Champion of Camelot

The yelling argument had lasted an hour, and King Arthur was starting to regret allowing it to start in the first place. But one of the founding principals of Camelot was the symbolized by the Round Table - that despite being King, Arthur was only to be considered the first among equals, and so he had let his most trustworthy knight Lancelot make his case.

“It cannot be done, Arthur! You cannot give a knighthood to a woman!”

“Why not? She saved my life, any man who had done the same would be welcomed.”

“I was there too, Arthur. Yes, in yesterday’s battle against the Saxons, she rode out of nowhere to come to our aid, but we didn’t know who she was until she removed her helm.”

“But the deed remains, Lancelot. How can I let her go without honoring her?”

“Give her a dowery so she can have a husband.”

“I offered, it was refused. She claimed she had taken an oath to marry no man until the kingdom was safe.”

“Arthur, I tell you truly. If you try and place her among the knights, there will be trouble. No matter how brave she is, the others will never accept her. In fact, some have hinted that they would first abandon Camelot.”

“You mean, they’d ... go back on the oaths they took to the kingdom? To me?”

“Yes, my lord.”

“All right. Let me consult Merlin.”

****

So the king went to the magician, and outlined his dilemma, and then said, “So, what can I do?”

“I do have an alternative, if the woman is willing, your majesty.”

“Well, what is it?”

“I had recently finished making a very special suit of armor, the wearer would be nearly invulnerable to all known weapons.”

“So why not give it to me?”

“Because there is ... a problem. The wearer could never take it off. They would never sleep, never eat, and never show their face to the world again.”

“I will ask her what her will is.”

****

The woman was summoned, and the choice was given - the dowry, a trip to a nunnery, or the armor and a chance to serve, but to never be known.”

There was a long pause.

Then the woman said, “I’ll take the armor.”

****

So it came to pass that a new legend was born - the legend of the Black Knight, the secret defender of Camelot.

But all legends must come to an end, and so it was with this one - The evil Morgan LeFay found out that the Black knight had one weakness - the armor would not let its wearer fight against the king’s blood. So she took the king’s son Mordred and placed him in command of her army, and forced the Black Knight to watch helplessly as Mordred and Arthur killed each other.

But it was said, that when Merlin took Arthur to a secret island to sleep until England would need him again, the Black Knight went with him.

So perhaps, The Black Knight will be heard from again, and maybe the true name of the wearer of the armor will at last be known again, as I reveal it to you all now.

Talia Pendragon.

Daughter of Arthur, warrior woman, ....

Champion of Camelot.

End