The Knight’s Fate
a short story
It is the fate of the knights to lose themselves in their service – so twisted by their actions they no longer recognise themselves in the reflection of their armour. It is their birthright to take up this mantle, passed down by their fathers and their fathers before them. The knight of this tale is no different. The ending will be the same. No matter his choices, he will meet this fate. His path is set. He marches down it, unaware of the horrors that await him.
Our story begins at the public library. Our knight leans against the shelves of fiction – littered with once bright covers – his princess on her tiptoes, reaching for the next instalment in her favourite series. He watches her in a quiet reverence, the hazy morning light seeping through the cracks in the blinds, making a halo around her golden hair. On the wall behind her are posters, so faded they blend in with the wallpaper, with desks of chunky computers coated in a thin layer of dust. Everything in here smelt of a time long past, the veil of grime doing little to change his mind on the medieval feeling of the place.
His eyes dart from her to the door, watching as it slides open – welcoming in a mother and a child out of the cold. His eyes slowly wander back to her, watching on in quiet reverence, the almost holy silence broken as he cleared his throat.
“Have you found it yet?” He asks, feigning disinterest.
“Almost,” she reaches, her dainty hand making contact with the faded paper cover.
“I don’t know why you like those books so much. I mean, they’re probably older than the librarian over there.” He quips, his ignorance a method of making her annoyed – anything to see the way her nose crunches up when she lectures him.
The truth is, the knight had fallen for his princess. The girl he was meant to guard, so innocent and pure, had stolen his heart. All those years ago he had promised to protect her; and protect her he had, whether that be from playground invaders or potential suitors – the latter out of jealousy rather than noble duty. Nowadays, the two were inseparable, one rarely seen without the other.
She scoffs, nose crunching up. “I already told you this.” She rolled her eyes, adjusting her skirt as she stepped down from the stool, stumbling slightly. On instinct, his arms went out to catch her, stopping only when he saw she was okay.
She looks at him, a look on her face he can’t quite decipher. “You don’t always have to catch me, y’know.”
He laughed, putting his hands up in defeat. “Alright, alright. My bad. Now, are you going to borrow it or not?”
She rolls her eyes, and walks up to the bench, talking with the ancient librarian – keeper of secrets and bearer of overdue fines. He stands behind her, holding her bags, his eyes wandering over her. She was lucky to have him, he thought. Any other guy would have hurt her by now – taken advantage of her kindness. Would have used her. It scared him to think about, so instead he turned back to his princess, pushing his worries aside.
They walk out of the library together, the automatic doors sliding back to let them through. The gentle breeze blows her hair into her eyes, and our knight wishes he could control the weather, if only to see her face for even a few seconds more. Leaves skitter across the pavement, dancing together before being whisked away. They walked in a comfortable silence, allowing our knight to indulge in his thoughts once more.
He thinks of all the time they’ve spent together, and all that he would give to never have to leave her. He knows she doesn’t like him in the same way – it would be impossible for her to love anyone in the same amount that he loves her. But he still prays one day, he’ll ask her out and she’ll say yes. That maybe one day, he would hear that beautiful yes again when he got down on one knee, then again at an altar for their vows. Even in his imagination, he knows that it’s unlikely, and yet, he dreams.
As they walk down the chipped pavement side by side, he watches her. The way she seems to glow in the light, her hair a halo around her head – rivalled only by images of saints in stained glass windows. Her rosy cheeks kissed by the wind, her clothes a pure white found only amongst the heavens.
In contrast, he was a messy kind of guy – his armour an oversized hoodie and scuffed sneakers – his hair almost covering his eyes like the visor of a helmet in battle. She fancied princes, guys in polished clothes, with smiles that rival the sun in brightness. Guys that don’t know hardship like he did, that didn’t protect her like he did. His mood bittered after that, like the way the leaves turned brittle in the cold winds and dreary sky – trees stripped bare as they reached for the heavens.
Eventually, they reached the park – their place. It had been for years, her sacred kingdom that he was sworn to protect. As always, she made her way to her throne - a broken-down swing set she loved to pieces. And as usual, he took his place by her side, leaning on the pole, watching over the entrances to her kingdom, wary of intruders. They continue talking about the weather, the latest drama at school - anything at all as long as they were together.
