The Adventures of Sir Givret the Short (3 page)

BOOK: The Adventures of Sir Givret the Short
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Givret said, "But what if some other lady is more beautiful than the counts daughter?"

"Judge for yourselves," Sir Valens said. "I think I hear my daughter, Enide, coming now."

"
Your
daughter?" said Givret.

Yes," said Sir Valens. "I am the old count."

Then the door opened and no one spoke for a long moment, because standing in the doorway was the most dazzlingly beautiful lady that either Givret or Erec had ever seen.

[[graphic]]

"My daughter, Lady Enide," said Sir Valens.

"Pleased to meet you, my lady' Givret said.

Erec said nothing. He only stared.

"Finding Sir Yoder will just have to wait," Givret said as soon as he and Erec were alone. "We must help Sir Valens and Lady Enide."

"Yes!" Erec agreed enthusiastically. "Enide must not marry that horrible count! I have an idea!"

"Er ... you do?" Givret asked. This didn't sound like Erec, somehow.

"Yes! I shall take Enide away with me to East Wales, to the castle of my father, King Lac!"

"Riding double, I suppose?" asked Givret. "Remember, they have no horses."

Erec frowned. "But we
must
do something! Enide is perfection itself! Her face! Her eyes! And she's so clever, too!"

"
Clever?
" Givret repeated. Lady Enide was a beauty but at dinner it had occurred to Givret that he had never heard anyone say so much about so little for so long. "Don't worry, Erec," he said. "I have an idea, too. Now listen closely, because I need you to follow these instructions." He told Erec what to do the next day, made him repeat it several times, and then took his black cloak and slipped out into the night.

Chapter 5
Sir Erec's Brilliance

The contest for the most beautiful lady in Limors turned out as expected. Enide wore her plainest gown and left her hair uncombed and tangled, but nothing could disguise her beauty. "We have chosen a winner!" declared Count Oringle, a squat fellow with a bristly beard, once he had paraded all the ladies before the crowd. "And, since great beauty should be honored greatly, the winner gets to wed the greatest noble in Limors! Me!

[[graphic]]

The winner is ... Lady Enide!"

All that morning, Givret had been standing concealed in a shadowy doorway, waiting for this moment. "You are mistaken, Count Oringle!" he shouted, stepping into the open. He wore his black robe with the hood pulled low over his face.

"Who the devil are you?" Count Oringle snapped.

"I..." Givret paused for effect. "I am a
sorcerer!
I bring a solemn message to Count Oringle from the Spirit World!"

A hush fell over the crowd, and Count Oringle turned pale. A sorcerer!" he gasped.

"Yes!" Givret declared. "The dark spirits of Tara have sent you a message! Come here!"

"Of course, of course," the count said, bowing. "I'll just claim my new bride, and then—"

"Didn't you hear me?" Givret scoffed. "She is not your bride!"

"Don't you think she's the most beautiful lady?" Count Oringle asked.

"That's not the problem," snapped Givret. "
You
are not the greatest noble present!" Whirling on his heel, Givret pointed at Erec, who was standing beside Sir Valens. "
He
is! You! Knight! What is your name?"

Erec stepped forward and recited the words Givret had made him memorize. "My name is Sir Erec, of King Arthur's court, and my father is Lac, King of East Wales."

"A prince, as you know, is higher than a count," said Givret. "But enough of this! I have not come to settle silly contests but to bring you a word from the spirits."

Suddenly, Erec figured it out. "By Jove!" he exclaimed. "I
am
a prince! That means ... by the rules, Enide is to marry..." Throwing himself forward, he knelt at Enide's feet, gazing up into her face, and said, "Will you marry me, dearest Enide? Please say yes!"

Trembling with fury, Count Oringle drew a long dagger from his belt and stepped toward Erec, but Givret had been watching for something like this. "Here is my message!" he shrieked. "The spirits of the men you have killed have cast a curse on you! If you should murder even
one
more man, that mans ghost will haunt you forever! Beware! The shades of the dead have spoken!"

Count Oringle dropped his dagger as if it were red hot. Givret ducked out of sight—glad for once that he was so smalland stripped off his cloak. His plan had gone off without a hitch.

