It was one of those odd Oklahoma November days. 85 degrees and sunny. Not at all what Professor Schmidt was used to back home in Maine. He decided to soak up some sun before his plane left for the break. Ryan selected a bench and plopped down with his briefcase. He could see students playing Frisbee on the oval, sitting under trees, and even one girl who was trying to tempt a squirrel with part of her granola bar. "Might as well be productive," Ryan muttered to himself as he grabbed a paper at random from his case. Erlin, Mark.
Ryan had just uncapped his red pen when his vision blurred. "I must have something on my glasses," he thought as he slid them off his nose and wiped them on his shirt sleeve. He pushed them back on and tried to readjust his sight in the bright light.
There were people everywhere, running, playing, dancing. It was the biggest Pentecost Feast in remembrance. Arthur had finally united his kingdom. From Scotland to Wales to Paris, all under one king. The international peace was great for commerce. Camelot boasted, and rightfully so, of the largest open market in Europe. You could feel the anticipation crackling through the air. Everyone knew that this would be a day to remember, but nobody could guess why.
People from all corners of the continent had come to pay their respects to Arthur. Many lesser rulers came to ask him questions, to learn how to better rule their own people. So, at first, I did not notice anything different about the man in the metal shirt that made his way toward the king. I happened to be seated next to Arthur when the stranger approached. Then he did something that no man should have the nerve to do. Not only did he refuse to bow, he demanded silence from the king!
Kai had his sword out before I could blink. He would have had the stranger's head if Arthur hadn't commanded him to be still. Arthur simply nodded his head, indicating that the stranger should be allowed to speak. I would never have predicted what happened next.
The arrogant little man declared that he was the servant of the so called "Emperor of Rome." He had come to collect tribute. TRIBUTE! Kai had his hand on his sword again, and I half wished that Arthur would just let him go. But Arthur, calm as ever, informed the intruder that he would call his counsil, and then give his answer. I think Arthur's poise really unnerved the messenger, because he sputtered something about extreme disrespect and pending war before turning on his heels and stomping off.
The meeting of the Round Table went exactly as I thought it would. The nobles were outraged. "Where was the "Emperor" when the people were being attacked? Where was the "Emperor" when the crops failed? He should pay tribute to Arthur!" And so the discussion went. If the Emperor wanted a war, he would get one.
I had no doubt that Arthur would win this battle. But I had a gnawing feeling that this war would still be his undoing. It wasn't until later that I understood why. It took less than a week for Arthur to gather his troops. The insult of Rome spread rapidly. Every able-bodied man, and some not so able, was willing to serve the king. I asked leave to remain behind, to manage affairs at home. But Arthur would not hear of it. He wanted my opinion on the battlefield. "Besides," he argued, "the kingdom will be in Mordred's hands."
Ryan jolted, half expecting to see a horde of armed men marching in front of him. Instead, he noticed that he was being stared down by a squirrel. "This time I was awake. I know I was." Ryan muttered to himself. "I guess I need this break more than I thought. No more grading until after Thanksgiving dinner."
Author's note: I chose to tell this story because it is one that is not familiar to most people. I also thought that a challenge by the Roman Emperor would tie in nicely with my theme of a more historical King Arthur. I kept the story line basically the same. In the original tale, Arthur does not need to gather an army because he had a standing army of knights. Malory's version of this story focuses very heavily on the actual battle. I chose to focus more on the events leading up to the battle because it is easier to remove references to horses and lances without losing the main body of the story.
Bibliography : Le Morte d'Arthur by Sir Thomas Malory, published 1485.
Image: "Camelot" by Gustave Doré from The real Camelot
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