I Will Be the Greatest Knight
Chapter 122: A New Phase

Chapter 122: A New Phase

As she rushed out of her room, she made a point to try and avoid the apprentices she normally spent her time with. It was lucky they were in the innards of the Duke’s Tower that day and stuck in the dark armory. That meant they were unlikely to cross paths.

Since the most noise she could hear of others was in the dining hall, Irene burst through the doors and went right to the kitchen where they were all preparing for supper.

The very person she hoped to find was cutting up potatoes on a wooden board and Irene didn’t hesitate to run up to her.

"Agnes," she called to the other girl desperately and out of breath considering she had run all that way while hurting. "I need your help."

Ingrid and Agnes exchanged a look.

Since they were both aware of the girl’s secret, Ingrid nodded. They had more than enough hands in the kitchen anyway.

The teenager put away her paring knife and she wiped her hands on a cloth that she tossed in a basket as she was practically dragged out of the kitchen.

"What is it, Iro?" she wondered.

"I began my monthly cycle," she confessed. "I bled all over my bed."

Agnes’s mouth hung open for a moment but she managed to pull herself together and place her hands on the smaller girl’s shoulders.

"Let us go to the maid’s quarters upstairs then we will replace the bedding on your bed and I will take care of it," Agnes assured her.

"That isn’t all," Irene admitted. "I must return to my hometown. In my culture, there is something I must do within a week of my bleeding."

Agnes’s eyebrows rose further but she wasn’t going to say anything against someone’s culture. Other concerns were prevalent in her mind.

"You will ride all that way in the snow?" she asked.

"I have ridden in the snow before," Irene persisted.

"Shouldn’t you take a knight with you?" Agnes wondered. "Even one of the apprentices."

"I can’t tell them why I need to rush home," she persisted. "All I need is for you to tell Sir Gunnar that there was an emergency and I must return home. I will be back before the Royal Family is set to arrive." Irene slumped and she pleaded through both words and expression. "Please, Agnes."

The teenager sighed but she nodded.

"I will do it," she responded. "Now we must make haste."

Throwing caution to the wind, Agnes grabbed Irene’s hand and practically dragged her out the side door and up the external stairs that would bring them to the maids’ quarters. They rushed down the hallway together and Agnes went to one of the storage closets where rags that were meant for the monthly bleeding were stored.

"Rags are always here," she explained. "I will be sure to bring you new ones every so often."

"Thank you," Irene responded. "I owe you so much, Agnes."

The maid merely shook her head as she stored some of the rags in the pockets of her apron and she also grabbed bedding for the apprentice’s bed.

"We must go to your room now," she persisted.

Irene agreed and they went on quickly.

However, as they made their way across the practice yard and had their backs towards the Duke’s Tower. They didn’t see Felix leaving the basement that led down to the armory, or the peeved expression that appeared when he witnessed the girl he had given his heart to practically dragging one of their apprentices towards the barracks.

He knew that Iro would call him a jealous moron if he said something, but it didn’t stop the feeling that something was off when it came to Iro and Agnes.

Considering it had been over a week since Iro even hardly acknowledged him, he couldn’t imagine what the younger apprentice would do if he pressed the situation further.

It seemed that the misery he experienced would just have to be locked away until it couldn’t anymore.

When Irene and Agnes were finally in the barrack, Agnes saw that the girl had already stripped her bed and cleaned up what she could. All the maid was tasked with was making the bed and putting the old bedding in a pile in such a way that all evidence of blood was hidden. She would have to deliver it to the washing area herself so that everyone would think it was hers rather than the truth.

Meanwhile, Irene began to get her saddlebags together.

The trip to her family’s home was something she could do all night if she had to. The winter sky was going to be clear since all the snow had fallen. The cloudless sky would have to illuminate her way until she got to the inn at the midway point between the Duke’s Tower and her family’s home.

When Irene pulled the saddlebags over her shoulder, Agnes was already waiting by the door.

"Does this mean you’re off, then?" the maid asked. "You should wear this rag first otherwise you won’t make it far. I will teach you how to wear it but then the rest is up to you. I’m sure your mother will be able to teach you how to clean it once you arrive."

That thought in itself horrified Irene. Her mother was likely going to have to help her with this issue and she had been so cold to her when she was visiting.

In mere minutes, Agnes taught Irene everything she would need to know until she could talk to her mother.

However, before the girl could leave, she turned to the younger woman.

"Actually, you do owe me," Agnes insisted. "My helpfulness has earned me an answer."

The older girl’s smile was sweet and Irene felt she had to give in.

"What is the question?" Irene asked cautiously.

"Is Iro your real name?" she asked a question she had been dying to for ages.

"It’s Irene," Irene responded with a laugh.

"That suits you much more," Agnes admitted. "Godspeed. I will tell Sir Gunnar the situation when you have quite the head start."

"Thank you so much," Irene said, not for the first time since she was in the other girl’s presence.

It occurred to her that when Sir Gunnar heard, he might possibly go after her. However, since most of the knights were gone for the season, he might not want to leave the apprentices with only Sir Sven and Sir Phillip. She dreaded the outcome but knew what she had to do.

With that, Irene snuck her way to the stables and came up with a shabby excuse as to why she needed her horse. It had to be a consistent reason as the one Agnes would give to Sir Gunnar.

With a claim that she had a family emergency, Irene was given her horse and she was off to a cold and perilous journey. But, despite the cold, the back aches and fatigue were far worse.

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