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?Goodbye mother, I will write to you.? Everett tilted his head, and kissed the soft, pale skin of his mother's cheek.
?Yes, you had better, or I will march all the way to Camelot and pull your ears!? Everett smiled as his mother said this, and hugged her old, frail form, for what he thought might be the last time. His mother's green eyes glittered with wet tears as she said her goodbyes to her youngest son.
Sweat trickled its way down Everett's face, some of the sweat finding its way into his dry mouth.
Wait Everett realized, this was no castle guard, this was one of the famed Knights of Camelot! Every since Everett was a boy, he had longed to join this elite group of knights, their strength was legend, and they were not bad with the beautiful maidens of the land either.
?Do you bear your royal crest?? The knight asked boldly, for if one claimed to be a member of a noble household, it was the knights' of Camelot job to verify this claim, before allowing them to enter the castle.
Everett fumbled, words spilling out of his mouth as he grabbed his leather bag and dug through it, until he pulled a dagger with the insignia of the head of a eagle and the body of a lion rearing its head engraved in gold onto the sheath of the dagger. This was
Everett's most prized possession, and the only thing he had to remember his father.
Everett watched as he handed the dagger over to the knight who examined the dagger and then handed it back to Everett.
?Welcome to Camelot, Everett Merguille, youngest son of the late Jonathan Merguille.? The knight bowed, and led the very weary young man inside the castle. Every moment from then on was a blur. All Everett could remember, was that he was led to a royal guest chamber, and set to sleep on a large, soft four-post bed.
~~~~
Everett awoke with a start, had been dreaming that he was still running down the long dirt path, with an angry panther at his heals, and every once in a while the panther's razor sharp claws would graze his back, causing his green shirt to become crimson with blood.
Then, a sense of calm swept over him like a wave on the ocean. He was safe. Everett smiled as he realized he had made it to Camelot, though his trip had ended, he realized that his adventures in Camelot had only begun.
Dressing as quickly as he possibly could, though sometimes accidentally sticking his strong arms through the neck hole of his wool shirt, he raced out of his guest chamber. Servants filled the halls of the castle, each busy completing the various chores they had, for the meager pay that they received.
Each struggling to make a living to provide for their nearly starving children at home, or even just for themselves. Not sure where he was headed, Everett spotted a serving woman making her way down the hall.
?Excuse me, could you tell me where I can find King Arthur?? Everett politely asked the young serving woman who turned to Everett. A slight pink crept into her cheeks as she realized that a nobleman was addressing her.
?Yes, King Arthur is currently in a conference with his counselors. They are in the council chambers.? The girl curtsied and began to walk off, though she did not get very far before Everett called her back again.
?Where can I find the council chambers?? Everett smiled in embarrassment, he had never been to Camelot before, he had only hear stories about the famed kingdom from his father, who had frequently traveled there.
?The council chambers are that way.? The young woman's blue eyes glittered the early morning sunlight as she pointed one of her fingers down toward the long hall, that had two large wooden doors standing at the end of it.
?Thank you-? Everett trailed off, for he did not know to whom he should thank. The young woman smiled, her caramel/blonde hair flowing down her back.
?Eden, Eden Haywoode.? The girl curtsied and turned with a smile, as she continued her daily chores and walked down the busy halls of Camelot.
Smiling to himself, Everett walked toward where the girl had pointed. Two tall oaken doors stood guard to the council chamber within. From where Everett was standing, he could hear faint chatter coming from inside the room.
Mustering his courage, Everett knocked politely on the wooden doors, opened the doors slightly and entered the council chamber of Camelot.
It was the most exquisite room Everett had ever seen, banners of blood red hung on the bleak stone walls of the room, each banner bearing the image of a golden dragon rearing its head.
The beautiful thing was, that whenever a sunray hit the golden dragon, it cast gold and red colours all through the room, so as one would think they were in a golden palace at sunset.
At the center of the room, a large wooden table sat, about thirteen feet long, each with a chair that belonged to King Arthur's royal court.
?Ahh, Everett Merguille.? A kind but bold voice said, pulling Everett out of his daze. King Arthur smiled as he walked over to the young nobleman who stood awkwardly beside the wooden entrance doors.
A few of the counselors glanced over at the newcomer, but then casually continued to discuss something about the kingdom. It seemed as though they received noble guests very often.
