Characters: Sung Sun Cyan, Hisagi Shuuhei
"Lancelot was stupid," he muttered, as he faced the book. "He must have been an idiot."
The woman in front of him raised her eyebrows. "Why?"
"Simple," he spoke lifting a finger, "he knew that the woman had a husband. He knew that she had obligations. He should have thought of staying away." Here he was, a second-year Journalism student, taking an English course for his Humanities General Education requirement. He wasn't able to fit his Comm. 1 through. So instead he is currently tackling Le Morte D'Arthur, talking about Guinevere and Lancelot s love instead of writing an essay, discussing it with his partner, Cyan Sung-sun, a first-year Management student.
"Oh?" she spoke raising an elegant brow, the light violet eyes looking up at him. "But he is a very brave man."
"Very brave, yes, but very stupid," he muttered. "She wasn't his. He ought to have thought better."
"I find him a very fine man, trapped by his passions," she replied, tapping the book. "I'll have to say that the thing they gave us didn't really measure up to the real thing when it comes to details, did it?" He nodded. It was true. They were given but the bare bones of the text. It didn't help. They didn't know the nuances of the words that the lovers spoke. They couldn't twist it too see if it could bend that way or mean this way. There was no point of comparison. The movie didn't measure up as well, as he did declare the moment they sat down together to discuss it, as their teacher instructed.
"Still, passion or no passion, honor as a knight and as a friend, should be beyond that," he replied ruffling his raven hair in annoyance.
"You are too much of a samurai," she replied, shuffling the sheets of paper in front of her, writing their observation. She had to do it; her script was much, much more beautiful than his. "It colors your perspective."
"Yeah?" he spoke. "Heard of Heisenberg principle? You can never observe something objectively."
"True, but let's turn to Guinevere," she spoke assertively, violet eyes sparkling dangerously. "She was a fool as well." She shook her head imperceptibly. "A very brave man was beside her," she continued. "She was a fool for not noticing his presence."
"The king?"
"I meant Lancelot," she sighed. "She could have had him if she refused the king."
"She was a victim of circumstance," he spoke, touching the plastic bandage on his face, covering a tattoo that was a bit tad too embarrassing.
"Hardly. She could have avoided that trap that she had weaved alone," she uttered, closing her eyes.
"But she wasn't selfish enough to do so," he replied. "She had to do it for her people."
"Yes, half-cooked intentions. Ever heard that good intentions paved the way to hell?" The woman narrowed her eyes slightly. "You are too much of a martyr," she sighed.
"Hardly," he smiled. "But granted that they were being very foolish, a kingdom fell. Lancelot should have, of all people, realized that he was a rallying point. He wasn't the First Knight for nothing."
"And she wasn't queen for nothing as well," she snapped back softly. "Guinevere should have realized that she was a queen and not some-" She bit her lip looking for a word.
"Whore?" he offered, smiling softly.
"Yes, not some whore," she spoke blushing softly. "She should have realized that she shouldn't do things-"
"Half-assed?"
She nodded. "It just worsened the whole situation."
"But back then women were merely objects. They weren't as powerful," he replied.
"You seem to have forgotten that the main antagonist of this text is Morgan Le Faye."
"She wasn't," he replied. "While it was she who caused the birth of Mordred, she also helped Arthur in other ways." She nodded accepting his point. "There are so many versions to this story that I don't know what really happened and what didn't," he muttered.
"True," she replied. "It could even be that Merlin was the antagonist," she chuckled.
"Damn it, my head hurts," he growled softly, pinching his nose bridge. "Why is this myth so fragmented? There's a French version and an English one. And all the tinier details can't be captured if they state different things."
"Hm," she hummed softly. "Let's make a list of the things we already know. Let's regard Lancelot first."
"He's the First Knight. He could have had the Holy Grail if he had not sinned with Guinevere," he spoke, listing it down. "There's something fishy with the Grail as well," he spoke looking up at her from the paper. "It doesn't feel like it was part of the first version. Maybe just me." She shrugged. "He was raped by a woman." Hisagi made a face at this, while Cyan giggled. "A stupid man according to me, and, according to you, he is a man trapped by his passion..."
"Yes, like how he was obsessed with the Holy Grail," she replied.
"He wasn't alone in that you know," he replied. "His son Galahad was as hell-bent as him at questing for the Grail." She nodded. "Guinevere then?"
"Queen and wife of Arthur, beloved of Lancelot. A victim of circumstance according to you, and a selfish woman according to me." He nodded satisfied. "Where does that leave us?"
"Nowhere?"
"Nowhere?" she repeated. "If Lancelot wasn't a 'pure' man, I'd say that he is lusting after Guinevere, but since he is, I cannot charge him of being guilty with lust, thus I charge Guinevere of selfishness."
"Well, if Guinevere wasn't the paragon of womanhood in the story, I'd charge her with being a manipulative woman, but since she is, I can't say that. So, Lancelot must be an idiot," Hisagi replied.
"We're leading ourselves into contradictions here," Cyan muttered.
"Yeah, I noticed," he spoke, apologetically, scratching his head.
"Our professor didn't specify how we should look at them right? All he said was to present the result of our discussion," she spoke, lavender eyes looking at him for confirmation.
He nodded. "He also didn't specify how we go about we present it as well. We could just a debate about it. Make it an interactive discussion."
"That would be interesting," she spoke, thinking it over. "Hm, I think I agree."
"So, next time?"
"Yes, next time."
A.N. For G.A. AnimeFan4, thanks for the review. I'll be sure to keep this up for you. :D
