The Knight

by Kim Dragoner

  “In Britain, my mother bore two children before me, but they both died as infants. My grandmother, Irelli stepped in when I was conceived. She took trips to Dover to purchase food and herbs from Burgundy and sent servants to the markets at London for grain from the south which she prepared for my mother to eat. My father and uncles were still having a hard time reviving the farmland which had lain fallow for so many years. Irelli told me that when I was born, I was crying before she had removed me from my mother’s body. She encouraged my mother to nurse me herself. To the joy of my parents and grandparents, I grew quickly. I walked at nine months and spoke at one year and with Irelli's help my mother conceived and delivered three more children, all girls.

  “My sisters are Glynnis, Aelwyd and Cadwynn. They are all fair haired like you, Naida— like my mother as well—but they all have my father’s green eyes like I do. This makes them an eerie trio to see. It is as if they were one person being copied and reborn a year apart from each other. The little princesses at Kenilwurt Hall, spoilt by my father but reined in and educated impeccably by my mother. As I grew, my mother taught me as much language, music and deportment as she knew how to, while my grandfather taught me everything about rearing animals and tending the land. We rode out every day to survey the different fields and vales of the countryside we owned and I paid attention to how he planned the use of the land for the coming year; which of the parks the tenants would be allowed to hunt or fish in during the hunting season and what each would plant come the fall. He tried to teach me how to command people, making them productive without being a tyrant and how to be compassionate without becoming spineless. When I was four, my father gave me my first horse, a palfrey mare called Clarity, which I bred every two years until I had six horses altogether. I traded her first colt for a beautiful charger colt from the stables of my first uncle, Owain. Originally it was to bring in some better blood, but he quickly became my favorite and I trained him for combat by practicing my archery while riding him. I hoped it would prepare him for the joust and I was right; he is fearless.”

  “How wonderful,” Naida interjected, forcing Rhys to look up at her. “What is his name?”

  Rhys sighed at the sight of her face. She had the most sincere look of admiration in her eyes.

  “His name is Broderick,” he said shyly.

  She smiled at him then. To Rhys, it was as if the sun had broken free of clouds. He smiled and cleared his throat to continue.

  “When I turned fifteen, my father sent me to Avalon to live with my distant aunt, Morgana le Fae at her court. I gave him three of my horses before I left home, all mares; one to add to the dowry of each of my sisters because I knew they would be married and gone before I ever saw home again. I gave Clarity to Irelli and the two colts I brought with me to Avalon. Morgana insisted that a young man in her care must come to Avalon with two ponies; a fit, young palfrey for riding out and a charger or destrier for jousting and hunting. It is what is proper, she said. I also had to bring a suit of fighting armor, a rapier and dress scabbard, as well as a fighting sword and shield. When I arrived at Avalon, I was assigned an apartment which is comprised of three rooms, a presence chamber, a privy chamber and a bedroom which has its own water closet. Erasmus was presented as my valet; he in turn is attended by a team of privy stewards and other servants who do his bidding. I was given new shirts, jerkins and trousers and other garments, most of which are the uniform of the queen’s pages. Presently, my days at Avalon are spent waiting on the queen, attending classes and training to fight as well as attending the rigorous lessons that my aunt has set my tutors to teaching me.

  “So, my dear Naida, here I am two years later and what do I have to show for the efforts of my ancestors? I can be found, day after day, sitting, staring at a faery girl and losing myself entirely.”

  He laughed loudly at his little joke and then looked up to see her gazing at his face as if she could drink in his every expression, taste the very words which escaped his lips. She seemed enraptured by his narrative; even a little taken aback.

  “Your family is great, Rhys. How can you be so humble when your ancestors are kings of entire countries and your matriarchs are the bearers of queens? Do you have a title as well?” she gushed.

  Rhys’ cheeks were fiery with embarrassment.

