As night descended over Camelhot, Scorchred was kneeling before King Allfire and Queen Griddle in the throne room, his head bowed. Griddle sat on her throne, looking at Scorchred without expression. Allfire, in contrast, was on his feet and glaring down at his nephew with a look of fury on his face.

'You contemptible little liar!' he said.

'Your Majesty, I swear to you it is true,' said Scorchred. 'You will find them together at this very moment, if you should care to look.'

'I care to do nothing you suggest, Scorchred! Even if she is with him, I'm sure they're doing something perfectly innocent, like… well… looking at his magic net pointing north, or something.'

Scorchred raised his head just enough to give Allfire a fleeting look of bewilderment. Then he lowered it again, and said, 'Forgive me, Your Majesty, but it is not proper for a princess to spend so much time with a squire. Whatever they are doing, it must be considered inappropriate.'

'Scorchred, I am the King! It is not your place to tell me what I must -'

He was interrupted by Griddle clearing her throat loudly. She got to her feet and, her voice quite neutral, said 'Perhaps we should discuss this between ourselves, my dear. Scorchred, you may leave us.'

'Your Majesty,' said Scorchred, in syrupy tones, and he bowed all the way out of the room. Once he had gone, Griddle's temper exploded.

'Allfire!' she cried. 'This is serious! You can't just dismiss allegations like that, or Camelhot will end up going to the dogs!'

'My dear!' said Allfire. 'Are you suggesting that I take the word of my evil half-sister's spiteful and snivelling little son?'

'He isn't little anymore, Allfire,' said Griddle, 'and he isn't his mother. I'm not asking you to believe him without evidence, but you must consider that he might be telling the truth. You have to investigate his claim.'

'Why?'

'Why? Why? Because that girl is your only heir! Don't you care about the future of Camelhot?'

'I care more about her happiness.'

Griddle gaped at him. 'You care…? How can you say that, after everything you've worked for? Pulling Excaliburn from the Stone! Writing your stupid Chivalry Code! Calling the best and bravest men in the land to be your Knights of the Square Table! Lugging the wretched table out of my uncle's attic!'

'My dear,' said Allfire, 'I care about all of those things deeply. I care more about my daughter's happiness, but that and the future of Camelhot are not mutually exclusive.'

'Aren't they?' said Griddle. 'We're straying from the point here, Allfire. What about Scorchred's accusation?'

'I cannot believe it of her,' said Allfire. 'And from what I know about Squire Flicker, I cannot believe it of him.'

'As King, Allfire, I hope you know very little about Squire Flipper. And as for her…'

'What?'

'Well,' said Griddle, 'I'd forgotten all about it until just now - that's why I didn't tell you before - but a couple of years ago I had to have some stable boy thrown in the dungeon because I found him and the Princess in… well, a rather peculiar position.'

'What stable boy?' asked Allfire.

'Oh, I can't remember. Does it matter?'

'What peculiar position?'

'Oh, it was revolting! He had her pinned to this, sort of… thing! It had two wires sticking in a big potato that looked a bit like Loungelot, and he was stuck to it by his helmet. And she was with him!' At this, Griddle burst into tears.

'My dear,' said Allfire, 'stable boys don't generally wear helmets.'

Griddle sniffed, looked thoughtful and said, 'Well, now I come to think of it, he might have been a swineherd.'

'Now then, dear, there's no need to fret,' said Allfire. 'I shall investigate Scorchred's claim, to put your mind at rest. After all, if I have absolute faith in my daughter - and I do - there's no reason not to prove him wrong. There now, don't cry anymore.'

'Oh, Allfire,' Griddle said tremulously. 'It's not just that. I… I did so want to give you a son. If I had… well, I wouldn't have to be so strict with poor Flame, would I?'

'My dear!' Allfire went to his whimpering wife and put his arms around her. 'You have been a wonderful wife, and a wonderful mother to Flame. That is all I could have asked of you, and more. I do not fear for the future of Camelhot. It will all work out in the end - you'll see.'

'I am not falling for that!' bellowed Loungelot. 'Why, if I stay here…'

'It'll be just the same as it always was,' said Flicker, 'but without the changes, and without any consequences. And meanwhile, back in Camelhot, your boy will be able to move on with his life and be happy. Everyone wins. Haven't you always lived a lie, in one way or another? When it comes right down to it, this is no different.'

