The Knight Behind the Pillar

by John Pateman-Gee

  “What being king or did you have something else planned tomorrow?” I asked, admittedly I was now being a little irritating.

  “Shut up, it’s no joke.” Arthur said plainly and yet had a go back. “I see you’ve changed clothes as well! Just for me are they?”

  I grinned. “Our training earlier was the end of my clothes,” I explained, “And had to buy something or....”

  I cut myself short as a scraping noise of a door beginning to open echoed across the room. It was one of the two solid main oak doors that were the entrance to the chapel. Immediately without thought I dived down to hide in front of the first set of pews on the right while Arthur had quickly turned back around to face the altar and appear again as if in pray. Maybe guards checking on the noise, but I had not seen any outside as tonight for once they had closed down the fort and its gate. Perhaps a precaution in case a future king decided to roam again. While the effectiveness of the guards checking people coming in and out of the main gate was doubtful, there would be no real point guarding the chapel itself as well.

  Soft footsteps entered the room and my ears quickly worked out their direction of travel, towards me and Arthur as they proceeded down the central aisle. Reassessing my hiding place I scrambled as quietly as haste would allow along the front of the pew and away from the central aisle. I was careful to ensure I made no sound and I keep my head low.

  On reaching the end of the pew I darted around it, but not before fleetingly glancing back and seeing Arthur turning to face the figure. This person still out of sight from my position was approaching the future king! My mind raced, should I not be challenging this stranger as they might be a threat? Paralysed with indecision I sat with my back against the side of the pew, its carvings rough and not ideal to serve as a backrest.

  Suddenly I heard Arthur speak causing me to freeze in concentration on each word he said. “Hmm, who are, I mean to say, err,” Arthur’s nervous stuttering broke my frozen state to allow me to roll my eyes in disappointment. How was he going to be a future king when sometimes he found it so difficult to string a sentence together! Arthur’s next words having gained a little authority stunned me further, “I mean my lady, err, you are, with respect of course I mean, not suppose to be here?” He questioned meekly.

  The stranger was a she and maybe this explained Arthur’s initial nerves and lack of command. I had to chance a look and I could not resist any longer. Rolling over and peering out from the front of the pew I found I could only see Arthur standing there. Arthur’s face was a mix of confusion, uncertainly and anxiety and I could not work out which was wining. The woman must be standing between the front pews I worked out. I withdrew and slowly crept up the pew end past some odd carvings of fabled creatures to chance a glimpse of her from across the top of the seat.

  “My lord,” Spoke the slow gentle voice of the stranger, “You mustn’t speak; it’s not the tradition.”

  And she stepped forward towards the bewildered Arthur seemingly smaller still in the oversized clothes.

  “But…” Arthur began to protest, but fell silence to woman’s simple action of putting her fingers to her mouth something I could now just see as I reached the top of the pew and spied through a hole in the timber.

  The woman had reached Arthur and I had a view of mostly her long dark hair that melted into the long dark green cloak that disguised her figure. I could only see her top half and just the side. A partial view of the outline of her face provided me with impression of a slender appearance and in my estimation very attractive figure. As I watched she drew herself close to Arthur who by this point had pulled himself back as far as he could without actually taking a step back or falling over.

  Suddenly without warning, at least none that I could see, the cloak slipped away and I unexpectedly found myself with a view of the stranger’s exposed back. I ducked down to suppress a gasp and could only imagine Arthur’s reaction! It finally dawned on me what was about to happen and the exit seemed very far away in an instant. Feeling unexpectedly and desperately awkward, instead of fearing for Arthur’s life I considered what I should do now. My head took its time to provide the obvious answer to what I should do as I was also trying to think why I had never heard of this particular tradition before at the same time.

  In the end I quickly moved down to the last pew end. I continued to crouched low to avoid being seen and hoped my footsteps remained silent. From this position the main doors were in sight. Crawling around the pew I dragged myself along the back of it and finished up at the beginning of the long aisle and almost to the main entrance. I would have to take a chance of being seen to make it across the empty space and out of the chapel entrance. It would have all been much easier had I first dived the other way and towards the side door in the first place.

  Carefully I peered around the timber post of the pew end and looked up the aisle towards the altar. The woman was pushing Arthur vesture up over his head revealing the exposed thin pale frame of the future king. Arthur himself appeared to have gotten over his initial shock and was now willingly allowing and helping her to remove his clothes. She was naked before him and once his shirt was gone she stepped closer to him. Her lips reached his neck and gently kissed. Persuaded in very little time he then began to return her affection and reached out to pull her to him. On seeing the two now embracing, her hands caressing his chest before together dropping slowly to the floor and I knew I had no fear of disturbing the two now. With a smile at my friend’s luck I darted across to the doors and avoiding any sound from their opening I slipped out to the much colder open courtyard beyond.

  Chapter 3: 1 Squire

  It had occurred to me as I was hit by the cold outside the chapel that there was one bed free. So I spent the night in Arthur’s own quarters and enjoyed the most comfortable rest and undisturbed night of my life. Or at least since I had left my father’s home and what was my own room. My good luck had somehow surfaced as I had got away with sleeping without interruption, despite the risk that someone might have found me in the future king’s room. I might have felt sorry of Arthur enduring the stone steps of the altar given my own comfortable night had it not been for his obvious company. With this in mind I was confidently assured he also had a good night of sorts as I now approached the chapel.

