Part 2.
The Story of Sir Peleus.
Chapter 1.
How Sir Peleus took up a quest on Queen Guinevere's behalf, overcame a red knight and did battle with Sir Engamore.
And now, I shall tell you the story of Sir Peleus, who was nicknamed by many the Gentle Knight.
The story begins with Queen Guinevere, who one day went for a walk with her ladies and waiting in some knights.
It was a beautiful day and they were enjoying their stroll when suddenly a woman approached them on a white horse.
She was joined by three pages, one of whom held a large square object covered in red satin.
The woman's name was Parsonette and she had come from the court of the Lady Attard for a very specific purpose.
The Lady Attard was considered by many in her court and surrounding neighborhood to be the most beautiful lady in the world.
She had heard that Guinevere was also extremely beautiful and had sent Parsonette to find out if this was true.
And it is indeed true, Parsonette said.
That is very sweet, Guinevere said, but funny to come all this way for so small a matter.
Tell me, what is that square object, hidden by red satin?
At Parsonet's nod, the page pulled back the satin to show a portrait of the Lady Attard.
If that is the Lady Attard, Guinevere said graciously, then...
She is indeed beautiful as well, much more so than I am.
Not so, lady, Sir Pellius protested.
You are the more beautiful of the two, and I would be willing to back up those words in battle.
You are lucky that we are here and not back in the Lady Attard's court, Parsonette said.
Otherwise, Sir Engamora of Malvarot, who is the Lady Atard's defender, would force you to back up those words in battle.
Sir Peleus decided that he would welcome such a friendly challenge, and he begged the Queen for leave to do so.
Although she still thought the subject matter to be silly, she was flattered and she agreed to the adventure.
Sir Peleus was so eager to get going that he did not even take the time to pack or put on his own armor.
He had faith, he said, that he should find armor fit for this purpose somewhere along the way.
While passing through the forest of adventure, Peleus and Parsonet's group came upon an old woman sitting on the mossy bank of a deep and violent stream.
The woman's eyes were very red, as though she had been crying for years.
Her face was thin and wrinkled.
Bristles and whiskers sprouted from her cheeks and chin.
Parsonette shuddered.
Unlike Guinevere and the Lady Attard, this old woman was definitely not beautiful, she thought.
And so when the old woman asked Sir Pellius for a ride on his horse across the deep and violent stream, Parsonette told the woman that Sir Pellius was too important to take on such a task.
Sir Pellius, however, gently scolded Parsonette.
He reminded her that a true knight helped anyone in need.
With that, he got off his horse, lifted the old woman up onto it and rode her across to the other side.
Once on the other side, the old woman hopped off the horse and was suddenly completely changed.
Instead of red eyes, wrinkles and whiskers, she had black eyes like jewels, ivory skin and long, silky black hair.
Around her neck, she wore a beautiful necklace, a collar of opal stones and emeralds set into gold.
She was, they all knew immediately, Nimue, the chief lady of the lake.
Her old woman disguise had merely been a test of Serpelius's knightliness.
You passed, she said, and for that you have won a prize.
Reaching up, she removed the golden collar from around her neck and gave it to Serpelius to hang on his shoulders like a medal.
What Sir Pellius did not know was that that necklace was magical.
Whoever wore it would be beloved by everyone who looked upon him.
The group continued on its way.
The next day, while in the forest, Sir Pellius and Parsonette came across yet another crying woman, this one quite young, and followed by an also sad Esquire.
What is wrong?
Sir Pellius asked.
Doesn't matter, she sighed, for you cannot help me.
How do you know?
Sir Peleus asked.
He gently helped her off her horse, gave her some water and asked her once more to tell him of her troubles.
The story she eventually told was a sad one.
She had been hunting with her new husband, Sir Brandemere, and their beloved dog had run ahead of them across a long and narrow bridge that went over a violent stream.
As they started to cross, a terrible knight and his horse had come from a dark stone castle on the other side of the bridge.
Both the knight and the horse were dressed entirely in red.
Although they had explained to the red knight that they only wanted to get their dog back.
The red knight told Sir Brandemere that he must first overthrow him if he wanted to pass.
Sir Brandemere was unarmed and clothed only in light hunting clothes, but he was brave.
He had drawn his sword and continued forward.
The red knight had struck Sir Brandemere on the head, causing him to slump forward over his horse, bleeding heavily.
Without a word to the lady, the red knight had taken the bridle of Sir Brandemere's horse and led both man and horse over the bridge and into the dark castle.
I know not whether he is dead or alive, the woman said, crying again.
Good lady, Sir Pellius said, I can indeed help you.
You have no armor, the woman said.
Just take me there, Ser Peleus replied.
And the lady did.
As Ser Peleus began to cross the bridge, the red knight came rushing across again, demanding to know who dared approach.
Ser Peleus explained that he was only there to ask what had happened to Ser Brandemere.
The same thing will happen to you, the red knight replied.
But I am not armed, Sir Peleus said.
Then I suggest you turn back, the red knight replied.
Instead of leaving, Peleus picked up the hugest stone he could find, a stone that five normal men probably could not have lifted.
He threw that stone at the red knight and knocked him off his horse.
He then drew the red knight's sword and held it to his neck, demanding information.
He learned that the Red Knight's real name was Sir Adresack and that Sir Brandemere was alive but being held prisoner.
Sir Adresack was actually holding about twenty-one other prisoners having, over the years, held anyone who had attempted to cross his bridge, taking them captive and demanding great ransoms.
