For a moment the two knights stood there uncertainly. But the pause did not last long. The Blue Knight dropped his sword, as if by accident. The Silver Knight dashed over to pick it up. He held the sword out boldly in front of him. The Blue Knight removed his helmet and knelt down, defeated. Then he walked out of the ring.
“We have a winner,” announced the master of ceremonies. “It is the Silver Knight!”
“Hooray!” cried the Aldens.
The children cheered as the Silver Knight circled the ring, waving victoriously to the audience. Then he walked proudly up to the king’s throne. There he took off his helmet. He knelt down before the king, his head bent.
King Richard rose and slowly raised his sword. The sword shone brightly in the spotlight. The heavy jeweled handle glittered.
“Wow, look at his sword!” said Henry. “I bet that sword won’t break.”
King Richard lightly touched the sword to the Silver Knight’s shoulders. Then he smiled at Princess Annabel and announced, “Silver Knight, as winner of the tournament, you shall marry my daughter.” Princess Annabel stood up, smiling brightly. The Silver Knight now stood and took her hand. The king, Princess Annabel, and the Silver Knight all bowed to the audience and walked out. Then all the lights came back on.
“What a great show,” said Jessie.
Hannah smiled broadly. “I’m glad you liked it.” But her smile quickly disappeared. “I have to find out what happened to the Silver Knight’s sword. It wasn’t supposed to break. It’s a good thing this was just the rehearsal.”
A moment later, the Silver Knight came across the ring toward them. Seeing him up close, the Aldens could see he was quite tall and attractive. “Did you see that?” he asked Hannah. “My sword just snapped in half!”
“I saw,” said Hannah, shaking her head. “We’ll have to do something about that.” Then she turned to the Aldens. “These are some local children, Henry, Jessie, Violet, and Benny Alden. This is Jonathan Fairbanks, our Silver Knight.”
“Mr. Fairbanks, you were great!” Jessie said.
“Thank you, Lady Jessie,” said Jonathan, sweeping his arm across his chest and bowing deeply.
Jessie grinned. “I’m really just Jessie, Mr. Fairbanks.”
“And I’m really just Jonathan,” the actor replied, smiling.
“Will you teach me all those cool moves?” Benny asked, jumping around excitedly, waving his arms as if he were in a sword fight.
“Why certainly, young page, I’d be happy to teach you. But first I need to speak with Hannah.” Jonathan turned to her, a worried look on his face. “What are we going to do about my sword tonight? I need a new one.”
“We don’t have any extras,” said Hannah. “That was specially made.”
“But how can I fight the final battle without a sword?” asked Jonathan.
“What about the costume shop in town?” Henry suggested. “They have swords.”
“I doubt they’ll have one that looks real enough,” said Jonathan.
Hannah was silent, trying to think of a solution.
“I have an idea,” said Benny. “You could use the king’s sword. It was really cool-looking.”
A slow smile spread across Jonathan’s face. “Yes! That sword would work nicely.”
Hannah looked doubtful. “I don’t know. That’s a real sword, you know.”
“But it’s not sharp,” said Jonathan. “I won’t hurt anyone.”
“Still, it’s very different from the swords the rest of the knights carry,” Hannah said.
“But the Silver Knight is the one who wins the tournament,” Jonathan pointed out. “That sword would be perfect. Let’s go ask Richard.”
“Good luck getting it away from him,” Hannah muttered under her breath, but she began walking across the ring to where the actor playing King Richard was standing. He was talking to the actress who played Princess Annabel. Jonathan and the Aldens went with her.
“Richard! Annie!” Hannah called.
The woman who had played Princess Annabel smiled in their direction. The Aldens were surprised to see how tiny she was up close, not much taller than Jessie. Without the lights and grand music, she seemed like a regular woman in a fancy dress. But the man beside her still looked and acted like a king. He turned slowly and bowed his head slightly in Hannah’s direction.
“Yes, Madame?” he said in his deep, grand voice.
Hannah smiled and looked at the group around her. “First, let me introduce you to our test audience. This is Henry, Benny, Jessie, and Violet Alden. This is Annie Shore and Richard Worthington.”
Annie Shore smiled and said, “Hi.”
Richard Worthington held his chin high and gazed down at the children. “You may call me King Richard.”
Hannah looked at the Aldens. “See what I mean? He likes to act as if he really were a king.”
“My ancestors were knights long ago in England,” he explained.
Smiling, Hannah said, “Yes. Well, there’s something I’d like to ask you. Since Jonathan’s sword broke, can he borrow yours tonight? It’s just until we can get him another.”
Mr. Worthington’s eyes blazed. “Excuse me, Madame, but a king does not give up his sword!”
