The Victorian Fairy Tale Book (Pantheon Fairy Tale & Folklore Library) (49 page)

“What say you?” said the Princess; “bad news, and with such an army as ye had? has some fresh rebellion broken out among the men?”

“No rebellion, but plain fighting has beaten us—but what can we do against such foes? This Merrymineral, alone, rides on a green dragon, and with one stroke of his sword he kills a hundred men. Myself I charged him with my lance, but as it struck his shield it broke in pieces as if it had been made of glass; and it was fortunate for me that my horse carried me past him before he could strike me, for I saw him myself cut the Knight of Pendred in half, as you would cut a radish. And if we slay a thousand men during the day he restores them in the night. So we have gradually been driven back, till after three days’ fighting the army remains at Arecarp. Thence I started at eight this morning to hurry the reinforcements from Britain and Gaul.”

“Alas! they are still at three days’ march from here, though they are marching night and day. But thou saidst the army was at Arecarp, and that thou didst start to-day at eight in the morning. That is impossible. Arecarp is twenty-four hours’ journey for a fast horse, and it is now but twelve o’clock. Not even the horse that I ride could go faster than that, though he is said to be the fastest horse in the world, except Selim, the horse of the Prince of India. However, no time is to be lost. Sir Knight, will you escort these ladies back to the town, and rest for a while?”

“But what will you do, your Majesty?”

“I must ride forward to Arecarp.”

“To Arecarp! Your Majesty, what will you do there? The battlefield is no place for a girl.”

“Nevertheless I must go, for my place is with the army.”

“But if you are killed, what will happen to your people without their Queen?”

“What do they do now without their Queen? Besides once before the cherished Owl has defeated this man and he may do it again. If he does not, no power on earth could save me from death, for the army is gradually defeated.”

“But your Majesty could send the Owl in a cage against the enemy.”

“I promised my father never to go out of its sight—no, I must go.”

“I beseech you then, your Majesty, to allow me to accompany you, for the road to the camp is full of danger.”

“But your horse is tired, and even if he were not he could never keep up with me.”

“But if you will excuse the contradiction, I think I shall.”

“Well then, have your way, but mark me, if you lag behind I shall not stop. However, we are losing time. Let us go.”

And they set off—the Princess ignoring the entreaties of the ladies that she should not go.

The Princess immediately started at the full speed of her horse, expecting that the knight would soon fall behind; but no, he galloped at her side as if the speed were not more than usual, and his great black charger seemed to enjoy the exercise as though he had not already galloped over a hundred miles that morning.

The Princess could not understand how it was, but she thought he would soon get tired and fall behind, but an hour passed and he showed no signs of being fatigued. So she leant over her horse and whispered softly in his ear. Instantly the horse bounded forward more swiftly than ever—so fast, indeed, that she could hardly keep her eyes open against the wind, and her golden crown was suddenly whisked away, and her beautiful golden hair streamed far out behind. Still the knight kept up, and seemed not the least distressed at the speed. The Owl meanwhile was flying far overhead, but she was not at all surprised at his keeping up, for nothing seemed impossible to him. After they had been riding thus for nearly two hours they came to a place where the path was crossed by a river, and here the Princess thought it advisable to stop and rest a moment and to let the horses drink. So she called to the knight to stop, as she was going to get off for a moment, and he at once sprang off his horse, and coming to her saddle-bow held her stirrup for her to dismount. When she was off she leaned against a tree looking at the horses as they drank eagerly from the river, and then came out to browse for a moment on the bank. Then she went to where the knight’s horse stood, and patted him on the neck, for you see he was not a very fierce-looking animal, and she was not at all afraid of him.

“He’s a wonderfully swift horse, Sir Knight,” she said suddenly, “and I
believe there is no other horse in the world as swift—not even Selim—the horse I spoke about—that belongs to the Prince of India.”

The knight nodded.

“He is a good horse, but he is no better than Selim, your Majesty, for I know Selim very well.”

