Knight Spellbound
The Faerie Queen Book 3
Jason Hamilton
Story Hobby Media
Copyright © 2020 by Jason Hamilton
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
An Arthurian Legend
www.arthurlegends.com
Story Hobby Media
www.storyhobbymedia.com
Publisher’s Note: This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are a product of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual people, living or dead, or to businesses, companies, events, institutions, or locales is completely coincidental.
Cover art by Jesh Art Studio.
Contents
Map
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Epilogue
Author’s Note
About the Author
Also by Jason Hamilton
1
The wind changed direction, and it was more than a simple flux in the weather. Una could feel it crawl under her skin, even as she looked up to see the trees sway, dropping dead leaves to the ground below. Her magic gave her insight that few others had, and it spoke to her now. It was a glorious sensation, but also one that often carried with it an impending dread that she couldn’t quite place.
Beside her walked Guyon, the knight with whom she had shared several adventures. They were without a horse, as his had been mysteriously stolen some time before. But Una preferred it that way. Yes, it took twice as long to get anywhere, but to her it was worth it. She had more time to think this way.
Behind them walked a woman with long, beautiful, blonde curls, and a face as pale and pristine as snow itself. Or at least, that’s how she had once looked. Now her hair was full of twigs, leaves, and brambles, and her face was flushed from the constant beating of the sun over the last few weeks of travel. Her hands were tied and connected by rope to Guyon’s hand. This was Acrasia, the woman who had formerly held the title of Lust, one of the Seven Deadly Sins.
They were on their way now to deliver Acrasia to the Faerie Queen, to see if she could get some answers out of the Sin. Both Guyon and Una had little luck in that endeavor, even when Una threatened the woman with her magic. Acrasia was afraid of her and what she could do. After all, it had been Una who separated the woman from her magic, from the well of power that came from being one of the Sins. But as much as Acrasia was scared of Una, she was more terrified of someone or something else. That had been all they were able to get out of her: she wouldn’t say anything for fear of what her master would do if she spoke.
At first, Una thought Acrasia was scared of Duessa, the leader of the Seven Sins and presumably the most powerful. But no, Acrasia hadn’t said ‘mistress’. Whoever she meant, it was a man. Though apart from others of the Sins, neither Una or Guyon had encountered any such person. They had fought many enemies before and survived, from Duessa’s knights Pyrochles and Cymochles, to the amateur sorcerer Archimago, to Mammon, one of the Seven Sins himself. None of them were the type to instill such fear in someone like Acrasia.
“We’ll need to stop soon,” said Guyon. “Find shelter if we can. A storm will be here by nightfall.”
Una looked at the sky through the trees above. They were in a grove, but it was not a full forest. And Guyon was right; the clouds were increasing above, and the air had grown heavy.
“We can’t be far from the Forest of Arden at this point,” said Una. “Perhaps we can find shelter there.”
Guyon examined the area around them. “If I’m not mistaken, we’re just slightly to the north of it. We would have run into it eventually, as it slopes north, but if we turn south, we might get there faster.”
Una nodded, and turned to follow Guyon’s lead. Acrasia continued behind the pair of them without comment, dull. She had been that way a lot, recently. At first, she had cursed them for hours on end, or screamed and tried to escape. But enough encounters with Una’s magic had been enough to put a stop to that. Una was only just coming into a realization of what she could do with her power, but it was considerable. And she had to admit, it was beyond useful in the right situations.
She stared at the darkening sky. Maybe she could even convince the clouds to keep from raining on them. That was how her magic worked most of the time, she ‘persuaded’ a person or a thing to act in a way that she wanted. Some things were harder to persuade than others. For instance, it was easier to create a simple illusion than it was to, say, convince a rock to be bread. That last one she had tried on several occasions. Sometimes the rock would turn into something more malleable, but it wouldn’t be edible. She just needed practice.
Perhaps she could find this Merlin person she had heard about. Or she could go to Avalon and see if they could show her a few things. But she pushed that idea down the moment it popped into her mind. The sorceresses had their own problems to deal with, or so she had heard. And from what Una knew, most people who studied magic never got to be as powerful as she already was. That was one of the advantages she had: she was of the old blood. What that meant, she didn’t know, and Acrasia wouldn’t tell her. But Gloriana, the Faerie Queen, had once mentioned that Merlin was also of the old blood. He was the only one who could tell her more.
Una brought her thoughts back to the present as they continued on their way. But they hadn’t even caught sight of the forest yet when the first droplets began to cool her nose.
