A fantasy story by Aslı ERDEMLİ
-
My lord, my lord! Shouted a man while running to Sir Scott’s room.
-
What is it Denny? What happened, tell me at once.
The King Sir, The King wants to see you at this moment. It seems it’s about
something important.
In a few minutes Sir Scott and his reliable assistant and personal butler Denny were at
The King’s chambers.
Ah, there you are my worthy knight, said King William. I fetched for you for an
important matter, Sir Scott. I and your country need you.
-
I am fully at your service my King.
The matter is of a very urgent kind, Sir Scott. Have you ever heard about the
Demonical Object before?
-
Upon my Word, no my Lord, never.
Well, that is normal I suppose, since it has to be kept a secret from most people. The
Demonical Object is, as you can guess, an object that has supernatural powers. The legend
says it could cause or prevent the destruction of the whole world. Therefore, it is kept hidden
in the depths of The Sacred Forest. The Guardians are the protectors of this Object. But a boy
came to me yesterday night telling me that he was sent by The Guardians who seek our help
to find The Object that has been stolen from The Forest. Your mission is, noble knight, to
serve me as good as you always did and to go to The Sacred Forest and find the one who took
the object and bring it back to the Kingdom until we think of a new place to hide it.
-
I promise your Excellency to find the thieves and to bring them back before justice.
I expect nothing less from you Sir Scott. Take your butler with you and leave this
moment for there is no time to waste. The boy who alerted me of the danger is waiting for you
outside the castle. He is going to guide you to the Guardians.
Thus, our heroes left with great braveness in their heart. The boy was sitting on a
fallen tree, right near the castle’s big and formidable gates. Denny let the boy share his horse
with him and after riding horses for several hours, they arrived to the borders of The Sacred
Forest. There, the forest was so thick that they had to go on by foot. Before long they saw a
waterfall. The boy ordered to go through the falling water: a secret and damp passage was on
the other side. It took them a few minutes to walk through it and at its end they faced a very
tall wall. No door or not even a window suggested a possible way to get through it. The clever
child put the hands on one of the bricks, pushed it a bit and a hidden door way opened, letting
the comers in. What they saw then startled them for a few long seconds. A village, a whole
village of white cape wearing men and women was before them.
-
I thought no one seldom came to the forest said Sir Scott, obviously in great shock.
-
So did I, my lord. But it seems life is full of surprises isn’t it?
The boy ran to one of the houses. When he came out of it, a woman was with him. She invited
the visitors in.
-
The Chief Guardian’s in here, she said.
Not sure of who this “chief guardian” could be, they followed her. A man with a very long
white beard was lying in a bed. He was old and seemed pale. His hands were shaky.
Welcome, honorable knights. I believe it is King William who sent you here. I am glad
to see that he is a man of word and takes the Demonical Object’s theft very seriously. I was
afraid he might be considering this as a matter of secondary importance.
No, indeed Sir. Our King is very concerned about this business and sent us here so
quickly that he did not give us any details of the matter. We were hoping you could inform us
in a more satisfactory way.
I shall tell you everything from the very beginning then. In 1267, I was born in Attica.
My mother was the daughter of a …
Eh, no Sir. I… When I was talking about details, I meant relative to this Demonical
Object incident.
Oh… My mistake then. Well, as you see we are The Guardians who built this village
without anyone knowing about it in order to keep safe The Demonical Object which is the
most powerful weapon one can ever see on this world. Two nights ago, we were attacked by a
bunch of soldiers who worked for a person wearing a black hood and calling himself the
“black knight”. They have killed many brave men and have taken away the Demonical
Object. This is a true catastrophe because if the Black Knight plans to use the Object for his
cruel plans then it means that the world will come to an end. You have to stop him before this
happens. No one will be safe unless you take back the Object from them.
-
Very well, but what is this object?
-
It is a boxer.
-
Pardon me?
The Demonical Object appears in the shape of a boxer. This was meant to ensure its
safety.
-
But how can being a boxer can make it safe?
Well, if a person as ignorant as yourself saw it, he or she wouldn’t suspect it to be an
object of great power, would he?
-
I guess it makes sense. … What are you laughing at Denny?
It’s nothing Sir. I beg your pardon… But… Pffft… No, it’s nothing. I mean… I was
thinking that The Demonical Object was a boxer; it is the Diabolical Boxer… With all due
respect my lord but that’s just hilarious don’t you think?
Hmm… Now that you say it I noticed it too… It really doesn’t sound that scary at all
said Sir Scott with a smile.