Hannah sighed. “I knew this would be a problem,” she said. “Richard, I gave you that sword to use when you joined the show. Tonight Jonathan needs to use it.”
Mr. Worthington looked angry. “And what will I do at the end of the show, when I bestow my royal honor on him, touching him with the tip of the sword?”
“You can just lay your hands on his shoulders,” Hannah suggested. “I think that will be fine.”
Mr. Worthington stood and stared angrily at Hannah. Several seconds passed and the children wondered what he would do. At last he unbuckled the belt on which the sword hung. Then he looked sternly at Jonathan. “You’d best be very careful with that sword, young man,” he said, his voice low. “If anything happens to it, you will be to blame.”
Jonathan nodded seriously, but a trace of a smile was on his face, as if what Mr. Worthington was saying amused him.
Then Mr. Worthington turned to Hannah. “I am still the rightful owner of that sword.”
Hannah shook her head. “No, Richard, I am. Remember, I told you I got it from my parents before they died?”
But Richard Worthington just turned on his heel and strode angrily out of the tent.
As Jessie watched him go, she couldn’t help wondering why he was so attached to the sword. It didn’t really belong to him.
Hannah handed the sword to Jonathan. She smiled apologetically at the Aldens. “Actors can be very moody sometimes. Especially Richard.”
Jonathan studied the sword’s handle with the large red gem in the middle. He moved the sword up and down slightly as if measuring its weight. “This is much heavier than the one I was using before,” he said. He carefully touched the blade. “Not sharp,” he said. He waved it in front of him, a pleased look on his face.
Annie, too, was looking at the sword. “It is a remarkable sword,” she said. “Where did it come from?”
“My parents collected antiques,” Hannah explained. “I found all sorts of things in their attic after they died.”
“It looks very valuable,” Annie said.
Hannah nodded. “I’m sure it is.”
Jonathan smiled broadly, raising his eyebrows. “And now, rightful or not, I am the owner of the sword. It’s just what I need. Yes, exactly what I need.” Pretending he was sword-fighting, he raced out of the tent.
“I’m glad that’s solved,” said Hannah. “I just hope nothing else goes wrong.”
Violet noticed how tired Hannah looked. “We can help,” she offered. “We saw the sign asking for volunteers.”
Hannah smiled gently and put a hand on Violet’s shoulder. “That’s very kind of you, but I think you’re a little too young.”
“We’ve helped out in lots of places,” Henry insisted. “At an old library, a castle, a museum. We’re good helpers.”
Hannah looked at the Aldens, her hand on her chin. “What could you do here at the fair?”
“I know how to juggle and do gymnastics. Maybe I could be a jester,” Jessie said. “Jessie the Jester.” She laughed.
“And I play the violin,” Violet said. “I could stroll around playing before the show begins.”
“That would improve the show,” said Hannah, nodding. “Just one jester and the mandolin player won’t be enough when we have a full audience here.”
Annie, who had been standing quietly beside them, turned to Hannah. “I need someone to help me dress and do my hair for the show.”
“I could do that, too,” Violet said.
“Now how about the boys?” Hannah said.
“We’re all good cooks,” said Henry.
“We can always use more help in the kitchen,” Hannah said.
Annie had another idea. “Jonathan mentioned he could use some help putting on his armor.”
“Yes, Benny can be a page,” Hannah said. “I bet Jonathan will teach you some sword-fighting moves, too.”
Benny jumped up and down and spun around excitedly.
“And Henry can be a squire, working with the horses in the stable,” Hannah said.
“Great!” said Henry.
“Come on,” Hannah said. “I’ll show you around.”
The children learned that the tent they now stood in was the main tent, where the visitors would see the show. Hannah’s office was in a curtained-off section of the main tent. Then she took them outside and they strolled over toward three smaller tents. “These are for the actors who play the knights, king, and princess. This is where they get dressed and wait for the show to begin.”
Farther away was another, larger tent. As they walked, Hannah pointed in that direction. “That’s where we keep the horses.”
A smaller tent nearby held the costumes.
“Where do you make the food?” Jessie asked. She always thought about practical things.
Hannah turned toward a small building next to the main tent. “There’s a full kitchen in there—they use it for lots of different events here in the park.”
“It will be so much fun to work here,” said Violet.
“First you’d better check with your parents,” Hannah said.
“We’ll ask our grandfather,” Jessie told her. “We live with him. But I’m sure it will be fine.”
“Bring him to the show tonight,” Hannah suggested. “If he says it’s okay, you can start tomorrow.”
The Aldens hurried out of the tent, eager to get home and tell Grandfather about their new jobs.
When they were halfway home, Jessie said, “We were having so much fun, we forgot to eat our picnic lunch!”
“No wonder I’m so hungry,” said Benny. |