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| Below is another excerpt of Lancelot and the Tide of Times: Enjoy |
Darth Vader -- What do you think of when you hear his name. (One of the greatest villains of all time in my opinion) I think of the crazy mask and the heavy breathing -- especially now since I am wearing a cpap machine for sleep apnea. People tell me that it's a life-changing machine. Will it make me slim and sexy? Will it make me smart? I guess I should just be grateful if it keeps me from having a heart attack. It's going to take some getting used to, but I think I can do it. I generally adjust well to new things.
Who knows? There may be a lot of new things coming along in my life in the near future. I believe that there are times when all people need to change their lives up a bit. It keeps us from going stale and getting too complacent. Comfort breeds complacency.
One new thing going on in my life -- well, two new things actually -- are two screenplays I'm working on. I'm trying to have two projects going at once. You know, I may never sell or even option a screenplay, but I like writing them. I am writing in a vacuum, but I don't mind. As I said, it's a form that's fun for me. I have a very short attention span, and screenplays are something that fit my attention span. The screenplays that I'm doing are in different stages. I'm working on one which I think has a lot of potential. It is a dystopian story about a world where no stories are allowed to be written. Really sadistic teachers assign them to be read for punishment, but to write one will be cause to be sent to behavior modification which is essentially state-sanctioned torture. This one is called Tongue Tied. The other one is a rewrite of the screenplay draft of Fall of Knight that I completed. I'm changing that one drastically. I am not going to mess with it now, but in the future, I will post some scenes from both screenplays.
What I will do, however, since I have not done it in a long time, is post a brief scene from Lancelot and the Tides of Time. It can still be purchased at www.buckscountypublishing.com
LANCELOT AND THE TIDES OF TIME
The next morning Lancelot and Arthur awoke early
but not as early as Merlin who was waiting for them when
they appeared in the barn and prepared to leave.
“I still don’t understand why you have to take my
closest friend and advisor away from me to do your bidding.
He’s supposed to be serving me.”
“Lancelot is no servant,” Merlin said.
“I didn’t mean that –“
“Merlin knows what you mean; he just likes to argue
with you.”
“Arthur, your kingdom may fall before it begins if
we do not take care of any problems that may arise. A
rogue dragon can derail anything before it even leaves the
station. The last thing Camelot needs is a train wreck.”
“Merlin, what’s a rail?”
“And what’s a train?” Lancelot asked.
“A mode of transportation but not nearly as good as
a zipfire but … I forget myself. You have no idea what I
mean. Never mind. Let’s go.”
A stable hand brought three horses.
“I have my own, thank you,” Merlin said. “What is
the other one for?”
“I’m riding part of the way with you.”
Lancelot and Arthur mounted their horses.
“Very well.” Merlin glanced up as if he were
addressing the clouds. He sighed and said, “Let’s go.”
When they rode out of sight of the castle, Merlin
whistled. His unicorn appeared from the woods.
“How did you capture such a thing?” Lancelot
reached out to touch the beautiful animal.
“No. He doesn’t know you. I did not capture him – I
am not qualified.”
“What qualifications do you –“
“You have to be a virgin, Lance.”
“Merlin, you old dog, you.”
“You have to be a maiden,” Merlin said. “I don’t
want to discuss it. Just suffice to say that I did not capture
this beautiful animal. She is simply allowing me to use her
at the moment. One day, she will no longer be needed.”
“What is that supposed to mean?”
“Enough chat. We have a long ride.” Merlin
touched the unicorn’s flank, whispered to it, and the animal
began cantering. Arthur and Lancelot followed.
Hours of hard riding passed and suddenly Arthur
slowed down. “What is this place?” The woods lurked like
monsters waiting to pounce. The air seemed denser and
darker. Lancelot felt it too.
“This is no place you want to be spending any time,”
Merlin said.
Merlin galloped away; Arthur sidled up to Lancelot.
“I feel something in the air,” he said.
“Can you feel magic?” Lancelot looked around
nervously.
“If this is magic, I don’t want to have anything to do
with it. Let’s go.” Arthur spurred his horse on; Lancelot
followed.
The three of them rode for another hour.
“Arthur, we have reached the badlands.”
“Badlands?”
“This is the outer fringes of the kingdom. Weird
things happen out here, and the king should not stay here.”
"All right, Merlin. I should get back to Jenny
anyway. Be careful, promise me that both of you will come
back to Camelot.”
“We will see you.”
“One day there will be no badlands. My men will go
on quests to do good. Might will be used for all of the right
reasons. This world will know peace,” Arthur said.
“Many worlds long for peace,” Merlin said.
“I’m only worried about this one.”
