Christmas in Camelot

by Mary Pope Osborne

  “Got it!” she whispered. “Now set me down. Slowly!”

  Annie held the cup with both hands. Jack slowly bent his knees and Annie climbed carefully off his back. They stared silently for a moment at the Water of Memory and Imagination in the cup. It was clear and shimmering.

  “Now we can save Morgan,” said Annie.

  Just then Jack smelled something strange—it was like the smell of rotten seaweed. He heard weird gurgling sounds behind them.

  He and Annie turned around.

  A giant, slimy, mud-colored creature crawled out through one of the doorways. The creature was long and scaly like a crocodile but much, MUCH bigger. It had wings that looked as if they’d been spun from a thousand spiderwebs. It had glowing red eyes and long, curled claws.

  The creature opened its huge jaws. Strands of drool dripped from its sharp, pointed teeth. The creature hissed and hot blue flame shot from its mouth.

  Another monster crawled through a different doorway, quickly followed by a third, and then a fourth.

  “Yikes!” said Annie.

  “The real Keepers of the Cauldron … ,” whispered Jack.

  The four real Keepers of the Cauldron crawled closer to Jack and Annie, hissing and snorting blue fire.

  “What do we do now?” whispered Annie.

  “I don’t know,” said Jack. “We’re trapped.”

  “I have an idea,” whispered Annie. “Let’s drink the water.”

  “What?” said Jack.

  “It’s the Water of Memory and Imagination, right?” said Annie. “So maybe if we drink it, we can imagine a way to escape!”

  “That’s crazy,” said Jack.

  The Keepers crawled closer, snorting more blue flame and filling the air with their rotten stench.

  “Okay, okay, let’s try it,” said Jack.

  Annie took a sip from the silver cup, then handed it to Jack. His hands trembled as he held the cup to his lips and took a sip. The water tasted sweet, bitter, and spicy, all at the same time.

  Jack gave the cup back to Annie.

  “Now imagine we’re saved!” she said.

  Jack closed his eyes. He tried to imagine being saved. He pictured the four Keepers crawling back through their doorways.

  “Okay. Ready to fight?” said Annie.

  Jack opened his eyes. “What? Fight?”

  Annie set the silver cup on the floor.

  “Now!” she said.

  Suddenly, Jack felt like he’d been hit by a bolt of lightning. His fears slipped away. He was filled with strength and fury.

  Without thinking, he lunged with Annie toward the wood fire under the cauldron. They each grabbed two long, straight branches from the edge of the fire. They raised them high in the air. The branches blazed with purple fire like flaming swords.

  “AAAHHH!” Jack and Annie shouted.

  The four Keepers hissed louder than before. Great balls of blue fire exploded from their mouths and nostrils!

  Jack and Annie slashed the air with their fiery weapons, jabbing at the Keepers. They fought fire with fire, blue flame with purple flame.

  “Back! Back!” they shouted.

  With each jab and shout, Jack felt stronger and braver. Waving their burning branches, he and Annie drove the Keepers toward the walls.

  The Keepers’ blue flames grew weaker and weaker, as if they were running out of fuel. Finally, one by one, each Keeper slunk back into the doorway from which it had come.

  When all the Keepers had disappeared, Jack and Annie placed a burning branch in front of each of the four doorways to keep the monsters from coming back out.

  Then they brushed off their hands.

  “Let’s go,” Annie said coolly.

  Jack nodded.

  Annie carefully picked up the silver cup of water from the cauldron. Then she and Jack squeezed through the narrow crack and strode through the bright crystal cave.

  They stepped out into the daylight.

  The glass key was still in the keyhole.

  Jack calmly locked the door behind them. He handed the key to Annie.

  Then Jack’s knees gave way, and he sank to the ground.

  “I don’t believe what just happened,” said Jack.

  “What part don’t you believe?” said Annie, holding the silver cup.

  Jack laughed and shook his head.

  “I don’t believe any of it,” he said.

  Annie laughed, too. “That was cool, huh?”

  Jack pushed his glasses into place and stared at her. “Seriously, what just happened in there?” he asked.