'It is different,' said Loungelot, 'not least because I know who brought me here. Now I'll ask you one more time. Where is she?'

As he finished speaking, there was an explosion of light, and Loungelot found himself in a dark and empty space. In front of him, where Flicker had been a moment before, was Merle. She was chuckling, and rubbing her hands together.

'Very good,' she said. 'If this was part of your dumb quest, you'd have passed with flying colours.'

'Naturally,' said Loungelot. 'Well, get to the point, wench. Why am I here? You haven't plucked me out of my quest just because of some stupid bet with my mother, have you?'

'Of course I haven't!' snapped Merle. 'Your mother means nothing to me. I have bigger fish to fry, and you could ruin everything, so you're staying here whether you like it or not. If you don't want to keep the nice cosy room and the devoted servant, that's fine by me. Bye now!'

Merle cackled loudly, then disappeared in her usual display of smoke and lightning. Loungelot stood there for a moment, frowning at the place where she had been. He then lifted his scroll, looked at it, and finally lowered his arm.

'Mother!' He cupped his hands to his mouth to amplify his voice, and addressed the darkness. 'You know this isn't right! She magicked me out of my quest against my will! You're not going to let her get away with that, are you?'

At first, nothing happened. Loungelot looked around him, and saw only darkness on all sides.

'Raging plague,' he muttered. 'This is most unfair! Unless this really is the time to open the scroll…'

He looked at the scroll again, but still he would not open it.

With an almighty sigh, Loungelot removed his backpack, rummaged around in it and found another cheese roll. He began to eat, scowling with annoyance and racking his brains for an idea. Then suddenly he heard a very faint sound, as if of particularly small footsteps approaching from some distance. As it turned out, this was exactly what the sound was. As it grew steadily louder, Loungelot turned in its direction and, through the darkness, saw the figure of a very small man walking towards him.

'Have you been kept waiting?' the man asked.

'Just a bit,' said Loungelot, through a mouthful of cheese. 'Who are you?'

'Part of your quest.'

'Oh, good. Well… what happens now?'

'Would you say you were impatient at all, sir knight?'

Loungelot scowled. 'Are you sure you're not getting me confused with Princess Flame? She went on a quest for patience not so long ago.'

'Princess Flame?' The little man seemed only half aware of their conversation, as he had begun concentrating on getting across an invisible hopscotch grid. 'Oh yes, I know her. Are you ready to go, then?'

'I've been ready for about ten minutes,' said Loungelot.

'Good,' said the little man. 'Well, now that we've met the contestants, let's get on with the game!'

He stopped jumping around, and Loungelot finished eating his cheese. Then there came another flash of light.

The sun had risen over Camelhot. Princess Flame was pacing the width of her room, watched by Cinder and Clinker, who were dressed as ladies in waiting. Flame was wringing her hands, and her expression was one of mingled fury and terror.

'It's unfair and unjust and… and terribly sexist!' she said. 'If I were a prince, I could do whatever I liked with a female servant.' She glanced at Cinder and Clinker. 'If we had any. Oh, Cinder and Clinker, what am I to do?'

She sat down heavily on the bed. Cinder and Clinker approached her, and Clinker patted her arm while Cinder said, 'Not to worry, Your Highness. We'll speak for you, and for him. We've already told the King once what we think of Flicker.'

'Your prize in that bet,' added Clinker.

'Of which we meant every word, of course,' said Cinder. 'You don't remember when Scorchred was here last, do you, Highness? He was a disagreeable boy then, and I for one don't believe he's changed.'

'He was a nasty little maggot,' said Clinker.

'Your father can't possibly believe him over you,' said Cinder. 'For one thing, he's lying.'

'Isn't he?' added Clinker, exchanging an anxious look with Cinder.

'Sort of,' said Flame. 'I thank you for trying to comfort me, but… well, it's not just him, is it? Flicker and I are quite… that is, Father might think that we shouldn't speak to each other as we do, and that I shouldn't be in his room so much. I've even touched him once or twice, or… a lot. I never really thought anything of it before, but now… well, suddenly it's not looking quite so innocent after all.'

