The Green Knight & the Phantom Horsemen

Chapter 3

Bercilak stood in Titus' living room, staring at the fire burning in the hearth. Behind him Titus laid on the sofa, a bandage lay on his chest, covering his wound. It appeared that the Sheriff would live, unfortunately his men would not.

Natalie was gone, sitting with her stepmother who was distraught over the loss of her daughter. Just after Titus and Natalie went to the tavern to meet Bercilak, Titus' wife, Tallah, went into labor. It was quick with the midwife just barely arriving in time. Right after the baby was born the death spawn had entered, cutting through Titus' men and snatching the baby from her mother's arms. Now Natalie sat by her stepmother, a woman just five or six years older than herself, as the woman finally drifted off to sleep.

Titus took a sip of whiskey directly from the bottle and then offered it to Bercilak. The knight accepted and took a swig. He handed the bottle back to Titus and then stared at the Sheriff, his eyes penetrating.

"At the inn, someone told Natalie that you brought this on yourself. What did he mean?"

Titus took another swig from the bottle. "We do not have a lord here. Not anymore," he said as his eyes met Bercilak's. "Not for twenty years."

"What happened?" Bercilak asked.

"Our lord was a decent man. At least for a while. But then one day a beautiful young maiden moved into town with her family. They had no titles, but her father was a merchant so they had some money. She was the most beautiful girl I had ever seen, every man in town was in love with her. It was not surprising that our young lord wanted her too. He wooed her and they married. Her family moved into his castle with him and that was that—until he started to act peculiar."

"How?" Bercilak asked as he found a chair, sensing this was not a short tale.

"He grew distrustful of everyone. Turned against his people. We later discovered why. The young maiden was a witch and poisoned his mind."

"How do you know?"

"She had been seen practicing the dark arts. Witnesses saw her worshiping the devil himself. The friar himself testified that she refused to even look upon the cross."

Bercilak sat back in his chair. "So, what happened?" he asked.

Titus looked down at the floor. "I led a group of men to the castle gates. We demanded our lord bring her to trial for witchcraft, but he refused. Instead he sent his soldiers out to kill us—his loyal subjects who only wanted what was best for him—to save him from Satan's whore. It was the work of the devil, the witch had so poisoned his mind. So we stormed the castle to take her by force and rescue our lord from the dark spell she had placed upon him. During the battle the witch lit the castle on fire, wishing to take as many souls to Hell with her as possible. The lord, his family, the witch, and most of their servants died in the fire."

Bercilak glanced at Twigg who was was clearly confused. "Are you wondering what I am wondering Twigg?"

The squire nodded. "What does any of this have to do with the death spawn taking your newborn daughter?" Twigg asked the Sheriff.

"Many in town, myself included, believe the devil sent them here to punish us for killing his servant, the witch."

Bercilak turned to Twigg. "It is time to get some sleep. We leave at first light," he said. Then to Titus, "We shall save your daughter, Sheriff."

***

The next morning, Bercilak and Twigg rode through the smashed gates of the town, and then north to where Titus said they would find the remains of the old castle. There he told them, they would find his daughter. Bercilak was clad, as usual, in his customary green armor. Titus himself was too injured to join them and the other townsmen refused to go. Thus, Bercilak and Twigg set forth alone.