Summer Month: 2 
Day 
Knox
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When the clatter of the carriages didn’t start up for some time, Knox opened his eyes, looking around. He got off his horse, his boots hit the cobblestone with a clunk. He patted the beast's neck and went off to find the problem. He found three coachmen around the luggage cart, whispering among themselves like it was gossip hour. “What seems to be the problem?” The man asked, seeming to startle the three. Surely they had heard him coming up behind them? He wasn’t trying to be quiet, and the tapping of his boots was always a dead giveaway as well as the sound of his sword hitting his leg as he strolled along. On guard duty, he didn’t carry his sword, only when he was in his Knights uniform. The polished brass handle shown in the early morning sun, glittering like a treasure that one would find washed up on the beach.
“I’m so sorry Sir, but it appears that there is a defect with his wheel.” One said, stepping out of the way to let him see. Knox crouched down, his sword hitting the ground with an uncomfortable scraping noise. He glanced to the right to find Ange looking at it as well. One of the wells was cracked. “Well that is no good, now is it?” He asked, standing up. He gave the head maid a small nod. He had never spoken to her before Arno had by chance run right into his arms, but now he thought quite fondly of the small woman. She was friendly, and that was hard to find among the palace. Most maids were more interested in squawking like old hens in the hen house rather than doing their job or being kind to the guards. She was a good person to be accompanied by.
“Do you know how to fix the wheel?” Knox asked, returning his attention to the coachmen. “No Sir.” All three said in unison. What kind of coachmen were working for the Crown? “We simply drive them, there is no need for us to fix them.” One spoke up upon seeing the disappointment shadowing Knox’s blue eyes. The knight sighed and tapped his foot. “Well, you are in luck. I used to fix carriages for a living.” It was partly true. Before he turned 18 to come and work for the Crown he had a job fixing carriages for the townspeople. He had done it for two years to save up to afford the guard school’s rate. Growing up on a farm where what they grew and butchered was their food for the year, and whatever money they got went to one pair of shoes per person per year or fabric for clothes, and maybe gloves or a scarf if they were lucky. While all of the other children went to school just to complain about it, Knox and his siblings were working by the time they were ten, worn out by the labor by the time they were just fifteen.
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Knox stared at the spare wheels behind the barn, trying to figure out what size. Once he determined it, he rolled it back to the carriages at the front of the palace. The old wheel was to be discarded for firewood, and the new one leaned against the carriage. He removed his cape and rolled up his white sleeves to his elbow, getting started on attaching the wheel. It wasn’t terribly hard nor too time consuming, and the party was lucky that the coachmen had caught it so early on. It would be much harder to replace on the road, especially in the middle of nowhere.
He was on his knees, hammering the wheel onto the axle, his breeches now covered in dust that had come off the carriage as he hammered it. Once it was one, and sturdy the man handed off the hammer and nodded. “There we go. Not too hard.” He said with a smile towards the coachmen. “Thank you Ange.” He said, swinging his cape over his shoulder and lacing it back up. The black fabric laid over his white shirt, covering the soot stains on his left arm from brushing against the axle when he had checked to make sure it was intact.
His steed was still standing where the knight had left him. The horse nickered at him as the man approached, ears flicked forwards. The grey horse was a sight to see, and not too many people had guessed that he’d been born on the man's family farm instead of inside the imperial stables. The large horse was well muscled and fit, and clearly well cared for, his white mane in button braids. He mounted the horse from the ground, and took his spot at the back once again. The carriages clattered as they lurched forwards and Knox followed behind at a walk until they were off the cobblestone. As the carriages picked up pace, so did Orega.
The party trotted through the woodland, the leaves dead on the forest floor. The knight was surveying the forest around them, looking for any movement that could be thieves. Pesky buggers they were. “Sir Knox!” A guard called out from the carriage, “The Prince is asking for you. He wants to know about the stall on departure.” The knight nodded and moved the horse up to a collected canter to catch up with the Prince’s canter. They went around the luggage carriage, the magnificent horse blowing air out from his nostrils, tossing his head, wanting to go faster. The beast got light on his front end, putting his weight on the rear and jumping forwards. “Easy.” Knox said, trying to calm the hot horse.
Upon reaching the Prince’s carriage, Knox slowed from the canter to a calmer trot, the horse's tail swishing with anticipated excitement to go faster. “Prince, you asked for me?” Knox asked, giving the man a warm, lopsided smile that he was trying to fight. He noticed Ange’s grim expression and the other maids' excitement shone through their eyes. He hadn’t met the other maids aside from Ange, and it would be interesting to see what their personalities would grow to be in this adventure. He caught the small shakes of Ange’s head as she crossed her arms at the Prince and looked the other direction, something clearly upsetting her. “Unbelievable.” He caught her mumbling to herself. He noticed the mystery book in Arno’s lap, a sting of jealousy rang through him. He had never learned to read, and he was pretty sure that none of the maids had learned either. Arno was the phoenix among the regular birds in the party, and it was clear from how the maids gazed longingly at the book.
Knox’s smile disappeared to a smaller smile, the one that everyone saw. “Is everything alright your Highness?” He questioned, taking his reins in one hand to pat his horse who was calming down. As his gloved hand stroked the beast, his neck arched in excitement much like a stud’s would, even though Orega wasn’t a stud. He snorted and shook his head, ears perked forwards, chewing the bit in his mouth. Knox’s eyes traveled past Arno to watch Ange as she gazed out her window, her own gaze distant, head resting on her hand. Every once in a while she would glance at Arno. Knox assumed that Arno would be getting chewed out after he fell back into his position at the back. The Knight had a feeling of what this was about. “I am so sorry Your Highness about how long it took to depart.” Knox gave him a small dip of his head, “There was a defect with one of the wheels on the luggage carriage that had to be taken care of before we got stranded somewhere at nightfall in a dangerous part of the woodland. He gave the Prince an apologetic look, glancing at the sleeping maid as her small whistling snores filled the cab. That was going to be a fun trip for the rest of the group stuck in there with her.
The knight found it hard to hear Arno from the wind rushing past his ears, taking Arno’s voice with it. His eyebrows knitted together as he stared at him, trying to figure out what the Prince was saying. “I am so sorry sir, would you mind repeating that?” He asked, nudging his horse sideways, closer to the carriage. Once he was as close as he could safely be, he leaned down, trying to get his ear as close to the man as he could without his horse taking off on him. “I’m sorry, can you repeat that one more time?” He asked, finally in a spot where he could hear over the wind that rushed by.
