There was once a land, lost in the pages of time, with mythical battles against great beasts, battles which faded into legend. A knight named Charles Buckingworth, we’ll just call him Sir Charles, had an outstanding will to survive odds. Sir Charles was a tall man, with shining white armor, which looked as if it glowed in the twilight hours. He had a small pouch, with which he carried all his little bits and bobs, and made quite an – impression, I suppose. He carried a sword with a pure white and golden case, and his horse was pure white. People called him The White Knight, not as a symbol of honor, but as a teasing voice, for his armor was not at all scary, as the  armor of the Black Knight.

The Black Knight, a twisted version of Sir Charles, was not even knighted. He fought only for himself, had black armor, sword, and horse, and instead of being accented with gold, they were accented with ruby. A gastly figure, whom the parents all loved, and the children all feared. He lived in great wealth as well, and was very proud and greedy, so when the King announced a Knight’s competition, with the winner having a grand reward, of course he signed up. Fame and money, at one place, was the only place he would go.

Poor Sir Charles, however, wanted to stay to care for his family. His hut was a shaky little house, and he didn’t want to leave them. Knowing they were too poor to sustain themselves for much longer, however, Sir Charles decided to go for his family. Only the village children came to wish Sir Charles good luck, the parent’s hated him. Off he went, unsure of how much danger lay ahead.

A man ran through the old dusty road, apparently terrified. The Black Knight paid no heed and raced in front, storming up a huge cloud of dust. The dust engulfed Sir Charles and the man, so they stopped for the dust to set. Sir Charles had time to look at the man, a short man with strong legs, who had a little knobby chin and callused fingers. He was asking for help at his village. It had been stormed and rampaged by monsters. Sir Charles rushed to help the village, and found no stone atop another. The town had been completely destroyed. He Helped all the men there, and when he was done, The Black knight was racing back. He clutched a large golden trophy in one hand, and his satchel was overflowing with gold.

Sir Charles gloomily rode back home. When he was there, The villagers complained of a Monster called a Scranderarse, a Huge Terrible beast, who was coming nearer and nearer to the village. The Black Knight wouldn’t move a muscle. Sir Charles would have to fight for a village that couldn’t care less. Despite the fact that there was nothing to gain, and everything to lose, Sir Charles didn’t even hesitate. He had to save the village. Even though it probably was a trap, if it did destroy the village, it would be on him.

Once he was out of ear range, The villagers hosted a party, with the guest of honor, the Black knight. Everyone was happy that the White knight was gone … for good. But Sir Charles still had his wits about him. He had been kidnapped, soon after he was out of earshot from the village. He had just come to, and he found himself in a dark chamber. He had to get out. Using his mind, he came up with a plan. He went out of the chamber and took out the guards. He dressed up as one of them, and found out how limited he was. There were no guard shifts, he only had one key. He used that key on a nearby door, and ended up in the restroom. Lucky for him, someone had forgotten their key-card on the sink. Making his way out, he found his horse, sword, and armor, and he raced home.

All the villagers were shocked he had escaped, and shunned him even more. Word got to the king about what had happened, and He sent for his royal chariots to go to the village. When the king saw the state of both knights, he immediately thought it was the Black Knight who had done it. He saw the White Knight and jailed him and his family. Sir Charles was fine. His family had a better life in the king’s sewer than his cottage. He had 3 square meals a day, the king jailed, let him keep his horse, and no one shamed him. The best part was he no longer had to pay tax. He and his family had a great imagination as well, so they could dream that they were eating food from the king’s court.

The Black Knight, however, was living the dream. He ate the King’s Food, Slept on the king’s bed, and played with the king’s chess board. Life was never better for him. The villagers missed him, and wished he was there, but was happy that the village rat was finally where rats belong, in the sewer of royalty. They thought that to be so near to royalty, but not quite there, was worse than death itself.

Soon however, the kingdom was thrust into war and ruin, with a bigger kingdom coming down upon them. ‘Knowing’ of the Black Knight’s bravery, the king fled up to the knight’s room. He thought he had sent a message already, so that he would know of the war, but messages get misplaced. As he thrust the door open, he saw the message on the bed. The message had not been misplaced, The person had.

The war was long and brutal, it only could end with tyranny from evil rulers. The King went slowly down the stairs to let the prisoners know the kingdom was in a losing state. Most of the prisoners were overjoyed, some of them couldn’t care less, and one family of them were brought upon by anger. The king did not want to make them fight the war, because he would lose his good reputation. What the other kings would do to him, if he proceeded with that choice. And if he was captured, what would happen to him? It would be a terrible life. He decided to let Sir Charles fight. He used to be a knight, so there was still some respect in that by rulers. He was the Kingdom’s Last Hope.

Some say money wins a war, some say wits win a war. Some say rulers win a war, others say that slaves win wars. Some say battles are matters of hearts, and lots say it is courage that wins wars. I believe however, that hope wins wars. The faith that someone is watching over them, winning battles for them. The morale that comes from a selfless hero, Sir Charles, that pushes them to victory. And though it was a long war, Sir Charles and his kingdom won. The King gave him many gifts, and the Black Knight was never heard of again.