A CHRISTMAS WISH

Chapter 9: The Feast

CHAPTER 9:

THE FEAST:

ALRIGHT EVRYBODY, HERE IS THE CHAPTER U HAVE ALL BEEN WAITING FOR. THE FIRST ENCOUNTER. i had to bust my butt completing this one soon because i knew how frustrating cliffhangers can be. So, Enjoy and this time i expect long comments from my readers, you need to tell me about the chemistry and the setting. Is it believable?

ONCE AGAIN THANKYOU FOR READING AND PLZ VOTE AND COMMENT IF YOU ENJOY IT.

“In orchard where the leaves of hawthorn hide,

A lady holds a lover by her side,

Until the watcher in the dawning cried.

Ah God, ah God, the Dawn! It comes how soon.”

The minstrel recited the poem with a pleasant lilting voice. Sarah couldn’t help but be impressed by the recitation. The poem was called “Alba” and it was a touching poem about unrequited love and longing.

Sarah was surprised by the dramatic beauty of the verse, the ebb and flow of the stanzas, the grace of the words. Sure, like all the other poems this man had recited so far, this one too was about a cheating lady cavorting with her lover behind her husband’s back but at least he made it sound decent. He had, after all, dedicated all his poems to the radiance of Sarah’s beauty, how could she not like them. He had even made up a few impromptu poems about Sarah herself.

She was a woman after all, it was flattering to hear that her gloriously lustrous hair outshone the rising Sun or that her rosy cheeks put the most beautiful rose to shame. What woman wouldn’t enjoy a handsome man dressed in crimson tights and a flashy tunic recite ode’s to her beauty.

At least he was way better than the guy before him, the Jester, with his ridiculous top-hat and multi colored tunic. That man had regaled the audience with such doozies as,

“There once was a lass named Mae,

Ever good for a toss in the hay,

Her breasts were white as snow….."

Sarah had cringed listening to those poetic abortions; it was fifth grade all over again. But everyone else had seemed to enjoy the ribald comedy. The knights especially were having a whale of a time.

The central hall was filled to capacity. Tonight the hall looked majestic. There were fancy candelabra’s in every corner, and flaming torches hanging off brackets high up on the stone walls. The seating tonight was arranged around a central staging area. That is where all the performers performed. It is where the minstrel was just wrapping up his act with a final flourish, espousing poems of unrequited love and heroic deeds.

All around were men, some sitting some standing. The few women in the hall were all seated close to the raised platform where Sarah and her family were seated, under a red canopy with the trademark yellow cross.

Sarah had felt as nervous as a frightened gazelle, walking into the hall almost an hour ago. Her knees had been knocking and her heart racing as she had followed her mother through the arched entry way into the hall. But then she had heard the racous applause, the loud cheers.