The Kidnapped Prince

Camelot

Bright and early, the company gets on the road. Within nine hours, they will be back in Camelot's castle. They will be home. The Prince will be alive. And they can sleep in their own beds again. Life will move on. 

The first hour on the road, the company doesn't see much. The odd farmer as they begin their days work in the field. Houses begin popping up. Children run along the road as they ride by. They cheer at the return of their Prince. 

Prince Lohot manages a smile for them. His kidnapping took a toll. At every creak and crack, his eyes fly over, searching for someone who's not there. It was worse at night. When the world was silent, the creatures of the night began their day. Not at all what the Prince needed to fall asleep to. So he didn't. 

The sleepless night shows on the Prince's face and under his eyes. But he perseveres. With his chin up, back straight and feet flat in his horse's stirrups, the Prince smiles. He knows if his facade slips, the kingdom will ask questions, and it will spark outrage, and the people could start a war. 

Then the quest the knights, squires and ladies took will have been for nothing. 

Hours slip by. Morning turns to midday, and midday turns to diner time. 

The company doesn't bother to stop at a tavern for dinner. They know by the time they reach Camelot's castle, a large dinner will be ready, and they can eat then. It's after six-forty when they exit the forest north of the castle. A little after seven o'clock, the company reaches the main gate to the castle. 

Bells ring loud and clear at their arrival. 

Upon hearing the bells, the King and Queen run from their sad dinner in the dining room to the courtyard. They don't bother giving instructions for their dinner. If the bells are correct, then the Prince is home. 

As the King and Queen exit the castle, they spot their son riding ahead of the knights, squires and ladies. Queen Guinevere lifts her skirts and runs. King Arthur runs after his wife and toward his son. 

Prince Lohot urges his horse to go faster. A grin breaks out on his face, and tears begin streaming as the Prince dismounts his still-moving horse to greet his mother and father. 

Sir Bedivere dismounts his horse and watches Sir Percival help Lady Rhoslyn down from her horse. The grand master has some explaining to do to Sir Lancelot. 

Lady Alys slows her horse to a stop as she grabs Prince Lohot's horse. The knight's horse is a bugger to catch. It loves to run freely. Lady Alys hands Gringolet's reigns to Sir Gawain after he dismounts their shared horse. 

She dismounts after Sir Gawain. The Lady smiles at the royal family and then looks up to Sir Gawain. She knows he knows what she's thinking. He's thinking it too. Family, it's what they want—a loving family, like the Pendragons. 

"Lady Alys," King Arthur addresses the Lady. He glances up from hugging his child. "You have proven that gender does not make a knight. You are hereby risen to the rank of knight."

Lady Alys opens her mouth to speak but finds herself speechless. This is everything she's always wanted—that and to marry Sir Gawain. The Lady can't believe her ears. 

Sir Gawain, on the other hand, shouts with joy, grabs Lady Alys in a hug and spins her around. Lady Alys chuckles and hugs her beloved back. They grin and share a quick kiss before someone tells them off about the impropriety of it. 

Then comes the arrow. No one saw it. No one saw where it came from. No one expected the Prince to be shot. 

The Prince gasps and lurches forward with the force of the arrow striking him half an inch from his heart. The King catches the Prince before he hits the ground. Queen Guinevere gasps and lurches forward to cradle her child. Deafening cries escape the Queen as she holds Prince Lohot. 

Lady Rhoslyn launches into action. She thrusts her staff into Galahad's hands and kneels beside the Queen. She places her hands around the arrow and chants. Willing the Prince to stay with the living. 

Galahad yells at a servant to find Master Merlin. The crystal at the top of his sister's staff flares with his words. The servant runs for the south tower. 

Lady Alys traces the arrow's trajectory and finds a familiar face staring back at her. The Lady jumps onto her horse and spurs him to take off after a knight in red. Sir Gawain, Sir Percival, Sir Bedivere, and Gaheris follow her lead. 

The knights chase the lone knight through the town, down the streets, to the market and out the main gate. They push their horses to the max without killing them, but it's not enough. The lone knight has the fresher horse. 

The gap deepens between the knights and the lone knight. 

Then, the lone knight passes through the fog and into the forest. The knights from Camelot don't follow the knight into the mist. 

"That was Sir Owain," Lady Alys growls more to herself than anyone else. She curses herself for forgetting about him. Her horse stomps his hooves and paws the ground. 

"He has committed treason," Sir Bedivere states. He nudges his horse's nose back toward the castle. "Come, we must tell the King." 

The grand master ushes the knights, squire and Lady Alys back toward the castle. 

As the company reaches Camelot's castle, the cries of Queen Guinevere begin to diminish. When they enter the courtyard, the Queen is holding her son to her chest. King Arthur's arms envelop his small family. 

The atmosphere tells the company the Prince has passed on. 

"Who was that, Sir Bedivere?" King Arthur demands, not lifting his head from his son and wife, to meet the knights. "Who killed my son?"

"Sir Owain, sire." 

Queen Guinevere looks up at the grand master. A fire in her eyes as tears slip down her face. She tells Sir Bedivere she wants him to find her nephew and bring her his head. Then she lowers her head and silently sobs. 

Sir Bedivere ushers the knights, squires and ladies out of the courtyard. He makes arrangements to bring the Prince inside. It will do the Prince no good to be outside, nor his parents. The flags bearing the Pendragon crest are lowered to half-mast as a parade lifts the Prince's body on a canvas stretcher and walks him inside. 

Then, at the nine o'clock mark, the bells ring out, and Camelot goes into mourning.