  “No, Naida, I do not have a title, neither does my father. My grandfather may have been the closest to holding a title. He was named “ab Tywysog,” son of the prince, by his father because he could never name him “ab Wledig,” son of the ruler. He took the Saxon tradition of establishing a family name so that he and his children would never lose their royal tie although it was an illegitimate claim. However, you are right when you say our women bore queens. Because of my grandmother Caretena, I may have relatives in every royal court from Paris to the Black Sea.”

  “Is your grandmother still alive?”

  “No, she isn’t. Caretena died four years ago in Lyon.”

  “What about your father’s mother, Irelli?”

  “She is well; she lives with my parents and my sisters at Kenilwurt.”

  He sighed again but she knew exactly why he did.

  “Do you miss them, Rhys? Your family and your home?”

  He paused and shrugged, his gaze went over the surface of the pond. A longing sigh escaped his lips.

  “No matter what you say, you are longing for your home, Rhys,” Naida said. “You should make a point to get north and get back home again soon.”

  “You may be right, I have missed my family. I remember the day I left home so clearly, my mother and my grandfather presented me with gifts as was customary. My mother gave me an entire set of brand new tack for my jousting pony. It has the traditional blue and white of the Gascogne duchy and bears the emblems of both Gascoigne and Worwick on the reins and blankets. Included with these items were a jousting shield and a horse’s head armor. The gift filled a large cedar box which the pages added carefully to the load on the wagon which was accompanying me. My grandfather and grandmother stepped forward and presented me with another wooden box which was smaller than my mother’s. In it was two full sets of formal clothing complete with new hose, jerkins, cloaks, shirts and shoes. There were several velvet bags with precious jewelry inside them. My grandfather gave the box to the pages while Irelli came to give me her blessing.

  “I bowed as she touched the top of my head and as I hugged her, she whispered to me saying, You will meet many lovely and worthy women in Avalon, Rhys. Keep your propriety and look with an unbiased eye, maybe you will find our “dame petite de la maison” while you are there. Even though your father thinks that you would be lucky to find a wife at Avalon; never you forget that it would be the luckiest maid in all Britain who finds herself on your arm.” A deep blush colored his cheeks as he recalled his grandmother’s frank words. Naida seized the opportunity to tease him.

  Before she could, he raised his eyes to see her face and found the expression that he was looking for. She was staring at him with wide eyes and had the sincerest look of adoration on her face.

  ***

  He cackled to himself as he sat before the small fire he had built in the woods.

  It was the middle of the night and he had been awake for most of it. Finding the boy had been easy, but getting in and out of the camp had been another matter altogether. It had not been possible to anticipate that the boy would still have had such a large retinue of men with him. He didn’t think he could have done it without his magic. The opening spell had gotten him into the camp itself and the sleeping spell had ensured that not a man or a hound woke up to discover him there. He had used his heightened sense of smell to identify the boy’s tent and slipped inside undetected.

  A stroke of luck had the letters he meant to retrieve sticking out of the pocket of a satchel hanging over the chair in front of the brazier, but the sight of the empty cot gave him pause. Where was the boy? But it did not matter once he had the parchment in his hands and with the task complete, he l
eft the camp silently on deft feet and ran for the cover of the woods. Now as he looked over the parchment, he smiled. The letters confirmed everything and he now knew he was on the right track but one letter revealed a new fact. The boy had a lover, a faery from Eon called Naida and this changed the entire game. He would have to deliver the news immediately.

  ***

  In the morning, Rhys dressed and went out into the camp to find his uncle, father and all their men were going to the abbey at nearby Nun’s Eaton to say mass. He and Richard joined them.

  All through the prayers, Rhys tried to remember the last time he had been to mass but he couldn’t recall. It must have been before he went to Avalon since there were no churches there. Morgana and her sisters encouraged a more neutral existence for the people in Avalon. It had always been that way. They did not concern themselves with anything that went against the rule of nature and left the strife and affairs of religion and politics to the men of Earth. She had the chaplain grace each meal, consecrate marriages and deliver the last rites and burial rituals of those who desired it and she did not mind the making of the sign of the cross but if one desired to pray, one did so at the prie-dieu in the privacy of one’s own chambers. Rhys had never been inclined to use his.

