“Away with us he's going,
The solemn-eyed:
He'll hear no more the lowing
Of the calves on the warm hillside
Or the kettle on the hob
Sing peace into his breast,
Or see the brown mice bob
Round and round the oatmeal chest
For he comes, the human child
To the waters and the wild
With a faery, hand in hand
From a world more full of weeping than he can understand...”

Belle lay on her stomach on the fur rug, listening to her father’s soft soothing tones as he recited the poem they all knew by heart once again. It was the only thing that could calm the children on a stormy evening like this. Jim, sitting cross-legged beside her, was looking up at their father with his mouth ever so slightly open in wonder, his toy sailing ship in mid cruise across his knees. Dimitri was leaning against the side of their mother’s chair, holding a twig from the firewood pile and pretending to swat invisible enemies. Anya, on her other side, was busy stitching, and pricking her fingers in the process.

“Ow!” she squeaked for the fourth time that night.

“Come here, sweetheart,” said their mother, Juliana, taking the tunic from her. “Let’s see how you’re doing.”

“I’m too tired to stitch another inch,” Anya complained, rubbing her sore fingers.

“No wonder,” replied Lionel, glancing out of the window. The storm had died down and it was deeply dark outside. “It’s way past your bedtimes, all of you.”

“Aw, but Father,” began Dimitri.

“No, no, bed for all of you,” their father insisted, picking up Jim, who was already rubbing his eyes. “Come on, now.”

Belle scrabbled to her feet and hugged her father around the knees. With a fond smile, he ruffled her hair.

“Alright, alright,” Dimitri grumbled, stretching, yawning and then clambering to his feet. “But when I’m a knight like you, I’m going to stay out as late as I want.”

Lionel laughed. “Son, there’s more to being a knight than just staying late at Camelot’s court. It’s mainly being loyal to Arthur; protecting him from danger...”

“And fighting in battles!” Dimitri pretended to lunge at his father with the stick. “I can’t wait to have a sword of my own.”

“Well, you’re not going to use it on any of us!” Anya piped up, giving him a prod.

“I will if you turn rogue and try to attack the king,” Dimitri retorted, shoving her.

“Alright, that’s enough,” chided their mother, lightly. “Now your father’s right, off to bed.”

“I’ll take Jim, Father,” said Belle, reaching up to take him from her father’s arms. Jim was only two years old, but it was clear that of all his siblings he liked Belle best. He hardly cried at all when she looked after him. Now he rubbed his eyes firmly with both fists and snuggled his face into her shoulder. Belle smiled and patted his back gently.

“Ew! He’ll snot on your tunic!” Anya wrinkled her nose and brushed past her sister into their bedroom. “Night everyone!”

Dimitri looked at his mother. “Can’t I stick a sword in her?”

“No!” both his parents chorused, and then his father pushed him off to bed. Belle went off and tucked her little brother into his bed. He was asleep in seconds. Smiling, Belle retreated to the room she shared with her sister. Anya was already snug and curled up beneath the blanket.

“It’s at times like this,” she said, dreamily, as Belle pulled on her nightdress, “that I’m glad we live near the sea. If we lived near a river, it’d probably flood on a night like this.”

“Do you think the moat at Camelot ever floods?” Belle asked, her voice muffled inside her nightdress as she tugged it on over her head.

“Maybe. Father would know.”

“I’ll ask him in the morning.” Belle scrabbled into bed beside her sister. “Hey, move up, and give me some blanket!”

Anya laughed. “Belle, you’re only a little titch! You don’t need all that much blanket!”

“Yes, I do! And I’m not that little!” Belle batted at her sister, indignantly. Anya began to fight back, and then with a squeal they both fell out of bed, landing with a thump on the floor. They lay there, tangled in the blankets, giggling breathlessly.

“You are little!” Anya replied, poking her sister as they scrabbled back into bed. “Not as little as Jim, maybe, but little all the same!”

Belle stuck her tongue out at her. “Well, when I get bigger, you won’t be able to say that anymore, Anya!”

“Yes, I will, because I’ll be bigger than you!”

“Don’t get too big or Dimitri’ll cut you down to size with his sword, when he gets one!”