  “I imagined us fighting the Keepers with flaming swords,” said Annie. “What did you imagine?”

  Jack shrugged. “I—I just imagined the Keepers going back in their holes,” he said.

  “Good,” said Annie. “We both got what we imagined.”

  “Yeah,” said Jack, smiling. “But what you imagined made a much better story.”

  A shriek of fury came from inside the cave.

  “Yikes!” said Annie.

  “Let’s get out of here!” said Jack.

  He scrambled to his feet, and together they climbed back down over the big rocks to the thicket. Annie moved very carefully to keep from spilling the water in the cup.

  When they came to the thicket, Jack pulled out Sir Percival’s compass. “If we came west to get here, we have to go east to get back,” he said. “East is that way.… ”

  As they started into the wild growth, Jack went first so he could clear the way for Annie. Without talking, they pushed steadily through the trees and bushes, moving farther and farther from the Keepers’ cave.

  Finally, they heard music in the distance. They walked closer and closer toward the sound, until they stepped back into the green glade.

  The winged dancers were still there, dancing in their magic circle. Jack’s heart raced. He wanted to join them again. But he knew that if he did, he would never escape their dance.

  “Look!” said Annie. “The knights are awake!”

  Sir Lancelot, Sir Galahad, and Sir Percival were standing just beyond the circle of dancers. They were buckling on their swords.

  “Hi!” called Annie. “Guess what! We got it!”

  The knights walked shakily toward Jack and Annie. They still looked thin and tired, but color had returned to their cheeks.

  “We have the Water of Memory and Imagination,” said Annie. She held up the silver cup.

  The knights smiled.

  “Now we just have to get it back to Camelot,” said Jack.

  “We would like to help you,” said Sir Lancelot. “But it seems we have lost our three horses.”

  “No, you haven’t!” said Annie. “Your horses are waiting for you!”

  “They’re on the other side of the hill,” said Jack.

  Jack and Annie led the knights over the hill. On their way, Jack picked up the red velvet cloak. When they came to the meadow, they saw the three horses.

  The horses neighed and cantered over to the knights. As Sir Lancelot stroked the mane of the black horse, he turned to Jack and Annie.

  “You can both ride back to Camelot with me,” he said.

  “Thanks!” they said.

  Jack fastened the red cloak around his neck. Sir Lancelot helped them onto the back of his horse, then climbed on himself.

  Annie sat behind Lancelot. She held on to the knight with her right hand. She held the silver cup in her left hand.

  “Can you carry the water without spilling it?” Jack asked her, worried.

  “I’ll try,” she said.

  Sir Galahad mounted the brown horse, and Sir Percival climbed on the gray horse. Then the three knights started through the pale green meadow.

  “Careful, careful,” Jack whispered to Annie.

  “I got it, I got it,” she said.

  When they came to the iron gate, the knights drew their swords.

  “Open the gate! In the name of King Arthur of Camelot!” Sir Lancelot called. Though
he still sounded hoarse, the knight’s deep voice carried an amazing strength.

  The iron gate slowly swung open. Sir Lancelot urged his horse onward.

  The guards watched silently as the knights passed by them and started across the bridge.

  The three horses trod in single file over the wooden planks. Again, Jack was amazed by the difference between this world and the Otherworld. Here it was dark and freezing and foggy. The red cloak flapped in the bitter wind.

  As the horses stepped off the bridge, they each neighed loudly.

  “Oh, wow!” whispered Annie.

  Standing high on a rock, in a swirl of fog, was the white stag.

  The three knights gazed in wonder at the white stag.

  “Here, take this!” Annie said to Jack. She handed him the silver cup. Then she slipped off the back of Lancelot’s horse and ran to the stag.

  “Thanks for coming for us!” she cried, throwing her arms around his neck.

  The three knights looked at Jack.

  “That’s the white stag,” said Jack. “He brought us here.”

  “Are you wizards?” Sir Percival asked in a hushed voice.

  “No, just ordinary kids,” said Jack. “But I know he’s magic. We got here from Camelot in no time at all. I guess he’s come to take us back.”

