Knights vs. the End (of Everything)

by Matt Phelan

  “Oh crikey,” said Erec.

  A dragon, a real dragon, swooped over them, screeching a horrendous call. Its long serpentine neck whipped toward the crowd.

  The dragon was not particular. It managed to devour a dozen goblins on its first pass. The Good Folk scattered, clambering into the woods or scurrying down holes.

  The dragon landed with a tremendous thud in front of Bors, Hector, Erec, Mel, and Magdalena. It bared its teeth. It swished its great tail.

  “All right,” said Erec. “We have dealt with similar creatures before. Let us do what we do best.”

  The dragon lunged and the heroes split up. Magdalena ran for the dragon’s neck. Bors and Hector, clubs in hands, struck at its head. Mel attempted to run beneath the wings with an idea of climbing onto its back. Erec went for the underbelly with a thorn knife.

  They were all knocked back easily. Mel hit the ground hard.

  The dragon took to the sky, then plunged again, heading straight for Mel. In an instant Bors was there, standing solid as a rock in front of her. The dragon lifted him into the air as Bors pounded its snout. Mel scrambled to safety.

  The dragon shook Bors and spat him back down to the others, before lifting off to the sky.

  But not all of him.

  Bors was missing one leg.

  Chapter Fourteen

  The End is Nigh

  Bors was very, very angry about his leg.

  Mel ran to Bors’s side immediately, and the others joined within seconds. They formed a protective circle around the fallen knight.

  “There must be a spell to stop the bleeding!” Mel ripped a strip of cloth from her tunic and tied it around Bors’s leg. “There is! I read about it . . . can’t . . . remember . . .”

  Bors paused his tirade of curses and put his hand on Mel’s arm.

  “Calm down, Mel. It’s all right,” Bors said. “You have a bigger problem right now.”

  The dragon screeched, circling back toward them with powerful beats of its wings.

  And then there was a new sound: a low, rumbling tone like music but more elemental. It sounded, if such a thing was possible, ancient like Time itself.

  The Green Knight, followed by a hundred more Green Men, some more tree than man, approached the dragon.

  The dragon recoiled. It spat a few flames but inched back. The Green Men sang and stood before the dragon, protecting the knights and Mel. The song rose in volume to a near-deafening rumble. The dragon flinched before soaring high up into the sky and flying away.

  The song ended. The Green Knight turned to Ash, who stood by the forest edge. The faerie king scowled at the Green Knight, then shimmered away.

  The Green Knight and another Green Man hurried to Bors’s side.

  “Well done, Froggy,” said Bors weakly. “I didn’t know you could sing.”

  “I will give you a lesson one day,” said the Green Knight. “But first we must take care of this wound.”

  The Green Knight’s companion produced a large, emerald-green leaf.

  “A leaf?” asked Bors.

  “A magical leaf,” said the Green Man.

  “Oh. By all means, leaf me up,” groaned Bors.

  “Can you save the leg?” asked Magdalena.

  “No. But he will have a fine, healthy stump,” said the Green Knight with a wink.

  “A fine stump,” agreed the other Green Man.

  “Ash is gone. They’re all gone,” said Erec, checking the surroundings.

  “He is readying his army, I am afraid,” said the Green Knight. “We must get you all to Camelot.” The Green Knight lifted Bors easily.

  “It is the end,” said the Green Man.

  When the company reached Camelot, Erec and Hector rushed to inform King Arthur. Mel and Magdalena took Bors to a bedchamber so he could rest. Bors had other plans.

  “Rest?! We are under siege! I must avenge my poor, sturdy, trustworthy leg!” grumbled Bors, sitting up. The magical leaf had been extremely effective. His wound had already healed completely. “Mel, go and fetch the Green Knight for me, if you please.”

  Mel sighed. Bors’s stubbornness had only increased with injury. She squeezed his hand and then left the room in search of the Green Knight.

  Magdalena rose and also walked to the door.

  “We are not in Faerie now, so I intend to use every sword I can find. I must go and prepare,” she said.

  “Of course,” said Bors. And then, before she left: “Magdalena. Could I have a word first? There is something . . . something I want to ask you about.”

