“I-I-I was!”

“Then, I ask again, why not thou?”

“Well, the people,” said the priest, “would they not think me taketh too much upon meself ta crown the king?”

“Exactly! Thou art so wise to hath hit it on the head! We must go about town telling them all, of the great event that they themselves will witness right here in thine own church. For, if the people o’ London see all that will happen, who shall say that thou art not the man to crown the king? And, the king himself will thank thee.”

 

The man’s eyes bulged as he said in almost a whisper, “The king himself will thank me?” He shook his head and went on in a louder, more important sounding, voice. “Then, I say to thee, Wizard Merlin, it be our duty ta tell all of London about this great event ta take place right here in mine own church.”

They left the church shoulder-to-shoulder and walked to the end of town, which now was awake with the hustle and bustle of a thriving city. As he had planned, Merlin started it off by pulling a flower from a fish woman’s hair and presented it to her. Seeing another woman selling flowers he pulled a small, fresh fish from her hair and presented it to her. A crowd started to gather and Merlin went from one person to another as he mesmerized them all.

Finally, he said in a booming voice, “Ladies and gentlemen of London. If thou dost enjoy my small show, then meet with the fine priest and meself tonight in yon church. The price for such a show would be one pence, but not this evening. This evening it be free for the citizens of London ta witness the comin’ o’ the King o’ England!”

The crowd roared their approval and Merlin said to the priest, “Reverend, thou appearing with me hast given an easiness to the crowd ta accept me, an’ I thank yee.”

“Then,” said the priest finding out that he didn’t need to do anything except escort the wizard about, “let us be on our way, great wizard as we have a mission to complete.” They went on to another batch of stalls and did the same routine and by the end of the day they had a huge crowd following them.

Realizing that he had to break away so he could go back and replenish his magic-making toys, Merlin had been looking for a place to disappear at. Finally, at a small corner he saw an empty alley. He palmed his last flour-filled egg and turned to the priest. “Good father,” he said, “I must take leave of thee as I must rest for a spell. As we have planned, after the evening-meal I will meditate behind thine altar of yon church and when the moon be high and all are in attendance, I shall appear and we shall see if this one called Arthur is amongst us.”

“Yes,” answered the priest as he patted his stomach, “I too am in need of rest and perhaps refreshment. I will be amongst the crowd this evening as I feel me place ta be among the people.”

Merlin smiled as he thought, Yes, safer to be in the audience than too close to a wizard when magic starts. He patted the priest on his shoulder and said, “Then, friend, I shall see thee this evening.” He pointed up at a cloud and said as the priest looked up, “The shape of yon cloud beckons me ta take leave of thee.” He quickly dropped the egg and the slight breeze carried the puff of smoky-looking flour between him and the priest and crowd. Merlin quickly ducked into the ally and ran around the corner while the crowd stood transfixed. Ten minutes later he entered Topsy House, tired, but happy.

Merlin and James spent the next few hours filling empty eggshells with flour and rigging Merlin’s outfit for the show, when Harold rapped on his door.

“Wizard Merlin, there be a boy here ta see ya.”

Merlin opened the door. “Fine. Let him come hither, friend Harold.”

A small boy who held his hat in his hands peeked at him from behind Harold. “Great Wizard. I bring thee a message of great import.”

“Come in, boy. What be it?”

The boy handed him a rolled up piece of parchment and Merlin read it.

Merlin. First off, all’s well. Just wanted to tell you that some fat knight who calls himself Sir Albert, was looking for me last night. Him and some of his goons looked like they were drunk and wanted to ‘honor’ me. Seems to Jennie that they really wanted to take my head. They asked for ‘He who is called Arthur as they wanted to honor him before he became king’. Just a heads-up that all is not like it might seem with these guys. There are some who might see the coming of a new king as someone that might interfere with their gig, whatever that might be. See you tonight, Arty. PS Break a leg, dude!”

Merlin folded the parchment and put it in his pocket as he turned to the boy and said, “Thank thee very much young fellow. This be for thou.” He took a coin from behind the boy’s ear and placed it in his palm as the boy’s eyes bulged.

The boy bowed deeply. “Sire, thank thee much.”

“Go back an’ tell Arthur, I thank him.”

The boy ran back up the stairs.

 

When the sun was just about to set, Harold served Merlin, Thomas and James, plates full of chicken and roasted corn along with mugs of cider.

Merlin took the opportunity to ask, “Pray tell me, friends Harold and Thomas. Who be this fellow called, Sir Albert?”

Harold stopped in mid-sip of his drink and asked, “Why? How dost thou know of this man?”

Thomas added, “Sir Albert, it be said, hast gotten his name tarnished by his cheatin’ an’ such. Tis said that he be not an honorable knight like many others, but a scoundrel who would take thine purse in the night.”

“He be bad,” said Harold. “He an’ his cohorts seek ta harm all what would stop them from being bandits.” He took a bite of his chicken and asked, “How is it that thou knows of him?”

“He seeks out Arthur, methinks ta do him harm.”

Thomas nodded. “Aye! Twould be his way ta harm ‘he who would be king’ afore he becomes king.”

“Does Albert know of yer friendship with Arthur?”

“No,” answered Merlin. “Methinks not. But this very evening twould be Sir Albert’s last chance ta harm him afore he becomes king.”

Harold nodded his head, “Friend Merlin, best he not know of thy friendship with Arthur.”

 

The priest was lighting one of the twenty torches that lined both sides of the church’s interior as he whistled merrily. The door opened and three men entered, one of them was Sir Albert. He strutted down the center aisle and stopped by the small man.

“Friend,” said the priest with a smile on his face, “Be yee back ta try ta remove the sword again? Ya be welcome ta try again but methinks by now yer arms be hurtin’ fer tryin’ so many times.”

“Good Priest,” he answered through gritted teeth, “this time I be here ta see this Arthur who all say will remove it an’ become king.”

“Well,” answered the priest, “yee be first here an’ yer welcome ta take a seat but the Wizard sayeth he work best by moonlight an’ that not be fer hours yet.”

The heavy-set man looked at him with a smirk and answered, “The wizard? It be Arthur we seek, not a wizard.”

One of the men went to the sword and gripped the handles. Sir Albert called out to him, “Gerard! Should ya remove the sword, I’ll smite thee and claim it as me own.”

The man relaxed his grip, shrugged his shoulders and said, “Sir Albert. I have no thought ta be the man what removes the sword, as all who know yee feels that it be thine ta remove.”

Satisfied with his answer, Sir Albert turned back to the priest. “So Priest. Tell me who be this wizard an’ doth it be him who brings this Arthur ta London ta be king?”

“No, Sire. Methinks he just be a wizard who sees what the future holds an’ he saw Arthur remove yon sword and become king.”

“Know yee who this wizard be?”

The priest puffed up his chest and answered, “Surely I do! Why this very day we walked together through the streets of London inviting all ta see his magic this very evening. Did thou not hear of it?”

“No! I-I, ah, we work at night an’ sleep days. But yee say this very evening the wizard will do magic here?”

“Aye, this evening after full moon.”

“An,” added the heavy man, “if this wizard saw this Arthur in his magic, doth that not mean he knows his face well?”

The priest nodded affirmatively as he answered, “Yes!”

“Then,” said the heavy man as he motioned his men to leave, “this evening we shall be back ta speak with him.”

“Be yee here early ta get a good seat, Sir Knight. Fer all o’ London shall attend.” He watched as the three men left the church and he thought he heard the heavy one curse.

 

Evening-meal was finished and extra logs were put on the fires outside of the city walls in hopes that they will still be burning when they returned. Jennie looked at Arty as he stood dressed in his best attire. With Jennie’s guidance and the girls’ knowledge of creating clothes from cloth, he looked like a figure straight from the pages of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table. His outfit consisted of a tight-fitting dark blue top and breeches all trimmed n red piping. His boots were highly polished brown leather that almost reached his knees and on his head was a three-cornered blue and red cap with a long pheasant feather on the right side. Around his waist Arty wore a wide leather belt holding up a gold and black scabbard with a gold handled sword in it.

“What do ya think, Jennie?”

She stood there shaking her head with her hands clasped in front of her as she said, “Arthur, you look fantastic! You look . . . well, you look kingly.”

“Yeah? Well, thanks. This is gonna be some night.”

“Well,” she said sounding motherly. “I’m going to get dressed and don’t you go getting dirty.”

“I promise.”

She entered the tent and three of the girls followed carrying her garments. Thirty minutes later Triston tossed a log on the fire and it momentarily blazed at the same moment she left the tent.

Arty stared as the light of the roaring fire illuminated the young woman. She wore a white and pale yellow, long dress with purple piping that pulled it all together. Using her design the girls had created long, white opera gloves that ended at her elbows. Draped around her waist was a wide-linked gold chain that hung low in the front and held a decorative scabbard with a silver handled dagger in it on her left side. Against the girls advice she wore her long blond hair down rather than in the upswept fashion of the day. It was parted down the center and she wore a garland of small white flowers on her head in a sort of crown. Her toes peeked out from beneath the hem of her dress and told all that she wore red, soft leather slippers with tiny knots of yellow thread sewn in a pattern of stars on them. As if to emphases her beauty, a log settled in the fire creating another momentary flare-up that looked as though someone had taken a picture of her.

Arty, feeling the moment, stepped forward, took her hand and kneeled as he kissed it. He looked up into her eyes and said, “Jennie, will you be my Queen Guinevere when I become King?”

The girls peeking at them from the tent held their collective breathes as they heard her say, “Yes, Arthur. Even should this not go as planned, I would be your wife.” He rose and they kissed by the light of the rising moon.

The sound of feet broke the spell as out of the dark came the original Keansburg gang all dressed in clothes made for them by their girlfriends. They stopped in front of Arty’s tent and awaited his instructions.

“Guys,” he said, “this is it! According to Merlin’s theory, tonight is the ‘make it or break it’ night, and I intend for us to ‘make it’. Do you all have the flour to toss into the torches?”

Yeps and yeses told Arty that they did. “Now remember to get next to the torch I assigned you and the other guys in the sketch. Then when Merlin drops the flour and appears on the altar, that’s the signal for you to toss the flour into the torches flame.”

“Will the flour put the torch out?” asked Percy.

“No,” answered Arty. “He said it would just sort of flare up and burn in the air like a sparkler. But it will have a great effect on the locals.” He walked around them and offered his hand. As he shook them all, he said, “Guys, no matter what happens, it’s been great.”

“Yo, Arty!” called out Lucas, “It’s been a better ride than being stuck at Hollin’s House an’ wearing those yellow tee-shirts.”

“Yeah,” added Lance, “here we’re somebody and people like us for being us. Lucas is right, it’s been a great ride and I vote that we all stay together till the end of the ride.” He turned to the Keansburg gang and said, “All in favor?” A chorus of “Ayes” said it all.

“Let’s go do this, guys,” said Arty as he led them to gather up the other groups.

 

The moon was on the rise as Merlin and James arrived at the church. Merlin wore the greatcoat Harold had lent him and he had his long, gray hair tucked up under the leather hat once again. He decided as he dressed, Well, if this Sir Albert is looking for Arthur he might be looking for me too, and I certainly don’t want him stopping me now and messing up our timetable.

He was happy to see that there were others entering the church early to get the better seats and they mingled with them as they entered. Outside of the church stood six men and Merlin saw that they were studying all who entered, and one was a heavy-set man directing the other five.

Merlin drew a glance as he went into a hobble and leaned on the boy. This move threw away any suspicious look he may have gotten from the men. Once inside, they meandered around as all the men tried to remove the sword from the stone. When no one was looking at them, they slid behind the heavy, black tapestry of the altar. Merlin quickly removed his cover and stood tall as Merlin the Wizard. He and James then set up his magic-making toys and spent the rest of the time peeking through the separation of the tapestries. Soon there was standing room only and the priest stood in front of the first pew and addressed them.

“Friends o’ London. I ask but two things. First, yee must stay as quiet as a church mouse as tis a magical event that take place here this very evenin’ an’ I must be able ta hear the spirits as they whisper ta me.” He held his hands high, as the church got quiet. “Second, any man may come up an’ try ta remove the sword from the stone, fer if ya do, ya be the King o’ England.”

