Year: 1250-1275 (text), 1350 (script)
Original title (Dutch): Roman van Walewein (en het schaakspel)
Original title (English): Knight Gawain and the floating chessboard
Author(s): Penninc and Pieter Vostaert
Word count: 2057
"Vanden coninc Arture
Is bleven menighe avonture
Die nimmer mee ne wert bescreven."
I'm the queen. Not the royalty kind, but like a game of chess. I can go anywhere on the board, but I usually stay on the same place for the first few moves. Watch, memorise, then copy. That's my strategy. Today is a special day in the court.
'It's a great day, isn't it, Lady Gwen?' someone asks. I recognise the voice like no other. I turn around and, as I expected, see Monarch Alexis, my cousin, standing behind me.
'It's great, Your Majesty.'
'Dinner is about to be served and I wanted to ask you personally to come sit at the table.'
'That would be an honour, Your Majesty.'
Some time passes...
I sit around the table, amongst other Ladies and Knights, and chat a bit with Sir Tristan. 'And then I came back with her and her lady-in-waiting.' Isolde. I have heard the story. Several times. He is kind of famous for it, you know? Sjoof. What was that? The others see it too. Everyone stops talking, except Sir Tristan. 'And then, I was so desperate, I married an other woman with the same name!' When he sees everyone staring at him, he turns bright red. 'Ironic, isn't it?' I kick his foot under the table.
'What was that... eh... thing?' Monarch Alexis asks.
'It was a... a tsjbrd' Lady Cartin mutters.
'Excuse me?'
'It was a chessboard, Your Majesty.'
'A floating chessboard... How come it flies?'
'I wouldn't happen to know, Your Majesty.'
'How strange, it must be a message from someone, maybe God sent it... I want it.'
Silence.
'Who wants to get it for me? I'll give you my reign and you can rule over it.'
I look at Sir Tristan. Nobody says anything.
'Fine, I'll get it myself,' Monarch Alexis says.
'I'll get it,' I rise from my seat and speak. 'I'll get the chessboard. Make my horse ready.'
'Lady Gwen, are you certain about your decision?' Sir Tristan asks. It seems quite dangerous.'
'Quite certain, Sir Tristan. I love dangerous.' I speak with more confidence I actually have.
*
I run out of the room and grab my harness, my sword and a small dagger, which I keep as a talisman. My mother brought the dagger from India, her home country. The dagger means a lot to me. My horse is ready. I give the stablehand a smile. 'Thank you.' I follow the chessboard in the woods. Whenever I'm alone, I talk to myself. Or I talk to the horse. I'm not quite certain. I'm a talker, I love to talk. 'I honestly don't know why you only listen to the name Gringolet, buddy. You could have chose every other name, but no, you decided to listen to Gringolet. Your name could have been Amir or Robyn. Stupid name. Ah shit, I've been talking too much. I lost the chessboard. I don't even know why I'm doing this, Monarch Alexis doesn't even know what to do with it. They only know it's shiny or something. What do you do with a chessboard without the other pieces? Oh, there it is.' The chessboard flies into a mountain. 'Stay here, Gringolet.' I walk to the entrance of the mountain . A screaming noise comes from the inside of the mountain. 'On second thought, Gringolet, you're coming with me.' A baby dragon comes out of the mountain. 'What the he- I- did that baby dragon make the noise? That's not what I expected. Maybe it can help us finding the chessboard.' I kneel down infront of the dragon. 'Hey, little guy. Did you see the chessboard too? Yes? Can you help us find it?' I follow the dragon into the mountain, but when it turns left, I see three more baby dragons and their mothers. Let's just say she is not happy. I draw my sword and hold it in front of me. (Warning: epic battle scene coming up) I walk towards the mother dragon. "What do you want?" she says.
"You took my child, my dear child."
"I did not. What are you talking about?"
"Certainly, you know what I'm talking about. You have my child standing next to you."
The mother starts attacking Gringolet. I want to stop her by taking my sword and sticking it in between them, but I accidentally stab one of her children and the sword goes right through them. The mother is furious. I take my sword and start defending myself. Her claws nearly miss my arm and scratch my skin. I gasp. I reach for my arm, but I accidentally cut her throat. Look, here's the thing, I didn't do this on purpose. Her blood sprayed all over me and at this point, I think it's best to kill her.
