“What? There is no way we can retake the city!” exclaimed Percival. “Don’t get me wrong, that is what we all want, but Arthur, the city is lost, now under control of our traitor brother Mordred and the witch.
Lancelot nodded. “There is more. I was out tonight on horseback, scouting around the kingdom and saw more of her wicked doings. Many of the witch’s servants now travel abroad, across the kingdom burning and pillaging towns and cities in the various provinces.”
“The witch is as smart as she is beautiful,” said Tristan. “Of this there is no doubt.”
“I know of this intelligence and beauty first-hand,” said Arthur. “But now, here in Merlin’s hut, we gather at the turning of the tide. We meet here to now unravel all the witch’s so carefully laid plans.”
“But what are we Arthur?” asked Lancelot as he drew his sword. “A bunch of men with armor and swords? We have no magic. We have nothing to fight the evil of this witch. Even if we do somehow get into the city and to the witch she will certainly slay us with her magic. I think it is time that we accept the fact that we cannot defeat her, no matter how great of knights we are.”
“I will not accept that,” replied Arthur harshly, raising his sword up towards the ceiling. It glowed brightly for all to see. “I don’t believe that God destined any creature to fail! There will be a way. We must simply believe. For what purpose do we as knights exist else to defend the people of this kingdom against the tyranny of oppression and evil? If we do not help then who will? Huh? Speak!” Arthur looked around the table, waiting for any knight to respond, but they stood silent. “Is this the ending you knights want written on your tombstones? When the story is eventually told of Arthur and his great knights do you want the storyteller to simply stop here because there is nothing else admirable in the story? I can picture the reader of this story saying, ‘And so Arthur and his knights hid out in Merlin’s hut because they feared the witch. And they lived there until the end of their days.’ I am sorry my good brothers, but I do not want that written on my tombstone and so I will go to the city alone if I must.”
There was a long moment of silence after Arthur had said these words. Everyone seemed to keep their heads down because nobody dared to speak against Arthur. Nobody seemed to want to volunteer to accompany him.
“I am with you Arthur,” said Merlin as he raised his staff. He then moved towards the table and threw down some black powder on it. Then with his fingers he carefully began drawing on the table, etching out some sort of image that looked like Camelot. “Great knights, the task will be difficult. There is no denying this. Camelot is heavily guarded. The walls surrounding its city are thick and the witch will no doubt have more than just archers on the walls. No, she will have gathered more devilries to await our return. She will have many soldiers within the city and perhaps some outside of it…scouts perhaps to alert her of our presence. But we have several advantages. One, she does not know about the secret passageway into the castle and she does not know that I secretly released Arthur’s knights and many of his loyal followers. Two, she does not know when we shall attack. Three, Elaine, Lancelot’s wife, remained in Camelot to secretly gather as many loyal followers in preparation for Arthur’s return. And four, if I might add, we have Arthur.”
Arthur shook his head. “Far too kind my friend.”
“That is great and all, but what is our plan?” asked Lancelot. “We cannot simply break down the doors of the gate and walk in. We are far too few in number. There are only ten knights and a few raggedy soldiers. We are simply too few to lay siege to such a grand city.”
“We do not need to lay siege to it,” said Arthur. “We only need to get into it.”
Merlin nodded. “Arthur is right. If we can just get a group of men into the city to go after the witch then we are sure to cause a civil war—many men in the city will no doubt see Arthur and will fight for him.”
Arthur then pulled out his dragon key and handed it to Lancelot. “This is the key to the door of the secret passageway,” said Arthur. “Lancelot, my brother, you can lead a group through this secret passageway. Then take your men, knock out the guards at the gate, and open it in preparation for our arrival.”
“But it will take many men to open the gate,” said Lancelot. “And I doubt we have enough men for that.”
“There are nine knights and about twenty soldiers outside,” said Arthur. “It should only take about ten to open the gate.”
“I will go with Lancelot,” said Merlin. “I know the castle and prefer to stay out of the witch’s sight. While in the castle, and while Lancelot is opening the gate, I may be able to find Gawain and persuade him to join our cause.”
“Excellent,” said Arthur. “Now we need a few of the knights to come with me so as to not make it seem suspicious.” Arthur looked around waiting for volunteers. Then Galahad stepped forward.
“I will follow you into the city,” said Galahad.
“As will I,” said Percival, smashing his empty cup on the ground. “I will follow you my excellent Arthur until the end!”
“Excellent, then you Lancelot take a few knights and soldiers with you so you have ten to open the gate,” said Arthur. “You all must be careful as to not be seen by the witch or her servants. Many of her servants are disguised as ordinary citizens. My men will be at the top of the distant hill. Then, once we see that the gate is open, we will begin our ride. But you must be wary, for once the witch sees us ride she will look down and notice that the gate is open. She will send more of her men down there to the gate and you will have to fend them off until we arrive at the gate. Once we arrive at the gate we will ride into the city, showing the people that I have returned. Then the men with me, Lancelot’s men, and anyone loyal to me in the city must fight for their lives against the witch’s servants and Mordred’s men. Everyone’s goal will be to keep the streets clear so that I may ride straight to the castle. There my goal will be to find and get Alice and then force the witch to surrender.”
