Two weeks before shooting was supposed to begin, James turned up at the studio for training. He paused outside the door and watched, awed, at two knights in full armor jousting in the distance. On closer examination, one knight was much smaller than the other, but both were riding full tilt.
A groan and a cheer rose up when the smaller knight’s lance knocked the other knight off his horse, and then a whole cadre of horse wranglers were in the middle of the jousting grounds, soothing the horses.
“Well?” one of the producers - Simon - asked.
The smaller knight hopped off the horse, tugged off the bucket-like helmet - and shook out long, dark, curly hair.
“It’s sturdy enough,” she said. “You’ve chosen a good smith. Now you just have to make it period, hm?”
James could only stare. The victorious knight was a girl? Sure, James had read his fair share of historical fiction novels with their anachronistic heroines, but that was fiction. To actually see a girl win a jousting bout was unreal. James narrowed his eyes, shaded his gaze to see better. Something about the girl was oddly familiar.
Simon spotted him. “James! There you are. Just in time - come meet our combat coordinator.”
James trotted over, curious. As he drew closer, his memory stirred, and he realized that he recognized the girl. “Asia Kash,” he said.
Simon raised his eyebrows. “You know each other?”
A smile blossomed on Asia’s face. “James Mallory! I’d heard a DC boy had been cast as a principal, but I never thought it’d be you.”
“I thought if I saw anyone from my DC days around here it’d be your brother, not you.” James grinned back at her, feeling something warm bloom in his chest.
“Tobias has a gig teaching drama to wayward youth,” Asia said. “The one who made it in the business is me.”
James clapped her on the shoulder. He said to Simon, “Her brother was my roommate at drama school. We know each other well.”
“Good,” Simon said. “She’s going to be teaching you how to wield a sword.”
Asia grinned up at him. “Prince you may play, but under my tutelage, you are Page Mallory until further notice.”
James cast her an appraising look. “That’s not the first time someone’s called me that,” he said.
(389 words)
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