Hope (Knights of Av'lor - Book 1)

Chapter 27

"I've heard he hasn't had a girlfriend since he Declared." One of the first year knights gestured to Sir Lanclor sitting across the room.

The meal hall was half-full and Sir Lanclor sat alone. He rarely ate with the other knights, Kathryn noticed, and when he did, it was always without company.

"It's not hard to see why," another first-year responded, "when you're the Soulbearer of the Betrayer; women aren't exactly knocking down your door." They chuckled.

Kathryn remained silent. As an outsider, she didn't understand the reasoning behind the grudge. She didn't need to make any enemies among the knights.

"They don't seem to be knocking down your door either. What's your excuse?" Hal said between a mouthful of bread and fruit.

The knight stiffened. Hal had proven himself on the practice field and none of the first-year knights chose to challenge him by responding.

"C'mon Kate. The air seems a little stuffy in here." Hal grabbed his tray and Kathryn followed him out of the meal room. "People like that make me sick. They don't even know Sir Lanclor yet they think they know everything there is to know about him."

"You don't know him either," Kathryn pointed out after she caught up to his long stride.

"No, I don't, but I know the type. There was a guy on the force that never really talked much. Carter was a big guy, about a foot taller than I was, and he could outshoot everyone. Some rookie made a snide remark one day within earshot about him being too quiet to have a decent woman. Carter grabbed him by the neck and held him a foot off the ground against a locker until he apologized.

"I decided to ask Carter about it the next day over a beer and it turns out Carter's wife of ten years had died from cancer the year before. He just chose not to broadcast it to the entire force." Hal stopped walking and leaned against the hallway wall. "Sir Lanclor reminds me a lot of Carter. He sits at that lunch table by himself because he doesn't see the point of trying to befriend the others. He knows they'll judge him and he really doesn't care if he has their friendship. Respect is what he needs to keep everyone in line and he has plenty of it."

Kathryn leaned against the wall next to him. "Do you miss Earth, Hal?"

Hal stood in silence for a minute. "I miss some of the people and the creature comforts. I feel like I'm making a difference here though. It's been a long time since I felt that way back home."

"I know what you mean. I can't even imagine sitting in a cubicle and staring at a computer all day. What was the point?" Kathryn frowned, pushing away from the wall. "It's almost time for drill. We should go."

"Elena, what's a Soulbearer?" Kathryn asked while feeding the mouse some of her leftover meat.

Elena looked up from scrubbing the tub, and then placed the cloth on the floor. Rising, she walked over and sat next to Kathryn on the bed. "The easiest way to explain it is someone who now holds the memories of somebody who died."

"What does 'declare' mean?"

"When a knight Declares, it means he announces himself a bearer of an old knight or mage. There's a spell to verify the declaration. Once the knight accepts that he's a Bearer, whatever magic that carries on the memories of the fallen are released into him. The spell of verification is really just so other people can verify those memories exist and he's telling the truth. The knight is really a Soulbearer the minute he accepts the fact. The memories flood into him, or so I've heard."

Jakob.

"Do you personally know a Soulbearer? Is that how you heard about it?"

"Not personally, no." Elena looked down at her hands. "My husband was friends with Sir Lanclor and Lord Alextor before they Declared. They seemed like regular knights to everyone else, but Kris knew there was something different about them. Lord Alextor had other knights following him around by his third cycle. There was something about him that electrified the others with loyalty. He's a likeable person and very smart.

"Sir Lanclor on the other hand was inhumanly good with his sword. By his second cycle, he had bested every knight. Kris said he was the nicest guy he had ever met. Sir Lanclor would do anything to help out other knights and always impressed the ladies with his charming smile."

"Sir Lanclor? He doesn't exactly emanate 'nice guy' to me." Kathryn played with the tufts on the mouse's tail while he chased her finger in circles. The little guy would lick her finger whenever he caught it.

"I wouldn't have believed it either, but Kris was the most honest man I've ever known. When Sir Lanclor and Lord Alextor both Declared during their fourth cycle, everything changed. Kris asked Sir Lanclor about it and Sir Lanclor told him about the day he accepted he was a Soulbearer.

"One night, he sat on his bed and just accepted that the weird things he'd been remembering weren't his own memories. The memories flooded into him and he saw himself betraying the king. Sir Lanclor associated that with his current life and was afraid he would betray Lord Alextor. After that, he pushed everyone away, especially Lord Alextor. Kris said he rarely saw Sir Lanclor smile after that." Elena stood and walked back over to the tub.

"I was just thinking, Lanclor reminds me of the name Lancelot from Earth. From the King Arthur legends." Kathryn, petting the mouse, froze. "Lancelot is the Betrayer."

Elena laughed. "Lancelot and King Arthur are legends. The original settlers here were romantics and assigned their names to the knights in an attempt to cope. Lancelot back then, or whatever his real name was, disobeyed an order from the king that cost the lives of an entire village. It was an honest mistake, but it was the first of many. I don't think he should be blamed for using tactics that worked on Earth but didn't apply here."

Elena knelt, picked up the cloth and resumed cleaning the bathtub. "It's tradition for the Soulbearers to adopt a similar name to the ones they Bear and discard their birth name. Anyway, the history doesn't really matter anymore. I never understood why Sir Lanclor let the memories control his life. It's not as if he betrayed the king and killed everyone. It was some guy who died centuries ago."

"Does everyone feel the same way as you? If so, what's the big deal?" It reminded Kathryn of the old stories about blood feuds where medieval families would hold a grudge across generations.

"I'd like to think everyone felt the same way, but there are groups who want to hold Sir Lanclor responsible for everything that's gone wrong. A crop fails and they'll find some reason to blame it on him." Elena gathered her things. "I have six other rooms to clean and it's already past lunch. Be safe, Lady Kathryn." Elena smiled and left before Kathryn could respond.