Grail of Stars (3 page)

By the time they reached the courtyard, the big gates of Camelot had opened. A troop of shaggy Saxon ponies trotted through, led by a big man with yellow braids. One of the ponies had a dripping bundle tied across its back. A sentry ran into the castle, shouting for the knights. Sir Lancelot hurried out, strapping on his sword.

Rhianna’s heart beat faster at the sight of the Saxons. “It’s Chief Cynric!” she said, thrusting the crown back into Arianrhod’s hands. “Take this up to my room and get breakfast ready. I’m going to find out what’s happened.”

Arianrhod shook her head. “I don’t think
that’s a very good idea, Lady Rhia, not with your dress all dirty like that. What if your mother sees you?”

Rhianna looked down at her skirt, which had picked up a big green stain from the stables. It smelled of horse. “Don’t fuss, Arianrhod,” she said. “The queen’s still in bed, and the knights are used to seeing me looking scruffy.”

She led her friends across the courtyard. A ring of curious squires had gathered around the ponies. The dripping bundle appeared to be a body, hanging facedown. Sir Lancelot examined it, while a bleary-eyed Sir Bedivere and Sir Bors emerged to join him and spread their arms to keep the boys away. “Stay back!” Sir Bors ordered gruffly. “Get on with your work. There’s horses waiting to be fed and mucked out.”

The squires reluctantly went off to the stables, casting glances over their shoulders. They seemed subdued.

“It’s Gareth!” Cai said, his eyes going wide as Sir Lancelot lifted the dead boy’s head. “Looks like they fished him out of the river.”

Sir Lancelot let the boy’s head drop. “Drowned,” he muttered.

A shiver crept down Rhianna’s spine as she remembered the boy she’d seen on the ghostly ship in her vision. Elphin’s eyes deepened to purple, and he gave her a worried look. His hand tightened on his harp.

“Been attacked, more like, goin’ by them bruises on his arms,” Sir Bors growled.

Sir Lancelot was now questioning the Saxons, who shook their heads. He frowned and glanced up at the queen’s window. Then
he spotted Rhianna and her friends watching and muttered something to Sir Bedivere, who came over to join them.

“The Saxons found his body under the bridge,” the knight explained gently. “Must have been on his way back to Camelot when robbers jumped him then dumped his body in the river, poor lad – his dagger’s gone, and there’s no sign of his pony.”

They stared at each other. Cai bit his lip. Arianrhod glanced nervously at the open gates.

“Bloodbeards?” Rhianna demanded.

Sir Bedivere sighed. “We don’t know yet, but we’ll find out. Lancelot’s called a meeting of the Round Table. Damsel Rhianna, will you run up and tell your mother? And remember, young knight…” He fixed Cai with a stern look. “This is Round Table business now, so don’t go
spreading it about that we think Gareth was attacked on the road. We had quite enough of that kind of thing when Prince Mordred was alive.”

O
n their way back up the winding stair of the Damsel Tower, Rhianna told Arianrhod to unwrap the Crown so she could
check it for damage. It had cooled, and the magic jewels containing the secrets of the Pendragons looked dull. Even the powerful jewel of Annwn that contained the secret of dragon riding felt cold.

They paused at one of the narrow windows. Beyond the river, Rhianna could just make out the Lonely Tor rising from the marshes where she and Elphin had ridden through the mists from Avalon two years ago. A black cloud hung over the lone hill, and lightning flashed on the horizon, reminding her of her vision. She shivered. It had felt a bit like she was spirit-riding the shadrake at one point, except she couldn't have been, because the dragon had gone back to Annwn when they'd burned the dark knight's body last year.

Arianrhod tugged at her sleeve. “Did you
ask the Crown about my parents, Lady Rhia?” she whispered.

Rhianna frowned at the girl's hopeful face. “Oh, Arianrhod, I completely forgot! I'll ask it next time, I promise.”

They knew now that Arianrhod's mother had been a Grail maiden, who had left her baby on the hill outside Camelot for the knights to find, but they still didn't know who her father had been.

The maid lowered her eyes. “It doesn't matter,” she said. “You've got more important things to do, I know that.”

“It
does
matter. It's important to you.”

