For the Love of a Princess
By Cameron Whitaker
Flicker awoke to what would seem to be a normal day at Camelhot. He was lying in bed, pondering about what this day could bring. Suddenly a bell rang, and he heard that all too familiar, "Flicker! Where is my breakfast?" Sir Loungelot's voice echoed through the halls. His was second to only that of Queen Griddle's. "Coming, Sir Loungelot!" replied Flicker. That very phrase had become so familiar to him that it was almost instinctive to say it. "Oh dear! I must have overslept!" he said to himself. He threw on his squire's armor, whipped up a hearty breakfast, and rushed it over to Sir Loungelot.
After a quick inspection of his breakfast, Loungelot shouted, "This isn't what I wanted! There were supposed to be pancakes, not waffles! Take it back and start over." "Yes, sire," responded Flicker, who expected such a reaction. He promptly returned to his room and proceeded to make another breakfast. Just then, he heard a knock at the door. As he opened the door, Princess Flame peered inside at him.
"May I come in?" she asked quite politely. "Why yes, of course." Flame, however, remained hidden behind the door. "I must warn you, Sir Blaze made some… alterations to my dress." Flicker was somewhat puzzled by this comment. "It can't be that bad." The door slowly opened. Flicker looked at the dress and was desperately trying to keep a straight face. "That's certainly… different." Her dress, which still retained the same shape, was now colored with a mixture of stripes and polka dots, each one being a different color. "Sir Blaze said it was the latest craze." Flicker laughed quietly. "More like the latest fashion disaster!"
Meanwhile, Loungelot was furious about the delayed arrival of his breakfast. "Flicker, it shouldn't take this long to make breakfast!" His voice once again carried well into Flicker's room. He muttered to himself, "What a lazy squire! He can't even make breakfast."
"Humph! Perhaps I will have the royal cook make him a breakfast, and then you'll be off the hook," suggested Flame. Flicker though about it, but then decided otherwise. "No, but thanks anyway. This gives me a chance to use my latest invention!" Flame always enjoyed watching Flicker unveil a new invention, even though it usually caused some sort of disaster. He led her to a strange looking device, which took up a decent-sized portion of the room. "What is it?" She always asked that when Flicker unveiled a new invention. "Its an automatic breakfast making machine. Simply put all the ingredients in this hopper, and it will make a meal fit for a king!" He filled the hopper with a mixture of various foods, and pushed several buttons. The machine roared to life. Flame looked on in amazement as parts of it rocked, twirled, spun, rolled, or just plain made noise. Suddenly something shot out of the machine and landed in front of her feet. Due to many prior experiences, she was quite concerned. "What is this?" Flicker looked at it. "Oh dear! That's the governor, which controls the machine's speed!" The machine started running faster and faster. Flicker and Flame took off out the door.
Loungelot had had it. He got out of bed, and headed to Flicker's room. Flicker and Flame were standing out side the door when Loungelot arrived. "Flicker! Why haven't you made my breakfast?" Flicker knew he was in for trouble. "Well, you see, sire…"
"Never mind!" Loungelot interrupted. "Well, I guess I'll have to do this myself, since a lazy squire can't seem to do it." "Sir Loungelot," Flame snarled, "Do not talk to your squire like that!" "Alright milady. I'll make breakfast myself," replied Loungelot. He quickly opened the door to Flicker's room and entered it. "Sire! Don't go in there!" Flicker shouted as loud as he could, but Loungelot had already entered and had slammed the door shut. Just then, a deep boom rattled the halls of the castle. Loungelot slowly came out, covered in grease and food, and then he said with a stutter in his voice, "I'm going back to bed." He then continued down the hall until he could be seen no more.
Flicker was quite startled by the incident. "Don't worry. I'll get Cinder and Clinker to clean up the mess. As for Sir Loungelot, I don't think he'll be a problem for quite a while. You'll probably have the rest of the day off!" Flame reassured him. Flicker was quite stunned by the idea. He had never had that much time off. "Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to get out of this silly dress." Flame kissed Flicker on the cheek and left. HE always felt strange feelings whenever she kissed him, but he tried not to show them.
Flame had changed into one of her usual dresses, and was on her way back to Flicker when Sir Blaze saw her. "Why aren't you wearing the dress that I worked so hard on? You do like it, don't you?" He had spent an entire night working on it. Flame had to come up with an excuse, and fast. She thought for a moment, and then she said, "Yes, I do like it. It's so nice that I am saving it for a special occasion. If I wear it every day, then it could get stained!" In Blaze's eyes, there was no worse disaster that could befall a piece of clothing than a stain. "Good idea," he replied, but he continued. "I went to a yard sale today and look at what I found! Isn't it darling?" He proudly waved a golden thimble in front of her. Flame was quick to respond. "That is so cute! You should show it to everybody!" Blaze took the suggestion and went on his way. She breathed a sigh of relief and continued on.
"Flame!" Queen Griddle's voice could carry throughout the entire castle. "Coming, stepmother!" Within minutes, Flame was in the throne room. Griddle started immediately. "As a princess, you must learn to deal with political affairs." "Yes, I know," said Flame as she rolled her eyes. "We want you to go to Castle Threadbare and deliver these vacation packages as a peace offering." "Why vacation packages?" She was a little confused about this sudden gift giving. "We figured that if Count Geoffrey was gone for say, a few months, then we would be safe from his stupid and evil plots," King Allfire explained. Griddle gave him a sharp jab with her elbow. "Now go Flame, give these to him, but don't be gone too long." Griddle was rather demanding of her. Flame knew she had no choice but to cooperate. She reluctantly agreed and then left. "She's probably too lazy or too scared to do it herself," she muttered to herself.
Finally, she arrived at Flicker's door, which was open. She found him kneeling on the floor trying to clean up an oil spot. "I told you that Cinder and Klinker would clean this up." "The last time they cleaned, they threw everything in the closet, even the dirt! I figured that it was probably best if I cleaned up," Flicker explained. Flame remembered that time all too well. "You're probably right." She was quiet for a couple minutes. "I have some business to do in Castle Threadbare. I would feel much safer if you came with me," she invited. Flicker got up immediately and spoke without a second thought. "Business in Castle Threadbare?!" "Yes," Flame sighed, "Something about a peace offering." Flicker knew what kind of danger she was in, and he agreed to go.
The two took a carriage, a rare luxury for Flicker, and arrived at Castle Threadbare in less than half an hour. As they approached the raised drawbridge, Evil Knight number 1 greeted them from behind one of the few crenellations that hadn't collapsed. He asked, "Who goes there?" Flame replied, "I am Princess Flame from Castle Camelhot, and we have business with the count." The drawbridge fell open in front of them, and they entered, side by side, with utmost caution.
At the same time, Count Geoffrey had just received the news of their arrival. "What? They are in my castle? Why did you let them in?" He was directing all of his rage toward Evil Knight number 1. "Well, they seem nice," he answered. Geoffrey's eye started to twitch. "Well, then fine, just get some crossbows or something to scare them when they come in." Evil Knights numbers 1, 2, and 3 were gone in a flash. Within minutes, they were back. Evil Knight number 1 had a board with a nail in it, Evil knight number 2 had a brick, and Evil Knight number 3 actually took the Count's advice and got a crossbow. Geoffrey inspected all of their weapons, and his eye started twitching again. "You are supposed to look intimidating and scary, and not like a bunch of circus clowns! Except for you, Evil Knight number 3. Good job." "I'd be scared if somebody was threatening me with a brick," commented Evil Knight number 2. "Well it's too late now. Here they come."
Flicker knew the castle fairly well, so finding the throne room was no difficult matter. The two entered and stopped, side by side, in the center of the room. Count Geoffrey greeted them. "What brings you to my fine castle?" Some bricks fell from the ceiling as he said that. "I am Princess Flame, and I have come on behalf of the royalty of Castle Camelhot. I bear an offering of peace." "Yeah, yeah, we all know who you are. But that peace offering…" Evil Knight number 3 interrupted him, "Duh, how do you use this thing?" He was holding the crossbow, obviously clueless as to how it works. Count Geoffrey shouted in return, "Figure it out yourself! Don't you dare interrupt me while I'm…" Just then, the bolt went fffwwwhhhiiiipppp, just narrowly missing Flicker. "Duh, oops," said Evil Knight number 3, with a stupid look on his face. Flicker was quite shaken. "That was too close, Flame!" "……" "Flame?" He glanced at her, and saw the bolt half-buried in her chest. A chill ran through his entire body. So much was racing through his mind that he couldn't speak. The entire room was silent, and at once, she collapsed.
Flicker immediately caught her, and laid her gently on the floor, and she slowly turned to him and spoke, "Flicker… there is one thing that I must say… I… love you… and I always have…" Flicker desperately tried to find something to say to her, but nothing came. By that time, the spark of life had left her, and she was no more. Tears began to pour from his eyes. He silently picked her up and proceeded to take her back to Camelhot. He put her on the carriage and slowly continued on what would be the worst day of his life.
It took him well over an hour to return to Camelhot. He decided that first thing to do was to report the news to King Allfire. He would be devastated, but he had to know. Flicker carried Flame into the castle, and headed for the throne room. He hoped that no one would see him, as he wanted to break the news to as few people as possible. Finally, he arrived at the throne room. Allfire and Griddle were having one of their many arguments. He quietly walked in, and set Flame on a nearby table. Allfire caught a glimpse of Flicker out of the corner of his eye. "Squire, what are you doing…" He then caught sight of his late daughter. "Flame! Is she…?" Flicker nodded, and explained what happened, all the while trying to keep his eyes dry. He left the room so he wouldn't have to see Allfire's emotions. Flicker dragged himself to his now perfectly clean room, and threw himself in bed. It was night by this time.
Out of nowhere, Cinder and Klinker appeared. "We cleaned up your room," said Klinker in a cheerful voice. Flicker glanced at the closet door, which was now bulging. Suddenly, it burst open, and an avalanche of filth poured out. "Yah… thanks." Flicker then asked them to leave. He decided to go to sleep, but his efforts were in vain. He couldn't stop thinking about her…
Meanwhile, Allfire was wide-awake, talking to the chancellor. "This time, Count Geoffrey has gone too far! I know he killed her; my little puff…" He started to cry, but he continued on. "I want every peasant in this kingdom to take up arms! This is… WAR!" The chancellor was shocked by this sudden change in Allfire's personality, but he did as he was told, and wrote out a declaration of war. This could only mean trouble.
Flicker still could not sleep. All the memories of her ran through his mind like a movie. Then they were coupled with a new thought. She loved him. All of his memories suddenly changed their meanings. If only he had known before! He tossed and turned in bed, but the memories still kept coming, and her final words, "I love you," repeated over and over in his head. Quite suddenly, he had a new thought. Maybe, she could be saved. He thought about for a moment, but soon dismissed the idea as utter nonsense. She was gone, and he just had to accept it. By this time, it was about four in the morning, and Flicker finally drifted into sleep.
He was standing in a foggy, misty forest, and the trees hung low over him. The grass tickled Flicker's feet as he walked over it. Out of the mist came Flame. "Flame! You're alive!" Flicker Shouted. "Ssshhh," she said, putting her finger over his lips. "This is merely a dream. I must tell you that you can save me, and that I can live again. Merle the Wizard can help." This suggestion greatly surprised Flicker. "But how? We agreed that we would only ask her for help if all else failed!" "I'll let you figure out how to do it. Trust me, she is the only one who can help." Flame started to walk away. "Flame, wait." He paused. "I love you." He knew that this might be the only opportunity to say that to her, even if it is only in a dream. Flame turned to him and smiled. "Tell that to me after you have saved me." Then she disappeared into the fog.
Flicker awoke, only to find that the sun had not yet come up. He remained in bed, thinking about all that he knew Merle could do. Could she simple bestow Flame with life again? No, that would be impossible. One by one, the memories of his encounters with her went through his head. Then he remembered Tournament Day. He caught her speaking to Geoffrey, and he remembered her saying, "I saw this in a spy movie 800 years in the future." "That's it!" Flicker said to himself, "If she could go into the future, then surely she could go into the past!" The matter seemed simple to him. All he needed to do was to get Merle to send him back in the past, where he could stop the event from ever occurring, and then Merle would take him back to the future. However, getting Merle to cooperate would be a feat all its own…
The sun had finally come up, and trumpets sounded, calling everyone to a meeting. Within a short time, Flicker, along with everyone else, were in the dining hall, with Allfire at the end. He slowly stood up. "I'm sure that by now you have all heard about the death of my… sweet little pumpkin… " Allfire tried to show no emotion, but everyone could tell that he was quite devastated. "I have sent a declaration of war to Castle Threadbare. We attack tomorrow at dawn." Everyone gasped simultaneously. Flicker knew that he did not have much time. He ran out of the room, and headed straight for Merle's wicked Cavern of Despair. He ran as fast as he could, and he nearly collapsed when he got there. Lightning flashed and thunder rolled constantly outside the Cavern of Despair.
He cautiously entered through the front entrance, and continued further and further into the cavern. He finally found Merle trying to sleep. "I have come in need of your assistance," he pleaded. "What is it? Can't you see I'm trying to get my ugly sleep!" Flicker vividly explained the situation. "So you want to me to send you back in time so you can save her, and the you want me to bring you back?" "Yes, exactly," replied Flicker. "Why yes, I can arrange that." Flicker was overjoyed at this comment, but Merle went on. "You have to do three quests for me. First, you must go on a perilous journey, and bring me everything listed on this piece of paper," she said, handing Flicker the list. He examined the list, and quickly discovered that it was a shopping list. He reassured Merle that he would be back in no time.
Flicker arrived at a decent sized village. He was there for about an hour hunting down all the various items. Fortunately, Loungelot had given Flicker much experience in grocery shopping, since Loungelot was always too lazy to do it himself. This "little" spurt of shopping, however, cost Flicker exactly all of his money. He hurried to Merle, and she was pleased with his performance on the first quest. "Now for your second quest, you must fetch… a golden thimble!" Flicker set off without hesitation.
Flicker went back to the same village. Realizing that he had no money, he sold the only thing he had that was worth any money; his armor. He had a spare set back in Camelhot, but he didn't dare go back. He hunted around for every thimble in the village, but he struck out. Finally, he went back to Merle, and explained the failure. He dumped all the thimbles that he had collected out of a large bag. There were countless silver, copper, pewter, bronze, brass, steel, iron, and wooden thimbles. "Sorry kid. I can't help you if you can't find a golden thimble." "Wait! I know where I can find one," Flicker stated rather abruptly, and he hurried back to Camelhot.
Flicker asked Blaze for his golden thimble. "Well, sure. I'll give it to you, but you must do something for me first…" Blaze replied. What he asked was the ultimate torture. Flicker had to go and with Blaze shop for clothes. Blaze's explanation was this; "When I go into battle tomorrow, I want to look sharp and fashionable, not some ratty-tatty peasant!" They were at the clothing shop for two hours. "How do I look in this one?" Blaze would ask. Flicker would always say something to show that he was paying attention. "I don't like it as much as the third one you tried, but I looks much better than the second and fourth!" Flicker had to try on numerous clothes himself. If there was hell on Earth, this was surely it. Finally, Blaze selected an outfit for himself and one for Flicker, much to Flicker's disappointment. "I don't have any money," he said, thinking that that would surely save him. "Nonsense, I will buy it for you! After all, you look stunning in that outfit!" "Oh, thank you so much," Flicker again replied, trying to sound enthusiastic. They soon arrived back in Camelhot, where Flicker received the golden thimble, and changed back into his usual armor.
"I found it!" Flicker said to Merle. "Alright. Time for your third quest. Hmmm… let's see…" She obviously had no third quest in mind, and was trying to come up with something on the spot. "Ah ha!" She tossed a broomstick to him. "Dance with it!" Flicker was confused. "What do you mean?" "Dance with it, as if it were Flame," responded Merle. "She has got to be kidding," he thought to himself. "It couldn't be any more embarrassing that shopping for clothes with Blaze". He did what she asked, despite the fact that he was embarrassing himself to no end. Merle laughed so much that she finally said, "Stop it! Ha ha ha... You have succeeded in pleasing me. Ha ha HA! I can't wait to show this to my friends." "WHAT?!" Flicker was unnerved. "It's called a video camera; something else that I picked up from the future. I recorded your little dance for all to see," said Merle, greatly amused by her own antics. "Now off you go!" She cast a spell on Flicker, and the next thing he knew, he was in Castle Threadbare the day of the accident.
"I need to get that crossbow," he thought aloud. After roaming the halls for a while, he finally found what he thought was the only crossbow in the castle. He picked it up, and destroyed it. "That should do it," he once again said allowed. Suddenly, he heard footsteps. He glanced out through a crack in the wall, and saw Evil Knights numbers 1, 2, and 3, and Evil Knight number 3 was holding a crossbow! He needed to come up with a way to stop them, so he followed far behind until they reached the throne room. He could not enter, however, because it was important that he remained unseen. Two Flickers would certainly cause confusion. Then he heard that fffwwwhhhiiiipppp, and he knew he had failed. Flicker slouched up against the wall as he thought about his next move. "Merle," he cried, and in an instant she appeared. "Do you want to go back now?" "No, but could you send me back to Camelhot a day earlier?" He was very polite. "Well, alright. Since I am in such a good mood, this one's a freebie. However, if you want to go back any further, it will cost you." Flicker was gone in a poof.
He appeared outside the walls of Camelhot, and it was late in the afternoon. He had to come up with a way to save her, but how? He then remembered the full suit of armor that he kept in his closet for such and event, but how could he get her to wear it, without being seen himself? It had been quite awhile, and now it was about one in the morning. Flicker flew up through his window, since he knew he was asleep by this time. He took the armor and hid for several hours. It was now somewhere around seven by this time, so he snuck over to Flame's room, hoping he would get an idea. He listened very closely, and heard the water running in the shower, so he very slowly entered her room. The door to the bathroom was open by just a crack, and through that crack, Flicker could see the dress that Blaze had made for her. "Eureka!" He quickly scribbled a note onto the armor that read:
To Princess Flame,
From,
Flicker
Flicker very quietly reached in and removed the dress. He could not enter the bathroom, as that was much against his nature, and the Code of Chivalry. He then replaced it with the armor, and having finished that, he fled.
After Flicker left Camelhot, he decided to rest under a tree. He had hardly slept for two days, so it seemed like a good idea. When he awoke, it was late in the afternoon. "Oh dear! I overslept again!" He flew to Castle Threadbare as fast as he could and entered through a window. He hoped that Flame was wearing the armor. He slowly crept forward on a thick beam, with both eyes closed out of sheer nervousness. He gradually opened one. He saw a flash of bright light from the ground below. "She's wearing it!" He was delighted. Then again came the fffwwwhhhiiiipppp, a sound that he learned to fear, but this time it was accompanied by a loud clank! He saw the bolt lying on the ground several feet in front of her. Flicker (the one next to her) said "That was too close, Flame!" But this time, she responded, looking at the dent in her breastplate. "I could have been killed if I wasn't wearing this armor!" Then Flicker (the one on the beam) called Merle. "Now I take it that you want to go back," she said, with her awful voice. "Yes please. Send me back to my time." Again, Flicker was gone in poof.
This time he appeared in his room, late at night. He tried to sleep, again to no avail. He couldn't wait until the morning. After several restless hours, Flicker could finally see the sun over the horizon, which began to light up a cloudless sky with its golden rays, and he started making breakfast for Loungealot. This time, he was slow and meticulous. By the time Loungealot awoke, Flicker was waiting with breakfast. "This is excellent! This is one of the best breakfasts that I have ever had!" Loungelot was thrilled, which was an extremely rare sight. Flicker then rushed back to his room to clean up the mess that Cinder and Clinker had apparently only moved. He couldn't have been down for more than a few minutes when he heard a knock on the door.
He opened it very slowly, as he was not sure what to expect. It was Flame, holding a breastplate with a large dent in it. "Flicker, this plate saved my life. Thank you. I was wondering if you could fix the dent." Flicker, however, hugged her as though he hadn't seen her in years. "It's so good to see you!" "It's… good to see you too…" she said, uncertain about Flicker's strange behavior. He invited her into his room. However, she wasn't there for long.
"Flame! I have something to show you!" This time, it was Blaze. Flame got up and walked to the door. "Flame," Flicker said, with obvious tension in his voice. "There is something that I must tell you… I love you…" Her heart skipped a beat. She didn't know what to think. Those were the words that she always dreamed that Flicker would say. She turned around, and sat down next to him. "You really mean that, don't you?" "Why of course I do," Flicker replied. "Oh, Flicker!" As she said that, she wrapped her arms around him, nearly crying.
"Flame! Where are you?" Sir Blaze asked again with a musical tone in his voice. "We'll talk about this later," said Flame, finally releasing Flicker from her grip. She giggled as she ran out the room. Flicker new that this talk would be much more… physical than just a talk, but he couldn't wait. He let himself fall backward onto the bed, and he said to himself, "This will be the best day ever!"