Part Two – The Knights of the Round Table

The seasons have turned through the years

Six times since our story began

And now to adventure we steer;

Our boy-king has grown into a man.

And Merlin the wise and all-knowing

Now a wizard of famous renown

Who has governed the boy through his growing

Knew he must now wear the crown.

And yet the life of a king held great peril

Especially for one still so young

He could be destroyed by evil

His great story forever unsung.

And then the idea struck him;

King Arthur must assemble a band

Of great warriors and heroes – to gather them

From all over England's fair land.

"Arthur," he said, "the lion roars,

And lends mighty voice to the rose

Now it's time to claim what's yours

And to make this kingdom your own!"

"We shall build in the hall a round table,

And to it you shall bring

Knights both bold and able

And fit to serve their king!"

"They should excel in valour

And loyalty above all

They must be as friends, great Arthur

When to your side they're called."

"Your words ring true as ever,"

King Arthur told the sage,

"I shall bring these knights together

As soon as can be arranged!"

And thus it was he journeyed

Through lands both wild and fair

He inspected every country

And the men that he found there.

And that's how he found Sir Galahad

And great Gawain the Bold

And other knights, the likes to be had

In the valiant days of old!

But there was one who surely seemed

To stand above the others

Though King Arthur had decreed

They'd be equals, just like brothers.

There were few to say they were as brave

As bold Sir Lancelot

Who ventured into dangers grave

And hesitated not.

It was well known he was the best

To sit at table round;

More valiant than all the rest

And loyal as a hound.

He was the first to join the fight –

His great king to defend

Arthur could not have had a better knight

…Nor a better friend.

And yet for all their great rapport

Sir Lancelot despaired

For it was he'd bestowed his heart

Upon a lady fair.

This Lady was, cruel fate decreed

Destined to be a Queen

Their love, he knew, could not succeed –

It was a futile dream.

And yet he could not hold his heart –

She tugged upon his soul

He felt he was being torn apart

And began to feel the toll.

He'd pledged his life so loyally,

He loved Arthur like a brother

Yet Guinnevere must surely be

A maid unlike all others.

Unknown to him the Queen had, too,

Feelings she could not deny.

Her love for Lancelot was true

And in despair she cried.

It could not be done! She was a Queen

And he a gallant knight.

And so it was she hatched a scheme

To send him from her sight.

She did devise for him to wed,

Though it grieved her heart right sore.

And from the castle Lancelot fled;

She prayed to see him never more.

For if she did she knew not how

She would control her heart

Her soul was linked to his, and now

Her feelings would not depart.

Poor Lancelot, he too was lost,

His heart was split in twain –

Guinnevere owned a part, and now

So, too, his wife, Elaine.

He was afraid of this reaction

And the penalty it would bring

To even think of it was treason;

A crime against his king!

He loved Arthur like a brother

But he loved his fair Queen too

It was a feeling like no other

And he knew not what to do.

Like Guinevere he was resolved

That they should stay apart

And, like her, he was dismayed

That he could not control his heart.

There's naught as strong as forbidden love;

It's a tale that's often told

But it oft demands the sacrifice of

Something too precious to be sold...