I assure you The Diabolical Object is no matter of joke. It is in fact the weapon that
could make someone invincible if it were used badly, retorted the old Guardian, seeming quite
vexed by the disrespectful attitude of the knights.
Please be assured, Chief Guardian that we did not mean to laugh at The Diabolical
Boxer. We are aware that it is a very serious and dangerous boxer.
Denny burst into laughs again. Sir Scott maintained; with considerable effort, a very grave
face but The Chief Guardian was obviously offended. There was no help to it. They left the
house with great humbleness and interviewed a few people in the village with the hope of
finding a lead about the thieves of The Diabolical Boxer. Denny was subject to another burst
of unstoppable laughter when a young man informed them that The Diabolical Boxer could be
identified easily thanks to its radiating pink color. Even Sir Scott couldn’t hold it this time and
they both were unable to talk for a few minutes. A woman who covered her face with a cloak
came to them whispering that she had information which could be helpful to them. She heard
someone saying that they saw two armed men camping near the East side of the Forest. The
knights expressed their gratitude to the lady and wasted no time to head to the East.
They followed the road back to the waterfall and looking at the sun, they found their way to
the East. An hour and a half later, they stopped as Denny heard some talking and the
clattering of cooking material. It was, indeed coming from a group of men camping a few
meters away from them. There were six of them.
-
I think the Black Knight needs to see a doctor, eh, Dennis.
-
It could be… The wound on his leg seems to be badly infected.
I had a friend who was in the same situation as him though it was his arm that was
injured and not his leg, poor fellow, if he had only agreed to have his arm amputated as the
doctor recommended him to do, he wouldn’t have died… And in agony too, you know? I
heard it was a nasty death, having your body rot slowly…
-
And the insects, don’t forget the insects they…
The two heroes listened to it no more as they were occupied with whispering on their own.
-
Do you think the same thing as me Denny?
If you think that burning is a far nastier death than the Black Knight’s then I agree
with you Sir. I had once a cousin, who…
No you idiot, said Sir Scott. I am thinking of our quest. Now that we know that the
Black Knight is unwell, it should be easier to get the Demonical Object.
Of course, it is a brilliant idea my Lord. Let’s wait for the night and when everyone is
asleep we will go and take back the Boxer.
When it got darker, the two knights walked silently among the sleeping thieves and got into
the only big tent that was in the middle of the camping area. There was someone in the bed. It
was the Black Knight who was holding his left leg moaning a little, as if he were in pain.
Denny made a sign to Sir Scott, meaning that he should not utter a single sound. He
approached the bed from the head and jumped to press the Knight’s mouth, keeping him thus
from waking his soldiers. Sir Scott said:
- We have finally found you. Did you think that you could get away after robbing the
Guardians? If you hoped it, you are a fool indeed. Hand us The Diabolical Boxer.
The Black Knight made it clear, though not being able to speak, that he had absolutely no
intention at all to give up his design.
-
Denny, hold him would you? And make it sure that he cannot scream.
When Denny was ready, Sir Scott pressed violently against his injured leg.
-
Where have you hidden the Boxer?
-
Maybe he is wearing it Sir?
They checked but the Knight wasn’t wearing it.
-
He must have hid it somewhere in here.
Sir Scott walked through the room, examining the suspect’s reactions as he was examining an
object. He noticed that The Black Knight seemed a little nervous when he approached a
chest. It was locked but the lock gave way easily when a little forced. The shock of both of the
men was great indeed when they saw what was inside it. İt was a collection of many
heteroclite objects. The only common trait of these things was their color: they were all pink.
Some were of a glowing pink some were of a pastel tone of it. But they were all undoubtedly
pink. The Pink Diabolical Boxer was among them. Denny suppressed a laugh.
Now everything makes sense. So we are dealing with an obsessed thief. I bet his
friends are completely ignoring this about him.
Indeed you must be right Denny. Look at the panic in his eyes. Let’s make a deal,
Black Knight. You must agree to let us leave in peace with this Diabolical Pink Underwear
and we shall not reveal to your soldiers who must esteem you very much, that you rather be a
Pink Knight.
The negotiation was brief. Denny hit the thief in the head to make sure that he won’t scream
once they let go of him and soon they were riding their horses. The Chief Guardian was
extremely pleased to see them with The Boxer. Sir Scott assured him that the thieves won’t
think of coming back again. Even the King was mirthful. His knights honored him a great
deal; solving such a problem so quickly. And Denny was elated to see his reward so
satisfying. It was, according to him a perfect happy ending. As the story teller, we believe that
the Black Knight would think otherwise.
The map: