Christmas in Camelot (3 page)

The ceiling of the great hall towered high
above a stone floor. At the far end of the room, King Arthur and his knights were sitting around a huge, round table. They all wore brown tunics. They had shaggy hair and beards.
Their names were carved in gold letters on the backs of their chairs.

“The Knights of the Round Table!” whispered Jack.

Morgan was talking to King Arthur. Beside the king sat a woman in a plain gray robe. She had pale skin and brown, curly hair.

“Queen Guinevere,” whispered Annie.

Morgan left the king, and Jack and Annie moved quickly back into the shadows. A moment later, Morgan appeared.

“I told the king that two special friends of his have just arrived,” she said. “Come with me.”

As they walked with Morgan through the great hall, Jack shivered. The huge room was drafty and damp. There was no fire in the fireplace. The stone floor was so cold that Jack could feel the chill through his sneakers.

They stopped near the Round Table. King Arthur stared at them with his piercing gray eyes.

“Greetings from Frog Creek,” Annie said to the king and queen. Annie bowed, and Jack bowed, too.

The queen smiled. But King Arthur did not.

“Your Majesty, you remember Jack and Annie?” said Morgan. “You met them last summer in my library?”

“Indeed, I shall never forget them,” King Arthur said softly. “Greetings, Annie. Greetings, Jack. How do you come to be in Camelot on this bleak night?”

“We came in the magic tree house,” said Annie.

A shadow crossed the king's face. He looked at Morgan.

“No, Your Majesty. I did not use my magic to bring them here,” she said. “Perhaps a bit of magic still lingers in the tree house, and it traveled on its own.”

What's going on?
Jack wondered.
Why does King Arthur seem unhappy about the magic tree house?

King Arthur looked back at Jack and Annie.

“However you have come, you are welcome in my kingdom,” he said. He turned to the
queen. “Guinevere, these are the two friends who once gave me hope and courage in a time of need.”

Queen Guinevere smiled again. But there was a sad look in her eyes. “I have heard much about you,” she said.

“I've heard about you, too!” said Annie.

“Allow me to present my knights,” said King Arthur. “Sir Bors, Sir Kay, Sir Tristram … ”

As the king named each knight, Jack and Annie nodded shyly. The knights nodded at them in return. Jack waited to hear the name
Sir Lancelot,
the most famous of Camelot's knights. But the king never said it.

“And finally, Sir Bedivere and Sir Gawain,” King Arthur said.

The king then turned to three empty chairs at the table. “And there once sat three who are lost to us now,” he said.

Lost how?
wondered Jack.

“You may sit at their places and join our dinner,” King Arthur said.

“Thank you,” said Annie.

Following Morgan around the table, Jack read the names carved on the backs of the three empty chairs: S
IR
L
ANCELOT
, S
IR
G
ALAHAD
, S
IR
P
ERCIVAL
.

Jack took off his backpack and sat down in Sir Lancelot's place.

As he sat tall and straight in the heavy wooden chair, Jack looked at the king and his knights. They were gnawing meat off bones and slurping wine from heavy goblets. They ate without manners or delight.

Jack really wanted to take notes. He reached into his pack under the table and pulled out his notebook and pencil. But before he could write a word, a serving boy brought more food. Jack quickly put his things away. The boy set a greasy slab of beef on a soggy piece of bread in front of him. The food looked terrible.

“Not much of a Christmas feast, huh?” Annie said in a low voice.

Jack shook his head.

Annie leaned close to Morgan and whispered so King Arthur wouldn't hear. “What happened to the three lost knights?” she asked.

“After Mordred's Dark Wizard cast his spell, the king sought help from the magicians of Camelot,” Morgan said quietly. “They told him he must send his knights on a quest to the Otherworld, to recapture our kingdom's joy.”

“What's the Otherworld?” said Jack.

“It is an ancient, enchanted land beyond the edge of the Earth,” said Morgan. “The place where all magic first began.”

“Wow,” whispered Annie.

“The king chose his three bravest knights to journey there,” said Morgan. “When they did not come back, Arthur turned against his magicians. He blamed magic for all of Camelot's woes. Hence, he has banned magic of any kind from the kingdom forever.”

“But
you're
a magician,” whispered Annie. “Did the king turn against you, too?”

“Arthur and I have a long friendship,” said Morgan. “He has allowed me to stay in the castle as long as I promise not to practice the art of magic ever again.”

