Merlin's Daughters Page 9

  Chapter 6

  The courtship of Arthur and Guenevere was brief. Due to the exigences of war and the pull of passion, they married in the late winter. Gwyneth was disgusted that Guenevere passed herself off as a Christian. She brought with her a coterie of priests and monks and insisted that the members of the Court attend church services. Many, including Arthur, allowed themselves to be converted, at least nominally. Of all the deceitful and insidious weapons Guenevere wielded, the Church proved to be one of the most potent in many ways because it undermined the traditional culture and religion at a time when both were changing anyway. The cultural and religious shift exacerbated the general feeling of fear and uncertainty that weighed heavy in Britain at the time, despite Arthur's victories and Camelot's rising glory.

  Guenevere exploited the malaise, using the Church's obsession with sin and guilt and penance. The priests in effect did her dirty work, making the courtiers and towns folk feel afraid for their future. What was more, they were encouraged to feel guilty about sensual pleasures that had never before been taboo for them. At the same time Guenevere played the coquette among the knights (at first only when Arthur was safely away in battle) and kept the sexual tension at court just barely below the boiling point. The priests told the knights that women were the repositories of evil and sin, while Guenevere paraded in front of them, a beautiful woman, oozing sexuality.

  Both Nimue and Gwyneth were apoplectic over Guenevere's behavior, but their disguise roles were such that they rarely had occasion to approach her. Gwyneth in particular went out of her way to avoid her sister, staying in Galahad's apartments most of her waking hours inventing small projects such as making new needlepoint covers for the chairs and footstools in every room to keep herself busy and out of the common areas of the palace. This behavior unintentionally enhanced Gwyneth's reputation as quiet, modest and demure, the ideal against which Guenevere came up short in some eyes.

  Nimue did the same, hiding in Arthur's apartments as many hours of the day as she could justify. She was an unsurpassed embroiderer, and set herself the task of embroidering Arthur's tunics with decorative trimming. Arthur was so handsome his clothes needed no adornment, but his beautifully embroidered shirts and tunics became his trademark. He asked her to make a wedding shawl for Guenevere, but she begged him to withdraw the request, claiming that her work was too rough and bold for such a beautiful woman's garment. She said she felt her work was only suitable for a man's clothing. Arthur, who knew nothing of women's clothing and decoration (and cared less), took her word for it and let the matter drop. She trembled at the very idea of having to sew a garment for Guenevere to wear, if for no other reason than that Guenevere might be able to capture some of her essence she might leave on the fabric, and use it to do her harm.

  Sewing for Arthur gave Nimue access to his private apartments, including his bedchamber, which allowed her to be near Excalibur at least at the times when Arthur was in Court and not out on the battlefield somewhere. It was clear to Nimue that Excalibur loved to escape the Court (where all it wanted to do was slay the queen), so she used her access to encourage Arthur to undertake sorties and engage enemies in faraway places he might not otherwise have done. Arthur and his amazing sword became renowned throughout Britain for the glory of its accomplishments in battle.

  Arthur may have been safest when he was off to do battle somewhere else, but the knights he left behind in Court were at Guenevere's mercy. She tormented them with illicit kisses (kisses which made them guilty of treason) and pitted them against one another for her favors. She flirted with them and fanned the flames of their passions until some of them acted inappropriately, at which point she threatened to either banish them or tell Arthur – or both. Arthur had designated Lancelot as Guenevere's Champion, which meant that when Arthur was away Lancelot was required to remain in Court to look after Guenevere.

  Lancelot was despondent. He was miserable when he was in Court because his love for Guenevere was so painful he could barely look at her without weeping; he was even more miserable on the rare occasions when Arthur chose to stay in Court and sent Lancelot away on missions which took him away from Guenevere's side for even short periods. The other knights made the mistake of teasing Lancelot about Guenevere, once. His rage was so fierce, they never did it again.