“And that’s why Cindy and Jake broke up.” She finished with a grin – clearly not caring for Cindy or Jake’s emotional state. He laughed at this, moving from his spot to face her slightly.
“I’ll be back in a sec, I wanna get some water.” Our knight gestures over his shoulder to the lone bubbler by the dingy bathroom block.
“Alright, don’t have too much fun without me,” she jokes, dimples showing.
Our knight nods, grinning. “I wouldn’t dream of it.”
She watches him walk away, beginning to swing higher and higher – closer and close to the heavens. He remains firmly planted on the ground, his mind elsewhere. He doesn’t see the guy walk into the park, or up to his princess. He doesn’t see them begin to talk. He doesn’t see her laugh at his jokes, as the intruder sits on the swing set next to her. His back is turned to the infiltration of their kingdom as he drinks, the water washing away his previous thoughts. He is unaware that his greatest worries are coming into fruition.
By the time he turns, it is too late. Our knight sees them - prince beside the princess. As he slowly walks closer – heavy with the weight of dread and burning with a fury – he sees the way her eyes light up. The way she smiles at him. And he can’t take it.
“I’m sorry, who are you?” our knight smiles through his frustration, standing tense across from the intruder.
If the princess notices the tension, she does little to fix it. “This is James. He’s in my literature class.” She says with a smile, “He just came over to say hi.”
“Did he now? Well, hi.” He says through gritted teeth, the wind picking up behind him.
James smiles at him, with his perfect teeth and styled hair and dares to speak. “It was nice meeting you, but I gotta go.” The so-called prince has the audacity to turn to her and talk to her once more. “Whenever you want to come over to my place for the assignment, just text me and let me know.” James smiles at her – the kind of smile that the knight had given to her countless times – and turns to leave, waving a friendly wave.
The wind whips at the knights back as he watches James walk away. Leaves spin faster and faster as he feels his temper get away from him. How dare he. The knight thinks, his thoughts swirling like the winds around him. Looking down at his hands curled into a fist, and back at James, he starts to spiral. He wants to use her. To take from her. To leave her impure. He knows he should leave it. Maybe he’s just overthinking. Maybe he’s overreacting. But his smile. His subconscious reminds him. The smile of adoration. His breathing becomes shorter, and his chest feels tighter.
It's his job to love her – to serve her. Not this imposter. His feet begin to move on their own, towards the man who dared intrude on her kingdom, her voice fading away as a ringing echoes in his ears and anger boils in his blood. His hand on James’ shoulder, turning him roughly to face him and their eyes meet. Fear in one pair, fury in the other. And fist connects with flesh, as James crumples to the floor, the only noise he makes is the sound of his body hitting the compacted dirt.
He hears her scream. He hears her, and he doesn’t stop. The pain is addicting, his knuckles sore as he continues to hurt the man who tried to take her from him. He hits and kicks and wounds like an animal thirsty for blood. He loses himself in this repetitive task, teeth bared and bloody.
Despite it all, there’s a stillness to James, to the knight’s thoughts and to the air – the winds seem to stop in a twisted sense reverence, broken only by the sudden hands on his shoulders, pulling him away from the man on the floor. He turns and looks at her – her white clothes now splattered with drops of red, her face distorted with horror, eyes meeting his – not recognising the man she now looks at.
He drops to his knees, bowing in reverence at her feet. His hands scratched and sticky with blood, drip, drip, dripping into his eyes, down his shirt, and pooling at his legs. He dares not look into her eyes again, out of fear of his reflection. As he stares blankly at the ground, he realises he can no longer tell where he ends, and the monsters begins – his ending inevitable like the passage of time or the way the blood seeps into the cracks in the pavement, as if escaping him and his wrath.
It is the fate of our knight to lose himself in his service – so twisted by his actions that he no longer recognises himself in the reflection of the blood he has spilt. It was his birthright to take up this mantle, passed down by his father and his father before him. Our knight is no different. The ending will be the same. No matter his choices, he will meet this fate. His path is set. He faces the consequences, painfully aware of the horrors that await him.
This short story was written for a literature assignment. The unit was Gothic Literature, and the task was to use a gothic feature from one of the poems we studied. If you want to see more of this, go check out dot’s version, also available right here on Three’s a Party. Her’s has an extended edition as well, which is really cool.