A long line of man of all ages lined up to try for the title of King of England. None could remove the sword and went back to their seats. Finally a heavy-set man came down the aisle swearing as he did. It was Sir Albert. He pushed away the last five men in the line and grabbed the sword’s handle with both hands. It was obvious he was drunk and one of the men he had pushed aside said so. He was grabbed by one of Albert’s goons and pushed back in his seat.

“This sword be mine!” he screamed as he flushed red in the face. He pulled so hard that all around him gasped as he lifted the heavy stone a few inches and it fell back with a thud to the ground. The more he tried the more he puffed and panted until he slipped and fell on the floor. His friends tried to lift him but he would have none of that.

“Leave me be! Dolts! Dolts all of yee.” He looked around seething at his misfortune.

Merlin watched from his hiding place and said to himself, “Arty, Arty where are you? The timing is perfect for you to enter.”

Suddenly the people parted and Merlin felt a sigh of relief, thinking it was Arty. But down the center of the church walked eighteen knights in full armor.

Sir Albert tried to stand and engage them. “Ah! Fellow knights. Be yee here ta see me sworn in as King of England?”

The first knight was the tallest knight Merlin had ever seen. He had a square firm jaw and a dark, well-trimmed mustache. He kneeled in front of the altar and the others lined up behind him in the aisle, followed his lead.

They rose and the first knight looked at the disheveled man and said, “Sir Albert. Yee be a poor excuse ta be called a knight. Ya be known far an’ wide as a scoundrel and taker of women’s purses. Be yee ta the back o’ the church fer ya soil this holy place.”

Sir Albert started to reach for his sword when the knight grabbed his forearm and said as he looked coldly in his eyes, “Careful, Sir Knight. Fer ya pick a fight ya shant win.”

The heavy man pulled his arm away and stomped to the rear of the church as the first knight said while looking up at the altar, “If it be they will ta grant me the title o’ King of England, I shall be humble and honorable and defend England against her enemies.” He took the hilt of the sword in both hands and pulled straight up. The sword didn’t budge. He removed his hands, bowed to the altar and walked to the rear of the church.

The next knight was slightly older but just as imposing as the first and he said something along the same lines as his predecessor before trying to remove the sword. He too failed and was followed by the third knight. Soon all of the eighteen knights tried and failed.

Merlin watched as another six knights entered and did the same. This, he thought, is what knights are supposed to be like, not those sods that blundered into our group or that Albert character. He was impressed that each knight tried only once to remove the sword, unlike Sir Albert who was in and out all day as he tried to be king. He then spotted Arty pretty much in the center of the large crowd and when he looked at each torch he saw one of the guys in position. The crowd was quiet as they all waited for the promised coronation.

Merlin rubbed his hands together and said to James, “It’s like I said, James, when the time is right you will know it.” He placed the boy at the small opening and said, “See? James, to be a good magician you must get the feel of the audience and know when ta make them wait and when ta go on before they become restless.” He stood up straight and said as he put his arms out wide, “And the time is now!” He swung around and said “Check me out young James.”

The boy did his job well, making sure that all of the magicians ‘toys’ as he called them, were in the right place and easily accessible for the man to perform flawlessly. He gave Merlin the thumbs up and said, “Thou be checked an’ ready, Wizard Merlin.”

Merlin knew that the dancing flames of the twenty torches threw flickering shadows around the large hall and, as he was wearing black and the tapestry was also black, he knew that the chance of anyone seeing his hand quickly pop through the opening for a second would be very small.

He dropped two eggs full of flour while at the same time roared at the top of his lungs, “I am here!” The sudden shout mixed with the sound of the two eggs and the puff of flour followed by his sudden appearance on the stage got everyone’s attention and immediately the boys tossed the flour onto the open flames of the torches causing a sudden “Pfffftttt!” and a shower of sparks to appear almost in every section of the church. It was too much for many and a few fainted while others got down on their knees and prayed for forgiveness.

Merlin’s long white arms seemed to stick completely out of their sleeves as he pointed a long, boney, very white finger at the various torches as they still sputtered and flickered with the burning powder.

As planned, boys and girls situated throughout the large room started chanting, “Wizard Merlin! Wizard Merlin! Wizard Merlin!”

He let them go on as others, not in their group, picked up the chant until he stopped them by once again raising his hands and shouting, “This day, people of London, a new king shall lead thee! A new leader who shall be righteous and yet strong. I and the priest of this very church saw it in the smoke at the appearance of the stone . . . the stone that holds the sword so tightly in it’s grasp that only a just and strong leader shall have the moral strength ta remove it.”

“Where be this leader?” shouted Sir Albert from the rear.

Merlin closed his eyes and put his index fingers to his temple and said, “Thy new leader be here with us.”

“Show us!”

Arty removed his hat and Merlin threw his hands in the air releasing the gray dove hidden in his sleeve. From the audience it seemed to come from out of thin air and the bird flew straight to Arty and landed on his head. Although it was for the few seeds he had placed there, the crowd saw it as an omen.

“Art thou Arthur?” shouted Merlin.

“I be Arthur, Wizard Merlin.”

“Then, if thou be the Arthur of my dreams come and remove the sword from the stone.”

Arrow flew up to the rafters as Arthur placed his hat back on his head and started forward. The church was quiet as he approached the altar when a surprisingly fast Sir Albert ran up and tackled him. Both fell to the floor as the big man had the advantage of attacking unexpectedly from the rear. Turmoil started as Arty tried to fight him off.

“Who be yee ta come ta London an’ be king?” he shouted as he turned Arty on his back. The knights in the rear tried to get to them but the crowd was between them and a scream went up as the heavy knight drew his dagger and tried to stab Arty. He slashed in a downward move and cut Arty’s old wound open. Blood flowed as Arty grabbed Albert’s arm that held the dagger. The blood went into Arty’s eyes and he squinted to see his opponent. In a surge of fury the big man pulled his arm out of Arty’s grip and raised his dagger for the final stab. It was then that the big man’s steel helmet flew off along with a piece of his ear. He screamed and grabbed his ear as Arty slugged him on the jaw, which sent him reeling off of him.

Arty rolled over holding his arm and slowly sat up as he saw the crowd kneeling with their heads down. He rolled over to his good arm so he could brace himself and get up when he saw why the crowd was kneeling. There stood Jennie with the sword from the stone in her hand and its blade was bloody.

“Wh-wh-what’s happening?” she asked.

“I dunno,” said Arty holding his arm.

It started low at first then rose to a crescendo, “Long live the queen! Long live the queen! Long live the queen!”

Some of the Keansburg gang finally got through the crowd and stood next to them. “Hey,” asked Lance in a low voice, “isn’t Arty supposed to be the king?”

There was another sudden puff of smoke and Merlin was next to them. “Arty, do we want to disappear? I can get us out of here and we can restage this again.”

Jennie just stood there stunned and on the verge of tears. “Arty, I-I-I’m so sorry. I messed it all up. But when I saw that fat slob try to stab you I had to do something so I just grabbed the sword and when it didn’t come out I remembered Merlin telling you how to do it, so I did it and hit that pig in the head.” She handed Arty the sword and collapsed in his arms. “Are you angry with me?”

Arty smiled and said, “How can I be angry with the Queen of England? He dabbed her eyes dry and went on, “Especially when the queen saved my life.” A hand encased in steel appeared on her shoulder as the first knight said, “My queen, shall I send them away?”

She turned and stammered as her eyebrows arched, “What? Send whom away? Them?” she said pointing at the guys, “No! They bee mine friends.”

“If my lady insists, they be thy friends. But shouldst thou need help we be thy knights to use as thou wants.”

She pointed at him and the other knights and asked, “You guys are my knights?”

He did, as deep a bow as his armor would let him as he said, “Sir Boche, at thine service, my queen. My fellow knights and I have long awaited the next leader of England to swear our allegiance too.”

“Aren’t you upset that I’m a woman?”

“Methinks, my queen, that thee and thine friends have worked ingeniously by making the people o’ London think it be a man called Arthur who would be king so thou couldst draw out any assassins before ya remove the sword from the stone and proclaim thyself as Queen of England.”

“Yeah,” said Arty holding his arm. “Pretty ingenious if I may say so myself.”

Jennie looked at the crowded church and realized they still kneeled. She spoke, “Rise, my good people.” As they rose she walked over to the stone and while all watched pushed the sword back into the opening. She felt it click in place and turned to the crowd and said, “The great Wizard Merlin hath told all that a man called Arthur shall become King of England. As your Queen, I say to Arthur, ‘come join me and together we shall lead England to her rightful place in the world. A place where all people are free and equal with justice for one and all.’”

She smiled as she pointed to the sword. “If thou canst remove yon sword from the stone I shall be Queen and yee, the King of England.”

Arthur smiled at her as he kneeled down and kissed her hand. He looked up into her eyes and said for all to hear, “My queen. To spend my life with thee and lead England by thy side, be my desire.” Arty rose and walked to the stone. He gripped the sword’s handle and with a twist and a push down, he removed the sword as once again all kneeled. He took Jennie’s hand and they walked down the aisle with Sir Boche and his group following.

The priest grabbed Merlin’s sleeve as he passed. “Wizard Merlin! Am I not ta crown our King and Queen this very night?”

“Methinks, friend Priest, that the crowning ceremony shouldst take place very soon, but not here where there be knights who wouldst slay them. Best we wait till later.”

“But,” the priest asked, “twould be me what’s placin’ the crown on their heads?”

“Yes, friend Priest. It be yee who’d crown them.” Merlin quickly followed the group out of the church as he thought, Tomorrow I walk the streets of London dressed as an old man in a greatcoat and get the feel of the people.

 

He rose early and was happily surprised to see Harold up early as well.

“G’mornin’, Wizard Merlin. Did ya get some good sleep, my friend?”

“G’morn’ ta yee, friend Harold. I slept as would a babe.”

“An’ wouldst thee like some goat milk an’ warm bread?”

Merlin nodded. “Yes, that wouldst be fine. Then if I may borrow thy greatcoat an’ hat once again, I be off ta walk the streets o’ London.”

“Will ya be in need o’ James?”

Merlin shook his head. “No, this day I walk ta listen ta what the people say of their new king and queen an’ would be better alone.” He drank his milk and took the piece of bread Harold pressed in his hand. “Thank yee, friend Harold. I be back later an chat with ya.”

He exited the building and as the sun rose, the crowds grew until the streets of London were full of people going about their business. It was easy to mingle and hear what the people had to say of last night’s events. He would stop and inspect some fruit or fish and ask what they thought of the new king and queen. This always started the cart owner to speak as though they were there even if they weren’t. He spoke to a great cross-section of the populace as he purposely headed towards the section of town that had many taverns. He entered one, ‘The Jolly Rooster,’ and ordered ale at the bar. Merlin joined in the conversation of the ten men who were drinking there and left knowing that all were pleased about having a king and queen. He stepped out into the street and spotted what he was looking for: Sir Albert and his gang. They entered a tavern, ‘The Carriage House,’ and he followed at a distance. The tavern was dark and the man behind the bar was tall and muscular with an earring. Merlin went to the end of the bar and stood with two other men between himself and Sir Albert and his men.

Sir Albert shouted, “Ale fer me an’ me friends.”

The barman put up wooden mugs and filled them for the knight and his men. They picked up their mugs and one said loud enough for all to hear: “A toast ta Sir Albert! Soon ta be King Albert!” His men toasted to that.

Sir Albert walked around the tavern with his drink in his beefy hand and addressed the rest of the patrons: “Pray have a drink with me, friends. Fer soon I be the king an’ will remember all who say so in here.”

He soon had a crowd of drinking ‘yes-men’ listening to him.

“Soon, an army will strike this young upstart, Arthur an’ I be at its head. He who follows me shall enjoy my graces when I become King o’ England.”

“What of the queen?” All turned to see an elderly man on a crutch as he went on. “Was it not the new queen what struck thee with the sword?”

Albert’s eyes became twin slits and he foamed at the mouth, “Who be yee ta say such words? I shall smite yee fer bein’ disrespectful ta a knight.” The crowd parted as the heavy man drew his sword and approached the lame man.

“Wouldst thee strike a man with no weapon, Sir Albert?”

“I would strike a man what tells lies o’ me. Retract what ya said, dolt an’ live ta see another day!”

The man shook his head. “My friend, I be too old ta tell lies an’ too old ta retract a truth. With mine own eyes I saw the queen strike yee with the sacred sword.”

