The Tournament of the Crown
It came to be that the kingdom gathered many young men and women together to test their strength, wit, and loyalty to the crown of King Geoffrey, son of the gone and good King Grant. Thousands of citizens, even some from far away kingdoms, came to witness the show of skill. Duke, duchesses, kings, and knights all gathered around King Geoffrey’s table for a mighty feast that was held for two Sundays. After merry dancing and entertainment of the lyre and storyteller, the competition began.
It was there, in the following tournaments, that many citizens of the king proved themselves in battle, sport, and wits. Of them were Sir Gabriel, of the court of swords, Sir Boar, of the royal guard, and Sir Elroy, the king’s son, who took upon himself twice the challenge at every opportunity and still outshined the rest. These knights and many more would go on to join King Geoffrey’s side and go on many adventures, both together and on their own. It was so that a young woman also joined that wondrous court. Her name was Lady Beau, and she was the most beautiful woman in the kingdom. Her fair skin was without blemish and her golden blonde hair was as the sunlight. Even the queen, as fair and beautiful as she was, was jealous of Lady Beau’s God-given blessing. Lady Beau was also a woman of wit and strength. She bested Sir Yule, the king’s right-hand man, in joust. She bested Sir Boar on the ground with sword. And only Sir Abel, the quickest in the kingdom, caught the elusive stag before her. King Geoffrey praised her highly, and because of all of this, she was one of the only women to be brought into his courts as a knight (the other two were Lady Mary and Lady Jael, which would go on to be great knights for the king as well). By the end of the tournaments, none could deny Lady Beau’s skill.
It brought the king much joy, then, to bring many knights into his court, including Sir Gabriel, Sir Boar, Sir Elroy (his very son), Sir Abel, Lady Mary, Lady Jael, Lady Beau, and many others. Of King Geoffrey’s court were twelve knights proved in both wit and battle, all youthful and eager to serve their king.
The Year-Long Quest
So pleased with his new court was King Geoffrey that he declared to the twelve their grand quest. Each knight would go in different directions in his kingdom to the outskirts of his land. There, spending a year among the people, the new knights would serve faithfully any village or traveler they came across in the king’s name. Then they would return in a year and a day to tell the king what they have done.
Thus, the knights respectively took upon their armor, mounted their horses, and rode out in all directions of the king’s land. Lady Beau had gathered her armor and held her family crest, a blue flower, on the shield on her arm. Her horse, Blanche, a brilliant white steed, the very horse she bested Sir Yule on, was fitted and readied for the quest.
Lady Beau was pleased to be traveling southwest. She knew the roads to be even and the lands fair beyond the castle. Her path would reach far into the hills, ending at the edge of the king’s reach at the mountains. She rode for a time with her friend and fellow knight, Sir Abel, who would be traveling further south when reaching his mark. They enjoyed much fellowship while they rode, and even slew many a beast together to protect a village nearby just before Sir Abel was to depart on his own.
“What do you hope to find this year, Sir Abel?”
“Of everything that comes from a quest of merit,” Sir Abel said.
“Oh? And what things are those?
Sir Abel yawned and raised his shield, which bore a green ram. “Ogres, villains, treasures, and damsels of course. It’s not a true quest without damsels, like yourself.”
“A damsel, am I?”
“Of the most helpless kind,” Sir Abel said.
“I’m not sure Sir Boar would agree.”
Sir Abel laughed. “Sir Boar is an even more helpless damsel than yourself, my lady.”
“Indeed,” Lady Beau laughed. “But I do hope you find something a bit more worthwhile than that. I am hoping to be challenged. I seek to prove myself to the crown.”
“Then you’d best hope you do not run into another stag,” Sir Abel said. “Until the year’s end!”
And with that, Lady Beau rode on her own. She traveled down roads, through forest, and by streams. The further away from the castle she was, the more danger appeared. Bandits came at her from ditches and brush, wolves and all manner of creature prowled the night, and foul rain slowed her progress considerably. Horrible men who had set ambushes for people passing by were drawn by Lady Beau’s beauty, but it only led to their demise. She dispatched the bandits from the area, one after another. She fought them in droves without rest. The enemy crashed against her shield and fell to her sword, and those who cried for mercy were led to nearby castles and lands to be thrown under lock and key.