  Galahad was the only knight who seemed oblivious to Guenevere's charms. The protective spell Gwyneth had cast helped, but Gwyneth was fairly certain that Galahad's own internal honor and decency might have been sufficient even without her magical assistance. (She did not withdraw the spell, however, to be on the safe side.) Guenevere was aware of Galahad's failure to capitulate to her charms, and she redoubled her efforts where he was concerned. Like Gwyneth, Galahad tried to hide as much as possible. He stayed in the stables or out in the fields practicing his horsemanship, his archery and his sword work. In the evenings or on inclement days, he remained in his apartments reading and listening to bards singing songs or telling poems. Sometimes he and Gwyneth read to each other late into the night.

  Galahad believed himself to be an orphan (he had been fostered out as had Arthur), and he looked up to Gwyneth as a maternal figure, even though her guise was only a few years older than Galahad. She encouraged that and never failed to give him good advice. The name Guenevere never passed their lips in their conversations with one another, but her presence hung over the Court like a specter of death.

  At some point over the summer of the first year Guenevere and Arthur were married, Guenevere and Lancelot became lovers. Somehow Excalibur seemed to know it first. Arthur returned from a battle, and from the moment he walked into the palace Excalibur screamed and vibrated in a rage. Gwyneth, Nimue and Merlin already knew they were the only ones who could hear Excalibur's tantrums. They were fairly certain Guenevere could hear it as well but she never let on. No one else seemed aware of Excalibur's emotions.

  In that particular situation it was a blessing that no one could hear the torment of the sword or the hatred it had for Guenevere, which threatened to lash out at her by itself if Arthur continued to refuse to help. Nimue pleaded with Excalibur to calm down and be quiet, just in case anyone else could hear. She finally convinced it to be quiet when she explained that Guenevere herself would know that Excalibur was aware of her treachery and she would take care to protect herself from its wrath.

  Arthur did not seem to be aware of Excalibur's noises or vibration, but he must have somehow sensed the emotions that Excalibur expressed, even if he did not know they were coming from outside himself. The day Arthur returned and Excalibur went mad, even Arthur seemed to be aware something was wrong with the sword. He removed his scabbard in the Great Hall and asked Nimue – who, aside from Arthur's man-at-arms and his page, was the only person permitted to touch Excalibur – to take Excalibur back to his apartments. She took it away and stayed with it; she dared not allow Guenevere to steal it. In that manner, Nimue publicly resumed her role as Guardian of Excalibur, at least when it was not safely hanging at Arthur's side or being engaged in battle someplace.

  When Arthur was away from Court, Guenevere and Lancelot did not even pretend to be discrete. For a while, Guenevere all but quit flirting with the other knights and focused all her attentions on Lancelot. Most of the people at Court believed that Guenevere genuinely loved Lancelot. They saw the situation shaping up as a tragic love triangle in which one of the men would probably kill the other one.

  Gwyneth knew that Guenevere loathed Humans as much as she did and was only using Lancelot to foment dissension in the court on the one hand and, on the other, to ingratiate herself with Arthur's right hand man. He was the most likely Knight to have prosecuted Guenevere for treason and adultery; by making him the object of her affections, she prevented him from telling Arthur about her other infidelity.

  Gwyneth found it surprising to discover that there were some Humans whom she actually liked. Gwyneth was glad to have had the opportunity to meet at least a few Humans who called into que
stion her life-long prejudice against them. Most of the Round Table Knights were decent fellows, but they were weak and easily distracted from their self-interests. They were also combative and, in Gwyneth's opinion, overly-competitive. Arthur was a good and honorable man but he had a tendency to turn a blind eye to the faults of his friends. For a monarch, that could be a fatal flaw. And Galahad.... in Gwyneth's eyes, Galahad was as close to perfection as a creature in any of Earth's realms could ever be.