Merlin saw that Sir Albert was about to strike the man and as all of the patrons watched them, he quickly removed his coat and hat as he threw an egg to the floor. The sudden cloud of white stopped Sir Albert and all looked at the tall, gray haired man who had just appeared among them. He walked slowly towards the man as he said in a low, chilling voice: “Stay they hand, Sir Albert. For this man speaks the truth and shall not be harmed for it.”

A sudden gasp came from the crowd, followed by many saying, “Tis the Wizard!”

Sir Albert’s eyes bulged as he said, “Where dost thou come from? This be not thy fight, Wizard. Leave an’ let us be.”

“I entered this tavern because I saw evil spirits enter an’ would tell all that should they stay, this night they shall enter Hades.”

A sudden scuffling told him that the place was empting fast. Sir Albert looked around and saw that most of his men were standing outside. He turned to Merlin with hate filled eyes. “Today I let thee both live Wizard, as I shant smite a man before mid-day meal.” He turned and quickly left to go to another tavern . . . with less of a following that he started out with.

Merlin patted the old man. “Friend, best yee be on yer way lest Sir Albert finds courage in his drink.”

The man smiled up at him. “Thank yee, Wizard Merlin, and tell the King and Queen there be trouble comin’ at them by Sir Albert fer he be tryin’ ta raise an army ta smite them.”

Merlin put his disguise back on in the empty tavern and left. He kept up his questioning of the people of London and was happy to find that most felt the new King and Queen was so much like the common people by sleeping in a tent outside of the city’s gates. Even though they were well guarded by their knights, it was a sign of unity with the regular people.

 

There was a feeling of merriment and relaxation among the groups camped outside of the gates and Arthur and Jennie gathered them all together for the first time since they arrived at London. Arthur looked at Jennie and said, “Do you want to talk to them or should I?”

“Your turn,” she answered as she checked his bandage. “I did a lot of talking last night.”

Arthur smiled to himself as he saw the three hundred plus members of their ‘gang’ standing or sitting around waiting to hear what was next.

“Hey, gang,” he said, “last night was great and you all deserve a hand.” As usual he paused to let those who had a better grasp on his style of speaking translate for the others. He called it his ten-second pause.

“We have a big job in front of us and me and Queen Jennie will be leaning on you all.” He did a ten second-pause then went on.

“The first thing we’re going to do is go to Camelot and check out the castle because that’s where we’re all going to live.” A great roar of approval followed this ten second-pause.

“Where be Camelot?” asked a young girl up front.

“Tis a one day walk from here as it be in Hampshire,” said Jennie as they took questions.

“I hear tell, my Queen,” said a young man, “that Camelot be haunted. Be that true?”

“May be,” said Arthur with a big grin. “But the ghosts will keep the spiders away.”

“And maybe Sir Albert,” said Merlin as Arthur and Jennie turned to see the wizard standing where a moment ago it had just been an empty spot.

“Sir Albert?” Jennie asked. “I almost forgot about him. Is he starting up again?”

“Best we sit and speak in your tent, my friends.”

Arthur turned to the group and said, “I’ll get back to you all about when we make our move in a bit. See ya’ll later, dudes.” The group dispersed as they entered their tent. The sound of metal assured them that at least one of the knights stepped in front of the tent to protect them.

Ron brought in some chicken tid-bits and sweet sauce along with cool cider and then left as they sat at the small table.

“Arthur, Jennie,” Merlin said as he looked at both of them. “I went into London wearing Harold’s greatcoat and cap so I might move about without being recognized and I tell you, all that the people of London talk about is their new King and Queen. They are one hundred percent behind you both, but they wonder if you are brother and sister or perhaps cousins.”

“Why would they think that?” asked Jennie.

Merlin spread his hands, palms up, and said as he shrugged, “I have no idea! They just do.”

“And,” asked Arthur, “what about Albert the Fat?”

“I saw him and his crew in their drinking spot and he was super upset. He was talking about raising an army and overthrowing the new monarchy.”

“Darn. Does he know where we are camped?” asked Jennie as she twisted a handkerchief.

Arthur patted her hand. “Don’t sweat him, Jennie and, first things first.”

“What’s that?” she asked.

“We simply must dispel the rumors of us being brother and sister or cousins.”

“How?” she asked with open hands.

“By us getting married, silly.”

Jennie’s eyes opened as wide as her mouth and for a moment she was speechless. She then jumped onto Arthur’s lap and hugged him around his neck. “Ohh Arthur. Married? When? Where?”

She started to cry and Arthur said, “When? Why not tomorrow? Where? Right here in the meadow so all can attend.” He wiped her tears away and said, “What do you say?”

“B-But I don’t have anything to wear.”

“Jenn. Do you know how many fantastic seamstresses you have available now that you are the Queen of England?”

She covered her mouth with her hands and said to nobody in particular, “I have to get a dress and I need new shoes, the ones I wore yesterday got dirty in that scuffle.” She stood with her hands on her hips and said, “Tomorrow is out of the question.”

“Then, the next day.”

“Maybe, maybe, I’ll have to see.”

“Talk to the girls and remember, if we want to show that we’re not yet related, we have to move fast on this.”

She left the tent, came back in and kissed Arthur and left again calling the girls to tell them the good news.

 

As large as London is, the word of the new King and Queen getting married spread like wildfire. That and the fact that they were getting married in the meadow where all could attend just proved to the people that the change was for the better.

On the day of the wedding, storefronts, wagons and stalls were cleaned and decorated with colorful bunting and flowers. Everyone wore their best outfits and watched as the priest and his attendants did a slow walk down the curved street towards the city gates. He was dressed in his very best clergy outfit and various priests and church officials walked with him. He smiled inwardly knowing that they were perplexed that such an out-of-the-way priest should be marrying the Royal couple, and not one of them.

The crowd followed them out the gates and along the dirt packed trail until it veered away from the meadow thick with green grass and studded with red, white, yellow and blue flowers. There were hundreds of tents that usually were drab in color but now sported ribbons and banners from their pinnacles. On top of the highest hill there was a large oak tree with a small pond beneath it. Next to the tree stood a small, red, white and yellow tent with a long white ribbon at its top flapping in the light breeze. Surrounding the base of the hill at a respectable distance were hundreds of mostly young people gaily dressed and waiting.

As briefed by Merlin, the priest went to the top of the hill and stood with his entourage on either side of him. They all stood around as musicians played and singers entertained them with love songs.

Finally, someone pointed at movement in the distance and after a few minutes they could make out a knight riding a magnificent white horse coming towards the same hill. Murmuring started as to whom it could be approaching but fell into a deep silence as the horse stopped on the crest of the hill and a page ran and held its reins as the knight dismounted.

He was taller than most of the knights they had seen and many who felt they knew all of the knights, bet as to who it could be.

His armor had a silver-blue hue and was highly polished. On top of his helmet was a long, fluffed up white plume of feathers and his shield was deep blue with a green outline of a country unrecognized by all.

A young man with a tenor voice started to sing of two young lovers meeting at the altar and two young ladies walked over and pulled open the flaps on the tent. Out stepped Jennie.

She was dressed in a flowing, white gown with pearls sewn in a flowered pattern. On her head she wore a small pointed hat that held a veil, which covered her face. Her hair was done in an upswept style that had a small, silver decorative comb in the rear. White and yellow flowers were pinned in her hair around the crown of the hat and they matched the bouquet that draped down to her feet. She wore white, elbow length, opera gloves that had pearls sewn around the edges and on her feet were a pair of white, soft linen slippers, once again adorned with pearls and white flowers. Jennie was breathtaking and the crowd all seemed to utter ‘Ahhh!’ at the same time.

She took small steps towards the knight next to his horse and it was then that the crowd saw him open his visor. It was Arthur and he reached out his hand to her as she reached him. Jennie took hold of his hand and they turned and walked across to the waiting priests.

The ceremony was short and as Arthur lifted her veil and kissed her there was a puff of smoke and Merlin appeared next to the tree. He carried a red, plush pillow covered by a red velvet cloth. The crowd was torn between watching the young married couple or the wizard as he approached them.

Merlin made sure that he was facing the main part of the crowd as he said in his booming voice: “Hear yee, hear yee, people of London. As witnessed by many of London’s folks, priests and knights, we see before us our own King Arthur and Queen Guinevere newly married. There be but one item missing and that I bring to complete this union.”

He looked at the couple and said, “King Arthur, Queen Guinevere, wouldst thou kneel.” They kneeled before the wizard and he removed the velvet cloth to reveal two gold crowns. He then turned and pointed to the priest. “Father, wouldst thou accompany me?”

Much to the surprise of his attendants, and to himself although he was astute enough not to let that be seen, the priest stepped forward and joined Merlin in front of the royal couple.

Merlin briefly hugged the priest and whispered, “Follow what I do, friend father.” He turned and took the lighter of the two and after removing her hat, placed it on Jennie’s head. He raised his voice and said, “I crown thee Queen Guinevere of England.” He flashed his eyes at the priest and the man picked up the heavier crown, took the helmet off Arthur’s head and placed the crown in its place.

“I crown thee King Arthur of England.”

King Arthur and Queen Guinevere stood, turned and faced the now roaring and adoring crowd. “Come,” said Arthur to the crowd. “Let us all walk through the streets of London together.”

With Arthur and Guinevere riding two white horses and surrounded by the knights and the Keansburg gang they rode through the streets of London greeting one and all. Later they retired to their camps outside the gates and feasted on duck, chicken, pork and roasted vegetables with their knights doing guard duty. The sounds of rap echoed over the hills accompanied by the stringed instruments of the troubadours well into the early morning.

 

 

Morning brought the birds singing as they picked up any of the food that had fallen during the reception the night before and more than one tent flap opened as the group started a new day.

“Good morning, King sleepyhead,” said Guinevere with a nudge.

“Oww,” came his reply, “My wound. You poked my wound.”

“Liar!” she said with a smile as she checked his bandage. “I did no such thing. Now, we have to get dressed. It’s moving day, or have you forgotten?”

He pinched her nose and said, “Kings don’t forget things.”

She rolled her eyes and got up. “I’m getting washed, dressed and eating. I’m starved!”

“Me too, wait up.”

At morning-meal Arthur and Guinevere sat with the original Keansburg gang and the head from the other groups as they hashed out the best way to get to Camelot.

Ron said, as he sketched on a parchment, “Camelot Castle be here, in Hampshire. Tis run down, Sires. Onest I slept there as a storm catched me enroute ta London an’ the drafts come through many a crevasse ta chill one ta the bone.”

“Be there no rooms in Camelot?” asked Guinevere.

“Aye! But there be spirits livin’ them, m’lady.”

“Sorry, Ron. I’m not afraid of spirits,” she said.

“But of course not, m’lady. Thou be queen! An’ a queen be not afraid o’ things like that.”

She smiled as she thought, You should only know.

“Well,” said Arthur. “I think you should ride up front with us, Ron.”

“But of course, Sire. That be my place.”

“And,” continued Arthur, “I think that right after morning-meal we should break down the camp and start out. Maybe we can sleep in Camelot this very night.”

“If that be thy wish, Sire, it shall be done.”

Arthur wisely looked at Guinevere and asked, “If that be m’lady’s wish too?”

A smiling Guinevere agreed and Ron ran off to start the trek southwest to Camelot Castle.

Two hours later the entire group of over three hundred young men and women sat by the side of the road in the marching order Ron had set up. He ran back to Arthur and Guinevere. He bowed and said, “Sires, the groups be ready ta go. Shall I tell yee how best we should ride?”

Arthur looked at Guinevere with a questioning look on his face and she answered his unasked question: “Ron wants to tell us the order he thinks we should ride in.”

“Oh,” said Arthur nodding at his page, “Pray tell, Ron. What be thy thought?”

“Methinks, Sires, that yee shouldst ride up front with I next to yee fer directing us, an’ Wizard Merlin and Queen Guinevere next as the queen be protected better that way. Riding with us be thy knights fer guard duty, an’ thy clan, the Keansburg gang with the knights’ fer ya protection. Following behind would be all other groups with wagons, tents an’ supplies.” Looking for an okay on his suggestion, he asked, “What think yee off that, Sires?”

“Methinks that be fine,” answered Guinevere. “But me also thinks that I shall ride up with my husband, the king.”

“Hey,” said Arthur, “that’s fine with me.”

