The True Enemy Read online

  “Fools slingshots and fists are no match for our blades!” one of the monkeys shouted. The monkeys charged, swinging their swords wildly.

  Bart and Bert fired their slingshots. The monkeys blocked their shots with their swords. They flew towards us with their wings flapping madly.

  “Siwids Ba gina!” I shouted.

  The monkey’s swung at us, but their swords vanished in mid swings. “What!” the lead monkey said.

  I cut him down with a jab of my staff to his face. He disappeared in a puff of fuzzy fur.

  Bart and Bert fired their slingshots again. This time their shots hit two monkeys square in the face. The monkey’s yelped then they also disappeared in a poof of fur.

  Art dove at another monkey. The monkey saw him and leaped into the air. Art went crashing into a table smashing it to pieces.

  The monkey turned and laughed. “Oh, that’s going to leave a mark!”

  Mika and Sebastian dove at the monkey while he was busy taunting Art. They tackled him (or her) to the ground. The monkey started to squirm away, but I cut him (or her) down with an energy blast from my staff. Once again the staff responded to my thought. It felt good and natural.

  The last two monkeys took the air and darted at me. I blasted at them but missed. They were fast little creatures.

  “Ha nothing more deadly than a barrel full of monkeys!” they shouted as they swooped down on me. I blocked one with my staff.

  “I don’t think you have that saying right!” I said.

  Gail jumped across the room and grabbed the other with one hand. The one that I had blocked, darted at me again. Gail jumped forward and caught that one with her other hand. She slammed the two monkeys together. They exploded in a puff of fur.

  Art got up and looked at the desk he smashed. “Well I guess it could have been worse,” he said.

  “What are you kids doing in here?” Principal King said, appearing the cafeteria door.

  “Oh, it just got so much worse,” Bart whispered to Bert.

  The principal stormed into the room.

  “We’re planning for the contest,” I said trying to block his view of the table.

  It didn’t work. I was too small and Principal King was too large. He zoomed past me zeroing in on the smashed table. “What happened here? How could you all destroy school property like this! Don’t you know there are budget cuts? We need all the desks and tables we can get!” He crossed his arms and shot us all a discerning glare. “I can NOT allow you in the contest.”

  Art jumped up. He grabbed the principal by the arm. He spun him towards himself.

  “Art, do NOT touch me!” Principal King said. “You are in enough trouble as it is.”

  Art gave him a polite bow. “Sir, please don’t do this to the group. I broke the table on my own. I wanted to impress Mika and Gwen with my skills. I told them I could do parkour….” He glanced down and away, lowing his eyes. “I was wrong, I can’t. At least not very well.” He turned his head slowly towards the giant principal. He dipped his head lower. “Please punish me and not them.” He paused to gauge the principal’s response. “Gwen and Mika tried to stop me. They lectured me about showing off, but I didn’t listen.” He sighed, “I was such a big jerk.”

  The principal stood there taking account of Art with his eyes. He looked at the rest of us. We all just nodded. “Is this true?” he asked.

  Gail stepped forward. “Sir, you know I never lie,” she said.

  “Yes, Gail you are the most honest student I have ever met. I can even remember you telling me that my toupee looked ridiculous and that I could lose ten pounds,” he said, patting his stomach.

  “It did, sir,” Gail said. “So you know when I say, none of us wanted Art to jump on the table it is true.”

  The principal nodded. “I guess...I believe you, Gail,” he said.

  “So we can still be in the contest?” I asked meekly.

  “I will pay for the damage two-fold,” Art said. “Plus I will do hall monitor work for a week.”

  “For a month,” the principal said.

  “Agreed,” Art said.

  The principal looked at me. “You may all still be in the contest, except for Art.” He pointed to his eyes then pointed to us, “but I will be watching you!”

  “Understood,” I said.

  “Thanks, sir,” Gail said.

  We watched as the principal walked away.

  “Wow, he threw himself on this sword for us,” Bart said.

