The Squire, His Knight, and His Lady by Gerald Morris

Author:Gerald Morris [Morris, Gerald]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

VII. Challenges in the Night

Terence awoke to the smell of wildflowers and to a throbbing pain in his right arm. Opening his eyes, he found himself lying on a bundle of heather beside a stream. Nearby, Guingalet and the other horses cropped grass in a lush meadow. Gawain lay asleep nearby, but Eileen was awake, stitching the hem of her dress.

"What have you done to your dress?" Terence asked. His voice sounded weak and raspy.

Eileen glanced at him briefly, then resumed her sewing. "So you're awake, are you? How does your arm feel?"

Terence could not seem to focus his thoughts. "That dress barely covers your knees," he said. "Where's the rest of it?"

"Mostly wrapped around your arm and Gawain's shoulder. Some of it is on Gawain's feet. They got pretty chewed up climbing a mountain barefoot. Now answer me: How does your arm feel?"

"It hurts," Terence replied. "Where are we? How did we get here?"

"Well might you ask," Eileen said. "It took me hours to drag you and Gawain here. You sleep hard, Terence." Terence frowned, puzzled, and Eileen continued. "After the fight, when you and Gawain passed out, that village—You remember the little village?—just disappeared. There we were on the side of the mountain, with no food or water."

"So you dragged us up the mountain to this meadow?" Terence asked, frankly incredulous. "By yourself?"

Eileen hesitated. "No, a little man with a pointy beard helped me. Don't ask me who he was, because he wouldn't say."

"Never mind," Terence said. "I think I know. His name is Robin. He's the one I was talking to when you woke up last night, beside the river." Terence's head was clearing, and he noticed Gawain's armor arranged neatly under a tree. "I suppose Robin brought our horses and gear?"

Eileen nodded. "And food, and some ointment for your wounds." Terence closed his eyes again, unusually tired. Eileen spoke gently, "Before you go back to sleep, Terence, I want to thank you for saving my life from the boar last night."

Terence reddened and stammered, "Don't mention it, Lady Eileen."

"Lady Eileen, is it now?" she said briskly. "Are you angry with me, Squire Terence? You called me Eileen all night."

"I didn't!"

"You most certainly did, and since I have no desire to call you Squire Terence or Sir Terence or something witless like that, you may as well keep calling me Eileen. Now go to sleep."

Terence went to sleep. They ended up staying there by the brook for almost a month while Gawain and Terence recovered from their wounds. The food that Robin had given Eileen lasted a week, and by the end of that time Terence was able to prowl the woods and gather food. It was an idyllic time, spent telling stories and playing games. Neither the elfin village nor any wild boars ever reappeared. Terence and Eileen took long rides in the woods—Gawain complained that stirrups hurt his feet and refused to join them. Eileen told Terence about her life before she had gone to

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