Satisfied, Ron ran back to the line and did some shifting in the ranks until he felt it was ready to go. He then went and led the two white horses over to the King and Queen. “We be ready fer thee, Sires.”

After helping Arthur and Guinevere onto their horses, Ron hopped up on his and led them to the front. The group left the side of the road and stood in their marching order as they looked at the King and Queen to give them the order to start the journey.

Guinevere arched an eyebrow at Arthur and whispered, “Time to go, Arthur.”

Realizing she had given him the honor, Arthur stood tall in his stirrups, looked back and said, in his best John Wayne impression as he waved his arm forward, “Forward, Ho!” The column started out and Arthur said as he grinned at Guinevere, “Pretty cool, huh?”

Guinevere rolled her eyes as she quipped, “Mommy’s little boy has a new toy.”

 

The sun was high and warm as they camped outside of a small village and ate their mid-day meal. Ron had sent a page into the village to announce that the new King and Queen of England were in their area and soon the mayor and his top people came out to greet them.

“Stay in our fair village,” he pleaded after hearing they were traveling to Camelot Castle. “The castle be cold an’ damp, Sires,” he said as he ate chicken with Arthur and Guinevere.

“Alas, we cannot,” stated Guinevere, “as it be our destination an’ soonest we arrive, soonest we shall have a home fer ya ta visit us.”

Two hours later they continued their journey with an extra twenty-four young boys and girls and nine horses from the village joining them.

“We’re growing,” said Arthur to Merlin.

“According to the history books, Arthur, all of England will follow you.” He grimaced and said, “It’s just that darn Sir Albert, that bothers me.”

“Never mind him,” answered Arthur with a chuckle in his voice, “If he starts up we’ll just send Guinevere after him.”

“What’s so funny about that?” asked Guinevere.

“Nothing, honey, nothing at all,” said Arthur as he protected his wound.

“Better watch she doesn’t take the sword to your thick head,” said a chuckling Merlin as he spurred his horse slightly ahead.

The sun was low in the sky as Ron rode back from scouting ahead and said to them, “Sires, methinks we best camp here fer the evenin’ as, should we arrive at Camelot at dark, we may stumble on rocks an’ weeds.”

Arthur and Guinevere agreed and camp was set up for the night.

 

It was after dark that Guinevere said, “Arthur. The moon’s bright and I’d love to ride ahead a bit. What do you say?”

“Okay, but we need to bring Ron along.”

“That’s fine.”

Ten minutes later the group of three was joined by Sir Boche and two knights who would not let them ride alone. Two knights rode up front followed by Arthur, Guinevere and Ron while Sir Boche trailed them. They walked their horses slowly to avoid stepping into ruts or tripping on the many roots that wandered the countryside.

Finally Ron pointed to a hill and said, “From yon hill, Sire, Camelot Castle may be seen.”

They got off their horses and walked the rest of the way while Ron stayed behind and held their horse’s reins. Hearing steel slide against steel, Arthur knew the three knights had drawn their swords and it made him feel safe as he held Guinevere’s hand in his.

They walked up the incline of the hill and saw that at the top stood a thin oak tree with a stagnant pond next to it. Arthur commented, “Boy, this ground sure is bare and rocky here.”

“Maybe that’s why it’s so deserted.”

They looked around and Arthur noted that the three knights had formed a semi-circle around the base of the hill leaving them alone at the top.

“Oh,” exclaimed Guinevere as she grasped Arthur’s hand tight and placed a hand over her mouth. “Arthur, look.” She pointed at a hill slightly over one mile away and they both stood transfixed as the bright moon framed the castle on top of the hill. “It’s Camelot. It’s our new home and the beginning of our history together.”

He smiled back and removed his dagger from its scabbard.

“What are you doing?”

“Shh, just watch.” He carved something in the bark of the tree and when he was finished showed her. The moonlight kissed the side of the tree and she could make out a heart with an arrow through it. Beneath the heart was etched, “Arthur and Guinevere.”

They hugged and made plans.

 

There was the usual tap on the wooden tent pole as Ron called out in a stage whisper, “Sires. It be morn an’ I bring thy meals. Wouldst thou eat in or outside?”

Arthur’s voice answered, “’Mornin’ Ron. We’ll be right out.”

Two minutes later they sat at their small wooden table and attacked their eggs, bacon and biscuits all washed down with fresh milk.

“Man,” exclaimed Arthur, “somebody has just got to invent coffee soon.”

Might I join you two?” They turned to see Merlin walking towards them.

“Sure, Merlin,” said Arthur. “C’mon over and have some eggs. There’s plenty.”

“Thanks but I ate already.”

“So,” asked Arthur, “what’s up?”

“We are very close to water.”

“We are? How do you know?”

“Not only water,” added Merlin as he rubbed his knee, “but a large body of water. And from the stiffness of my joints and the direction we’re heading I’d say it’s the English Channel.”

“So, then we can swim and fish. Right?”

“Yes, but my point is that I could never live so close to the water with my rheumatism.”

“But,” said Guinevere, “where would you live? You can’t leave, we’re a team.”

“Well, I wouldn’t leave right away. I’d make sure that all’s on track as far as my theory goes.”

“Has your theory been on track all along?” asked Arthur.

Merlin shrugged his shoulders and said, “Well, to tell you the truth, in the history books Guinevere married Arthur after he became king, not the other way around like it happened here.”

“Anything else?” asked Arthur.

“Kind of,” he said his head hanging low. “In the history books Merlin had real powers. He wasn’t just a guy with props and stuff.”

“Well,” said Guinevere, “don’t you think that magic is in the eye of the beholder?”

Arthur shrugged his shoulders and asked, “What do you mean?”

“She means,” answered the magician, “that maybe the real Merlin didn’t have any real powers either. Maybe he just did what I do, you know, throw flour-filled eggs to distract people as I slip away.”

Guinevere shook her head. “What do you mean the, ‘real’ Merlin? In my theory, you are the real Merlin and somehow all of us really did what the history books said we did, and somehow, we were sent forward to the twenty-first century. Then, for whatever reason, we were sent back to the time we originated in.”

Merlin scratched his beard and said, “So, if you are right, we started in this time and historians recorded what we had done, but then we were reborn in the twenty-first century, only to come back to the time we lived in.” He paced a bit, and then added, “Interesting. Very interesting.”

“So,” asked Arthur, “what does that do for us?”

“Well,” answered Merlin, “if Guinevere is right, we have the advantage of knowing what will happen to us.”

“And,” added Guinevere with a smile, “make changes if we don’t like what happened the first time around.”

“Oh,” said Arthur with a grin, “Like Lance and you going around behind my back.”

She looked at him through squinted eyes and said with a hiss in her voice, “That part of history has already been corrected and I hope you never bring it up again.”

Arthur said with his hands clenched in front of him defensively, “Whoa . . . I was only kidding.”

Merlin interrupted with, “Well, I must say, Guinevere, that I think your theory is the correct one. And if it is, we’ll know when we get to Camelot Castle.”

“Why?” asked Arthur.

“Because according to the legend, Merlin produced the Round Table at Camelot. Let’s go and see what the castle holds in store for us.”

“I agree,” said Arthur standing. He turned to Guinevere and asked, “Do you?”

“I do,” she said as she punched him in his arm.

“Oww! My wound! You hit my wound!”

“Then,” she answered as she walked to their tent, “your wound must have traveled from the other arm during the night.”

He shrugged, “Well, ya can’t blame a guy for trying.”

 

One hour later the column started out again and within two hours they stood at the base of the hill that held Camelot Castle. All looked up at the castle in silence. There was a high wall surrounding a tall, round main tower with pieces missing, especially around the top. Moss, ivy and weeds climbed up and seemed to grow out of every opening. There was an abundance of trees and shrubbery growing around the castle grounds but all seemed to be devoid of greenery. Situated between the walls and the main tower were smaller buildings and living quarters, mostly all without a roof or door. The drawbridge was down and in the open position beckoning them.

Sir Boche and one other knight insisted that they go up the hill first to see if the castle held any threat to them and one hour later they returned.

“It be safe, Sires,” Sir Boche said when he reported back to Arthur and Guinevere. “But, it be a rough road ta travel. Many rocks and cracks in yon road. Best thou walks rather than ride.”

Taking the knight’s advice, they dismounted and led their horses up the steep hill followed by the rest of the gang.

Half way up the hill, Guinevere pointed to the ground and said to Arthur, “Look at the earth, Arthur.”

He did as she asked and said with a shrug, “What about it?”

“Notice that the closer we get to the castle the more there is grass instead of packed dirt and stones?”

“I guess.”

“If we are to live here, Arthur, you will have to learn to see everything.”

They walked across the thick wooden gate that spanned a gorge of dry earth and stones while the gang stopped before the gate.

“Well,” said Arthur looking down. “I see that there’s water missing in the moat.”

They stepped inside the castle’s walls and saw that the inner walls all looked to be intact. They entered the three-story tall, main tower and, as their eyes adjusted to the shadows, saw that in the rear of the circular room was a fireplace large enough for five men to stand in. A spiral, stone stairway ran up along the wall from the main to the top floor and Arthur and Guinevere went up. At the very top was a thick wooden door and Arty pushed it open to reveal the flat roof of the castle. Carefully walking to the edge, they looked down on the courtyard below and saw the entire group gathered just outside of the drawbridge looking up at them. They waved down to them and were greeted with shouts of joy and applaud as the group entered and filled the courtyard.

On their way down, the new owners of the castle stopped at each of the two floors above the main floor and examined some of the rooms. While most had their doors torn off through the ages or simply rotted off their hinges and lay on the stone floor, one room on the top floor had two doors, one of which was hanging by a hinge. They entered and saw a large fireplace against the wall and a round, wheel-shaped chandelier hanging from the ceiling by a chain. Spaced around the rim was a group of melted candles. To the right of the fireplace there were three large, glassless windows with broken shutters. The windows looked out upon the courtyard, the drawbridge and the countryside beyond. On the opposite wall there were another three windows, also without glass and their shutters broken. These faced an open field and beyond that, a large body of deep-blue water.

Arthur put an arm around his wife and said, “The English Channel.”

They went back down to the open courtyard as all of the others stood or sat while waiting for their leaders to address them.

A smiling Arthur said, “Hey gang. Let’s spread out and check the castle out. Watch out for weak floors and stuff like that. After each room is checked, report to your headman and give him a list of things that need repair. See you back here for mid-day meal.” He listened, as the usual translations were being made and said to Guinevere, “Wonder when they’ll all understand me?”

She answered with a smile on her face. “Maybe you should learn their speech patterns better? Remember,” she said as she checked his bandage, “When in Rome, do as the Romans do.”

He looked down at her and said as he pushed back a stray wisp of her blond hair from her face, “Yeah. You’re probably right.”

 

Mid-day meal was started late that day as the gang attended to checking out their new living quarters. Finally, they all sat in a circle in the huge courtyard, cooked and ate their meals. Arthur, Guinevere, Merlin, Ron and Garth ate with the head of each group and, as they relayed their findings, Merlin wrote them down on a long sheet of parchment.

When it was just Arthur, Guinevere and Garth, Merlin said as he held up the parchment: “Not bad! Not that good either, but not bad. Mostly just rotting wooden doors, ceiling beams and shutters as the walls and floors are made of stone. And I’m told that tomorrow the woodworkers will start hunting for trees to make the repairs with.”

“The girls told me,” said Guinevere, “that all of the tapestries and rugs have rotted out and they are going to start to toss them out and replace them with ones they brought along.”

Garth added, “I checked out the large fireplace and it looks like it just needs a good cleaning and there are plenty of rotted-out doors an shutters we can burn if we need heat.”

“Is there a fireplace in each room?” asked Arthur.

Garth shook his head and said, “Yes, and one very large, main fireplace that’s situated in the great hall on the first floor. And these guys were ingenious with their design. There is a round steel chimney that goes straight up from the main fireplace to the top floor and it throws off heat to each floor. But I did notice that one room had a very large fireplace. The room with the double doors.” He smiled and said, “It sure looks like the master bedroom to me.”

Arthur nodded in agreement and said, “I think we should camp right here in the courtyard for tonight and tomorrow start cleaning the place while the woodcutters are out in the forest.” He looked at Guinevere and asked, “Sound right to you?”

“Yes, it sounds right to me.”

