Colette's Covenant

The Lady and the Knight

The Lady and the Knight

"Make way! Coming through!"

"Woh!"

"Ah!"

"Hey! Colette! Stop running like that!"

"Sorry!" Colette shouted the apology over her shoulder. Not really looking at who was yelling at her anymore. She had used to stop, a long time ago now. She had made sure to use names even when she stopped stopping. Lately, however, she didn't even bother anymore.

Honestly, at this point, the people of her hometown were more than used to her running like a madwoman through town. Her gran liked to say that she learned to run first and never slowed down to figure out how to walk.

Colette was laughing as she sprinted down the street that led up to her house on the tallest hill. South Gate, the town where she had been born and raised, was a series of hills interconnected with low valleys. People all tended to live on the hills because that was where ships would dock. The valleys usually weren't livable since most of them were split by deep fissures in the earth. Wooden and stone bridges connected them all. The largest hill was connected to the second largest by a wide, natural stone bridge with a well-worn path that Colette was aiming towards.

She lived on the largest hill. Her best friend lived and worked on the second largest. Which meant going to visit him involved a bit of a hike. And why walk when she could run?

Her long blonde hair, loosely bound in a slightly messy braid, was trailing behind her, bouncing with each step, in time with the thick leather belt around her waist. It was made creamy brown leather, with golden studs and gently whirling designs, meant to hold her sheath and sword. Just at the moment, it was empty though.

Colette dashed around and between people going about their day. Most of them were used to her running and just quickly got out of her way. A few, unlucky citizens either didn't see her coming or forgot to move out of the way and she barely dodged them. Those were usually the ones crying out to her.

Unlike all the women in skirts that she was bypassing, Colette tended to dress in men's clothes. Men's clothes that she often altered herself to make more feminine. The tall, calf high boots were masculine; the whirling designs imprinted into the leather were very feminine. The breeches tucked into them were masculine; the buckles on the sides were feminine. The oddly metallic shirt she wore as a top should have been very masculine; but the way she designed and curved it to her figure made it only feminine. It honestly didn't even appear metal by the way it moved almost like fabric.

It also left her arms mostly bare, except for the short leather braces she wore with lengths of metal hidden inside for defense. Because of her habit of running around outside a great deal, her face and her arms were covered in bright little freckles. A couple of golden rings adorned her wrists, a pair of earrings studded her lobes.

She dressed like a man, and still managed to look completely like a woman.

Colette didn't slow down as she crossed the land bridge. If anything, she got faster because the route opened up for her. The second hill was steeper than the biggest hill and led up to the largest pier. It was the most popular trade area, so most people on this hill tended to be craftsmen.

Near the lower part of the hill, almost not even on the hill itself, her friend's smithy was in full operation. The forge was spilling out heat even despite the fact that it only had one wall, the rest of the ceiling being held up by support columns. There were two young men inside, keeping the forge lit and fetching errands for the blacksmith. His apprentices, both of them.

The blacksmith himself, her best friend since childhood, was busy hammering something against an anvil as she approached.

"Ferrant!" Colette yelled, throwing herself bodily over the front counter. The apprentice piecing together chain mail wasn't even upset. That was how she usually entered, despite the fact that the counter didn't even go around the full length of the smithy.