The Squire's Quest by Gerald Morris

Author:Gerald Morris
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
ISBN: 9780547144245
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Published: 2012-02-14T20:00:51+00:00

BOOK II: CLIGÉS

The Elixir of Good Dreams

Terence had come to Greece to fight a war, and afterward to attend a wedding. He stayed for a friend's funeral.

The Emperor Alexander was laid to rest with great honor and deep grief. It was clear that the people of Greece regarded Alexander in much the same light as the English regarded King Arthur—as that one ruler in a hundred who actually put their welfare above his own—and they mourned his passing accordingly. Since Alexander had no sons, Cligés was declared his successor. He promptly declined the throne—at least until he came of age in two years. At that time, under imperial law, he would have no choice, but until then he was permitted to leave the government in the hands of a regent. He immediately named Alis to continue in that role. Cligés said he could never replace his brother and refused to let people call him emperor; Alis only looked weary at the thought of two more years of rule.

To be sure, there had been some who, shortly after Alexander's death, had wondered if perhaps Cligés had poisoned his brother so as to seize the throne. Several of the Greek courtiers speculated openly on this possibility, showing no particular surprise or outrage at the idea, and Terence began to understand what Acorion-des had meant when he said that the imperial court had a history of plots. But even the Greeks had to admit that Cligés's grief for his brother was genuine and that it would be very odd for him to murder his brother then refuse to take his place. After Cligés, suspicion turned to Alis, who had already assumed the throne once, but in the light of Alis's offer to let Alexander execute him, that theory sounded hollow as well. Terence had his own suspicions, of course, but he still could think of no reason for Mordred to have done such a thing. In the end, no one had seen who gave Alexander the poisoned wine, and that was where the matter rested.

Once the funeral and the period of mourning were over, Gawain began talking about returning to England. Terence knew that Count Anders's rebellion was never far from his mind, and that his friend was eager to be at Arthur's side again. The English troops set a day for their return and began provisioning for the journey. On the night before their departure, as the English knights were meeting with Acoriondes to discuss their route home, they got a surprise. Upon being asked for his opinion on some matter, Mordred said, "Do you know, I think I won't be going with you."

"Eh?" said Gawain.

"You remember what King Arthur said when he sent me with you—that it would be good for me to visit foreign lands?" He frowned thoughtfully. "Or rather, wasn't that helpful suggestion from our dear Greek friend? Oh, well—it doesn't matter. Now that I'm here, I think I might do some traveling, maybe visit the Holy Lands. After

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