  “Then you must go with him,” said Sir Lancelot. “You will have a much faster journey, I can assure you.”

  Sir Lancelot held the silver cup as Jack slipped down from the black horse. Then Jack took the cup and carefully climbed onto the back of the stag behind Annie. He held the cup with both hands as the stag stood up.

  “Tell King Arthur we will return to Camelot before the first night of the New Year,” said Sir Lancelot.

  “Farewell, Jack and Annie!” said Sir Galahad.

  “Godspeed!” said Sir Percival.

  “Same to you!” said Annie.

  “Have a safe trip!” said Jack.

  The knights solemnly bowed.

  The white stag blew out a puff of frosty air. Then he started down the mountainside.

  When the stag came to the base of the mountain, he took off again like a white comet. The red cloak billowed around Jack and Annie, keeping them warm and safe.

  The stag dashed across the wintry fields. He ran past quiet stables and thatched huts. He ran past flocks of sheep and herds of goats asleep in meadows. He leaped over frozen streams and stone walls and hedgerows.

  The stag ran on and on through the starry night, until he brought Jack and Annie back to the dark castle grounds of Camelot.

  He walked over the frozen grass of the outer courtyard. He came to a halt near the grove below the tree house. He knelt in the grass, and Jack and Annie climbed off his back.

  Miraculously, the silver cup still brimmed with water from the cauldron. Not a drop had spilled out.

  “We’d better leave the cloak here,” said Jack, “so I don’t trip on it.”

  Jack carefully set the cup on the ground. Annie helped him unbutton the red velvet cloak from around his neck. Then she draped it over the stag’s back.

  “To keep you warm and safe,” she whispered to him. “And thanks for everything.”

  “Yeah, thanks,” said Jack. “Good-bye.”

  The white stag stared at them with his mysterious amber eyes. He nodded once. Then he turned and headed into the darkness.

  Jack picked up the cup. “Come on!” he said. He started walking quickly through the outer courtyard.

  “Careful, careful!” said Annie.

  “I got it, I got it,” said Jack.

  They crossed the drawbridge to the inner courtyard of the castle. Then they pushed open the giant arched doors.

  The great hall was just as they had left it—dimly lit and freezing cold. King Arthur, Queen Guinevere, the Knights of the Round Table, and Morgan le Fay were all still frozen and silent.

  “What do we do now?” said Jack.

  “Let’s try putting a drop of water on each of them! Morgan first!” said Annie.

  “Okay,” said Jack. “Come on.”

  Holding his breath and keeping his eyes on the cup, Jack walked carefully toward the Round Table. Suddenly, his left foot stepped on the shoelace of his right sneaker—and he stumbled.

  “Jack!” yelled Annie.

  Jack tried to regain his balance, but it was too late! As he fell to the floor, the silver cup slipped from his hands.

  Jack and Annie watched in horror as the water from the cup splashed over the stone floor. It trickled into the cracks between the stones and disappeared.

  Jack scrambled to the cup. He picked it up. It was completely empty.

  “Oh, no,” Jack moaned. He sat back and put his head in his hands. Camelot will never wake up now, he thought. The legend will end forever.

  “Jack!” said Annie. “Look!”

  Jack raised his head. He pushed his glasses into place. A golden cloud was rising from the cracks between all the stones of the floor.

  The cloud spread quickly throughout the great hall, filling the room with wonderful smells—the scent of cedar smoke and evergreen, of roses and almonds.

  The cloud rose up and up, then wafted out through the upper windows of the hall. Suddenly, a white dove flew through one of the windows. It soared across the dark room like a bright light, then swooped back out into the night.

  Soft, gentle laughter came from the end of the hall. The laughter grew louder. Jack saw King Arthur and Queen Guinevere looking at one another—they were laughing! The Knights of the Round Table were laughing, too!

  Best of all, Jack saw Morgan le Fay smiling at him and Annie!

  “Jack! Annie! Come here!” she called. She held out her arms.

