The chapter opens long ago in the Tamwood, where King Arthur and Sir Bedivere have become separated from their hunting party while chasing a deer. Their easy banter reveals their close friendship and the secret Bedivere has long carried: he is in love with Arthur, though he has never acted on it. When they finally spot the deer, a giant knight in bloodred armor abruptly emerges from the woods, kills the deer with a single arrow, and rides off with the carcass. Arthur declares this is no longer a hunt but an adventure.

The narrative then flashes further back to Bedivere's origins. Born without a left hand to King Reitheoir of Dyfed, he grew strong and skilled, fighting with a war hammer and a heavy spiked shield. He came of age during the unstable reign of Uther Pendragon, and when Uther died without an heir, Britain teetered toward civil war. The miraculous appearance of a sword in a stone in St. Paul's churchyard in Londinium, with its inscription promising kingship to whoever could draw it, drew kings and knights from across Britain to a great tournament.

Bedivere traveled to Londinium with his father, intending to compete and also hoping to explore his desire for men. Wandering the city in his finest clothes, he locked eyes with an older man and followed him into a secluded courtyard, expecting a sexual encounter. Instead, it was a trap: children pelted him with stones from above while the man drew a knife to rob and kill him.

Despite his head wound and shock, Bedivere killed the would-be murderer with his bare hand and the man's own knife, cutting his throat as the children watched. He returned to the churchyard shaken, convinced his missing hand marked his inner corruption. There he learned the tournament had collapsed into farce: a scrawny squire named Arthur had pulled the sword out by accident while looking for a replacement blade for his master, and the assembled kings refused to accept him.

As night fell and the crowd grew dangerous, the archbishop of Canterbury stood beside Arthur and began chanting the Te Deum. The song calmed the mob and pierced Bedivere. Looking into Arthur's frightened eyes, he saw a kindred soul whom the world had misjudged, and recognized the spark of true kingship in him. Without hesitation, Bedivere pushed through the crowd, knelt at Arthur's feet, and placed his single hand on the boy's boot, becoming the first knight to swear himself to King Arthur.