“Thank you, Sire,” muttered Perceval. Perceval wanted to believe the king thought highly of him, but to hear Arthur speak those words aloud meant something. But would the king understand what Perceval was going through? Perceval took a deep breath.
“All right, Sire, I’ll tell you…”
Perceval shared the details of his seaside honeymoon and Joan’s subsequent assault at the hands of the Picts. He hesitated to mention the part where he’d offered his body to the head-Pict to save Joan, but went ahead with the truth anyway, even though he was terrified of what Arthur might think of him. Still, holding it in was making Perceval ill.
After Perceval spilled the entire story in a rapid rush of words, the king weighed in.
“I’d have done the same,” said …show more content…
“You’ve heard all my sordid tales. Why don’t you let me in on your struggles for once? You’re a brother to me. Don’t bear the pain on your own.”
“Gawain, have you been drinking?” asked Perceval with a low chuckle.
“Not a sip.”
“All right. I’ll tell you what happened…”
Side by side, Perceval and Gawain ambled back to the castle. Perceval unburned himself once again, but this time, shared the details of the story. Gawain did nothing more than occasionally curse the Picts and listen.
At the very end of the story, Gawain said, “One day, we will have our revenge against those Picts of the North. And I will be right at your side when that happens.”
“I know. Thank you, Gawain.”
“Should we hug?” asked Gawain with a smirk. “Yes, we should!”
Gawain dragged Perceval into a brotherly hug, pounding Perceval on the back.
Gawain was right – no man should bear pain alone, and Perceval didn’t have to. He was lucky in friendship and love.
Thus, the ache in his soul eased.
XXXX
“Mmm, what a delightful morning,” said Joan the following day with a smile on her face as she lay against Perceval’s bare chest in bed.
Perceval’s night in the woods seemed to help. Worn out, he’d dropped into bed like a stone and slept peacefully until after sunrise, when he woke with an
“All right, Sire, I’ll tell you…”
Perceval shared the details of his seaside honeymoon and Joan’s subsequent assault at the hands of the Picts. He hesitated to mention the part where he’d offered his body to the head-Pict to save Joan, but went ahead with the truth anyway, even though he was terrified of what Arthur might think of him. Still, holding it in was making Perceval ill.
After Perceval spilled the entire story in a rapid rush of words, the king weighed in.
“I’d have done the same,” said …show more content…
“You’ve heard all my sordid tales. Why don’t you let me in on your struggles for once? You’re a brother to me. Don’t bear the pain on your own.”
“Gawain, have you been drinking?” asked Perceval with a low chuckle.
“Not a sip.”
“All right. I’ll tell you what happened…”
Side by side, Perceval and Gawain ambled back to the castle. Perceval unburned himself once again, but this time, shared the details of the story. Gawain did nothing more than occasionally curse the Picts and listen.
At the very end of the story, Gawain said, “One day, we will have our revenge against those Picts of the North. And I will be right at your side when that happens.”
“I know. Thank you, Gawain.”
“Should we hug?” asked Gawain with a smirk. “Yes, we should!”
Gawain dragged Perceval into a brotherly hug, pounding Perceval on the back.
Gawain was right – no man should bear pain alone, and Perceval didn’t have to. He was lucky in friendship and love.
Thus, the ache in his soul eased.
XXXX
“Mmm, what a delightful morning,” said Joan the following day with a smile on her face as she lay against Perceval’s bare chest in bed.
Perceval’s night in the woods seemed to help. Worn out, he’d dropped into bed like a stone and slept peacefully until after sunrise, when he woke with an