Witchers of Camelot

The Lady

'Galahad', exclaimed Ciri, giving him a warm smile. 'I thought I'd never see you again. And I see you brought some friends'. She watched as they all gawked at her.

The strange atmosphere finally broke when the lady, Guinevere, stepped into the clearing. 'Lady Cirilla, it's so good to see you safe'. She ran to her with a hug.

'I'm well, my lady'. Ciri grinned. 'So, I believe you escorts have arrived'.

As if on queue, the knights all kneeled before the princess. 'We are the knights of Camelot. Here to escort Princess Guinevere to the castle'.

'Once again, I thank you, sers. If it wasn't for your valiant rescue, we would not have lived through this night. For now, I think we've all earned a well deserved rest'.

They all nodded before Ciri spoke. 'That's not a good idea, my lady. The wolves already have our scent. It would be best if we get out of the forest as soon as we can'.

Ciri saw the knights ready to interject but the princess responded first. 'I see. I failed to listen to your counsel once and it almost got us killed. I will not fail again'.

And with that, the carriage rode through the night surrounded by the knights on horseback.

'So', said Ciri. 'I see you managed to defeat your green knight'.

Galahad's face turned red. 'I wouldn't say defeat. More like, he took pity on me and let me go'.

'Ahh, as humble as always. He told me you were honourable so he chose to give you a reward instead'.

Galahad jaw dropped again. 'Y-you talked to the Green Knight?'

'Of course. I wanted to see what the fuss was all about so I looked for him. Nice guy. Needs to clean his place up a bit more though. All that grass and vines crawling up the walls. Or not. Treants are nature beings after all'.

All the knights stared at her in disbelief. Finally, the old man cheered. 'If it weren't for you, my lady, then he wouldn't have reached his goal in the first place'.

'You give me too much credit. All I did was nudge him in the right direction', she replied. 'And please, call me Ciri'.

For the rest of their travel, Ciri slowly got to know the group. Galahad, the youngest of the group, often teased by the rest of them and also the one with the most heart. Lancelot and his wry charms, which reminded her of Lambert. Arthur, their leader and Percival, his most loyal and trusted companion. Bors, the loud boisterous one, who Ciri almost mistook for someone who came from the Isles of Skellige. The quiet Tristan and his hawk companion who can see clearly further than any ordinary man Ciri had ever met. Gawain with his incredible strength, and unending fondness for  wine. And finally,  Merlin, who Ciri is still uncertain whether he is a sorcerer or simply an old man who believed in too many stories.

They all continued sharing different stories about their own adventures until, finally, they reached the nearby town. 

'I'm afraid this is where we part ways', said Ciri.

'But, my lady', said Lancelot. 'You've helped us a lot in this journey. What about your reward?'

'I told you. Enough with the 'my lady'. As for the reward, keep it for now. I'll come pick it up when I have the time. For now, I have work to do'. 

Arthur nodded to her. 'We understand. May you fair well on your quest, Lady Cirilla'. 

Ciri gave them all a gleeful smile. 'Aye. You too. And I'm sure we'll meet again. Especially you, Galahad'. Ciri winked at the young man before finally stirring his horse and returning to the forest.