Within the Pages

Chapter 9

Chapter Nine

We get so close to the noises our ears almost hurt and we know that just past the last row of trees, the noises identity will be revealed. Goldilocks steps in front of me and runs out passed the trees. I am quick to get to the last few trees but what I see on the other side scares me as I see a knight in the typical knight armor you would expect if you were to see a knight with a shield with a dragon painted on it, facing off a knight in full black armor with a matching black shield. Near their fight is a huge tree with dozens of shields covered in blood and one black shield hanging lower than the rest that indicates a challenge if a knight was to hit the shield. Just before the tree is another dirt path that goes to the left until it passes over a small hill and the path goes right as well where it disappears into a black castle which is undeniably where the black knight resides.

"Woah, those are real knights" I whisper to Goldilocks.

"Knights? What are those? Why are they attacking each other?" Goldilocks ask clearly not having read the book. Oh of course. She's in a book she's probably only ever seen Red's world and the three bears world. Of course I don't know if I can really tell her that she's a fictional character living in a book repeating over and over and heard about by kids worldwide. She'd never believe me and it would hurt her if she somehow did believe me. I look over at her to see that she's staring at me expecting an answer.

"Knights are people of noble blood who serve a King. They fight wars, joust each other and fight each other with swords like this knight against the black knight."

"What's a joust and who's a King" She asked not knowing the words from the different world.

" A joust is where knights ride horses and attack each other and a King is a person who is in charge of all of a land kind of like a shop owner is in control of his/her shop." I explain as best I can.

"How have I not heard of these things before and, now that I think of it how did we end up deep in the forest after jumping out a window?"

"I think the window was a portal to another world. I came from a different world as well to look for my parents and I think the window being a portal is the most reasonable explanation." I reply probably sounding like my idea is far from reasonable.

"Ok, I've seen weirder things. Hey! Look!"

I turn back to the knights that were fighting and realize the dark knight won and is about to kill the other knight. A sudden clarity befalls upon me and I grab a stick lying nearby and rush out of the trees, throwing the stick at the black knight and managing to hit him right in the helmet knocking him over. I slow down as I am unsure whether or not the knight is unconscious. The other knight slowly sit up and takes off his helmet to reveal a bloodied face from a strike to the head. I can see that his nose is broken from suffering an elbow to the face which pushed the helmet back crushing his nose.

"Oh my God" Goldilocks exclaimed running over and kneeling next to the man. She pulls out a handkerchief and starts wiping away some of the blood dripping down his face. "We have to help him. Help me carry him Charlie." She tells me carefully grabbing his left arm. I reached down and grab his right arm and together we pull him to his feet and start walking slowly in the direction of the hill. The knight is slowly coming to his senses as we walk and is soon able to walk by himself without our support which I am extremely grateful for because I don't think there is any way we would have been able to carry him up that hill, at least not without causing him more injuries. As we walk up the hill the knight trips and it takes both mine and Goldilocks combined strength in order to make him stay up without falling down the hill and the knight regains his footing. When we reach the top of the hill we are glad to see a small house which belonged to a holy hermit with skills in healing who is able to tend to the knights wounds. When the hermit finishes wrapping up the knight's head wound there is a knock on the door that the hermit immediately rushes to get.

I hear the door open and a gasp from the hermit.

"I have a knight who is injured from an ambush on me and my people. Would you be able to help him?" A woman asks the hermit.

"Of course my lady" Replies the hermit. " I am helping another knight who got hurt as well so I have all the herbs I need already set out."

I hear a group of people heading this way and look at the entryway to see the hermit, two guards carrying a wounded guard, an absolutely stunning lady, and another two guards following behind. At that moment staring at the woman, the hermit, and the knight that I saved that's slowly recovering and almost at a full recovery I know for a fact that what I suspected in the forest was true. The wounded man I saved is King Arthur and the woman standing in front of me is Lady Guinevere, future queen. Upon this realization I kneel down in front of her.

"Arise my boy, no need to kneel to me today, I am here to help a friend." She says as she turns to where the two knights are putting the knight on the bed beside Arthur, and as soon as she sees Arthur she lets out a gasp like the hermit did when he saw her. She walks over to Arthur's bed and stares at his face.

"Who is this man", she asks.

"These two kids brought him in here to help him, they said they didn't know who he is." Replies the hermit,as he works to heal the new knight now, seeming to happy to be able to have a chance to talk to Lady Guinevere again.

Lady Guinevere turns to Goldilocks and I and tells us that we did a good thing by bringing him to the hermit. Just as she finishes telling us this the hermit turns to her and tells her that he could do nothing to save the knight she brought in. With sadness in her eye she turns to us again.

"Since it seems we have no further use for a horse, I will leave it outside for this knight that you helped when he wakes up. I have to go but I know we will be seeing each other again." she says and with that she turns around and walks out with the 4 guards in tow.