Sir Roger and Sir Rafa Set Out In Quest Of The Holy Grail: Part 2

"But this seat is mine. Only the most worthy can occupy it, " said Sir Roger, turning as purple as his armor. 

King Arthur became a little nervous for as mentioned earlier, he was a little scared of Sir Roger. The mighty knight had gone and slain 3 dragons after some ignorant people had raised some doubts about his continued prowess. There was no knowing what he would do if asked to vacate the seat.

Sir Compromise intervened. Sir C , though not as handsome or accomplished as the other knights, had been recruited on the recommendation of Merlin who had insisted that every meeting needed a compromise.

Sir C suggested that both Sir Roger and Sir Rafa could be entrusted with the task of pursuing the Quest independently.

This proposal was met with cheers.

"But there is only one seat, " said the King.

"They can share, " said Merlin, who was secretly a socialist.

"It has never been shared," objected the King.

"There is always a first time, " said the wise Merlin.  

Sir Roger was not too happy and at first he thought he would cede only a tiny bit of space on the seat.But when he saw Sir Rafa coming towards him, swinging his mighty arms, he remembered their duels and decided discretion was the better part of valor. So he vacated exactly half the seat. When Sir Rafa sat, the seat magically expanded to accommodate both.

"Do you know what the Quest entails? " asked the King.

"Yes , your Majesty. I have already slain 3 and collected drops of their blood in a little bottle I carry in my pouch. Now I have to kill the Melby dragon and put some drops of its blood into the mix. Then the Holy Grail will appear."

The assemblage broke out into cheers as if the deed had already been accomplished.

Sir Roger reminded them that he himself had been close to achieving the Quest but "there's many a slip betwixt the cup and the lip and a big gap between 3 and 4."

Sir Rafa thanked him for the lesson in Math.

King Arthur bade the champions to start preparing for their Quest.

Sir Rafa immediately bounded from his chair and springing onto his horse's back, rode at great speed to meet his Master Toni to start practising new skills and to add new weapons.

Sir Roger too was in a hurry. He had to meet his fashion consultant to decide on his wardrobe and other details for the Melby tournament. He was the defending champion and he would be expected to make a grand entrance. Also, he had to plan a dramatic finale.

He remembered what a success his presentation had been at Wimby last year. After delivering the coup de grace to the 15^th dragon, he had donned his white robe trimmed with gold and with the numerals "15" embroidered on the back. What a splash he had made! The stadium had erupted in cheers, thousands of flashbulbs had exploded and his fans had not been able to stop raving for days about his style. What got particular attention in the media was his self-belief for had he not got the "15" embroidered before slaying the dragon?

He had to plan something breathtaking for Melby. Should he hire helicopters to form the numerals "17" in the sky after he had slain the dragon? Some unforgettable events could be planned for each of the four tournaments culminating in the Grand Finale at Flushy where he would finally attain his Quest. Should he have his robe embroidered with gold cups and release thousands of balloons shaped like the Holy Grail and have a song specially composed for the moment and sung by Elton John? TV and movie crews could be readied to film the historic moment when the Holy Grail would appear!

Sir Roger felt excited. He had plenty of details to discuss with his fashion consultant. Maybe, he would have to hire an event planner and a special effects consultant too.

His fans who had been hiding in the bushes, came out and started singing:

Sir Roger, you are the GOAT

We love to see you glide and float

None more worthy of the Quest

Sir Roger, you are the best!

Sir Roger spurred his horse and rode into the sunset followed by his adoring fans.

All the knights left.

Silence reigned.

A somewhat disreputable looking man detached himself from the shadows. He pulled out his iPhone and texted:

Roger: 6/1; Rafa: 9/4