*Disclaimer: Digimon and all fairy tales used in this fic do not belong to me.
Author's Note: A rather serious chapter compared to the last one. It's kinda hard to make it funny since Matt's traveling alone. Besides, Matt's such a serious character anyway
Knights of the Round Table
By: RaspberryGirl
Matt rode for what seemed like a very long time. The Greenwood rose up like an emerald wall of leaves and bark. The trees were old and wild; their roots gnarled and knotted, the tips of their branches pierced the sky. A canopy of leaves blocked out the sun and only a few rays of light shone into the wood.
There was no buzz of insects, no echo of the birds' usual twittering. There was no trace of squirrels or quails and not even the slightest hint of deer or boar—the Greenwood was utterly silent except for the occasional sigh of the wind among the leaves.
Matt gripped his sword more firmly. The crude dirt road he was on didn't seem to be very travel-worn and that caused an uneasy flutter in his heart.
The thought of turning back occurred to Matt, but after pondering that option carefully, he decided to keep going; he'd heard too many tales of enchanted woods and the trickery of its magical inhabitants.
So Matt kept on riding. Tree after tree, the forest seemed never-ending. The sun was still high in the sky—it was probably only afternoon—but to Matt, it seemed like he'd been in the Greenwood for years.
But perhaps he was lost? Matt didn't think so. As far as he knew, there had only been one road through the wood and he was on it.
Or maybe the trick was to step off the road. Matt hesitated. Ever since he'd entered the Greenwood, he'd felt like he was being watched. At first, Matt thought it was only his imagination, but the shadows moving and weaving among the trees soon became more clear and definite. Occasionally, the knight would also hear giggling.
Matt ignored the shadows. But they started talking to him, inviting him to join them. Matt tried harder to drown out the voices, but the deeper and longer he ventured into the wood, the louder and more persistent they got.
"Come" they said. "Come with us" Their voices were soft and husky, very much like the breeze rattling the leaves of trees.
"You must be getting tired"
"Tired"
"Rest for a while"
"Just a little while"
Now that he thought about it, Matt was getting hungry. And thirsty. He couldn't remember the last time he had stopped—if he had ever stopped—to rest since he'd first set foot in the wood. But the warning on the old sign was still clear in his mind and Matt didn't dare give in.
"You are weary"
"Your head nods"
"Your horse"
"It's tired"
"You're tired"
"Come with us!"
"Come!"
At that moment, the voices showed themselves to Matt. They were slim, ethereally beautiful young women, with long pale hair and silvery-white skin. They were graceful and delicate; their fragility reminded Matt of flowers bending in a spring wind. The women were barefoot and wore white shifts that billowed like a sail when they moved.
One stretched out her hand. "Come, young lord! Surely, you can spare a few moments of rest!"
Another one came up behind the first and said: "Our sisters have prepared a feast for you!"
"A fine feast!" echoed another.
"With good wine!"
"Music!"
"And dancing!"
Matt didn't stop, but he considered their offer. The more he listened to their lilting voices, the hungrier, thirstier, and wearier he became. The knight was just about to stop and finally agree to go with them when another sign popped up in front of him. It was written in bright fluorescent paint and it said:
Beware of Magical Creatures
A reminder for those who have already forgotten:
1. Do not stray off the road!
2. Do not talk to strangers!
3. Do not eat or drink anything that's offered!
4. Do not feed the animals!
5. Keep riding straight no matter what!
Next Resting Spot:
The Cottage of the Seven Dwarves
Remember: stay safe. Tread with caution.
The words were covered with long claw marks as if somebody—or something—had tried to scratch them out. This didn't help in the legibility at all since the original handwriting was awkward to begin with, but Matt got the message well enough.
So that's their game, Matt thought. Lure and enchant all humans traveling through the wood. Well, I won't fall into it.
Matt quickened his horse to a gallop, swiftly leaving the nymph-women behind. In fits of rage, their faces distorted into ugly shadows of their former beauty. They screamed and shrieked, tearing at their hair and stretching their bony hands after the knight.
Matt didn't even bother to look back.
* * *
After that second sign, Matt never slowed his horse down even to a quick trot. The encounter with the nymphs was too close. Matt just wanted to find the dwarves' cottage, then get out of the eerie wood as soon as possible.
Matt was so preoccupied with his thoughts that he didn't even notice the two-way fork that split the road ahead. At the last second, Matt's stallion gave a warning whinny, but it was too late. Matt only had time to read This Way for Peasants and Caravans on the left sign and This Way for Knights and Princes in Disguise on the right one before he crashed straight into the thick bushes of the Greenwood.
Swearing, Matt pulled desperately at the reins for his horse to slow down. Suddenly, a thick low-hanging branch appeared and smacked him soundly in the head and off his horse. Matt landed heavily on the ground and for a moment the world spun before everything became darkness.
__________
"I say, he's quite a sleeper."
Someone snickered. "And quite a looker. This is perfect."
