Broken Lances

By Liane Little

In a future where the male sport of jousting has made a come-back, Gwen finds that she has a talent for it. When her father falls ill, her friends support her decision to impersonate a knight. She dominates the sport and quickly rises up the ranks and creates a name for herself.
Her determination, love for her family and the support of her friends help her to realize her dreams.
She fights for glory and happiness. Above all, she fights for family.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Liane Little
• Release date: Jul 1, 2018
• ISBN: 9780463317037

Liane Little

I'm a writer with a passion for adapting novels into screenplays.

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This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to actual people and places is purely coincidental.

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Cover Design: Janielescueta – Fiverr.com

Copyright © 2018 Liane Little

Acknowledgements

Thank you so very much to Tim, my other half. Without your support, this book never would have happened.

Introduction

It had been years since the country started teaching about The Event like it was mere mythology. Something that may or may not have actually happened. Something that likely has seeds of reality in it, but only the seeds, not the full tree of truth.

Regardless of if it's myth or reality, they say The Event changed the course of human history. The way the story goes, some sort of device had gone off and fried all of the technology. The high-tech and educated population was thrown into the new Dark Ages. No electricity, no devices, minimal medical care.

Although the death toll was ultimately high, the biggest loss is said to be knowledge. So many books, essays, theories, and dissertations were just gone. When The Event hit, all digital copies were rendered useless while whatever hard-copies had been available had been used by struggling city-dwellers as makeshift firewood.

Since then things have changed. The country has been re-built, but every aspect of it is vastly different. Canadian politics are less democratic. Health care is no longer free. Societal structure is completely different.

Women only hold jobs in the rarest and most desperate of situations. Not a single woman competes in sports or attends higher level schooling. They are meant to be home-workers of various kinds. Nothing more.

It's all about to change.

Chapter One

The huge stadium sat in the middle of the city surrounded by the old, decrepit skyscrapers of a forgotten time. At the moment, it was filled with cheers, shouts, boos, stomping and clapping. There were even some air horns and other party noise makers meant for New Years Eve.

The most distinctive noise was the loud rumbles and roars of the motorbikes used in the Games. It was a noise guaranteed to make even the most staid and tame person get riled up.

From a distance, it was as easy as could be for sixteen year old Gwen Masters to tell that one of the current competitors was having issues with its fuel injection system and the speed limiter.

This was due to the fact that she had spend the summer following her father, John, to this city and that, fixing the bikes used in The Games.

The current match was being held in Edmonton, Gwen's hometown. Finally, she was home. After spending months on the road, there was nothing she would consider more luxurious than spending the night in her own bed, no matter how shabby it was.

Standing at a worktable in their tent, Gwen brushed her long, thick brown hair out of her face and gave her dad a sly look over her shoulder. John was working intently without any regard for his surroundings. He wouldn’t be missing her any time soon.

She flipped open the tent’s flap and crept outside. Her eyes blinked hard in the bright afternoon daylight as she surveyed her surroundings. Immediately, she thought of her sunglasses and she popped back in to get them. John was still hunched over his project, oblivious to her re-entry.

She blew him a kiss and bolted back outside.

An armourer was set up to their left, a lancer to their right. As Gwen hurried past, a competitor from earlier in the day was placing an order for ten new lances from the lancer. She cringed. She hadn't gotten to see the match, but, judging by the sounds of the crowd, it hadn't gone well for the guy. By the looks of him,  she would even go so far to say it had gone absolutely horribly. He was standing gingerly like his ribs were sore and his face, despite having the use of a helmet, was covered with the tell-tale bruises of multiple head strikes with a lance.

She didn't stop to chat with him even though her father had repaired his bike a few weeks previously. At this point, there was nothing that would make her stop. She was in too much of a rush.

The final match of The Games was going to start in mere minutes. Regardless of how many Games Gwen and John had attended all summer, she never missed a final match. Never. She didn't intend on starting right then, either.

The crowd thickened more and more as she neared the stadium. Her slight stature, just a hair over five feet, normally allowed her to slip in and out of tight spaces easily. With the thousands of people milling in and around the stadium, it was surprising that even she was soon forced to shove her way through spectators and vendors alike.

When she did break through the horde at last, Gwen found herself staring down the whole of the jousting pitch. She neared the safety fence and put her arms over it, barely able to contain her excitement. There were only moments left before the first round!

The competitor, or knight, as everyone called them, closest to her was just getting ready for his match. He was incredibly tall, more than six feet, but in the jousts, height was a disadvantage. It gave your opponent more area to hit.

Every single inch of the man was covered in heavy navy blue Kevlar armour and, by the looks of it, he hadn't spared any expense on it. He took his helmet from his assistant and looked over and caught the sight of Gwen from the corner of his eye and gave a subtle wink before he fit the helmet over his head.

Gwen returned the gesture with a grin and a wave.

Now, there's my favourite Games Rat!

The familiar voice made Gwen turn. A boy her age, though much taller and with unruly blonde hair stood behind her. He was holding a small trophy proudly.

As large as her smile was for the knight, it was much larger for Merlin. He'd been her best friend since she could remember.

Merlin! You made it! And you won your match!

She waved her hands madly, telling him to hurry up or he was going to miss it.

I'd never miss it, he retorted. You know that. And I did win! Two head strikes, one torso. It was great!

Yeah, but you know I'm here to fix bikes, not watch the Games. Congrats on the win! You’re getting so good!

Merlin pushed his hair out of his eyes and looked at her knowingly. And yet here you are. You've never missed the final match. That makes you a Games Rat.

Gwen shifted to lean against the fence and looked out over the pitch wistfully. Just because you can compete and girls aren't allowed, doesn't mean you can make fun.

Merlin matched her pose, only his was more thoughtful. I know, Gwen. I wish you could compete. I'd wager you would kick some serious-

He was interrupted by the sounds of horns announcing the start of the match. The knights and their assistants rolled their bikes to their starting lines before propping them up on kickstands. When that was done, both knights walked to the centre of the pitch and faced the podium that held all of the important dignitaries of the city and surrounding area.

This