Week 13 Story: Lady Amoret's Capture

 The Capture of Lady Amoret

How I imagine Lady Amoret might look. (Source: Tumblr)

The sun started to set and the shadows started to lengthen when Britomart decided to stop for the night. She, her horse, and Amoret were all weary from their long journey and all the trials they had faced. They currently were wandering through a desert to get to the forest that lay on the other side of it. But it was vast and would take days to travel through. Britomart found a sheltered place in a vacated cave that had the evidence of past travelers being there. 

"Let's stop and rest here for the night. We are both weary and the sun is setting. We will make little to no progress in this state if we continue and do not rest," Britomart stated.  

There was cut dried kindling and wood stacked from past travelers just inside the entrance to the cave. Both Britomart and Amoret said a silent thanks to their gods for the strangers' gift.

 "If you will help me get the fire going I shall cook some of the meat we still have left from the last hunt you took," Amoret offered. Britomart agreed and they both got to work on preparing a small meal for the two of them.

Once they had eaten they were sitting around the fire almost fast asleep, when Amoret thought she heard rustling outside of the cave. "Did you hear that, my friend?" Amoret nervously looked over to Britomart who was almost asleep. 

"Hmm? Oh, it was probably an animal that smelled the food. Not to worry though, the fire will keep them at bay. Wild animals won't dare come near a fire like this and we are both behind the fire. That is why I made it near the entrance of the cave." Britomart dismissed Amoret's worries and fell fast asleep. 

'Well, she's probably right, I am just being paranoid. I need to rest while I can. I want to get back to Scudamour, my love as soon as possible.' She thought to herself as she too fell fast asleep. 

Little did Amoret or Britomart know, that someone from the tourney had followed them. Sir Satyrane, furious at being bested by not just the Savage knight, but also the Knight with the Ebony Spear, had followed where the strange knight was taking the fair lady he won. At first, Satyrane thought to some distant castle but was outraged to overhear and see the truth about Britomart and Amoret. 'I shall show them what happens when you try to make a fool of me! Lady Amoret is rightfully mine, husband or no. I will have her!' He thought with fury. 

So, Satyrane continued following them until they stopped for the night. He knew that he was no match for Britomart and would lose against her if it came to combat. So he waited until their exhaustion overtook both of them and put his plan into action. 

He swiftly but quietly scooped up the Lady Amoret from where she was laying and quickly made haste to his horse. The lady was so exhausted from all of her previous adventures and capture from the Enchanter, she never even stirred. 

She awoke to the sun shining in her eyes and laying against who she thought was Britomart on horseback. She was quite disoriented and wondered why Britomart did not just wake her earlier. But even as she thought this, she slowly came to her senses and realized it was not Britomart she leaned against. 

"Oh, you're awake, lovely. My lady, we shall be home shortly." Satyrane smirked to himself as he spoke to her. 

"Home? Sir Satyrane? What are you doing? Why have you taken me from my dear knight? I demand you bring me back at once!" She pounded on his back to no avail. He never stopped or even slowed the horse carrying them down.

He chuckled sinisterly to himself. "I know the evil trick you and this Britomart played on the rest of us. But I am no fool! You are rightfully mine and shall be my wife! You will grace me with your beauty all of my days," He said dreamily. 

Amoret fought as hard as she could to get him to let her go. She planned and tried many escapes but she could not beat him. She prayed that Britomart and her love, Scudamour would come to her rescue and soon. She shivered to herself to think what was awaiting her at Satyrane's castle. 

A/N:

First off, thanks for reading! While reading the tales of Britomart this week, I got so frustrated. It took forever for Britomart to find Artegall and for her "happily ever after," so to speak. Then we have her best friend, Amoret, who was separated from her husband by a wicked Enchanter who Britomart saved her from. So when Britomart finds Artegall and Scudamour, we find out that Lady Amoret had been taken and Britomart had no clue about who had taken her or to where. The last story in the unit said Amoret's story was for another book, and let me just say, I was super disappointed to not be able to read at least something about her! So that's why I decided to write my story post about her capture at least. Satyrane seemed very arrogant to me in the original story and I wouldn't put it past him to do something like this for revenge. Actually, a lot of people seemed to be getting revenge on each other during this unit, so it fits well with the story to me. I didn't want to give too much detail and wanted to leave some mystery, as I haven't yet read any of her actual story (if there is one) and I just like leaving my readers wanting more. Hope you enjoyed it! Feedback is always welcomed! 

Bibliography:

Stories from the Faerie Queene by Mary McCleod, with illustrations by A.G. Walker (1916).