Cursed

Part 2

“I can’t bear it any longer! How am I supposed to restrain myself when she looks at me that way?” Tristan muttered in frustration. He’d been pacing around his chambers since she left the room. Every day he saw see her and every day she seemed to become more beautiful. Every day she would walk from chamber to chamber and every day he would follow her with his eyes. He couldn’t believe he’d allowed himself to fall in love with a servant of all people! It wasn’t that he thought less of her because of her work; it was the fact that he was nobility.

For the first time in his life, this great knight adored by all felt as if the world had turned against him. He felt himself getting torn apart at the thought of having to choose between his noble life with his king by his side and the woman that bewitched his heart. All he could think about was meeting her.

As one of his servants was summoned down to bathe and clothe him, Tristan’s thoughts kept going back to Ella. He would talk to her the next morning when she visited his room again.

That evening went by slowly and as the sun rose on a new day, Tristan patiently sat waiting for Ella.

Countless minutes passed until he finally saw her. She walked in without a sound, pulled the curtains apart, and started towards the bed. She stopped on her tracks the moment she saw him sitting there. He hopped off and quickly closed the door before she could get to it

“You needn’t run away,” he said tenderly, “I only mean to talk to you”

She timidly took the seat he pulled for her and tried to avoid eye contact, “What about, my lord?” although she already knew the answer to her question.

He breathed in, “My feelings for you, sweet Ella”

At his words, her eyes shot up to look at him. There wasn’t much talking after that, but when they met again, they did more than use words to communicate their emotions. Their meetings grew more frequent as the days passed and Tristan could feel himself falling more deeply in love with her every time their lips touched. He was so happy that any doubts or fears he may have had were erase from his mind. That was of course when everything started going wrong.

One day, as he came back to Camelot from a border patrol, he heard the alarm bells echoing. Somebody had tried to kill the king. Although stunned at the fact that somebody would try to harm Arthur, Tristan collected himself and hurried up the stairways to the king’s chambers. He caught his breath and walked in. Arthur was in full armor, looking grim but very alive.

“Lord, what happened?” the knight asked urgently.

“One of the servants tried to poison me in my sleep! She would have succeeded if not for Gawain. She has been taken to the dungeon; catch up with the guard and make sure she gets to her cell,” ordered the king.

When Tristan arrived, the guard had already placed her in one of the dank rooms and was going back to his original post. He could hear the prisoner crying. He followed the sobs to a set of bars behind which a girl was curled up. Her long black hair covered her face, but when she lifted her head to see who came, the reddened green eyes were Ella’s. He didn’t even need an explanation. She was innocent; somebody has made a mistake. With that thought, he left with a promise to get her out of that horrid place. As he got back to the Arthur’s room, he repeated his plea in his head over and over again. A moment before he pushed the door, he heard his king speaking, “She will be burned at the stake for what she tried to do! That filthy servant girl…” Tristan didn’t stay to hear the end of the sentence.