Page 90 of The Life and (Medieval) Times of Kit Sweetly

HORSES GALLOP DOWN THE PITCH. ERIC JOUSTS AGAINST Mags. She bites her lip, steadying her hand. Although we have the moves and who-wins-what choreographed and planned with each other, Eric’s a wild card. Our primary objective tonight is to stick to our own routines and knock him down as many times as possible.

Which should be fun.

Mags steers her horse down the pitch, lance balanced so precisely it almost skims along the top of the tilt. Eric’s arm shakes as he holds the lance, but his mouth is set in a grim line.

They smash together with a great thud. Eric sways in his seat for a moment and then he slides out of the saddle. Mags’s section goes wild, shouting for her and waving their purple banners.

Eric’s horse goes riding off, and he slinks to the side of the arena.

Layla faces Alex next. They grin as their horses run toward each other. As they did with pool noodles at the laundromat, Alex and Layla come together, their lances barely missing each other. They do two more rounds and then Layla unseats Alex, as they’ve practiced dozens of times.

Next it’s my turn, and I’m supposed to ride against Penny, but somehow she’s slipped into a round with Lizzy. Once they battle, Eric lines up his horse again. So, okay then. Me versus Eric. We’re doing this. I settle my lance against my side and Shadowfax and I fly toward Eric.

It feels like déjà vu—me versus the Green Knight in the arena—but I knock him off his horse on the first try. This time he doesn’t slink away. This time he charges toward me, swinging his sword. It’s not technically time for ground fighting, but if Eric wants a fight, I’m game.

Before I can leap out of my saddle, Lizzy and Layla are at my side. They chase Eric to one side of the arena, and both of them do the complicated dismount and roll that Lizzy’s been practicing for so long. Lizzy charges Eric first, but then she steps aside, so Eric and Layla can swordfight.

Layla’s smaller than Eric, but she’s faster and not shy about tripping him. They fight, swords clattering into each other. Layla sweeps out his feet and then Eric’s on the ground.

The Blue section erupts in cheers as Layla stands over Eric, hands over her head. She yells her triumph and we cheer with her.

We put on a magnificent show. The crowd is totally into it and they roar their approval as Penny catches all the rings with her lance, Alex dominates the melee, knocking all of us down, and Lizzy pulls off a fancy horse trick that I didn’t know she’d been practicing.

I even manage to throw a favor to Jett.

He grins at me, and I swear my heart turns to pudding in my chest.

There’s a grand fanfare when we’re done, and then all six of us slide off our horses and turn toward where the people from Corporate sit. Chris hands me the mic and I wave to the crowd as we all take our last bows.

“Hello, Chicago! I’m Kit, the Girl Knight!” I shout to the crowd. “We hope you enjoyed the show! People of all genders have been fighting for centuries, in places all over the world. But you’ve not heard their stories. Here at the Castle, we think it’s high time for a change.”

Layla, Alex, Penny, Lizzy, and Mags wave from their horses. The crowd goes wild, and the five of them grin so widely I’m certain their faces will hurt tomorrow.

I introduce each of them, and it warms my heart to see a bunch of Girl Scouts on their feet, screaming and cheering for us.

“We’re the new face of the Castle,” I say. “We hope you enjoyed the show and for now, good night to you all!”

We all bow one more time, except for Eric, who stands on the sidelines scowling. Then we ride off.

44

“THAT WAS AMAZING!” LAYLA SAYS ONCE WE PUT OUR horses away. We head out into the Grand Hall to greet the crowds. Squires, stable hands, and Wenches cheer for us as we pass.

“You were perfection out there!” I wipe my sweaty hair out of my eyes and laugh.

“I can’t wait to do that again!” says Penny.

“No one is doing that again,” thunders Len, pushing through the crowd. His face is red. “Kit, I gave you—just you—permission to ride out. All of you except Eric are in—”

Before Len can say more, Isabel pushes through the crowd. Behind her is a tall, skinny dude carrying a huge camera. The light of the camera shines on us and Isabel puts a microphone in my face.

“Tell me, Kit, what inspired you to bring others into the arena?”

I put an arm around Layla, who puts one around Alex, who puts one around Penny, who puts one around Mags, who puts one around Lizzy. Other members of the Castle staff rush in, cheering and buzzing with excitement.

“Ask my friends here how it’s felt to watch cis men get all the glory for so many years,” I say, handing the microphone to Layla.

She, Penny, Alex, Mags, and Lizzy talk about how they’ve wanted this for so long, how exhilarating it was to be out there, and how they can’t wait to do it again.