Estelle keenly observed the young Lord fall to the ground, landing on his back. Prince Regent Arthur Pendragon, stood above him, his training sword held against the young man's neck.

"Dead."

From the otherside of the feild she watched him roll his eyes to the heavens in exasperation, throwing his arms wide as he called to the small assembly of men, all there to try their lot at becoming a knight of Camelot.

"Is there none amongst you whom could put up a fight?! Have all the Ladies in Camelot come to try their luck?" He taunted the group. The men had the decency to look ashamed and bashful. That was her que.

"Well I don't know about all the ladies in Camelot, but I have." Estelle stepped onto the feild, only breifly glancing in the direction of the sweaty, tired men, dressed in fine, quality mail. Despite the recent knighting of the common born men whom had helped reclaim the kingdom, the rules about becoming a knight of Camelot had not actually changed, and the group gather to face trail against the Royal were all nobal born, and naturally, men.

She stopped before the Prince Regent, dressed in nothing special, trousers and a tunic, a belt to keep her pants in place, and bowed deeply.

"Prince Regent Arthur Pendragon." Estelle remained bowed, well aware the following silence was evidence of the Prince's bewilderment. "I know the laws well, and I do not wish to become a knight, nor do I seek any title or glory. I humbly ask that you might allow me to train amongst your lowest ranks." She stood, finally taking in the surprise on the man's face, his brows furrowed, his lips slightly parted. She dared not look around, for fear of losing her nerve.

"I understand it is not done, and has never been done, but as a woman I simply desire a way to protect myself. This world can be a dangerous place, unfortunately even more so for a woman." Estelle mentally crossed her fingers, and held her head high, her hands behind her back as she forced herself not to fidget under the gaze of not just the Prince, but so many other onlookers. They scrutinised her, their judgement stale and heavy. It felt like forever before the Regent spoke. He cleared his throat,

"You are right, it is not done, nore has it ever been." He looked Estelle up and down, assessing, really seeming to study her. She tried not to move or show how anxious she was.

"But I suppose there is a first for everything." The crowd of Lord's burst into outraged disagreement, stumbling over each other's words to complain and protest. The new men that Prince Arthur had knighted not long ago, were loitering nearby, training amongst themselves, but even they had stopped to watch on, though they did not seem to show an protest at the Regents words.

"Have you had any training?"

"Only self taught. I spend as much time as I can observing your training sessions, but one can only learn so much from afar." Estelle was near giddy with anticipation, hoping this meant she would finally get the chance to learn, to become strong.

"Indeed." He stated with a deeply set frown.

"You may dual me. If you win, I will allow you to train amongst my men." Prince Arthur paused as the uproar from the onlookers drowned out his voice. He gave the men a pointed glare.

"Silence!" The group grumbled unhappily but slowly quietened. Estelle grinned.

"But, you will start from the bottom, with the squires, and work your way up, should you be able." He emphasised the should, as he raised a brow at her in question. She was practically bouncing now as she nodded vigorously, rocking on her toes as she clutched her fingers together, grinning giddily behind her hands.

"Of course I can give you no title, and you will be required to look after the equipment, just like the rest. Do agree?" The Prince finished as they finally met eyes. Estelle lowered her hands and bowed before snapping back up, quick enough to give her a head rush.

"Yes! I agree." He nodded and he turned, gesturing to his manservant, a lanky, dark haired, man, with big, blue eyes, and even bigger ears.

"Merlin! Bring her a training sword!" The young man scurried to a nearby barrow, loaded with the remaining blades, grabbing one before running it out to the woman. Estelle gratefully took it from him, assessing its weight and feel in her palms as she thanked him.

"What is your name?" Prince Arthur asked as he took a step back, shifting his feet apart as he adjusted his grip on the hilt of his sword.

"Estelle, Sire." She mimicked his movements and sunk into position oppisite him. She was a mirror image, and to the wiser onlookers, it was clear she'd indeed been watching during training, and long enough to have Arthur's own body language down to a 'T'.