Again, Loungelot found himself in unfamiliar and otherworldly surroundings. This time it was an area of grass, about the size of Camelhot's courtyard, surrounded by mist. Nothing was visible through it. From the corner of his eye, Loungelot saw two figures. He tried to focus on one, then the other, but they kept moving. They did not disappear, but always stayed in his peripheral vision. Loungelot let out a noise of impatience, but didn't speak. He looked expectantly at the little man in front of him.

'Just a minute, okay?' the man said. 'I want to dance.'

'You want to… what?' said Loungelot.

'Dance. I love to dance, don't you?'

'No.'

'Sometimes I like to run, but other times I just like to hang around, not doing anything important. Right now I'm going to dance. Wait there. I'll be with you when I'm ready… whether you want me to be or not!'

The little man hopped off a few feet and then, as promised, he began to dance. Loungelot stared at him for a few moments, and then looked around for the two elusive figures. He found one immediately: a cloaked beggar leaning over an empty bowl. Then, after some searching, Loungelot's eyes found the second figure: a woman draped in a black veil, weeping over a grave.

Loungelot turned to the little man, who was now sitting on the ground and had begun to make a daisy chain from daisies that had just appeared.

'I don't understand.'

'Are you getting impatient?' asked the little man.

'Yes, I am rather.'

'What are you going to do?'

'What can I do?' said Loungelot.

'Fight me?' The man jumped up, and produced a sword the size of a butter knife.

'Um.' Loungelot looked at the tiny sword, and then at the broadsword belted at his waist. 'Well… I think I'd better not.'

'Good man.' He put his sword away, and pointed towards the beggar. 'He tried to fight me.' The little man then returned to his daisy chain.

Loungelot looked at the beggar for a moment, then ventured across the grass towards him, and crouched down to peer under his cowl. What he saw made his eyes widen.

'Blazing dragons!' he exclaimed. 'Sir Piston of Singetagel Castle!'

'Not Sir Piston anymore,' said Piston, 'and no longer of Singetagel Castle. Oh, pity a poor dispossessed knight whose squire has exposed him as a fraud, been knighted himself and married the Princess.'

Loungelot stood up abruptly, scowling, then turned to look at the weeping woman.

'What did she do?' he asked.

'Her?' said the little man. He had abandoned his daisy chain, and was turning cartwheels around the perimeter of the grassy area, almost disappearing into the mist. 'Hmm… let me think… just a moment, now, it's coming to me…'

While he waited, Loungelot twitched with impatience, but something told him to keep quiet. Finally the little man turned his final cartwheel, set himself upright and said, 'Oh yes, I remember. She tried to hurry me.'

Loungelot looked sharply at the weeping woman, and listened to her sobs. He knew her voice, tremulous and distorted as it was. He took cautious steps towards the woman and knelt down at her side.

'Princess Flame?' he said.

She did not answer, but Loungelot recognised her. Slowly, his eyes moved from her face to the headstone in front of her. It read: In memory of Flicker of Camelhot.

'What be the meaning of this?' raged Loungelot, standing up and reeling back from the grave.

'Upsetting you, is it?'

'Yes!' Loungelot looked down, and saw that the little man was standing at his feet. 'I don't understand. Why are you showing me this?'

'I told you. He tried to fight me, and she tried to hurry me. I won't be hurried, Sir Loungelot, but nor will I be stopped.'

'I know that!' snapped Loungelot. 'I've known that all along. That's exactly the reason I was, well…'

'Scared?'

'Well… I suppose, if you want to put it like that…'

'It's okay to be scared,' said the little man. 'And very often, there's nothing you can do except face it. Okay then, you're ready, and so am I. It is time.'

'Time?' said Loungelot. 'Time for what?'

'For what you've been waiting for. Oh, not the big thing - we're not quite there yet. A much smaller thing. Doesn't this feel like the right time, sir knight?'

Loungelot looked at the man for a moment, then at the scroll in his hand. When he looked up, it was all gone: the mist, the grass and the three figures. He was back by the Lady of the Lake's lake. The Lady was nowhere to be seen. Loungelot looked back down at the scroll, opened it and saw three words written there: He needs you.

Flicker was standing outside the Square Table chamber looking utterly sick, with both arms clutched across his stomach. Scorchred came strolling down the corridor with an exaggerated air of casualness. When he saw Flicker, he stopped walking and his face broke into a smirk.

