The Wood Beyond the World

by William Morris

  CHAPTER XIX: WALTER GOES TO FETCH HOME THE LION'S HIDE

  He entered the cool dusk through the porch, and, looking down thepillared hall, saw beyond the fountain a gleam of gold, and when he camepast the said fountain he looked up to the high-seat, and lo! the Ladysitting there clad in her queenly raiment. She called to him, and hecame; and she hailed him, and spake graciously and calmly, yet as if sheknew nought of him save as the leal servant of her, a high Lady."Squire," she said, "we have deemed it meet to have the hide of theservant of the Enemy, the lion to wit, whom thou slewest yesterday, for acarpet to our feet; wherefore go now, take thy wood-knife, and flay thebeast, and bring me home his skin. This shall be all thy service forthis day, so mayst thou do it at thine own leisure, and not wearythyself. May good go with thee."

  He bent the knee before her, and she smiled on him graciously, butreached out no hand for him to kiss, and heeded him but little.Wherefore, in spite of himself, and though he knew somewhat of her guile,he could not help marvelling that this should be she who had lain in hisarms night-long but of late.

  Howso that might be, he took his way toward the thicket where he hadslain the lion, and came thither by then it was afternoon, at the hottestof the day. So he entered therein, and came to the very place whereasthe Lady had lain, when she fell down before the terror of the lion; andthere was the mark of her body on the grass where she had lain thatwhile, like as it were the form of a hare. But when Walter went on towhere he had slain that great beast, lo! he was gone, and there was nosign of him; but there were Walter's own footprints, and the two shaftswhich he had shot, one feathered red, and one blue. He said at first:Belike someone hath been here, and hath had the carcase away. Then helaughed in very despite, and said: How may that be, since there are nosigns of dragging away of so huge a body, and no blood or fur on thegrass if they had cut him up, and moreover no trampling of feet, as ifthere had been many men at the deed. Then was he all abashed, and againlaughed in scorn of himself, and said: Forsooth I deemed I had donemanly; but now forsooth I shot nought, and nought there was before thesword of my father's son. And what may I deem now, but that this is aland of mere lies, and that there is nought real and alive therein saveme. Yea, belike even these trees and the green grass will presentlydepart from me, and leave me falling down through the clouds.

  Therewith he turned away, and gat him to the road that led to the GoldenHouse, wondering what next should befall him, and going slowly as hepondered his case. So came he to that first thicket where they had losttheir quarry by water; so he entered the same, musing, and bathed him inthe pool that was therein, after he had wandered about it awhile, andfound nothing new.

  So again he set him to the homeward road, when the day was now waning,and it was near sunset that he was come nigh unto the house, though itwas hidden from him as then by a low bent that rose before him; and therehe abode and looked about him.

  Now as he looked, over the said bent came the figure of a woman, whostayed on the brow thereof and looked all about her, and then ran swiftlydown to meet Walter, who saw at once that it was the Maid.

  She made no stay then till she was but three paces from him, and then shestooped down and made the sign to him, and then spake to himbreathlessly, and said: "Hearken! but speak not till I have done: I badethee to-night's meeting because I saw that there was one anigh whom Imust needs beguile. But by thine oath, and thy love, and all that thouart, I adjure thee come not unto me this night as I bade thee! but behidden in the hazel-copse outside the house, as it draws toward midnight,and abide me there. Dost thou hearken, and wilt thou? Say yes or no inhaste, for I may not tarry a moment of time. Who knoweth what is behindme?"

  "Yes," said Walter hastily; "but friend and love--"

  "No more," she said; "hope the best;" and turning from him she ran awayswiftly, not by the way she had come, but sideways, as though to reachthe house by fetching a compass.

  But Walter went slowly on his way, thinking within himself that now atthat present moment there was nought for it but to refrain him fromdoing, and to let others do; yet deemed he that it was little manly to beas the pawn upon the board, pushed about by the will of others.

  Then, as he went, he bethought him of the Maiden's face and aspect, asshe came running to him, and stood before him for that minute; and alleagerness he saw in her, and sore love of him, and distress of soul, allblent together.