  Everyone at Court with the exception of Arthur and Guenevere's infernal priests knew about the affair between Guenevere and Lancelot. No one dared discuss it openly, even in such a hotbed of gossip and intrigue as the High King's Court. The general opinion was that Arthur had to know about it, and either he didn't care or he was afraid of Lancelot. Either way, Arthur's reputation suffered as a result of the affair more than either Guenevere's or Lancelot's. Nimue knew that Excalibur's magic would be able to kill Guenevere and she considered telling Arthur about the affair and inciting him to kill her. That was exactly what Excalibur wanted her to do; in fact, it nagged her about it day and night to the point she could get no rest. Nimue was afraid to tell Arthur, in part because she knew that Lancelot would kill him if he killed Guenevere. Only later was she able to admit that the real reason she did not tell Arthur was because she did not want to hurt him.

  Arthur set about to create a small corner of paradise in Camelot, to provide for himself and his knights a refuge that would counterbalance the increasingly vicious wars he was waging with the Saxons and the Northmen elsewhere in Britain. He invited musicians, bards and the most educated and entertaining people in the kingdom to Court to bolster Camelot's reputation for culture and glamor. He invited many of the kings and nobles who were his allies to Court. In addition to adding to the glitter of the court, it also kept them close by, preventing them from plotting against Arthur with third parties.

  The one thing Arthur wanted more than conquest or glory for Camelot -- or anything else in the world -- was a son. His battles on that front were pathetic and heartbreaking to the few who were close enough to know about them. They did everything in their power to make sure that no one outside Arthur's most intimate circle ever heard about his pain and anguish over Guenevere's failure to conceive that she had convince Arthur was his fault.

  The seasons went around, and life at Camelot settled into something of a routine. When Arthur was at home, he was the sun around which everything in his world revolved. When he was away, Guenevere and Lancelot were twin moons revolving around each other at the center of the Court while everyone else pretended not to see them.

  During her second year at Camelot, Gwyneth began to receive disturbing messages from the Nether World. Apparently Guenevere had settled into her role as Queen comfortably, and she felt free to attack the Nether World while she knew Gwyneth was tied up in Camelot. It started with small things: an unexplained fire here, a spring gone bad there, livestock sickening for no reason. Soon there was suffering and pestilence everywhere in the Nether World. Disease. Famine. Neighbors began to suspect their friends of being responsible for their troubles. Soon suspicion and distrust were rampant, and violence often broke out between different species. Worse (and for the first time in anyone's memory) there were occasional outbreaks of violence between members of the same species.

  Gwyneth was beside herself with despair. She wanted to return to the Fairy Realm and do what she could to help, but she knew the source of the Trouble was in Camelot, and she believed that, in the long run, she could do more by staying in the Human Realm, keeping watch and hoping for an opening she could use to move against Guenevere.

  Occasionally Gwyneth and Nimue would sneak away together, cloak themselves in magic to hide their plotting and speak honestly. They believed that Guenevere did not know Nimue's identity, and therefore the Queen was not aware that Gwyneth had an ally in the Court. They also came to understand that Gwyneth had hidden herself so well that, while Guenevere knew she was at Court, she did not know which courtesan was Gwyneth's guise. Gwyneth took advantage of the fact that Galahad's attendant was known to spend most of her time within Galahad's apartments. Gwyneth occasionally took on other guises and moved around the castle in roles other than Galahad's lady. Gwyneth and Nimue believed that gave them the (slight) edge of anonymity. Gwyneth was frantic to “do” something but could think of no way to move against the Queen that would not potentially get them both Nimue and Gwyneth killed. Gwyneth was prepared to die in the process, but she wanted it to be done in the course of a plan that would be guaranteed to destroy Guenevere and leave Nimue alive to care for Excalibur. They couldn't think of failsafe plan, so they elected to bide their time and stay alive.

  Merlin was no help. For one thing, Merlin was almost as much in the thrall of Guenevere as Arthur. Guenevere was his daughter and he was proud of her powerful magic, even if he was furious at the way she treated his beloved Arthur. She played him like she played all the other males in the palace, stroking his ego and using him for her own purposes. Gwyneth had never shown Merlin much respect because she believed that his bumbling incompetence was the cause of most of the problems in her life. She knew her powers to be more or less equivalent to his and she was a reigning monarch, so she treated him more or less as an equal, when she wasn't lecturing him for his incompetence and troublesomeness. Merlin had always seemed amused by that, and went out of his way to annoy Gwyneth.