Arthur clasped the shoulders of the young noble man in a friendly embrace.
?Why have you come, is your family doing well?? Arthur said as he pulled Everett over to the long wooden table and beckoned him to sit beside a chair that sat at the right side of the table, with the King's at the head.
?Yes, my family is doing quite well my Lord.? Everett smiled, his father had been right when he said that King Arthur was different from all other kings. Others would have treated visitors lower than themselves, they would have acted as though they ruled the world.
Whereas King Arthur treated everyone as a close friend.
?Good, good,? Arthur nodded happily, running his strong fingers through his blonde hair, ?So, why have you come??
Everett stopped for a moment, this was the moment Everett had been dreaming of since his youth, and it had finally come!
?I-I would like to become a knight of Camelot.?
?Well then, young Merguille, you shall have your wish. You shall begin your knight's training on the morrow. Any son of Jonathan Merguille, I will gladly welcome into Camelot's knighthood.? Arthur smiled and dismissed Everett, explaining that he had important matters to attend to, and with that Everett left the council chamber, feeling as though he was floating on air.
~~~~
?I look pathetic.? Everett said as he stared at himself in the full length mirror that stood in the knights armoury. His armour hung loosely on his lean figure. This was his first day of knight's training,
Arthur chuckled as he looked at Everett and swore that he would grow into the armour. But Everett didn't believe him.
Maybe this wasn't such a good idea, would he be able to catch up to the other knight's who had had years of training. Everett tried to shake these thoughts from his mind, though they seemed to stick to him like honey.
Mustering all the courage he had, Everett walked out of the exit to the armoury, and made his way over to the grassy, emerald green training grounds, where a group of knights stood awaiting their turn to train.
?Hello everyone.? Everett said kindly to his fellow knights as he took his place at the back of the line. Attracting a few sideways glances, Everett did his best to try and fit in, though he felt slightly out of place.
?Your place, is at the back of the line little man.? A gruff voice said behind Everett. Another knight had just arrived to the training, and was supposed to be at the back of the line behind Everett, but demanded that Everett move, so that he could have his spot.
?Well, I was here before you so I think that you should stand behind me.? Everett said politely as he turned and to see an extremely tall knight with black hair standing behind him, glaring at him as though Everett had greatly offended him. The man had a grisly white scar on his shoulder, probably from one of his past battles.
?What did you say?? The man growled angrily, as he took hold of Everett's chain mail and pulled the young knight-to-be closer to him, the mans fowl breath clouded Everett's face, causing Everett to have to hold back a gag.
?All was saying was that I was hear before you, you should be at the back of the line.? Everett said trying to get himself out of this situation, though making it worse.
The man hoisted Everett off of his feet, and threw him into a pile of mud at the back of the line, causing laughter to break out in the group of knights. Covered in thick mud, Everett spat out the grainy liquid and tried to brush as much of it off of his uniform as he could.
He knew that he didn't belong, he knew that the other knight's didn't respect him, he hadn't proved himself yet. Everett wiped his brow, sending mud drops flying in all directions, then standing
Everett took his place at the back of the line, though he knew to get the spot ahead, he would have to earn it.
?Merguille, Everett you are up for battle training.? A droll voice sounded, Everett walked confidently up to the space where he was to train and stood awaiting his opponent.
"Balinor, Grym you are up." The voice of the announcer said again, just as the tall man who had thrown Everett into the mud walked up to the training ground. Grym smiled evilly as he looked Everett up and down.
?Let battle commence!? The announcer yelled as he stepped out of the two men's way. Swords drawn the two men clashed in not-so-friendly combat. Metal cutting against metal, Everett realized he had the upper hand, he gratefully remembered his father spending weeks teaching him how to fight with a sword.
Everett skillfully dodged one of Grym's blows, and knocked him to the ground, mud drops and grass blades flying in all directions.
To the surprise of all watching, Everett helped Grym to his feet and addressed all who were watching,
?Sometimes when you feel you don't belong, you have to prove and make yourself believe that you do.? And with that Everett was excepted into the group of knights with respect and honor bestowed upon him, no more known as the youngest son of Jonathan Merguille.
But as Sir Everett Merguille Knight of Camelot, forevermore.
