A Collection Of Short Stories

My unforgettable knight #1

As a hint for this chapter it is better if you have some prior knowledge in the tales of king Arthur and Celts. Also horsey knowledge is recommended but not necessary.
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Trotting along the muddied track a boy and his horse, Snitch, made their way through the bracken. Thorns reached and clung to his helmet and jodpurs, suddenly a bird flew from the hedge beside them convincing Snitch an alien was going to eat him. So cantering at break neck speed they ducked and darted along the over grown path. To his dismay they soon approached a horse sized hole in the hedge; paying no attention to the tugs on the reins or the way of his seat the silver animal shot through the hole and into the unknown.

They emerged victorious from the quagmire, unscathed and in good health. Snitch (obviously calmer and feeling proud of his discovery) practically radiated the phrase 'I told you so' after the boy's worry of the land behind the trees. They appeared to be in a large bush lined field looking over a valley; he swiveled around on the saddle to find the hole in the greenery they had burst through but other than the few twigs in the horse's mane or stuck to his chaps no other evidence suggested they had burst through anything. He steered Snitch closer but the hedge appeared to have simply closed up behind them, not a leaf out of place.

Perplexed he took his phone from the black windbreaker he wore; he ignored the four WiFi bars almost never filled in the countryside but to his dismay he had no signal despite being near the top of a hill. Looking around for a landmark he studied the landscape closer, feeling uneasy he tried to work out what was wrong then it hit him like a small and annoyed pony's well placed kick. There were no roads, housed or electrical pylons.

He looked in confusion to Snitch who had grown bored with waiting and was promptly stuffing his face with the lush grass at his feet. Picking up the reins the boy had dropped in his shock he kicked my dapple grey horse forward and into a canter to the top of the mound ahead of us. From there we saw a landscape resembling the Pembrokeshire hills in Wales, he noticed they  had barely begun their climb as what he had assumed was a hill was simply an out crop on the huge mound above them. They were simply standing on a pimple on the mountains great face. Suddenly he heard the sound of voices fast approaching them.

He tied Snitch to a solid limb of wood the other side of the green wall out of the way and perched behind a tree. From this vantage point he saw a girl a little younger than himself dressed in a flowing black robe brandishing a golden sickle. She waffled on in a foreign tongue waving her slender arms for emphasis. Behind her riding on horseback regarding her with quizzical expressions were two hooded, older men with one with a long beard and both with similar robes as the girl but in white. As they passed he stayed as still as he could but apparently he had picked the wrong spot as the girl neared she looked to a tree beside his spot and began to climb. He cursed in his head as the branches above him shuddered until there was a loud crack. A tree limb flew at him as he cried out scrambling out the way.

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The girl stared at the boy below her who wore strange tight fitting clothes and had silky but short and styled black hair. She noted with confusion how he didn't have his hair twirled into little spikes like the rest of the men of her village but instead it looked like a wave caught mid motion. To her he was not unattractive in fact she could easily see him joining her for a year for a trial marriage. She closed her eyes and remembered the named burned into her mind, her future husband who would love and cherish her for the rest of her life. Arthur.

She slowly untangled herself from the branches and away from her sacred mission. Then standing over the boy she began 'I am here on a sacred task for my people and you... you are not going to stop it, in fact you can now aid me, Slave.'

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The boy stood there in confusion as the girl before him babbled in a language he didn't know imposingly. 'I don't know what you are saying.' He said rather stupidly to the girl who wore the same expression he had when the roles were reversed. 'I,' he began pointing to himself 'am Lance.' 

She seemed to nod in understanding as she pointed to herself and said 'Guinevere.'

He nodded at least they had gotten that far. The druids who had been out of view came closer wondering what was taking so long. Once one of them saw Lance his brow creased in thought. 'I thought you would be longer to get here.' He spoke English, modern English, well and dismounted his horse, a large and stocky chestnut. The other druid who was taller, rode a smaller bay also dismounted and joined the one conversing with Lance.
'What do you mean take longer, wait where is here?' The boy quizzed the ancient man.
'Later young paduwan.' He said chuckling. The boy was flabbergasted, a STAR WARS REFERENCE. He was about to ask his myriad of questions but the druid stopped him with a raised hand, 'Where are my manners, I am Myler and this is my wife Monessa.'

The second druid (towing over her husband) pulled back her hood to reveal long frizzy brown hair and matching wild brown eyes. 'She lunged forward at Lance and pulled him away. 'No.' She wispered 'You two have met and he will die...' She stumbled back in a fit of rage, then promptly falling to mounting her horse and riding away.

END OF PART 1

Sorry for the two parter but as I wrote this I realised I could not fit this spiffing story all into one chapter. Reach for the star and hopefully all will be revealed soon.

Lx