Brina was given her first task as a knight, but also the chance to form her own retinue. And she had thought of just the perfect people for it. Obviously it was her friends from her recruit days, the women who had poured their blood, sweat, and tears alongside her.
There was nothing more valuable than people you could trust at any moment with your life on the line. Brina thought it was fitting to make a difference in a place where it was male dominated. She wanted people she could trust even when they slept outside when camping out for the night. Men could be tempted, and that was something she had raised to the seniority of the order. In fact, it had been raised to Lord Jouse himself for his ruling on the matter. Because she was their first female knight in probably a hundred years, their rules had been unchanged, and it was a valid point.
She protested that she wouldn't choose people inside the order itself because most of them were men. Hence, because of this unprecedented situation, Brina was the first female knight who would have her own retinue of mostly female companions.
They would later on become a famed existence all over the empire as The Knight Sisters of Thornrose. But that was far off in the future.
Anyways, Brina broke the news as she brought with her a letter of recruitment toward the town guard barracks. Most people knew of her there. Well, who wouldn't? They mostly had the same type of work, and as a woman she was the embodiment that most women in the town with martial ambitions aspired to.
Many greeted her as sir. Though she couldn't really justify admonishing it, so it is what it is. She would have preferred to be called as a lady, but her seniors reprimanded her that titles like that were for nobles. Well, she couldn't do more than that with her rank in the order. They had already mostly agreed to grant some privileges for her and to even bend some of the ancient rules to keep up with the unprecedented arrival of one Brina Feldwyn into the strict, unbending Knight Order of Helwind.
So she made compromises as they also did for her. And she wasn't even mad about being called sir, but it made her eyes twitch many times during the first time she roamed outside the Knight Order's own barracks.
Now she arrived at the office of the Commander of the Town Guard of Helwind, Commander Aldric, to have a courtesy call. Well, it was the proper way of doing things, so she did that. After she greeted the commander, she told him of her intentions.
"Sir, I came here today to recruit some fellows from my old platoon. Here are the names of the people I wish to become my own retinue."
Commander Aldric reviewed the names of the people listed. All female, and he knew they were all close. He'd heard of their friendship even back then. Well, it wasn't like he hadn't heard whispers from the knight order about them bending some rules for the first female knight in a hundred years. He understood all of it without even prying into it. But before that, he asked Brina how she was doing at the order.
"I don't mind letting go of some of them, though you would have to speak with their company commander about this. You know of Captain Evereth Harbringer, yes?"
"Yes, sir." Brina smiled as enthusiastically as ever.
"A fair warning, Sir Feldwyn. That man, although lazy as can be, is also very caring for his own people. So unless you can convince him to let go of your friends, then I can't do anything more than that. Anyways, I'll put a stamp of approval here. By the way, how are you faring in the order nowadays, Sir Feldwyn?"
"Ehh, I thought this was going to be easy. Uhhhh, ah well, excuse me, sir. And to answer your question, I'm doing better! It's good that I'm now one step closer to my goal!"
Indeed, Commander Aldric almost raised his eyebrow at the town's newest knight and the first female knight in a hundred years. She doesn't act like those prideful and overtly strict men up there. Will she really be okay? He even questioned himself for a bit. But then he also thought that her personality was going to be a catalyst for many changes, he mused, and it was already changing in more ways than not. It even affected their own recruitments, with more women actually wanting to become guards each year. That day four years ago was an eye-opening opportunity to women that they too could become protectors of Helwind. Anyways, this storm called Brina Feldwyn was a blessing in disguise that would surely change the town in more ways they could still not see.
"Well then, Sir Feldwyn, I hope you never change the way you are."
He gave back the parchment paper with the seal he had stamped on it earlier as an approval for recruitment.
Brina saluted and exited the office. Now for the hard part. Convincing the commander of Helwind's famed Rising Guard Company.
She felt nervous because she had never seen the man up close or spoke to him. She didn't really get a feel for what this man's character was in the few instances she saw him at a distance on the battlefield. But she saw how skilled he was in commanding his forces from a far and even his own set of combat skills were top of the line.
She gulped in resignation. She thought, oh well, she would do her best to convince him no matter what! And she would form the most formidable female squad in the history of Helwind!
She arrived at the company's own quarters. She stood there outside his office. Thankfully they didn't have any missions today that required them to head out of Helwind.
She knocked on the door and opened it as soon as permission was given. She made a small salute in recognition of his authority and seniority over her. Though it wasn't necessary since they fall under different military orders, still she wanted to make a good first impression, you know.
"Speak. I'm so tired right now that I don't want to work or write any of these reports! Ughhh, so annoying. This is why I didn't want to become a commander in the first place. But those hearltess bastards pushed me into this mess!"
He was whining while at the same time continuing with his work.
A contradiction that Brina found amusing, though she didn't show it in her demeanor. Hence she might insult him and be found rude by the commander, and her chance of getting her friends released to her would become marginally low.
She cleared her throat and nerves before speaking.
"Sir, I'm here to formally request that you release the soldiers mentioned in this parchment. I have already gotten the commander's approval for this."
It was the first time Evereth's pen stopped moving. He slowly raised his head and saw a knight in shining armor. He overtly dramatized his way of looking at her as if she was blinding him, even covering his eyes. Well, after that his vision cleared from the haziness, and he saw the knight standing in front of him clad in magic steel armor.
"Oh, a knight. Wait, a female knight! Waiiiit, are you that new female knight I've been hearing about lately?"
His eyes narrowed down, almost squinting at Brina.
"Ah, eh, yes sir, that was me."
Her smile was evident on her face. It was wider than ever. It seems she felt happy being recognized.
