Brave Knights and Stubborn Princesses 2

Brave Knights and Stubborn Princesses

 Section 2 of 5

April 2007 (age 12)

By Kimberly

           When he arrive at the great estate of North Mansion, Sir William went straight to his father and told him what he had arranged to do.

            “Why, my son, do you really mean it? Going to fight the dragon, rescue the princess, and then marry her? No! You must be joking! Remember last week…”

            “Yes, but I…”

            “Yes, yes. You said, and I quote, ‘I will never in all my years marry a woman,” the jolly father paused for a second, “Yes, I will never marry a woman with so many pets as Princess Alexandria Augustine!’ Ho, ho, ho!” He roared in deep rich laughter.

            “I know what I said father, but that was with friends. Besides I had not fully understood the dilemma of the queen. You see, she asked me personally to save the princess and marry her. That alone has made me change my mind considerably. Not only that she offered me a reward.” William pulled out the 40 gold coins.

            “So money has caused you to change your mind? No, you think deeper than that.”

            “You are right, father. The offered money had little to do with it. I have been considering the Princess’s virtues. Indeed, she has many! Consider for one, the gentleness and love necessary to keep and adore so many animals. She is not a weak, trembling girl either. She is strong and brave. She enjoys riding and so do I. She loves the forests and mountains. She is beautiful, kind, and courageous. All these things have I considered. Truly father, I think that I could not find a better person to marry than the Princess Alexandria, despite all her pets.”

            “Well, I am relieved to hear that your reasons are better than wealth and power. But my son, you shall fight a dragon! Is that not reason to consider all the more carefully before acting so hastily? You might be killed!”

            “No, father! I see that you have never seen the old beast. He is as lazy as your horse and would hardly scare a mouse. As for haste, I fear that some of the other young men may come to the realization that saving the princess is actually an amazing opportunity as suddenly as I have. I was concerned about the numerous animals, but I see now that that is not nearly as great a problem as I had imagined. With the wealth of the kingdom we shall certainly be able to think of some way to deal with that. The fate of the kingdom lies in who saves the princess.  With the blessing of the Queen, and hopefully you, I intent to save her.”

            “William, you have my blessing. I am proud to have you as my son. You are brave, wise, strong, and considerate. Go fight the dragon! Go save the princess! This is all a father could hope for!” Lifting his glass of wine and handing William another, they drank to the occasion. Lord Sebastian then embraced his son and they parted.

            The sound of a hammer on metal jarred the air as Sir William hurried to the small smithy on their property.

            “Good morning!” he called to the black smith, “What are you making?”

            The black smith looked up and smiled.

            “Good morning, sir. I am making a horseshoe.”

            “Oh? For which horse?”

            “Your Prince, sir.”

            “Oh dear. When will he be ready to ride?” William asked eager to get started on his mission.

            “Perhaps after lunch, sir. Half past noon would be the earliest.”

            “That would be marvelous! I’ll be here.”

            Sir William walked directly to the stable. After making sure the stable boy would take care of his horse properly, he hurried to the Armor Hall. He was becoming excited and eagerly began selecting his weapons.

            If you ever saw the Armor Hall you would probably be overwhelmed with awe. It looked incredibly impressive due to its length and the quantity of armor and weapons. On one side of the hall suits of armor were lined up, looking like a long row of knights. On the other side were swords, lances, spears, daggers, bows, quivers full of arrows, shields, and crossbows. The overall effect was one of strength, bravery, and might.

            Sir William carefully chose a sharp, beautiful sword, a medium sized shield, a lance, and his usual suit of armor. Once he had properly prepared himself, Sir William arrived at the long dining hall where his father and the other members of their castle were eating lunch.

            “I have decided to save the princess from the old castle with dragon.” Sir William announced. “I shall bring her back to the Queen and there we shall be married!”  The group cheered and gave him a round of applause. With a clink of armor, he sat down and they all ate. During the feast, his father gave a toast in his honor and when he was ready to leave they all cheered and wished him well.