But Sir Galahad's Dead

There was a table in the middle covered with all manner of things- scrolls of parchment, coloured bottles, a plate with the remnants of a meal on it, small boxes. Part of the floor was covered by a pentacle and other markings, the meaning of which I knew not and hope never to learn. One wall had a heath with a roaring fire in it. That was a good sign as it meant that someone would be at home. An icy blast followed me in so I immediately headed for the fire.

"Welcome, Sir Perceval. How nice for an old friend to visit me again!"

At the sound, I turned to see two women standing there- they had not been visible from the doorway. One looked as if she was just out of her teens, beautiful in a youngish sort of way. I paid no heed to her for it was the other, older and more mature, that drew my attention.

She was tall for a woman, but still shorter than I was. Her hair was long and black and fell down the back of her long woad dress, cut high to the neck, but leaving her arms bare. As for her body, well it was, shall we say, very developed but not voluptuous. You are shocked that a Knight has an eye for such detail? May I point out that we are not monks and have the same desires as lesser men.

After giving me a sardonic smile, the woman turned to the girl and said, "Please leave us, child. This gallant knight has come to visit me and no doubt has some very private business to discuss!"

At her words, the girl ascended the ladder to the second level. For my part, I sat down in a chair, neatly declining the offer to join the woman on the bench near the fire. She watched my action with amusement, crossed her legs then asked, "What can I do for you, sir gallant?"

I returned a stony stare. The last time that we had met is too shameful for me to even recall, let alone relate to another. The woman smiled at my embarrassment.

"Forgotten our tryst by the sea so soon? Shame on you, sir gallant!"

I did not reply to the charge. On my ride here I thought long and hard about what to say. Yet, now I was here every word had melted away. For a short while, we looked at one another just waiting for them to respond, Then, she closed her eyes and went into some kind of a trance. As she did so, she began to speak with a strange timbre to her voice.

"All the Knights of the Round Table are out searching for the Holy Grail. So far, only you have found the castle where it is housed. The only problem is that you also discovered that your sins are too great to receive the Grail and so had to leave empty-handed. You also learned that only one Knight can win it, a man who is dead. Still, you refuse to accept defeat and with no one else to turn to, you have come to your own true love for help. Right, sir gallant?"

"Not quite, witch, but close enough."

She opened her eyes and her voice returned to normal. "Fie, Sir Perceval! It does not become you to gainsay a lady whom you once seduced."

I nearly retorted that she was no lady even though she was of the House of Pendragon. Also, I would have run a mile had I known at the time that it had been her. However, I refrained. It would have been unknightly to have replied so.