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Chapter 269 - The Sword and the High King
🕑 Added 2022-02-21 23:40:11 +0000 UTCEnjoy!
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The morning after they got to London was the day before Kay’s birthday. They spent the morning at the house, with Ector and Kay practicing in the yard while Rissa explored the house. Ector told Kay he was allowed to go out for the afternoon to show Ari around; he even provided some pocket money so they could pick up some treats if they wanted.
That was all it took to get the two of them out of the house.
London was a blur. Kay would point things out, then move on; it was like having the worst tour guide Rissa had ever had. Even so, Kay led Rissa towards the area where the Tournament was to be held.
Rissa was surprised to see that the place was already awash in street vendors. “Kay? Why is everyone here already? Aren't there still a few days before the tournament?”
Kay chuckled. “I forgot you couldn’t come last year. Yeah, it doesn’t start until the new year, but that’s only a couple days away and doesn’t mean people aren’t here. People are already practicing, which means people are watching, so it’s like a fair here. Come on, follow me, I think I saw a meat pie vendor!” Kay hurried off into the crowd and Rissa had to follow or be lost.
The morning passed in a blur. There were people everywhere.
It wasn’t until they started back to the city house that Rissa noticed the raven. It was sitting on the gate to a courtyard. Rissa pointed at the gate. “What’s there? Where the raven is.”
“Raven?” Kay looked around, then followed Rissa’s hand. “Is there a raven design on the gate? I’ve never noticed one. That’s St. Paul’s Cathedral. There will be a service there before the tournament, then something in the churchyard. It’s longer than last year, but we’ll only be there for the afterward. Father doesn’t wish to enter the church itself.”
How could Kay miss the raven? It was on top of the gate. “No, on the gate. There’s a raven.”
Kay walked up to the gate and examined it closely, but his eyes seemed to ignore the bird, even when he looked almost at it. “I’m not seeing the design. Are you sure it’s a raven? I’m not seeing a bird here at all.”
Rissa shivered and wished Emrys were there, but he hadn’t come with them to London. He’d said he’d meet them there, but he had some things to deal with on the way.
She was completely locked out of anything but the skills a fourteen-year-old would have. It made her feel weak, and she didn’t like being vulnerable. “It’s probably nothing; let’s head back to the house.” It would be safer there, even if it wasn’t completely safe.
Rissa could have sworn the raven was watching her as they left.
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The following day was Kay’s birthday. He raced through his morning preparations, then it was off to the tournament grounds. Kay wanted to be there in plenty of time; Ector had told them to meet him there by noon for the knighting ceremony, but he’d left before Kay was ready. As Kay’s squire-to-be, Rissa had to do all of the squire’s duties, which mostly meant staying behind with Kay.
They were almost to the tournament grounds when Kay reached down and realized he didn’t have his sword. Sir Ector had particularly told his son that he needed a sword to be knighted. “Ari? Go run back to the house and get my sword. I’ll go ahead and make sure everything else is ready.”
Kay seemed nervous; Rissa was certain that was only to be expected. It was a big day for him, after all.
Rissa trotted back towards the house, but shortly after she left the crowds behind, she noticed the same churchyard. This time, the gates were open.
It hit her out of the blue. The story had been just different enough from the several versions she’d read over the years that she hadn’t recognized it, but the clues were all there. I’m an idiot. Mim, Ector, Kay … this is the Sword in the Stone, and I’ve just been sent to replace Kay’s sword. Which means the one I need should be in there…
There was no reason to go all the way back to the house. If she did, she’d just find it was locked.
She looked all around the entrance. No raven.
Rissa hurried into the churchyard. Off in a corner, she saw a stone with a sword thrust into it. It wasn’t the anvil that was commonly shown, especially in the Disney version; instead, it was a large rock, and the sword was set into the side. It was sunk in the rock all the way to the quillons. It actually looked convenient to reach, so Rissa hurried over to it.
She recognized the hilt as soon as she was close enough to see it clearly. It was Serenity!
There was no point in waiting. Rissa hurried up to the swordhilt, grabbed it, and tugged.
There was no resistance, because there was no blade. Rissa wasn’t certain how Serenity had even stayed attached to the rock; there didn’t seem to be an indentation for him to sit in. There was a space wide enough for a blade, but it was empty.
:Rissa? Finally, it’s so good to see you. I wish I could hold you.:
:Serenity! I can hear you again. I’ve been so worried. There’s this raven…: Rissa found herself pouring out everything that had happened in the story so far to Serenity.
Serenity just listened. She could feel him concentrating on everything she said. It was wonderful to have that connection back, even if he was stuck as a sword the way she was as a child. When she finished, she looked around. There was a raven sitting on the churchyard wall. :The raven’s back!:
She heard what sounded like a growl in the back of her head and a blade appeared out of Serenity’s hilt. :I’ll deal with it if it gets too close. For now, hurry - you don’t want to be late to Kay’s knighting!:
Rissa hurried away, but she couldn’t resist asking. :Wouldn’t the knighting just happen when I arrive? It’s a story dungeon after all, and that’s part of the story.:
There was a short bark of laughter in the back of Rissa’s head. :Probably. Hurry anyway; we don’t want the dungeon to hurry us along!:
Rissa hurried.
She didn’t see when the raven took flight and followed her.
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Showing up with the replacement sword played out almost exactly like the stories. Kay didn’t notice the difference, but his father did. He took it from Kay, then took a good look.
Serenity didn’t shock either of them. He knew how the story was supposed to play out just as well as Rissa did.
“Kay? Where did you get this sword?”