  Once Guenevere learned that Merlin had no skills in the dark magic she sought to learn, she had rarely had anything to do with Merlin, but now she took a different tack. She flattered him and flirted with him, stroking his massive ego and all but enlisted him in her evil plans. Of all the terrible things Merlin had done in his life Nimue and Gwyneth thought that Merlin's role in bringing Arthur to birth was the worst. They were terrified at the thought of Guenevere flattering him into helping her do something even worse. They knew he would never betray Arthur on purpose – his love for Arthur was too great. They also knew Merlin's ego could cause him to make a mistake that would ruin everything.

  They decided Merlin had taught Arthur everything he needed to know and, therefore, the time had come to get rid of Merlin before he could do any real harm. Nimue knew she was capable of doing the job (she had done it once before), but she did not want to leave Excalibur or Arthur. Gwyneth knew that she was the last person in any of Earth's Realms who would have any influence over Merlin. Their relationship had always been prickly and she was in particularly bad graces with Merlin because he was so enthralled by Guenevere' flattery.

  Nimue believed that the same trick that she used to imprison him in the past would work again. His ego and his libido had changed little. Gwyneth asked Nimue what kind of female Merlin was attracted to. Nimue answered, “He'll go for a redhead with blue eyes every time. There has long been a rumor that Merlin originally came from the great Isle to the west of Avalon, where the maids have red hair, blue or green eyes and porcelain skin. He especially likes Human females, if you can imagine that.” She made a face and shuddered.

  Gwyneth said, “There is a woman among the Grail Priestesses who fits that description exactly. She has long curly auburn hair and amazing pale blue eyes. She is every bit as beautiful as Guenevere's guise, perhaps not as vivacious, but a thousand times more genuine.”

  Nimue wondered if the woman would be willing to cooperate. Gwyneth did not know, but she agreed to try to find out. She sent a Messenger to Gretel and asked her to inquire whether or not Viviene would be willing to help with a project that might be unpleasant but would not be dangerous. The affirmative response came back as fast as the the Fairy Messenger could make the round trip. Viviene promised to leave for Camelot as soon as possible.

  Nimue suggested to Sir Kay that she needed an extra chambermaid for Arthur's household. Nimue (who had assumed the identity of Lady Niniane, a widow of a king far to the north country) was the highest ranking woman on Arthur's household staff and Arthur's special favorite. As a res
ult, Sir Kay was disinclined to deny her any reasonable request. He asked if she had anyone in mind. She told him she had a niece who lived on the Isle to the west of Avalon. She gave him a sob story about how the girl's mother had died when she was a child and her father had recently been killed fighting in Arthur's army. She told Kay she wanted to call the girl to Camelot where she would be safe, and where she might even find a husband. Sir Kay agreed and offered to send an escort to meet the maiden at the port where she would arrive in Britain. Nimue accepted the offer and favored Kay with her most gracious smile. Nimue/Niniane was considerably older than Kay, but she was a beautiful woman; her smile lit the room and melted Kay's heart. The enchantment Nimue threw in for good measure didn't hurt.

  Sir Kay collected a group of knights and personally went to the western port to greet the Lady Viviene. It gave him something to do while Arthur spent his days and nights in his chamber with Guenevere vainly trying to sire an heir. Nimue and Gwyneth were moved by the intensity of Arthur's love for Guenevere and his desire to do his duty as King, siring an heir to the throne. They knew that Guenevere would never let him sire a Human child on her. They discussed the possibility of combining their magic and attempting to overcome Guenevere's contraception measures until it dawned on them what a dreadful mother she would be. They did not want to risk putting a child of any species into her clutches.