Several hours later, and they might as well have abandoned their search for shelter. Each of them was drenched to the bone, and Una was beginning to feel as miserable as Acrasia looked. But they had finally caught sight of the Forest of Arden, the enormous stretch of tall trees that extended for miles and miles over Britain. The forest itself had a reputation as a dark place, sparking superstition. The Saxons mainly avoided it, choosing to go the long way around, which was fortunate for those who lived directly on the western side, not far from where Una, Guyon, and Acrasia now stood.
But once they were inside the tree line, the torrent stopped, and they were finally given a chance to breathe without inhaling what felt like a mouthful of water. The trees here were like that, extremely dense and suffocating. Not even the torrential rain was enough to get through.
“I’ll see if I can start a fire,” said Guyon, once they found an area wide enough to camp. Though they were still close enough to the edge of the forest that they could all make it out. One never wanted to enter too far into the Forest of Arden. Most who did lost their way.
Guyon got to work while Una began wringing the rain out of her cloak and hood. It was only then that she saw Acrasia contemplating the deeper forest, a kind of fear touching her eyes. She was as still as a marble statue.
“Worried about the Faerie Queen?” said U
na, coming up to the woman. This was her forest after all, though they still had at least another week’s travel before they would get to her. The Faerie Queen’s castle was situated closer to the eastern side of the forest. They would have to circle around the northern portion until they reached the main road, then take that down. It would take time.
“That lowlife excuse for a protector does not frighten me,” said Acrasia, not looking at Una but continuing to stare ahead at nothing. “We are in the western portion of the forest, are we not?”
Una nodded, but added, “that’s right,” when Acrasia did not turn to see her response.
“We are close to the City of Pride,” said Acrasia. “I can feel it.”
Una tensed ever so slightly. Acrasia could feel it? But Una had removed all magical ability from the woman. “How can you feel it?” she asked, warily.
“Do not concern yourself with what I can or cannot sense,” Acrasia snapped. “Anyone could feel this. Can you not?”
Una followed Acrasia’s gaze into the darkening forest. Yes, she could feel it. There was a distinct flavor of the type of magic that roamed here. Like the smell of rotten fruit.
“Duessa’s magic grows stronger,” continued Acrasia with something between a smile and a grimace. “They will be ready soon.”
Una took a step closer. “Ready for what?”
At that, Acrasia turned and smiled at Una with a measure of condescension. “Nothing you need worry about. You can’t stop her, not even with the old magic you wield. Even now, her power corrupts this forest, and Gloriana does not halt its progress.”
Una scowled, and went back to removing as much water as she could from her clothing. Soon Guyon had a fire going, and the three of them spent the next few hours in silence, simply warming their cold, drenched bodies.
Yet even as they began to settle down for the night, Una couldn’t help but feel like a million eyes were watching her. It was something about being back in this forest, back where so much had happened. Granted, she’d been on the main road at that time, and that particular road was still far to the east. But that did not stop the darkness of the forest itself from creeping up on her.
Yes, she could definitely feel what Acrasia had described. The forest, though it had always held that dense, choking feeling about it, was rotting from the inside. A plague had come to it when Duessa and the Seven Sins arrived.
But what really bothered her was what Acrasia had said about Duessa being ‘ready’ soon. Ready for what? Already the Sins were abroad among them, likely wreaking havoc as Acrasia had done, or slowly poisoning the hearts of men as Duessa poisoned this forest.
What was Gloriana doing to stop all of this? Here, Duessa was infesting the very forest where the Faerie Queen resided. Surely Gloriana would have more control over her borders than this? She must have the ability to undermine evil in her own home?
But Una had long doubted the Faerie Queen’s effectiveness to keep this place safe. If she was really so powerful, she wouldn’t need the help of knights like Guyon and George.
The thought of her first companion turned her thoughts away from Duessa. George had been the one to finally kill the dragon at Castle Silene, her home. But he had also become more than a friend and travel companion. Thanks to him, she had discovered what love felt like. Real love. Not the sort of fanciful, over-the-top adoration they told in stories. Sure, George was a very capable knight, and Una was technically a princess. But the mythical stereotype of their relationship ended there.
She wondered, idly, what he was doing now. He was locked into service to the Faerie Queen for no less than six years, during which time she would rarely get the chance to see him. She could only hope that by ending this threat from Duessa and the Sins, they would be reunited again.
But the foreboding that permeated the forest did not make that seem likely to happen any time soon.
2
“We’ll be entering Saxon territory today,” said Guyon the next morning when they were ready to set out again. “We’ll need to stay on our guard.”