A feeling of dread crept over Jack. “So … does that mean the magic tree house is … ?”

Morgan nodded. “Yes. Banished from Camelot,” she said. “I'm afraid this will be your last journey. And the last time we see each other.” Her eyes filled with tears. She looked away.

“What? The last time we see each other?
Forever?
” said Annie.

Before Morgan could answer, the wooden doors swung open with a bang. A wind rushed through the great hall. The torches and candles flamed brighter, making the shadows leap wildly on the walls.

The sound of hoofbeats filled the room. A knight on a huge horse rode through the arched doorway.

The knight was dressed all in red—from his shining helmet to the long cloak on his back. His horse was dressed all in green—from the armor that covered his head to the cloth that hung from his saddle.

“Oh, wow!” breathed Annie. “A Christmas Knight!”

“I
have come to see Arthur the king!” the Christmas Knight said. His deep voice echoed from inside his helmet. His red armor gleamed in the firelight.

King Arthur stood up. He stared fiercely at the knight, but he spoke in a calm, steady voice. “
I
am Arthur the king,” he said. “Who are you?”

The knight did not answer Arthur's question. “So. You are the legendary King Arthur of Camelot,” he said in a mocking voice. “And these must be the famous Knights of the Round Table.”

“Yes,” said King Arthur, “and again, I ask: Who are
you
?”

The Christmas Knight still did not answer Arthur's question.

“The spell of the Dark Wizard has robbed Camelot of its joy,” said the Christmas Knight. “Has it robbed you and your men of your
courage
as well?”

“You dare to question our courage?” King Arthur said in a low, angry voice.

“CAMELOT IS DYING!” the Christmas Knight boomed. “Why has no one journeyed to the Otherworld to recapture its joy?”

“I have sent my best knights on such a quest,” said King Arthur. “They never returned.”

“THEN SEND MORE!” thundered the Christmas Knight.

“NO!” shouted King Arthur, pounding his fists on the table. “
Never again
will I feed good men to the magic and monsters of the Otherworld!”

Jack felt a chill of fear.
What monsters?

“Then you choose your fate,” said the Christmas Knight. “If you will send no one else to the Otherworld, all that your kingdom has gained through time—all beauty, music, wonder, and light, all that Camelot has ever been or could ever be—will be lost and forgotten forever.”

“No!” shouted Annie.

“Shh, Annie!” said Jack.

The Christmas Knight turned to the knights at the table. “WHO WILL GO?” he boomed.

“
We
will!” shouted Annie.

“We will?” said Jack.

“Yes! We'll go on the quest!” Annie yelled. She jumped up.

“No!” cried Morgan le Fay.

“Never!” said King Arthur.

“Annie!” said Jack. He leaped up from his chair and tried to grab her.

“YES!” thundered the Christmas Knight. He pointed his red-gloved hand at Annie and Jack. “The youngest of all—these two—they will go.”

“You are mocking us!” King Arthur shouted.

“THEY WILL GO!” boomed the knight. His words echoed throughout the hall.

Oh, no,
thought Jack.

“Yes!” said Annie. She pulled Jack toward the Christmas Knight.

King Arthur turned to his men. “Stop them!”

Several knights started to rush toward Jack
and Annie. The Christmas Knight raised his gloved hand high in the air.

In an instant, the room fell deathly quiet.

Everyone around the table was as still as a statue.

King Arthur looked like the statue of a furious king. Queen Guinevere looked like the statue of a worried queen. The Knights of the Round Table looked like statues of fierce knights.

And Morgan le Fay looked like the statue of a caring friend. Her mouth was open, as if she were calling out to Jack and Annie. But no sound came from her lips—no sound at all.

“M
organ?” said Annie.

Annie ran to the table. She touched Morgan's cheek, then quickly pulled back her hand.

“She's cold. She's as cold as ice!” said Annie. Tears filled her eyes.

Annie turned to the Christmas Knight in a fury. “What did you do to Morgan?” she asked. “Bring her back!”

“Do not fear,” said the Christmas Knight. His voice was softer and kinder. “She will come back to life after you complete your quest.”

“What—what exactly is our quest?” said Jack.

“You must journey to the Otherworld,” said the Christmas Knight. “There you will find a cauldron. The cauldron is filled with the Water of Memory and Imagination. You must bring a cup of the water back to Camelot. If you fail, Camelot will never come back to life.
Never.
”