The Tale of A Lost Knight

    The bells that tolled above his head were so loud and clear his chest vibrated with the sound. He was too late. His guilt weighs him down, anchoring him to the Earth which rumbles with the villagers' cheers, “the witch is dead!” The cool December wind shows him no mercy as it attempts to whisk through him with fury, as if it were angry with him. As if she is now carried by the wind, showing him her rage. He grows overwhelmed with the villagers’ misplaced joy.

    “What is there to celebrate? An innocent girl died!” he cries into his scarf.

    “Innocent? She manipulated all those men to die! She deserved to be burned at the stake!” the man next to him roars at his defense.

Elliot.

    The boy turns his head with haste. Surely, she couldn’t still be here. Her corpse is right in front of the whole town, but if there is the smallest chance-

    Elliot.

    He turns his head towards the forest where he finally sees her. The girl he’s known his whole life, the one he couldn’t save. There she stands in the darkness, with her blonde curls falling over her white gown. She waves her hand and he is quick to follow, for there isn’t any place he wouldn’t go with her. Just as it’s always been, she doesn’t wait for him and runs further into the forest. The boy is quick to fasten his pace, running after her through the open field.

    Elliot.

    He makes haste with his broken boots, overcomed with adrenaline as he continues to search for her with only the sound of her voice. Just one more time. All he could wish for in this mundane life of his is to see her one more time. The girl who soothed his sorrows the night his mother was taken by sickness. The girl who tended to the wounds his father had given him the night he told him he wouldn’t join the resistance. The girl whom he’s loved as long as he’s known.

    Elliot.

    The river, he thinks to himself. The boy scurries across dried mud and through arched branches, tearing through his shirt while he bolts forward. He knew this forest like the back of the hand, for the river is where he first met Rebecca. The trees continue to hinder his journey, branches coming in the way of his muddied boots and bloody shoulders but he pays them no mind, for he cannot stop. That is, until he sees her. There she is, facing the river while the moonlight shines on her blonde curls, turning them white as snow. It’s as if the moon has given its spotlight to an angel, only deeming her worthy of its attention. He couldn’t feel envious, for he had hers.

    “I’ve found you Rebecca”, Elliot smiles through heavy breaths.

    He is met with silence, as the girl won’t even turn to face him. His guilt eats away at him once again, while he feels her fury through the wind.

    “I’m sorry I didn’t come in time. I’m so sorry, I was-” he begins, his voice desperate until she finally speaks up.

    Elliot.

    “Yes?” he answers sweetly, regaining his composure from his journey.

    Do you want to come with me?

    Any sane man would ask where, perhaps why. Yet a young boy in love didn’t know any better. A young boy who was indebted, couldn’t do any better.

    “Yes” he tells her, eagerly nodding. She holds out her hand and the naive boy readily takes it, not realizing the moment he falls into the river.