  Art walked over to me, “I guess you have my answer now,” Art told me.

  “Art you didn’t have to do that,” I told him. “I could have figured out another way. I could have done something…” I kind of babbled.

  Art smiled. “Look, Gwen, now you can truly make Lance a part of the team. His muscles will help.”

  “And he is so handsome,” Gail said. She looked at Art. “Not that you aren’t fairly handsome...in your own way.”

  Yep, Gail couldn’t lie.

  “I get it,” Art said. “Don’t worry guys even if I am not on the team I will still have your backs if you need me.”

  Art gave me a little bow and started to head off.

  Bart and Brett came up to me. “You going to let him go?” Bart asked.

  “I don’t think I have a choice.” I made a fist. “Though I do have some choice words for those fairies. Does anybody know where they are now?” I asked.

  “Nina has swim time now. I’m sure the other two are there with her making plans,” Bart said.

  Brett looked at his bro. “How do you know that?”

  Bart turned red. “I know stuff….” was all he said.

  Sure enough, walking into the pool area we found Nina doing laps while Kay and Celia dipped their feet in the water. I had sent Mika and Sebastian home as I did not want my new knights dealing with these potentially devious fairies. Bart, Bert, Gail, and Paulie still flanked me. I moved quickly towards where Kat and Celia were sitting. They had their phones out looking at their maps. I assumed they were making plans for covering territory.

  “How dare you send flying monkeys after us!” I shouted at them.

  Nina heard me and stopped her laps and swam over towards us.

  “Excuse you?” Celia said. “Are you flipping out again young Gwen? Have you been sniffing Gails socks?”

  “No,” I said.

  Celia and Kat both stood up. They straighten up and held out their chests. I think they wanted to intimidate me. “Gwen, what are you talking about?”

  “We got attacked by flying monkeys with swords and forked tongues!” I said.

  Nina reached the side and climbed out of the pool. She shook the water off and was instantly dry. “What are you talking about?”

  I nudged Bart who was mesmerized by the stunning, golden-haired Nina. “Show her.”

  Bart stood there. I was actually surprised his tongue wasn’t hanging out.

  “Show her,” I repeated.

  Gail took the phone from Bart’s hand. She fumbled with it for a second. She showed the phone to Nina. “See!”

  “That’s a picture of your thumb,” Nina sighed.

  Gail turned the phone towards herself. “No! I always do that.” She flicked her finger on the phone. She smiled. She turned her phone towards Nina. “This is one of them!”

  Nina leaned in. “Yep, that’s a flying monkey alright.” Shaking her head she looked down at Celia and Kay. “Okay, which one of your two are Wizard of Oz fans?”

  “I don’t watch that kind of movie,” Kat said, “it makes us look bad.”

  “Yeah I hate it when the witch dies,” Celia says.

  Nina turned back to me. “I didn’t do this either,” she said. “I admit this is weird but can’t be our doing.”

  “Why not?” I asked.

  Nina sighed. “Cause I said no magic and my word is my bond.”

  Looking past Nina at the other two, I asked, “What about them?”

  Kat ran her fingers over her heart. “Fair
y swear, I did not do it.”

  Celia did the same. “Fairy swear, we did not do it.”

  Gail whispered to me. “They can’t lie with fairy swears!”

  I knew that.

  “Thanks for your time,” I said. “Sorry for the misunderstanding.”

  “My guess it’s Morgan,” Celia said. “You know she’s always preferred us!”

  I left truly not knowing what to believe. I did know that somebody but was out to stop us...but we weren’t going to be stopped that easily.

  My Notes:

  Wow, Art really did take one for the team for us. He didn’t have to do what he did. After all, he was only trying to defend me. Yet he bowed out gracefully and now has to pay for the table and suffer being hall monitor. Art never liked wearing sashes. But when I think about it that was our only way out of trouble and to stay in the competition. And I do believe that Art will be happier on the sidelines. He will be there if we need him though.

