Tales of the Once and Future King

by Anthony Marchetta

  The guard looked suspicious until another bent toward him, whispering in his ear. They both looked back at the group. “Are you the King’s Men?”

  Maddie didn’t understand what he meant, but Fox smiled. “Of course. We travel the length and breadth of the island to perform our shows. In return, we only ask for food, water, and basic supplies.” She realized it must be the name of Fox’s theatre troupe.

  The guards conversed in private again briefly while Maddie fidgeted nervously.

  “You may enter. We will direct you towards a performance space. When the show is finished you will have one hour to prepare your supplies before leaving the town.”

  “Thank you, friends! I hope you all enjoy the performance.”

  Naturally a wagon full of actors marching into the town square attracted attention, and a crowd was quickly gathering around them.

  Bennett looked at Maddie. “We’ll stall them for as long as we can,” he said softly, “Both of you, go. Be quick.”

  “We weren’t planning on taking our time,” Lance answered, “Come on Maddie, let’s go.”

  He tugged Maddie away, and she followed, with one last look at Fox. Next to him, Bennett mouthed “Good luck”. Oddly, despite not being near the physical danger, Bennett looked just as nervous as she did. It briefly occurred to Maddie that Bennett wasn’t very comfortable acting, but she didn’t have time to think about it before entering the town.

  With the crowd gathered around them, Fox spread his arms out wide.

  “Good morning, all of you! Thank for being our audience as we perform the greatest stories of our lifetime!”

  CHAPTER 25

  Stone in the Sword, by B. Morris Allen

  Deep in the woods, where the trees broke into a clearing, a man and a badger sat having a picnic. The man sat with his back to a small, weathered boulder, smooth but for a narrow and strangely regular crevice in its top. He was middle-aged, but his eyes held a dark wisdom. His face was lined and weathered, as if it had seen centuries of use. The badger’s gray head was striped with white, even at the tips of his ears.

  “I’m thinking of starting something up again,” the man said at last, leaning back to let the sun warm his face.

  The badger looked up from his book. “Didn’t work out so well last time.” His tone was matter of fact.

  The man winced, but said only, “Could have been worse.”

  The badger shrugged and looked back at his book.

  The man had hoped for more enthusiasm, and let the suspense (as he saw it) build.

  At last, the badger, turning a page, realized more was desired. “So, what’s your idea?”

  “The Tree in the Stone. “

  “Sword in the Stone. You’ve done that.”

  “No, no swords. They’ve moved past violence now. This time it’s all about peace and growth.”

  “So, the Tree in the Stone?”

  “Yes.”

  “Symbolizing peace and growth.”

  “Exactly.”

  “How would it work, exactly?” The badger fidgeted with a page, but he was interested.

  “Well, just like the Sword in the Stone, but with a tree.”

  “Shoved into a stone.”

  “Yes. Could be this one again.” The man patted the boulder behind him.

  “How would the tree live?” asked the badger, who knew more than a little about forest lore.

  “Well, you know, rain, a little bit of dirt for the roots.”

  “So, it would be more like the Tree in the Stone Pot.”

  “No, no, no! Just a little crack in the stone, with some dirt.” The man gestured vaguely at the grass around them, and by extension at the rich soil underneath.

  “The tree will grow, you know. They do that.”

  “We’ll start small.”

  “The Seedling in the Stone.”

  “It could be a small stone.”

  “So eventually we’d have the Large Pebble in the Roots.” The badger shook his head and fluttered his book meaningfully.

  “It could be a slow-growing tree.” The man sensed he was losing his audience.

  “The Bonsai in the Stone.”

  “If you like.”

  “Bonsai has oriental roots.”

  “Whatever, then.”

  “Happens all the time, you know. A seed lands in a crevice, starts to grow. There’s probably one in this stone now. How will our hero recognize this one from among all the others?”

  “Good point.” The man pondered. “It would have to be a unique tree.”

  “Our hero is a botanist? I mean, he might realize it’s new to him, but even I wouldn’t know a tree was unique.”