The Knight of Ruby
Lady Beau made her way to the wide-open valleys of the kingdom. Towns were spread thin, separated by crops and wide fields of grass. As she rode, the fewer and fewer bandits approached. Fewer and fewer creatures of the night rose against her. The quiet, near-lazy days started to get to Lady Beau. Her sword hungered for battle; she would never honor the crown with such barren lands. So it was that she found just that.
“Lo, knight!”
Lady Beau heard the call well before she saw the caller. The valley’s hills revealed another knight. He sat proudly atop a brown stallion. His shield showed a ruby rose, and he was covered in cruel-looking armor.
“From where do you travel from?”
“King Geoffrey’s court, fair knight,” Lady Beau called back.
The ruby knight laughed. “King Geoffrey has long been away from these lands of his. Why would a knight from his court have business here?”
“We have been sent to all edges of the kingdom,” she said. “We seek quest and challenge in honor of the crown.”
“That blue flower upon your shield. Did you steal it?”
Lady Beau raised it proudly. “The blue flower belongs to my family and my family alone. If any knight would steal this shield, they would never escape my pursuit as long as I live!”
“Then challenge you shall have,” the knight said. “If the crest of blue flowers belongs to your kin, then know that either you or your father has killed my father in battle.”
“Was your father’s killer a man?” she asked.
“Of course.”
“Then it was my father,” she said. She removed her helmet. Her beautiful face was creased with a frown. “Had my father killed yours then he was an evil man. I shall not apologize for my family’s deeds.”
“Regardless of your apology, I must avenge.”
“Very well, but I am here for adventure, not challenge. I have no lance,” Lady Beau said.
“I will fight you on equal terms,” the ruby knight said. “Take one of mine. If I die then I will not need it, and if you die then I will easily claim it back.”
Lady Beau returned her helmet and went down to the knight. He was a whole head taller than her, and his horse larger than hers. He had two sleek, black lances. She took one of the lances and they rode to a place where the valley was level, away from the steep hills. There they clashed. Like wild bulls, they charged each other, and the sound of lance scraping shield rang across the hills. Even through this, both knights stayed on their horses. Lady Beau had caught the ruby knight’s lance with her shield, and it slid off of it expertly, but her lance had missed her mark as well. The ruby knight, for a man his size, was far more nimble than she expected and he had moved his shoulder out of the way with incredible timing. Thus, her lance hit nothing but air.
They turned and charged again without pause. Lady Beau’s lance would not miss a second time. She accounted for the ruby knight’s skill. Her lance followed his movements and struck him in the shoulder. The lance cracked and splintered, but it pushed the ruby knight off of his horse. He fell, but the ruby knight’s lance was not so easily deflected either. Lady Beau’s lance was true, but she took the brunt of his assault directly to her shield. A larger knight could have taken the blow, but the sheer size of the ruby knight, even as he fell, forced Lady Beau off her horse. Both knights were on the ground.
Out came their swords in a flash. The ruby knight’s surprising speed was true even on the ground. In an instant, he was upon her and struck with so much force that her shield was dented. Lady Beau dropped to a knee and rolled to the side. The ruby knight followed her, but she was ready for him this time. From her kneeled position on the ground, she drove her shoulder up into the ruby knight’s side and thrust her sword up into his head. The ruby knight’s strike overshot and his sword struck the ground, but Lady Beau’s strike used the weight of her opponent and split his helmet from his chin up to the top of his head. The ruby knight’s body threatened to crush her after death, so she had to use her sword to prop the fallen knight up.
Lady Beau buried that ruby knight in the valley’s hills that evening. She put his body in the ground and covered the mound with stones from the last nearby stream, topped with his ruby-red shield and helmet. She sang a song of mourning over him and then cut, with her hunting knife, an inscription: “Here lies an honorable knight who sought to avenge his family.”