Matt awoke to the sounds of murmuring voices. When he opened his eyes, he was half blinded by bright sunlight. Groaning, the knight put a hand to his face. When his eyes finally adjusted to the sunshine, Matt realized that six men were staring down at him peculiarly. All of them had weathered faces, knobby features, thick eyebrows, and bristly beards of varying color. They talked in thin, high-pitched, nasal voices.
"Look!" one of them cried excitedly. "He's awake! He's—"
"Shh!" the one who seemed to be the leader said, putting a finger to his lips. He seemed the eldest of them all and had a neatly trimmed white beard. "Don't startle the lad." He turned his attention to Matt and smiled warmly. "How do you feel?"
"Fine," Matt mumbled. He realized he was lying in the grass under a tall oak tree. Two or three pillows had been set under his head and a blanket—which was just a bit too short—had been spread over him.
"I'm glad to hear that. You took quite a nasty knock in the head," the leader said.
"If we hadn't found you, the others would have," one of the men put in.
"And you don't want to know what they would have done with you," someone else added.
Matt put a hand to the spot where the branch had hit him. It still smarted, but the pain had been reduced to a dull throb. "How long have I been here?"
"Almost a day, lad," the leader answered kindly. "You slept through the night without moving an inch. It's morning now."
Wincing, Matt pulled himself up and propped himself against the trunk of the tree. "Thank you," he murmured to the men. "Thank you fo—" His words caught in his throat and his eyes widened. "You-you're dwarves!"
"Yes." The leader smiled again. "Welcome. I'm called Martin." He pointed to a gruff-looking, black-haired dwarf. "That's John." He gestured to a dwarf with a long beard and spectacles. "He's Richard." Martin waved towards the tallest of the dwarves. "That's Stephen." The hand motioned towards a red-haired dwarf. "Henry." Martin pointed to a dwarf who seemed to be hiding behind John. "The shy one over there is Robert. Ah, and here comes Wort with food and drink now. Wort is also one of us. And I'm dreadfully sorry that you had to sleep outside. We couldn't really fit you through our cottage door."
"This is the Cottage of the Seven Dwarves?" Matt asked in disbelief. "But how did Iwhat about" He slowed down to explain more clearly. "Before I fell from my horse, I noticed a fork in the roadbut I saw it too late and crashed on ahead into the wood. I remember seeing a sign that told me not to stra—"
"Yes," Martin said. "But it also said to keep going straight no matter what. We wrote the signs actually."
"We were tired of the nymphs getting all the humans," Stephen commented.
"Here." Wort handed Matt a wooden cup and a plate of bread, cheese, and fruit. This dwarf seemed to be the youngest of the seven with a small chestnut-colored beard.
Wondering why these dwarves would want human company, Matt took the food gratefully.
The dwarves waited patiently as Matt ate. When he was done, John asked him, "You're a knight, aren't you?"
"Yes."
The dwarves huddled together and murmured between themselves. After a few moments, they broke up and John asked, "You don't have a Lady yet, do you?"
"No."
"Very good, very good!" Martin said cheerfully. "Excellent!"
"What is?" Matt asked, puzzled. Did these dwarves have a sister of some sort they wanted to introduce him to? Matt couldn't help but shudder at the thought.
"Well," Richard spoke up. "This may seem like a strange story, but it's all true. We swear it."
The dwarves nodded gravely.
"All seven of us have lived here in the Greenwood most of our lives," Richard began, "away from the humans. But one night while returning from work, we found a beautiful human girl sleeping in our cottage." Richard then told of how the girl was a royal princess, whose jealous stepmother wanted her dead. The dwarves took pity on the girl and took her in. They provided a roof over her head and food on the table while she cleaned their cottage and cooked the meals. For many months, the princess and the dwarves lived happily in this fashion. But then, the Queen discovered that her stepdaughter was still alive and immediately set out to kill her—twice. Fortunately, during both attempts, the dwarves returned just in time and managed to revive the princess. Furious, the Queen tried a third time and in this last attempt, she succeeded. When the dwarves returned home, they found the princess dead and unable to be revived.
"She had been killed," Henry said, "by a poisoned apple."
"And it had been enchanted, there was no doubt," Richard said firmly. "Human magic of the worst sort. We had no antidote for it."
"We couldn't bear to bury her," Wort picked up. "So we made her a coffin and set her inside."
"Ah" Matt thought this behavior was a little strange, but made no comment.
"We decided that the only way for the princess to ever wake up again was for a prince to kiss her," Robert said.
"It's a classic remedy," added Richard.
"Would you like to see her?" Stephen asked. It sounded more like a demand than a request.
"Er" Matt searched for some excuse. "I'mnot a prince."
"Yes, well, we had hoped the one to wake the princess would be a prince," Martin sighed. "But a knight's just as good, I suppose."
"You should go take a look," John muttered. "She's still as beautiful and fresh-looking as the day she came here."
"Come," the dwarves all insisted. "Just take a look."
"We'll go with you," Martin said. "Don't worry. The princess looks like she's asleep, not dead at all."
"Don't worry," the dwarves assured, and they pulled the reluctant Matt along with them.
Author's Note: Poor Matt. Will he end up with an unwanted bride? And whatever happened to Tai, Davis and Shard? ^^;