A Knight's Love | Prologue

A Knight's Love

The woods were a dangerous place. Bears would be on the hunt for the slightest movement of living before attacking their prey; robbers were everywhere and ready to strike the next poor and innocent soul that walked by.

The little squirrel stuck its nose out of its hiding place, the tree giving the perfect cover for it and its family. They were out of food, belly low to the ground the lot of them. The small brown and elegant animal peeked its head out from the tree hole and looked to its right, then to its left. No predator in sight. As fast as its legs could carry, the rodent ran down along the trunk, its small paws making no noise as it ran over the fallen leaves and towards the price: the fallen and ripen nuts as well as juicy berries.

It fed hungrily, eating as much as its small stomach could handle, conscious at all times that it was out in the open, visible to its predator. Suddenly, its ears twitched and it froze where it was. A swift movement, dark and fast, moved in the shadows above and the little mammal quickly filled its flexible mouth with all the nuts it could hold before sprinting back to its family. But the hawk had seen its actions long before the rodent had even begun eating.

Spreading out its long wings, it let itself fall, the wind moving with the feathered creature and increasing its momentum. Its sharp claws struck out after the fleeting prey and…

… it tumbled to the ground, allowing the squirrel to find its way back to its hiding. The bird bawled and basked its wings to get the being that was on it away.

"What's wrong, Mr. big and bad bird?" Said a little squeaky voice. "You don't look so big and scary anymore. Hmpf. I'm a little kid and too big of a challenge for the prince of the forest, eh? Heh, no surprise."

The creature, black and small, had a smirk on his face and had the proudest grin placed on his tan muzzle. The hawk's golden eyes met his crimson ones. Even though it sensed lots of power, lots of danger, in the child, it wasn't going to be humiliated this way. It screamed loudly, causing the young toddle to jump back in surprise and giving the opportunity the bird had to escape.

Threatening it was, but the child wasn't scared. He was actually up for the challenge the predator had in mind and as soon as he stood up, he gave the bird a selfish smirk before crossing his arms and turned around. His eyes closed and he knew he had reached the red level on his opponent. He could hear the rush of the wind that came from the bird diving at him. The black creature turned around, a glim of triumph in his eyes and just like that, he vanished.

The hawk's eyes widened in surprise and instantly it stopped. Just being a few meters above the ground, it was at the exact place where the boy had vanished. It looked around but saw nothing. A rustling in the leaves made it glare up and widen its golden orbs once more.

"Yibee!" The child squealed as he landed on the beautiful creature's back, putting a small branch into its mouth with rope tied to both ends before pulling in them. "Come on, birdy! Time to fly sky high!"

As much as the hawk protested and fought against this treatment, the pain would only increase; it was the kid's puppet and it had no other chance but to obey him. The black creature, red highlights in his spikes, giggled and laughed as he went all around the forest. But it was time to take a look of the outside world. His whole life was spend in Deep Woods and at the Misty Lake; he was never allowed to go outside these places.

"Not today." He whispered before pulling the ropes and he headed up. "Yiiiieeee!" He laughed into the night. And as he was out of the forest and flying above it on the hawk, he gasped at the sight. In the distance lay a castle, a big one, made out of grey blocks of stone, windows everywhere, some lit and others not, and towers and connected buildings as far as he could see. A city was inside the walls of the great castle, but it was only the more noble part of the villagers that lived there. The commoners lived outside the walls of Great Castle Camelot.

To his right was the area of the Molten Mine. It was said to be the hottest place in entire Camelot and mostly being a workplace than a village, though a town there was but it was a few miles away from the Mines themselves.

As he turned his head back to the castle, he spotted a small island in the middle of the sea. A small castle of some sort was on it, but the fog was too thick for the young hedgehog to see exactly what was there.

'That must be the island of Avalon. Mother always says it's there the kings and queens are sent to after they perish from this world.'

He looked around and spotted the small village of Deep Woods, not far from his current position. He had always been on the edge of going there but always hesitated and headed home. He was curious as to what was beyond the safety of the Misty Lake, but was never allowed to go further than the safer part of the woods. Shrouded Forest was a dark place; mystery was upon it and only the bravest of knights dared going there. He chuckled.

"I will become the greatest knight of all time!" He laughed before heading down. The rushing wind in his quills made him feel more alive than ever and he speeded through the woods with ease. "Come on, stupid bird! Faster!" He commanded and kicked his heel into the side of it as if it was a horse. But faster it went, and it thrilled the child.