Anya laughed again. “I’m sorry but I’m having a truly hard time picturing our brother as a Knight of the Round Table!”

“He could be one day!” Belle replied, lying down. “He’s good at jousting and stuff!”

Anya sighed, dreamily. “Yes, well, we all have our dreams, don’t we, Belle?”

“What’s your dream?” Belle asked, curiously.

“To meet and marry a prince.”

Belle winced. “You mean you want to get away from the farm?”

“Oh, no, Belle, that’s not what I mean at all! I do love this little place to bits, but, well, what girl doesn’t dream of being a princess?” Belle shrugged and closed her eyes. She thought Anya had drifted off too but then her sister asked “What’s your dream, Belle?”

Belle wriggled her shoulders. “I don’t think I really have one yet.”

The door opened and their mother stuck her head around it. “Now I’m serious, you two, bed.”

“Yes, Mother,” they both chorused, and then they did indeed fall asleep.

The next morning, Belle awoke to the sound of seagulls pecking at the window pane. That was easily solved when she picked up a pebble from the bucket under the bed and threw it at the shutters. They flew away with their tails between their legs and Belle opened the window shutters to breath in some wonderful sea air.

Everyone in the Knight family liked living near the sea. Their father liked it because it was only a short ride from there to Camelot and great for fishing. Their mother liked it because it was out of the way and cosy. Dimitri liked it because he had learned to swim there. Anya liked it because of all the things that could sometimes wash up on the beach. Belle knew that one day she was hoping that a treasure chest or something of great value would wash up on the shores. Jim like it, just because Jim was at that age where he liked everything; and because he could sail his toy boats in the rock pools. Belle like it because it looked beautiful and because felt like their home.

She quickly dressed and hurried downstairs, grabbing her cloak en route and leaving Anya still dozing in bed. Their mother was making breakfast with her back to the doorway but as Belle reached the front door, she heard Juliana say “Where do you think you’re going, young lady?”

“How do you do that?” Belle couldn’t help asking.

Juliana smiled. “A mother knows her children.”

“I was just going to have a look at the beach; see if anything cool’s washed up there after the storm.”

“Not without breakfast, you’re not.”

“But Mother-!”

Juliana laughed at the look on her five year old’s face. “Don’t give me those big eyes, Belle! It won’t work! You can go out after breakfast!”

“Oh, alright!” Belle sighed, sitting down on her stool. Her mother gave her a hug and a big bowl of porridge. Jim was sitting already in his high chair, eating by himself. He had porridge on his nose. Belle giggled.

There was a knock at the door. Juliana went to answer it and a man handed her a scroll of paper. “Special delivery for Sir Lionel.”

“Thank you,” Juliana replied, closing the door as the man saluted her and bade her to have a good day. “Lionel?” she called, closing the front door.

Belle looked up as her father came down the stairs. He was quickly followed by Dimitri, his hair ruffled like a lion’s man. Belle giggled. “What?” Dimitri asked, eyeing her with a grin.

“Your head looks like it’s on fire,” she replied.

Lionel took the scroll from his wife. “It’s from Camelot.”

“Looks official,” Dimitri commented, picking up a spoon and helping himself to Belle’s porridge.

“Hey, get your own!” she cried, rapping him on the knuckles with her spoon.

“Ow!”

“Here,” sighed Juliana, handing him his own bowl and turning to her husband, who was reading the scroll with a serious expression on his face. “What is it?”

Lionel shook his head. “Ruber’s been in touch with the king. He’s mounting an army.”

Juliana gasped. “Oh God!”

“Does that mean there’s going to be a war?” exclaimed Dimitri.

“Not if Arthur can help it,” replied his father, grimly, seizing his cloak. “He wants all the knights to gather at Camelot for an emergency meeting.”

“Oh, you will be careful, won’t you?” Juliana worried.

“Don’ t worry about me, dear. There’s no war on just yet.” Lionel took up his sword and shield. “I’ll be back by this afternoon.”

Belle ran to hug him, fiercely. Her father laughed and patted her back. “Now we know where you get your attitude from, Belle!” He kissed his wife and left.

Juliana pulled herself together. “Now, you two just get on with eating your breakfast.”

Dimitri quickly gulped his down and got to his feet. “I’m going to go practice my sword fighting in the barn,” he announced and then hurried out the door.