  “It would be one everyone could recognize, obviously. Gold leaves or something.” The man’s eyes glittered a little as his voice grew peevish. “The Sword in the Stone wasn’t hidden,” he added defensively.

  “True.” The badger gave up on his book, though there were only two pages to the end of the chapter. “Okay,” he said, settling in to the discussion, “so we have the Slow-Growing Unique Bonsai in the Smallish Stone. Then our hero comes along, says ‘aha!’, and... pulls it out?”

  There was a long pause. “I see your point,” the man admitted. “Not very peace and growth oriented.”

  “Maybe we’re going at this the wrong way,” the badger offered, focused now. “What if we reversed the idea?”

  The man got it right away. “The Stone in the Tree?”

  “Exactly.”

  “I like it. We put a special stone - maybe a gem - in the tree, and the hero pulls that out.”

  “And does what with it?” the badger wondered.

  There was silence. Then the man brightened. “I’ve got it!” he cried. “He puts it in the pommel of a sword. The Stone in the Sword! You see?”

  “Yes, very clever.” The badger shook his head. “But there’s the whole violence thing again.”

  “Ah, but it’s a special stone—a stone of peace.”

  “Aha.” The badger was nodding now. “It prevents war. I get it. Nice symmetry there.”

  “Thank you.” The man beamed, his face breaking into the wrinkles of an older man.

  “He’ll have to keep the sword safe though, or it’ll get stolen, humans being as they are.”

  “I suppose so,” admitted the man, frowning. He leaned back against the boulder to think.

  “Somewhere safe, where no one could just take it. Some place impossible to steal from.”

  “Yes,” the man agreed. He shifted a bit to place the comforting solidity of the boulder more evenly between his shoulder blades. A moment later, a slow smile spread across his face, and he leaned forward. “Don’t worry,” he told the badger. “I know just the place.”

  “What’s that?” asked the badger, turning back to his book, now that the whole bonsai sword thing seemed to have been resolved.

  “There’s this stone,” the man said, looking back at the boulder behind him, “where a sword would go nicely.”

  CHAPTER 26

  Maddie would have never admitted it, but Lance holding her hand did calm her somewhat. Finding the prison, the easiest part of the entire plan, was done without much difficulty; it was a rather large building, and not hidden. Lance turned and looked at her.

  “You ready?”

  Maddie took a deep breath. “Do I look ready?”

  Lance looked her over for a moment. “Pull your neckline down a little lower.”

  “Lance.”

  “You asked for my opinion, I’m giving it to you.”

  Maddie glared at him, but did what he said. “Okay. Let’s go.”

  They saw the guard at his post and Lance walked toward him, Maddie in tow. Like all the men in the town he was extremely pale skinned. He wasn’t short but wasn’t overly tall either, and seemed in reasonably good shape. His face sported a small, thin mustache that along with his somewhat pompous attire made him look vaguely comical.

  “Nice place,” Lance announced, �
�just a really nice place, isn’t it dear?”

  Maddie nodded. She saw the guard out of the corner of her eye, looking at Lance before staring straight ahead again.

  “This is the nicest town we’ve performed in for, I’d say, six months at least,” Lance continued. He looked at the guard. “Hey you, Sir, are you going to watch the performances?”

  The guard looked annoyed, and before he could reply, Maddie cut in.

  “Darling, he’s obviously doing something important.” She patted his arm gently. Maddie looked at the guard. “He always gets so excited when we’re somewhere new; he never stops talking. I hope we’re aren’t bothering you too much.”

  Maddie punctuated the statement with a subtle bite of her lip, looking the guard up and down. He responded in kind, eyes lingering on Maddie’s dress.

  “... So you mentioned ‘performing,’” he said, eyeing Lance suspiciously, “if you’re with them why are you here?”

  “We weren’t needed for today’s shows,” Lance said blithely, “So I thought my wife and I could look around. You know, we’ve already seen all these plays so many times.”

