Prologue.

Hyde Darwinsson was in a hurry. He walked briskly down the halls, the marble floor clinking underneath the sole of his boots.

“Sir!” Hyde turned abruptly to see Darby Clarksson, the son of Fordwin Clark, a well known nobleman, rushing towards him. Hyde paused long enough for Darby, a twelve year old scholar of a boy, to meet him, and then set on again.

“Yes, Darby, what is it?” Hyde asked mildly, turning down a corridor.

“Well, my father-,” Darby began, but cut himself off only to begin another sentence. “But, sir, where is it that you are going?”

“To the falcon keep,” Hyde replied, nodding briefly to nobles, knights, dukes and earls he passed in the halls.

“You are planning to send a letter by falconry?”

“Yes, Darby, but I assume that is not what your father has sent you for.”

“Oh, um, yes,” Darby was seemingly flustered. “He would like to know if you have considered his proposal.”

“Is he referring to the crowning of a new king?” Hyde asked; a certain sharpness to his tone.

“Yes, sir,” Darby spoke quietly; looking straight ahead as they quickly turned down yet another corridor. “He says that there is a darkness falling around the far western border of the Kingdom, and that we will need an official ruler if we are to defend ourselves.”

“Well, you may tell Fordwin that I will stand by what I said the last time he came to me with that statement- as he knows, we have a king, but in his absence I am overseeing his Court, so that he may regain his duty without much trouble when he returns. Seeing so, I will make the decision to appoint an official leader, if ever."

“Sir,” Darby began in a timid sort of tone. “Do you truly believe that King Arthur will return?”

“Yes,” Hyde said immediately, the hardness from his voice gone, replaced with a tone of faith. “Our king would not leave us.”

“But sir, what if he did not mean to? He was taken, wasn’t he? What if he can't come back?”

“If he was taken, we do not know. But even if he did not mean to, I am certain that our king would always find a way back to us.”

“Father fears that he may have been killed, along with the missing members of the Round Table.”

“Your father has told you of the Knights of the Round Table?” Hyde questioned, surprised. Fordwin never seemed like the type of man who had time to tell his son stories of the past. He frowned to himself. Yes, they were all naught but stories now.

“Yes, sir. There were twenty-five, not including the King, weren’t there?”

“Twenty-four,” Hyde corrected.

“But wasn’t Mordred once a Knight of the Table as well?” Darby asked.

"Yes, he was,” Hyde said darkly. “But his betrayal marked the end of his time as a Knight of the Table, if that had to be clarified.”

“Is it true that the Knights had children?” Darby asked, seeming to grow more comfortable with asking questions.

 “Have you been infiltrating the library again?” Hyde asked humorously. “But yes, it is true that they did.”

“All twenty five of them? Including the king?”

“All of them.”

“I wonder where they are,” Darby wondered aloud, a faraway look in his eyes as if he was dreaming a future for these children he had never met.

Hyde’s demeanor seemed grim and serious. “As do I, Darby.”

Their footsteps slowed until they had reached the gates leading to the outdoor falcon keep. Hyde turned to face Darby, forcing a smile despite his newly serious mood.

“Thank you for your company, Darby. Please alert your father of my answer.”

"You’re very welcome, sir, and I will be sure to do that,” Darby said, bowing respectfully before turning to run down the halls.

Hyde smiled to himself before turning to the falcon keep. He head to the outdoor area and spoke to the Keeper.

“I need five of your strongest and most durable falcons,” he instructed. “They must be quick in flight, good in training, well in health and strong in stability.” The Keeper bowed once in respect and hurried to find the owls of Hyde’s description.

 Hyde was deep in thought as he pulled five different bundles of letters from his tunic. In each bundle, there were five letters.

There were twenty five in total.

Author's Note

sorry, please bear with me during this book, the first few chapters may be boring to you (though I actually enjoyed writing them), but the story will really start around chapter four. (: please leave reviews & ratings, they really encourage me.

Reviews

[Ares]

I know how you feel. First chapters always seem kind of boring, and confusing, and my own writing is no different! But I am curious to see where this goes, and I'll be waiting to read all of it! Good job, so far!

[Katherine]

Thank you, it means a lot to me! :) I'll be uploading chapter three later today!

[Ares]

Awesome! Can't wait to read! XD