the arrow at the knight. His armor would protect him. She let it fly, just forthe satisfaction of defying him and his orders. It struck his chest plate, glancing off.
He did not roar or shake his fist. He levelled a stare at her that made her shift on her feet, somehow calmly conveying she had made a grave mistake. Fear tightened in her gut, but she held firm. He continued looking at her as he headed inside, presumably to come after her. Let him. Maybe she’d get lucky and he’d kill her before he realized she was female.
In just a few short minutes, the door behind her opened and the enormous knight stalked through. His helmet dangled from one hand and he made walking in heavy armor look easy. “I told you to stand down,” he said. “The princess has surrendered. Hohenzollern is ours.”
Daisy didn’t speak, because she didn’t want to give away the fact that she was female. Her helmet and chainmail should disguise her well enough. She gripped her sword with both hands and charged at the knight.
He didn’t even draw a weapon, he simply struck her across the chest plate with his forearm, causing her to fly backward and land on her rear end. “Come now, lad,” the knight said, his voice kind, “the fight is over. I admire your bravery, but it’s time to lay down your arms.”
Curse him for being so decent. Why couldn’t he just fight her? She’d rather he ended things quickly. She struggled to her feet, readjusting the helmet on her head. Her sword had flown from her hands, and she stooped to pick it up, hefting it in the knight’s direction.
“Enough, boy,” he said, not looking even slightly concerned by her attack. He knocked the sword from her hands with a quick chop to her wrists and cuffed the side of her helmet. The metal clanked against her skull, sending her staggering to the side. Retrieving the dagger from her boot, she charged, aiming the blade at his armor, not really wanting to hurt him.
“I don’t want to hurt you,” he lectured as he jumped out of her path and gave her backside a kick that sent her sprawling in one direction, the dagger flying off in the other.
To her horror, her helmet rolled off. She looked up to see surprise bloom on the knight’s face, followed by amusement.
“No,” she said quickly, trying to scramble back.
“What do we have here?” he asked, reaching down to offer her a hand.
Instead of taking his hand, she aimed her foot for his privates and let it fly.
The knight moved shockingly fast for a man his size. Before her foot reached its target, he snatched her ankle and yanked up, effectively dangling her upside down by one foot.
“Stop,” she yelled. “Let go of me. Let me down!”
He chuckled, a low rumbling that made her armor reverberate. “Not until you stop fighting, lady. The battle ended. Now, lay down your weapon. No one is going to hurt you.”
She didn’t believe that for a second. She reached for the floor with her fingertips, kicking her free leg.
“What’s your name?” he asked.
“Let me go.”
“I asked you a question, little one.”