“Uh … I, uh …” Kay was always so eloquent when he was surprised.
“Did you pull it out of the stone?” Ector pushed his son.
“Uh, yeah, I mean, yes, I brought the sword.” Kay didn’t seem to have caught on yet. Rissa wasn’t certain he even knew there was a sword in the churchyard.
Ector looked at his son, then at Ari, then back at his son. “Are you sure?”
Kay wilted under the pressure. “Fine! I left my sword at the house, I sent Ari back to get it. I thought this was my sword; if it isn’t, I don’t know where she got it.”
Ector nodded, then turned to Ari. She heard a mutter under his breath. “Not Emrys’s bastard but Uther’s?”
He seemed to shake himself before he addressed her out loud. “Lead us to where you got the sword.”
“Aren’t you going to knight Kay first?” Rissa couldn’t remember when that happened in the story; it hadn’t been important to her when she read the story, but she knew it was important to Kay.
Ector shook his head. “No. If this is what I think it is … there will be a far more important ceremony soon, and he can be knighted then.”
Rissa nodded and led them to the churchyard. She had a good idea what he was talking about, though she was certain her character wouldn’t.
When they reached the stone, Ector seemed to nod at the spot where the sword wasn’t before he plunged the sword back into the stone. He then tried to pull the sword right back out, but jumped backwards as the sword shocked him without budging. “Kay, you try to pull the sword now.”
Kay reached for the sword and had barely wrapped his hand around the hilt when he jumped back. He tried again, grabbing with both hands and pulling fiercely despite the shocks.
The sword didn’t move.
Ector nodded. Rissa noticed that he didn’t seem at all surprised. He’d clearly seen people try to pull the sword before. “Your turn, Ari.”
Rissa reached out with a single hand. This time, the hilt didn’t just come loose; she had to actually draw the swordblade out of the stone as well. It came out easily and smoothly with no trouble. She turned to Ector to find him on his knees, pulling Kay down as well. “Kneel to your King, son. You know the legend.”
Kay sank onto his knees, but couldn’t help himself from protesting. “But - Ari is - she’s my sister!”
“Emrys brought her to us as a babe,” Ector told his son. “He told me to raise her as my own, but I never thought she was Uther’s get. Still, she’s the answer to our prayers; we do not need to choose which Baron to follow, and it won’t fall to individual strength of arms tomorrow.”
“Please, both of you, stand up.” Kneeling on the snowy stone courtyard looked dreadfully uncomfortable, even before she considered that both Ector and Kay were wearing chainmail. “What happens now?”
“Now?” Ector looked at her and the sword. “Now we need to make this as big a spectacle as possible. I’ve stayed out of the High King’s politics for years; I suppose Emrys still remembers the past. Making it a spectacle will get most of those present to acknowledge you, but some won’t; we’re going to have to get some alliances put together quickly. Your heritage will help immensely; there are several nobles that owe everything to Uther and should still be willing to repay his line…”
Ector knighted his son with Caliburn - Serenity - before they left, but Caliburn was left behind. It was necessary for Ector’s plans.
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The next morning dawned cold and clear. Sir Ector, Sir Kay, and Kay’s squire Ari all arrived in the churchyard while the service was still happening, but they weren’t the first. Ector immediately set to talking to the other noble knights.
Once the service was over, the half-full churchyard became overstuffed when the churchgoers joined those that had skipped the service. The archbishop followed the congregants out of the church, then addressed the crowd. “All of you who are gathered here today know why we are here; we are here to choose a new High King for all of England. The miracle of the Sword in the Stone has not found one, and war comes to our isle. Yet we must give one more chance for God’s wisdom to shine on us before we put the kingship to a test of arms; let the one who is worthy pull the sword from the stone and be rightwise King of England!”
There were a few cheers; Rissa noticed that Sir Ector was one of them.
The archbishop continued in a more businesslike tone of voice. “Any knight or squire may try. Knights will try first, and if there is dispute in who shall go first, it shall be by date of knighthood, with the one who has been a knight longer trying first. If that is not enough, I will choose. Save your energy for the tournament.”
There was grumbling and a little yelling at the statement, but mostly there was laughing.
Each person didn’t take long, but there were enough people present that it took several hours for everyone to try to pull “the sword”. Even though she knew it was taking a long time, the time seemed to fly by, and before Rissa knew it, the archbishop was asking if there were any more knights who wanted to try. When none came forward, he called for squires.
Rissa had only been a squire since the previous night and she was smaller than the rest of the handful of squires that wanted to try, so she hung back. The archbishop didn’t see her as she went up. “If no one else wishes to try-”
“There’s one more. Go ahead, Ari.” Ector’s voice cut off the archbishop as he started to call the end to the attempts and encouraged her.
The archbishop turned to her and watched. One of the knights called out, “How do you think a small slip of a girl’s going to manage it if strong men couldn’t?”
Rissa had a response to that, and she stated it proudly as she reached out for Serenity’s hilt. “It’s not about strength, it’s about the right to wield it. Not that much strength is required.”
Once again, Serenity’s blade pulled easily out of the stone. Rissa held the sword up. She could have sworn that light caught the blade and made it shine, but it was probably the dungeon playing tricks.
There was shouting and protests; Rissa had to return the sword to the stone and let everyone try again. When she pulled it the second time for everyone to see, the archbishop pronounced her the rightful High King.
Several nobles left the courtyard in protest immediately.
:Do you think we’re done?: Serenity sounded impatient.
Rissa tried not to shake her head obviously. :We never dealt with the raven.:
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Author's Note: Yes, Ector changed his mind about knighting Kay that quickly.
