The Faerie Blade

Chapter 10

The two of us stepped into a temple. Gliding out from an antechamber, a lady in a flowing blue dress stopped in front of us. She bowed to Merlin, ignoring me. How rude!

"Come to enter the Trial, my lord?" she asked.

Merlin shook his head, his shoulder length white hair rippling with the movement. "I am acting Merlin. This young one will be entering the Trial."

I had wondered how he would get around his inability to lie regarding my gender. 'Young one' was an interesting – and accurate, since I was young compared to the hundreds of years a Fae could live – dodge.

The lady looked dubiously between Merlin and myself. "Are you sure, my lord? Surely with your power, you would be able to draw Excalibur from the altar. This boy might not even make it past the trial."

Merlin gripped his staff tighter and tapped his foot in annoyance. Glad to see that ire directed at someone other than me for a change. "I have trained the youth; the Trial will not pose a challenge. Enter the young one as a candidate. I will stand Merlin."

The lady's facial expression soured. "Very well. But do not blame Arglewid Lyn if he does not pass the trial and you lose your chance for fame and power. You have been warned." She turned and strode through a doorway, deeper into the temple.

"Arglewid Lyn?" I asked.

"You're smart," was Merlin's reply. "Figure it out."

"Come boy!" The lady barked from behind the curtained area. Hurriedly, I scrambled to follow her. Merlin had told me that Arglewiden Lyn meant The Lady's Lake. Stood to reason that this lady was the Lady of the Lake. And for a first impression, I was not very impressed.

"To be a king, you need to show a sense of restraint and self control." She smiled at me, but the smile did not reach her eyes. "In the first part of the Trial, you will demonstrate these traits. You will be required to resist the lures of my power. Do you still wish to enter, or would you prefer to back out now?" Her smile turned smug, certain that I would cower at the thought of facing her glamour.

Tired of her discourteous and patronising behaviour, I returned an as sickeningly sweet smile as I could have managed, wiping the smug look from her face. "Bring it on," I chirped with nauseating cheer.

The Lady of the Lake's mouth twisted with anger. "Very well," she snarled, and clapped her hands. The room darkened, and everything spun into blackness, leaving me suspended in a seeming abyss of nothingness.

~

"Welcome," an alluring voice rang out from everywhere and nowhere at once. What exactly had I been here for? I could not remember, except that it was very important and that nothing should distract me. "My good lord, would you not take a break, and sup with us? We have delicacies of every kind, plucked and prepared so that it may nourish you."

A dim light brightened in the darkness, revealing a table laden with plump fruit, fattened pheasant, and all kinds of rich foods that you can imagine. Sadly, I just had dinner and I was not that hungry...and these foods were not what I craved anyway. If I had just been presented with my mother's home cooked food on the other hand...

"No thank you," I called back. "My good Lady, I am not that hungry."

"Perhaps you are tired, then," the voice said. "Take a rest. These downy pillows are yours to use should you so desire it. The soft plumes will give you maximum comfort, I promise."

The table of food melted away to reveal the most comfortable looking bed I had ever seen.

My eyes started to feel heavy, but something deep within me urged me not to give in. It is a trick! It screamed at me. Glamour! Warning bells started pinging in my head, and reflexively, I strengthened my mental defences. Almost immediately, the fog cleared from my eyes. "Dear Lady, I cannot rest. Not yet, at least. I have come for the Sword. For Excalibur."

"Oh, that is all very well and good," the Lady of the Lake said. "But I can offer you all the perfumes so that you will smell the best, and all Fae will envy you."

I laughed. "I am sorry, but I am not interested. If you are trying to sell me –"

"Then my lord, will you not use this crystal? Surely you are the most fine looking young man I have ever seen, and you should spend your days admiring yourself."

I scoffed. "I apologise, but I am not Narcissus. I know exactly what I look like, and have no need to stare into a looking glass."

Even as I spoke, strains of music filled the air. It woke a sense of nostalgia in me, reminding me of the time when I used to play the piano back home, exulting in the dance of the fingers on the ebony and ivory keys...

"Stop trying to tempt me!" I shook my head furiously, starting to get annoyed by all this glamour. "Please, Lady of the Lake, I have come –"

"Are you sure it is the sword you want, my Lord?" A female Fae said from behind me, sliding a hand over my shoulder and down my arm to grasp my own hand. "It will bring nothing but eventual pain and sorrow. Would you not trade that life of hardship for a lifetime with me? I could make you very happy."

Perhaps, if I were a randy man, I might be tempted. With perfect features and a crystal clear voice, she was the prettiest woman I had ever seen. As it was, dear readers, I did not swing that way. Not that I was condemning anyone who did, because hey, I respect you, but I just do not vibe with that myself, you know?

"No thank you," I replied, gently removing the female's hands from mine. "I am most certainly not interested."

The figure of the female Fae scowled, then dissolved into nothing. "What would you give up the Sword for?" The Lady of the Lake asked. "Endless gold? Glory? People to serve you and be your friends? Knowledge, of every hidden and unseen thing? Name it, and it shall be yours, should you turn back and be willing to leave Excalibur where it lies."

"No." I said firmly. "I came for the Sword, and I will leave with the Sword. Or at least, try to leave with it."

The Lady of the Lake was silent. "Hello?" I hollered. "Lady, do not leave me here."

I blinked, and the room where I was in appeared again, this time with one very shocked Lady of the Lake.

"How...how...?" She stuttered, her mouth hanging open slightly. "No one has ever gotten a perfect score on my test before."

I smirked. "In that case, is it possible for me to move on to the next part of the Trial, good Lady?"

The Lady of the Lake studied me carefully. "Yes," she answered slowly. "I apologise for doubting you in the first place. You might just be the King we have all been waiting for. What is your name, boy?"

"Arthur," I replied, my smirk widening into a genuine smile. For the first time since Merlin had struck that bargain with me, I felt as if I could own such a legendary name.