  Maddie smiled coquettishly. “And I am definitely enjoying what I’ve seen of the town so far.”

  The guard was still staring at Maddie, and she made a point to ignore Lance in favor of him. If not for her hand on his arm, it was like she’d forgotten he existed.

  “Well,” the guard said, “there’s definitely a lot to enjoy. If I could show you, I would.”

  “That’s very kind of you to say,” Maddie answered, “some of the places we’ve seen so far, though... Lance,” Maddie looked at him, “do you feel like we’ve been here before?”

  She gave Lance a pointed look, and he thankfully got the hint. “Yes! Actually. Eight months ago, maybe? It looks a lot different since then, though, doesn’t it?” He looked at the guard. “Did you do something new with the place?”

  Maddie had to give Lance credit; he was good at playing the role of the idiot, which was a genuine surprise. He was a lot of things, but Maddie would have never called him dumb. The guard was staring at him like he had grown an extra head.

  “... We took it over from the people that lived here. Ran them out.”

  “Oh, of course, I thought I heard about that! Run by a guy named Bradley, wasn’t it?”

  “Brand,” Maddie and the guard corrected at the same time, and Maddie looked at him with a smirk. The guard shifted his weight, hand inching away from the gun at his waist.

  “It must have been really dangerous, fighting them,” Maddie added, “you look like you must have been right in the middle of it.”

  The guard raised his shoulders a little, standing up a little straighter. “As a matter of fact, I was.”

  “Heard they all got away though, didn’t they?”

  “Oh, I’m sure he didn’t let them,” Maddie said, raising an eyebrow and taking a small step forward.

  “No I did not. There are a few,” he rapped his knuckles against the wall of the prison, “in here. I personally caught Lady Isabella.”

  “You have her held in there?” Maddie asked, gasping a little for effect.

  The guard grinned at her. “And if anyone tries to come back for her, we’ll be ready.”

  “I’m sure you will,” Maddie answered. She looked at Lance. “Um, dear, could you maybe... go back to the wagon and grab my bag? I left it in there.”

  Of course, Lance wasn’t going that far.

  “You’ll be all right?”

  “Don’t worry sir, I’ll keep an eye on her for you while you’re gone,” the guard interrupted.

  “I definitely won’t be going anywhere,” Maddie added, looking at him.

  “Well... okay. Give me a couple of minutes.”

  He disappeared around the corner. The guard raised an eyebrow at Maddie and she smiled back again, hoping she wasn’t betraying her nerves.

  “I don’t think I’ve properly introduced myself,” she said, walking toward him and holding out her hand, “Maddie.”

  The guard kissed her hand. Maddie blinked. “Cesar.”

  He didn’t let go. Maddie didn’t make a move to pull away, even as her skin was crawling.

  “Thank you for putting up with my husband,” she said, “he means well but he can be... well, he’s an acquired taste.”

  “You did us both a favor getting rid of him, then,” he answered, pulling Maddie a little closer. “You know, I could show you around. Private tour without his constant chattering.”

  Maddie swallowed. “Oh. Well, how could I say no to that?”

  He tried to lead Maddie away, but she pulled back a little. “Wait.”

  He frowned. Maddie added hastily, “As exciting as that would be, I don’t want you to get in trouble for leaving your post,” she looked back at the prison, “I mean you are guarding Lady Isabella. I can’t even imagine how important that is...”

  Cesar laughed. He leaned in closer. “You want to know something? She’s not even in there.”

  Maddie’s stomach flipped. “You mean she’s not…?”

  “Alive? No, she is. Quiet little thing too, just sits in the corner and sulks. Was my idea,” he continued proudly, “to move her. We knew if they came back for her they’d check the prison, so we kept her,” he pointed into the distance, “in the old watchtower. The truth is, she’s the only person left from before we showed up. Everyone else is dead.”

  He sounded quite confident about this. Maddie was pretty sure he was faking it (after all, if he really thought everyone was dead, who would he be hiding Isabella from?), but she let him.