  It was not yet dawn and I was ahead of most people getting up for the day. It had been a struggle to get up so early and my body provided a lot of resistance to leaving a real bed, but I knew that I had to check on Arthur and also did not wish to wear out my new found luck. I had to make sure he was alright before the lord’s visit and the next stage of the knighting ceremony. If I were honest, I would have admitted that I was more truly motivated by curiosity to find out what had happened to Arthur after I left. While my mind was therefore willing, my body was outlining concerns that so far in the last two days since meeting this squire it had suffered time and time again and now perhaps was not so willing to follow curiosity.

  Candle in hand, I stepped through the main doors and reaching the top of aisle I found before me was the future king. Rather, I found instead an over large cloak that had wrapped around and settled to form a body shape of clearly one person on the ground. I gently nudge it with my foot and it moaned in exasperation at being disturbed.

  “Time to wake your highness” I said to the covered lump with an enthuse cheeriness veering on sarcasm.

  “Go away.” Replied Arthur in a low and very rough sounding voice.

  Looking around I lit a few candles, then gathered his clothes that were scattered across the floor and dutifully waited. Arthur’s head emerged after a brief moment from under the cloak looking extremely tired with his fair hair sticking up and dark sunken eyes. He looked like someone who had not slept for days who had suddenly had a taste of it and now realised what he had been missing. This was near enough the truth as these last few days had included enduring a long horseback ride, stresses of realising you are the son of a king and then to help you feel better was the expecta
tion to stay up all night praying for your soul before being asked to lead an army into a new war!

  I decided it was best not to mention all of this out loud in one go, the thought of it all was a headache alone. “Morning.” I settled for.

  “Tor, what, what time is it, it’s still dark.” He groaned, holding his head.

  “Soon to be dawn, or in other words soon they’ll be here to check up on you and then have mass.” I informed and dropped his clothes before him. “You’ll need these.”

  Arthur half collapsed again to the floor, before making a genuine effort to stretch and attempt to wake up more.

  Tactfully I decided to give him a moment to wake and set about seeking out a bowl and some water so he might look a bit more refreshed. I never believed squires before their knighting ceremony did actually spend the whole night praying without sleeping a little. I didn’t think anyone thought so, but the idea had to be upheld. On the other hand I never believed women joined future knights during their time praying either, but I was not against this particular idea I concluded.

  I wandered to the back of the chapel beyond the altar. Water, wine and items for blessings were kept here and in a cupboard that might also hold a suitable bowl.

  “Tor” Arthur apprehensively called over from behind me, “bout last night.”

  “Hmm, what about it!” I answered as I dropped to my knees to open and start rooting through the cupboard.

  “Did you, you know, I mean I saw you hide, but.”

  Looking into the darkness of the cupboard I hid my face to conceal my snigger and smile as I listened to Arthur’s awkward sounding voice. He wanted to know if I stayed and saw anything! I made him wait a moment more and suffer his embarrassment as I found a large smooth wooden cup that would serve.

  “Did you want me to stay!?” I teased, but carefully made it sound like I was being serious.

  Arthur responded immediately sounding horrified “No, course not.”

  I stood and turned and laughed. “Don’t be daft, I soon got out and left you. Err, I didn’t want to…., well you know.”

  Arthur’s head dropped and he busied himself rolling up the sleeves of his vesture, now obviously red faced and uncomfortable with it all.

  I couldn’t resist continuing the humiliation for him. “I take it, it was....” I asked letting my voice fade out as I got a keen nod from him while he continued to look to the floor and his face just glowed redder. “And she has gone?”

  I got another brief nod.

  He only looked at me directly again once I pass the cup of water to him. “Thanks.” He acknowledged.

  The room grew a little lighter as dawn announced its arrival. In a respectful moment of silence I guess we were both thinking the same about the day ahead. He was going to be knighted and then made king. It was far beyond any expectation of a normal day, it did not feel real to me and yet I was not the one having to undertake ether of these things. I would remain just a squire today and if I was lucky I would escape my normal duties and survive any annoyance of Aries or the other squires for avoiding them. Then normal life would resume. Art will be King Arthur, he will rule and go on to lead battles and never sleep on a stone floor again.

  I realised the time and broke the spell of silence. “I better go before they get here.” I said.

  I took back the cup from Arthur and started to move away.

  “But you’ll be there, at the ceremony won’t you?” Arthur asked, looking uncomfortable again for a moment. “I need someone on my side, you know, a friend?”

  His eyes exposed his plead, fear and I understood the bravely for such admission. I smiled back. Perhaps I was not just a squire from today, being a friend of the most powerful man in Briton had to be something.

  “It’s a public event and beats polishing armour.” I joked casually, but after saying this I gave him a sincere nod to match the seriousness of the face before me.

  “Thanks.” He almost whispered.