Garth nodded and said, “Perfect! Tonight I suggest we start a huge fire using the old wood and tapestry. This will get rid of anything that might call the chimney, ‘home’.”

“Brrrrr!” added Guinevere as she tucked her shoulders close to her neck. “Maybe it’ll get rid of some of the spiders too.”

“I’m sure it will . . . some anyway.”

 

That evening the castle was bright with new torches and candles and the sound of sweeping and dusting almost covered the sounds of the group’s singing. All were shocked at first as Arthur and Guinevere joined in and did their share of cleaning, but soon accepted them as not just their leaders but also one of them.

Arthur nudged Guinevere as he saw two young girls walking along the stone walkway on the level they were cleaning. Both girls were singing as they carried buckets of water, a mop and a feather duster.

“Guinevere,” he said as he wiped away a spot of dirt from her nose, “This reminds me of a Disney movie. You know, everyone is working and cleaning but still they’re singing. All that’s missing are the singing bluebirds” They laughed together and the girls acknowledged them with a smile.

They all ate and slept well that night.

 

After morning-meal the woodworkers left with their axes over their shoulders, two wagons and four horses. Arthur, Guinevere and Merlin decided to do a walk-around to familiarize themselves with the grounds when a lookout on the top of the castle called down to them as he pointed out the open drawbridge.

“Horses comin, Sires!”

Arthur started to walk to the drawbridge as the knights drew their long swords. “Sire,” said Sir Boche as he lowered his visor, “I beg thee stay back lest thou be hurt.”

Arthur shrugged and stayed where he was as Sir Boche and his knights trotted to the castle’s opening. Looking past them he made out about a dozen knights approaching. They stopped well away from the drawbridge and one dismounted and approached. Arthur couldn’t hear what they were saying but was relieved when Sir Boche and his knights put their swords away and the other knight returned to his horse.

The dozen riders started to walk their horses up the path as Sir Boche returned and said, “Tis fine, Sire. It be Sir Killop, a friend who swore allegiance ta thee when yee removed thy sword from the stone. He brings news.”

“Good news, I hope,” said Arthur.

“Sir Killop would speak ta yee, Sire.”

The twelve new knights entered and kneeled in front of Arthur as Guinevere joined them in the courtyard. “My King and Queen,” he said still kneeling.

“Rise, Sir Killop,” said Arthur. “Art thou in need of food and drink?”

“Methinks yes, my king. But I wouldst speak ta ya and my queen.”

“Then,” answered Arthur. “Come and leave the heat of the sun for the cool interior of Castle Camelot and refresh thyself.” He waved to the others and said to Sir Boche, “Sir Boche, come with us and bring the others.”

Ten minutes later they sat on newly dusted benches and sipped cider.

“Please forgive us for the lack of furniture, as we have just arrived,” said Guinevere to the group.

“My queen, thou art too kind,” said Sir Killop as he retrieved a leather pouch and set it on the poor excuse of a wooden table. “I bring thee treasure that Sir Albert hast stolen from the people of England.”

She opened the pouch and coins of many denominations rolled out. Shocked, Guinevere asked, “Pray tell, Sir Killop, in what way dost Sir Albert steal this from the people of England?”

“My queen,” the knight answered as his blood pressure showed on his face, “the scoundrel who would call himself Sir Albert went from person ta person an asked ta guard the tax money they are ta pay the king. He say ta them, ‘I be told by the king before he died ta hold an’ guard thy tax monies till a new king be named.’”

“Sir Killop,” she asked, “dost thou mean he took the tax monies meant for the coffers of England?”

“Indeed he did, my Queen.”

“And the people believed in him?”

“Nay, my Queen. The people be afraid o’ him as he be mean and smites any who wouldst stand up ta him.”

“Sir Killop,” asked Arthur, “how doth thou get his monies?”

He be drunk an’ tell someone who likes him not, an’ he told me. In a great oak tree on his land is where the dolt hides his thievery. I paid coins ta get him drunk again an’ me an mine knights took it fer yee.” He turned to the other eleven knights and motioned to them. They all removed a purse from their belts and placed them on the table. “Here be it all, my Sires.”

Arthur’s eyes opened wide as he tried to match Guinevere’s calm. “Wouldst Sir Albert know who took his ill-gotten monies when he awakes?”

“Methinks yes,” answered Sir Killop.

“Then thou shalt stay here with us at Camelot Castle.”

“If that be thine wish, my Sires, we shall happily dwell here with thee.” He paused and went on. “But know this, Sires. It is said that Sir Albert be raisin’ an army ta fight yee.”

“Mmm,” mumbled Arthur, “Sooner or later we are gonna have to meet Fat Albert.”

“And smite him!” They turned and looked at Queen Guinevere as she sat with clenched teeth and closed fists.

 

After listening to a day of sawing and hammering, the quiet of the evening was welcome. Soon after evening-meal, a strapping young man named Drew approached Arthur and Guinevere as they sat in the courtyard with Merlin.

“Sires,” he said with a bow. “I be Drew, an’ head o’ thy woodsmen. It be our duty this day ta cut down many oak trees so we might make doors and such fer Castle Camelot.”

Arthur nodded. “I saw what thou hast brought in an’ am very pleased with thee and thine men.”

The young man smiled at the compliment. “Tis a problem we have, Sires. Tomorrow we must travel further to seek out new trees, fer it be bare of trees here about. So, repairs on Camelot Castle couldst take a bit longer. Be this fine with yee?”

Arthur shook his head, “Drew, it be fine with the queen and me. Tis not yer fault the trees grew not in this area.”

The young man smiled as he bowed, “Thank yee fer bein’ understandin’, m’lord. Work on Camelot Castle shall be done fast as can be.” He left them and walked to his crew.

“You know what?” Arthur said as he turned to Guinevere and Merlin, “tomorrow I’m going out to that tree on top of the hill we stopped at the other night and check it out. It’s right next to a pond and maybe all it needs is a little watering and TLC.”

Merlin arched his eyebrows, “TLC? What’s TLC?”

Guinevere smiled as she explained, “Tender love and care.”

“Oh, I get it.” He looked at them and said, “You know what? This may be offbeat but England survived over the years because of its navy. They always had a first rate navy that beat all of the other European navies.”

Guinevere mumbled, “And their ships were made out of oak, right?”

“Correct. English Oak. They used to call their navy, ‘the wall of wood’ because the enemy never really got past them.”

“And young Drew said he’s having a hard time finding some?”

“Well,” said Merlin, “maybe just in this area.”

Guinevere nodded. “I have an idea.” She stood and called Drew over.

He quickly returned and bowed. “Thou callest me, my Queen”

“Yes, Drew. When you are cutting down trees, do you find many acorns about?”

“Many indeed, my Queen. Wouldst thee like some?”

“Yes, Drew, I’d like as many as you can gather up. Then I’d like you to put them in a barrel and tell everyone who is going out of Camelot Castle to grab a handful and, as they walk about, bury them in the earth.”

“Yes my Queen. But, pray tell, what be thine reason?”

“Because if everyone buries acorns each time they leave the castle, England will have large forests of oak trees.”

“This be true, my Queen, but tis so long fer an acorn ta become a mighty oak tree, tis possible we might never see it in our lives.”

She smiled. “Maybe not us, Drew, but our children or our grandchildren will see them. And should England need oak trees, they will be there because of us.”

He looked at her with admiration as he said, “My Queen. Thou be the smartest person I knoweth. Thy word be my command and it shall be as thee asks.” He ran off to tell the others.

Merlin stood and stretched. “Guys, I think I’m gonna hit the hay.” He giggled as he followed up with, “I just realized that I really mean it, as my bed is made of hay.” He walked off while Arthur and Guinevere laughed.

They turned and entered their tent when a dozen young ladies stopped in front. They stood outside but their giggling got the queen’s attention and she put her head out.

“Good evening, ladies. Are yee in need of me?”

“Yes,” answered a small dark haired girl as she played nervously with her braids. “We wouldst show thee and King Arthur a surprise.”

Perplexed but interested, Guinevere answered, “Wait right there, ladies. I shall get the king and follow thee.”

“Arthur,” she said in a whisper to the form already lying under a blanket on top of the thick rugs. “Arthur, are you awake?”

“Offf!” he said turning over. “I am now. Boy, it’s not easy sleeping on the ground and this wound of mine . . .”

“Oww, stop with the wound thing,” she said and gave him a playful slap on his rump. “Some of the girls want to show us a surprise and I said we’d go with them.”

He stretched and stood putting on his robe and slippers. “Okay, let’s go.”

They went outside the tent and the giggling girls led them into the main tower and up the winding stairway by the light of the torches lining it.

They went to the top floor and the little, dark haired girl said, “Sires, all this day hath we spent cleaning thy room an’ we look ta show it ta yee.”

They separated and made a path allowing Arthur and Guinevere to see the open double doors of their room. Both entered and saw a fire roaring in the fireplace, a round, woven rug on the floor and the windows sporting thick, wavy glass, open and framed with new shutters. The night breeze made the candles in their wall-mounted holders dance and throw shadows playfully along the walls of stone. New, colorful tapestries were hung strategically around the room and a washbasin sat on a wooden table with fresh towels hanging next to it. A large wooden tub stood near the windows facing the English Channel and the wisps of steam rising from it said there was a hot bath ready for them. Finally, set against the far wall was a large four-posted bed, high off the floor with a thick mattress stuffed with down that matched the bed’s overstuffed pillows. Besides the blankets, the bed had the hide of a large deer at the bottom for chillier evenings. Centered above the bed and hanging by a chain was the wheel-shaped chandelier with its many candles around the rim, lit.

The silence was broken by the whisper from the nervous little girl, “Sires, doth thou like it?”

Both Arthur and Guinevere turned and saw the girls huddled together with their eyes wide open for fear that they didn’t like it . . . and both opened their arms and embraced them.

“Oh my,” said Guinevere with tears in her eyes, “It’s beautiful. Please believe us . . . we never had anybody do such a wonderful thing for us in our lives.” Arthur had a hard time speaking and he just hugged them. The happy girls left and with smiles on their faces closed the double doors behind them.

Arthur eyes glistened in the candlelight as he said, “Their faces reminded me so much of ours back at Hollin’s House when we thought the Grinnells were going to be upset with us.”

“Those days are gone for good, Arthur. Now, we have to remember them so we never act like those horrible people.”

He looked in her eyes and said, “Maybe that’s why we were sent back. To learn a lesson and bring it back to these times and act it out.”

She nodded and he saw tears starting to well up in her eyes. “C’mon,” he said with a smile, “That water’s not gonna stay hot all night.” He hopped on one foot as he started to remove a slipper, “Last one in stinks!”

“Maybe that’s why the girls filled the tub up with hot water?”

“Why?” he asked standing there on one leg.

“Because, like you said, you stink.” She hopped past him and jumped in first.

 

Right after morning-meal the next day, Arthur and Guinevere rode their horses over to the hill they had stood on the last night before reaching Camelot. He helped her down and they inspected the area.

“It’s not as bad as I thought,” said Arthur as he looked around.

Guinevere nodded and took a pitcher from the horse’s saddle and dipped it in the pond. She poured the cool water onto the roots of the tree and they stood watching the dry ground absorbed it as Arthur inspected the pond.

“Hey, Guinevere. I think I know why the water seems to be so stagnant.” He pointed to a spot where the channel that fed it narrowed and was filled with weeds and twigs. “The water supply is almost choked off because of the mud and weeds that got trapped there.” He removed his boots, rolled up his pants and waded in. It took ten minutes for him to remove the debris and the water-flow increased immediately filling and almost overflowing the banks, insuring a steady source of water for the oak tree.

“Arthur, this is a special place and I think we need to name it.”

“Right. What’s a good name?”

“I dunno. The first time we saw it was in the moonlight, so, maybe moon hill?”

“What about, ‘Moonlight hill’?”

She smiled as she said the name: ‘Moonlight Hill’. Yes, I love it.” She faced the tree and went on as she traced the carved heart with her fingernail, “I think we have to come here as often as we can to keep it clear and make sure our tree gets water.”

He hugged her. “I agree.”

They stayed for an hour just talking and removing weeds and dead branches before returning to Camelot Castle.

 

Once back at Camelot, they finally got the chance to make the rounds of their castle. They started out on the flat roof of the castle. Besides lookout posts there was a rainwater-catching cistern for fighting fires and to supplement the fresh-water well located in the basement.