"Lancelot!"

The sudden upset call of his name made him froze. He looked franticly around, trying to find the source of the beautiful and mysterious voice he oh so well knew. But as he turned his attention forward, his eyes widened and all the air knocked away from his lungs. Meanwhile, the hawk was relieved that the tortures minutes were over, yet its mind was still filled with hatred and it wanted revenge. As it turned around, it watched as the hedgehog struggled to get on to the branch, kicking his legs back and forward while grunting. The hawk then dived at Lancelot and it would have hurt the child badly if it wasn't for him releasing the tree. The child whimpered lowly and rubbed his bottom from the sudden impact. The scream from the bird he had messed with dived again at him and Lancelot was paralyzed by fear.

A sudden light shot ahead and hit the hawk behind. It bawled once more before the next lightning arrow was shot towards it. "Be gone!" Said the mysterious voice and finally, the bird disappeared into the forest once more.

Lancelot was quiet and turned away. The footsteps were so light that it was almost impossible to hear the woman approaching, but he knew she was behind him. A sudden familiar energy surrounded him and he was brought up to the branch he failed to hold on to mere seconds ago. Guilt filled his soul and he refused to look up. That is until a hand was placed on his shoulder and it began rubbing it before moving to his quills. "Look at me, Lancelot."

He opened his crimson eyes and stared up on the powerful and wise woman. Her skin as fine as silk, shining so bright in the darkness of the woods, her eyes so captive and serious, often emotionless, with their dark blue glow. Her hair was like the colour of lemons, but with the most wonderful smell of flowers and nature. Nimue, the Lady of the Lake, and his mother. Most beautiful woman man will ever see, but she was unearthly, yet no goddess. She was born in the lake as far as time has existed on this planet. She is one with the nature, and wiser than any other human or mobian was.

She shook her head at the little hedgehog.

"You know that it is not your place to disturb the animals of this forest, let alone hurting them." Her tone was turning into ire; the result of this made Lancelot lower his ears and look miserable at his human mother. His look made Nimue realise that she was losing her temper and therefore she took a deep breath to calm her nerves. The hedgehog was still guilty of what he had done to the animals throughout the day, especially tonight, and Nimue could see it in his ruby eyes. With a swift whistle, she called the hawk from earlier and it came with no hesitation. As it landed on her outstretched arm, the black hedgehog tensed up and gulped before watching the lady pet the bird.

"You see, Lancelot," Nimue began before turning to her son, "these animals are just like you and I. They can think just like us, they taste the same way as we do, see the same way, and they have feelings too." She brought the hawk closer to the captured Lancelot, who immediately began sweat dropping in nervousness. The glare the bird gave him made him regret what he had done, and he reached his hand forward. "If you are evil towards these animals and hurt them, it would be like hurting yourself." The bird bit out after the ebony hedgehog's hand and managed to open a small cut in his finger. Lancelot shouted at the pain and pulled his hand back. Blood streamed out and the pain caused the youngling to whimper. His mother wiped the small tears away from his eyes before kissing his finger. A simple bit of love from the Lady healed the open cut instantly. She looked deeply into his eyes, a smile popping on to her lips. "However, if we show kindness and love to them…" She brought the hawk closer once more, but now Lancelot was scared it would bit him again and instead he turned to the blue dressed woman. But his mother gaze told him not to be scared. Once again, he reached his hand forward, but a sudden movement from the bird made him freeze before Nimue told him to go on.

"What will then happen?" She asked as his hand came in contact with the bird's head. He immediately began stroking his finger behind its small ear, which seemed to please it.

To Lancelot's surprise, the hawk began rubbing against his hand before jumping off the Lady's arm and stand beside the young boy. Lancelot was scared, but as the prince of the forest began nibbling his cheek, he began to giggle. "We get love and kindness back from them!" He answered as he kept stroking the bird, who now rubbed its head against his chest fur.

"Exactly, Lancelot. Exactly." She said and reached out for her son. He looked one last time at the bird beside him before being lifted up into Nimue's arms. "Well, it's time we head home. It's far beyond your bedtime, young man."

And as they disappeared into the darkness of the forest, Lancelot kept his gaze at the hawk before waving to it. And… it waved back!

…

He was a live wire that kid, no doubt. Even when they arrived back at the misty lake and Nimue had brought him to the secret part of it, the very bottom of the entire lake, Lancelot was still jumping around and playing knight. The sight was tiring yet adorable. Nimue knew his fate; she had known it from the very beginning ever since she found him abandoned in the woods almost six years ago. But his origins were a mystery, even for the blond haired woman. What she could tell was that he wasn't from an ordinary family of commoners; no it was the exact opposite. She didn't know who the parents were for the child, only that they might have been of royal blood. Nevertheless, she knew that one day Lancelot would discover them by himself on his own journey.

The black hedgehog hopped around the small room that was his sleeping chambers, warping from place to place and stroke the doll opponents with his tree sword. "Take that, you dirty piece of scum! And that!" He swung the wooden plan and cut over the dummy's head. "Haha! No knights of the Underworld will stop the great Sir Lancelot of the Lake!!" He posed in victory; his arms raised high in the air before he warped down the solid ground. As he was about to play he was on a horse, a pair of hands wrapped around his waist and lifted him off the ground.

He looked up and met a pair of cobalt blue eyes. "Okay, okay, sir knight du Lac, time to go to sleep." The Lady of the Lake said before bringing her feet forward and placed him on the soft bed made of down.

"Aww, but mum…" He whined as she took off his too big helmet and removed the sword from his hand. As she placed it aside, she looked at her son with a stern expression. She put a finger in front of her and shook it.

"No buts, young man." She began taking his dirty clothes off, leaving him completely bare. She ruffled his quills and kissed him goodnight. "Goodnight, Lancelot." As she had tucked the boy well down under the soft blanket, she made a swift movement with her hand which turned out the lights. She turned around and began walking towards the exit.

"Nimue…"

A small breathless gasp escaped the mother; Lancelot never used her name as calling. Slowly, she turned around and gazed at the shuffling hedgehog, who was now sitting in the bed and rubbing his thumbs against the fine blanket. "Lancelot…" She replied as she took a few steps closer towards the powerful child, lighting a small candle just beside his bed.

The black hedgehog with red highlights turned his attention towards his mother with curiosity and concern in his crimson eyes. "I… what's outside the Deep Woods?" He asked in nervousness. Nimue twisted her head slightly to her one side, confused on the boy's question. "That big castle… who lives there?" He continued to ask and end asking her if she could tell him a tale of this Kingdom the Lake was part of.

She sighed before sitting down beside her son. "Fine. I will tell you about Kingdom Camelot, its ruler and what has happened here for past years." She spoke and nuzzled Lancelot on the head. He crawled onto her lap, his ears open wide and eyes locked onto the unearthly human's beautiful face. She breathed in and exhaled afterwards. "Not too long ago, Uther, the king of Camelot, managed to wipe out one of his greatest enemies yet to be seen. King Gorlois of Tintagel. But in reality, he didn't know that Gorlois was killed during the night he spend with Igraine." Confusion yet excitement showed up in the toddle's eyes and he shuffled closer. "You see, Uther fell in love with Gorlois' wife, Igraine, and therefore declared war against him to get to her. The old Merlin created a mixture that changed the King's face and disguised Uther as King Gorlois, and it was with ease to get inside the castle and to be in bed with Igraine."

"You were friends with Merlin, weren't you, mother?" Lancelot said as he stared up at the smiling Nimue.

She laughed. "Indeed, I was. In fact, Merlin's reason to teach me was to win my heart but he tried to take it, I send him to a cave and improsoined him there for a few weeks." She laughed gently with the child on her lap, nuzzling his quills before making eye contact with him. "When I was learning the basis of being the Lady of the Lake, I got lots of help from Merlin. You may ask, shouldn't I know the different spells from the beginning of time? Well, the thing is, every now and then the Lady of the Lake must be replaced by someone else. I may be able to live for a hundred of years and may be very unearthly, but my body belongs to a human that once walked around the streets of the small towns and ran over the hills of the meadows."

The small creature was in awe yet frighten. "Does that mean… that I won't see you ever again?" Small tears showed up in his eyes. "You won't go now, will you?"

