A pair of heroes

Pansie closes her eyes and trembles in terror as the sound of clomping hooves grows louder and louder.

Her mind starts racing as she contemplates all the horrible possibilities. Is a dragon coming to eat her?! Or slavers, looking for a fresh young body to exploit?!

"O-o-o-oh g-gods!" Pansie cries. If she still had boots, she'd be quaking in them. "W-what are they going to do to me?"

The sound is getting louder and louder, as whoever, or whatever, it is is almost upon her!

Pansie starts mouthing her prayers, begging to be spared. Her heart is pounding in her chest, and then, flash! Pansie catches a brief, shinung glimpse of metal in the sun and faints, leaving the poor, helpless girl at the utter mercy of...

A knight in shining armor and a richly-dressed noblewoman!

The knight is dressed from head to toe in freshly-polished full-plate mail and rides a white horse.

The noblewoman wears a wide-brimmed hat, a finely-made blue cloak, and the elegant but practical clothing of an experienced traveler. In her hand she clutches a large, leather-bound tome. She rides a brown mare (she named it Sugarbelle).

"Good heavens!" Cries the knight as he lifts his visor up to get a better look at the passed-out Pansie. "That poor woman! Who could have done something so heinous?"

"Probably bandits," the woman replies as she cautiously surveys her surroundings. "That's what Pilla's known for..."

"We have to help her," the knight insists as he climbs off his noble stead and approaches Pansie, knife in hand.

"Uuuuuuu..." the poor servant girl moans.

The knight stops in his tracks and gasps.