  So came he to the brow of the bent whence he could see lying before him,scarce more than a bow-shot away, the Golden House now gilded again andreddened by the setting sun. And even therewith came a gay image towardhim, flashing back the level rays from gold and steel and silver; and lo!there was come the King's Son. They met presently, and the King's Sonturned to go beside him, and said merrily: "I give thee good even, myLady's Squire! I owe thee something of courtesy, whereas it is by thymeans that I shall be made happy, both to-night, and to-morrow, and manyto-morrows; and sooth it is, that but little courtesy have I done theehitherto."

  His face was full of joy, and the eyes of him shone with gladness. Hewas a goodly man, but to Walter he seemed an ill one; and he hated him somuch, that he found it no easy matter to answer him; but he refrainedhimself, and said: "I can thee thank, King's Son; and good it is thatsomeone is happy in this strange land."

  "Art thou not happy then, Squire of my Lady?" said the other.

  Walter had no mind to show this man his heart, nay, nor even a cornerthereof; for he deemed him an enemy. So he smiled sweetly and somewhatfoolishly, as a man luckily in love, and said: "O yea, yea, why should Inot be so? How might I be otherwise?"

  "Yea then," said the King's Son, "why didst thou say that thou wert gladsomeone is happy? Who is unhappy, deemest thou?" and he looked on himkeenly.

  Walter answered slowly: "Said I so? I suppose then that I was thinkingof thee; for when first I saw thee, yea, and afterwards, thou didst seemheavy-hearted and ill-content."

  The face of the King's Son cleared at this word, and he said: "Yea, so itwas; for look you, both ways it was: I was unfree, and I had sown thetrue desire of my heart whereas it waxed not. But now I am on the brinkand verge of freedom, and presently shall my desire be blossomed. Naynow, Squire, I deem thee a good fellow, though it may be somewhat of afool; so I will no more speak riddles to thee. Thus it is: the Maid hathpromised me all mine asking, and is mine; and in two or three days, byher helping also, I shall see the world again."

  Quoth Walter, smiling askance on him: "And the Lady? what shall she sayto this matter?"

  The King's Son reddened, but smiled falsely enough, and said: "SirSquire, thou knowest enough not to need to ask this. Why should I tellthee that she accounteth more of thy little finger than of my whole body?Now I tell thee hereof freely; first, because this my fruition of love,and my freeing from thralldom, is, in a way, of thy doing. For thou artbecome my supplanter, and hast taken thy place with yonder lovely tyrant.Fear not for me! she will let me go. As for thyself, see thou to it! Butagain I tell thee hereof because my heart is light and full of joy, andtelling thee will pleasure me, and cannot do me any harm. For if thousay: How if I carry the tale to my Lady? I answer, thou wilt not. For Iknow that thine heart hath been somewhat set on the jewel that my handholdeth; and thou knowest well on whose head the Lady's wrath would fall,and that would be neither thine nor mine."

  "Thou sayest sooth," said Walter; "neither is treason my wont."

  So they walked on silently a while, and then Walter said: "But how if theMaiden had nay-said thee; what hadst thou done then?"

  "By the heavens!" said the King's Son fiercely, "she should have paid forher nay-say; then would I--" But he broke off, and said quietly, yetsomewhat doggedly: "Why talk of what might have been? She gave me heryea-say pleasantly and sweetly."

  Now Walter knew that the man lied, so he held his peace thereon; butpresently he said: "When thou art free wilt thou go to thine own landagain?"

  "Yea," said the King's Son; "she will lead me thither."
/>   "And wilt thou make her thy lady and queen when thou comest to thyfather's land?" said Walter.

  The King's Son knit his brow, and said: "When I am in mine own land I maydo with her what I will; but I look for it that I shall do no otherwisewith her than that she shall be well-content."

  Then the talk between them dropped, and the King's Son turned off towardthe wood, singing and joyous; but Walter went soberly toward the house.Forsooth he was not greatly cast down, for besides that he knew that theKing's Son was false, he deemed that under this double tryst laysomething which was a-doing in his own behalf. Yet was he eager andtroubled, if not down-hearted, and his soul was cast about betwixt hopeand fear.