  Erec and Hector stood before King Arthur and Queen Guinevere. The Round Table was filled with the greatest knights of Camelot.

  Arthur took a breath.

  “Very well. Let them come,” said Arthur.

  He stood and addressed the hall.

  “Today, my good knights, we stand with the Band of the Terrible Lizards. We shall fight not only for Camelot, but for the world as we know it.”

  All of the knights rose from the Round Table.

  “Our swords are ready,” said Lancelot. He bowed. Then Lancelot turned to Erec.

  “Sir Erec, you have knowledge we do not possess. Advise us, please. What do you suggest?”

  Erec stood a little straighter and nodded.

  “Huzzah!” roared the Round Table.

  The edge of the forest below Camelot shuddered. The ground rumbled. Thick vines of purple and red burst from the soil and wrapped up around the trees.

  “They are coming,” called Arthur from the high rampart of the castle. “Lower the drawbridge. We shall meet them on the road.”

  At Erec’s suggestion, Arthur and all of the knights were in their finest clothing, their brightest armor. Every weapon of steel and iron was polished and ready. Ash prized glamour and style. He would be met by Camelot at its grandest.

  King Arthur led the procession, followed by Erec, Magdalena, Hector, and Mel. Lancelot and Galahad, Tristan and Lamorack, Gawain and his Orkney brothers Agravaine and Gareth fell into rank, ready to fight. The Green Knight was there, too, standing beside his magnificent green horse. Bors sat on the saddle.

  “Thank you again for the loan of your fine horse, Froggy,” said Bors.

  “I would only do so for the bravest of knights. He will serve you well, Sir Bors.”

  A procession approached from the forest. King Ash rode a great white stag in front. Morgause and Morgan Le Fay walked behind him. Mordred followed, riding a black horse. Behind them, thousands of creatures of every description marched. As the procession approached, more vines broke from the ground in their wake. Finally, from the deepest part of the forest, the dragon burst into the air.

  “Oh my,” said Galahad.

  Erec turned to him.

  “It’s just a dragon, Galahad. Buck up.”

  Arthur raised his hand and the knights of Camelot rode slowly down the hill to meet the Good Folk. Aside from the horses and clanking armor, the air was still and quiet.

  The two armies—the faerie army vast and terrifying, Arthur’s army woefully outnumbered—met and stopped. A hundred yards separated them.

  “Hello, Arthur King!” shouted Ash with a bright smile. “Surrendering?”

  “No, King Ash. Not surrendering,” answered Arthur.

  “Hmm!” said Ash. He twisted on the stag and glanced back at his massive army. “Are you sure?”

  “Might I have a word, King Ash of Faerie?” It was the Green Knight, his voice sonorous and clear. “If that pleases you as well, Arthur.”

  Arthur nodded. Ash clicked his tongue.

  “Be brief, Green Man,” said Ash.

  “Certainly. Just to be clear: you mean to spread the realm of faerie throughout Camelot, visible completely at all times?” asked the Green Knight.

  “Yes,” said Ash. “That is it in a nutshell.”

  “And you wish to wipe out the humans?”

  “Oh yes. That, too. Nearly forgot,” said Ash.

  Morgause stirred uncomfortably a
nd cleared her throat.

  “Or maybe some will live . . . have not decided all of the details yet,” said Ash with a nod to the sisters.

  “Right,” said the Green Knight. “But for the most part, no humans.”

  “Correct,” said Ash.

  “Once that is done, who shall we trick?” asked the Green Knight.

  Ash said nothing but was clearly listening.

  “Where would the fun be if we cannot spirit someone away or set up some crazy bargain that they will inevitably fall for?”

  Ash opened his mouth, then closed it again in thought.

  The Green Knight continued. “And if magic is everywhere, then why would we be special?”

  This stung. Ash shifted on his stag.

  “We need these humans for amusement and we need them as an audience, to be thrilled and spooked by our charms. After all, do Good Folk wish to be legendary . . . or commonplace?”

  The Green Knight finished. Silence on both sides.

