Authors: Janette Rallison
I put the bottle to my lips, tilted it upward, and let the bitter liquid burn its way down my throat. The taste made me cringe and shiver.
The wizard grinned at my reaction and took the bottle back from my hand. “A word to the wise: don’t let any animals lick you for a week—it’s as good as a kiss, and any skin of yours is vulnerable to the switch. You won’t know if they’re enchanted folk until it’s too late and you’re mewing for your supper.” He dismissed me with a nod of his head, then tucked the empty bottle back into the wagon. His attention turned to Simon and his voice grew gruff. “Finish loading things, but mind you, don’t break anything or you’ll be finishing your apprenticeship as a goat.” Then the wizard walked to the front of the wagon, muttering things I couldn’t understand. Simon’s gaze stayed on me, the agitation still in his eyes. I knew he thought I’d acted foolishly and I turned away from him.
I headed for the castle, but I’d only taken a few steps when I felt a tug on my sleeve. Simon had followed me.
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He held a finger to his lips, then glanced over his shoulder to check and see if the wizard was watching us.
He wasn’t. The wizard had settled into the wagon’s seat with his hat pulled down over his eyes as though about to take a nap.
With soft steps, Simon led me to the back of the wagon until we were out of sight from the wizard. He whispered, “Do you mean to switch enchantments with the Black Knight?”
I didn’t answer. It seemed like such a lofty goal to say out loud.
His expression grew urgent. “Do you?” I nodded.
“It’s a dangerous thing to do, but I have a potion that will help you.” He put a small red jar into my hand and closed my fingers around it. It felt warm, as though it had been sitting in the sun. “Drink it right when you meet the Black Knight. He’ll straightway fall in love with you and do whatever you ask of him. All you need to do is ask for a kiss.”
“What are you charging for it?” I asked.
For a moment he said nothing, then his gaze fell on my hands. “A ring. That one.” He pointed to one that had been mine all along, a ring with three golden hibiscus flowers that my dad had bought me during a trip to Hawaii.
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I hated to give that one up, but I pulled it from my finger anyway and held it out to him. “This is a very nice ring. It will cost you the potion and the use of the divining mirror for the week as well.” He clenched his jaw but nodded. He turned back to the wagon, and his fingers sifted through the contents quickly.
From the front of the wagon the wizard called out, “Simon, haven’t you finished yet?”
“I’m almost done with my work, Master.” Simon extracted the mirror from the wagon’s contents and slipped it into my palm. “Be very careful with it or we’ll both pay a price.”
I nodded. “How will I return it to you?”
“It’s magic. It will come back to the wizard of its own accord.” Simon checked over his shoulder again, and when he deemed it was still safe to talk to me, he added,
“Don’t forget to drink the potion.” Without another word he turned and walked back to the wagon calling,
“I’m done, Master Pergis.”
Almost immediately the wagon began to move. Simon only had time to pick up the empty pack, throw it into the back of the wagon, and get on himself.
I put the mirror in my satchel, but decided to put the potion someplace easier to reach. I slipped it into my pocket. Then I turned away from the castle entrance and 201/431
walked toward the bell tower, because I didn’t need to talk to Princess Margaret anymore. I had everything I needed to switch enchantments with the Black Knight.
Now all that was left to do was to call him.
The watchman rang the bell for me three times. He didn’t like doing it. He warned me it was dangerous to get mixed up with dark knights, and I was likely to find myself used as dragon bait. And didn’t I have a father or brother who would be angry at my doings?
But when I gave him a few coins, he put his concerns aside.
After the bell rang I went and stood in the designated spot outside the castle, along with all of the children in the vicinity. They followed me out like I was the Pied Piper.
“You can’t fight the Black Knight,” one little boy told me. “He won’t fight ladies.”
“Let’s hope not,” I said. “I just want to speak to him.” Another boy crinkled his eyebrows at me. “He’s not a real talkative one, the Black Knight. Mostly he just knocks people off their horses. Perhaps you should choose another gentleman to talk to.” They continued to supply me with these types of helpful details while I scanned the countryside, waiting. The land around the castle had been cleared of trees for quite a ways in every direction—probably to make sure 203/431
any attacking armies didn’t have cover—but beyond the clearing, the forest grew thick and wild. I wondered how close the Black Knight had to be in order to hear the bell and how soon he would arrive.
