The Knight And The Damsel

00-06-1998

See other short stories in The English Knight collection
ou choisissez (Fr) pour une traduction en Français.

A Glimpse Of Childhood – (Fr)

Introducing The English Knight – (Fr)

The Boy Who Knew Too Little – (Fr)

The Knight At The Crossroads – (Fr)

The Knight Who Saw Too Much – (Fr)

The Knight's Garden – (Fr)

The Knight And The Damsel – (Fr)

The King's Fortress – (Fr)

The Knight And His Silver Bowl – (Fr)

THE KNIGHT AND THE DAMSEL

By Christopher Long

The English knight had been riding for some hours when he reached the edge of a small clearing in the woods. From under a fringe of trees he saw that it resembled an arena, being almost perfectly oval, its deep green grass surrounded by a wall of white-flowered rhododendrons. Behind stood a wall of tall evergreens, their tops gilded by the afternoon sun.

Near the centre of the clearing was a small solitary tree, while beyond it the knight was surprised to see the pale naked back of a girl standing waist-deep in the still water of a pool surrounded by bull-rushes.

Embarrassed at disturbing her he climbed from his horse, tethered it to a low branch and, with his back to her, made an elaborate inspection of his saddle-bags. When at last he turned again the girl was wearing a plain white dress and was tied to the lone tree, gazing into the distance.

He approached her cautiously and she suddenly turned to him in alarm.

"Please, don't be frightened," he said.

"Of course I'm frightened," she replied. "I'm a damsel in distress."

"I imagined you might be," said the knight as the girl struggled a little against the rope around her waist.

"Would you like me to untie you?"

"Release!" said the girl. "You're supposed to release me. First you're supposed to kill the dragon and then you release me. Without asking."

"I see," he said, glancing around him. "And... where's your dragon?"

The girl rolled her eyes: "You don't really believe in dragons, do you?"

"You mentioned them first," the knight replied firmly.

There was a pause.

"Well," sighed the damsel, leaning back against the tree, "perhaps you should. There are dragons. They do exist, you know."

"Yes," he replied, "I imagine we all have dragons to deal with."

"So, if you know so much about them, tell me something: why do knights always have go around slaying dragons for damsels? Why don't they face their own."

"Perhaps we hope you might help us to kill our dragons in return, " the knight suggested. And they looked steadily into each other's eyes for the first time.

The girl slipped out of the rope.

"Come with me," she said. And she took his hand and led him to the edge of the pool where they stared at the water side by side. "Tell me what you see."

"I see our reflections in the water," he said. "What do you see?"

"I see you looking at me reflected in the water," she replied.

(UNFINISHED)

For Melissa Roussopoulos