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It’s not always the quest for the cup. Sometimes, it’s the quest for what’s in the cup.

Lance wants nothing more than to be there to fight the dragons for his beloved Princess Alexandra. With his faithful steed by his side, Lance sets out for the magic elixir found only in the Holy Grail. With its strengthening power, facing off an old hag, the bewitching woods, and the strange ogre who lives under a bridge should be easy.

But when it comes to Alexandra’s dragons, things aren’t quite what they all seem to be.

Will Lance’s gift be enough — or will his princess require something even more powerful to sustain her?

Pull up a cup of your favorite “elixir” and enjoy this sweet and snarky satire story from C. S. Johnson, where the dragons are real, even if they aren’t.

FROM THE STORY:

Every knight has a quest, and every quest has its reward.

As a knight-errant, albeit one still in training, with only a year of service behind him, Lance took his duty seriously. But waking up was also a serious business, and that was why, despite the midmorning light flickering over his face, Lance was still half asleep. His faithful steed stepped up to help him, breathing smelly fumes into his face.

“Blah!” Lance sputtered, trying to clear his tongue of the frothy waft. “What have you been eating, Percy?”

His pet’s pungent wake-up call forced Lance to roll over. When the heat of Percy’s breath continued to eat into the shield of his pending sleep, Lance finally gave in to his beast’s rude awakening.

“Alright, I’m getting up. Back from me, you fearsome brute.”

The horse was far from intimidated by Lance’s waking grogginess; instead, he moved closer to his master, nuzzling him with his wet nose.

“You’re lucky you’re the runt of your family,” Lance grumbled, sitting up. He patted down his hair, brushing the chestnut locks out of his eyes, before taking in the full sight of the bouncing creature before him. “Or you would be tied outside, like the ones at my mother’s house.”

Percy gave a small yip, and the nuzzle became a nudge.

“Alright, alright,” Lance muttered, petting his horse’s long, flowing mane playfully. “I know you’re hungry.”

He also knew there was no point in trying to sleep when Percy was hungry–no matter how sleepy he still was.

“I suppose you’re right, anyway, Percy.” Lance yawned and rubbed his hands over his face. “We promised the princess we would save her today, and every knight knows there is nothing more important than completing his quest.”

Lance tossed Percy several treats and stroked his pet affectionately, before he put on his armor for the day. He pulled a breastplate polished to a shine over his head, slipped his feet into protective boots, and even donned a helmet to protect his face from the bright summer sunshine.

Before too long, he stepped outside his quarters. Percy came trotting eagerly after him. With his steed at his side and a grin on his face, Lance set out into the morning to see his princess.

“Princess Alexandra, I am coming for you,” he called out rapturously, eager to see his beloved once more.

FROM THE AUTHOR:

It’s a good romantic tale that hints at the darker sides of depression and mental health, and the troubles we sometimes face when we befriend our demons, with liquid portals, jokes about avocados, strange references to illegal plants, and coffee runs.

What’s not to love?

WHAT REVIEWERS ARE SAYING:

“… An endearing story of love … ” ~ Dee Bookworm

Free on 17th - 22nd Dec 24
View on Amazon.co.uk

Reviews:

It’s not always the quest for the cup. Sometimes, it’s the quest for what’s in the cup. Lance wants nothing more than to be there to fight the dragons for his beloved Princess Alexandra. With his faithful steed by his side, Lance sets out for the magic elixir found only in the Holy Grail. With […]

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Reviewer: .


Woken by his trusty steed Percy, the good knight Lance rouses himself to go forth on an adventure to save his princess, the lovely Alexandra. Having encountered her as she walked to the university and smitten by her looks, he had followed her to make her acquaintance. Despite owning a dragon, Lance is not put off and by some miracle his feelings of love are reciprocated. As her knight, he must carry out quests to save her and this time it is to find the Holy Grail. After exchanging morning pleasantries with his neighbourly witch, he sets out into the forest to find his prize. After a while, he begins to realise he is lost, until he is rescued by the resident, homeless, Ogre, who agree to take him to the Holy Grail in return for a drink when they arrive. But when he arrives and finds the Holy Grail, he is irresistibly drawn to take a drink of his own from the chalice and with one draft, his world melts away.

This is an excellent short story with a clever twist half way through, which takes it from being a fairly simple fantasy romance into something which is much deeper. The characters start out as caricatures of those you would expect in such a story, but they have blossomed into those you can relate to by the end. In many ways, it is not the plot of the story that matters, but the characters central to it and their interactions that bind the story together. The plot is fairly simple, but that simplicity works with it, as the dual telling that occurs works so well for it. As the story mentions, it may not be the quest that matters, but the reasons for it that is important. The writing is cleverly descriptive and takes full advantage of both the ongoing story and the twist to give a clever dual meaning to everything. The book is well formatted and edited, I didn't see any spelling mistakes or other errors. There are also mentions of other works by the author, so if you enjoy the work, then there are several more to choose from.

Overall, I really enjoyed reading this one, especially by the ending and should be one for readers who enjoy romance perhaps more than fantasy.


Rating: 4



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