The Knight She Fell For

chapter 3

Melina

I woke up from the feeling that the world was moving. It was bouncing and rocking. Every movement sent a flash of pain through my body. I realised the world wasn’t moving, only I was, or better the horse I was on. I could feel the warmth of someone  behind me. I wanted to turn around to see who it was but I was too exhausted. My eyes fell shut again and I couldn’t open them. Sleep took over me again as I hoped that this stranger wasn’t taking me to a dark and wet dungeon.

The pain had eased in the time that I was unconscious. The stranger had brought me to a messy and musty room. An old man, his hair long and white and his face wrinkled, had closed up the bigger wounds and bandaged everything. The whole night someone had watched over me. If it wasn't the old man it was a younger one. His hair was brown and short. I guessed he was a servant by the looks of his clothes.

When I woke up again it was already late in the afternoon. I was still tired but I forced myself out of the warm and cosy bed. The messy room was gone. I had to be somewhere else then I was last night. The room had a king size bed and a desk with a large chair. There was a closet in the corner and a large window took most of the space on one wall. The sun stood low at the horizon and the warm rays of the sun fell right on my face. I looked out of the window. Far beneath me I could see the streets of the courtyard. There was a market  on one of the squares and there were people everywhere. I just looked at it for a moment, then it hit me.

I’m in Camelot!

Shit, this can’t be happening. I don’t know these people, what if they want to hurt me? A knock on the door pulled me out of my thoughts. “Come in,” I said as I turned around to see who was there. A man came in. He was dressed in armour and a red cape. A sword hung from his belt. That is definitely a knight. Is he here to arrest me? For what reason would he arrest me? Did I do anything? To my surprise the Knight just smiled at me and put a silver tray on the desk.

“I am happy to see that you are feeling better. I am sir Lancelot,” he softly pressed the back of my hand to his lips. “You should eat something, Lady…” I smiled as I got the hint. “Melina,” I said, trying not to hesitate. Lancelot bowed. “Lady Melina,” he said and then he left, closing the door behind him.

I looked at the tray full of food. I hadn’t eaten a real meal in weeks. My stomach growled very unladylike when the smell of roasted meat filled my nose. Maybe this wasn’t so bad after all. The food was amazing and everything was gone within minutes.

After I ate I decided on inspecting the room and eventually I settled in the seat in the window with a book on my lap. It was already dark outside when I put the book away. I wasn’t tired yet but I still got back in my bed. If I didn’t go to sleep now I would wake up tomorrow in the afternoon. It took some time but eventually I fell asleep.

I dreamt of home. Me and my parents were sitting close to the fireplace. My mother was singing. Her voice echoed through my head but I didn’t remember the words. When I woke up my cheeks were wet and tears stained the pillow. On the desk stood a silver tray. It was filled with bread and fruit. Next to it stood a teapot and a porcelain cup. There was steam coming from the tea so it must have been brought in not long ago.  For a moment I was concerned about the fact that I hadn’t noticed that someone had entered my room but hunger quickly pushed that concern to the back of my head.

Someone knocked on my door softly. A woman entered. Her black hair hung in long waves over her back. Her purple dress was beautiful and looked very expensive. She carried another dress with her. It was dark green with silver details. The sleeves were long and got wider at the end. The skirt was made in a way that it looked like leaves swirled around your legs.

“Good morning. My name is Morgana,” the woman said as she laid the dress on my bed. She pointed at the dress. “I thought you might like a change of clothes,” she said. I smiled at her.

“My name is Melina.” I looked at the dress again.

“Would you like me to help you put it on?” she offered. I just nodded my head, my eyes still focused on the dress. I love the colour green.

Morgana helped me put on the dress. She was careful not to touch the cuts and bruises that covered my body. I turned to look in the mirror. It had been a long time since I had worn a dress. Now I remembered how beautiful it made me feel. I spun around a few times, the skirt twirling around my legs.

Morgana pulled me to the chair and sat me down. She took a comb and let it glide through my hair. I relaxed a little more as I enjoyed the feeling. She took at least ten minutes to comb out all the knots in my hair. After that she left again with the promise that she would be back after four hours. She said that she had planned something but kept it a surprise what it was exactly. I picked up the book I had started yesterday and settled in my favourite seat by the window.