  The mass was beautiful. A choir of boys sang from an overhead gallery, filling the cathedral with airy hymns of praise. After the Holy Communion, Rhys left the chapel and sat outside in the weak sun until the mass was over. As he sat on the stone bench, he reached into his satchel to retrieve the letters and read them again. He felt for them but they were not there. Startled, he opened the bag and tipped it upside down and searched the contents. Nothing. Panicking, he jumped up and ran back to the camp to search for them.

  After half an hour of looking, Rhys could not find his letters anywhere. He sat on the cot in the tent and hurriedly scribbled a note to Erasmus.

  Dearest friend, Erasmus,

  I hope that you are well and that all is as it should be in Avalon. I received your letter as well as Naida’s yesterday in Bedworth but I find that they have mysteriously vanished from my satchel this morning as I ready to depart from Nun’s Eaton for Leicester.

  They were my greatest consolation for the next portion of this journey when I will be on my own and I find I have lost the strength they imparted to me.

  Your avid pupil,

  Rhys, at Nun’s Eaton.

  Chapter Eight

  Eon

  The Hall of Light was busy with dusting, washing and scrubbing.

  Winged faeries cleaned the glass ceiling of the atrium until it shone like cut crystal and the floors and walls were receiving the same meticulous treatment. Others wiped the few remaining leaves of the Lifetree free of dust and tilled up the soil at its roots with the gentlest care. It seemed that since Queen Mab had the vision of Nestaron, the tree was shedding its leaves at an increasing rate. The ceremonial furniture was being brought in, the gilded chairs cast reflected light in every direction. Mab usually had only one chair in the room. She alone came into the presence of the Lifetree, outside of scheduled ceremonial events. She felt a kind of peace there that she could find nowhere else in the four worlds and the visions that came to her in that room were sacred to her.

  When everyone had finished, Titania locked the doors behind them and went to join the queen in the Throne Room. She took up her sentinel’s position, standing slightly behind the throne to the queen’s right. Mab sat on the large ivory throne with her back straight and her hands clasped demurely on her lap. She was in audience with the Thavron Vuin. The elders had already updated her on the construction progress on the new residences near the Temple of the Sky and she was now hearing and resolving their disputes. She was exhausted, but only those closest to her would have seen it. Titania motioned to the nearest steward to bring a cup of wine. She stepped forward and offered the cup; the queen gratefully took it and drank. Titania knew she had to end the session, it was improper for the queen to deny the audience of the clan elders but Titania was not bound by such rules. Her concerns were for the queen and the queen needed to rest.

  “Elders,” Titania suddenly interrupted. “Although the issues left to be raised are of great importance, the queen cannot hear any more today.”

  As if on cue, Mab stood and began to leave the room amid an outbreak of agitated murmurs. She ignored them all and proceeded through the doors and into the adjoining privy chamber.

  “Please disperse, sirs,” Titania announced. “This session shall resume tomorrow morning after the fast has been broken.”

  Inside the private rooms, she brought another cup of wine for Mab and took a seat beside her. She took the queen’s free hand and lightly massaged the fingers, palm and then the wrist. Instinctively, Mab put the cup down and offered that hand to Titania to massage as well. It was a ritual of theirs, Titania’s way of showing her stewardship to the queen.

  “The dreams come every night now, Titania,” Mab said softly, “and today they began to occur as visions in broad daylight.”

  “You are weary, Mab. Did you have a vision while you were with the Thavron Vuin?”

  She nodded and sighed, lifting her right hand and resting her forehead in her palm.

  “He was standing in front of the Lifetree, radiating light. It was blinding to behold.”