The Village at the Edge of the World
Lady Beau rode her white horse past the valleys and into more towns and farms, faithfully serving whomever she passed by. It was nearing the end of the year of questing when she reached the far end of the kingdom. King Geoffrey’s reach was far and this was the farthest southwest she had ever been. She almost turned until, somewhere atop a faraway mountain, there was a bright flash of light as if a fire had erupted from the earth up into the sky. Her attention carried from this strange event down to the base of the mountain where she spotted a village nearly hidden by the sharp mountains beyond it.
“It would be to my shame and the shame of the court if I were to pass by this final village and return now.”
The village looked quaint, with wood palisade walls and small brick houses. The fields outside it were filled with sheep and crops. It was rare for a village to have such bountiful harvest this far from the protection of the castle, but Lady Beau had never seen such healthy crops and livestock.
“Hail, knight!” a voice called. It was a younger man who was standing out in the field. He had a kind face and a strong frame. “Whose court do you come from?”
“The court of King Geoffrey,” Lady Beau called back. “What is this village’s name, for I have never heard of it nor seen it before.”
“This is Bord Village. I am Aster, the baker’s son.”
“You are far away from the village for a baker,” Lady Beau said.
“I walk out to the fields to think. But come, enter our village, and be fed and welcomed. If you come from the castle, you must be tired and hungry.”
Lady Beau agreed. Aster took her horse by the reins and led her through the fields and inside the wooden palisade.
“No guards stand watch,” she said. “You are next to the forest and mountains. Bandits could be upon you in an instant.”
Aster would not match her gaze. “Our protection is unique, good knight. You had best let my father explain.”
“The baker?”
“The baker and lord of the village,” he replied. “We are a small village of a dwindling people, so many of us work as such.”
“So you are the son of the baker and the lord of this village, then why not introduce yourself as the son of the lord?”
Aster smiled. “Visitors are more on their guard by that introduction. I meant no deception, fair knight, but more will talk with a baker than a son of their lord.”
Lady Beau nodded. “Your mind is sharp, Aster. How many live here?”
“Not a hundred citizens of King Geoffrey’s,” he said. “We are a waining people.”
The village was, indeed, smaller than most. Most of the people were elderly or young, and only a few young men and women were present. But they rejoiced at the sight of one of the king’s knights, and Aster’s father, Lord Coriander, greeted her warmly. A feast was called, and by the nightfall, the small village had created a meal worthy of King Geoffrey himself. Roasted lamb, nutty ales, plentiful fruit, spices, and bread filled the tables of the small gathering hall.
Lady Beau laughed and spoke with the lord merrily, but she caught hushed whispers and wide eyes staring at her. This had started as soon as she took off her helmet and continued throughout her time there. She knew there was something wrong when she caught Aster looking at her; his eyes were horrified and worried.
The feast lasted for a night and a day. Lady Beau told them tales of the tournament in King Geoffrey’s name, of her battle with the ruby knight, and all of her other adventures getting to Bord Village at the end of the kingdom.
The people were amazed by her bravery and feats, and if not for Lady Beau insisting the feast would have continued for a whole other day and night to celebrate her alone. Once the feast was complete and she was able to rest sufficiently, she approached Lord Coriander to tell him of her intentions.
“The people of Bord Village have hosted me like a queen,” she said. “It was my quest to help any citizen of King Geoffrey I found, but I owe the most to you. Tell me, and it will be done. How may I serve your village?”
The joyous countenance of the lord faded. He frowned and then beckoned Lady Beau to follow him. It was early morning and the sun was peaking over the mountains. She was surprised to find herself following the lord up a steep area behind the village, up the tallest mountain. It was a difficult hike and they went for some time.
“This village is founded on deep tradition,” he said. “We are too far away from the castle and there are dangerous things in these mountains.”
“What kind of things?”
“When I was a boy, the village was constantly attacked by raiders. They would come not twice a week to pillage our crops. They did horrible things…”
“And you did not call for aid?”
“This was a time of war, back then,” Lord Coriander said. “Every honorable knight was away from our lands in battle. Something had to change if our village was to survive.”
They reached the top of the mountain. Lady Beau marveled at the view. She could see, far away, the other villages and towns she had helped. She could even make out the hillside where she fought the ruby knight and the forests and streams beyond.
“An elder from our village, a strong yet disturbed man, lost his wife to the raiders.”