The blond haired girl smiled warmly at the boy on her lap and wiped away the tears that escaped his eyelids. "Of course, I will not. But one day I will have to leave this place and be together with the family that belonged to this woman's body I possess. However, my soul is forever bounded to the lake and whenever a human or mobian needs to leave this place and the body of being the Lake's Lady, a new woman will take the place and I will reincarnated once again and so the cycle goes on. Now, let's not talk about me now." She said and tickled the upset Lancelot, thus making him laugh. "I was about to tell you the story of Camelot in its recent years." Her smile was amusable big and she hadn't felt this glad to have a son as Lancelot in years. Yes, she may have been taking care of other boys and girls in her youth, but Lancelot was something special. She could feel it. "Okay, where was I? Oh that's right. Now, after the discovery of Gorlois' death, Uther managed to convince Igraine of becoming his wife and queen of Camelot and its won territories. And by becoming queen of Camelot, she would become queen of England itself. The offer was surely attractive and seeing as she had no power as being the widow of King Gorlois, she accepted marrying King Uther. However, what she didn't expect was that she got pregnant only a few months after her coronation with Arthur." She paused for a second and exhaled in slight sadness. "But by giving birth to Arthur, Igraine's live vanished in front of Uther's eyes and her last breath was taken away before she closed her eyes forever.! She could see the sadness that was in Lancelot's eyes yet there was some eagerness in her continuing the story. She sighed before smiling. "Although Uther was in deep sorrow of losing Igraine, he found happiness in having Arthur. He raised him, played with him, and loved him more than anything in this world. But even when he had this new found happiness with Arthur, he had not yet felt the last sorrow of his life. Because, on his way into the woods towards the next kingdom, his men brought news that his son had disappeared. With this form of information, the King raced back towards Kingdom Camelot on his horse only to find the info was true. Arthur had vanished away and no trace of him has ever yet been found. Except for one thing." She had a finger in front of the black hedgehog's face but n smile was visible on her pale face. "One of his knights' found the dead body of the prince at Shrouded Forest and when his majesty saw it with his own eyes, he cried upon the cold body of his beloved son."

Silence fell upon them. All these different information were hard to put completely together inside Lancelot's 6-year-old mind. But one thing was a mystery for him. "Mother," he started as he twirled his thumbs around, "what happened after Arthur's death?" He saw up on his mother, no big emotion was visible but expectation was visible in her eyes.

She exhaled with her nose. "As always, the royals are placed in a boat and they sail towards Avalon where I will welcome the dead bodies and bring the lost souls of them to the watcher. However, once Arthur arrived to the island, I noticed that there was much more spiritual energy around him than around others. I realised that his soul wanted to be send away by powerful forces and be on a new journey. It wanted a second chance. One thing is for sure, I knew that Uther felt the same as I on Arthur's dead body and I knew that he would seek me to get his answers."

The small knight was captured by the story and shuffled closer. "What happened then? Did he come?"

"Yes, Uther came to me on the evening of that mournful day and begged me to do something to bring back his son."

"Did you do that?"

Nimue shook her head. "I can't bring the dead back, Lancelot. However, what I did do was that I gave the King what he wanted and and so I gave the soul within Arthur's body a second change as it wanted and send it far away. It desired to be reborn but I cannot say when it will choose its bearer. It might still be flowing around England to find that one special child that will become the rightful king of the entire country. But by asking help from the Lake follows consequences, Uther knew this and he was ready to face them. However, his life time was short and in all respect, I did not help him but his son. Therefore, the consequences will be upon Arthur one day and not his father."

Another round of playing the silent game. This was definitely the most thrilling story Lancelot had ever yet heard, and he wanted to know more. "Continue, please mother."

Nimue giggled. "But there is no more to tell, Lancelot, other than that Uther is on his last days of standing without an heir to the throne."

"But Arthur is the heir!" Lancelot protested and stood up. "You said yourself that his soul was given a second change and that it now is in another boy's body!"

"No, I did not, Lancelot. Yes, I said that I gave Arthur's soul the opportunity to get a new life but I also said that I do now know if it had found a bearer yet. But the important part here is to be patient. I will know when the heir is here when the time is right. Now, off to bed you go. It's almost midnight and I want you to sleep well tonight." She tucked the hedgehog well down under the blanket once more before kissing him goodnight. "Sweet dreams, Lancelot."

"Goodnight, mother." He cooed before yawning and as Nimue reached the exit of her son's room she turned around and saw the little strong and future knight was fast asleep.

..

Past midnight, the Lady got the news about Uther illness had become worse and caused him to sleep in. The time was right. Once she had done her job of bringing Uther's soul to the watcher she returned home, but only to re-emerge from the water and she headed southeast towards London. She was glowing up the darkness of the night on her way towards the great capital of England and in her hands she bore a sacred sword with the engraving "Whoso Pulleth Out This Sword of the Stone and Anvil, is Rightwise King Born of all England." 

Thank you for reading this and remember to comment. It really helps me a ton.

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