“I thought the Saxons stayed away from the forest,” said Una.
“They do, but they still lay claim to all lands north and east of it. Technically, your Castle Silene also falls under their claim, though the rumors of the dragon and its proximity to the forest itself have kept them from overrunning that space.”
Una nodded. That fit with what she knew. Gloriana had warned her that the Saxons might try to take her home away now that the dragon was slain. Well they could do whatever they wanted with it for all she cared. It wasn’t her home anymore, but rather a reminder of the evil that her parents had wrought, an evil that even she hadn’t known while she lived under their watchful care. To this day it still bothered her that she never had any inkling of their betrayal. They had educated her, taught her everything she needed to survive. And now she had learned from her own father’s lips before he died that he and her mother had far deeper secrets.
“We won’t have to travel past Castle Silene, will we?” she asked.
Guyon grimaced slightly. “We’ll need to get close. It’s situated not far from the main entrance into the forest. But it’s a few miles off that path. We won’t need to go any closer.”
Una nodded. She suspected that they would have to pass by, ever since Guyon informed them that they would need to return to the Forest of Arden to deliver Acrasia to the Faerie Queen. Right now, they were still on the western side, an area where Una had not traveled recently. But once they found the old Roman road that led through the forest, then she would be on familiar territory.
“We’ll hug the border of the forest to keep away from any Saxons we find,” said Guyon, hoisting his pack onto his back. “And we’ll avoid the roads for now. Until we reach the entrance to the forest.”
Una nodded and picked up the rope that attached itself to Acrasia’s hands. The woman had remained quiet throughout their whole conversation, but Una was sure that she was listening intently. Even when powerless, the Sins were not to be underestimated. That much was clear to both her and Guyon. Una had no doubt that, even now, Acrasia was hatching up some kind of plan.
Following a soft tug on the rope, Acrasia followed Una forward as they picked up their journey once more.
Just as Guyon advised, they kept to the edge of the forest. The rain had stopped, but the clouds still rolled angrily. They were almost a physical manifestation of how Una felt when entering the forest, sort of closed in and hostile.
They were all used to walking long distances by now, even Acrasia who had complained excessively at first. And honestly, Una couldn’t blame her having trouble once she had seen the level of blisters on the woman’s feet. Clearly the Sin wasn’t used to this level of discomfort. That was the reason why they had started off slow.
But after a few days of travel, Acrasia’s complaints had leveled out. And since Guyon wasn’t always much of a talker, they often spent long stretches of time in silence. Una liked that. She hated solitude, as it reminded her too much of her old cell in Londinium, but she also enjoyed the peace that came with quiet. Traveling with Guyon was like having the best of both worlds.
They continued on their way for several hours more, until the light filtering through the clouds had begun to fade.
Guyon raised a hand to signal a stop, and Una immediately halted where she stood.
“What is it?” she asked. Acrasia watched them both, carefully, appearing somewhat confused.
“There’s someone coming,” said Guyon, peering over the next hill. The forest still lay on their right side, and Una could see nothing ahead.
“Where?”
“I can hear a horse,” he replied in a soft whisper.
Una listened intently. It was several moments before she began to hear it too whenever the wind died down: the clear sound of horse hooves on rock and earth. Guyon had a good ear.
“Do you think it’s the Saxons?”
“I don’t know,” said Guyon, tilting his head t
o continue listening. “I can only make out one horse.”
Una triggered something inside her, the magic that lay in wait. It responded instantly to her touch, eager to be of use again. Una reined it in slightly, seizing control of it and preparing for the worst. There had been a time more recently when that magic would have tried to wrestle control of itself away from Una. She had even heard voices in her head that somehow represented her magic, or rather, represented a part of her that wanted to use it. Now she used it far more freely, but with full control.
Even now, as the magic filled her body, she felt a certain elation, the confirmation of her power. With this, she could do anything.
“I’m ready,” she said, facing forward at the sound of the oncoming hooves. The noise increased in strength and proximity until finally a figure emerged from the hill ahead of them. He was a knight, decked out in full armor and a conical helmet with a faceplate that obscured his face.
The knight reined in his horse upon seeing them. From what Una could make out, he was a bit shorter than Guyon, though taller than Una. He wore a coat of gambeson with another coat of heavy mail above that. In one arm, he carried a spear, in the other kite shield, pointed downward to protect his leg as he rode.
Though he bore no insignia, colors, or other markings to indicate his allegiance, both the helmet and shield were typical of Saxons.
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