Lord Coriander beckoned to her to continue to follow her. She turned from the beautiful view of the kingdom below and followed. The top of the mountain was covered in sharp peaks until they turned the corner of a boulder and Lady Beau saw something horrible in awe and gore. Surrounded by boulders and peaks was a flat area, larger than the village hall. It was completely clear except for a large stone and wooden post in the center. The stone and post were stained red with old blood.
“What horror is this?” Lady Beau said.
“The elder, he brought his daughter to the top of this mountain. She was the most beautiful in the village. He believed that, if he sacrificed her to the wild gods, our village would be saved and the raiders would be destroyed.”
“There are no wild gods, my lord,” Lady Beau said.
“Indeed,” Lord Coriander said. “But in his madness, the village was saved. The wild gods are not here on this mountain, but something else was. A dragon. Crimson and deadly, the beast devoured both the elder and his daughter here.”
A somber silence lay on the mountain top, but Lord Coriander continued. “But their sacrifice was not in vain. The dragon was awake, so the creatures of the night dare not approach its mountain. Raiders came, and the dragon smote them down with its fire. We were finally safe.”
“Dragon protection,” Lady Beau said. “It is a cursed thing.”
“Is it?” Lord Coriander said. “While the castle has walls and knights, we have dragon fire. We just have to keep him close, for if he leaves then we are again brought to ruin.”
“The flash of fire in the sky,” Lady Beau said. “The dragon’s beckoning?”
Lord Coriander’s face was resolute. “We honor the first sacrifice from our village those many years ago. One man, as the elder was, strong; one woman, as his daughter was, beautiful. The stronger and more beautiful they are, the longer the dragon stays content. We hoped it would be satisfied for another ten years or so, but it was not to be. If I could sacrifice myself then I would be the first, but I am feeble in my older age.”
Lord Coriander looked distant. “Aster, my son, is the strongest in the village. I… wished for the time to pass and another to come to take his place. But no one in the village is young or beautiful enough for the woman’s sacrifice. We were to sacrifice Bethany, the carpenter’s wife. As lovely as she is, the dragon will not be satisfied with her. My son will die in vain and the dragon will return too soon again.”
“You ask what you may do for us, Lady Beau? I believe your timing is a gift from God and nothing less. Never has this village seen a woman more beautiful than you. It may be that you are the most beautiful woman in the kingdom, even by the queen. Give yourself to the dragon, knight. The sacrifice of you and my son would give the dragon such delight that it may not require my people’s blood for a hundred years.”
“You ask for my very life?” Lady Beau said.
“I ask that you fulfill our traditions and let our people live,” he replied. “Is there nothing more important than this?”
To give her life and make the ultimate sacrifice for the safety of the Bord Village was far from what she had expected from the lord. But a sudden rush of guilt accompanied her silence. Lord Coriander was patiently silent, but Lady Beau felt that her hesitation was a failure as a knight. King Geoffrey sent her out to help everyone she would approach. It was her duty to give her life for those in need; it was her oath.
Lady Beau gathered herself. “What would you have me do?”
“We hold a feast of life tonight, then we prepare the two sacrifices in white robes and incense. You and my son will climb the mountain before daybreak.”
Lady Beau agreed, according to her oath to the court of King Geoffrey, to fulfill this wish. An ultimate sacrifice.
The Crimson Glutton
Lady Beau, the beautiful knight, solemnly celebrated with the villagers. She slept very little that night and awoke before the sunrise to prepare herself. She cast away her armor and her sword – the act of leaving them behind fraught her mind horribly. The women of the village took her in and gave her perfume, incense, and simple white robes to wear. They cried in adoration and thankfulness to her. Lady Beau could see the relief in their eyes. Throughout the feast and her preparation, not a single minute left without her questioning what was to come. Lady Beau wondered if this made her less of a knight. She knew it did. King Geoffrey would be ashamed of her if he only knew her doubt.
Aster was prepared with the men of the village. Lady Beau left the tents with the women to see him step out with his father and the men behind him. There were no words, no tears, but a purposed and celebratory feeling in the air. The villagers were excited. Their problems would be solved this morning, perhaps for generations to come.