  “There is nothing worrying about that,” Titania reassured her.

  Mab continued as if she had not heard her.

  “He planted the branch, then turned to me with outstretched arms and I ran to him. He held me close and then knelt before me. Tears were streaming down his cheeks by then and as I stepped back from him, black soldiers invaded the room and he was attacked. I could not see who his attackers were.”

  “Was there an unusual weapon used in this attack?”

  “That is the most worrisome part, Titania.” Mab paused to breathe and sigh again. “It was a crystal arrow that shot him straight in the heart but when I turned in the direction it had come from, all I could see was a dark cloud rumbling with lightning and thunder engulfing the archer, then everything vanished.”

  “This is distressing news, Mab, the premonition may have profound meaning. I think it is work for the Mages; let them tell us what it means.”

  “I do not need the Mages to tell me what I already know, Titania,” Mab said softly, her head in her hands as she slowly shook it from side to side. “He knows that I have dreamt of Nestaron and He knows, without a doubt in His mind, that the boy is Lhûgernil. He has somehow found the evidence and He is convinced; therefore I am convinced of it.”

  “If the Last One is coming and He already knows of him, then the boy is in grave danger.”

  “That is true and the important question now is; what are we going to do about it?” Revived by her new purpose, Queen Mab stood and began to pace the room briskly. “Our mistake was to take these visions too lightly, Titania,” she said. “Where we have delayed, He has acted. Where we were indifferent, He was indignant and now He has set a plot in motion to find the Last One and destroy him at all costs.”

  “What will we do, my queen?” Titania asked dutifully.

  “The only thing we can. We must summon the Elders, we have to plan what we will do. Tell Master Pendrake to ring the bell and call them into my privy chamber immediately.”

  She stood up without waiting for a response. She gathered her skirts around her ankle and moved swiftly to the door. Pausing, she turned to face Titania again and suddenly dropped the fabric from her hands.

  “You realize this will mean war, Priestess?” she said. “Are you ready to fight His armies again after the passing of so many millennia?”

  “I am, Your Highness,” Titania answered.

  “I know this,” she replied, and walked from the room without another word.

  Titania sat staring after her, then she turned to the handmaid and told her to call Master Pendrake to her immediately.

  Chapter Nine

  Earth

  “Grandmother, my
lady mother has asked that you pardon her for being late to tea,” Glynnis announced as she led her sisters into the library to join Irelli. “Her audience with the Head Housekeeper has gone longer than she anticipated.”

  “Oh, thank you for that, Glynnis, my dear,” Irelli responded without taking her eyes from the book she was reading. “Should we wait, girls?”

  “Yes, my lady,” Aelwyd and Cadwynn chimed in unison.

  At the sound of their chorused voices, Irelli laughed out loud. She made a musical sound with it as clear as bells ringing throughout the room. Glynnis loved to hear her grandmother laugh; secretly, she wished she would laugh more often. But since Rhys had left Kenilwurt to live in Avalon with Aunt Morgana and her sisters, she had laughed less and less with the passing of each year. His recent visit had revitalized her and she went all around the estate singing and laughing again.

  A few years ago, Glynnis would have been bitter to see her brother’s absence take such a profound effect on her mother and grandmother, but she was older now and she understood their loss; in fact, it was true that she shared it. She had come to know what they had all known for years before; Rhys was special. No one could say what it was about him, he just was and when he was gone a dark, dull cloud took his place and emptied a constant drizzle of melancholy over the entire household. Even Grandfather was different; he had grown quiet and Anlawdd was not a man known for silence.

  She was happy that he had come home to them, even for such a short time. In her heart, Glynnis knew that soon he would be back at Kenilwurt for good and with her own departure and that of her sisters looming, she was glad that Rhys would be there to grant the elders some solace.

  “Good afternoon, my Lady Mother, my dear daughters,” Mucuruna said as she entered the room. “You have waited for me; how kind of you all.”