'Now there's the look of a guilty man if ever I saw it,' he said. 'You disgust me, boy. How could you imagine that you were good enough to lay hands on my cousin?'

Flicker said nothing. He didn't even look up. Scorchred frowned.

'You'll be killed for this,' he said. 'You depraved peasant from the devil's own worm-ridden compost heap. You know what'll happen to you, don't you? And then…' He chuckled, and Flicker's eyes slid to his face. 'I wonder what will happen to her. No future for Camelhot from her bloodline, I'll wager. Oh no, because she'll choose to rot with you, won't she, you foul piece of sheep dung?'

Flicker returned his eyes to the ground, and made no comment. The smirk on Scorchred's face vanished, to be replaced by a look of rage. He took two brisk steps forward and kicked Flicker in the side, knocking him down.

'Coward!' he said. 'Defend yourself!'

Flicker's eyes flashed with anger, but his face was set, and still he refused to speak. Scorchred's anger rose. He balled his fists, and took a menacing step forward.

'Raging plague, what's going on here?'

Flicker and Scorchred both looked up, and saw Sir Loungelot walking briskly down the corridor. He did not slacken his pace as he approached the two dragons, but came to a sudden and immediate halt when he was barely an inch from Scorchred.

'Scorchred, you foul villain! What do you mean by treating my squire in this way?'

'Sir,' said Scorchred, all the malice vanishing from his voice, 'your squire is a villain. He is awaiting sentence on a charge of behaving inappropriately with the Princess.'

'My squire would no more behave inappropriately with the Princess than with the glory and honour of Camelhot itself, you steaming sack of horse manure! And as for the lady herself, you will not besmirch her name in my presence again if you want your eyes to remain in your head, you rotting pile of cat's intestines! You dung beetle's boot boy! You -'

'Loungelot!'

Loungelot stopped yelling, and turned abruptly at the sound of the King's voice. Allfire was standing in the doorway, looking rather taken aback, but he soon composed himself enough to ask, 'Can I take it you wish to give evidence?'

'Yes, Your Majesty, I do! Come along, Flicker.' Loungelot put his arm around Flicker, and led him gently through the doorway into the chamber. 'We'll soon sort this out. Honestly, I'm away for one weekend…'

Sitting around the Square Table were Queen Griddle and all of the knights, bar Sir Loungelot, who remained standing with his arm around his confused and sick-looking squire. Cinder and Clinker stood in a corner.

'Where is the Princess?' asked Loungelot.

'She has given her evidence,' said King Allfire, 'as has everybody here. Including my nephew,' he added, his eyes narrowing slightly as Scorchred slunk into the room.

'Very well,' said Loungelot, not removing his arm from Flicker's shoulders. 'Your Majesties… gentlemen… no one knows my squire better than I. He strives each and every day to live by our noble king's Code of Chivalry, and I have never once known him to fail. I can promise you that any word he has said in his own defence is the complete and unembellished truth. I believe that most of us here are aware of the Princess's fondness for this boy - nay - for this young man. It is my belief that she takes an interest in him because she sees his potential as a Knight of the Square Table, as indeed do I, Your Majesties. Of this charge, I know with absolute certainty that Flicker is innocent.'

'Hear, hear!' said Sir Blaze.

'Ooh, Loungelot,' gushed Griddle, 'what a deliciously gallant speech.'

'Very well,' said Allfire. 'I have heard enough. Everyone called to give evidence has spoken most favourably of you, squire, today and on occasions past. I never believed it anyway, but, well… Scorchred!' His voice suddenly rose, and became filled with anger. 'I said from the start that your allegations were deplorable, unfounded and entirely false. I gave you a chance to prove yourself, but I see now that your actions were nothing more than an attempt to jeopardise the future of Camelhot by casting aspersions on my beloved daughter. You have broken no laws, and so I cannot justly punish you, but I can and will banish you from my kingdom.' He pointed to the doorway, and finished dramatically, 'Go! And never again darken our doorstep.'

Scorchred did not argue, but turned towards the doorway, his expression of bitterness deepening as it slid from the view of the other dragons.

