The Tale of Two Knights

(Note: While I'd love to say that I was the braintrust that totally came up with this story, I am not. I read it several years ago and have searched for a couple of days to find out who wrote the original so that I may give credit to the proper author. What follows is what I recall of the story from memory, so I apologize if it is rough. If anyone knows of the original story, please let me know and I will be happy to give credit where credit is due).

Once there was a young knight who wanted to go and prove himself in the world. As he was a new knight, his armour was dazzling white, brilliant in the sun and made him look even somewhat other-worldly when the sun shone upon him.

He set off on his mission, to rid the world of the perpetrator of all sorrow, pain and harm, namely the Black Knight. As he travelled along, he heard of what the Black Knight had done, and he strengthened his vow that he would put an end to this horrible man.

Along the way, he met several other brave knights, all on the same quest. Some were new like him and had armour that was dazzling white. Other knights had been on their journey longer and their armour showed the marks of sleeping in the wild, battle and hard use.

One evening, as he made his camp for the night, a traveller came upon him and asked if he might share his fire. The young knight, being courteous, invited the weary traveller to join him and soon they were talking as they ate their evening meal. The traveller had some fine mead with him, which he shared with the young knight and before long, they were both feeling the heady effects of the drink. In a moment of impulse, the traveller told the young knight about something he had done, where he profited greatly from being dishonest and showed him the large sack of gold he had earned by nefarious means. The knight hid his surprise at this, although he felt in the depths of his soul that this was wrong. Soon, they both turned in for the night and while the snores of the traveller were soon heard, the knight was kept awake by the thought of the stolen gold. He resolved to take the gold and return it to it's rightful owner and so, before daybreak, took the bag of gold and quietly slipped away from camp before the traveller woke from his deep sleep.

Away he went, looking for the rightful owner of the gold. He was certain he'd know the man by the description the traveller gave and was pleased that he was doing something to correct all the wickedness the Black Knight continued to do.

Time passed still the knight journeyed. On occasion he had to use a little of the gold to buy food or supplies as he didn't ask for payment when he was doing a good deed. He told himself that he'd repay whatever gold he used. Still, no matter how much good he did, he always seemed to be one step behind the black knight.

One night, after a long day of chasing the black knight, he came upon a roadside inn and decided that he would camp there for the night. As he dismounted, the daughter of the innkeeper came out to greet him. She was a vision of loveliness to his eyes and he talked with her as he cared for his horse. She was very taken with his tales of bravery and soon realized that she was in love with this knight. Late that night, she invited him to her room, where they enjoyed each other's company fully.

Early the next morning, a report reached the inn that the black knight had struck again. The knight (no longer as young as he once was), quickly left to chase the evil knight. His travels took him far from the inn and he never saw the innkeeper's lovely daughter again, and even though he meant to write to her, he never seemed to have a moment to do so.

Years passed and still the knight kept to his quest. He was no longer young and had spent his entire life always one step behind the black knight. He always seemed to arrive too late and yet the stories of travellers being robbed, young maidens being compromised, and other more horrible things kept reaching him. By this time he had very little left of the gold, but still had good intentions to give what was left to the rightful owner and pay back what he used.

Finally, he heard that the Black Knight was hiding in a certain wood. He went, ready to meet his lifelong foe and bring justice to all those that the Black Knight had wronged. Quietly he crept through the wood and suddenly he was attacked! He swung to face his enemy and saw that it was a youth, a young Knight who was assailing him. "Why is he attacking me?" he thought , "I have done nothing wrong!"

He fought valiantly for his life, but the years of travel, poor rest, drinking and age made him slower and in the end, the young knight struck him with a fatal blow. As the old knight lay dying in the wood, his blood slowly draining from his body, the young knight approached him.

"Why did you attack me?" the old knight asked, "I have done nothing wrong and have spent my entire life chasing the Black Knight. It is he whom you should have killed."

The young knight looked down upon him, his eyes filling with tears as he realized his mistake. "I thought you were the Black Knight" he said "for your armour was so dark compared to my own that I thought you couldn't possibly be anyone other than he. You also had a bag of gold that I had heard had been stolen from an innocent traveller years ago."

The old knight looked down at his armour, stained with so many years of his experiences and compared it to that of the young knight, freshly started on his quest. It was true that beside the young knight, his armour was indeed so dark as to appear to be black. The old knight thought back to his life and what he had all done, all of with the best of intentions yet to an outsider, it would appear it was done for wrongful means.

With his last breath, the old knight said to the young knight "Go home and live a good life. The only Black Knight you need to slay is the one that dwells within yourself."

This story came to my mind after hearing and reading about what is going on in SL with the JLU.

Happy Anniversary

Wishing my dearest Edward all the best on our fourth anniversary. How time flies when one is having fun! Thank you for making the journey that much sweeter and hopefully for many years to come.

Happy Easter Wishes

On behalf of Edward, myself and the staff at Primbroke Manor, I'd like to extend warmest wishes for a happy Easter to all of our friends, family and acquaintances. May all of the chocolates the Easter bunny leaves for you be foil wrapped!

Happy Valentine's Day!

On behalf of Edward, myself and the staff of Primbroke Manor, I'd like to extend happiest Valentine's wishes to you and yours. Happy Valentine's Day!

On behalf of Edward, myself and our household, I would like to extend the warmest wishes for a very Merry Christmas and a happy, healthy, prosperous New Year. May you be blessed far beyond your hopes.

Settling In

It was a typical afternoon in Babbage, the late autumn sun barely penetrating the smoke and soot in the sky. The weather had taken a cooler turn, and I was very glad for my warm cape. I had been out for a walk, getting my bearings of the city that I now called home, meeting some of my fellow citizens, including a mechanical man, who had the misfortune to be run down by one of the trolleys. Luckily Mr. Lightbulb Brightly was not seriously injured, but I hoped he'd be repaired properly by his creator soon.

Of course, a walk about town would not be complete without seeing the urchins out and about. For the most part they kept their distance from me, but I could not help but to notice that many of them had thin jackets and were not well dressed for the upcoming winter.

Mr. Gears met me at the front door and took my cape for me as I removed my gloves and hat before heading into the parlour for some tea and to look over any letters that came in the post. Settling into my favorite chair, I sorted through the mail, which consisted mainly of various notices, invitations, a few bills, the newspaper and two letters from my brothers. Putting the other mail to the side, I opened the letter from my older brother, Gunnar.

Of course, he was off in some exotic location, his letter full of vividly written tales of daring-do and adventure, the pages barely containing his bold, galloping penmanship. As well, he was madly in love, again, this time with a woman covered in snake tattoos who was the "refreshment server" at a local public house he was currently frequenting. I really did not want to know exactly what sort of "refreshment" she provided. He said he didn't think he'd be making it home for Christmas but would be sending something through the post to Edward and I. He also said he was planning on staying at his current location for a few months, hoping to make some more money doing various jobs to fund his explorations. I sighed as I folded up his letter as Nell came in with the tea tray, the sounds of Mrs. Clowes haggling with the Rag and Bone man in the kitchen trailing in after her.

"Ah, thank you Nell! This is just the thing to warm me up after being out. The weather has gotten so chilly, I really worry for those who haven't a warm place to call home if winter sets in soon. By the way, Mrs. Clowes is not stopping for idle gossip with the Rag and Bone man, is she? Last time he was here, he filled her head with such terrible stories about that voodoo man that she was nearly impossible for weeks!"

"No, ma'am, I don't believe she is. When I left the kitchen, she was trying to get a better price this time as she feels the rags and scraps are of a superior quality. Although, now that I've left, I really couldn't say which way the conversation has gone." Nell smiled slightly before bobbing a curtsy and heading upstairs to dust Edward's study.