All this while he had kept his vizor down, and the Princess had been too polite to ask him to raise it, even though it was rather rude of him to keep it down. So she could not tell who he was. She knew all the knights of her own kingdom by sight, as well as most of her allies, for you must know that a great many foreign princes had sent her troops to assist her against the rebel. She looked at the device on his shield; it was a crowned tiger, but that did not help her, for she did not know whose crest it was. So at last when she could bear her curiosity no longer, she determined to ask him. So she said:

“Sir Knight, should you think me very rude if I were to ask you whether you are under a vow of hiding your face?”

“I am bound by no such vow; but why do you ask, your Majesty?”

“Because ever since I have seen you you have kept your vizor down, and I thought perhaps it was on account of some such vow.”

“Oh, I beg your pardon, a thousand times, your Majesty,” said the knight. “But I did not remember that I had let it down, for you see I look through its bars without noticing the difference. But I hope your Majesty will pardon the absent-mindedness,” and he raised the vizor, at the same time bowing low to her. But it was now the Princess’s turn to be confused, for she saw before her Sir Alured, the Emperor of India, a prince nearly as powerful as herself. She blushed with shame and then said:

“Oh, Sir Knight, I mean your Royal Highness, it is I who should crave your pardon, for all the while I have addressed you as ‘Sir Knight,’ instead of as ‘your Majesty.’ But I am very sorry.”

But Sir Alured said:

“Nay, your Majesty, you have the right to call me what you will, for I am always your humble vassal.”

“My ally, you should say, your Majesty.”

“I am always your servant, not your ally, your Majesty.”

“Then I fear you will soon be a vassal of a queen without a kingdom; and if this Merrymineral prevail over me, I fear he will punish you for aiding me.”

But the Prince said:

“All is not yet lost, your Majesty, and whatever happens your Majesty will always have a protector while I am alive.”

The Princess smiled.

“Ah! you mean the cherished Owl. You will always protect me, won’t you, Owl?” she said, looking up at the Owl who was seated again on her shoulder. And the Owl nodded his head.

She looked at her watch just them. “Why,” she said, “we have been just ten minutes, and it is time to start again, if you are rested sufficiently.”

So he helped her to mount, and they crossed the river. It was not very deep, but still she got the skirts of her dress quite wet, for the water was high enough for that.

However, the gallop in the hot sun on the other side soon dried them.

In an hour and a half they were on the top of a hill from which they could see the town of Arecarp in the valley beneath.

The sun was shining brightly on the tents of the army as it lay round the town, and at some distance the camp of the enemy looked peaceful.

The Prince gazed carefully at the armies. After a moment he said:

“There has been no fighting since I left the city this morning, nor has the position altered at all. I fancy Merrymineral has sent ambassadors to demand surrender from Lord Licec.”

The Princess smiled.

“He will never surrender,” she said.

“Nor will any of us, your Majesty,” added the Prince. “However, let us descend the hill.”

Down the hill the road lay through a deep gorge, so deep that the sun did not penetrate it, and it lay in delicious shade. The sides of the valley were lined with silver-barked birch, below which grew nodding foxgloves, and as they went slowly down the steep path, ever and anon a rabbit would scuttle out of the grassy track to a safe distance in front of them, where it sat on its haunches with its little ears pricked up, smelling at them anxiously as they came near again, and then it would scutter along into the thick rank grass to its home.

So they went slowly down the path until they came once more to the level ground, and they were again able to gallop on. Soon they reached the town, and clattered through the cobbled streets to the market-place, where Lord Licec had his headquarters. But the market-place was crowded with soldiers and knights who were bargaining for food, so that it was by no means easy to get through the crowd. However, as soon as they got near the place, the soldiers recognized the Princess and began to cheer, and immediately an avenue was formed up to the door of the council-house, and the Princess rode smiling through the throng, followed by the Prince.

The news of her arrival ran through the whole camp, and immediately
such a shout went up from the men that the enemy thought they were preparing for battle, and they made ready to resist the attack. At the door of the council-hall Lord Licec was waiting with the rest of the captains of renown, and they followed the Princess upstairs to the council-chamber.