Two of these people were actually from King Arthur's court.
Sir Brandelise and Sir Mador de la Porte.
Sir Peleus could have killed the wicked and ill-mannered Sir Adrissac, but when he begged for mercy, Peleus decided to spare his life.
In return however, Sir Adrissac had to give the still unarmed Sir Peleus his armor free all the prisoners and then go to Camelot to beg for forgiveness.
While freeing the prisoners, Ser Pellius found all the riches that Ser Adrassac had stolen over the years.
Taking nothing for himself, he split everything among the victims.
They loved him even more for his kindness than they had already come to love him due to the magical powers of his necklace.
They begged him not to leave, but he was on a mission and with Ser Brandelis and Ser Mador he left to Continuit.
When Peleus and Parsonet reached the borders of Grand Messel, the land of the Lady Attard, Peleus and his men set up tents.
Peleus asked Parsonet to take a message to the Lady.
Tell her please, that a knight is here to announce Queen Guinevere's greater beauty and to defend that statement against any knight that would challenge him.
Parsonette could not, due to her position, wish Peleus to be the winner in any such battle, but certainly did wish him good luck.
The next day, Sir Peleus put on the red armor Sir Edrisac had given him and arrived at the castle prepared for friendly battle.
A crowd had gathered.
In front of them the castle drawbridge dropped and someone came out.
He was a large and proud knight dressed entirely in green and known as the Knight of the Greensleeves.
His real name was Sir Engamore of Malverot, and he greeted Sir Pellius politely.
He did however, feel just as strongly about the Lady Etard as Sir Pellius did about Queen Guinevere.
The men rushed toward each other with great speed and force.
Sir Pellius's sword knocked Sir Engamore off his horse and violently onto the ground.
Everyone gasped, especially the Lady Attard, for none of them had ever seen Engamore defeated.
Sir Engamore was also unused to losing and was embarrassed and ashamed.
Sir Pellius took off his helmet and went to introduce himself to the Lady Attard.
Once he was standing in front of her however, he realized that she was several times more beautiful than her picture had been.
Due to her great beauty, he fell a little bit in love with her, and due to the magical collar he wore, so did she with him.
Until now she had always kept Sir Engamore at her side, but over the next few days she asked for Sir Pellius instead.
Sir Brandelise and Sir Mador de Laporte eventually returned to the tents, but Sir Pellius stayed behind as an honored guest.
All the while, Sir Engamore watched sadly and jealously.
My lady, Peleus said to the Lady Attard one night, what can I do to show you how much I care?
You can give me that beautiful collar that you wear around your neck, she replied.
Sir Peleus did not want to part with the necklace, which had been a special gift from the Lady of the Lake, but it pleased the Lady Attard so much that he agreed to let her wear it for a little while.
As soon as Sir Peleus took the necklace off, the magic stopped and the Lady Attard began feeling something other than love.
She felt angry that she should have been so easily charmed by Peleus and that she had been made to overlook her long-time loyal champion, Angomor.
She didn't let on to Peleus that her love for him had faded, but instead continued to laugh and look at him lovingly, all the while planning her revenge upon him.
The Lady Attard told Parsonette to bring her a sleeping potion to give to Sir Peleus.
Parsonette begged her not to, but she insisted.
Eventually Sir Pellius ate the poison, which the Lady Attard slipped into his dinner.
When he was asleep, the Lady Attard had Sir Pellius stripped of all his clothes except his underwear and taken to a public place outside of the castle.
When the sun came up, everyone would gather around and mock him and make him feel the same shame he had made Sir Engamore feel in defeating him.
And that was exactly what happened when Sir Pellius woke up the next day.
He sat there confused, near naked and humiliated, until Parsonet ran up with a blanket for him to wrap himself in.
Sirs Brandelise and Mador de la Porte were very angry at what the Lady Attard had done, and they begged Peleus to let them get back up from Camelot to come and teach the Lady Attard a lesson.
Sir Peleus, however, refused.
For one thing, he told them, the Lady Attard was a woman.
As such, he would defend her honor to the death.
For another thing, he confessed, he loved her.
Upon saying this, Sir Peleus called out for his esquire to bring him his armor.
I am going to try to win a visit with her, Peleus vowed.
I don't know what kind of spell I am under, but if I cannot see her and talk to her again, I will surely die.
Fully dressed in his armor, Sir Peleus rode back to the edge of Grantmasle and waited.
Sent by the Lady Etard to punish him, ten knights soon approached.
Already a great knight, and now strengthened by love, Peleus quickly defeated eight of them.
The other two were about to turn and run, but just then Peleus put up his hands and surrendered.
They dragged him back to the castle, and Ser Pellius smiled secretly, for this was exactly what he wanted.
In just a few moments he thought he would see his love again.
But the Lady Attard saw him first.
Do not bring him up to me.
She cried from an upstairs tower as the knights approached with their prisoner.
Put him on his horse with his hands tied behind his back and his feet tied beneath the horse's belly.
Then send him back outside so that everyone can laugh at him again.
When Sirs Brandelise and Mordor Laporte saw this latest humiliation, they begged Sir Pellius even more strongly to allow them to regain his honor.
I don't care about my honor, Sir Pellius insisted for, such was the power of the magical collar that the Lady Attard now wore all the time.
Well, what about the honor of King Arthur and his round table?
Peleus's two friends tried instead.
With a great and terrible voice, Sir Peleus replied, I do not care about them either.