  I also know somebody is playing with nasty magic, sending flying monkeys at us. I know Celia wants to blame Morgan but somehow that didn’t sit right with me. Like Merlin always reminds me...Morgan is an in your face kind of lady. She likes to watch her minions or at the very least let you know her minions are her minions. She’s not one to blame or give credit to others. This attack wasn’t her doing. No matter how much I wanted to believe that it might be.

  Could these monkeys have been from another source of magic? Like Ms. Vivian? She is a powerful mage. She has had a history of getting in my way while claiming to help me. I’m just not sure why she would want to stop us from meeting Kristi Quick? Plus, I really don’t think sword-wielding monkeys of death are something she could conjure up. At least not without help.

  Could this have been Kristi herself? I guess it was possible. Maybe she didn’t want us to win the contest and get to meet her. Maybe she figured we would figure out that she is as evil as Morgan says? But if that’s the case...why throw this contest, to begin with? Unless Kristi is just testing us to see if we are worthy of her time and energy. That doesn’t make a lot of sense but I’ve learned through the years neither pop stars or wielders of great magic often make a lot of sense. I guess when you can get whatever you want, it’s easy to believe that the world bends to your will and you can do whatever you want. And in Kristi’s case, that might be true.

  I guess I would find out soon enough… I hated being so confused. Being a teenager is hard enough!

  Chapter 6 - Hitting the streets

  We decided there was no time to waste. Paulie broke us into teams and assigned each team areas of Camelot to go to and ask for donations. I was teamed up with Sebastian. Lance with Paulie. Brett and Bart made another team. And finally Gail and Mika. We were each given signup sheets and street assignments.

  We would scour the city with our sweetest faces on. Yeah, it might not be easy getting people to donate for homeless pets, but it was what it was. All the other teams would be facing the same challenges. The fact that each person could only donate $10 made this more of a race to cover ground before the other teams. I thought we had a distinct advantage over the other teams as we were all quite fast. It was a good thing the track team wasn’t fans of Kristi Quick!

  As we went door to door, I couldn’t help thinking about Art. How he helped the cause by actually pulling out and taking the blame. The Arthur from the past would never have done that. He was more of a stubborn man. More like a rock set in his ways. As they say today, it was his way or the high way.

  My mind went back to a time long ago sitting in our throne room. A peasant was about to come before us. This poor man had been caught stealing bread from the bakery. The baker was not at all pleased.

  “Arthur remember the man coming before you is poor. He did what he did for his family,” I told him.

  Arthur shook his head. “There is no reason to be poor in MY Camelot. We have much work for even the simplest of peasants to perform. And I pay a fair wage. There is no excuse for taking from others.”

  “Arthur please hear the man out before passing sentence,” I pleaded with my voice and my eyes.

  Arthur glanced at me. “I will try. But I can not tolerate such behavior. If I let one get away with this others will try. Soon we will have anarchy. Kings hate anarchy.”

  “He may have a good reason for doing what he did,” I offered. “Remember there are always mitigating circumstances.”

  Arthur shook his head. “I promise I will listen before I pass judgment,” he told me. From his tone, I knew Arthur would listen to the man’s story but his mind was already made up. This would not bode well for this peasant.

  Sir Gawain dragged the peasant into the throne room. Gawain could be one of the rougher knights. The man meant well, but he had all the charm and subtlety of a battering ram. Hence the reason I wasn’t anxious to find him in the modern world. Gawain tossed the man to our feet. “I caught this beast stealing bread! He would take food and money from others for his own selfish needs.”

  I whispered to Arthur, “Please be kind and fair.”

  “I am always fair, but sometimes it is impossible to be kind and fare. I am King after all.”

  Yes, Arthur could be a real twit at times. Back then I thought it to be a stubborn streak. Now I see it was the burden of a man doing a job he did not truly want. Of course, being King had a lot of perks. Many would kill to be king. Of course, that was also one of the downsides of being king. Many wanted your throne. In Arthur’s case that pained him more...that so many would harm him for a throne he did not cherish or really want. He tried to do his best but he was only a human. Really no different from the peasants and knights he ruled over.

