Inside of a large home, a young girl was sitting at the table. She looked no older than 10, and sat directly next to her Mother.
They were sitting with straight backs, acting proper and nice while they ate very small and basic salads.
At the other end of the table, the girl’s Father was surrounded by 12 other boys, the oldest in his early 20s, while the youngest was 12 years old.
They were loud, obnoxious, and didn’t worry about being proper.
The young girl tried to move closer to them, but her Mother pulled her back.
“Charlotte, you know you aren’t supposed to spend too much time with your brothers. They’re savages. You are a lady.” Her Mother said in French.
Charlotte looked down at her salad as she ate.
Then she looked at the entire pig carcass sitting on the table in front of all the boys. It had been completely cooked, and they were eating every single piece of it.
Charlotte quietly sighed and went back to picking at the pieces of green lettuce.
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Later that day, Charlotte was standing outside while holding a large book in her arms. Inside was musical notation and lyrics written underneath.
She was singing the piece Deum Verum, which was normally sung by male monks in the cathedral.
As she sang, her Mother balanced a small pile of heavy books on her head.
Charlotte stood with as straight of a back as she could, singing in a high tone despite the notation being a few octaves lower.
Charlotte looked out as she sang, watching as all 12 of her brothers and her Father were practicing sword fighting, doing military drills, and whatever else they could think of doing.
Charlotte watched as she kept singing, her eyes no longer looking at the large book but watching the boys do something that seemed so fun.
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Charlotte was laying in her bed, the only bed that had a room all to itself.
The Father and Mother slept together in a small bed, cuddled together closely. Meanwhile all 12 boys had to huddle together in a room that was more like a barracks, beds so tight together it was hard to move without hitting one.
Charlotte was staring up at the ceiling, her hands holding each other as she hummed softly to herself.
She closed her eyes, but all she could dream about was practicing combat. Practicing how to use the sword and shield.
Charlotte couldn’t help herself anymore.
She got up from her bed, very quietly making her way out of her room. She quietly made her way down the old wooden stairs, stepping over the weakest ones to prevent noise.
She made it to the ground floor, and then quietly made her way outside through a backdoor to the home.
She walked out onto the nice and soft grass with bare feet.
It was one of the only homes inside the kingdom walls with a sizeable yard, a very small wooden fence creating the perimeter.
Charlotte made her way over to the 13 sets of military practice gear.
Basic wooden armor and helmets, a wooden practice sword and shield, and even bows that were only to practice pulling the string back.
Charlotte lifted up her Father’s practice sword, which was larger than all of the others. She struggled to hold it in the right position, the weight being so much for her. She groaned and seemed upset that she couldn’t use the biggest sword, so she dropped it and went to the next smallest, the sword of her oldest brother.
It was still too large and heavy.
Charlotte made her way down to every sword, finally stopping on the last one.
It was just the right size and weight, allowing Charlotte to move it around freely. She was able to strike poses and stances that took her brother’s years to learn and master, but she was nailing it every time on the first try.31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcWCQfcB5nV
Charlotte was softly laughing to herself, enjoying how she felt as she swung the sword around with ease.
“Charlotte.”
Her Father’s voice made her jump and drop the sword to the ground, staring forward to see her Father walking over from the open doorway with his arms crossed.
“You’re lucky that I am the one who caught you and not your Mother.” He said.
Charlotte looked disappointed and slightly afraid, but also couldn’t help but crack a smile.
“You look good though. Perfect form. If only your brother’s were that good.” He said in a warm and joking tone as he picked up the practice sword.
Charlotte smiled and looked up at the night sky, seeing all of the stars twinkling.
“I’ll tell you what. If you can keep your Mother happy and distracted with you learning how to be a proper lady, I’ll convince her to let me train you like I do your brothers. Deal?” He said as he held his hand out.
Charlotte’s eyes and face lit up before she shook his hand firmly.
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“Deal.”
Charlotte’s voice was more mature and slightly deeper, now she was a teenager wielding her own wooden practice sword.
Her old brother, who was now in his late 20s, laughed loudly as he shook her hand.
“Don’t be so confident Timothee. She started well above you, and she’s only gotten better.” Their Father said as he sat on a chair, eating food with his wife reading next to him.
Charlotte gave a playful smirk as her oldest brother backed away.
“But I have been a member of the King’s guard for over a decade. I’m the best knight they have.” He said in a boisterous tone.
“We’ll see.” Charlotte playfully said back.
The two were wielding wooden swords and shields while wearing no armor.
All of the other brothers were watching in a large huddle by their parents.
They were all cheering and chanting for both siblings, laughing and joking as they did.
Timothee charged forward, pretending to stab but then jumping to the side to fake her out, getting into a better position and slashing down with the fake sword.
Charlotte didn’t fall for it, moving very smooth and gracefully out of the way, moving on her toes like a trained ballerina before she playfully shoved her Brother in the back, causing him to tumble forward.
Timothee looked back as Charlotte then bowed, making Timothee smirk while their brothers all cheered.
Their Father had a proud smile on his face, and their Mother couldn’t even watch.
Timothee charged forward again, but once again Charlotte moved out of the way with ease.
Her body was rather muscular, nearly the same definition as her brother despite not being in the army like him. Her legs were incredibly tight with muscles dense enough to break stone.
“Aww, is that all my brother has? Charging forward?” Charlotte teased.
Timothee was beginning to grow angrier, but he was also noticeably trying to keep himself calm.
He went to swing high, but then swung his sword down low.
Charlotte was caught off guard, the sword sweeping her legs out and causing her to spin, but she managed to catch herself and cartwheel back onto her feet with ease.
Timothee swung his wooden sword, but Charlotte bent backwards to avoid it before one of her legs kicked upwards and sent his wooden shield flying high into the air.
Timothee tumbled backwards when Charlotte tossed her own shield at him.
Timothee caught it, but then Charlotte hit a spinning back kick with so much force that the shield shattered into pieces as well as sending Timothee falling backwards onto the ground.
His wooden shield was coming racing down towards him, but Charlotte caught it and slammed it down hard onto his chest, pinning him down before putting her wooden sword against his neck.
Their brothers all erupted in cheering and applause.
Charlotte gave a playful smirk down at her oldest brother before helping him up to his feet.
“Impressive, but you wouldn’t last on the battlefield.” Timothee said.
Their Father walked over while clapping, but then he walked past them to see some guards watching from a distance.
“Can I help you?” He asked.
The guards looked at each other before walking over.
Charlotte and Timothee both swallowed hard, knowing what was about to happen.
“Impressive…” One of the guards started.
“I have to agree.” Their Father replied.
“But a woman should know her place. Teaching her things like that will not help her be a wife, now will they?” The other guard said in a tense tone.
Charlotte felt herself get sick in the stomach, but it only got worse as she felt her Mother walk past her.
“I agree with you, but my husband decided to teach her how to be more like…well him.” She sounded disgusted as she spoke.
Their Father crossed his arms and looked at the guards with partially squinted eyes.
“How about…you let my daughter Charlotte join your army. She’ll be the greatest warrior you’ve ever seen.” He said.
Charlotte’s eyes went wide from excitement while her Mother’s eyes went wide in shock.
“Ha! A woman in the army? What is she going to do, clean our armor? Pleasure us when…”
The guard started, but was interrupted by a wooden practice sword being thrown at them, landing just next to their feet.
“Come in here and find out!” Charlotte shouted.
Her Mother looked very angry and shocked, but her Father had more proud smiles covering his face.
The guard looked at the other guards before picking up the practice sword.
“I’ll do it, but even though you’re a lady I’m afraid I won’t be able to hold back.” The guard said as he jumped over the wooden fence.
“Oh don’t worry, I won’t either.” Charlotte winked and smirked as Timothee went to join his brothers in watching.
Charlotte and the guard stood with a good few feet between them, each gripping the wooden swords tightly.
“You gonna make the first move?” Charlotte playfully asked.
“Ladies first.” The guard replied.
Charlotte shrugged and darted forward.
She moved so quickly and fluidly, the guard lifted the sword up to counterattack, but she had already made her way around him and whacked him hard in the back with the practice sword.
The other guards watching began to laugh as the brothers all cheered.
The guard audibly grunted and looked back at Charlotte, who playfully shrugged.
The guard charged forward, slashing the wooden sword wildly, yet she managed to dodge it every time.
She began to yawn and put her hand to her mouth as she dodged, tripping the guard and causing him to fall face down before whacking him softly in the back of his helmet.
“Man, you’re worse than my brother.” She said.
