It was Christmas Eve in the castle and the Bard of the Court was writing down his final words for the night’s festivities and lore, when he heard a child laughing and yelling something from the entrance of the Great Hall. However, this was no ordinary child, but a very precocious young page named Tristan. Oh the Bard knew him well, for he had on more than a few occasions needed to remind the young boy to temper his rambunctious nature. All day long, the young page would follow the Squires and Knights through out the Kingdom asking questions, yearning for rides on their steeds, and frankly being a nuisance at times to many including the Jester of the Court, who himself even lost tolerance occasionally. Well this night was no different as Tristan ran into the Hall almost knocking over the Courts minstrel on the way in, and crashing into his Rebec and Psaltery instead.
“Tristan! What have I told you about running in the Halls like a wild pony?’
The boy stopped dead in his tracks, winded and yet still laughing…and in a triumphant voice he declared with his hands cupped together tightly above his head…
“But Bard you have to see, you just have to…look…I caught snow flakes….Five of them!!
Tristan open up his cupped hands, yet all there was resting on his palm, were tiny little droplets of water and nothing that resembles a snowflake. When the young boy saw this, tears began to swell in his eyes and sobbingly questioned,
“But where did they go? They were perfect and beautiful? They were mine…”
“No Tristan,” the Bard explained “they were not yours, they were someone else’s. Please don’t cry, for I need to tell you about a winter’s day long ago. Now please join me by the fire so I may tell you the story of the of the Lady of the Lake and the young maiden Christiana”
Reluctantly Tristan sat down, and with tears still in his eyes, he agreed to hear the tale. The Bard set on a large stone at the base of the hearth and with the flames dancing behind him he began to speak:
One winter’s snowy night deep in the woods on the borders of Camelot, Nimue, the Lady of the Lake slumbered most peacefully. Her golden hair waving and swaying in the cool waters, and her mind was in a dreamscape taking her flying high above the clouds. However, this evening, something woke her. A faint cry heard above the water was calling to Nimue. This was not the voice of the King, or any of the Knights that she knew well. They were the only ones who would summon her, and only in times of great need, for she desired no other interaction with the subjects of Camelot. However, tonight was different. She did not hear plea’s for aide, nor cry’s for counsel. What she heard were the tears of a young maiden falling to the ground as she wept. For tears make a sound that only a mystical soul can hear.
Nimue had seen the child before, and remembered her name to be Christiana. She was the daughter of a Knight who had fallen while protecting the mighty King Arthur in battle just a few nights ago. Now, in the snowy dark, the young maiden was sitting on the shore of the lake with her head low, and tears streaming cold down to the frozen ground beneath her. She looked up and stared at the Kingdom decrying in the night
“Oh what sorrow is in my heart, for I know not what shall calm this pain I feel in my soul. I have lost what was truly dear to me”
At that moment, Nimue rose from the water and walked towards her silently in the snow, leaving no sound to her foot falls, but casting a light even brighter than the moon as she stopped just shy of the young girls feet. Christiana looked up and gazed upon the beauty of the Lady of the Lake and thought that maybe she had stumbled into a dream. Slowly Nimue leaned over and grasped a tear from the child’s face then carefully cupped it in her hand. Then in the most melodic voice she spoke:
“My child, I know of your father’s death for I watched the battle and saw the Sword come down. He was a gallant man, and beloved by all. I know your sorrow is growing in your soul, but this will pass just as the winter’s snow will melt away as spring approaches. You must believe this to be true”
Christiana looked at Nimue, then down to her gently cupped hands and asked:
“Where is the tear you caught as it fell from my eyes?”
The Lady just smiled, and opened her hands to reveal a perfect Snowflake. The moonlight began to shine upon the object that was once nothing but a tear. Then as the young maiden continued to gaze, the crystalline form began to melt away leaving only a drop of water. At that moment calm fell over the young girls’ heart. The Lady of the Lake spoke once more:
“From the cold snow comes beauty then a new beginning just like the pain in your heart shall fall away to warmer days in time. So let the tears flow like snow from the sky for now, but know neither lasts forever. Remember the snowflake’s beauty, but never try to keep one. For they are remnants of tears shed in sorrow, and they must be allowed to fulfill their promise of renewal.”
Nimue once again gently touched the young girls face, and brightness began to shine in Christiana’s eyes as she nodded and bowed her head in thankfulness and understanding. Then, as the snow continued to fall, the Lady of the Lake walked back into the water to slumber and dream until she is called upon again.
As the Bard finished his tale, young Tristan once again opened his hands to look upon his palm that earlier had held the perfect snowflakes he had caught.
“You see Tristan; they were not yours to keep. They were a gift to all whose tears fall in sorrow to remind them that pain will never last forever. Do you understand my young Page?”
At that very moment, Tristan felt sad that he had not allowed them to fall to the ground as they should have, but he also realized that his own tears had fallen away and disappeared as well. He thought of the young girl in the story and the Lady of the Lakes gift to her. Smiling, Tristan stood up, and quickly turned away to run once again through out the Great Hall..
“Tristan!!!” Yelled the Bard. “Stop running through the Great Hall like a wild pony!”
The young page just gleefully explained as he ran through the hall
“I know, I know but I’m going to go look for the Lady of the Lake!!!”
The Bard just shook his head and smiled. A thought came to him as he turned to watch the flames still dancing in the hearth. The Minstrel, whom Tristan had once again almost knocked over flying out of the Great Hall, had over heard the entire evening’s tale. He too was smiling and had this to say to the Bard of the Court:
“He will one day become a knight, but I do hope he does not rush to outgrow his dreams and adventures”
And with that the two went back to readying the Great Hall for the festivities to come for there are more tales to be told, and songs to be sung this Christmas Eve.
Nature Boy by Aurora
The Keep 
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