Author's note: Thank you to all who read this story! I am eternally grateful to you! If you please, tell me if I should continue this tale!!
I screwed up. I smuggled my way onto a planet I've never been on before. That, alone, should tell you that I'm in deep trouble. I'm only here because I ran away from home, thinking that boarding a ship to space was a good idea. Now I'm just a juvenile outsider, trying to survive in the dunes of Mars.
You may be asking why I ran away in the first place. I wanted freedom and to be myself. I wanted to not have to worry about our government and what they are hiding. I didn't mean literal freedom. But now that I think of it, I might actually like it here.
I make my way down the long corridors of the ship, hiding as I hear bodies shuffling in the halls close to my location. It took me thirty minutes to find where they keep their spacesuits, fitted for Mars' weather while stumbling into dead ends and doors that won't open.
I bumped into a woman that looked like she was in her mid-forties just as she's talking into a radio. I freeze in my place, freaking out, trying to figure out what to say. Just then my eyes dart to her name tag. Lucky for me, I happen to look way older than my actual age.
?Connie!? I say as the woman looks at me while sheer curiosity. ?Where do we keep our space suits? John never told me and now they're expecting me outside in five minutes.? I say this with a worried tone, knowing it would work. Of course, I already knew where they were at. This was just so that if someone does figure out I'm here illegally, I can tell them that I'm with Connie and she knows me.
?They are right in this room. Need help getting geared up?? I take a couple of seconds to think about this. If I say yes, I'll have a higher chance of getting caught. If I say no, she'll suspect me anyways.
?Um- yes please,? I say in my most charming voice. The woman directs me through a door in the back of the room. Through my times of breaking and entering many places I shouldn't have, I learned to always ask questions to make it seem like you're supposed to be there. ?Which camp are we heading to first?? I ask Connie. It's obvious that there are camps set up here, why wouldn't there be?
?Everyone was ordered to head to camp ?G' before splitting off to explore. We're supposed to look for any signs of life or civilization.? She says tiredly. So that's what this is, an exploration team. I keep note of that while she's pulling all sorts of wires and cloth over my body.
?Say, what's your name?? Connie asks me.
?Groover,? I say, not processing the alias I just said.
?Okay Groover, you're good to go. Make sure to pick up the listing sheet on the way out.? She explains to me. ?And make sure to report to John if you see anything. This day is very important and not reporting anything could be very crucial to the exploration.? I nod and walk off where the list is. I pick up a clipboard to attach to the list and put all of my new belongings into my bag.
Connie eyes my movements almost as if she suspects me already. This ship is huge and it's very crowded. It'll be hard for anyone to recognize me since there are so many people involved with the exploration. As I said, I know what I'm doing. Well maybe not since Connie is whispering to many people. I think I made out ?Watch out for that guy. He may not be on our team.? Great. Just great.
I'm heading out of the main corridor when I see a room filled with guns and food. If I want the freedom to be by myself, I have to go in that room right now and take what I can without making it too obvious that I'm stealing.
Opening the door was one thing, now finding the right ammo to go with the guns I picked was another thing. I may be good at sneaking around and doing all of the talking, but I'm no nerd with guns. I empty box after box until I find the one that has the correct names on it. I shove two of the smallest boxes into my bag as well as daggers and small knives. I'm taking the small things so that it doesn't look like I took much.
Just as I head to the room where they keep the food, my eyes dart directly to many swords that are mounted onto a wall. Why would they need swords when they have all of these guns? I asked myself. I step back into the room I came from and snatch one just in case. Soon enough, I'll be out of here and free.
As I make my way out of the halls with my stuffed bag, a girl bumps into me hard enough for the both of us to stumble back. Things like this don't usually irritate me the way they just did I guess it's partly my fault because I was speed walking to get out faster.
?Geez, dude! Watch where you're going.? I say while picking myself back up. This girl looks just about my age with honey-brown eyes. Her hair reaches right below her shoulders, and she's just a little bit taller than me. ?Wait a minute,? I say while staring into her soul. ?You're not supposed to be here either, are you?? I ask her. Just then she gasps and laughs.
?Are you admitting to a guard that you snuck in here?? She says wildly. I feel my cheeks get hot but only for a second. There's something about her that is acting.
?I swear if I get caught because of you.? She threatens me. She shoves past me in an angry tone.
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