Then came a hitch. While Erec and Enide were still gazing into each others eyes and the count still standing in frozen terror, a knight on horseback galloped into the square, scattering the crowd around him. 'Who dares to crown the most beautiful lady in the land without consulting me?" called the knight. "
My
lady is the most beautiful in the land, and I—I, Sir Yoder, son of Nutshall fight anyone who denies it!"

Of course, Erec leapt to his feet. "
I
deny it! Lady Enide is the most beautiful lady in the world!"

At once, both knights began hacking at each other with swords. Givret could only stare, helpless, while Erec, still dressed in his hunting clothes, fought with the fully armored Yoder—the very thing Givret had been sent to prevent.

[[graphic]]

But slowly, Givret's spirits began to rise. Somehow, even without armor, Erec was holding his own. In fact, he was lighting magnificently
By George!
Givret thought.
Maybe Erec didn't need me after all!
It occurred to Givret that, while Erec might not win any prizes for his brains, there were other kinds of brilliance.

A moment later, with a splendid flick of his sword, Erec disarmed Sir Yoder, who sank, panting, to his knees at Erec's feet. "I yield!" he gasped. 'Never have I seen such swordplay!"

"Then hear this, Sir Yoder, son of Nut," Erec said clearly. "I will spare your life, on two conditions. First, you must go to Camelot, to Queen Guinevere, and apologize for insulting her in the forest the day of the great hunt." Sir Yoder looked confused, and Erec said, "The lady that you called a warty hag was the queen. Second, you must promise to fight no more battles to defend your lady's beauty" Erec glanced at Enide, then added, "You know, if your lady loves you, that ought to be enough, don't you think?"

Sir Yoder bowed his head in acceptance, and the crowd roared it's approval—they had had a
marvelous
day's entertainment. Then Erec turned back to Enide. Tm sorry we were interrupted," he said, as soon as the cheering had subsided. "But you never had a chance to give me your answer. Will you marry me, Enide?"

"Yes, Sir Erec, I will!" Enide replied breathlessly.

And so it was that Sir Givret finished his first quest, and a fine quest it had turned out to be. Not only had Erec done what he set out to do, teaching Sir Yoder, son of Nut, a valuable lesson, but Lady Enide had been rescued from marrying the wicked Count Oringle, and she and Erec had found love. Even the crowd had had a grand time. Only Count Oringle had had a really bad day, and that didn't bother Givret at all.

Chapter 6
Sir Erec's Next Quest

Erec and Enide were married the next day. Givret rode back to Camelot to report on their adventures, while Erec bought two horses and took Lady Enide and her father to Wales, to present them to his father. King Lac was delighted with them both. He gave the happy couple their very own castle and made Sir Valens his chief advisor. It all felt like Happily Ever After.

But there's one thing about Happily Ever After that storytellers sometimes forget to mention: It takes a while to get it right. You see, not everyone has the same idea of Happily Ever After. So, when two people try to find happiness together, there are always a few details to work out. Erec, for instance, thought happiness was either riding alone in search of adventures or sitting at home by a fire in peace and quiet. Enide, on the other hand, was happiest when she was talking. Well, it was a problem.

That was the situation that Givret found some six months later when he came for a visit. Erec received his friend with delight, and for several minutes they exchanged news. Then Givret asked, "So, hows married life?"

"It's wonderful!" Erec replied heartily.

"Good, good," Givret said, but after a moment, he asked, "Is it so wonderful that you've decided to give up adventures and knightly deeds for Enide?"

Erec stared at Givret. "What? Don't be silly! Why would you ask that?"

"That's what they're saying in the village," Givret said. "They're calling you, um, Sir Erec the Pussycat."

"I never said any such thing!" Erec exclaimed. "Enide's the one who visits the village, anyway."

At that moment, Enide burst into the room. "Givret!" she squealed. "They
told
me it was you, but I had to come see for myself! I'm
so
glad to see you! You look wonderful! Do you like my dress? Erec gave it to me yesterday, just as a present. He spoils me so! Are you well? But I can see you are! Did you just now arrive? Has Erec offered you anything to eat? We have some tea cakes with raspberries! Oh, dear, whoever would have thought that today we would get a visit from our very dearest friend? Without you we never would have met! Have you been riding all day? I like riding, too, but I haven't been out in, oh, forever, except for a few shopping trips to the village, just for things that we couldn't do without, and these darling buttons that I saw and just had to have. They'll be perfect on a pink dress, don't you think? If only I had one!"