  A few weeks later, Viviene arrived with her escort. It was clear to anyone who looked that half of the knights in her entourage were smitten by her. Nimue and Gwyneth watched with amusement as Viviene captivated the men at Court. She was even lovelier than Gwyneth remembered her. Perhaps her time in the Fairy Realm had something to do with it, or maybe it was her joy at the opportunity to be back in the Human Realm after being shut away in a convent in the Fairy Realm for so many years. She responded to the men as they responded to her. Gwyneth knew she was going to have to employ some powerful magic to keep Viviene focused on the seduction of Merlin and not on the handsome young knights who swarmed around her.

  At dinner that evening, Viviene was presented to Arthur. The entire Court was captivated by her beauty. Guenevere paid no more attention to Viviene than she did any of the other other beautiful young courtesans, of which there were dozens in Arthur's household. Soon Viviene had all but overshadowed Guenevere's popularity among the knights. She provided a much needed – and not so dangerous – alternative to Guenevere. The knights were attracted to Guenevere, but she was their Queen and the beloved wife of Arthur, their liege lord and High King, so their attraction was mixed with a certain amount of guilt, shame and fear. Viviene was a single maiden, an orphan and not betrothed. She was, quite literally, up for grabs and the knights made a mad scramble for her attention.

  That got Guenevere's attention, and she was not pleased with the turn of events. Her plan had been to keep the Court in an uproar, with all the knights in love with her. Viviene was an unwanted and unwelcome distraction, although it did keep the drama going, so Guenevere made no move to stop it. She simply redoubled her own flirting with the knights, increasing their frustration.

  Interestingly, Viviene seemed oblivious to the attentions of the knights. She devoted herself to her role as one of Arthur's chambermaids with a demure modesty that would have made any mother in the realm proud. Viviene knew that Gwyneth was posing as a lady-in-waiting for Galahad, but Gwyneth's disguise was so perfect, Viviene did not know which of his maids was Gwyneth – at least not until she learned that his primary attendant was a lovely but very shy raven-haired beauty, named, of all things, Gwyneth. Viviene knew the Sorceress was in the Court as well. Her disguise was perfect, but her power and allure were such that Viviene suspected Niniane was actually the Sorceress. Viviene did not give any sign of recognizing either of them. She merely did her job and waited for them to let her know what they wanted of her.

  After a few weeks, Gwyneth and Nimue spirited Viviene away from the Court in the middle of the night and the three caucused in the chamber at the bottom of the lake where Nimue had hidden Excalibur. It was one place they believed that Guenevere would not be able to overhear their conversation, if they cloaked themselves in enough magic.

  Gwyneth and Nimue took turns explaining to Viviene what they wanted her to do. If she was disappointed at being expected to turn her back on an entire court filled with lusty young men in order to seduce an ancient wizard, she never gave any sign of it. She listened and agreed to the plan without hesitation. She asked appropriate questions. They answered truthfully, and both were impressed by Viviene's willingness to cooperate. They did not know until it was too late that Viviene's most burning desire was to learn magic. Seducing the greatest wizard who had ever lived might go a long way toward getting her wish. She cared nothing for the attention of the knights. From the moment of her arrival, her primary goal had been to please Arthur with her work so she would be able to stay in Camelot and escape the monotony of life in the Grail Convent. Once they explained to her why they brought her to Camelot, she set out to please Merlin in any way he wanted. She must have known at least a little magic already because she managed to keep her real ambition hidden from both Nimue and Gwyneth.

  Merlin proved to be too easy a target for her. Viviene was exactly the kind of female who attracted Merlin most. Even more than her physical beauty and skills as a coquette, Merlin responded to her admiration of his skills as a wizard. His vanity was stronger than his libido at that point in his life, not that his libido failed to play a role.

  Through a combination of cunning and innocence, Viviene soon reduced Merlin to the same kind of helpless devotion that Lancelot felt for Guenevere. It did not take long for her to have him where she wanted him: at her beck and call. Gwyneth and Nimue saw how that relationship was progressing and they explained to Viviene about Merlin's home/prison in the Crystal Cave. Viviene agreed to lure him to his den. She told the others that she thought she should stay there because she thought Merlin might need her. Gwyneth would have preferred Viviene to return to the convent, but Nimue (who was no fan of convents of any religion) thought it might be better to let Viviene keep Merlin company. If nothing else, it would keep him occupied and make him less likely to try to escape and return to Camelot.