Rhianna knew exactly what it felt like to grow up not knowing who your parents are. Her own childhood had been spent with Elphin's family, beyond the mists in Avalon. The first
time she'd seen her father, he had been lying in the bottom of Merlin's boat after Mordred had killed him in battle. She wished his ghost would appear so she could ask him about the ship she'd seen in the mist. But she hadn't seen the king's soul since the night they had burned Mordred.

“We'll talk about it after the meeting,” she promised. “Can you go and wake the queen for me? I've got to get changed.”

She hurried up the stairs to her room and tossed the Crown on to her bed, then stripped off her soiled dress and threw it on top. Quickly, she pulled on her riding leggings and tunic. She fingered her Avalonian armour, but it seemed a bit much just for a meeting of the Round Table. Finally, she strapped on her sword belt and slipped Excalibur into its red
scabbard. At once, she felt stronger.

She ran back down the tower stairs, excitement stirring her stomach. Although it was awful what had happened to Gareth, she was glad of the distraction. Things had been much too tame at Camelot since Mordred died.

The knights had been caught in bed by the Saxons' arrival. Some of them were entering the hall only half dressed, their tabards hanging loose. Others munched rolls snatched from the kitchens on their way. The smell of the freshly baked bread made Rhianna's stomach rumble.

“Here,” Cai said, puffing as he joined her. He held out a honey cake, still warm from the oven. “You won't be much good in a battle if you don't eat.”

“We already defeated Mordred's army,” Rhianna reminded him, adding a cushion to her father's chair and placing Excalibur on the table before her. “So there won't be a battle. But whatever happened to Gareth, at least it's got the knights to call a meeting of the Round Table. Don't rush off afterwards. I've got an idea how to persuade them to let us go and look for the Grail.” She bit into the cake and almost spat it out again. “That's hot! How come you don't burn your mouth?”

“Practice!” Cai grinned. “Quick, eat up! Here come Sir Lancelot and the queen.”

The silver-haired knight strode in, talking urgently to Queen Guinevere. The queen's gaze swept around the table and caught Rhianna brushing crumbs from her legs. Guinevere's copper hair, bright as Rhianna's own, had been
tamed in a jewelled net, and she wore a green and gold gown. She shook her head when she saw her daughter's riding leggings.

“You don't need to be here this morning, Rhianna darling,” she said, waving at the knights to sit down. “Nor you, young Cai. This is a minor incident at my monastery. We just need to decide who's going to the Lonely Tor to investigate how such a tragic accident could happen.”

Rhianna rested her hands on Excalibur, thinking uneasily of her vision. “And what if it wasn't an accident? Gareth had bruises on his neck.”

The queen frowned. “How do you know that?”

“We saw him, of course—” Cai winced as Rhianna gave him a kick under the table.
“I mean, er, all the squires saw, Your Majesty. The Saxons arrived with his body just as we was starting the mucking out.”

Guinevere grimaced at Sir Lancelot. “Can't keep anything from my daughter these days, it seems.”

“She does wear the Pendragon crown, my lady.” The silver-haired knight gave Rhianna an amused look.

Rhianna felt fairly certain her mother didn't know she'd spent the night in the stables, but she avoided Sir Lancelot's pale stare. It reminded her of the way Merlin used to look at her, before he'd lost his druid's body and transferred his spirit into the small falcon that bore the same name.

“Sir Lancelot?” Rhianna whispered, catching the knight's sleeve as he passed
her chair. “I need to talk to you—”

“Hush, darling,” Guinevere said as the doors boomed shut. “If you're determined to stay, don't interrupt. Cai, get back to your place. The meeting's about to start, and we don't want to be here all morning.”

Cai hurried back to his seat, from where he made faces at Rhianna. She reluctantly settled back into her chair as Sir Lancelot addressed the knights.

“A squire drowned last night,” he began. “He'd been visiting his family on the Lonely Tor. From the marks on his body, it looks like he'd been in a struggle. It's possible thieves attacked him on the road and dumped his body in the river afterwards, but as far as we know he wasn't carrying anything of value except his dagger. We'll send someone across
to the Lonely Tor to investigate. It might have been an accident, but it's not the kind of thing Arthur would have allowed to happen in his kingdom. If people are not safe visiting our holy places, where can they be safe?”