'Sir Galahot and Sir Burnevere,' said Allfire. 'See that he leaves the castle and doesn't pinch anything on the way out, will you? Cinder and Clinker, please go and tell Princess Flame the good news. Loungelot, you must be tired after your quest. Go and rest, and we shall hear about it later. Squire, you will go with your master.'

Loungelot removed his arm from around Flicker's shoulders and they both bowed to the King, then turned and went from the room.

Flicker sat on the edge of Loungelot's bed, his face steeped in all manner of powerful emotions, while Loungelot handed him a steaming mug.

'There you are,' he said. 'It's all over now. A nice hot cup of tea will help.'

'Thank you, Milord.' Flicker took the mug, sipped at the contents and began to recover. He stared at Loungelot for a moment, then asked, 'Where did you go?'

'Never you mind,' said Loungelot. 'I'm back now, and don't you go thinking I've gone soft. It's just a cup of tea, and when you've finished it, you'll be back to work.'

'Yes, Milord,' said Flicker. 'And… thanks. You really stuck up for me back there.'

'Well, did you want to get your head cut off or something?'

'No.'

'Well then.' Loungelot frowned at him for a moment, then looked pensive, and said, 'I'm not sure I really made a difference, though. It sounded like Allfire was going to find you innocent anyway. I wonder why Merle said I'd ruin everything.'

'Merle?' said Flicker. 'What makes you think she had anything to do with it?'

'Oh, she and Scorchred go way back,' said Loungelot. 'I doubt he would have thought of it all by himself. He's too stupid. Besides, how could he know? He can't have been here two days.'

'I didn't think of that,' said Flicker. 'I really wasn't surprised to hear someone had accused me of… that. You selected your words quite carefully, Milord, didn't you?'

'I suppose I did,' said Loungelot, 'but Flicker, I believe I told the King less than he already knew.'

Flicker, sipping at his tea again, looked up at his master with wide eyes. In return, he got a penetrating look that was brimful of meaning. Then a knock came at the door. Loungelot took his eyes off Flicker, and went to answer it.

'Is he here?' came Princess Flame's voice.

'Are you sure this is a good idea, Your Highness?' asked Loungelot.

'No,' said Flame, 'but please let me in anyway, just for a minute.'

With a look of resignation, Loungelot stepped aside, and Flame swept past him into the room. She walked towards Flicker, but stopped a good distance away from him.

'I'm sorry,' she said.

'What for?' asked Flicker.

'For pushing. For coming to see you so often, and talking to you so freely, and… that thing I did after the Puce Knight business. That could have been pretty bad, if Daddy or Stepmother had thought to ask.'

Flicker let out a sigh, and said, 'All of that… well, most of it was my fault as much as yours, Fl-… Your Highness.'

'Oh, Flicker, don't start that again!'

'I must. We have to stop it.'

'If I may,' said Loungelot, 'perhaps it would be pertinent to remind you that you won't have to wait forever, Your Highness. You shouldn't try to rush things, and anyway, you can't. All will come in its own time.'

'Yes, well,' Flame said stiffly, 'we'll just see about that.' She turned away from Flicker and headed out of the room, but paused in the doorway. 'I thank you, Sir Loungelot, for what you did. Cinder and Clinker told me.'

'I did only what I could, Your Highness.'

'That sounded ominous,' said Flicker, as Loungelot shut the door behind Flame. 'Sometimes I wonder why she bothered going off to Dunstable to learn patience.'

'Didn't she learn that patience killed her mother?' asked Loungelot.

'Yes,' said Flicker, 'and then she told me she realised that in this case, being patient for a little longer wasn't going to kill her. Then look what happened - her impatience could have killed me.'

'You'd die for her, wouldn't you, Flicker?'

'In a heartbeat, but I'd rather not have to,' Flicker said dully. Then his eyes widened, and he sat up sharply. 'I shouldn't have said that.'

'That's all right, Flicker,' said Loungelot. 'Doesn't it say something in the Code of Chivalry about being willing to lay down one's life for one's king, queen, princess and so forth?'

'Oh yes.' Flicker relaxed. 'That's Section One stuff. Milord…'

'Don't thank me again, Flicker,' said Loungelot. 'Just for goodness' sake be a bit more careful in future. And we're not going to talk openly about this again, all right?'

'Yes, Milord,' said Flicker. Then he drained the last of his tea, jumped to his feet and began unpacking Loungelot's bag.