“The witch will never surrender Arthur,” said Merlin. “And she will surely have Alice defended well. I will aid in helping you find Alice, but if we cannot get to her you know that the witch will have us all surrounded. We will be trapped with nowhere to go against a power greater and fiercer than any we have ever faced. The witch is very angry now and…”
“Merlin, this is the only way,” said Arthur.
Merlin smiled at Arthur’s confidence and optimism. “Very well, the plans are set then…you will need this.” Merlin handed Arthur some type of horn, a masterpiece that shined like silver. It was round and curled around like a snail. “If you are going to do this then do it with everything you got! Behold, the Horn of Kings, the loudest and noblest of all instruments created below the heavens! Blow this just before you charge and before Lancelot and his men open the gate. Then the witch will focus on you and I will be better able to find both Gawain and Alice for you before you arrive. Then, once you have blown the horn, Lancelot and his men may open the gate into Camelot.”
Arthur nodded and then scanned around the table. “Now men, you all know your assignments. Do you think you all can handle that? I know you are weary after such a journey and because of the lateness of the hour, but will you return with me to the city of Camelot and retake the city?” Arthur moved his sword around, pointing at the various knights.
Lancelot smiled and placed his hand firmly on Arthur’s shoulder. “We are with you until the end, whenever that may be.” Arthur smiled. He was glad to have such a true friend.
“Then prepare men! We leave soon so we may arrive and retake our home Camelot after the sun has risen.”
The knights all erupted in cheers. “Hurrah! To Camelot we go! We take back our home!”
The knights and soldiers quickly prepared themselves to depart that night, gathering what supplies they needed for their journey and leaving behind everything they could spare. Although Arthur should have felt tired he did not, but felt a surge of energy flow through
him now like he never did before. He figured that this was due to the super-state that Merlin referred to previously. But no matter the source, he knew he would need all the help he could get.
Chapter 17: The Return to Camelot
Later that night, as Arthur’s men prepared to depart to Camelot, Merlin led Arthur up a trail along the rock cliffs behind his hut. Arthur had never been on this trail before and Merlin seemed like he had been on it many times.
Once they had reached the top of the rock cliffs both he and Merlin stood overlooking the hut and forest terrain on the east side and the distant sea to the west. Although it was a good view, the wind was roaring and it seemed quite cold.
For a few moments neither Arthur nor Merlin spoke. They both simply watched the sun rise in the east, which poured light down onto the distant, western sea. For Merlin this place seemed very sacred, and he gazed out towards the sea with even more awe and wonder. Arthur too, looked out onto the sea. He watched the waves move up and down and toss and turn in the wind.
“Why have you brought me here?” asked Arthur.
“Because I want to you to be able to see clearly,” said Merlin. “Miles to the west, as you can see, is a beautiful sea, a sea that I crossed once…” Merlin looked out boldly over the sea, old memories filling his mind. “I came to this land long ago to experience the peace and joy of a new world, to see what it would be like for people to live normal lives apart from my old world. And I found that this world brought great joy, but, in addition, I found that great labor was necessary to bring that joy.”
“What are you saying?”
“I am saying that for you to achieve joy here in this land you must overcome yourself, overcome your feelings. A hero must not get revenge, for you must know that you cannot use feelings against the witch, but must be the wielder of justice. Use your heart, but do not use feeling, for that is how she wins against you. Do not numb all feeling, but only your feelings for her. You have a hero’s duty, which is to do something for the world that it cannot do for itself. In this case you are to bring the kingdom peace and prosperity, which is something the kingdom cannot do for itself. Know that the greatest sadness a man can feel out of love comes in the mourning of a hero, a hero whose fate has not been yet considered or understood in the eyes of the one person who has found it necessary to love—yourself. It would cause me the greatest sadness of all Arthur, to be forced to watch you fail to this woman. So Arthur, fight with courage and for the God above, but strip away your feelings and become something new entirely. When you do this there is no limit to how you may be able to impact this world.”
There was a long silence. Arthur could feel the wind against his face and felt relieved to be in such a mythical place. “I don’t understand something,” said Arthur.
“What is it?” replied Merlin.
“I don’t understand why I have not become as one of the other men—the other men who fell in love with her. All men that fall in love with her must turn into stone, be made into her servant, or, worst of all, give their heart to her. I have spent much time pondering over this. I certainly fell for her, at least in part, and no doubt should have at least began to become like one of those men…”
“There is a reason for this Arthur, but now is not the time to reveal it. All you must know now is that you are different Arthur. You are great and will not fail to her. You should not worry about yourself, but about those men you see there by my hut. They will look to you for guidance.” Arthur looked down to where Merlin pointed.
“Why are telling me all this? Why really bring me all the way up here? It couldn’t have just been for the view…”
Merlin sighed, looking out over the landscape. “The transformation has begun Arthur.”
“What transformation?”