Aster’s face was pale, almost as white as the robes he wore, but he stood tall as he approached the knight. Lady Beau smiled at him, fighting the squirming, shameful hesitation in the pit of her stomach. They walked out of the village to the mountain together, in simple robes and sturdy boots. The walk up was steep and difficult, but Aster was a few feet ahead and in a hurry. He kept glancing back at her like she ought to do the same.
“Friend Aster, why do you rush our death?” Lady Beau asked. Her voice was irritated. They had plenty of time to reach the peak and face the dragon and hesitation still plagued her heart.
“Please,” Aster said. “You will understand my haste soon enough. Walk faster until we are out of view, I beg you.”
The urgency in his voice hurried her pace. She followed Aster up the steep mountain until the stone jutted out from the earth and the cliffside and boulders caused so much height that they could no longer be seen by the people down at the village. Aster beckoned Lady Beau closer, and just as the sun began to peek over the height of the mountain, he moved rubble and stone to reveal a sack.
“I convinced my father to let me go out to think for myself, one last time,” he said. “But I deceived him, and I pray that God will forgive me for it.”
He opened the sack and revealed shining metal and a blue flower. Lady Beau’s armor and sword.
“I saw you cast it away and took it from your tent after you left it there. I could not bring all of it, I left your helmet and many pieces behind, as I had to carry it up here in the dark as to not be seen. It was difficult, but I knew it was the only way.”
She was speechless for a time, but her fingers clasped her sword, something she thought she would never hold again. “Why?”
“You should not have to die for us,” Aster said. His eyes were resolute. “Our traditions are confused. My father and the village commit our ways to God’s will, but it is nothing but sin and spite.”
“You would break the cycle?”
Sir Aster nodded. “The village believes that you are the solution, for a few years, but I believe you are the answer to my village’s true plight for all time.”
“My heart has cried out against this,” Lady Beau said. “But I considered it weakness. I was tasked with helping my king’s people.”
“Then help us,” Aster said. “For once you are dead this village will continue to sacrifice the young and beautiful. The only one you help today if you are eaten is the gluttonous dragon itself. The king did not call you to his service to be torn apart for an evil creature’s whim.”
Lady Beau hesitated further until Aster called out to her again. “The sun rises higher! If you do not take up your sword then I shall, but you must decide now. The dragon will already be waiting.”
So it was, as the sun beamed down onto the hills, that Lady Beau took her sword, shield, chainmail, and metal plating. She kept the white robes around her armor to hide her intent from the dragon.
So it was that the noble knight fully armored went up the steep mountain with Aster close behind her. They reached the top. The open area, the large stone, the wooden post, and the dried blood was in front of them both, and the quiet of the morning was broken by a horrible hissing, like steam erupting from a foul marsh.
There, curled behind the wooden post with glowing yellow eyes was the hellish creature. Its scales were crimson, like deep blood, and its fat body stretched down the mountain. Its underbelly was a pale gray, and its features were sharp and horned. Claws like swords scraped at the stone. The beast was hungry, and they had kept it waiting.
Lady Beau approached, at first very slow and gently, but underneath her white robes she gripped her sword. The gleaming eyes of the dragon flashed and it opened its mouth greedily. Its mouth was a deep purple and was lined with needle-like teeth. An evil-looking tongue extended out toward the knight, eager to taste her flesh.
Lady Beau was intending to get closer. She wanted a sure strike at its throat. But, despite the dragon’s bulging body, it lunged towards her with surprising speed. It came at her, and Lady Beau barely had time to raise her shield and strike down with her sword. The sword struck the dragon’s jaw and the shield blocked its crushing head. A horrible sound, like scraping metal, erupted from the dragon’s maw. Its greedy, yellow eyes widened in rage and its claws struck out and ripped Lady Beau’s shield in two. In a frenzy, the dragon snatched the knight and gripped her close to its body. It opened its jaws, purple and vile, and they began to glow with fire. Lady Beau thrust her sword into the dragon’s neck, an intended killing blow, but the beast did not falter with its attack. The scales on its neck, the fat on its body, kept the knight’s sword from reaching anything vital. The dragon’s fire would claim its victim.
