Lancelot waits until the moon is shining high overhead through his window and as soon as he sees it he quickly throws back the covers and swings his feet around to the floor. He jerks on his boots and throws a black cape around him. The last thing he grabs before leaving his room is his sword—which he buckles to his belt. Walking up to the door he puts his ear against it and listens. He counts off thirty silent breaths and opens the door just enough to stick his head through it. Looking up and down the stone hallway and seeing nobody in the flickering torch light, he slips out of his room and just as silently shuts his door. Wrapping his black cape around him and putting the hood around his head, he slips into the shadows.
Treading quickly and quietly through the stone hallway, Lancelot stops in every corner or darkened doorframe when he hears the smallest sound. His heart is racing and the adrenaline flowing through him makes him edgy enough to jump when he sees a shadow move in the torch light. Catching his breath and laughing at himself, he moves onward.
On the hallways walls on many different painting reflecting Camelot’s great history. One picture shows King Uther being crowned king when he was a young, handsome man. The next shows his marriage to his beautiful and fair wife the Queen Igraine. From there it shows Prince Arthur’s birth and his mother holding him shortly before she dies—the King refuses to take this portrait down, even though it was painted after her death. He wanted Arthur to know his mother loved him with all her heart and that expression is showed in her face—well that is according to rumor, nobody really believes that though. The next couple of pictures shows the darkest time in Camelot’s history, when Uther tried to destroy every living person with magic. The pictures show a great many battles of Druids and magic folk being slaughter by Uther’s knights at the time. Some show people hanging, being burned alive, and getting their heads cut off—however in every painting Uther is always there with fiery hatred burning in his eyes. This images were meant to remind us knights of our purpose in destroying all forms of magic throughout the kingdom—they just give Lancelot the shivers watching as these people scream moments before they are cruelly slaughtered by the hundreds.
The last couple of painting as lighter though. They show Prince Arthur becoming a King and him in many events of his life. Like his first proclamation as King and first battle as King. Even some neighboring Kings and Arthur signing a treaty for peace between the two is on the wall. These are much happier times in Camelot’s history.
At the end of this long, stone hallway Lancelot turns to the right and continues on. He knows he shouldn’t be out and about at night like this, but he made a promise and he is determined to keep him. But this promise makes him feel like a criminal with all the sneaking throughout the castle in the middle of the night and the secret he must keep from everybody. At the end of this hallway is a door that is locked. Starting to panic if fright and about to turn back before he is caught, Lancelot suddenly remembers what his friend said—the key is in the doorframe on top. Lancelot reaches up and slowly feels along the top of the doorframe, inching his way across it. There! His gloved fingers feel a small, cold object. Snatching it from the frame, he just make out the small bronze key in the light. Quickly sticking it in the door, he slowly turns the key. With a loud thud of metal snapping back against metal that echoes throughout the darkened hallway making Lancelot wince in shock, the door swings open. Taking another deep breath for courage, Lancelot steps out into the moonlight.
Outside he follows the stone pathway away from the walls surrounding the castle—very grateful for the fact that the door lets him out into the forest surrounding the castle. Eventually the stones turn into a dirt path, then a dirt trail covered in tree roots and holes—which causes Lancelot to slow down his fast-paced walking. With so many trees surrounding him and with the moonlight barely making it through the branches of the trees, he can almost make out two feet in front of him. Luckily, he has traveled this certain trail through the woods so many times he could almost walk it blind. With his heart starting to race in excitement of seeing his friend again, he speed up is pace again and rushes through the trees.
Just ahead is the ruins of a small temple that was once to honor the High Priestesses of the Old Religion. In Uther’s crusade against magic, he had it destroyed with everybody that was in it. The ruins are just a couple of stone walls and a stone floor. In the sunlight you can still see the scorch marks from the fire that was set in the place and some bones are in the very back of the ruins of the people who had tried to hide from King Uther’s men.
Walking into the ruins, Lancelot runs to the back of the ruins into one of the old bedrooms that some high person in command of the temple used at one time or another. There standing in the moonlight shining through the hole in the roof was his friend he had come all this way to meet. He stares at this shining God in front of him. All blond and blue-eyed that makes Lancelot gasps. Hearing the sound, the God turns quickly on his heel. Hand reaching for his own sword at his waist. Seeing Lancelot, the God smiles and relaxes, “What took you so long, Lancelot?”
With that statement, the God quickly steps into Lancelot’s arms and kisses his lips. Lancelot’s smiles in delight, “My King, my love. I am here now, and that is all that matters.”
King Arthurs smiles, “Yes my love that is all that matters now.”
