Knights of the NCIS Table Chapter 8
"Who is Thym?" Anton's friend hadn't been at King Jed's castle when Anton, Jed, and several others had met the dragon. Anton gives her a look that silently tells her that he'll explain the story later. She nods and holds out her hand to Jed.
"I am called Ziva. I had the pleasure of playing with Anton and Abigail when we were all small children."
Jed shakes her hand, "I'm Jed, I --." He's interrupted by an excited squeal.
"Ziva, Ziva, Ziva, you're here! Hello King Jed, have you been introduced? Come on Ziva, I have got to tell you what's new!"
Ziva finds herself being dragged away by the over enthusiastic Abigail.
***
"Don't call her that too often or she'll bop you in the head, Uncle Tim."
Tim smiles in memory.
***
The archery tournament closes and King Jed is named the winner. At the supper table that night, Leonard asks Anton what the next two contests will consist of. Anton smiles and says he'll tell them in the morning, that for now they can just enjoy the meal, the ale, the entertainment.
Morning dawns and the knights all file out to the courtyard. They stop in confusion at the myriad of ropes, boards, and other paraphernalia that is littering the immediate area and seems to extend out to the moat. A wooden ladder is suspended between the gates that lead into the courtyard.
Another ladder is lying on the ground. Two ropes are tied parallel to each other and lead from the ground ladder to a fishing net which is propped up by several stakes. Ten feet from the net is a shallow hole measuring three feet wide by 6 feet long. The hole is filled with smoldering embers.
***
"Uncle Tim is Thym the dragon there too?"
"Yup, he's the one who lit the fire."
"Cool, is he hiding then?"
"I'm not sure, do we want him to hide or shall we keep him just out of range of everyone else?"
"Hmmm...Can we do both? Have him hide just out of sight of everyone? Have him be in the moat?"
"That's a good possibility. He's blue so he'd blend into the water quite well."
***
Immediately following the fire pit is a similar hole filled with water. Five feet away from the water, are twenty flags representing the twenty knights that are present for the days games.
Anton leads the men out of the yard to the first ladder and demonstrates how to go through the variety of obstacles. At the end he picks up a flag that belongs to King Jed and places it in Abby's hand. Hand over hand on the suspended ladder, stepping between the rungs of the one on the ground. Running between the ropes he drops to ground by the net and shimmies his way under it. He then jumps to his feet, runs over the burning embers and glides through the water pit. He then picks up the hourglass that is lying by her feet.
"The four knights that manage to complete the course within the hour, and place their flag in Abby's hand will go on to the joust."
Out of the twenty knights that start the course, two fall off the first ladder and three trip over the next ladder. Four knights manage to get caught up in the net, making the knights fall out of the competition and Anton having to reset the net for the next in line. At the ember pit, two knights burn the soles of their feet, making them unable to continue. The water trap was the worst. One knight drowned, two others almost drowned and two completely refused to even try crossing.
Of the four that crossed, one was King Jed, one was the knight known as Leonard, and Ziva proudly handed her flag to her friend. The fourth knight was a complete surprise to everyone. The knight that handed in the fourth flag was none other than—
Yes, I am a wicked, wicked person and am leaving it there…mwaahahahahahah.