I also wondered when I should take the potion and how long the effects lasted. I couldn’t believe I hadn’t asked Simon these questions. And this after the wizard had given me the speech about how magic was a downfall to those who didn’t think it through.
I mulled it over and decided it would be best to take it as soon as I saw his horse in the distance. When he came close, I would ask him to take off his helmet and kiss me. Or could I just ask him to fight Tristan and lose?
How much of a sway did this potion carry?
Several people climbed the towers nearest to the castle gates to see who had challenged the knight. Some people laughed outright when they saw me, others yelled that I’d brought evil on myself.
As I waited, I thought of what I would say. I tried to string together phrases that sounded ladylike, but in my nervousness the words fell away from me like so many scattered beads.
I wondered when Tristan would be done with his business at the armory. He wasn’t going to be happy that I was standing out here waiting for the Black Knight, but I’d explain it to him later.
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In fact, after I kissed the Black Knight I could help Tristan on his quest by kissing him and giving him the invincibility enchantment, then nothing would keep him from becoming a prince.
Oh, wait—if I kissed Tristan he wouldn’t need to become a prince, I would. And since that couldn’t ever happen, I’d be stuck in the Middle Ages forever.
Another thought swept through my mind. If Tristan knew that all he had to do to get home was kiss me—would he do it?
I dismissed the thought. He wouldn’t leave me stranded in the Middle Ages.
But then again, he’d already been here for eight months. He was risking his life to try and make it home—the cyclops had nearly killed him twice already.
Kissing me would be so easy, such a quick and painless answer to his dilemma. In fact, he’d probably think it was fitting justice for me to be stuck in the Middle Ages among the princes I admired.
I couldn’t tell him about this. Not until the week had passed.
After about an hour, quite a few adults sauntered out of the castle gate and stood milling around, forming a crowd. So apparently this was about how long it took for the Black Knight to show up once he’d been called. I twisted the strap of my satchel, winding it around my 205/431
finger until it hurt. I hadn’t planned on kissing the knight in front of an audience of washerwomen and stable hands.
I saw Tristan strolling through the crowd. He walked over to me, looking around as though searching for someone. “What are you doing out here? I thought you were trying to visit the princess.”
“I’m waiting for the Black Knight,” I said.
“Yeah, I can see that. Where’s the knight that challenged him?”
I squeezed the bottle of love potion until its heat pulsed through my fingers. I couldn’t explain to Tristan what I was doing and I really didn’t want to get into a discussion of why I shouldn’t be out here. I said, “Are you done with your business already?”
“Nope, but all the armorers wanted to come out and watch the fight.” His eyebrows creased as he continued to scan the area. “So who challenged him?” I didn’t answer, just looked out at the grassy plains in front of us.
“That’s really odd,” he said. “Someone must have rung the bell but I don’t see . . .” His stance stiffened as his sentence drifted off. “Savannah, why are so many people staring at us?” I still didn’t answer.
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Tristan took hold of my arm and pulled me to face him. In a low voice he said, “Tell me you didn’t ring that bell.”
“Tristan, you have to understand, I’m doing this for you.”
He let go of my arm as though burned. “You rang it to have
me
challenge the Black Knight?” I stepped toward him and whispered. “No, I rang it for me. I’m going to . . . talk with him.” Tristan took hold of my arm again. “I want you to go back inside the castle gates—” I didn’t see the Black Knight arrive, I only heard the gasp from the crowd and looked to see what had caught their attention. He hadn’t come out of the forest in front of us like I’d supposed. He galloped around the side of the castle wall riding a massive black warhorse. The sight of his dark, gleaming armor momentarily chased all thought from my mind. I hadn’t expected him to be so big or to bear down on us so quickly.
I tried to pull my arm away from Tristan so I could uncork the bottle, but Tristan not only didn’t let me go, he pulled me a couple of steps toward the castle gate.