“I'll go,” Sir Bors volunteered, standing up with a scrape of his chair. “Bedivere can come with me to do the talking.”

The knight everyone called ‘Soft Hands' stood, too. He smiled at the queen. “Don't worry, my lady. We'll soon find out what happened to the poor lad.”

“Best get going as soon as you can,” Sir Lancelot said. “You can take some of the older squires with you. They were Gareth's friends, and it'll do them good to learn the less glamorous parts of the job before Arthur comes back to knight them.” He exchanged
a meaningful glance with the queen.

Cai looked expectantly at Rhianna. Every bone in her body wanted to stand up and volunteer to go with them. Anything to get out of Camelot after the long winter, and back in Alba's saddle galloping across the meadows bright with spring flowers. Instead, she sat very still, her hands clenched on Excalibur's scabbard. Gareth had never been a friend of hers, and the investigation might take ages. If she went with Sir Bors and Sir Bedivere to the Lonely Tor, that would delay her quest for the fourth Light.

“Damsel Rhianna?” Sir Bors said with a gruff cough. “A magic sword might be useful on this trip.”

“And a magic lance!” Cai said, his eyes shining. “I can come too, can't I?”

Rhianna shook her head. “I've got more important things to do. I still need to find the Grail of Stars to bring my father back to Camelot. The Crown of Dreams sent me a vision last night. I saw an island that might have been the Lonely Tor, surrounded by green mist. Then I saw a ship sailing away from it with a knight and a shining light on board. I think it was the Grail, and I think my vision means we need to journey across the sea to get it back, but I'll need some knights to accompany me.” She looked around the table, but they all avoided her gaze. Only Sir Bedivere would meet her eyes, and he shook his head.

The queen sighed. “Darling, be sensible. We've spoken about this already. None of Arthur's knights ever managed to bring the Grail to Camelot. I know you want your
father back, but the knights need to investigate Squire Gareth's death. They haven't time at the moment to ride out on a quest based on a dream. Be patient.”

“I've been patient all winter,” Rhianna said, her blood rising. “I think you
want
me to fail my quest, so you can live happily ever after at Camelot with Sir Lancelot!”

Guinevere flushed, and Sir Lancelot scowled. The knights gave embarrassed coughs and pretended to be discussing her vision. But Rhianna knew they were listening to every word.

She gripped Excalibur's hilt harder. “Well it's true, isn't it, Mother?” she said, looking around the table for support. “You never really believed I would complete my quest for the four Lights. And now I've got three of them, you're
afraid I might find the fourth and bring King Arthur back from Avalon to reclaim his throne. Then Sir Lancelot will have to leave again—”

She'd gone too far. The queen's hand shot out and slapped her across the cheek.

“That's enough, Rhianna!” she said, getting to her feet. “I'm not discussing this in here. Sir Bors and Sir Bedivere will take a party to the Tor and find out how the boy drowned. If Cai wants to go with them, he can – it'll help him learn to carry the Lance of Truth like a proper knight. And since you've made it quite clear you're much too busy to ride with them, you,
daughter
, will get changed into attire more suitable for a princess of Camelot and meet me in my rooms for lunch. We'll talk about this Grail Quest of yours further then.”

Drawing her cloak around her, she walked
quickly from the hall with her head held high. The guards opened the doors to let her out.

Rhianna stared after her mother, her eyes filling with hot tears. The slap had not hurt very much – Guinevere did not have muscles from riding and fighting like she did. But the shame of it made Rhianna's cheeks burn. Her mother had struck her before the knights of the Round Table! Men she'd led to victory in battle against Mordred and his bloodbeards, and whose spirits were linked to her sword Excalibur.

“Well then, that seems to be decided,” Sir Bedivere said, breaking the awkward silence. “Are you coming with us then, Cai? Best get packed if you are. We're riding out as soon as we're ready.”

Cai cast Rhianna an anguished look. The knights all started talking at once. She heard
her name mentioned and wanted to escape like her mother had and hide in Alba's stable.

But she had something to do first. She blinked away the tears, jumped up on her chair and drew Excalibur.