by C. J. Busby
Sir Bertram brightened. “Well – that might do it. That might do it indeed.” He stood up, and bellowed at the top of his voice. “Olivia! Olivia for the Challenge!” and he waved happily at her and punched the air.
Olivia smiled nervously, and gestured at him to sit down, but there was no stopping him now, and soon Adolphus had joined in.
“Olivia! Olivia! Hurrah! Three cheers for Olivia!”
Their cries were lost in the general roar of the crowd as the squires stepped forward onto the castle green and were paired off according to their place so far in the rankings. Olivia and Mordred were closely matched at the top, and everyone knew that the overall winner would be one of those two. Everything depended on the single combat.
Sir Gareth held up his sword, and the crowd hushed.
“Ready?” he asked, and the squires all nodded. Mordred was looking grim, and Olivia was looking nervous but determined.
“Let the fight begin!” he shouted, and brought his sword slicing down through the air. There was a moment’s pause, and the squires stepped forward.
There was a great deal of hacking and parrying and dodging among the other squires – but Olivia’s fight ended almost before it had begun. Mordred stormed forward and threw all his weight behind a heavy blow at Olivia’s shield, which she neatly sidestepped, and the next thing he knew, his sword was several yards away and hers was at his throat.
“But – what?” he spluttered.
“Sorry. Looks like you’ve lost,” said Olivia airily. “Just not up to it, Mordred, that’s all. Need a bit more practice, I’d say.”
He went purple in the face with rage, but there was nothing he could do about it. Sir Gareth stepped forward and raised Olivia’s arm in the air.
“Our new champion,” he shouted loudly. “Lady Olivia Pendragon wins the Squires’ Challenge.”
***
The feast was as magnificent as any Camelot had ever seen, and Merlin’s display of magic and fireworks was breathtaking. Merlin himself had set it all off and then disappeared, but not before saying goodbye to Max and Olivia.
“I’m off for a well-earned rest,” he’d said, his eyes bright. “I promised the Lady I’d go and spend the winter on the island, now things are safe – but she agreed I could come back to teach you, Max, so I’ll be seeing you again soon.”
As the last of the amazing fireworks died away, Arthur announced that Guinevere had agreed to be his queen, and there was much cheering and congratulations. Sir Lancelot was admitted to the Round Table, in recognition both of his faithful service to Merlin, and his magnificent victory in the Knight’s Cup. And Gawaine made up for his disappointment in the single combat by winning The Knight Who Can Quaff the Most Ale in a Single Swallow. Sir Bertram was quite happy to grant him the honour, since he was now The Only Knight Whose Daughter is a Squire.
There was much more entertainment to come, from the winners of the bardic competition and the many visiting jesters, as well as endless puddings and pastries, but Max and Olivia sneaked off early. They headed out into the bright moonlight and went to lie on the grassy bank by the moat.
“So – you’re going to be a knight,” said Max, lazily chewing a piece of grass and watching the stars above them.
“Yes,” said Olivia happily. “But I knew I was going to be, even if I lost. That’s what Mum said, when she whispered in my ear. She said she could see I was never going to make a lady, and if I was going to insist on spending all day getting muddy and wielding a sword, I might as well learn how to do it properly.”
“Good old Mum!” said Max. “I knew she’d come round to it in the end.”
“What a summer, eh Max?” said Olivia, with a contented sigh. “We’ve got rid of Morgana, you’re going to be a wizard, and I’m going to be a knight. It’s hard to believe.”
“Well, don’t get too excited,” said Ferocious, poking his head out of Max’s tunic. “You’re not there yet. Couple of Max’s famous wonky spells, a bit of wild swordplay from Olivia, and a few bright ideas from Adolphus and we could all still end up at the bottom of the moat with a killer pike about to swallow us whole.”
“Quack! I’d save you! Quack!” came a voice, and Vortigern flapped down to join them.
“Oh good!” said Ferocious darkly. “That’s okay then. That’s set my mind completely at rest.”
Adolphus raised his head happily and blew a huge spout of flickering orange-yellow flame up into the sky. Bright orange sparks floated down around them and sizzled as they hit the grass.
“It’s going to be fun! All of us together! Adventures and magic and breathing fire!”
“And bread!” said Vortigern. “Don’t forget the bread!” And they all laughed.
About the author
C. J. Busby lived on boats until she was sixteen, and remembers one terrifying crossing of the English Channel in gale-force winds, when her family’s barge nearly overturned. She spent most of her childhood with her nose in a book, even when walking along the road. Luckily she survived to grow up, but she still carried on reading whenever she could. After studying science at university, she lived in a South Indian fishing village and did research for her PhD. She currently lives in Devon with her three children and borrows their books whenever they let her.
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A TEMPLAR BOOK
First published in the UK in 2013 by Templar Publishing,
an imprint of The Templar Company Limited,
Deepdene Lodge, Deepdene Avenue, Dorking, Surrey, RH5 4AT, UK
www.templarco.co.uk
This ebook edition first published in 2013 by Templar Publishing
All rights reserved
Copyright © 2013 by C. J. Busby
The right of C. J. Busby to be identified as author of this work has been asserted in accordance with Section 77 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988
www.frogspell.co.uk
Illustrations © 2013 by David Wyatt
This ebook is copyright material and must not be copied, reproduced, transferred, distributed, leased, licensed or publicly performed or used in any way except as specifically permitted in writing by the publishers, as allowed under the terms and conditions under which it was purchased or as strictly permitted by applicable copyright law. Any unauthorised distribution or use of this text may be a direct infringement of the author’s and publisher’s rights, and those responsible may be liable in law accordingly.
ISBN (ePub) 978–1–84877–953–2
ISBN (Mobi) 978–1–84877–954–9
