remembered Merlin saying, ‘The Lordly Ones are not good or evil, any more than the rains that swells the barley or washes the field away, they simply
are
.’ And then he seemed to be not remembering Merlin’s voice, but hearing it afresh, speaking in his ear, ‘Trust her. Whatever she is,
you
may always trust her. For a while, she is your fate as well as mine.’
The voice was silent, and Arthur saw that his knights were looking at him strangely, as though wondering why he stood listening while no one spoke.
Then he said, ‘Lady, I accept your counsel.’ And to his sister’s messenger, ‘Damosel, I would see this mantle first upon you.’
‘Nay, sir,’ she said quickly. ‘It would ill become me to wear a king’s mantle.’
‘Nevertheless, you shall wear this one, before ever the King puts it about his shoulders,’ said Arthur, and he made a sign to two squires standing nearby; and they seized the damosel and the mantle, and by force wrapped it close about her. And in that same moment, while she screamed and struggled, there was a bright flame of fire that leapt up between the squires’ hands almost to lick the roof of the Great Hall, and of the damosel and the mantle nothing was left but a little smoking ash upon the ground.
From that time forward Morgan La Fay never dared to seek to do Arthur harm, but fled to her husband’s kingdom of Gore, to a castle of her own that she had there, and fortified it strongly, and there she stayed. And so the kingdom was rid of one more of its enemies.
6
Sir Lancelot of the Lake
JUST AS THE High King and his knights were about to sit down to supper on the eve of Easter, one of Arthur’s squires came to him, saying that there was a stranger at the threshold who wished for speech with him but would not give his name. And Arthur looked away down the Hall and saw a young man standing in the doorway, and said, ‘Bring him to me. It may be that he will tell
me
his name.’
So the young man came up the Hall and knelt wordlessly at the King’s feet. He was a raw-boned and very ugly young man, with two sides to his face that did not match each other, so that one side of his mouth ran straight and sullen and the other lifted towards joy and laughter, and one of his black brows was level as a falcon’s wing and one flew wild and ragged like the jaunty ear of a mongrel that has just come well out of afight. But out from under those brows looked a pair of wide grey eyes that the King thought were the steadiest that he had ever seen.
‘Who are you?’ Arthur said. ‘And for what purpose do you come to me?’
And the young man said, ‘I am Lancelot, son of King Ban of Benwick, who fought beside you at Bedegraine. And I come because I have wished to for as long as I can remember, and because Merlin bade me, to ask for knighthood at your hands. He bade me tell you that I was his last bequest to you before he went to find his long sleep under his hawthorn tree.’
‘Knighthood you shall have, on tomorrow’s morning, the fair morning of Eastertide,’ Arthur said; and gave his hand to the ugly young man, who bent his head for a moment to touch his forehead upon it.
‘I thank you, sir,’ said Lancelot; and then he turned a little, and Arthur saw that a russet-haired young man had come quietly up behind him. ‘Sir, here stands my cousin and good friend Lional, who came with me to be my squire; but he is at least as worthy of knighthood as I am myself.’
And the King looked at the russet-haired squire, and said, ‘What says Lional as to that? Would you also be made knight upon Easter morning?’
‘I would be made knight,’ said Lional, ‘but not on Easter morning; for then how could I play squire to mycousin Lancelot at the same time? I would not that some strange squire should see to his armour, and attend him through the ceremony.’
‘That is well spoken,’ said the King. ‘You shall serve him as squire for three days, and if you are a good squire, you shall
are
.’ And then he seemed to be not remembering Merlin’s voice, but hearing it afresh, speaking in his ear, ‘Trust her. Whatever she is,
you
may always trust her. For a while, she is your fate as well as mine.’
The voice was silent, and Arthur saw that his knights were looking at him strangely, as though wondering why he stood listening while no one spoke.
Then he said, ‘Lady, I accept your counsel.’ And to his sister’s messenger, ‘Damosel, I would see this mantle first upon you.’
‘Nay, sir,’ she said quickly. ‘It would ill become me to wear a king’s mantle.’
‘Nevertheless, you shall wear this one, before ever the King puts it about his shoulders,’ said Arthur, and he made a sign to two squires standing nearby; and they seized the damosel and the mantle, and by force wrapped it close about her. And in that same moment, while she screamed and struggled, there was a bright flame of fire that leapt up between the squires’ hands almost to lick the roof of the Great Hall, and of the damosel and the mantle nothing was left but a little smoking ash upon the ground.
From that time forward Morgan La Fay never dared to seek to do Arthur harm, but fled to her husband’s kingdom of Gore, to a castle of her own that she had there, and fortified it strongly, and there she stayed. And so the kingdom was rid of one more of its enemies.
6
Sir Lancelot of the Lake
JUST AS THE High King and his knights were about to sit down to supper on the eve of Easter, one of Arthur’s squires came to him, saying that there was a stranger at the threshold who wished for speech with him but would not give his name. And Arthur looked away down the Hall and saw a young man standing in the doorway, and said, ‘Bring him to me. It may be that he will tell
me
his name.’
So the young man came up the Hall and knelt wordlessly at the King’s feet. He was a raw-boned and very ugly young man, with two sides to his face that did not match each other, so that one side of his mouth ran straight and sullen and the other lifted towards joy and laughter, and one of his black brows was level as a falcon’s wing and one flew wild and ragged like the jaunty ear of a mongrel that has just come well out of afight. But out from under those brows looked a pair of wide grey eyes that the King thought were the steadiest that he had ever seen.
‘Who are you?’ Arthur said. ‘And for what purpose do you come to me?’
And the young man said, ‘I am Lancelot, son of King Ban of Benwick, who fought beside you at Bedegraine. And I come because I have wished to for as long as I can remember, and because Merlin bade me, to ask for knighthood at your hands. He bade me tell you that I was his last bequest to you before he went to find his long sleep under his hawthorn tree.’
‘Knighthood you shall have, on tomorrow’s morning, the fair morning of Eastertide,’ Arthur said; and gave his hand to the ugly young man, who bent his head for a moment to touch his forehead upon it.
‘I thank you, sir,’ said Lancelot; and then he turned a little, and Arthur saw that a russet-haired young man had come quietly up behind him. ‘Sir, here stands my cousin and good friend Lional, who came with me to be my squire; but he is at least as worthy of knighthood as I am myself.’
And the King looked at the russet-haired squire, and said, ‘What says Lional as to that? Would you also be made knight upon Easter morning?’
‘I would be made knight,’ said Lional, ‘but not on Easter morning; for then how could I play squire to mycousin Lancelot at the same time? I would not that some strange squire should see to his armour, and attend him through the ceremony.’
‘That is well spoken,’ said the King. ‘You shall serve him as squire for three days, and if you are a good squire, you shall
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