“This would make a great place to put up some clotheslines for hanging wet clothes,” said Guinevere as she paced the open expanse.

“Yeah,” said Arthur looking around. “And a gym to work out in.”

They went down to the third floor and, besides their bedroom there were the rooms of their pages, their personal guarding knights and the guys of the Keansburg gang along with many of the others. On the second floor they saw that the woodworkers had built and installed a long table with bench-style seating in the center of a dining area. Around the curvature of the floor were the rooms of many of the groups and knights. The rooms on all of the floors were the same as their room, except they were much smaller with only one window.

The main floor was almost empty except for the very large fireplace. The floor was the only one with a large, round, ten-inch high, wood floor held together by thick iron bolts.

Down in the first basement they were amazed at the amount of rooms and doors in the vast area. There was a large sewing room where girls sat chatting as they created tapestry, needlepoint and rugs as well as clothing. They entered the kitchen and were rewarded with a glimpse of what the young cooks could do with the new pots, pans and supplies they purchased in the village . . . and they were treated to a few warm cookies.

Going down to the very bottom floor of the basement they saw Garret and Lance working with three of the other young man on the fresh-water well while Merlin and James were opening and exploring the many rooms of the vast place. A section was set up for metalworking and had a large and growing array of weapons hanging on the wall.

Outside between the main tower and the outside walls there were many smaller buildings containing living quarters for the support people, farmers and livestock. One of the larger buildings was the stable. It was connected to the outside of the wall but had an opening so you could enter from the inside of the main tower. This kept the smell of horse-waste to a minimum inside the castle.

Before they sat for mid-day meal a group of knights and city officials from other provinces arrived to meet their King and Queen and all brought gifts and tax money. Once again they were warned of Sir Albert’s threats.

 

That evening, Arthur, Guinevere, Merlin and all of the original Keansburg gang ate at the newly finished dining table on the second floor. Before they sat, Arthur and Guinevere walked around the outside of the tower, greeting all and making sure they had their hot meal from the kitchen. Once they were satisfied that all were fed, they returned and sat for the evening-meal.

Half way through the meal, Merlin suddenly mumbled something as he looked up at the ceiling then down at the floor. He got up and retrieved a piece of parchment a quill and small ink jar from his pouch. The magician started to sketch as all looked at his strange behavior.

Arthur tapped Guinevere and said, “Doesn’t Merlin remind you of the professor in the movie, ‘Back To The Future’?”

She had to stifle a laugh as she nodded yes.

Hey Merlin,” called Percy, “is everything okay?”

Lucas grinned as he quipped, “I bet he has an idea to make something really big disappear.”

The magician sat next to Guinevere and she asked, “Is all okay, Merlin?”

He looked at her, then at Arthur and said, “I’ve got it! I’ve got it and I’ll show you after we eat.”

The meal was finished and all followed Merlin as he took them down the stairs to the main floor. The fireplace was lit but just enough to make hot water.

“Gentlemen,” he said pointing to the fireplace. “Please give me some roaring flame to better see this room by.”

They grabbed the stacked wood and tossed it into the fire. Merlin walked around the circular room talking to himself as the fire grew, filling the opening and throwing light throughout the large room.

Satisfied, he arranged the guys in a circle around the ten-inch high, round wooden floor. He turned to Arthur and Guinevere. “It was driving me crazy trying to figure out why all the castle floors are made of stone but the main floor has a raised wooden floor over the stone in the center of the room.”

Arthur said, “Because the stone floors are cold and the wood floor will keep our feet warmer?”

“Then why did they create a wooden floor that is twenty feet in diameter when the room is actually one hundred and twenty feet in diameter? Why not go wall-to-wall with it?”

Gerry Haad ventured, “Maybe they only stood in the center of the room when they met?”

Merlin smiled and said as he pointed at the boy, “Close! Very close, but no cigar.”

“Do you have an idea about it?” asked Guinevere.

Merlin shook his head yes, and said as he rolled up his long sleeves and addressed the guys standing in a circle, “Yep! I’d like everyone to bend down and get a grip on the wood floor at their feet and lift on three.”

They all bent down and got a grip on the edge of the wooden floor and as Merlin counted, “One-two-three,” they lifted and stood holding the floor almost level with their thighs. They all looked at each other with perplexed looks on their faces, then to Merlin.

“What do we have here?” the magician asked.

“A raised floor,” said Lucas with a laugh.

“No,” said Arthur seeing it for what it really was. “Not a raised floor, a round table!”

“Yes!” Said Merlin with a big grin, “The Round Table!”

“Wow!” added Guinevere. “Merlin, you found it just as the history books said you did.”

“Whoa!” said Garret, “If this is a table, where are the legs, dudes?”

“We can lower it for now,” said Merlin, and once it was back on the floor he said to them, “If someone thought the table was important but it was too large to move, they’d remove the legs and it simply becomes part of the floor saving it for the future.”

He dusted the dirt from his hands as he continued; “I bet the legs are hidden somewhere and just waiting to be set in place for its knights.”

Arthur snapped his fingers and said, “I know where the legs are!”

“Where?” asked Merlin.

“Hanging above our bed. Whoever took the legs off the table hid them in right out plain sight. They simply took a wagon wheel, removed the spokes and replaced them with the legs. They are beautifully cut spokes and I thought whoever made the chandelier sure put a lot of time in making the spokes.”

 

Within one hour the Round Table was reunited with its legs and standing upright in its place in the middle of the great hall on the main floor of Camelot.

“First order of the day, tomorrow,” said Arthur, “is to get some real cool chairs to put around the table.”

 

After morning-meal the next day, Arthur and Guinevere were meeting with the mayor of a village from the other side of London and Merlin was in the basement’s bottom floor watching as two strong boys pried open a door to a room. The wooden door was one of the better-preserved ones and it took some muscle to get it open. Finally, with a squeak, it reluctantly swung open. The boys were panting as Merlin told them, “Thank yee, lads. Go an’ have some cider ta cool thineselves.” As they ran off he lit a candle and he and James entered a small, musty room.

It was dusty and cobwebs hung everywhere as Merlin slowly moved the candle around to illuminate every corner. There were shelves holding glass vials and pots made of clay with large corks in them. Spotting two more candles he lit them and saw by their light that it must have been used by a chemist of sorts. He fingered a few of the vials and turned to leave when James called out: “Wizard Merlin! Come yee here, Sire, methinks me found a passage.” A squeak followed his call.

Merlin turned to see James under one of the wooden tables against the far wall. The boy held a candle close to the wall as he scratched at it with his fingers.

“What see yee, James?”

“Methinks it be another door, Wizard.”

“Wait, James.” He turned and closed the door to the room behind them and said, “Let me get next ta thee, lad.” He wiggled under the table and saw what James was scratching at. There was a definite crease in the wood panel behind the table and Merlin took a long, iron nail from his purse and scratched at it. When it widened enough they both got a grip on it and pulled the wood panel. A small door opening on hinges rewarded them. Merlin put the lit candle in first and then poked his head in.

The room was twice as large as the one they were in originally and both crawled in and stood up. Once again there were row after row of shelves with corked jars and tubes. There was a six-foot long, wooden table with three chairs tucked under it and many stacks of parchment all covered with cobwebs and thick dust.

“Great Wizard Merlin,” asked the boy, “what be this place?”

“This, my young James, is a hidden room and,” he said as he turned and looked down at him, “it shall be our secret room.”

“A secret fer us to know of alone, Wizard Merlin?” the boy said with gleaming eyes.

“Yes! Our secret alone, James,” he opened his arms and said, “this be the room fer wizards an’ young wizards alone.”

The boy was ecstatic . . . as was Merlin.”

James pointed to a group of candles lining a shelf. “Might we light yon candles, Wizard, so’s I might clean our secret wizard’s room fer us?”

“Surely.” Merlin sneezed as he passed him his lit candle and the boy lit the long dormant candles. The magician bent down and exited the room as he said; “I’ll be right back after I remove the dust from meself.”

Once back in the first room, the magician wiped his nose and started going over the many flasks and corked tubes. He opened a few and gave the bottles the old sniff test, and more than once was rewarded by a terrible odor. He had just put the cork back in a jar when James called out to him.

“Wizard! Wizard, I pray thee enter this room.”

Merlin moved fast and bumped his head as he went under the counter and through the opening in the wall. “Pray tell, James. What be it?”

Merlin was still on his knees as the boy’s face appeared right in front of him as he crawled to him. “Great Wizard! How doth thou do magic an’ seal it in this hidden room?”

A puzzled Merlin cocked his head in question as he asked, “What be thy meaning, young James? For this day I hath done no magic at all.”

The boy pulled on his long sleeve as he led the magician away from the opening and over to a large, open trunk. He pointed and said, “In yon trunk, great Wizard. While cleaning, I see it, an’ opened it ta see what it might hold.”

“And, what does it hold?”

The boy shook his head and asked, “Sire! How dost thou do it?”

“Do what young James?”

“How dost thou write in a book an’ place it in this hidden room?”

Merlin took a candle and held it over the trunk to see inside. There were more flasks and corked jars along with a cloak, hat and long gloves. But all of these items were surrounding a large, black leather book. And the thing that shocked Merlin and the reason that James was puzzled was the gold, block lettering on the book’s cover. It read: MERLIN.

He tenderly removed the heavy book and placed it on the wooden table. He then took a rag from James and wiped any remaining dust away while the boy stood there looking wide-eyed at his teacher. Merlin tenderly opened the book, as, for the first time since they had arrived in this time period, there was the rumble of thunder in the sky.

Merlin sat and James, anticipating his teacher, placed a lit candle on both sides of the book. He went back to his cleaning and every so often looked at Merlin as he sat trailing his long fingernails down the parchment pages as he read.

Three hours later James broke the silence. “Great Wizard. Think yee that we shall dine?”

Merlin looked at the boy and shook his head as though he had just woke up from a deep sleep. “Dine?” He sat back from the hunched position he was in for the last few hours and said, “Oh yes, dine! Yes, young James for I be famished, as should thou be.”

The boy nodded and patted his stomach. “I be, Wizard. I be famished.”

They got up to leave and Merlin said, “James, this room be our secret.”

“Aye, Wizard. It be our secret.” Both crawled out and pulled the door closed behind them before leaving the first room and closing that door too.

 

As usual, all were eating and frolicking in the sun-drenched courtyard as Merlin and James left the castle’s main tower and entered the courtyard. James trotted off to eat with his friends and Merlin sat alone beneath a large oak tree.

Sitting with crossed legs and eating picnic style on a large cloth, Guinevere said to Arthur, “Arthur, why not invite Merlin over to join us? He looks kind of lost.”

Seeing the magician sitting alone and talking to himself, Arthur called out, ”Merlin, you’re welcome to join us.”

His reaction was puzzling as he just looked at them and resumed talking to himself. A girl carried fresh bread and a bowl of soup to him but once again the magician didn’t seem to notice her but automatically dipped his bread into the soup and continued talking to nobody.

Arthur shrugged his shoulders. “Aw, you know Merlin. He must be solving a problem we don’t even know about.”

“That we don’t even know about, yet!” said Guinevere.

“Well,” said Arthur changing the subject, “I say that after we eat we take a ride over to Moonlight Hill and check out our tree.” He looked at her, “What do ya think? And maybe a quick dip?”

Her smile was the answer he was looking for.

 

One hour later, against the wishes of Sir Boche, they were alone on the hill they had claimed as their own. Guinevere filled up the pitcher she had hidden in the bough of the tree and poured the fresh water over it’s roots as Arthur climbed up and removed the last of it’s dead limbs.

“Next time,” said Arthur as he pulled dead weeds out at the base of the tree, “I’m bringing a rake.”

“Do they have rakes in this time period?”

He shrugged. “Hey, that’s the beauty of us knowing what we know. We can just, kind of, invent what we need. Who’s to say?”

Guinevere looked at the dirt on her hands. “I’m all about taking a dip.”

“Me too.”

Within a few minutes they were playing in the cool, clear pond.

Guinevere looked up at the dark clouds gathering and said, “Of course it’s going to rain, I just watered our tree.”

“Well, it’ll help the grass.” He splashed her and she retaliated and soon they were ducking each other between laughs.

Sir Boche faced the other way as they left the pond and wrapped large towels around themselves. He shook his head. Pray that no person shouldst stumble upon my King and Queen as they frolic in yon pond for I would be hard pressed ta reach them as I be so far away.