  “Morgan!” cried Annie. She ran to Morgan and threw her arms around the enchantress. Jack stood up. Still holding the empty cup, he ran to Morgan and hugged her, too.

  “We did what the Christmas Knight told us to do!” said Annie. “We brought back the Water of Memory and Imagination!”

  “But I dropped the cup,” said Jack, “and spilled all the water!”

  “But the water made a gold cloud,” said Annie. “And everyone came back to life!”

  Morgan laughed with amazement.

  “You have just returned from the Otherworld?” she asked.

  “Yes!” said Annie.

  “A white stag brought us back!” said Jack. He turned to King Arthur.

  “Your Majesty,” he said, “we have good news. Your knights are safe. Sir Lancelot said to tell you they’ll be home before the first night of the New Year.”

  The king looked bewildered. “You found them—?”

  “Yes, and they’re all fine,” said Annie.

  “Here—” said Jack. He handed the silver cup to the king. “Please give this back to Sir Galahad.”

  “And this to Sir Lancelot,” said Annie. She took the glass key from around her neck and gave it to King Arthur.

  “Oh, and this to Sir Percival,” said Jack. He pulled the wooden compass box from his pack and gave it to the king.

  At first, King Arthur was too stunned to speak. Then he clapped his hands and laughed joyfully.

  “Thank you!” he said to Jack and Annie.

  The Knights of the Round Table all cheered.

  “Ring the bells!” King Arthur shouted. “Call the people of Camelot to the castle!”

  “They have already gathered outside the doors, Your Majesty,” said a page.

  “Bring them in!” said King Arthur. “We must rejoice together!”

  Queen Guinevere smiled at Jack and Annie. Her eyes sparkled now. “Once again, you have helped save Camelot,” she said. “Thank you very much.”

  “You’re welcome,” said Jack and Annie together.

  Then Jack heard the sounds of children talking and laughing. He turned to see a crowd of people streaming through the arched doorway of the great hall. They carried candles, a giant fir tree, and boughs of holly and pine. Musicians followed them with strin
ged instruments.

  As everyone started to decorate the hall, the musicians began playing and singing a beautiful Christmas carol.

  “Jack!” said Annie. “Look!”

  The white stag was standing in the arched doorway.

  Jack turned excitedly to Morgan. “See that white stag?” he said. “He took us to the Otherworld! See him?”

  Morgan smiled.

  “Yes, I do see him,” she said. “And now I see everything.”

  Jack looked back at the doorway. The stag was gone. In his place stood an old man with a long white beard. He held a staff and wore a flowing red cloak—the same cloak Jack and Annie had worn on their quest.

  “Who’s that?” Jack asked.

  “That is Merlin the magician,” said Morgan. “It was Merlin who invited you here. I see that now.”

  “Merlin?” said Jack. “He sent us the Royal Invitation?”

  “Yes,” said Morgan. “Then he put the rest of us under a spell. And he carried you to the Otherworld.”

  “No,” said Annie, “the Christmas Knight put you under a spell.”

  “And the white stag carried us to the Otherworld,” said Jack.

  Morgan smiled.

  “Merlin was both the Christmas Knight and the white stag,” she said. “Remember, he’s a magician, not a mortal. He can change his shape whenever he wishes.”

  “Oh, wow,” whispered Annie.

  “Why did Merlin do these things?” asked Jack.

  “Merlin was angry when King Arthur banished magic from Camelot,” said Morgan. “I see now he finally took matters into his own hands.”

  “How?” said Jack.

  “He knew King Arthur would send no more knights to the Otherworld for the Water of Memory and Imagination,” said Morgan. “So I assume he brought you to Camelot hoping that you would offer to go instead.”

  “Why did he want us to go?” asked Annie.

  “Merlin has often heard my tales of your adventures in the tree house,” said Morgan. “He knows you both have a great desire to fight for the good. And he knows you use the gift of imagination very well. Those are two special qualities needed to succeed in any quest.”

  Jack and Annie looked back at Merlin. From far across the room, the white-bearded magician smiled at them. He raised his staff. Then he slipped out the door.