And again, all Evereth saw was a beam of bright white smile shining toward his eyes, blinding him even more so than ever. He covered his eyes with his arms, though the room was fairly lit. This dramatization of his was eye-catching. Was this guy's personality like this behind closed doors or was it in public as well?
Well, what the public didn't know was Evereth hated to be in a crowd, so he was mostly never seen in public. He was always, as you could find, hiding in his office or in a bed lazing around. Except for when he was tasked to sortie out with his company. Hence why he particularly hated shining things or, to be exact, things that he found to be an annoyance to him down the road. Especially now, this request was going to give him a headache later on. On one hand, he needed all the manpower he could get, and these recruits, even though they were women, were particularly very skilled. Which commander in his right mind would let go of such valuable soldiers?
Ughh, he was torn apart inside. He was currently staring at the parchment, wondering what to do. Then after some thought, he found a compromise that would satisfy both parties, after what he consisted as an exhausting endeavor called thinking, using all of his remaining and functioning brain power to come up with a splendid plan that he thought would perfectly act as a middle ground for this compromise he was about to propose. Well, more of a gamble, but who was even counting? It was all in his head.
Now he was back to his public persona. A sudden shift of personality as an act. He now became a man with few words, a mysterious entity in his mind that people would like to avoid making conversations with. Stoic, unwavering, and nonchalant.
Brina found this funny, and she now had figured out what kind of a man Evereth Harbringer was. A contradictory person in many ways. He was goofy, aloof, and lazy but also maintained his cool, cold, calculating, and unfazed persona for the public. I think this guy has many imaginations of himself as such, she thought. She found it childish and wondered if her friends knew of his personality.
"Well, Sir Knight, I wouldn't let go of these people if it was up to me. But since the commander has already approved of it, you've put me in a bind. But I've made a compromise. So here is my proposal, how about a match? A friendly match at that. A bet of sorts. Whoever wins would get what the other wants. You want my people, and I also want them. So the victor would be granted their wish. How about that? I will give you them if you win, and if you lose, you will also give up on them."
He had spoken more today than what he had achieved in the few weeks that had passed, it was more than what his normal lazy ways would have permitted.
Now Brina stood there, still musing at their conversation, and she was snapped back to reality. Well, if she was going to take them, then this was fairly a decent way of doing things.
So she nodded and asked, "So what kind of match do you have in mind, sir?"
Evereth breathed a sigh of relief. At least he could get rid of this female knight away from his sight, from his presence, which was already being greatly disturbed.
"How about a duel against me?" He thought it was only fair to do so. It wasn't like he was underestimating Brina. Well, it was not like he had seen her fight. But he thought, even as a man, surely he wouldn't embarrass himself with this, right? Right? And it was against a woman too. It wasn't like he was being misogynistic, though he never spoke of it. It was just that the fundamental biomechanics of a man and a woman's strength greatly differed. That was just the universal truth.
Anyways, Brina's mouth perked up even more. Her smile became even more blinding. She was being underestimated once more. Well, there was nothing she could do about that but prove this commander wrong. She liked the odds of her losing more than winning because she hated losing, and it only fueled her more to become the best version of herself. More than anything, she was fairly competitive. Though she wouldn't take losses to heart, especially friendly matches like this one, this was one in particular that she would need to win.
Her dream of an all-female squad would not be trampled upon lightly!
"I accept this arrangement, sir."
Brina smiled. A new challenge ahead, a roadblock toward her journey. An interesting one, though. They would be dueling with each other. Brina wondered how good she had become against a commander at that.
Evereth looked at her determined face and felt a slight pang of regret. Maybe he'd underestimated this bright, annoyingly cheerful knight. But it was too late to back out now.
"Very well," he said, leaning back in his chair and returning to his lazy demeanor. "Tomorrow at noon. At the training grounds. Bring your best. I'll inform the soldiers in question so they can watch. After all, their future is being decided."
"Tomorrow at noon," Brina repeated, committing it to memory. "I'll be there sir."
"Good. Now leave. You're still too bright for my office."
Brina laughed, actually laughed, at his dramatics. Then she saluted again and left.
Outside, she took a deep breath. Tomorrow. She had to fight Commander Evereth Harbringer, one of the most skilled fighters in Helwind, to win the right to recruit her friends.
Well, she'd faced worse. She'd fought the Lywolves. She'd been hit by magic and survived. She could handle one lazy, dramatic commander.
She headed straight to where she knew her friends would be. They were in their barracks, off duty for the day, sitting around talking and laughing.
"Brina!" Elena spotted her first. Realizing that they were in a formal setting, she changed her tone and addressed Brina properly.
"I mean, Sir Feldwyn! What brings you here?"
"I need to talk to all of you," Brina said seriously.
Elena, Mira, Sophia, and Jen all gathered around her, sensing the importance.
"I want you all to join my retinue," Brina said without preamble. "I'm forming my own company, and I want my friends, the people I trust most, to be part of it."
They stared at her in shock.
"But we're town guards," Mira said. "We'd have to leave the company if we do that."
"I know. And your commander knows too. That's why I have to fight him tomorrow."
"Wait, what?" Sophia's eyes widened.
"He challenged me to a duel. If I win, you're free to join me. If I lose, I give up on recruiting you."
"You're going to fight Commander Harbringer?" Jen asked, disbelief in her voice. "Brina, he's one of the best fighters in Helwind."
"I know," Brina said with that familiar bright smile. "But I'm pretty good too. And I really want you all with me. So I'm going to win."
Her confidence was infectious. Her friends looked at each other, then back at her.
"Well," Elena said slowly, "if you're going to fight for us, the least we can do is be there to watch."
"And cheer you on," Mira added.
"And maybe bandage you up afterward if you lose," Sophia said with a smirk.
"Ehhh, I'm not going to lose tomorrow, watch me," Brina said firmly.
This would be a match to be remembered.