Hope (Knights of Av'lor - Book 1)

Chapter 15

Kathryn spoke to hundreds of people that night before she sat next to Hal at one of the tables to begin the actual eating at the feast. The meal consisted of a dark meat in a savory wine sauce, roast chicken rubbed with herbs, some type of vegetable with the texture of cooked carrots, flaky pastries filled with green vegetables, and an odd soup consisting of cooked fruit.

She could only eat one spoonful of the appalling soup. It tasted like warm orange juice with bits of some other sweet and unidentifiable Av'lorish fruits. Dessert consisted of more pastries, but filled with fruit or spiced jelly. The feast concluded with drinking and dancing. She loved to dance, but was too wary doing so in front of so many strangers. After seven hours, she left to return to her room.

Two days after the feast marked the first official day of their knightly duties. A typical day in the Knighthood consisted of weapon training, flight training, magical development and history. The weapon training was similar to their initial training, but they had Hook—a burly knight with both his hands, so she had no idea how he got his name—as their weapons master. He was a gruff teacher, but when they did something right, he let them know it. He was the kind of person who saw people's potential and focused on that rather than focusing on the things they were doing wrong.

"I know you're all nervous, but there's only one way to learn," Hook's voice boomed above the wind.

They stood in a row upon the wall of the inner courtyard with the wind at their backs facing the training area. The ground was thirty feet below. Hook had told them to just jump and glide to safety. Yeah. Right. She told herself just to think about not having to buy any more plane tickets, but she couldn't help picturing someone scraping her body off the ground.

"Well, Lady Kathryn, it looks like you have the honor of going first."

"Me? Why me, sir?" She was in the middle of the group and nowhere near the end where he would normally start.

"You're the only one who seems excited to do this."

Excited? The thought of not having a railing to hold onto while looking down upon the courtyard made her weak in the knees. How did he expect her to leap off the wall if she didn't know how to use her wings? Her wings didn't seem strong enough to hold her weight, much less that of her armor.

"I think maybe someone else should go first. I don't think my wings are strong enough to hold the weight of my armor." She inched back a step.

"Nonsense. Your wings are a part of you now and they have a magic of their own. They'll keep you aloft if only you let them. The first time is the hardest."

Magic wings. They had to be safer than a parachute. Parachutes could malfunction, or fall off, but her wings were part of her now. How hard could it be? Just extend them and flap.

"Shit. Well, no guts, no glory," she mumbled to herself. Standing up straight, she looked at Hook. "Okay. Should I angle my wings a certain way? Is there some advice you can offer a first-timer?"

He stepped forward and extended his wings. "Everything depends upon how fast you want to go. You should always keep your wings tilted so that the flat area is parallel to the ground. If you fly upright, with your feet aiming at the ground, you won't have as much speed. This is the ideal position for hovering when you're in formation during a battle. Your wings' magic will keep you aloft. Now, if you need speed, then you want to have your legs extended behind you. This will allow the least wind resistance and increase your maneuverability. I would recommend the upright position for your first attempt."