In came Aster, charging. He had for himself a hunting knife and his strike was true. He thrust the short blade into the dragon’s nostril and pulled with all of his might. The dragon’s fire erupted from its maw and licked Lady Beau’s face. Her flesh was scorched, her eye went dark, and she fought to stay conscious, but she had survived the fiery breath.
Claws flashed, and Aster fell to the beast’s free arm. With the strength that comes from rage and pain, Lady Beau pushed against the dragon and ran her sword up its neck, cutting through scale and fat. Horrible blood gushed from the wound. The dragon gurgled, thrashed, then was silent and still.
The dragon’s corpse, gushing blood from the neck, fell to the ground; Aster’s body lay still. His white robes were scarlet. Lady Beau, still fighting to stay conscious from the pain glowing on her face, sheathed her sword and picked up his body. She cradled him in her arms, and her face was wet with tears from her untouched eye.
Stumbling, Lady Beau carried Aster’s torn body down the mountain. She breathed heavily and her body ached from her wounds, but she arrived. Teeth clenched and staggering, she entered Traders Village, but she was met with violence.
It was clear from the dragon’s blood and Lady Beau’s burnt face that they had not gone as sacrifices but as foes to the dragon. The villagers had heard the awful sounds of the fight which echoed across the hills. Outraged, they rushed her. Lord Coriander knew immediately what had happened. He was the one to rip his son’s torn body from Lady Beau’s arms. Horrified of what had happened, terrified of what was to come, the villagers threw rocks and spoiled food at her. They hit her with anything they could get their hands on, pushed her down, and stomped on her wounded body. Lady Beau would have died there but for a final surge of desperate energy, a final will to live. She stood, knocking people down as she did, and made it to her horse.
Blanche, her mighty white stallion, fled Bord Village with the people raging behind them.
The Return to King Geoffrey
Blanche sped through the wills to a village that Lady Beau had helped along her way. The people there took her in and tended to her wounds, fearing that she would not survive. But survive she did, and within a week’s time Lady Beau was able to finish her journey home.
With a scarred face and healing body, Lady Beau rode towards King Geoffrey’s castle. She had missed her return time of a year and a day and thus rode into the gates far later than any other knight.
The knights all gathered to attend to her return. Lady Beau was glad to hear later that Sir Gabriel had bested a giant in the north, Sir Boar had saved many innocent people against armies in the south, Sir Elroy had bested a foul magician through wit, and Sir Abel had gotten into a very misfortunate adventure with a variety of damsels ending in a mostly harmless humiliation. And many other knights had many other adventures, most back victorious and proud.
Much to Lady Beau’s shame, she approached her king with scarred face and shattered shield. Most of her armor she had left at Bord Village when she fled. Her beauty was now tainted: the left side of her face was blistered, her ear was shrunken, and her eye was useless. She told of all that happened, and then fell at her king’s feet and wept for her failure.
It was to her surprise that King Geoffrey’s face was also wet with tears; he did not cry with her, but for her. “Do not weep, my lady, for I see before me a knight who has taken wounds for a stubborn people.”
“You told us to serve your people well…” Lady Beau said.
“And indeed, you have. You have bled and burned for them,” King Geoffrey said. “Be at peace and know that you are a greater knight now than when you left. Still beautiful, but now kissed by the sun, marking you as a true servant and dragon killer.”
And so it was that year that Lady Beau’s helmet, which she had lost, was replaced with one with intricate design: a bursting flower over her left cheek and eye. Her shield was refashioned, but the crest changed to have a bright sun behind the beautiful blue flower.
“From this day on,” King Geoffrey said. “You shall be Lady Beau no more. You have sacrificed yourself through folly and fight. Your true name is Beausoleil, lovely sun, the Sun-Kissed Knight.”
Lady Beausoleil went on many adventures after this, strengthened by the wisdom and encouragement from her king and fellow knights. All in their own way, the knights of King Geoffrey’s court surrounded her with blessings and help, and through this support, she became one of the greatest knights to serve the king.
So it was that King Geoffrey’s court was the greatest in all of the land.
Silver Questions 