  “Any time.” I promised, then looked around. “Better go. Oh, and you need to be praying.”

  I turned and quickly escaped down the aisle to the main doors.

  My luck was still holding and I found was out just in time. I quickly stood casually in the shadows of the chapel doors as a group of dark cloaked figures walked across the courtyard towards me to enter the chapel. The knighting would not happen yet, this was just the first stage. Arthur’s brother, adopted brother now I guess, was among them and he acknowledged me with a nod and brief rising of eye brows in unanswered question as he passed by. With the others he continued inside for a special mass where the qualities of being a knight would be explained. It was joked that this was an unofficial test of patience and concentration to see if the would be knight can stay awake through it given that they had meant to have been up all night before. Within this ceremony the sword for anointing would be blessed and passed on to whoever would be conducting the public knighthood ceremony later.

  Until the main ceremony it was likely that Arthur would stay in the chapel, but I could not be sure. I doubted in any event he would get more time to rest today, I doubted he would be left alone now and I doubted that there would be any food available yet from the kitchens, but decided that I would try going there next anyway.

  Colours danced until you felt dizzy from watching them. They reflected the wearer’s personal taste, their wealth and what they thought others might expect of them. Together the clothes of people represented the feelings of a nation, one that was perhaps beginning to feel reborn. Or perhaps such thoughts were a bit soon to contemplate. At the very least it was an excuse to dress up in the best you had and for some this produced some strange results. The chapel was the one place the unwashed had no choice but to assemble with nobility. Browns of various shades blended with reds, blues, some rare clean whites and even rarer greens. Unlike the outside there was no space to keep apart and gaining any space inside the chamber was for once very difficult to manage being so full. Pews got in the way and everyone had a right to enter the chapel no matter who they were, a right that was an authority even a king would be foolish to deny. No one noticed or needed to comment that there were no nobles forced to wait outside in the gathered crowds unable to get in.

  Inside the result was an unsettling wash of colour, a mass of people of numbers never before seen in a space that must have thought that such a time would never come. This oversized building was finally fulfilling some sort of destiny, its architect guided by forces unknown to him. At least I am sure some would like to think so. Everything was potential destiny, foretold or magical as so many people never seemed to accept things to be what they were. The chapel was certainly a large building, but I doubted someone thought a new king of Briton would be made king here. It was built to be statement of wealth and power and usefully just big enough and in the right place at the right time.

  Despite the numbers of people assembled inside, the noise was a low rumble as everyone was at once self aware of the place they found themselves once they entered the doors. Fear of the echoes capturing their voices or alerting some noble reduced their volume and yet they could not avoid speaking altogether due to the excitement along with complains of pushing pass each other to find room.

  I had no such problem with space or getting in. Earlier I had entered from the side entrance and avoided the crowd. A number of guards were stopping most from entering this way, but Kay had been there. He greeted me quietly as your highness in jest which at once I rolled my eyes. He then asked if I had been at the chapel before with a mischievous smile by which point I had gained clear understanding of his humour and ignored him. He was person of two extremes, stern and tense to overly relax and provoking the next, but eventuality he allowed me through after having his fun.

  Now the resolute Kay stood directly in front of me, but I could see around him. Positioned against the side wall my hands behind me supporting my weight against the stone, I could see the whole room, especially across the front pews. Kay’s fa
ther Sir Ector sat nearby to one side of the first pew. I speculated wildly on what he might be thinking sitting there quietly staring across the great room.

  There were many people standing and they had filled the sides and back of the chapel, even within the pews many people stood to gain a view and only nearer the front were they more seated. King Alain stood among a more intimate group of people near the front altar. He greeted people with notable enthusiasm, shaking hands and in some cases embracing them as he performed the role of host. I watched him for a while and to my satisfaction when he thought no one was looking the eagerness and false joy of the occasion dissolved from his face and was replaced with a look of having eaten something sour. Morvid stood within his master’s shadow attempting to look useful somehow and failing.

  Dubric was another of this group, wearing full length decorated robes and raising his chest to appear taller. Obviously he would be conducting the coronation later I concluded. Leodegrance was circling excitedly, weaving through the crowd welcoming people, his enthusiasm was as Alain’s, but genuine this time it appeared to me. His wide unchanging smile and positive outlook with arms open to greet everyone seemed to me to be a true reflection of his thoughts. With him were a number of woman both old and young whom he was introducing at times except I could not heard what he said. My eyes rested for a moment on what appeared to be a shimmering silk dress of one woman, it had been years since I had seen such fabrics.

  While Dubric or Alain may have thought they were central to proceedings with all eyes on them, already I had been drawn away to the figure sitting in the second row of pews next to the central aisle. The central aisle was the only area that remained almost completely free of the sea of people as some unspoken command directed them away from it. Despite the lack of space within the Pews themselves, people managed to avoid getting close to this particular figure as well. This was Merlin. He was unthreatening, quietly waiting and looking ahead. Yet he carried an air of authority, a presence and people knew in their bones that this was a man who required a certain distance. I gave him scowl, confident he could not see me. The mysterious Merlin even by doing nothing seemed to draw attention or at least cause people to want to avoid attention from him.