I dug my heels into the dirt. “Tristan, stop it. You don’t understand.”
“You’re going inside,” he hissed. “Right now.” 207/431
I attempted to open the bottle with one hand, pushing at the cork with my thumbnail. It was going to be nearly impossible to drink it with Tristan yanking me through the crowd.
“Stop it!” I yelled and I tried again to wrench my arm out of Tristan’s hands. He pulled back with even more strength and the bottle tumbled from my fingers. It fell to the ground with a crack, and I watched as the liquid seeped out of the broken jar onto the ground.
“No,” I said. It was only a gasp though, a cry of defeat.
The Black Knight slowed his horse to a stop. I heard the
swoosh
as he pulled his sword from its sheath and held it up. It glinted in his hand like a bolt of lightning.
The armor muffled his voice, but he spoke loud enough for the entire crowd to hear. “Who summoned me here to fight?”
Half the crowd pointed to me and the children yelled,
“She did! She did!” with such excitement that I wondered whose side they were on.
The Black Knight turned his head in my direction. I saw his hands tighten on the reins.
The next moment Tristan stood in front of me, shield-ing me. “It was a mistake,” he said.
The knight said nothing, just surveyed us with a face-less stare that made me shiver. Still, I broke Tristan’s grasp on my arm and stepped away from him. I had to 208/431
at least try. “May a lady talk to a knight?” I asked and nearly managed to keep my voice from shaking. “The Black Knight obeys the laws of chivalry, does he not?” The knight didn’t answer. His horse took two steps toward me and looked at me with piercing eyes.
“What does the lady wish from me?” the knight called, and I couldn’t tell if he was mocking me or not.
Tristan stepped in front of me again. “Nothing.” I moved away from Tristan. “I want to speak with you.” And then, because I also had food in my satchel, I added, “I want you to dine with me.” The knight remained silent and I thought he might turn around and leave, but instead he urged the horse forward. I heard the thud of every hoofbeat as the horse picked up speed coming toward me. The crowd spilled away but I stood there transfixed, unsure of what was happening.
Tristan pushed me sideways. I knew he was trying to keep me out of the pathway of the horse, but it didn’t have the desired effect. The Black Knight veered as well.
Tristan and I now stood so far apart that there was no way to stop the Black Knight when he reached down and grabbed me by the waist.
The next moment I found myself sitting sidesaddle in front of the knight. The only thing that kept me from falling off the horse at every bump and jostle was the 209/431
knight’s arm, which held me pinned to his chest. His armor bit into my side, but I clung to it anyway. If I slipped I’d be trampled.
We raced across the grassy plains toward the forest, and I watched the castle grow smaller with every passing minute. “Where are you taking me?” I asked.
“To dine,” he said and didn’t say any more.
Finally we reached the edge of the forest and the horse plunged into the foliage. It wasn’t until I looked down that I saw the horse was following a narrow path.
The horse slowed his pace, but I still had to lean away from tree branches so they didn’t slap across my face.
I told myself that everything would be all right. He had said we were going to dine; that’s what I’d asked him to do.
But another part of me, a part that was squeezing my stomach into pieces, screamed that Tristan had been right, the Black Knight was dangerous and I’d been beyond stupid to summon him. This wasn’t some picture book where knights always acted honorably. I’d been kidnapped and if I had any sense at all I’d take my chances, jump from the horse, and try to escape.
“It’s not much farther,” the knight said, and now his voice was soft and teasing.
Minutes went by with nothing but the sound of the horse’s hooves beating against the path and branches 210/431
reaching out for me. Then abruptly the wall of trees gave way to a clearing with a small river. The horse sauntered up to it and lowered its head to drink, lapping the water in noisy gulps. The knight released his grip on me. “You can dismount now.”
I breathed a sigh of relief at this. He wouldn’t have let me off first if he was kidnapping me, would he?
I slid from the horse and waited for him to dismount, something that was considerably slower and more complicated for him in his heavy armor. I should have felt safer once he’d reached the ground. After all, a knight in armor off his horse was slow-moving and easy to escape from. Instead, I noticed how tall and broad-shouldered he was.