  “You have a choice to make today,” said King Arthur. “You all have a choice. Annihilation? Or Coexistence?”

  A few imps and lesser faeries squeaked: “I vote coexistence!” and “Yum! Coexistence!”

  After a moment Ash cleared his throat.

  “Faerie retains its glory and honor?” he asked.

  “Absolutely,” said Arthur.

  “We continue our whimsical, impish ways?”

  “Of course.”

  “Our mystery?”

  “Yes.”

  “Our occasional taunting of humans in their dreams?”

  “I wish you wouldn’t, but sure. Occasionally,” stressed Arthur.

  “These terms are to my liking. I accept,” said Ash.

  Morgause stormed before Ash. “No! You ridiculous creature!”

  Ash snapped his fingers. Vines burst from the ground and twisted around Morgause, binding her completely and covering her mouth.

  “ʻRidiculous?ʼ” said Ash quietly. The vines tightened around Morgause. “For that outburst, I believe you will come with me, Morgause. You will reside in Faerie with your son’s nightmarish friends for a time. They will enjoy that. You will not.”

  Arthur rode slowly up to Ash. He looked down from his saddle. Excalibur remained in its scabbard, but its hilt gleamed in the sunlight.

  “No,” said Arthur.

  “No what?” asked Ash.

  “Morgause is free to return to her home in Orkney.”

  “Would you have your enemies so close to you?” said Ash.

  “Morgause is not my enemy.”

  Ash considered Arthur for a moment. The vines tightened around Morgause.

  “You are a strange king,” said Ash.

  “I had a strange tutor.”

  Mel smiled.

  Ash snapped again and the vines dropped to the ground. Morgause gasped for breath. She looked up at Arthur. Morgan Le Fay went to her side.

  “Let us go home, sister.”

  Morgause nodded.

  Arthur turned to Mordred. “I have no feud with you, either, Mordred. You are free to stay here or return to Orkney.”

  Mordred glared at Arthur and Morgause. He spat on the ground, then rode off on his horse.

  Ash turned his stag, and the army of Faerie marched back toward the forest.

  The procession halted. Ash looked back and called in a gleeful, loud, clear voice: “This was fun. However, I was looking forward to a wee bit of chaos. So you may keep the dragon.”

  And with that the dragon soared to the castle, breathing fire. The knights scattered. The dragon crashed onto a tower and began to smash Camelot to pieces.

  Chapter Fifteen

  D vs. D

  It was astonishing how much damage a dragon could do to a castle in a short amount of time. Banners and flags in flames. The east tower demolished. A great hole in the north side of the castle wall. This last move allowed the dragon to actually enter the castle itself, which is when the real trouble began.

  The Knights of the Round Table were at a loss. They did not know where or how to start. They tried lances and arrows and swords but were repeatedly knocked back by the ferocity of the dragon.

  Erec told Lancelot to take some of the knights and get all of the servants and minstrels and regular citizens out of the castle and to safety. Soon the crumbling castle was mostly deserted except for the Band of the Terrible Lizards, the Green Knight, and King Arthur.

  “Sir Erec,” said Mel suddenly. “I have an idea!”

  “I was waiting for that,” said Erec as the dragon smashed the Round Table to bits.

  “King Arthur, I need something from you,” said Mel quickly.

  Seconds later Mel was racing up the stairs to Merlin’s tower. All of Merlin’s lessons, his encouragement, his kindness, his belief in her flooded through as she entered the library.

  She crossed the room to the lectern. “All you really need is experience . . . ,” she said, grabbing the ragged volume titled The Terrible Lizards.

  Mel raced back through the castle.

  “. . . a bit of imagination . . . ,” she breathed.

  She skidded around a corner. Sounds of the destruction and the dragon’s screeches echoed around her.

  She bolted across a great courtyard to an enormous hall in the center of Camelot. Arthur and the others were hurrying to meet her.

  “. . . and a problem to sink your teeth into . . .”

  Arthur tossed something into the air, and Mel caught it. The tooth of the Tyrannosaurus rex, king of the terrible lizards. Mel placed the tooth on the floor, then arranged the book a few yards away.

