Part 70 (1/2)
Madouc shook her head. ”I thank Your Highness, but I am not ready for such a splendid affair. Your guests would be strange to me, with customs beyond my knowledge, and I might unwittingly give offense or make myself foolish.”
”Fairies are as tolerant as they are sympathetic,” said King Throbius.
”They are also known for their surprises. I fear all fairy revelry; in the morning-who knows? I might find myself a withered crone forty years old! Many thanks, Your Highness! But I must decline the invitation.”
King Throbius, smiling his easy smile, made a sign of equanimity. ”You must act to your best desires. The day verges into afternoon. Yonder stands Twisk; go and say your goodbyes; then you may take your leave of Thripsey Shee.”
”One question, Sire, as to the magical adjuncts you have allowed me.”
”They are transient. The pebble already has lost its force. The glamour lingers more lovingly, but tomorrow you may pull all you like at your ear, to no avail. Go now and consult your fractious mother.”
Madouc approached Twisk, who pretended an interest in the sheen of her silver fingernails. ”Mother! I will soon be leaving Thripsey Shee.”
”A wise decision. I bid you farewell.”
”First, dear Mother, you must tell me more of Sir Pellinore.”
”As you like,” said Twisk without enthusiasm. ”The sun is warm; let us sit in the shade of the beech tree.”
The two settled themselves cross-legged in the gra.s.s. Fairies one by one came to sit around them, that they might hear all that transpired and share in any new sensation. Sir Pom-Pom also came slouching across the meadow, to stand leaning against the beech tree, where presently he was joined by Travante.
Twisk sat pensively chewing on a blade of gra.s.s. ”There is little to tell, beyond what you already know. Still, this is what happened.”
Twisk told the tale in a musing voice, as if she were remembering the events of a bittersweet dream. She admitted that she had been taunting Mangeon, mocking his hideous face and denouncing his crimes, which included a sly tactic of creeping up behind some careless fairy maiden, trapping her in a net and carrying her off to his dismal manse, where she must serve his evil purposes until she became bedraggled and he tired of her.
One day while Twisk wandered in the forest Mangeon crept up behind her and flung his net, but Twisk skipped clear and fled, pursued at a humping jumping run by Mangeon.
Twisk eluded him without difficulty, hiding behind a tree while Mangeon blundered past. Twisk laughed to herself and started back to Madling Meadow. Along the way she pa.s.sed through a pretty glade, where she came upon Sir Pellinore sitting by a still pool, watching dragonflies darting back and forth across the water, meanwhile plucking idle chords from his lute. Sir Pellinore carried only a shortsword and no s.h.i.+eld, but on a branch he had hung a black cloak embroidered with what Twisk took to be his arms: three red roses on a blue field.
Twisk was favorably impressed by Sir Pellinore's appearance and stepped demurely forward. Sir Pellinore jumped to his feet and welcomed her with a nice blend of courtesy and candid admiration, which pleased her to such an extent that she joined him by the pool, where they sat side by side on a fallen log. Twisk asked his name and why he ventured so deeply into the Forest of Tantrevalles.
After an instant of hesitation he said: ”You may know me as Sir Pellinore, a wandering knight of Aquitaine, in search of romantic adventure.”
”You are far from your native land,” said Twisk.
”For a vagabond, 'here' is as good as 'there',” said Sir Pellinore. ”Furthermore-who knows?-I may well find my fortune in this secret old forest. I have already discovered the most beautiful creature ever to torment my imagination!”
Twisk smiled and looked at him through half-lowered lashes. ”Your remarks are rea.s.suring, but they come so easily that I wonder at their conviction. Can they really be sincere?”
”Were I made of stone I would still be convinced! Though my voice might be somewhat less melodious.”
Twisk laughed quietly and allowed her shoulder to brush that of Sir Pellinore. ”In regard to fortune, the ogre Gois has robbed, pillaged and preempted thirty tons of gold, which in his vanity he used to create a monumental statue of himself. The ogre Carabara owns a crow which speaks ten languages, foretells the weather and gambles with dice, winning large sums from every one it encounters. The ogre Throop is master of a dozen treasures, including a tapestry which each day shows a different scene, a fire which burns without fuel and a bed of air upon which he rests in comfort. According to rumour, he took a chalice sacred to the Christians from a fugitive monk, and many brave knights, from all over Christendom, have attempted to wrest this article from Throop.”
”And how have they fared?”
”Not well. Some challenge Throop to combat; usually they are killed by a pair of goblin knights. Others who bring gifts are allowed into Castle Doldil, but to what effect? All end up either in Throop's great black soup kettle or in a cage, where they must amuse Throop and all three of his heads as they dine. Seek your fortune elsewhere; that is my advice.”
”I suspect that I have found the most marvellous fortune the world provides here in this very glade,” said Sir Pellinore.
”That is a graceful sentiment.”