Guinevere was combing out her hair as Arthur said, “Don’t look now, but Sir Boche trailed us and is standing guard just one hill away.”

She pulled the towel tight as she looked around. “Did he see us?”

Arthur laughed. “Hey hon, ya better get used to it because our knights take their oath of allegiance pretty seriously.” He picked some grass from his towel. “What do you want to bet that he has two or three other knights surrounding our hill right now?”

“I thought we were alone.”

“Hey! Let me tell you something, Guinevere. It makes me feel real good that these guys are watching over us.” He tossed a pebble at the pond. “Back at the orphanage we had to watch out for ourselves.”

She hugged him. “You’re right. And I’m glad too.”

Later, as they rode back to Camelot, Arthur spotted the other two knights as they brought up the rear. He felt good about it. They trotted over the open drawbridge just as large raindrops splattered the dry earth.

 

That afternoon it poured. The dark clouds covered the sun as all ate either in their rooms or took turns in the dining areas.

Guinevere watched as a page tossed a few large cuts of wood on the fire. “I think we keep the windows closed tonight.”

“Yep!” said Arthur as he sipped some warm milk. “It’s the first time it rained since we were on the baseball field.”

She looked into his eyes and said in a low voice, “That seems so long ago, Arthur.”

“Yeah! Wonder what the town is thinking about us disappearing like that?”

“Probably happy to get rid of the town’s blemish.”

“Aww, screw them. I’m happier than I’ve ever been.” He looked at his wife and went on. “Are you?”

“Mmmm. Let’s see. I left a place that made me feel like it was my fault that I was an orphan. I left a place that wouldn’t let me listen to my kind of music; wouldn’t let me have seconds even when I was starving; wouldn’t let me dress like a girl.” She looked at him and continued. “Am I happy that I’m here and married to the handsomest man in England . . . and who just happens to be King? Oh, and I almost forgot . . . I’m a queen who lives in a castle!” She looked at him and asked, “So, what do you think: I’m happy or not?”

“I think we’re both happy, and,” he said looking around at the gang, “I think all the guys are happy too.”

“Well,” added Guinevere, “I just hope Merlin is happy too.”

They both looked over at the place he usually sat at.

“Boy!” said Arthur, “When he disappears, he really disappears.”

The rain continued all night giving new life to the vines, trees and shrubs of Castle Camelot.

 

 

The next day, just before mid-day meal, Arthur and Guinevere inspected the Round Table. It’s dark wood had a high, oil-based polish on it and the bolts glowed a blue-black by the light of the fireplace and overhead chandelier. There were twelve flags hanging around the circular room, each representing a section of England that the various groups were from, and there was plenty of room for more that Arthur and Guinevere were sure to come. In front of each place setting was a brass plate with a name engraved on it. A large window with stained glass-squares inset in it was situated behind two very ornate, high-backed wooden chairs and the nameplate stated that it was Arthur and Guinevere who sat there. Going around the table from Arthur’s right was: Merlin, Gerry Haad, or, as it was written on the plate, Sir Galahad; Lance, or Sir Lancelot; Garret or Sir Gwain; Percy or Sir Percivale; Lionell or Sir Lionell; Delvlin or Sir Delvlin; Garth or Sir Gareth; Lucas or Sir Lucan; Bruno or Sir Brunor and finally, Triston or Sir Tristram.

“It looks like a fairytale picture,” said Guinevere as they walked around the table.

Arthur nodded in agreement. “Ready?

She mimicked him with a nod of her own and he waved to a young pageboy waiting by the stairway. The boy’s head did a slight bow and he scampered away as Arthur escorted his queen to her seat and both stood behind their chairs. The midday sun poured in through the stained glass window and bathed the table with a colorful, warm light. A trumpet sounded and the sound of leather boots were heard from the open door followed by the original Keansburg Gang as they entered the great-room and stood behind their chairs for the first time. The young men all wore the best clothes their girlfriends could make for them and each wore a leather belt from which dangled a dagger in a leather sheath. All wore a long, light green cape with the darker green image of New Jersey stitched on it with a small star denoting where the city of Keansburg was located. As they stood in silence, Ron walked in carrying a large flag that was a duplicate of the capes the guys wore and placed it in a flag holder directly behind the seats of Arthur and Guinevere. He did a small bow and left the room.

Touched, Guinevere said, “The first meeting of the Knight’s of the Round Table. Arthur this truly is a fairytale story.”

“Yes, but,” said Arthur as he started to point to Merlin’s empty seat, “where is . . . “

A larger than normal puff of smoke came from behind Merlin’s seat and suddenly the magician stood there as the smoke cleared. His long hair and beard seemed to be almost pure white and gleam in the light.

Arthur nodded and he and Guinevere sat. There was a scrapping of chairs as the Keansburg Gang followed their lead and sat. A line of pages carrying their mid-day meals entered and quickly got the young boys attention.

Arthur looked at Merlin and said over the chatting, “Merlin, your appearance this afternoon was the best! I mean how did you do it? There’s no door or place you can pop out of behind your chair?”

“And,” added a smiling Guinevere; “You must have used a goose-egg to create a flour puff that big.”

Before he could answer a page placed a large plate of chicken in front of Arthur and Guinevere. She picked a small leg as Arthur took a leg and wing before they passed it on. A platter of pork, then potatoes, beets, carrots and turnips quickly filled the empty place. A huge gravy bowl was passed around and they had the option of washing it down with wine, beer, cider or milk. They all used a two-pronged fork to hold their food in place and cut it with their daggers. Half way into their meal a group of troubadours entered and, accompanied by stringed instruments, sang the standards of the day mingled with the Rap they learned from the Gang from Keansburg.

It was after a desert of peaches and cream set on top of a plain cake that Guinevere sat back and said as she rubbed her stomach; “They gang in the kitchen really outdid themselves for this meal. I’m going to make sure they get lots of downtime as a reward.”

Arthur laughed. “Guinevere, don’t you get it? If you give them downtime, that’s like giving them a punishment. They love doing their thing. Let’s just give them a special thanks from us for creating such an outstanding meal for this special event.”

She nodded in agreement and turned to Merlin; “So, Merlin. What have you and James been up to?”

Arthur cut in and said to Guinevere, “Notice how quiet our wizard has been during the meal?”

Guinevere’s answer was right to the point. “You mean during the last few day, don’t you?”

Merlin looked at them and said in a serious voice as he shook his head, “My friends, I apologize. You are right. I have been quiet, but it’s not you guys, it’s because of what’s happened to me.”

“What happened?” asked Arthur.

The wizard shook his head again and said, “After morning-meal tomorrow I’ll give you a tour of my room and tell you.”

“But, we’ve been to your room.”

“No, not my room, I meant to say ‘my laboratory’.”

“Your lab?” asked Arthur. “Where is it?”

“Where it is, is part of what’s happened to me. And tomorrow I’ll show and explain it to you and Guinevere.”

Arthur shrugged, “Okay, see you after morning-meal.” He turned to Guinevere and said, “I’m so full that I think I’m going to skip evening-meal.” Guinevere just looked past him without answering, her mouth was hanging open. “Hey,” Arthur continued, “you all right?”

“He-he’s gone!” she said pointing to Merlin’s seat. Arthur turned back to face the wizard and saw what she meant: Merlin’s seat was empty.

“Where did he go?” asked Arthur, “I was just talking to him. He couldn’t have disappeared so fast without me seeing him go.”

“That’s just it . . . I saw him disappear into thin air. No puff of smoke or anything. Just gone.”

“Well, like I said before, he got pretty good at that trick. Tomorrow I’ll ask him to do it nice and slow, just for us. Now, want to do a stroll down to the kitchen?”

“Lead the way. I know that you know the way by heart because I keep finding cookie crumbs all over our room.”

 

The next morning Arthur and Guinevere ate in the quarters of Sir Boche. He had two other knights with him: Sir Kevin and Sir Nathan.

After two young girls brought in a huge platter of eggs and bacon, Arthur said to the knights, “Friends, thy queen and meself been meaning ta meet with ya and thank yee for thy watchfulness.”

“Sires, it be our duty ta watch o’er ya.”

“No matter, we are thankful for you all,” said Guinevere as she dipped a roll into the yolk of an egg. She grinned as she noticed that, even though they were not dressed in their armor, the knights sat up straight and seemed to just poke at their food. She sat forward and said, “Listen, guys. We need you to be strong, so eat up and relax. We’re just normal folks.”

The three men tried to act normal in the presence of their King and Queen but failed.

“Another reason we wanted to meet with thee,” added Arthur “is to make a plan in case Sir Albert should attack us.”

Sir Boche nodded, and finding himself in a conversation about something he knew well, seemed to relax some more. He even dipped his roll in his egg yolk following his Queen’s style of eating.

“First, we eat,” said Guinevere, “then we can talk shop.”

Not sure of the term she used they followed her lead and started to eat their morning-meals.

Thirty-minutes later Arthur wiped his mouth and patted his stomach. “Wow! The cooks are the best. This was another outstanding meal. I need to do some exercising.”

Seeing that morning-meal was over, Sir Boche asked, “Ah, Sires, be it time to ‘talk shop’?”

Guinevere and Arthur grinned as they nodded.

Sir Boche said, “They be gaining strength, m’lady.”

“Is Sir Albert getting more soldiers because they dislike us?” asked Guinevere.

“No, m’lady! Methinks not. It be that he wouldst attack them should they not join him.”

“How strong is he now?” asked Arthur.

“Sire, this very day a spy sent by meself ta find out his number of men shall arrive back here at Camelot.

Arthur sat back and nodded as he said, “Wow! Good thinking, Sir Boche. It’s great to have someone around who thinks for themselves.”

The knight’s puzzled look prompted Guinevere to help explain her husband’s meaning. “Thy king be happy, Sir Boche, that thou sent thy spy.”

Arthur asked, “Would thou tell us the answer soon as thy spy returns, Sir Boche?”

“I will, Sire.”

“Then,” said Arthur rising and offering his hand to Guinevere, “We thank thee for letting us dine with yee and now have to meet with Wizard Merlin.” The knights quickly stood and bowed as the couple left.

They started down the winding staircase and Guinevere asked, “Do you know where we are supposed to meet Merlin?”

“Knowing Merlin, he’ll make an appearance and find us. Let’s go out to the courtyard. The mechanics said that this morning they were going to try to close up the drawbridge.”

The couple walked out into the sunny courtyard and was greeted by the many teenage boys and girls as they went about their work. A vegetable garden caught Guinevere’s eye and she stopped as a young boy planted seeds.

“Pray tell, what are thee planting?”

The boy pushed his thick brown hair out of his face and said as he bowed, “Pumpkin, m’lady.”

“Be sure to give them plenty of water.”

“Dost thou know of growing, my Queen?”

Guinevere put a small space between her thumb and index finger as she said, “Just a teensy-weensy bit. And I’m sure that Camelot will have plenty of pumpkin pie when thou be finished.”

The boy bowed deeply, his face glowing with pride. “My Queen. I hath planted many acorns as thou hast asked.”

She smiled and patted his head.

Arthur grinned as he said in a low voice, “Boy, Guinevere. You sure got this queen thing down tight.”

She grinned back and did a small sashay and said in a singsong voice as she walked towards the drawbridge, “Here come the queen, here come the queen.”

Arthur broke up and added with his own singsong, “And here come the king, here come the king.”

More than one of the groups looked and shrugged their shoulders at the antics of their King and Queen.

“Arthur, Guinevere.” Merlin’s voice coming from behind them made both of them jump.

“Merlin,” said Arthur as he spun around to see the magician walking behind them. “Where did you come from?” He looked around as he went on, “I mean, we’re in the middle of the courtyard and there’s no door or place you could have used to appear so suddenly. How the heck do you do it?”

“Arthur, Guinevere, I have to show you something. Walk with me to my lab in the tower’s bottom basement.”

A shout came from the gate and it got their attention.

“Merlin, let’s watch the drawbridge go up and then we can go with you. Okay?” The magician nodded and they walked over to the opening in the walls. On each side of the open gate a group of boys stood at a wheel with long spokes protruding from it.

Each boy gripped one of the spokes as a short, well-built youth shouted: “Ready, right? Ready left? All together, turn!” The boys turned their respective wheel and the wooden gate lying across the moat creaked and protested as the roped tightened. After many years of lying in the dirt, the gate struggled to break free and others with hoes and axes chopped and pulled at the many weeds and roots that had taken hold.

