A/N: Here it is, the start of the Round Table Story. I have been rattling this idea around for awhile, but placed it on the back burner with the other two stories I'm writing. I hope you like it!
This story is being revised slowly so you may see different tenses as you read on.
Jacob POV
The roar of the crowd was loud; I could hardly hear myself think. I didn't need to concentrate hard. I knew I would win the joust. I always did.
I climbed on my horse, Emmett, as my name was introduced to the crowd.
"Sir Jacob Black," the page announced. Everyone cheered. I rode over to the where the King and Queen were sitting.
"My lord," I said and tipped my head. I couldn't very well take my helmet off; acknowledging and nodding head would do.
"Ah, Sir Jacob," the King said. He smiled kindly. "My best jouster."
I smiled. "I win this joust for you, my lord."
He nodded. I tapped Emmett lightly with my heels so he would move a few steps. I stood in front of Queen Guinevere and kissed her hand.
"My lady," I acknowledged her.
"Sir Black," she said, nodding. Her blond hair perfectly framed her face and her crown looked divine on her head.
Emmett took a few more steps so I could nod at my sister, Rosalie. She was the Queen's head lady-in-waiting. My sister was beautiful and she knew it. All of the Knights of the Round Table expressed an interest in her, save one. That one was my best friend, Edward.
Edward was as good a knight as I was and most certainly even better. He was always given special runs by the King to bring back certain trinkets or slay certain dragons. He was a knight before me, although we were friends for years. When he was knighted, Lancelot took him under his wing and molded him. He seemed to think that Edward was a younger version of him. I hoped not, for one reason.
Lancelot was in love with the Queen. Everyone at the court of Camelot knew it. Even the King knew it but he just didn't want to acknowledge it. And the Queen returned his sentiment. Arthur and Guinevere married for convenience, maybe for love. But what Lancelot and Guinevere had ran deeper than that.
When Lancelot began coaching Edward, I was worried he would fall under the Queen's spell. Yes, she was beautiful (not as beautiful as my sister though), but because of her position she had power. She could order him to her bed and he could refuse and be declared a traitor or follow and be hanged for treason. It was a no-win situation.
Luckily, the Queen never set her sights on him. It surprised me, though. Edward was probably the most handsome man in the court. I of course have no romantic feelings for my friend, but I can acknowledge his God-given features. It always made me jealous slightly. While the Knights of Camelot fawned over my sister, the Ladies of Camelot fawned over him.
I took my place and waited for the joust to begin. There was a tug on my leg and I looked down. A pair of blue eyes smiled back at me, adoration shining through them. Alice.
The Queen's sister. She was just as beautiful as Guinevere, maybe even more so. But she was less desired. The princess had "visions." She swore she could see the future. Some were skeptic like I was while others thought she was Satan's follower. The King, however, believed her. One of his trusted followers was Merlin the wizard. Merlin could see things as well; sometimes their visions mirrored each other. When that happened, we knew there was trouble.
The Princess held a torch for me. Although I find her attractive and desirable, I do not return the sentiment. Maybe it is because I do not believe in the occult. I do not believe in wizards and witches and immortals. I believe in facts and truths. I always believe that Merlin was the cause of his own visions and that is how he sees them so clearly.
And don't get me started on the King's sister, Morgan. She is a witch who lives in Avalon. She often visits her brother and sits with Alice for hours. They are the best of friends. I believe that if Arthur would remove Merlin and Morgan from his court all "supernatural" things would disappear. We would live like a normal court in a castle.
The Princess was extending her arm and handing me something. Bending down on Emmett to get it from her, my fingers brushed hers. She blushed. She is so little, barely five foot tall. But she is powerful when she wants to be.
I looked at what she was handed me, it was a blue scarf. She wanted me to wear her scarf on my sleeve. I smiled and nodded. This simple gesture would mean a lot to her. And as the Queen's sister, I could not deny her.
After I tied the scarf on my arm I looked down at her. She was positively beaming, her beauty shining through. She really is a catch.
"Thank you, your highness," I said and tipped my head to her.
"You're quite welcome, Sir Jacob," she said, batting her eyelashes. All the women in the court do that; it is a way of flirting with the Knights. "And don't worry, you win." She gave me a big smile.
I smiled in response. "I figured as much," I told her. I took her hand and squeezed it. "Will you be watching?"
She nodded. "I'll be sitting with my sister and Rose."
"I must be blessed to have Camelot's three prettiest women cheering for me," I said playfully.
Her smile grew. "Oh, I don't know about that." I looked at her questioningly. "The Queen has a new lady. She is gorgeous. Maybe even more so than your sister."
"Don't let Rose hear you say that," I said, smiling.
The whistle blew and Emmett jumped to attention. I slowly rode away from the princess to take my spot for the joust.
This was not a joust to kill, just a joust of sport. I have no intention of killing my fellow Knight of the Round Table. I enjoy it the most when jousting with Edward. We are so in tune with each other, the best friends that we are. It's almost as if we can hear each other's thoughts. Because of that, we block each other and know what moves are made. We always have a great time trying to outdo one another. And it is never competitive, just fun.
The Knight I was jousting with today is fun as well. Sir Jasper Hale is his name. His knighthood was betrothed to him about a year ago. We weren't sure about him at first; he seemed distant and aloof. We learned later that was just his nature. It is hard for him to trust people because of his past and so he withdraws into himself. But once he sees true friends in us, he opens up. I genuinely enjoy spending time with him.
He seems to fancy my sister, yet still keeps her at a distance. Every Tuesday they had a picnic lunch in the woods nearby. He was always the perfect gentleman, but I notice the passion in him when he kisses her hand. They have been found talking and flirting with each other at all hours of the day. And Rosalie sometimes sneaks off in the middle of the night to go to his room. I know for a fact that he hasn't taken her virtue (as a protective brother I have to know), but other than that, his lips are sealed. He refuses to tell me what they talk about. As long as he doesn't hurt Rose, I am fine with it.
Yet sometimes, he seems like he wants to avoid her. There is a look in his eyes telling me he is hiding something. I worry for my sister but I know if I say anything it will push her towards him even more. She is so pig-headed at times. Always has been.
Jasper looked at me and smiled. I smiled back and secured my face shield.
The signal was given and our horses charged towards each other. I hit his shield and he missed mine completely. We rode to the end of the line and turned around. Then we charged again.
The way the King liked it, you dinged the other Knight's shield five times or knock him off once to win. Easy enough. I readjusted my joust; it was perfect.
Something happened though, because it slipped at the last minute. Jasper's joust connected with my shield and signaled a hit. I smiled for my friend. He still wasn't very good at jousting, but his control improved each time.
We continued our game for some time, neither of us hitting the other shield with each charge. Finally, I decided to let him win.
Sorry, Alice, I thought. I pointed my joust to the ground and dropped my shield. He hit me with excessive force and I was knocked off of Emmett.
As I fell, I heard Emmett whinny and snort in front of me. He stopped and looked at me, as if to say what? Are you done? I chuckled at him. I thought about Emmett, my childhood best friend. He was a jokester and loved to hunt, bears especially. On one hunt, however, the bear won. He was twelve.
In memory of him, I named my horse Emmett. I always hoped that I would meet someone like him, and in a way I did with Edward. I think the two of them would have been like brothers had they known each other.
The arena was eerily quiet. I know they wondered if I was okay. Jasper approached me timidly with fear in his eyes. I rolled mine at him.
"Of course I'm okay," I told him. He held out a hand and helped me up. The crowd cheered in appreciation. We walked over to where the King and Queen sat.
"Well done," he said, applauding. "Sir Jasper that was the best joust you've ever played. You are shaping up to be a great knight."
Jasper bowed. "Thank you your highness."
Turning to me the King spoke. "And Sir Jacob, your act of selflessness in letting Jasper win shows the true character of a Round Table Knight."
"Thank you, your highness." I said, bowing. As I straightened up, I saw my sister watching me intently. I gave her a look as if to say what the hell? She scowled at me and huffed off. I rolled my eyes. My sister is SO temperamental.
I noticed Jasper also watching her, a slight smile on his face. Ah, so today he wants to see her. Today he is not aloof.
After the King dismissed us, we returned to our chambers to change. There was a big feast in the Great Hall today and I was famished.
After freshening up, I ran into my sister. She was coming from the direction of my left, where Jasper lives.
"Gee, I don't have to ask where you've been," I said sarcastically. She glared at me. "Why do I even bother?" She was fuming. What I said couldn't have hurt her that badly.
"What is it, Rose?"
She shook her head and looked down. I placed my hand on her arm. "I'm your brother. You know you can talk to me about anything." She looked at me, tears in her eyes. It was unusual for my sister to cry. "Rose?" I asked gently and wiped a tear from her cheek.
"I'm sorry, Jacob, I seemed to have upset your sister," a voice said behind me. I jumped and swung around. Jasper stood there, shamefaced.
"What happened?" I asked. I looked from him to her and back again. Jasper stepped towards her, hands up and spoke softly.
"I'm sorry, Rosalie. Forget about what I said. Let me make it up to you." She looked at him, her blue eyes shining through her tears. He reached her and took her in his arms. "I do want you, but I'm not free. Let me work some things out and then we can be together."
It was as if I wasn't even there. I noticed how affectionate he was with her. He brushed a tear away from her face and looked into her eyes. "Will you think about it?" She nodded yes. He brought his lips to hers gently.
I turned and walked away. They didn't need me imposing on their moment. If I didn't know better, I would say that was their first kiss. I know my sister; she will tell me if it happened before. I entered the dining hall and looked around. It was a huge room with color everywhere. The tables were set forming a rectangle so the king could see everyone. The court at Camelot was huge, biggest in all the land.
Suddenly a body bumped into me. I turned around and looked directly into the most beautiful eyes I have ever seen. They were brown and full of depth. The woman who stood before me blushed.
"I'm so sorry, sir. I wasn't watching where I was going."
I waved her words off. "No need to apologize, miss?" There was inflection on the last word.
"Isabella."
I took her hand. "Pleased to meet you, Isabella. I'm Jacob." I gently kissed her hand. She blushed. That blush is beautiful, along with you.
"Thank you, Sir Jacob." I nodded at her response.
The rest of the court was filing in at that moment, waiting for the King and Queen. Isabella hurries away from me and I watch her disappear into the crowd. King Arthur and Queen Guinevere enter to a huge flourish.
I sat at the Knights table and waited for Alice to pull me to the King. I observed everyone in the room. My sister had recovered from her kiss and was helping the Queen into her seat, making sure she was comfortable. I noticed Rose smiling a lot more than usual and throwing glances in Jasper's direction. My eyes wandered over the rest of the ladies-in-waiting. There was Angela, the wit; Jessica the flirt and Tanya the singer. All of them were beautiful and served the Queen well.
I started to look away when I saw the Queen's new lady sit down at the correct table, next to my sister. She looked scared to death to be there but Rosalie reassured her. She nervously played with her brown hair and bit her lip.
Oh my God, I thought as it dawned on me. The woman with the beautiful eyes. Eyes full of depth and emotion. The one with the gorgeous blush. I kept my eyes on her, noticing her beauty. She had creamy skin and an ample bosom (course, they all did in those corsets). The paleness of her skin was enhanced by the mane of brown that cascaded down her back. And her smile, wow.
I had no idea that the woman who bumped into me was a lady-in-waiting. This could make my conquest for her easier if she fancies me. And I hope she does. She is the most beautiful woman at Camelot and her name reflects it.
Isabella.
A/N: I am slowly working on this so updates may not be as regular as I would like. But I will do my best!
Thanks for reading. Please review and tell me what you think!
