"Thou didst know it," said the other. "Come with me to my court, to give me satisfaction."
"That will I not, by my faith!" said Geraint. "I would not go even to thy lord's court, excepting Arthur were thy lord."
"By the hand of Arthur himself," said the knight, "I will have satisfaction of thee, or receive my overthrow at thy hands!" And immediately they charged one another. And a squire of his came to serve him with lances as he broke them. And they gave each other such hard and severe strokes, that their shields lost all their color. But it was very difficult for Geraint to fight with him on account of his small size; for he was hardly able to get a full aim at him with all the efforts he could make. And they fought thus until their horses were brought down upon their knees. And at length Geraint threw the knight headlong to the ground; and then they fought on foot, and they gave one another blows so boldly fierce, so frequent, and so severely powerful, that their helmets were pierced, and their skullcaps were broken, and their arms were shattered, and the light of their eyes was darkened by sweat and blood. At the last Geraint became enraged, and he called to him all his strength. And boldly angry, and swiftly resolute, and furiously determined, he lifted up his sword, and struck him on the crown of his head a blow so mortally painful, so violent, so fierce, and so penetrating, that it cut through all his head armor, and his skin, and his flesh, until it wounded the very bone, and the sword flew out of the hand of the Little King to the furthest end of the plain, and he besought Geraint that he would have mercy and compassion upon him.
"Though thou hast been neither courteous nor just," said Geraint, "thou shalt have mercy, upon condition that thou wilt become my ally, and engage never to fight against me again, but to come to my assistance whenever thou hearest of my being in trouble."
"This will I do gladly, lord," said he. So he pledged him his faith thereof. "And now, lord, come with me," said he, "to my court yonder, to recover from thy weariness and fatigue."
"That will I not, by Heaven!" said he.
Then Gwiffert Petit beheld Enid where she stood, and it grieved him to see one of her noble mien appear so deeply afflicted. And he said to Geraint, "My lord, thou doest wrong not to take repose, and refresh thyself a while; for, if thou meetest with any difficulty in thy present condition, it will not be easy for thee to surmount it."
But Geraint would do no other than proceed on his journey, and he mounted his horse in pain, and all covered with blood. And the maiden went on first, and they proceeded towards the wood which they saw before them.
And the heat of the sun was very great, and through the blood and sweat, Geraint's armor cleaved to his flesh. And when they came into the wood, he stood under a tree, to avoid the sun's heat; and his wounds pained him more than they had done at the time when he received them. And the maiden stood under another tree. And, lo! they heard the sound of horns, and a tumultuous noise; and the occasion of it was that Arthur and his company had come down to the wood. And while Geraint was considering which way he should go to avoid them, behold, he was espied by a foot-page, who was an attendant on the steward of the household; and he went to the steward, and told him what kind of man he had seen in the wood.