Finally with a sucking sound the gate left the earth and was slowly lifted into the, up and closed position, to the cheers of all around.

“I feel safer already,” said Guinevere.

“Me too. I think tomorrow we eat breakfast with the mechanics.” He looked down at her and asked, “What do you think?”

“Great idea. You know, Arthur, I think we’re really getting this king and queen thing down tight,” they laughed and turned to follow Merlin and once again found that he had disappeared.

Arthur shook his head. “Lets go down to the basement and find him.”

As they walked across the courtyard, Arthur said, “Hey, remember you said I have to start noticing things if I were to make a good king?”

“Yes.”

“Well, have you noticed that since we’ve been here in Camelot Castle, the trees and bushes have all suddenly become greener? And,” he looked down, “the grass has come back and is starting to grow where there was just hard-packed dirt.”

“No, I hadn’t noticed. Thanks for pointing that out. Maybe the castle is letting us know that it’s happy to be lived in again.”

They entered the castle and went down the two flights of stone stairs to the bottom basement. They were greeted by the sound of steel hitting steel as they entered the area where one group of young men were banging dents out of armor as another were fixing a wagon wheel. Arthur and Guinevere were greeted with bows as they passed by.

“I’ll never get used to the bowing,” said Guinevere.

“Actually,” said a grinning Arthur. “I’m liking it. I think it’s pretty cool.”

The nudge of her elbow in his arm got the normal response from him: “Ouch! My wound!”

Arthur stopped a boy carrying a bucket of water from the well and asked: “Young man. “Doth thou know where Wizard Merlin be?”

The boy said as he pointed and bowed at the same time: “Sires! The good Wizard be in yon room.”

Guinevere looked at the door the boy had pointed at and said, ”Maybe he should hang a shingle. You know, ‘Wizard’s Room, magic upon request, disappearing our specialty’.”

Arthur laughed as he knocked on the wooden door. It opened and James looked out then quickly bowed and said, “Sires! Please enter.”

“Good day, James,” said Guinevere. “Be thy wizard here?”

“Nay, but enter an’ sit an’ he be here soon.”

They entered and sat at the table as James asked, “Pray tell, be thou thirsty?”

“No, thank yee, James. The queen and I just had morning-meal.” He looked around. A handful of candles whose flames reflected on the many jars and tubes of the lab brightened the room.

James picked up a broom and was about to attack more of the dust when Merlin’s voice was heard. “James, thou may leave an’ relax. I shall call when I’m in need of thee.”

Arthur and Guinevere looked at each other as the boy left them alone in the room. “Lord!” He’s invisible!” said Guinevere.

Arthur stood and looked around the empty room. “Merlin! Where are you? Are you invisible?”

“No.” came his voice from under the counter as his head appeared. “I’m in this room. C’mon on in, but mind your head, it’s low.”

Arthur entered and helped Guinevere in. “Wow! said Arthur as they looked around. Once again the light of many candles bounced off the glass and earthen jars that lined the many shelves. Behind each candle was a sheet of highly polished steel that reflected the candle’s light, doubling its brightness. On the table was a medieval version of a Bunsen burner, a small clay cup with burning twigs whose flames licked at the bottom of a glass tube that contained a milky-white bubbling substance. On another shelf was a cage with two mice that ran in a small wooden wheel and, as they tried to get the cheese, made the wheel spin. The center of the wheel had a rod that turned with the wheel and in turn, turned a wooden bladed fan that cooled the working area.

Guinevere looked around the room. “Ingenious!”

“Naw. I just took advantage of the technology of their future to cool the place down.”

“So,” added Arthur, “this is what you wanted to show us? Impressive. And I love how the piece of steel behind the candles brighten up the room so much.” He looked at Guinevere. “I think we should incorporate them throughout the castle.”

Merlin shook his head. “Actually, this isn’t why I invited you here at all.”

“Oh?”

The wizard went to his desktop and lifted a black velvet cloth revealing a black leather book. The candlelight reflected off the book as Merlin gently caressed it. He turned to them and said, “Watch my friends.” He picked up a black and silver wand and tapped his hand. There was an immediate puff of smoke and he disappeared.

“Wow!” said both at the same time.

“Here I am!”

They both spun around to the sound of his voice behind them. The wizard stood there with his arms crossed.

“Merlin,” said Guinevere with her hand to her mouth, “that was fantastic! I didn’t even see you drop an egg or break it in your hand.”

“Dude!” added Arthur. You really got good at that disappearing trick.”

“Then watch this!” Once again he slapped the wand on the palm of his hand and another puff of smoke appeared as he disappeared.

“Boy,” said Arthur, “that is fantastic.”

“Shall I re-appear?”

Arthur and Guinevere looked at each other as they realized his voice came from the other room. Arthur scrambled under the counter followed by Guinevere and they went back to the first room to see Merlin sitting atop a high shelf.

A slightly embarrassed Merlin asked, “Hey, can you guys help me down?”

Arthur grabbed a stool and stood on it to help Merlin get down. “How the heck did you get way up here?”

“Phew!” the magician said as he dusted off his seat. “Let’s go back to the inner room and I’ll tell you. And this time I’ll crawl through.”

Back in the inner room he led them to the book.

“When did you put this together?” asked Guinevere as she ran a hand over the lettering on the cover.

“When?” he shrugged his shoulders and went on, “I would have to say about fifteen-hundred years ago.”

Both Arthur and Guinevere said in unison, “Fifteen-hundred years ago?”

“Listen,” Merlin said in a serious tone of voice, “James found this book in this hidden room and it’s obvious that someone went through a lot of pains to keep both the room and the book a secret.”

“But it says ‘Merlin’ on it?”

“Yes, Arthur. And there seems to be about three hundred and fifty pages and each page is about eighteen by twenty inches large. Now, that’s a lot of writing.”

“So, then,” asked Guinevere, “do you know who wrote it? Was it some other guy named Merlin? I mean, isn’t that a big coincidence?”

Merlin nodded in agreement with her. “It would be, but I know who did it.”

“Who?” she asked.

“Listen. If you remember my theory about us being here once before, and, if you remember me being upset that the real Merlin was a real wizard and that I was just a magician using toys and such? Well I’ve rethought my theory and the new one fits even better.” They sat as he opened his hands and went on. “I believe that somehow we lived in this time period and you two really were Arthur and Guinevere and I was Merlin. And I believe that the original Merlin was a real wizard with real powers. I also believe that somehow he knew we were coming back and he prepared the way by writing his secret powers in this book, knowing that when we came back I’d find this room and book.”

“And you believe that you’re the real Merlin?” asked Arthur.

A smile came across the wizard’s face as he opened the book and said, “Read what is written, or rather what has been printed. And, I might add, you can check out my printing and you’ll see that it matches the printing in this book from over fifteen hundred years ago.” He stepped aside for Arthur to read.

Arthur moved his finger along as he read the printing aloud. “Thou lives by trickery before thou shalt use grains and flour and create order shortly before yee set and see by moonlight, treasures such as armor and works of art. Yee shalt travel with thine bakers twelve, and live to see all again and a guide be thine duty.” He shrugged his shoulders and said, “I don’t get it, Merlin. Does it make sense to you?”

“Yes, Arthur. And of course you don’t get it because when Merlin wrote this, so long ago, it was for me to read, and it says, ‘Merlin, this book is from you, for you, and to prove it, written here is the life you just lived.’”

“So what does, ‘thou lives by trickery’ and that stuff mean?”

“Arthur, Guinevere, it says ‘I lived by trickery.’ Well I was a magician in the life we just left. Then it says, ’thou shalt use grains and flour and create order shortly before yee set and see by moonlight treasures, such as armor and works of art. Yee shalt travel with thine bakers twelve, and live to see all again and a guide be thine duty.’”

“Well, I was a short-order cook and used grains and flour to create the orders the customers ordered. Then I left there to work in the museum as a night watchman, sitting and watching over armor and works of art. It then says I’ll travel with bakers twelve and live to see all again and be a guide. Well, if you count our group you’ll see that it was thirteen, and a baker’s dozen is baker’s slang for the number thirteen: the number of our group from Keansburg. Finally. ‘live to see all again and a guide be thine duty’. That’s just saying that I’ll live to see us back in Camelot again and my job would be to guide our group.”

Arthur and Guinevere sat stunned as he went on. “So you see, it’s just like I said, we once lived here and for some reason we were sent forward and now are back home again.”

Guinevere took his hand and said, “And you are our guide.”

Arthur took his other hand and added, “There couldn’t be a better guide in the whole universe, my friend.” He stood back and placed his hands on his hips. “Now, tell us. How the heck did you get up on top of that shelf?”

Merlin laughed. “Oh, I meant to tell you. Also written in my book is how to do real magic. You see, the original Merlin was a real wizard and he wrote down all of magic chants and potions for me to . . . uh, let’s say, brush up on, because I seem to have forgotten all that he, or I, knew about real wizardry. So, as you witnessed, I can disappear and reappear but until I get the hang of it I’m not sure exactly where I’ll appear.”

“But how do you do it? I mean, is it a trick?”

“No. Let me see if can I explain it . . . its sort of like riding a bike. You don’t really turn, you kind of lean the way you want it to go and it goes that way. So when I want to go to, let’s say the other room. I kinda picture it, and in my mind, I can see the place I want to end up and I sort of fall into the place I see in my mind’s eye and puff, I’m there. Most of the time anyway.”

Guinevere asked, “Can you perform other things? I mean like without using your toys and gadgets?”

He smiled. “I’m getting there. Watch this.” He put his hands almost together as though he was holding an invisible basketball and moved them about the imaginary ball as he mumbled something with his eyes half open. Slowly, an orb appeared. It turned a bluish green in color and in the orb, Sir Boche appeared as he stood by the gate.

Guinevere inhaled as she said, “Oh, my gosh! That’s Sir Boche standing by the drawbridge! That’s fantastic!”

“Well,” said Merlin as he clapped his hands and the orb disappeared, “not really. You see that was where Sir Boche stood over three hours ago. I sort of have trouble seeing in real-time.”

“Still and all, that’s great.”

“Well at least I don’t have to worry about putting flour in eggs ever again. That was tough work.”

Arthur closed the book’s cover. “So then, you wrote this book for yourself over fifteen hundreds years ago? Boy, this is getting weirder and weirder.” He looked at the wizard. “Do you remember any of it?”

“No! I read and re-read the part about appearing and disappearing over and over again and I still have a hard time understanding it. But, if the original Merlin wrote it, and if I was the original Merlin, I have no doubt that sooner or later I’ll get it.”

Arthur smiled as he patted the magician on his back, “I’d bet on that.” He turned to Guinevere and said, “Like to go for a horseback ride before lunch?”

“Great idea. I just want to change my shoes.”

Arthur turned to Merlin. “Don’t be a stranger, Dude! When you come up with a good trick, ah, I mean, good use of your wizardry, come over and show us.”

Merlin slapped them both on their backs. “I shall, I shall.”

Arthur stooped to leave then turned and said, “Oh, Merlin. It seems that Sir Fat Albert is recruiting guys to attack us and maybe if you see something we can use in that orb of yours, you can let me know.”

“Will do, Arthur.”

 

The couple went back to their room and as Guinevere changed her shoes, Arthur had Ron prepare an impromptu picnic basket. Next they went to the stables, mounted their horses and rode over the newly repaired drawbridge. A loud ‘Hooray’ sounded as they crossed the moat and saw a flood of water rush into the dry ditch as the young men working to divert a lake finished their project, completing the moat.

Once back outside in the sunlight, Guinevere pointed back to the green ivy climbing the walls. “Arthur, you are right. It’s almost as though it were growing right before our eyes. It’s magical.”

“So is this whole new life we’re living.”

 

They rode over to Moonlight Hill, stopped and tied their horses to a branch of their oak tree as Guinevere retrieved the pitcher. Once again she poured water over the exposed roots of the tree as Arthur kicked away some dead leaves. He spread out a blanket and they ate cold chicken and beef and washed it down with cider before they took a dip in the cool lake.

An hour later they were lying on the grass with the blanket wrapped around them when James suddenly appeared. Guinevere pulled the blanket tight around herself as Arthur fought for some of it as the boy bowed.