  Gwyneth eventually agreed, but not without reservations.

  Guenevere initially reacted badly to Viviene's success among the knights, but once she determined that Viviene appeared to be (inexplicably) more interested in Merlin than in the knights, Guenevere, too, let down her guard.

  Merlin responded to Viviene's attentions in exactly the way an elderly male of virtually any species could be expected to react to the attentions of a beautiful, young female: he was putty in her hands. Viviene revered his magical powers, but she lost a lot of respect for him, given the ease with which he fell for her ruse. That made it easier for her to do what Gwyneth and Nimue asked her to do.

  Nimue encouraged Viviene to get Merlin out of the way while Arthur was distracted by his efforts to make Guenevere pregnant during the winter, while the wars were at something of a standstill. Viviene complied and persuaded Merlin to take her to his cave in the farthest reaches of the Nether World. Nimue explained to Viviene how to imprison Merlin in the crystal of his lair. When they arrived at the cave, Viviene trapped Merlin as Nimue had instructed her, but she allowed him just enough freedom to move a little and to talk to her. In exchange for his sharing secrets about his powers, she provided brief moments of freedom for him as well as sexual favors. Merlin missed Arthur, but he was not discontented in the refuge of his cave with his doting concubine who asked only that he share with her some of the secrets of his magic. In exchange for news, a bit of freedom and occasional sex, Merlin shared with her a few tricks and illusions. She thought she was learning magic.

  Only later, when she learned how little Merlin actually tried to teach her, did Viviene attempt to even the score. At first, however, Viviene and Merlin seemed to have reached an equilibrium between his lust for her body and her lu
st to learn the secrets of his magic. Their little dance kept Merlin occupied and out of the way.

  In Merlin's absence, Nimue became Arthur's primary mentor. That was an unexpected and beneficial side effect of getting rid of Merlin. Arthur valued her opinion and sought her guidance on a number of topics. Nimue assumed the role of something like a Queen Mother. Arthur missed Merlin, and made an effort to search for him when he first disappeared. There was no sign of Merlin, and Arthur accepted the fact that Merlin would return when he was ready. Nimue convinced him that a wizard could be expected to act unpredictably. As time went on, he increasingly relied on the woman he knew as Niniane for the kind of advice and counsel he previously got from Merlin. Nimue intended to keep it that way.

  With Merlin out of the way and Nimue/Niniane firmly in charge of Arthur's household, Gwyneth considered her options. Galahad was the only knight who had resisted Guenevere, and, having captured the hearts of all the others, Guenevere redoubled her efforts to seduce Galahad. Gwyneth decided she needed to get Galahad out of Guenevere's way. Arthur was keeping close to the palace, and the knights were getting on each others' nerves and getting into trouble. Galahad continued to resist Guenevere's advances, but was becoming increasingly subject to harassment by the other knights because of it. They accused him of snubbing the queen.

  Gwyneth knew that if that kind of talk went much further Galahad was in for trouble no matter what he did. If he succumbed to Guenevere's charms, he would risk Arthur's ire as well as Lancelot's. If he was perceived as snubbing her, he would find himself in almost as much trouble from the same sources. Gwyneth decided that the best course of action would be to remove Galahad from the palace altogether.

  She sent a message to the Troll King suggesting a ruse that might help. A few weeks later news began to filter into the Court of an enormous Green Knight who was wrecking havoc on the countryside, looting and plundering, threatening maidens and generally making a nuisance of himself. Gwyneth suggested that Galahad, who had not left the palace in a very long time, should volunteer to pursue the Green Knight. She gently floated the suggestion by Galahad while serving him breakfast one morning. He jumped at the idea and said he would make the offer to Arthur during their hunt later that day. Gwyneth said she thought that was a good idea. She suggested that he take a small entourage with him and she volunteered to come along as the cook. At first Galahad resisted, but he had grown accustomed to her ministrations and the wisdom of her advice. He knew that a few of the other knights traveled with an entourage, so he thought he could try it, even though he had previously preferred to travel alone.