  Cesar continued. “Anyone comes looking for her, they’re literally marching themselves into prison.”

  Maddie followed where he was looking. It was a stone tower, about fifty feet tall with barred windows.

  “That’s really clever, Cesar,” Maddie said, imagining the next step of their plan. Cesar mistook the look of dread for awe.

  “It is. You know,” he tapped the side of his head, “I’m always thinking one step ahead. Nothing gets past me.”

  Maddie tightened her grip on his hand. “Oh, I can definitely believe that.”

  “Come on. A few moments away from my post won’t hurt. I can show you a good time. Get you a chance to catch your breath away from all these people?”

  Maddie nodded and Cesar grinned, pulling Maddie away again. This time she let him. They stopped by the back of the building, and Maddie found her back was against a wooden door. His voice was low and husky.

  “I wasn’t imagining those looks you were giving me before, was I?”

  No, unfortunately, he was not. Maddie nodded.

  “Come with me. This door leads to the private guard’s station.”

  For a moment Maddie was elated; she actually did it. He got him to lead her somewhere, alone, and after he told her where Isabella was—

  And then she saw Cesar was grabbing keys from his belt.

  And Maddie realized that the door would be locked.

  Which would make it pretty difficult for Lance to swoop in for a rescue. Cesar moved closer, unlocking the door, not taking his eyes off Maddie; she ducked under his arm, away from the door. Cesar grabbed her and started to pull her by the hand.

  Where was Lance?

  “Shy? You shouldn’t be. Your husband never has to know—”

  “Uh—well—shouldn’t we go somewhere more private? What if another guard comes in?”

  Maddie tried to surreptitiously look to her side for Lance. He had to have been listening. He couldn’t have gone that far, could he?

  “Another guard isn’t going to come in. Trust me, there isn’t anywhere more private than this.” He tugged her again.

  With Lance still missing, Maddie had run out of options. So she did the only thing she could think to do: she grabbed Cesar and crashed their lips together.

  Cesar responded enthusiastically, mistaking Maddie’s desperation for passion. Maddie spun him around, praying that Lan
ce would show up. When Cesar tried to back her into the room, Maddie fumbled until she grabbed the door handle and pulled it closed so she was pressed against the door.

  Maddie was so focused on him that she didn’t even realize what was happening until Lance had him crumpling to the ground with a clap to the temples. Lance and Maddie locked eyes.

  “Idiot,” Maddie said, looking at Cesar.

  Lance bent down, searching his belt.

  “Maddie, you okay?” He asked, tossing the keys in the air and catching them. Maddie let out a breath.

  “Yes. Thanks.”

  “No problem. What’d he tell you?”

  “Watchtower,” she pointed toward it, “over there. That’s where they’re keeping her.”

  “We need to hurry,” Lance said, “Fox is already starting the second show and they only planned for four.”

  “Right, let’s move.”

  She started walking, and Lance put a hand on her shoulder. “Hey, Maddie,” he said, “Good work.”

  Maddie smiled at him. She felt strangely elated now that she managed to pull it off. “You too. You have no idea how good it was to see you knock out that guard.”

  “Well, don’t be too impressed yet. This isn’t the last guard I’m going to need to take care of. Can you give me a hand?”

  He started to pull off the guard’s shirt. “Lance, what are you doing?”

  “Disguise.” Lance started to switch his clothes with the guard’s.

  “Don’t change out here, use the room.” Maddie opened the door. “Here.”

  Lance changed. He walked out. “How do I look?”

  “Like a guard.”

  Lance grinned. “Perfect. Just one more thing…” He grabbed Cesar’s belt, taking his gun. He ran a hand along the barrel.

  “Nice gun.”

  He started to walk away. “Lance, wait. Help me carry him.”

  “To where—”

  Lance saw that Maddie was trying to pull Cesar into the room. She tossed his keys at Lance, who smiled when he realized what she was doing.

  “That is a great idea,” he said, helping her drag him into the guard’s room.

  “Oh my God, did you kill him? I don’t think he’s breathing!”