"Well Estelle, I wish you luck." He nodded to her with an open and honest face, and her giddiness finally settled into something like hope, and perhaps pride.

Someone rang the bell, and even turned the sand timer Arthur used to gage how long his supposed opponents could last. The pair circled each other slowly, Estelle mirroring Arthur's every step in perfect formation. He watched her keenly for a moment, before he experimently struck. He stepped forward and swung, not to hard, but definitely not weakly, he truly wished to assess her, and give her a fair chance.

Yes women were not permitted to learn to fight, but her argument held some ground, and he indeed saw her logic and wished to understand her plight. If he could help the women of his kingdom to feel safer by teaching them to defend and protect themselves, perhaps Estelle deserved to learn alongside his men.

Estelle met his blow with a swift block, her bones practically vibrating at the force of it. She deflected and attempted a strike. It was poorly executed and the King quickly deflected her as they crowed each other. Quickly discovering her lack of skill she shuffled backwards, keeping her feet about her and her blade up, creating space between them and drawing them to step in circles once more.

He came at her again and she managed to blocked the first strike, but missed the second. The Prince quickly stepped into her space and swiftly disarmed her.

Estelle held her hands up, conceding the match with a grin as wide as the one she'd started with, the Regents blade a breath from her heaving chest. Arthur lowered his sword and furrowed his brows as the bell dinged.

"Why do you smile so? You have lost. You will not get your chance to train." He questioned her in confused curiosity, as he watched her bend and retrieve her training blade from the grass.

"Obismily yes." She chuckled as she swept a group of stray hairs back behind her ear, her breathing beginning to slow back down.

"But I learnt." The Prince's eyes lightened and his lips quirked slightly at the edges as he let her continue. "I learnt that despite practising every move and stance to a perfect form, it means nothing if you do not know when to use them." She glanced down at the high quality training blade, gripped between both her hands.

"And that your swords are actually lighter than mine." Arthur lost the fight against his grin as he smiled back at the woman. "Significantly better quality too." He chuckled and shook his head. He had never before met a woman quite like Estelle. She reminded him of Morgana, before everything had gone horribly wrong. He forced the thought away. She also reminded him a little of Gwen.

"It would have been an honour to study under you." She looked off into the distance and raised a single brow. "Plus a group of undercover female spies working for the crown, would have been kick ass." Arthur out right laughed and she chuckled along with him.

"Just imagine! Spies are supposed to be undetectable, and who is more overlooked and underestimated then women. Who can earn the trust of others with a simple smile, and bat of her eyelashes can get a Lady just about anywhere. We are well versed in the art of secrecy and distraction." She cupped her mouth with one hand and leant forward slightly, as though it were some big secret. The Prince laughed once more.

"What? It's true!" Estelle protested light-heartedly, slipping her hand into her tunic collar to retrieve the warm metal from a layer of her binding.

"I mean, you certainly didn't notice this?" She let the gold drop from her suspended palm, the chain wrapped around one finger as the ring swung back and forth. Arthur furrowed his brows before he froze in recognition. His smile dropped. He flung his hand to his chest, tanned fingers finding his mother's ring, a recently discovered and deeply precious heirloom, gone from its new resting place.

Estelle's face softened and she held it out to him. Stiffly Arthur rose his hand to meet it, letting the necklace drop into his palm.

"Sorry, it must be special." He stared down at the gold in his still outstretched hand, as she tilted her head and softened her eyes, apologetically.

"I new there was no chance I could outlast the timer, let alone defeat you. I thought it was the only way I might show you my potential." When Arthur did not instantly answer, but instead took the chain and once more clasped it around his neck, a pit formed in the woman's stomach. Perhaps she had taken it too far. Perhaps she had too quickly assumed the future Prince's open-mind.

Arthur dragged his eyes up to meet Estelle's. Her mouth turned down in worry as she fidgeted with the hilt of the sword. She dared not look away, fearing she'd already disrespected him so greatly. Finally he turned from her.

"Estelle will begin training with the squires. You will treat her with the same respect you treat each other. You will be fair, and if hear otherwise, you will answer to me, directly."