**Based on the story of the marriage of King Arthur and Queen Guinevere, as told by Howard Pyle in The Story of King Arthur and His Knights.**

*~*~*
 

'Twas a balmy, golden autumn day

Before the stroke of noon

Camelot its winding streets bedecked

And merry players piping tunes

Beneath the walls of Camelot

Behind the cold dark stone

King Arthur paced with worried steps

About His royal throne

Beside Him stood His royal knights

Chivalrous their mien

I've always wanted to have a lot of kids. My mom courageously bore six of us, eight if you count the two that miscarried. I always try to remember them, too. Growing up with so many of us was like having my own little group of friends. That's not to say we didn't have real friends over. Hardly. But we grew up so emotionally close to each other that the need for outside friends was dampened. I honestly can't imagine having any fewer than eight kids, be they my own or adopted as my own. Six would be the bare minimum. Eight might just do it.

Sunlight dapples the ground, sifted to the forest floor by layers upon layers of thick, green branches. The busy, noisy world is nearby. So close you can almost feel it pressing closer. But here, with the tall graceful trees and the whispering of the wind, it is peaceful. Quiet. Nothing hurries here...

The wooded path stretches before me, safely enclosed by kindly branches. Leaves crackle softly underfoot, my skirts swishing against the rough tree trunks as I walk.

I was reading articles online the other day and they reminded me why I spent my youth differently from my peers. I have never understood why our current culture is so "into" the dating game. It is entirely illogical to think that spending years going from relationship to relationship during your youth will somehow prepare you for the reality of a marriage relationship.