  Arthur agreed to dispatch Galahad and a small group of knights and pages to rid the countryside of the nuisance of the Green Knight. It took them a while to find the Green Knight, who seemed to be moving away from Camelot. Eventually, they caught up with him and Galahad bested the Knight in a short but violent battle.

  Technically, their purpose for being away from the Court was accomplished (and Gwyneth cursed the Troll King for sending such an incompetent villain!), so they should have returned to Court. They were, however, near the southern coast and Galahad began to wax nostalgic about his home among the Normans across the water. Gwyneth encouraged his longing to return home and soon he was determined to visit his homeland. They chartered a boat and crossed the raging waters just ahead of a violent storm. Galahad worried about leaving Britain without permission from Arthur. Gwyneth assured him that she had sent a message to Niniane who would make sure Arthur understood their purpose.

  They traveled around in the beautiful Norman countryside, with it green pastures and fat cows. Galahad believed he was an orphan, but he had many friends, mentors and protectors in that land. They visited Galahads old haunts and Gwyneth grew fonder of the lad every day. She never would have imagined she could feel so protective of a Human. She knew in her heart she loved him but could not bring herself to admit it.

  Gwyneth was a Fairy, and, as such, she was incapable of producing a male heir. Fairies could have sexual relations with males of many species, although very few Fairies were willing to engage in relations with Humans, conjugal or otherwise. Fairies lived for hundreds of years and rarely reproduced. When they did have children, the offspring were always female Fairies (no matter what species the father might be). Occasionally new Fairies were created in the manner Gwyneth and Guenevere had become Fairies: powerful magic.

  Fairies loathed and feared Humans, especially Human males. Gwyneth found it ironic that she should become so fond of Galahad, Arthur and several other Humans at Camelot. She couldn't quiet decide if it was a flaw in her character or if it was a sign she was growing as a mage. Whichever was the cause, she felt that her sudden affection for Humans might turn out to be an impediment if she had the opportunity to use one of them as a weapon against Guenevere.

  She forced herself not to dwell on those disturbing thoughts for long. She and Galahad kept on the move and, while Galahad was catching up with friends and mentors in the public halls of the manors they visited, Gwyneth made friends among the Human staff and serfs in the kitchens and laundries. She also discovered that the monarchs of the Nether Realm had dispatched spies everywhere among the Human Realm. She met Fairies, Trolls, Sprites, Elves and Dwarfs who all greeted her as a heroine, protecting the interests of the Nether World at Camelot, despite the dangers from Humans and Demons alike. They shared their intelligence with her, and she filled them in on what was going on at Camelot, intelligence the spies passed on to the Nether World.

  Eventually they made their way back across the great water into Britain, but they did not hasten back to Camelot. A network of informants and communications among the spies from the Nether World had developed over the years, and Gwyneth exploited it to keep Galahad busy and on the move. Everywhere they went they encountered dragons and evil knights, pilferers and exploiters of maidens or widows. Galahad came to the aid of the beleaguered people everywhere they went, slaying dragons and punishing evildoers. Gwyneth's goal of keeping him far from Camelot was easily accomplished: his compassion and courage made him a natural champion of those who were beset by evil.

  As a beneficial side-effect, Galahad achieved renown throughout Britain as the guardian and champion of the poor and the downtrodden. He became a national hero second only to Arthur. Neither Galahad nor Gwyneth was aware that, in some places, Galahad was more loved than Arthur, who was a king who imposed taxes, drafted his subjects into service of various kinds and fought bloody battles in the fields of Britain.

  Wherever they went, Galahad collected admirers and his fame spread throughout the land of Britain and beyond. The name Galahad itself came to convey an almost magical aura of power and goodness.