Part of yet another story

Soon after the audience quieted down, a figure walked onto the stage from behind the dark-coloured curtain. He was dressed colourfully, the rich hues of a performer painting his clothing to make him easily seen throughout. A wide smile crossed his face.

"Greetings, ladies and gentlemen! On this fine evenin', I present to ya a wonderful spectacle from a few performers, who have come from many places to be here and entertain us. So without further ado..."

He swept his hand and the curtains opened by magic. It revealed five musicians, all with a different instrument. Most appeared Serenian, one perhaps Connlaothian in ancestry, so the one man who had darker skin stuck out. He didn't seem to mind. As soon as the man who had announced the performance sat down nearby, they all began. At first, it was a calm tune, but light and happy. Then, it took a more mysterious tone on. One of the men, who had been playing a hand harp, stood and began advancing to the foremost portion of the stage, scanning the audience with a spark in his eyes. He put on a face of exaggerated thoughtfulness, continuing to play his instrument as he walked as if it were second nature to him.

"Now, I'm going to tell you all a story this evening..."

He began to sing his story rather than speak it.

"There once was a valiant knight.
He instilled all his enemies with a raging fright.
With a swing of his blade and a fire in his eyes,
he rode 'cross the land like an eagle flies."

There was a short instrumental interlude before he began to sing again.

"One day the man spotted 'cross the enemy side,
a beautiful lady with dark brown eyes.
Whether enemy or friend or foe she be,
It mattered not, because you see,"

At this point, they all began to sing;

Love can't be stopped by,
Blade nor fight nor flame,

To be loved,
To be kissed,
To be embraced,
to be missed,
There's nothing that's quite the same."


The man who had been singing lead switched with another man who had been playing a fiddle. The switch-off was very smooth.

As the man stepped forward, he picked up as soon as the instrumental interlude ended with a smile.

"The knight had a fire in his heart,
from the moment he saw her did it start.
Through storms an' battles an' the pouring rain,
he braved it all to see her again."

The music grew dramatic.

"One day the maiden and he took a walk,
in the forest where there were no eyes to gawk.
But then lady fortune turned on our knight;
A troop of guards caught them in plain sight!

Oh how he fought!
How he played,
How he dodged,
How he prayed,

But nonetheless he was caught.

The music grew sad for a moment, and another switch was made to another man.

"They put our brave knight in a cell,
it was dark and it was damp and it was hell.
But the prisoner knew that his fair maiden would arrive,
And that kept the hope in his heart alive.

His lady arrived with tears on her face,
Through the bars they could not embrace.
With a reach of his hand and a caress of her cheek,
He spoke to the woman whose love he did seek;

'Love can't be stopped by,
Blade nor fight nor flame,

By you I am missed,
To be true,
I tell you this;
My freedom I will reclaim."

The dark-skinned man switched with the singer from before. He walked up to the front of the stage gracefully.

"The next day, the guards were shocked,
When into the halls of the cells they walked,
as the man they had gone far to catch,
was gone, and the cell door unlatched!

In a flash the men dispatched,
searching for the knight and lady to snatch.
But the brave knight was nowhere to be found,
and him and his fair lady were safe and sound.

As he rode away with the girl towards the sun,
the knight picked a rose and said to his loved one,'

At this time the caramel skinned man pulled out a rose from behind him that seemed to have come from thin air, as only he sang,

"'Love can't be stopped by,
Blade nor fight nor flame,

My love,
This is a gift,
To be admired,
May it lift
your spirits on this fine day.'

So in the gold of the light,
morning sun shining ever bright,
they kissed and rode away!'