  Mel took a deep breath, let it out, then opened the book to a very specific page. She backed away quickly to join the others.

  The torches in the hall extinguished. The evening sun shone through the small windows, but most of the hall was in shadow, including the place where the book lay.

  There was a low grumble.

  Magdalena had her sword ready.

  From the shadows the enormous, ferocious, most terrible lizard of all stomped slowly toward the tooth. It saw the company and roared.

  And then it was blindsided by the dragon. This did not sit well with the T-rex. Its powerful legs kicked the dragon off. It regained its footing and swished its thick tail. Dragon and T-rex pounced at the same time, and the hall shook with titanic chaos, thunderous blows, massive teeth, and complete destruction.

  King Arthur, Mel, and the knights took cover.

  “Brilliant!” said Erec.

  “Um . . . just one question, though,” said Hector. “How do we—uh—how does this end, exactly?”

  It was a fair question. Equally matched, the T-rex had distracted the dragon and kept it safely busy (more or less), but the eventual victor in either case would be a problem.

  “The lizard wants its tooth back,” said Magdalena. “I took it. I’ll return it.”

  “Yes,” said Mel. “And the dragon and the terrible lizard must both become . . .” Her eyes landed on the book.

  “Legends,” she finished.

  Mel looked up at Magdalena. “After you.”

  Mel and Magdalena tore into the battle, dodging claws and tails and streams of fire. Magdalena scooped up the tooth just as Mel retrieved the enchanted book. At the same moment, they each hurled the objects.

  The tooth went straight down the T-rex’s throat. The book was snatched and gobbled by the dragon. Each creature paused for a moment, then the terrible lizard sunk its teeth into the back of the dragon as the dragon whipped its neck around and sunk its teeth into the back of the T-rex.

  The hall was cast into sudden, complete darkness and eerie silence. When the torches flickered back to life, both creatures were gone.

  “I think that dragon will be very much at home in the land of terrible lizards,” observed Erec.

  “And one day someone will discover a unique skeleton, I should imagine,” said Hector.

  Arthur placed a hand on Mel’s shoulder.

&n
bsp; “Well done. Well done indeed.”

  Chapter Sixteen

  Once & Future

  The sun was about to rise. Camelot—or the castle, to be more accurate—was in ruins. King Arthur, Mel, Erec, Magdalena, Hector, and Bors sat on a hillside overlooking the wreckage.

  “It was a good castle,” said Arthur. “We will rebuild it.”

  “Do you think Morgause will return?” asked Erec.

  “I do not think so,” said Arthur. “Morgan Le Fay—although not entirely trustworthy—is mostly peaceful. She can be very persuasive, and I believe Morgause will ultimately agree with her.”

  “Mordred is still out there,” said Mel, staring at the spot she last saw the strange, angry boy.

  “True,” said Arthur. “We shall meet again in time. But not today, Mel. Not today.”

  The sky brightened from an indigo to a soft pink and orange hue.

  Hector was staring at one particular section of the castle.

  “At least Merlin’s tower has survived, along with his books, thank goodness.”

  “Yes,” said Arthur. “That reminds me, good Sir Hector. I would hate for all of Merlin’s collected volumes to be neglected, gather dust, and—much worse—be unread. Would you consider the possibility of being a caretaker for the library?”

  Hector gulped.

  “Sire.”

  “I understand if you’d rather not. It would require a great deal of ‘inside work’ and give you less time for adventuring and so forth,” said Arthur.

  “I . . . I think I could muster that,” said Hector, bubbling with excitement.

  “Excellent. Thank you,” said Arthur.

  “Well,” began Bors. “I suppose my adventuring will also be curtailed a bit now. But no long faces! I have a plan!”

  “Do tell,” said Erec.

  “I have consulted with my good comrade Magdalena, who knows of such things, and I have decided to become a blacksmith.”

  “Oh!” said Hector pleasantly.

  “Yes!” said Bors with a thrill in his voice. “Smithing. The clang of the hammer on molten iron, sparks flying everywhere, smoke and steam and honest dirt under my nails. And the first thing that I shall make will be . . .” He paused dramatically. “A mighty sword leg!”