Juliana rolled her eyes. “That boy! Anya!” she called up the stairs. “Hurry up and come for breakfast or it’ll be time for lunch!”

Belle quickly finished her breakfast and got to her feet. “Now can I go to the beach?”

“Of course,” her mother smiled. “But no bringing back any live crabs this time.”

“Aw, but they’re sooo cute!”

“No! Not after what happened last time!”

Belle giggled and ran outside. She could hear Dimitri practicing in the barn as she passed by. Anya could say what she liked; Belle just knew in her heart that her brother could be a knight one day, just like their father.

She stopped running and started skipping as she reached the beach. After all, she was in no real hurry; there would still be plenty of great stuff on the sand when she got there, she knew. She, she skipped, casually, happily, to the beach.

The sand was a lovely beige colour and the sea shimmered aquamarine in the sunlight, whipping up foam spray in her face. Belle giggled as she hopped over rocks and tasted the salt on her tongue. Already she could see some lovely glass bottle glistening in the sunlight, half buried by sand, amidst a pile of shells. Anya loved to collect pretty shells. Once Belle had made her a windchime for her using a large shred of driftwood, a pile of shells with holes in them and some string. Anya had hung it up in the bathroom, by the window, and it tinkled every time the wind caught it.

Then Belle spotted something on the beach that made her stop in her tracks. At first she thought the large lump was a strange rock, and then maybe a beached seal, because it moved ever so slightly. “Poor thing,” she murmured, running up to help it. But as she drew closer, she realised that the creature was wearing clothes. She stopped, staring at it, and then realised it was a person. Not just a person, but a child.

Belle hurtled forwards. She could see now it was a boy and from the way he was dragging himself across the sand, he looked to be hurt.

“Hey!” she cried, as she came within reach of him.

Startled the boy whipped his head around to face her and blinked at her. “Who’s there?”

Belle frowned. “I am.”

The boy looked blankly at her. “Who are you?”

“My name’s Belle. Are you alright?”

The boy shook his head. “It hurts.”

“Where?” Belle dropped to her knees beside him. “Do you need help?”

“I think so,” the boy groaned.

Belle got to her feet and began to run. “Where are you going?” the boy called.

“I’m going to get my brother,” Belle called back.

“Don’t leave! Please!”

Belle looked at him. He was genuinely frightened and she felt sorry for him. “I won’t! I’ll be right back! I just need to call him!”

She leapt up onto a large rock, cupped her hands around her mouth and shouted out as loudly as her little lungs could manage. “Dimitri! Dimitri!”

Her voice was carried by the wind but then she heard a faint cry back from the barn. “What?”

“Quick!” Belle bellowed. “I’m at the beach!”

Then, she turned and hurried back to the boy. He tried to push himself into a sitting position. Belle tried to help him, and eventually she got him half-lying, half-sitting against a large rock. “He’ll be here soon,” she replied, hoping she sounded as soothing as her mother whenever she comforted one of them. “What’s your name?”

“Garrett.”

“What happened to you?”

“I was out, fishing in my boat, when the storm hit.” Garrett grimaced with pain.

Belle winced, wishing Dimitri would hurry up. “Well, my brother’ll come soon and we’ll take you back to our house. Our mother’s brilliant at first aid.”

“Thank you,” the boy replied. He still seemed to be looking right through her, however. Belle looked at him, her head on one side. Finally she just decided to ask “Can you...see me?”

Garrett chuckled. “I can’t see anything. I’m blind.”

“Oh!” Belle felt the colour rush to her cheeks. “But how did you manage to fish, then?”

“With my pet falcon, Aiden. Have you seen him? He should be close by somewhere.”

Belle bit her lip. Animals usually perished in storms that strong and Aiden had probably gone the same way too. However she didn’t feel she could tell him that. Before she could say anything, however, Garrett added “He’ll find me. He’s clever like that.”

“Does he help you to see?” Belle asked.

“In a way, yes.”

“Belle!”

Belle turned to see Dimitri running across the sand towards her. “Over here!” she called.

“Who’s that?” asked Garrett.

Belle quickly squeezed his hand. “My brother, Dimitri. You’re going to be ok now, I promise.”