An old sage sat, slowly rocking in a small chair when five young children come running into to the quiet den, running and causing mischief. He sat up as the five ran over to him yelling, "Grandpa, Grandpa, tell us a story!!"
The youngest quickly got onto his lap as he moved closer to them_ "Well what type of story do you want.."
Each one of them gave a different answer.. from wars and fighting, to romance and love. The old sage smiled. "All right.. how about a story that has all of that?" They all nodded in agreement "All right, it was in the far away land of Florentine that this story takes place.
"For many months, the Black Knight had held a lovely princess captive in a small tower in the center of the courtyard of Caer Cantrell.
"Hailing from a city on the northern provinces of Florentine, came a knight, dresses in shining white armor, astride a beautiful white horse. He had heard of the tyrannical actions of the Black Knight and rode hard and swiftly towards Caer Cantrell. When he finally arrived there, he stood outside the gate, alone and afraid, and called out to the Black Knight.
"'I am here to rescue the fair lady Carrie,' the knight proclaimed. Meanwhile, the dark night looked down on the sole attacker and laughed. He then turned to his soldiers and smiled. 'Let him in,' he said in his dark manner, 'Then, kill him.'
"Slowly, the gates of Caer Cantrell opened for the White Knight and he cautiously entered her gates. Then seeing the numerous soldiers moving around him, he valiantly charged into the courtyard. He fought valiantly against forces of the Black Knight, but was quickly overtaken by the mass numbers of the forces in the castle. The future looked bleak for the White Knight...
"What happened.. did he die Grandpa??" the youngest of his grandchildren asked him.
The older man looked down at him and smiled. "Let me continue on and you shall see. Now where was I??"
"The future looked bleak," his granddaughter said..
"Ohh.. yes, now I remember...
"The future looked bleak for the White Knight. He desperately looked around for a way out. It was then that he noticed that the door to a tower in the center of the castle was unguarded..
"With renewed strength and hope, he forced his way through the fray, and rode towards the door. The black knight, now seeing his mistake, rushed towards the door, but he arrived too late, for the White Knight had rushed into the tower, and barred himself in.
"The White Knight rushed up the flights of stairs, and arrived at a door. He stepped back, and rushed into the door, knocking it off it's hinges, and sending him into the small chamber. As he looked up, a beautiful young maiden stood looking down at him.
"The White Knight quickly stood up. 'Are ye Carrie?' he politely asked her.
"'Aye, that I am.'
"'M'lady, I am Talruleian Strantar. I have come to rescue ye and take ye away from this place.'
The young princess rushed over and held Talruleian close to her. 'Good Knight Talruleian, take me from this place and I shall be yours forever.'
"Talruleian smiled and walked her towards the window, where, with a single whistle, a white Pegasus flew out of the sky and carried them away from the castle. But, from the ground below, the Dark Knight swore vengeance.
"And so, Talruleian and Carrie went to the princess' home in the outskirts of Cear Calreian. The couple fell in love, and on midsummer's eve, a mere month after the rescue, they were married.
"They lived happily for two more months, until, one summer's day, a man arrived in Calreian, and brought a gift to the lady Carrie, while Talruleian was at court. The Black Knight had returned, this time, disguised as a rich merchant. So, this continued, the White Knight would leave, and the Black Knight would come, at first only once in a while, but it became more and more often, and each time leaving a gift, slowly poisoning the princess' heart. Slowly, the tree that love had grown, began to wither, and die.
"Then, the Black Knight would leave, and the White Knight would return. This went on for two months or so, and the White Knight noticed changes in the princess, but paid them no heed, blaming them on the large amount of work that she had taken upon herself as of late.
"Until one crisp fall night, when Talruleian returned home from court, he noticed that there home was abandoned. He looked everywhere for his love, Carrie, but she was no where to be found. As he began to lose hope, he found a parchment folded neatly on the center of a table. He slowly sat down and read it.
Dear Talruleian,By the time you read this, I will be gone. You have been everything a princess could of ever wanted and sometimes even more, but I have betrayed your love, and do not feel that love anymore. I have left with the Black Knight for the life of solitude that I deserve. Do not follow me!! I wish you the best in all you do.
Love Always,
Carrie
"Talruleian fell back and cried. He cried for many days as his world fell apart, but, in the wreckage, he found a shard of hope. And so, armed with that shard, the White Knight put on his silver armor, sheathed his sword, and rode out of Calreian towards the Black Knight's castle.
"After days of riding, Talruleian caught up with the Black Knight on the Fields of Sorrow and faced him for what would be there final battle.
"The White Knight came down off his horse, approached the Dark Knight and looked up at him. There, holding tightly to the Dark Knight, was his love, Carrie. The crystal shard that had brought him all this way, shattered, leaving him a broken man. Talruleian fell to his knees and slowly looked up at them again. He slowly took off his helm...
"'Without love, my life has no meaning...'
"The Dark Knights sword came down in it's final descent...
"All right... that is it... now, let's go to bed"
The youngest of his grandchildren looked up at him, "What happened to Talruleian.. did he die??"
The old sage smiled, "No, he didn't.. but that is another story.." He then put the children to bed and went to the kitchen where his wife was cooking a wonderful smelling dessert. She turned around and smiled at him. "What story did ye tell them?"
He smiled, "The story of the White Knight"
She smiled and walked over to him.
"Was that wrong Carrie?"
"Not at all Talruleian.. not at all."
She pulled him closely and kissed him.
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