Enide stopped to show Givret the buttons, and he managed to say, Tm glad to see you, too, Enide," before she started again.

"I used to have a pink dress," Enide began, "but honestly, it had red ribbons on it, if you can imagine, and so I gave it away, but if I had—"

During all this, Erec had been gazing at Enide with suspicion dawning in his eyes. "Enide," he said. "Be quiet for a moment, can't you?"

Enide stared at Erec. He had never hushed her before.

"I have to ask you something," Erec said. "They're saying down in the village that I've promised to give up adventures forever for your sake. Do you know why people would think that?"

Enide clapped her hands to her mouth and giggled. "Oh, if that isn't the silliest thing! All I said was that you would rather be with me than go on adventures, like you said to me that night when you gave me those pearl earrings! It was
so
romantic! But I only told one person ... no, wait, two—three! Plus the fishwife."

Erec turned red. "You told the whole village I was giving up being a knight for you? No wonder they're laughing at me!"

"Laughing at you! Oh, surely not!" Enide gasped.

"Givret?" said Erec.

Givret wished he hadn't brought the matter up, but he replied honestly: "Well, they are a bit. Maybe if Enide went back to the village and told people there that they have it wrong—"

"It's too late for that now," Erec declared angrily. "I have to
prove
them wrong! Tomorrow morning I'm going questing!"

[[graphic]]

Enide looked stricken. "You're leaving me?" she whispered.

"I say, Erec," Givret began, "maybe you should think about this a day or two before—"

Enide burst into tears, drowning out the rest of his words. She cried and clutched her hair and said she was very sorry and would do anything to make it better, but she couldn't bear it if Erec went off and left her and so on. "I'll be lost without you!" she wailed.

"You should have thought of that before you went gossiping about me!" Erec snapped. Enide looked stunned.

"Well ... can I go with you?" she asked softly.

Then Erec had an idea. Maybe it wasn't a great idea, but Erec hadn't had as much practice with ideas as Givret. Yes, Enide," he said. You can ride with me, but on one condition: as long as we travel,
you cannot speak a single word!
"

Chapter 7
The Silence of Lady Enide

When Givret woke the next morning, Erec's servants told him that their master had gone. He had left the castle hours before dawn, accompanied by a silent Lady Enide. Givret set out after them at once, following the servants directions toward the northeast. Before long, he came upon three men in rough clothes huddled around a fire. Givret laid one hand on his sword—there were bandits in those forests—but these men were too busy with their own problems to be threatening. One man winced every time he moved his arm, another held his head in his hands, and the third rubbed a swollen knee. All three were very bruised and battered. Sore Arm saw Givret grasp his sword and said, "Don't waste yer time, sir. We won't hurt ye none."

"I thought you might be bandits," Givret explained.

The man rubbed his arm again, then said, "This morning ye'd have been right," he said. "But we're givin' it up. Unhealthy. That's what it is."

Head-in-Hands groaned and looked up. "'E took me club away and bonked me 'ead with it!" he said.

"Have you had some trouble?" Givret asked. "Trouble, he calls it!" snorted Sore Arm. "Ay, ye could say that."

[[graphic]]

"Me own club! And bonked me in the ead!"

Givret tried to look sympathetic. "I don't suppose you've met a wandering knight accompanied by a lady have you?"

Sore Arm said, "Ay, that sounds like the fellow. Who
was
that?"

"That," Givret said carefully, "was the great Sir Erec of East Wales, gone out questing. You might tell that to people you meet."

"Why?" asked Sore Arm.

"Well, it's just that there's a rumor going about that Sir Erec has given up fighting."

"I wish that was so!" muttered Sore Arm.

"And the silent lady with him was his wife, Lady Enide," Givret added.

"Silent!" grunted Sore Arm. "I wish that was so, too."

"She wasn't silent?"

"Not when it mattered," Sore Arm said. "See, the way we work—used to work, I mean—is two of us blocks the road while Clem there sneaks up behind a chap and lays him out with a club. It always works, but this time the lady sees Clem creeping up and shouts, 'Look out!'"

"What happened then?" Givret asked.

BOOK: The Adventures of Sir Givret the Short
2.56Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
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