The guard got to his feet, dropping the wooden sword and suddenly pulling out his real steel sword.
Everyone seemed shocked, the other guards preparing to jump the fence. The siblings all looked scared about what was about to happen. Charlotte’s parents both had wide eyes.
“Alright, let’s do it.” Charlotte said, dropping the practice sword.
“Charlotte.” Her Father said rather loudly.
The guard ran forward with the sword, but Charlotte dodged and very quickly grabbed the guard’s arm, using it to flip them over her own body with absolute ease despite them wearing full armor.
Their grip around the sword released and Charlotte caught it in midair as the body slammed hard into the ground.
She pointed the tip of the blade at the soldier’s exposed neck while they were breathing heavily.
“Had enough?” She asked.
The guard slowly got up to his feet as Charlotte flipped the sword with ease and caught the tip of the blade, holding the hilt out to the guard.
The guard took it and put it back into the sheath around his waist, but then suddenly sucker punched Charlotte right in the face.
Charlotte fell back clutching her face as her siblings and Father all ran over, but her Mother stayed put.
The guard got shoved away and left with the other guards as Charlotte pulled her hand away, showing her palm covered in blood.
“Are you alright?” Her Father asked.
“Yeah…I’m fine.” Charlotte replied.31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJ0CdxrRjPn
She got to her feet without any assistance, heading into the home as all of the men stayed put.
Her Mother slowly began to walk over, walking into the home to see her daughter struggling to find something to put against her bleeding nose.
“If you learned how to be a proper lady you would know where it is.” Her Mother said.
Charlotte rolled her eyes as she looked for a rag or sponge to make wet and warm.
“Your daughter has a bloody nose after being punched in the face by a guard she beat in a duel and you still can’t be nice?” Charlotte asked.
Her mother walked over, opening a small cabinet to pull out a bucket full of new water with a rag inside.
She held the rag to Charlotte’s nose, which immediately began to feel better.
“I’d be nice if you would’ve become a lady, not some…whatever you are.” She said.
“The best warrior in the land.” Charlotte joked.
“You’re delusional.” Her Mother replied.
“Even after I did that?” Charlotte asked as she pointed to the yard.
Her Mother sighed, letting Charlotte take the rag and hold it.
Her Mother sat straight with her legs close together. Meanwhile Charlotte had begun to slouch and her legs were spread apart.
“In this world, men and women have roles. Men are the ones who do the big things, like rule as Kings or go have jobs to make money. We have the important job of maintaining the home as well as the men. If ladies didn’t exist, things would just be a chaotic mess.” Her Mother said.
Charlotte softly chuckled. Her Mother gave a soft smile that seemed genuine.
“I may not agree with you doing these things or being this person. But you are my daughter…” She said.
Charlotte smiled as she stared at her Mom, expecting a nice message.
“And I am sorry that I have failed you.” She finished.
Charlotte rolled her eyes and groaned.
“Mother, you didn’t fail me. I simply wanted to do something other than be forced into marriage and staying at home to take care of a man I don’t love or children I don’t want.” Charlotte said.
The last few words seemed to hurt her Mother, who leaned back and gasped.
“Are you saying…” She started.
“I don’t want to have kids. They seem like too much work and pain to deal with.” Charlotte said.
Her Mother had horrified eyes and covered her mouth.
She wanted to say more, but tears began to form before she stood up and quickly made her way upstairs to her room.
Charlotte’s Father entered the home just as his wife went up the stairs in a hurry. He seemed to immediately know what had happened.
“What’d you say this time?” He joked.
Charlotte sighed and softly chuckled.
“I don’t want children.” Charlotte replied.
Her Father walked over to her, seeming unbothered.
“Welp, guess we won’t become grandparents.” He said as he sat in the other chair.
“You have twelve sons.” Charlotte said.
Her Father gave her a look that made her nod her head.
“Fair point.” Charlotte said as she kept holding the rag to her nose.
“How bad is it?” He asked.
Charlotte pulled the rag away to show that most of the blood was gone.
“Nothing too bad. I know you’re tough.” He said as he looked at it.
“Tough enough to join the army?” She asked.
Her Dad sighed, leaning back and breaking eye contact with his daughter.
“We um…we’ll see.” He said as he turned it back.
He gave an uncomfortable smile as Charlotte faked her own.
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