stars. “What’s Camelot like?” she asked.
“Huge!” Cai said. “It stands up on great hill, all shining white like the moon. It’s got ramparts all around, and the deepest ditches and the tallest towers in the world, and no Saxon has ever set foot inside its gates and lived to tell the tale. There’s room inside the walls for all of King Arthur’s knights and their horses and families and hawks and everything else. There’s a school for us squires training to be knights, and the Damsel Tower for the girls, and a chapel for the Christ-god and his priests. The Great Hall has a mosaic on the floor better than any you’ll find in Rome, and in the middle is the Round Table which Merlin enchanted,so there would always be enough seats for all the knights who want to sit with the king. And because it’s round, none of them sit higher than any of the others, so whatever they discuss is fair and equal, and no knight can break a promise he makes when he sits there… least they couldn’t until that idiot Mordred killed the king.” He paused for breath. “I’m sorry, Damsel Rhianna, I forgot. It must be sad for you to hear about King Arthur’s death, with him being your father and all.”
“It’s all right,” she said, eager to find out as much as possible about her parents’ home. “Does the queen sit at the Round Table as well?”
“I dunno,” Cai said. “I never went in there when they discussed stuff – squires aren’t allowed to sit at the table till they get knighted. But now King Arthur’s dead and gone for ever,I suppose no one will get knighted. Least not till we get another king at Camelot…”
“King Arthur’s not gone for ever,” Elphin corrected. “His body’s in Avalon, awaiting rebirth.”
“Really?” Cai looked interested. “Then you mean he’s goin’ to come back and save us from the Saxons and Prince Mordred, after all?”
“He might after I take him Excalibur,” Rhianna said.
Cai gave her an alarmed look. “I’d stay away from that sword if I were you, Damsel Rhianna! It feeds on people’s souls.”
“How?” Rhianna said, chilled. Maybe it had tried to swallow her father’s soul, and that was why he had ordered it thrown away?
But Cai wasn’t much help. He shrugged. “Magic, of course.” He turned back to Elphin,his eyes shining. “So King Arthur’s in Lord Avallach’s palace? Just wait till I tell the other squires! Wonder what he’ll think of the place when he wakes up. I bet it isn’t half as grand as Camelot.”
“Does Camelot have walls of crystal that can show song-pictures, and enchanted caverns that keep people alive for ever?” Elphin said.
“We got dungeons,” Cai said, not to be outdone. “Though people don’t usually live too long down there.”
Soon the two boys were deep in an argument as to which world had the best royal building. When Elphin got out his harp and began to strum gently, Rhianna closed her eyes with a smile and let the music drift over her. Cai didn’t stand a chance.
She fell asleep thinking of her father’s body lying in Merlin’s boat and had the strangest dream.
The old druid limped up the hill towards the stone circle, stabbing his staff into the grass. He had the same bedraggled falcon’s feathers in his beard as the day he’d brought King Arthur to Avalon.
As he stepped between the stones, a fierce note made Rhianna’s ears ring, and there was a flash of silver light. She flinched as the druid turned his pale blue gaze upon her.
“Ah, there you are, Rhianna Pendragon!” he said in his grumpy manner. “I thought you might camp here. If you are dreaming this, something has gone wrong. Take the sword to Camelot and wait for me there. Do not try to use it! Do you hear? I will come to you as soonas I can. If all else fails, I’ll send you my pathfinder…” His image wavered and blurred like a song-picture. “Look for the dragon… spirit transfer… beware Mordred.”
Her tongue unlocked.
“Huge!” Cai said. “It stands up on great hill, all shining white like the moon. It’s got ramparts all around, and the deepest ditches and the tallest towers in the world, and no Saxon has ever set foot inside its gates and lived to tell the tale. There’s room inside the walls for all of King Arthur’s knights and their horses and families and hawks and everything else. There’s a school for us squires training to be knights, and the Damsel Tower for the girls, and a chapel for the Christ-god and his priests. The Great Hall has a mosaic on the floor better than any you’ll find in Rome, and in the middle is the Round Table which Merlin enchanted,so there would always be enough seats for all the knights who want to sit with the king. And because it’s round, none of them sit higher than any of the others, so whatever they discuss is fair and equal, and no knight can break a promise he makes when he sits there… least they couldn’t until that idiot Mordred killed the king.” He paused for breath. “I’m sorry, Damsel Rhianna, I forgot. It must be sad for you to hear about King Arthur’s death, with him being your father and all.”
“It’s all right,” she said, eager to find out as much as possible about her parents’ home. “Does the queen sit at the Round Table as well?”
“I dunno,” Cai said. “I never went in there when they discussed stuff – squires aren’t allowed to sit at the table till they get knighted. But now King Arthur’s dead and gone for ever,I suppose no one will get knighted. Least not till we get another king at Camelot…”
“King Arthur’s not gone for ever,” Elphin corrected. “His body’s in Avalon, awaiting rebirth.”
“Really?” Cai looked interested. “Then you mean he’s goin’ to come back and save us from the Saxons and Prince Mordred, after all?”
“He might after I take him Excalibur,” Rhianna said.
Cai gave her an alarmed look. “I’d stay away from that sword if I were you, Damsel Rhianna! It feeds on people’s souls.”
“How?” Rhianna said, chilled. Maybe it had tried to swallow her father’s soul, and that was why he had ordered it thrown away?
But Cai wasn’t much help. He shrugged. “Magic, of course.” He turned back to Elphin,his eyes shining. “So King Arthur’s in Lord Avallach’s palace? Just wait till I tell the other squires! Wonder what he’ll think of the place when he wakes up. I bet it isn’t half as grand as Camelot.”
“Does Camelot have walls of crystal that can show song-pictures, and enchanted caverns that keep people alive for ever?” Elphin said.
“We got dungeons,” Cai said, not to be outdone. “Though people don’t usually live too long down there.”
Soon the two boys were deep in an argument as to which world had the best royal building. When Elphin got out his harp and began to strum gently, Rhianna closed her eyes with a smile and let the music drift over her. Cai didn’t stand a chance.
She fell asleep thinking of her father’s body lying in Merlin’s boat and had the strangest dream.
The old druid limped up the hill towards the stone circle, stabbing his staff into the grass. He had the same bedraggled falcon’s feathers in his beard as the day he’d brought King Arthur to Avalon.
As he stepped between the stones, a fierce note made Rhianna’s ears ring, and there was a flash of silver light. She flinched as the druid turned his pale blue gaze upon her.
“Ah, there you are, Rhianna Pendragon!” he said in his grumpy manner. “I thought you might camp here. If you are dreaming this, something has gone wrong. Take the sword to Camelot and wait for me there. Do not try to use it! Do you hear? I will come to you as soonas I can. If all else fails, I’ll send you my pathfinder…” His image wavered and blurred like a song-picture. “Look for the dragon… spirit transfer… beware Mordred.”
Her tongue unlocked.
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