“The transformation of your daughter into a witch,” said Merlin. “Immediately after you defied the witch’s love and escaped from the pits of death, you caused her to weaken and she felt that weakness. I sense that she is now preparing Alice to become a witch. She is feeding her false truth, corrupting her more than Mordred could ever do. The rose, the rose that you saw in the witch’s palace, is now beginning to wilt because the witch is weakening. It will take several days, but once the transformation is complete the power of the rose will then be transferred onto your daughter and the rose will rise again. The rising of the rose signifies the completion of the transformation.”
“Then Alice will be completely lost to me?”
“Yes, I am afraid so,” said Merlin. “Then all the power of the poison rose will be transferred to her. She will have all its great power and will attempt to wield it against you. I thought that you should know what I have felt in my heart.”
“Felt in your heart,” asked Arthur. “But how?”
“It is a trick that comes in time,” said Merlin. “I have gained the ability to feel what the witch now feels and this is an ability that you too will gain in time. Right now she feels great anger and hate for you and she will focus all her effort on bringing your daughter completely to her side.”
“So what brought them together, my daughter and the witch? I know my daughter and the witch and they are two very different people.”
“Only one thing is needed in common to unite two women like this together—hatred of the world. It is amazing to me how two people can just as powerfully be brought together out of a hatred for the world as for a love for it.”
“What? But why would she hate the world?”
“You don’t really know,” said Merlin, sounding surprised. “For as long as I have known you I have tried to hold back reprimanding you for your mistakes. Why? Because that is not my job and a part of me hoped that you would learn from your mistakes on your own. But I suppose that sometimes someone should give a little push.”
“What are you saying?” asked Arthur.
“You don’t see it do you. For so long you have seen the world through your eyes. Now you have lost the ability to see the world through someone else’s. Think of your daughter! You lost your wife, yes, but what about your girl. She lost just as much if not more than you did, because not only did she lose a mother, but she also lost you.”
“She didn’t lose me,” replied Arthur. “I was always there for her.”
“No you weren’t,” Merlin exclaimed. “While your wife was dying, and even some time before that, you disregarded her. You left her there in the castle while you went after this witch. You could not see her tears, but I saw them. When I was at Camelot I saw them. She told me she cried for days after you left. After so long she began to doubt whether or not you really cared and no child should be left feeling that way, for that is the greatest woe of a child—to feel a lack of love from a parent. It was in that moment, that moment of doubt when she felt a void of love in her life, when her heart began to turn away from you. You then began to lose her. But you couldn’t see. Your soul was caught up in this iconic mission, this dream to win this woman’s heart. You couldn’t see the corruptness of your advisor and instead left the person you really most cared about to go after a fantasy. But that is often how it is. We rarely see the ones who love us, but so frequently see the ones who don’t. But know this Arthur: Strength of arms will not win this war. Instead, Alice, your sweet little Alice, is the person who will ultimately decide the outcome of this war—for either good or for evil. Fate will be decided by the choice of the innocent! So take care of your knights, and take care of your people in Camelot, but most of all, take care of Alice. Within Alice there is yet a pure heart not entirely corrupted by the malice of the witch. I tell you this because there may come a time when you find yourself face-to-face with the witch in front of Alice. This will be an important moment for you should it occur, and you must decide to show either your hatred for the witch or your love for your daughter. But know this Arthur, it is always better to show love than hatred! The witch will want you to show your anger and hatred, thus bringing your daughter even more to her side. I am not saying that
Alice will side with you now if you show love, but if you do, the seed of love within her will be nourished; thus, in the end, at least letting Alice know how much you do care about her. Arthur, remember that there is only one thing that can break the evil spell under the wilted rose and end the reign of witch’s forever.”
“What is that?”
“Love,” replied Merlin. “Not romantic love, but true selfless love, the giving of yourself for another person. So the only way you are to defeat this witch comes not in strength of arms, but in the strength of the heart. But come, now that I have spoken with you we must quickly depart, for we can now fully behold the sun.”
Merlin led Arthur down to his hut where he found his knights and soldiers prepared to depart. Merlin let out a loud whistle and suddenly from the forest emerged several horses, enough horses for all of his knights and soldiers. Merlin laughed with joy. “Yes, you know, once you become so old and in touch with nature you learn that the animals of the earth are the sweetest of creatures. They obey me without hesitation.”
Arthur smiled when he saw Hengroen again. “Noble creature!” he exclaimed as he leapt up onto her back. After Arthur had mounted his steed the other knights and soldiers did the same. “Together we ride Lancelot until we arrive at Camelot River about two miles south of Camelot. It is there that we must part—you traveling north-west in secret to the north passageway while I travel north-east to the south-eastern gate of Camelot!”
Lancelot nodded. “So be it! We are ready to ride!”
Merlin raised his staff. It again lit up a bright white from the fireflies. “Should the forest grow thick and dark follow the light,” exclaimed Merlin. Then suddenly he took off on his grey-spotted stallion in the forest northward. Arthur and the rest of his company followed. So Merlin led the men through the darkness, onward on horseback, ever onward, through the forest, marshland and prairie towards Camelot.
The Poison Rose: A King Arthur Tale Page 19