“For now,” Merlin said under his breath. Lancelot
heard him and glanced at him.
Arthur shook hands with both of them and turned
back toward Camelot. Lancelot and Merlin watched him
until he disappeared from sight.
“He will be all right, won’t he?”
“He won’t be killed.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“It means we have a dragon to take care of. Arthur
and Camelot will take care of themselves.”
***
Arthur rode home slowly and tried to enjoy the sites
of his kingdom. He hadn’t spent a lot of time outside the
castle ever since Merlin took him in and began his kingship
training.
It surprised him when the sun began to set much
earlier than he anticipated. In the deepening dusk, he
shivered and felt a little uncomfortable.
He then realized he had ridden into the place where
he felt the magic so strong on his way out. Another wave of
fear rippled through him.
“Hi, handsome,” a voice sang out from beside him.
He looked and nearly fell off his horse. Jenny stepped into
the pathway and smiled up at him.
“What are you doing here?” he asked, incredulity
putting an edge on his voice.
“I love you too.”
“I mean … it’s dangerous so far away from
Camelot.”
“Oh, believe me, Arthur, when I tell you that as long
as you are with me, there is nothing to worry about. Get
down off that horse. I made us a picnic lunch.”
Arthur smiled. “This is no place for a girl like you.”
“The place for a girl like me is with you. Even a
queen has to leave the castle every now and then.”
He swung down from the horse. “I’m glad you did.”
“So am I,” she said and took his hand.
As soon as he touched her hand, Arthur heard a hiss.
In surprise, he dropped her hand and backed away. A
serpent lay curled alongside the path. Arthur pulled his
sword.
“Don’t be silly, Arthur. It’s just a harmless snake. It
will leave us.”
As soon as Jenny spoke, the serpent uncoiled and
slid off into the woods.
Later they sat on a soft animal skin that Arthur had
never seen in their castle. It surprised him that he had
missed something so beautiful. Pure white and soft, it
reminded him of puffy clouds.
Jenny leaned to him and kissed him softly.
Arthur sighed. “There’s something about your smell,
the moonlight – it’s almost magical.”
“Isn’t it though?”
They kissed again and lay back on their bed.
***
Lancelot paused at the edge of the cliffs. “How am I
supposed to get over there?”
“You swim.”
“But look at those cliffs!”
“Those you climb.”
“Are you going with me?”
“Are you crazy? I’m a wizard and wizards are not
stupid.”
“And what does that make me?”
“A great deal less than a wizard I assure you. But
you’re young. He likely won’t burn you alive.”
“What?”
“Dragons like to eat most of their prey alive. They
only torch it if it’s old and tough. Now me – I’d be toast in
a minute.”
“What’s toast?”
“Never mind. If this were an easy world, you would
be able to climb up there, catch the beast asleep, and put
him in chains.”
“If?”
“It’s not easy. He’ll smell you coming before you
get up the hill, but he’ll be curious enough to see what kind
of idiot will go up into his cave.”
“Is there anything you can tell me that might help?”
“Remind him of the dragon code.”
“Will that help?”
“Probably not. If it doesn’t, you’ll have to slay
him.”
“Is that it? Just slay him?”
“But you have to do it just right. Dragons are pretty
much invincible except for one spot in their upper chest. A
little gap exists between the two dragon scales right in front
of its heart. Any thing that pierces him there will kill him.
Anything else will bounce off harmlessly and then you will
most likely die.”
“If I die, who will take care of the dragon?”
“I guess I would have to dispose of him with my
magic.”
“Why don’t you just go up there and dispose of him
then? Save us all a lot of trouble.”
“It’s not my job, and it’s a waste of magic. Go now.”
“I’m not afraid, you know.”
“I know.”
Lancelot dove into the water and began to swim. By
the time he reached the far bank, he was nearly exhausted.
He paused to catch his breath.
“If you don’t act quickly, he’ll roast you on the
spot.”
Lancelot groaned. Wizards – especially wizards
who could talk to him across a river without making an
audible sound – gave him a headache.
He started to climb. As he climbed, he found little
footholds and handholds that had been formed naturally by
years and years of weather and other factors. He climbed
quickly because he was young and strong. His heart beat
fast, not from tiredness but from fear. He didn’t want Merlin
to know just how frightened he was. After a few minutes he
arrived at a ledge at the opening of a cave. He could feel the
heat and he could feel magic like in the woods. Finding out
dragons possessed magic unnerved him even more. He
pulled himself up and crouched low at the entrance. Slowly,
he crept inside and paused to let his eyes adjust to the dark.
“Make your peace with the spirits, mortal, for you
are about to fry.”
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