I shrugged slightly and sipped my tea, the fragrance of bergamont soothing me, before opening the letter from Lunar. His letter was filled with news from Steelhead, the latest residents, recent social events and of course news of our friends there. Sheriff Fuzzball was managing to keep warm, in spite of his bald head and was maintaining law and order with his usual aplomb. Tensai had not blown up anything major recently but was working on a new device that had great potential and she sent her love. The main part of his letter, though, was devoted to the newest development of the city. Out of the wilderness surrounding Steelhead, Lunar was planning on carving out a unique addition to the community called "Nevermoor". He described it as being a "gothic forest nouveau" and that there would be very little in the way of buildings. He had included some sketches of the statues he was planning having there and with his detailed descriptions I could picture it clearly in my mind. His talents were certainly going to shine with this new development. I made a note to visit him and Tensai before Christmas to see this as well as ready my bakery for the holiday season.

Letters read, I sat back to savour my tea and my mind wandered again to the poorly dressed urchins and some of the other residents that I suspected might not get to enjoy a hot meal on a regular basis, nor warm clothes. My mother had instilled in me the thought that helping others is one of the best things you can do in this world. I sipped my tea some more, when an idea started to grow in my mind....

For Christmas is Coming...

The weather outside was horrible, the sleet pelting the glass and leaving the cobblestone streets below slick, the gaslamps' glow reflecting dimly upon them. I watched as two dark figures, Mr. Gears and Giles came through the front gate, each carrying two large sacks. They disappeared around to the side of the house, no doubt coming in through the kitchen door so they could hang their wet coats in the scullery and get a bracing cup of hot tea (or oil in Mr. Gears' case) from the cook.

I turned away from the window and surveyed the room before me. Piles of scraps were scattered here and there and a few large sacks were in the corner of the spare room. Other than the disorder, the room was warm and cozy, a fire dancing in the grate and the lights casting a warm glow about the room. Opening one of the large sacks, I dumped the contents onto the floor and knelt down, sorting the bits of fabric into their respective piles, by colour and fibre content. Laudanum the cat purred happily in his basket near the fireplace and I softly hummed a tune I had heard earlier in the week being whistled by some men on the street.

After awhile Giles and Mr. Gears could be heard coming up the stairs with their burdens. As they entered the room, Giles' red cheeks and nose suggested that the weather truly was as chippy as it would seem.

"Where would you like these madam?" Mr. Gears asked.

"Over with the other ones, if you please Mr. Gears"

They brought over the sacks, Giles struggling a little with his and left them with the others.

"Thank you for assisting me with this, I appreciate your help, as I'm sure those who will benefit from these quilts will appreciate them as well" I smiled warmly at the men "I cannot stand to see this perfectly good fabric go to waste while there are those who will be suffering from the cold this winter". Giles nodded in agreement, while Mr. Gears inclined his head at my words. "I'm sure you have things you'd like to attend to this evening, so I'll not keep you here. Thank you again for bringing these sacks over from His Grace's shop". The men turned and left, each heading to their respective activites for the evening.

I opened one of the new bags and looked through the fabrics within. This sack contained a good mix of fine woolens and tweeds, along with some bright red scraps left over from the merino wool long underwear that Edward sold in his shop. All of the fabric was new, it was the discarded bits left over after each garment had been cut out. Most of the fabrics were of a wool blend, but there were some piles of linen and cotton's from the shirts as well as colourful bits from the waistcoats.

In the previous weeks, when trying to learn my way around Babbage, I had noticed a large population of urchins as well as those who seemed to live by their wits alone. As the weather grew cooler, my thoughts had turned to how these people were going to keep warm during the winter in Babbage....the deep snow blanketing the streets, the frosty wind whipping around the street corners, whistling through broken windows. A warm quilt or blanket and a few other items would be very useful to keep the cold at bay. Edward had shown me some time ago his left over fabric remnants and now I would turn them into something warm, useful and comforting for others this Christmas. With any luck I would be able to put together a Christmas hamper for anyone who would like one.

After sorting fabric for an hour, I heard Edward's step in his study and decided I had done enough for one evening. Smiling softly and brimming with ideas, I closed the door to the spare room and started towards the study, looking forward to spending the remainder of the evening with my beloved.