Shelter From the Storm

Part 1

As a knight from the Order of the Shovel, I was not very accustomed to being accompanied on my travels. My missions and orders were always given to me, and only me. So you'll understand when I tell you that when I received a mission to meet with a member of the neighbouring Order of the Shield, I was perplexed.

Of course, it brought me to my now beloved, Shield Knight. A young prodigy from her respective order, she was the second part of an experimental process in which the two orders would pair knights to perform valiant duties together. Nowadays both Shield Knight and I now wander as independent knights, fighting and journeying for our own adventurous and noble causes (with some treasure hunting on the side).

However, Shield Knight and I did not fall for each other straight away. It did take some time. And if you're sitting comfortably, then let me recall the night when things between us changed from knights-in-arms…to just a little more.

We had been in each other's service for a month. As members of our respective Orders, we were to take upon ourselves missions and adventures assigned jointly by both of our higher ups. Our initial meetings were…frosty, I must admit. My first impressions of this young woman clad to the nines in crimson armour, wielding two grossly mismatched shields were that of disbelief. How were you supposed to fight with two shields? Conversely, she always muttered about why I fought with a shovel, against the conventional sword that normal knights use.

And we both questioned why we were placed together. Neither Shield Knight nor I ever questioned the decisions that our Orders made, or the missions that they assigned to us. I understood that the pairing system was something of a trial system, but even then, shovels and shields? Understandably, this confusion, as well as the bullishness to which we approached our respective duties, led to a lot of arguments early in our partnership.

One particular day, in which we were busy travelling to the frozen wastes of the south in search of a lost contingent of Order of the Shovel, we were having one of these arguments.

"I just don't get it. Why do you use a shovel? Why not a sword?"

Once again, Shield Knight was questioning my choice of weapon.

"Oh, Shield Knight, you fool" I responded, my patience already thin from the constant questioning of my glorious shovel. "Swords can only do so much. With my trusty shovel, I can dispatch all my enemies with ease, and more! The wide blade allows me to deflect projectiles and inflict blunt force trauma for less pressing foes…"

"…And dig things" Shield Knight interrupted. I looked across to her as we were walking; her glazed eyes showed that she was unimpressed. Personally, I didn't seem very impressed with her shields. All defence, no offence.

"All defence, no offence" I said to her, my thoughts literally coming out of my mouth. "How are you supposed to dispatch of foes when all you can do is hide? Doesn't seem very knightly to me"

"Do not disrespect me, Shovel Knight" Shield Knight warned with a sigh. "The Order of the Shield would not take your comments lightly…nor would I"

"I'm very scared…not"

"We'll see, Shovel Knight. We'll see"

Mildly annoyed, we walked in silence for a while. But I couldn't resist. Shield Knight having the last word bothered me. It always bothered me.

"I don't see what your problem is" I said to her, still walking through the wooded forest around us. As I gazed up to the sparse canopy above, I chose my words carefully. "It was not my choice that I was to be positioned with you to do our Orders' bidding. I am simply following my oaths and giving my service. Why does this warrant constant mocking from you?"

"Well I could ask you the same, Shovel Knight" Shield Knight argued back. "You do not spare your words when your criticise my use of shields, despite the fact that you have seen me fight with them. Successfully, I might add. Therefore, good sir, your words about my Order and weapons of choice are also ill-warranted"

An awkward silence hung among us. I stopped for a minute and glared at Shield Knight through my helmet. My blood boiled a little, as it always would when an argument broke out, and I wondered whether I should just clobber the girl with my shovel and say she got lost once the mission had been complete. No doubt, she stood and glared at me with her frosty eyes, wondering whether I could be done away with just as easily. We both stared at each other, trying to win this wordless face-off.

Eventually, I gave up. We weren't going to complete this mission by staring at each other. I continued to walk on past her, and before long, she followed. Every argument ended like this. I begun to wonder whether we would ever have an argument that would go past the 'icy stare' stage.

Before long, the sun was hiding away behind the mountains, taking all its light with it. Blue skies became black clouds dimmed the moonlight, shedding us no light on our path. It was time to stop for the night.

"I'll go collect some wood, you find some flint to start a fire with"

I am incredibly accustomed to sleeping in the woods; inns are nice, but there is nothing better than living and resting upon the land that bore me. The many cold nights I have slept under the stars always brought me close to Mother Nature and her endless beauty. It was the part of the day I could always cherish.

Unfortunately Shield Knight didn't share the sentiment. Ever since day one, she huffed away every time we had to set up the campfire. She was excellent at hunting, throwing her small shield like a discus of sorts, snaring her prey and bringing a variety of different animals to the campfire to cook and eat. Despite it, she never really did it with a smile, or great enthusiasm. In contrast, I would throw all my energy and give my greatest jaunty run in striking hefty branches from their trees and carrying them back to the campsite. I made great fires: tall, warm and accommodating. My best ones were able to keep their heat until the daybreak of the next morning.

It sounds like I had a nightmare with Shield knight thus far, but surprisingly, once the food had been cooked and the campfire established, things always seemed to calm down a little between us, and we were able to talk and share stories of our pasts. Myself, a veteran knight of the Order of the Shovel. Shield Knight, a new recruit of the Order of the Shield. As we sat eating our food (I always slipped mine through the slit of my helmet, nobody would dare see my face!), we engaged in one of our long, more civil conversations about our lives.

"…So I was the highest ranking new recruit from the Order of the Shield's new batch of soldiers" Shield Knight explained, biting into her cooked boar. Swallowing, she continued as I listened on intently. "You can imagine at the very beginning that I got a lot of stick for being a girl. But once they armed me and put me in a ring with the rest of them, they didn't stand a chance. There's one thing you learn about being discriminated all your life, and that's to get a tough skin and rock hard determination. I never give up unless I absolutely have to"

"You are rather the exception" I said. "I personally feel women have the same potential as men in terms of combat. I believe the Order of the Shovel could benefit greatly from female recruits. But the stigma is just too great these days; so many women are scared to sign up as recruits. I've been in the Order for five years now, and it's disheartening to see that of all of my superiors are men"

"One day…" Shield Knight murmured quietly as she looked up to the sky. "One day, when I'm able to scale the ranks of the Order of the Shield, I hope to be an inspiration for the women of my community to sign up. It's not impossible"

"You are an inspiration, my fellow knight" I applauded. Shield Knight was very vocal of her gender, and her views were considered very modern in terms of gender equality. Thankfully, I was raised in a very socially modern family myself, therefore I agreed with every word she said. Even if she was annoying in the day. "I am certain you will make a good role model; however you have a long way to go. Remember, you are my protégé"

Shield Knight begun to snigger to herself. "Keep dreaming" she said to me, a slight hint offence in her voice. "I may be newer to this than you, but I can hold my own. I've been practicing with shields since I was a little girl"

It wasn't because she was a girl that I felt more superior; I just am, I suppose. However, to mould this young knight in my image was a tasty prospect. To hear her boast about besting me in combat was laughable. Laughable, I say!

"We shall see about that" I replied.