Once in the town of Canterbury, there was a boy name William. William always wanted to be like the great King Arthur for he heard many tales of his courage and strength throughout the town. His home was mere steps away from where the king would help his foster-brother, Kay, train for the tournaments. William would pretend that he was destined for such greatness, pretending to pull sticks from the stone where the sword used to sit. But all of the other children mocked him, saying things such as, “There can only be one king, and that is King Arthur.” and “You have a better chance becoming a forest fairy!” After much abuse, the young boy left Canterbury and headed for the forests, seeking solitude from his the reproach of his peers.
It was at about this time that the jester of the fairies was banished from the kingdom for he was a mischievous fairy and the Fairy King could no longer tolerate his foolishness. It was as this fairy was leaving that he heard the William crying. The fairy headed towards the tears and saw the boy curled up, hiding under a tree. “What is wrong boy?” the fairy asked.
“I will never be as great as King Arthur.” William replied, trying to dry his eyes. It was in that moment that fairy knew exactly what he would do as an impish grin spread across his face.
“Ah, but my dear boy,” the fairy exclaimed, “That is why I am here! I heard your tears in the wood and came to grant you a wish on behalf of the Fairy King, who took pity on you.” This news excited the boy as he had never met a fairy before and that his fantasies were finally to come true.
“Really?” William asked. He stood up and faced the fairy eagerly and asked “What must I do in order to be granted my request?”
The fairy hopped around as he was thrilled to have a naïve and foolish boy to play games with. “Come follow me! We must make haste for the lake!” he shouted as he dashed away from William. He quickly followed behind him. The jester was much more nimble than William, but he was able to keep up with the fairy. The fairy stopped right before the clearing that was near the lake. When William reached the fairy, He saw an old man and a strong, young knight standing before the lake. A beautiful maiden was in the water, beckoning the knight into the water. Most confusing to William was an arm extended above the water out in the middle of the lake. In its grasp was a glistening blade. William turned the fairy and asked, “So, how can I become King Arthur?”
The fairy replied rather agitatedly, “Watch carefully!” William looked back to see the knight in a barge heading toward the arm. The knight reached out to the blade and as soon as it was in his grasp, the arm disappeared. That is when the fairy whispered to William, “You must go to the arm in the lake and fetch from it one of those swords, and then you will be as renown as King Arthur.” William was frightened by this proposal, but he felt courage overcome him. He thought this is how King Arthur must feel as he embarks on quests. After all the people had disappeared from the lake, the boy walked toward the barge that remained banked on the shore. As he stepped in the boat, he turned to the fairy and asked, “Why will you not come with me?”
“I wish I could, my boy,” the jester moaned deceptively, “But this is a quest appointed to you, and I must not go for the sake of your request.” As William made his way to the center of the lake, the jester of fairies giggled maliciously at the misfortune that was about to unfold.
William was in the middle of the lake, but no sword would appear, nor would the hand that held it before. He called to the fairy at the shore, “What must I do to summon the sword?”
The fairy shouted back to the boy, “Call to the Wench of the Water and demand for the sword, Excalibur.” The fairy could very faintly be heard laughing at the naivety of the boy in the barge.
William leaned over the barge, not believing what he was about to call the fair maiden, and shouted, “Wench of the Water! I demand for th…”
The arm shot out of the water, grabbed the back of Williams head, and retracted back to the depths, thrusting William out of the barge and into the lake. The Jester was hysterically euphoric at the mischief he caused and retreated back to the woods to find other foolish children to trick.
William sank to the bottom of the lake, held tightly by the arm that seemed to have no end. As William floated in the water, the Lady of the Lake flew at the boy like a banshee of the night and shouted in a rage rarely seen, “You foolish child! How dare you enter my domain in such a manner? I am the Lady of the Lake, ruler of these waters, and you call my name in such an insolent tongue nothing better than a whore? And you command me to do your biding, pleading for the sword Excalibur that is mine and mine alone? I do not even have it in my possession, for King Arthur, a brave and favorable knight, asked graciously for it. You deserve nothing but death, you wicked boy!”
“I’m sorry, my lady!” William cried. “I did not know what I was doing, I only wished for the sword Excalibur for I pray to be as renown as that same great knight, King Arthur.”
The Lady of the Lake sat in silence, searching for the proper judgment for the boy, and then spoke softly saying, “You shall have the sword Excalibur when King Arthur returns it to me. But do not think yourself so easily excused of your folly. For someone must keep the sword safe.” She then spoke to the hand and said “John, I grant you leave of your position. Finish your life fruitfully.” The grip on William lessened as he turned around to find an old man floating behind him. He swam to the surface escaping the prison he was held in. the Lady of the Lake turned back to William saying, “Now, you shall be granted the role as the bearer of the sword Excalibur.”
It was in that lake that William stayed, waiting for the return of what he longed for, the renown of King Arthur and the sword, Excalibur. He is forever a prisoner and servant of the Lady of the Lake, but was the happiest in his lifetime the day Sir Bedivere threw the sword into the prison cell.
The End
*Writer's Note- I apologize for not sharing much lately. I've been working on music and stageplays more so lately. I wrote this a bit ago for my history class. I picked a hole within the lore and filled it. Call it fan fiction. I didn't intend to share it, but you deserve better care for your attention. Forgive me.*