  “What is your name peasant?” Arthur demanded.

  “My name is Bo,” he said looking up from the ground.

  “Bo, you are accused of stealing bread from the baker. How do you plead?” Arthur asked.

  A tear formed in Bo’s eye, it ran down his face, removing some of the dirt covering his face. “I am guilty, sire. But I need the food for my family.”

  Gawain raised a leg to kick the man, but Arthur stopped him with a subtle gesture of his right hand.

  “There is plenty of work to be done in the fields and in the castle. I pay fairly,” Arthur told Bo.

  Bo showed Arthur his right hand, the fingers went bent in many directions, none of them the right direction. “Sire, I had an accident on one of the farms. My right hand no longer works properly. It makes it hard for me to work.”

  Gawain growled at the man, “Your left hand is perfectly fine!” He chuckled. “Worked good enough for you to steal bread. And your legs work. I needed my steed to catch you!” He sighed. “I’d much rather be out hunting dragons than pitiful peasants.”

  “I am not pitiful I am hurt!”

  Arthur looked at the man’s hand. He weighed his words. He looked at Gawain. That was not a good sign for this peasant. “Gawain is correct, you have one good hand and two strong legs. You may still work.”

  Bo looked down at the ground. His tears streamed down his face, cleaning it somewhat. He looked pitiful. I had hoped Arthur would show some mercy.

  “I will give you a choice,” Arthur said.

  Bo looked up, a glimpse of hope in eyes. “Yes, my king.”

  “I can Gawain stomp on your other hand breaking that too. Then you may live the life of a beggar with good reason. Or I can send you to the dungeon for a year. There you will get bread and water.”

  “But sire, I have a family!”

  “And I have a kingdom of families I must protect!” Arthur shouted at him. “I can not let robbery go unpunished.”

  “Arthur, the man’s family should not be punished for his actions,” I said.

  Arthur glared at me. I returned his glare two-fold. Arthur sighed. He returned his concentration to Bo. “Speak, what do you choose?”

  “And my family?” Bo asked.

  “They will become wards of the kingdom,” I answered for Arthur. “I the quee
n will make sure they have food!”

  “Fine, I choose….”

  I came back to the here and now. It did not matter what punishment the man chose. What did matter was that Arthur was going to punish him no matter what. He was a man who saw the world as black and white or good versus evil. And he was a man who was always right. He never could see the little nuances that make life so interesting. I know now this was because that Arthur had a job thrust upon him. I was glad to see that Art had grown as a person. I believe he was truly happier in this time and realm. Funny how a man can everything but still not be happy, because of the responsibilities cast upon them.

  I walked up onto a porch. “If a man answers, you talk. If a woman answers, I will talk,” Sebastian said.

  “What if a man and a woman answer?” I asked mostly for fun.

  “We will both talk,” he said.

  I knocked on the door. A chubby older man came to the door. “Yes?” he asked me with a smile.

  “Hello sir,” I said in my most chipper voice. “My friend here and I are raising money for pets without homes.”

  “You’re kidding, right? he said.

  “Even pets need a place to say,” I said, my voice dripping with sweetness.

  The man looked at me. I smiled. The man sighed, “How much do you want?”

  “It is up to you, you may give up to ten dollars,” I said.

  “If I do it, will you let me go back to watching the football game?” he asked.

  “Sure!” I said.

  I handed the man the signup sheet. He wrote his name and $10. “Thank you, sir,” I said. “You’ve made the world a better place.”

  He belched, “No problem.”

  Walking off the porch Sebastian nudged me. “Good use of charm there.”

  “Thanks,” I said.

  For the next few hours, my knights and I met with mixed success. A few kind souls gladly donated. Some people would reluctantly give money. Others seem to enjoy slamming doors in our faces. Others would listen and politely close the door. It seemed people with pets were much more likely to give at least something.