As soon as they were seated the Princess asked for the latest news. She was told all that had happened, and when she had heard it she dismissed the Lords of the Council, all except Lord Licec and the Prince of India, who were to stay and dine with her, and she gave orders that the dinner should be brought as soon as possible, for to tell the truth she felt rather hungry, as she had had nothing to eat since breakfast-time.

Now when the Princess had finished giving her orders about the dinner, Licec could not refrain from asking her why she had come.

“Was it not rather foolish,” he said, “to hazard your life for nothing? for of a truth you are—”

But the Princess put her finger on his mouth.

“I will not be bullied by you, my lord, even though you are old enough to be my father. I know what you were going to say—that the battlefield
is
no place for girls. Now I won’t be called a girl, for I’m nineteen, you know. His Majesty the Emperor of India there insulted me by calling me a girl, and I have not forgiven him yet. Besides you’ll spoil my appetite for dinner if you lecture me. It always does; so do be quiet now, at any rate till after dinner.”

So Licec had to be quiet, and they talked about something else till dinnertime.

Just as they finished, a frightful shouting outside made them drop their dessert-knives and run to the window, but as the window did not face on to the street they could not tell what was the matter. So the Princess rang the bell, and when the servant appeared she asked him what was the cause of the shouting.

“May it please your Majesty, ambassadors have arrived from the enemy and would speak to you.”

“Show them this way and send at the same time for the Lords of the Council.”

So the servant went, and in a short time a heavy stumping was heard on the stairs. Suddenly the door burst open and the ambassadors entered. They were rather a remarkable pair of ambassadors, although they could hardly be said to pair well. For the one was an enormous giant with a long beard, dressed in leaves mostly, and so tall that he could not stand upright in the room; in his hand he carried an enormous pole, from the end of which a spiked ball dangled. The other, however, was very nearly his opposite in
everything. For he was very small, a dwarf in fact, and he was dressed in very tight yellow armour, and from the top of his helmet a crest of red roses hung down to his saddle—for you must know he had insisted on not getting off his horse, or rather pony, for that too was very small—in fact it just fitted the dwarf.

As soon as the Princess had recovered from her astonishment, she rose from her seat and said:

“Are you the ambassadors from the rebel Merrymineral?”

The dwarf replied:

“I don’t know anything about the rebel part of the business, but we are the ambassadors from Merrymineral, whom we are bound to serve for a certain time. But who are you, I should like to know, and what right have you to speak to me in this insulting manner? D’you think I’m here to be insulted by you? If you think so, I’ll tell you point-blank I’m not—so there.” And in the rage he had worked himself into he began to spur his steed till it jumped off the floor so high that it knocked his head against the ceiling.

The Princess was not used to being treated like that. However, she was not at all angry at it—she only laughed at his misfortune, which made him all the more outrageous.

“How dare you laugh at me?” he screamed; “who are you, you minx, you minx, you lynx—you—”

But the Princess did not listen to him. She turned to the giant, who at any rate was quiet, and said:

“Will you not take a chair until the Lords of the Council arrive?”

The giant looked at her in stupid astonishment.

“What shall I do with the chair when I’ve taken it?” he mumbled.

“I mean you to sit down on it, of course,” said the Princess.

The giant growled out in reply:

“Well, I never sat on a chair before, but to please you I will.”

So he sat down, but as he was not used to sitting on chairs he sat down on its back; but it was only a small cane-bottomed chair, and as he was very big, and the chair was very small, the result is easily foreseen, for the chair collapsed under him as if he had sat on a top-hat, and he reclined comfortably on the floor, where he remained for the rest of the time.

“I think I’ll stop where I am,” he said, when they offered him a wooden stool to sit on, “for you see I’m not used to chairs.” So they let him stop where he was.

One by one the Lords of the Council began to arrive; they looked curiously at the ambassadors but said nothing. When they were all arrived the Princess said to the dwarf: