Knight of the Wind
Chapter 2: Her Tasks

Both Arthur and the woman were walking deep into the woods, and the sun is just about to set. In addition, they hadn't run into trouble which was strange to Arthur. He always had random encounters with thieves, pretend soldiers and wild animals when traversing in Deep Woods. While thinking of this, he had hoped that he wouldn't be staying out for too long. His uncle never liked it when he stayed out for too long and scolded him when he did.

"So, why do you want to have tea with me in the middle of the woods?" Arthur asked for the umpteenth time, which would most likely be ignored again. The teenager had tried to pry the answer out from the woman ever since they started their trek into the woods. He had changed his outfit to one that worked for going outdoors and hunting. He had a belt that held some handy tools, i.e. a dagger, and his scabbard was strapped across his chest with the sword fully sheathed inside.

Both Arthur and the maiden, who still wouldn't reveal herself or her name, were walking side by side. Their conversations were short and the walk was silent, causing Arthur to fidget. She was quiet and didn't reveal a lot whenever the blue hedgehog asked questions about herself. The young lady would only talk if he started talking about himself and ask questions that were only about and for him to answer. So far, she seemed mostly interested in the sword that Arthur carried.

"Does that sword have a name?" she asked curiously while staring at the sword interestingly.

"Yeah, his name is Caliburn," Arthur answered simply. Until he realized what he had done and quickly smacked his muzzle as if to shut himself up.

"His?"

Arthur's ears lowered, knowing that he had already revealed something that wasn't supposed to be. But, for some reason, he felt fine with discussing the matter to the stranger, "Smithy and my uncle told me not to ever talk about him to others because of his special capabilities..."

"I feel like I've heard about Caliburn somewhere..." she mumbled to herself. "Where did you get that sword?" She had to get more information just to confirm her suspicions of the origins of the weapon.

"Around Misty Lake," Arthur answered. "Why are you so interested in it, by the way? It's not like there's anything that interesting about Caliburn." In truth, his relationship with the weapon has not gone all that great ever since he found it, but if this lady is willing to take it, he'd be glad to give it away.

"How well are you with Caliburn?" she asked again, ignoring Arthur's question. Her ignorance was driving the younger up the wall. Why couldn't he get a decent answer out of her? He is very well aware that she liked to keep things to herself, but most of the questions he believed he was asking weren't really personal. Nobody was willing to come out this deep into the woods, so why so secretive?

"I guess you could say I'm talented," he said, deciding to answer her question anyway, despite his frustration with her. Arthur was improving day by day due to training with the Knights of the Round Table. As much as he disliked the people working right under the Black King, the knights are his friends.

"Then, would it be alright if I test your skills?" she asked challengingly.

Arthur's ears perked straight up, his eyes widening. "W-What? M-Me, f-fight you? What if you g-get hurt? I mean..." the hedgehog paused for a bit as he thought about what to say next, "...you just don't look like someone who can fight."

The other laughed, "No, no, that's not what I meant." Arthur then tilted his head in confusion but was curious about what the woman had in mind. "What I meant was, I'll send you off on a mission, and then, I'll see if you're as worthy as you say you are to be able to wield a sword as magical and powerful as Caliburn."

The blue hedgehog chuckled, loving the idea of being given challenges, "I'm sure I'll be coming back in no time at all."

The young lady stared back at Arthur. "I think you're misunderstanding what I am saying," she said sternly. "This isn't going to be some trivial task, like retrieving a handkerchief or fighting someone just to win me over."

Arthur felt a bit embarrassed and chuckled sheepishly afterwards. He did have similar thoughts to what the other just said, and he was relieved his tasks weren't like that. He was looking forward to the adventure, thinking it would add more excitement into his life. "So, what did you have in store, ma'am?" he asked.

"Not yet child, right now we'll be conversing and having tea. We're almost at our destination," the other said calmly.

Thinking that he had nothing else to say, Arthur looked around and realized that he hadn't been in this area at all. He wondered how he would find his way back home, even if he could trace his way back, it would be difficult; it would be dark soon, so it would be hard to find his way out of Deep Woods.

He blinked when he saw the woman slowly stop in front of the lake that she had mentioned earlier. "We're here," she said plainly.

This caught Arthur's attention, and he looked at the lake in front of him. It was beautiful with the sun nearly hiding behind the tree, and the sunset sky being reflected by the clear pool of water. At the same time, he felt a strange aura coming from the lake. He couldn't take his eyes away from it. Something was calling to him for a moment, but he managed to snap out of it. "Uh, are you sure we're at the right spot?" he asked confusedly, trying to ignore the lake.

"Just stand back, and I'll do the rest," replied the other.

Doing just as she said, the hedgehog reluctantly stepped back a few steps because he was not to ever leave a woman's side in case danger happened to be lurking nearby—or so he was taught. The lady then removed the hood of her cloak, revealing her soft pink fur and quills. She then proceeded in raising both of her arms and started chanting a soothing spell. Arthur's eyebrows furrowed as he looked at the other.

Eventually, the lake began grumbling. Arthur stood in surprise as he stared at it, his eyes darting back and forth between the woman and the body of water. A path of stone emerged from the lake, following up with a sitting area at the center. A table with chairs was set up, completed with the tea the maiden had wanted. The thought of lake water mixing with the tea made Arthur shiver and unconsciously stick his tongue out in disgust.

Just as the woman finished summoning her little picnic, Arthur's mind was filled with questions and assumptions. He looked back at the stranger that he had yet to know.

"Are you...the Lady of the Lake?" Arthur asked cautiously, looked over the mysterious woman who took her cloak off and folded it. There were times when he would hear stories of her—most of them from Lancelot—but he had never thought she would ever leave her home. How Lancelot had known a lot about her simply confused him.

Now that her cloak was off, Arthur was able to identify her features. Her blue dress, her aqua green eyes that seemed to reflect the mysteriousness of the water itself, and the gorgeous headband that kept her quills neatly in place. She was indeed beautiful for someone who was centuries old.

"Ah, yes, I apologize for not introducing myself. I am, indeed, the Lady of the Lake, Nimue," the lady said, turning around to face the teenager.

Arthur's ears perked when Nimue had pronounced his name. Instantly, he kneeled in front of her, looking to the ground, "I am honored to have met you, milady, and I deeply apologize for causing you any sort of trouble on the way here."

"Please, don't give me such courteous greetings, it's way past that now since we've become more acquainted with each other since then," the once mysterious lady said softly. "Now rise, young 'un, what makes me any different from you? You and I are much the same in more ways than you think."

The other complied, getting up from the ground, "Sorry, but my mentor has strictly taught me to respect anything and anyone. I guess that includes you since he seems to deeply admire you," Arthur said disdainfully, recalling former events with his strict mentor. "Oh! By the way, I am—"

"You don't have to tell me your name, I already know about you," the Lady of the Lake said. "You are Arthur Pendragon, a 17 year-old hedgehog who currently lives with his uncle, Charles Pendragon. He works close to the Black King as one of the many council members of Camelot. Of course, being the nephew of such a figure, you didn't have much freedom to do what you wanted since you didn't want to ruin your uncle's reputation. And then, one day, you started acting rebellious, doing things on your own," Nimue finished before glancing at her companion, who was surprised at her breadth of knowledge of him.

She then outstretched her arm, motioning for the other to head down the path that she prepared for the both of them. "Now, why don't we have some tea? We've waited quite a while for some, haven't we?" she giggled.

After that short display of the Lady of the Lake's knowledge, the young noble was hesitant in stepping onto the stone path. He was worried about what else she knew about him. He hoped that she wouldn't disapprove of what he was doing with going against the Black King and all.

Nimue sensed hesitance and worry from Arthur and smiled at him in assurance, "You don't have to worry yourself about me letting out information. It's against my own principles."

"Oh, alright..." the other mumbled, as he still felt a bit unsure, but, nonetheless, he headed down the magical path that led to their sitting area. He glanced back at his scabbard before looking to the ground in the silence.

"So, do you...really think that what I'm doing is...right?" he asked. "I mean, you know more about the history of the land and its people than I do, so I thought...maybe you know what I'm supposed to do to reach my goal."

"Take a seat, my child. We can talk while we have tea," the other said happily, pulling up a chair for her guest. The blue hedgehog then took a seat on the open chair, surprised that it wasn't wet from being underwater. He was starting to be quite curious as to how magic works. He mentally planned to stop by Merlin's place some time after this.

She then seated herself opposite of Arthur as she took in what her guest had asked her. She straightened her dress so it wouldn't be wrinkled and set her hands in her lap, clasped together. "What do you think, Arthur?" she asked. "Dear friends, loving family members, and the people you treasure are willing to support you. You know what you're fighting for, so isn't that a good enough reason for the 'right' thing?"

Arthur blinked as he tried to let what Nimue just said sink in. "Yeah, I guess you're right. Thank you." He felt comfortable talking to her. She had a calm demeanor and was very understanding. He could just stay here all day having tea and converse with her. Right now, Arthur didn't feel pressured or weighed down by any of the problems of the city. He was free, and he liked that feeling.

The other hedgehog blushed softly and smiled at the warmth she felt in her chest area; she'd never been thanked before, and she liked it. "You don't need to thank me," she said as she tried to hide the blush by drinking her tea, "but before you go, could you draw your Caliburn for me?"

"Why?" Arthur asked, taking a hold of said sword warily. "You're not thinking of taking Caliburn from me, are you?"

"There's no need to be cautious, I just need to have a discussion with him," Nimue assured.

The other blinked. He didn't remember ever mentioning that his sword could talk, or did the maiden already know about the ancient, magical sword? "H-How did you know what kind of sword he was?" Arthur asked.

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you, but that sword was once in my possession, secretly kept and locked magically underground..." the woman responded thoughtfully, her voice trailing. For a moment, Arthur saw the entranced look in Nimue's eyes as if she was remembering something from her past.

"Uh, is it a private matter?" the young noble began which caused the lady to snap out of her flashback.

"You can stay."

Arthur hesitantly took Caliburn out of his scabbard and placed him against the glass table. After a few seconds, the sword came to life, standing up on its own—or perhaps, his own. Caliburn's burning blue eyes opened, and he was surprised to be in the presence of the Lady of the Lake when his vision cleared, but he was pleased nonetheless as a smiled took place on the old sword's metal plate.

"It's a pleasure to see you again, milady" Caliburn greeted, bowing in his own special way before turning his attention to Arthur. "I hope the knave of a swordsman hasn't troubled you so."

"Hey!" Arthur cut in, not very pleased with what Caliburn had called him. "I'll let you know that I treated Lady Nimue politely, and I'm certainly not a knave!"

Nimue giggled, "I trust that the both of you are at least getting along?"

"It's been complicated as of late, milady. Young Arthur, here, is always getting himself into trouble and is causing the people around him to worry more than they should about him," Caliburn answered in contempt. "But I do believe that he is a good person at heart," the legendary sword then added which made Arthur grin at the last statement.

"Ah, so you do like me," Arthur mocked which only annoyed Caliburn.

"Don't make me take back what I said. The Lady of the Lake must have something very important to say if she asked for you to unsheathe me."

Arthur blinked, his ears twitching, before turning his attention to Lady Nimue, along with Caliburn. Both of them ready to listen to her, though right now, she was happily taking her time sipping her tea before setting it back down on the table elegantly.

"As I have mentioned before, I am going to test your skills as a swordsman, but I'm also testing your passion as the hero of Camelot," Nimue stated.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Arthur interrupted, waving his hands back and forth. "Hero of Camelot? I didn't say anything about wanting to be the hero of Camelot. The things that I am doing are small, but I didn't want to escalate up that high."

"My child, you must accept that what you are doing goes against the King's and the Church's ideals. You're trying to lead the citizens into some revolution due to your actions, and there is no way you can be able to take back what you have caused in these past months, Arthur," Nimue informed earnestly. "In fact, you are determined to change this kingdom."

The young noble was taken aback. For a moment, he thought that the Lady of the Lake was crazy, but after what she explained, it made some sense to him.

"So, if I do these missions, will they help me to clarify what my goal is?" Arthur gulped.

"There is no guarantee that they will, but I hope they do," Nimue answered truthfully. "And I'll be happy to hear your conclusion when you come to one, Arthur."

The said hedgehog nodded, "Okay, I'm ready."

"There are three missions given to you," Nimue announced.

"Three missions? Piece of cake!" Arthur exclaimed.

"You fool, don't underestimate missions because of quantity or quality, especially ones coming from the Lady of the Lake herself," Caliburn interjected.

Instead, she giggled, "It's alright Caliburn. I don't mind it."

"See? She doesn't mind it," Arthur teased his sword.

"I'll give you three weeks to finish all three missions, and don't worry, today won't count as the days in your weeks given. The countdown will start by midnight of tomorrow, so gather any food, tools, or anything you need for the journey. And I suggest you notify friends and family alike," Nimue continued.

Arthur nodded before asking, "So, what are the missions?"

"First, free the innocent in the King's dungeon. Second, head to the Outlands and give to those in need. Third, investigate the mines in Crystal Cave," Nimue ended. "After finishing all three tasks, come back here before midnight of the last day."