by Sara Tahlak
I was only 16 years old at the time when I had been faced with the biggest challenge that would change my life forever, and here is how it all began.
I was born an only child into a family of peasants in a small village located not too far away from King Utter Pendragon’s castle. My family was in charge of the crops that would be supplied to the Royal Family during the times of special occasions or simply to reward the winning knight in a duel. As a boy, I had been raised to one day take over my family’s farm; I spent my days being exposed to the different ways and techniques to harvest fruits and vegetables. I had familiarized myself with farm life, and all was well until my father had grown ill with the typhoid fever, eventually leaving me to take care of my family’s duties and ways of life.
A few years passed since my father’s death, through which I was faced with many hardships and failures that led to the disruption of my family’s business, leaving us with nothing to survive. And yet again, another tragedy had found its way into my life taking my dear mother away from me due to starvation and depression. This made me an orphan at the age of 15, leaving me hopeless and devastated. It was during this time in my life that I so desperately yearned for change; this led me to test my luck in becoming the King’s knight. Throughout the period prior to my mother’s death, I’d taken shelter with a friend named Alfred whom I’d grown to become very fond of. He was generous, had a pure heart, and was intellectual. It was he who’d trained me day by day to ensure that I achieved my goal of becoming the King’s knight; he too wanted to raise my status. During our training sessions, Alfred would always say: “My dear friend, if you want to win a battle, you must look for opportunities to strike when your opponent isn’t looking.” I for one had taken this piece of advice very seriously, and I knew that I was going to need it.
On my 16th birthday, the King’s guard sent out formal letters written by the King Utter Pendragon himself inviting all men of any background, whether a peasant or a lord, to go through a series of vigorous tasks in which the winner shall be rewarded with the position of becoming a King’s knight. I, who had spent months and months of hard core training accepted the invite, and I was ready more than ever to face my fate.
As I entered the King’s grounds, all I could feel was the adrenaline rushing through my veins, the pounding of my heart, and the cold sweat that plastered my skin. It was in this moment that I decided to put my tormented past behind me. I presented myself as the strong man. The man I hoped to become.
The battlefield was surrounded by thousands of royal guests eager to watch the tasks as they commenced, and amongst these people was king Utter Pendragon, and his most loyal companion, the magician. There were three tasks in total, the first was to test strength and sword fighting skills, the second was to test speed and agility, and the third and final task was to sacrifice an innocent life- this I felt most uneasy towards.
I was able to complete the first two tasks without difficulty, and I had been placed in the top ten of the most worthy of men. It was the third task, however, that I’d found the most difficult to complete. They’d given me a child to sacrifice, and at that moment my whole body went numb. As I looked into the young boy’s teary, crystal blue eyes, I could not help but feel empathy towards the innocent child. But I knew that this was my last chance to prove my worthiness for the title I sought to obtain, so I decided to look away as I lifted my dominant arm- sword in hand- ready to behead the young child, until I saw a strange looking figure with its arms stretched out, as if to grab the King’s neck. Suddenly a door for opportunity had opened, and without a second thought I shifted my aim towards the dark hooded figure’s heart and let go…
Time slowed as I watched the sword in intense fear as it pierced the hooded figures chest- I could not have foretold this- the King and the child’s life was spared. In a split second all that had caused me pain in my life could harm me no more.
I was then awarded the title I’d worked so hard to achieve, but that was not all, I was also given a special green potion to drink by the magician himself, due to my courage, loyalty, and quick thinking. This potion granted me the best gift I could have ever asked for, which is that of immortality. From this day on, I shall be known as the Green Knight, who used his tormented past to conquer the impossible.