THE POWER OF DEMONIA
It had all started one autumn day, when Arthur had received word from an old friend of his. Groups of bandits had appeared in one of the outlying villages, they had begun raiding, attacking people's supplies and spreading mayhem and fear amongst the people there.
As Arthur studied the letter, he knew he could not let this continue. This was not what Camelot was about. Since he and the other leaders had worked out an agreement between the Five Kingdoms, peace had mostly broken out. But every now and then fighting would flair up in different Kingdoms, keeping everyone on their toes.
This particular trouble was happening too close to Camelot for Arthur's liking. Suddenly a knock on the door interrupted his thoughts.
"Come in." Arthur shouted. He looked up, as Sir Leon entered the room, a worried look on his face.
"We've had reports of trouble breaking out on our eastern borders." he explained.
"How bad is it?" Arthur enquired.
"A number of towns have been ransacked, of their supplies. Also some men have been taken as well."
"When you say taken do you mean as hostages?" Arthur asked worriedly.
"It seems they just vanish, no one knows where to." Leon explained. "The people who've been taken do not come from rich families, so it is not as if anyone can pay for their return."
"I've had a letter from my old friend Gareth, he too has reported seeing bandits attacking nearby villages. I think it's about time we investigated Leon."
Sir Leon nodded "I will make ready the Knights."
"We leave early tomorrow." Arthur instructed. "Before you go Leon have you seen Guinevere?"
"Oh she's outside having her sword lesson." Sir Leon smiled.
"Still. I would have thought by now Isolde had showed her everything."
"I have to say sire." Leon smiled. "Isolde has shown everyone strokes we've not seen before!"
Arthur smiled. "Yes I have to say she does have some interesting movements."
Sir Leon bowed and left the room, leaving Arthur to finish his paperwork alone. Despite himself he was beginning to regret giving Merlin the day off. As ever he found he couldn't find anything he wanted, Merlin had a place for everything, sadly it was rarely where Arthur expected it to be. Finally fed up of looking for things, he decided to go outside and see his wife.
Gaius's Chambers.
"Now you add some comfrey-" Merlin said, staring intently at the mixture Freya was working on.
"I know Merlin, I'm not a child. I have made this before you know." Freya exclaimed.
In the background Gaius grinned to himself. Ever since Freya had been taken on as an assistant he was getting use to the daily discussions between them. Merlin sometimes forgot that Freya probably knew more about making potions then he himself did. He had a habit of taking over, which would only annoy Freya. If there was one thing Gaius had learned by now, it was that Freya would always stand her own ground, in such situations.
The potion bubbled away, leaving a sharp aroma in the air. Freya prepared to put the last herb in, smiling as she did so.
"There you go." she smiled turning to Merlin in triumph. "Ready to be applied."
"You are so clever." Merlin smiled at her.
"Not that you'd know it the way you take over Merlin." Freya said a twinkle in her eyes. "You forget my Grandmother was the best healer in my village."
"I wished I'd met her, she seems quite a character." Gaius commented.
"She was." Freya smiled sitting down. "She could cure people of virtually anything. People would come from all the adjoining villages to be cured by her."
"You are beginning to take after her." Merlin smiled. "You seem to pick up everything really quickly."
"It is because I want to learn." Freya smiled. "Gaius here is a very good teacher."
"Flattery will get you everywhere my dear." Gaius chuckled.
"It's not flattery." Freya said. "It's true."
"Why don't you two go out for a walk?" Gaius asked. "It's a lovely day."
"That's a lovely idea." Freya smiled.
"I have a speech to write for Arthur." Merlin grimaced.
"Arthur's speech can wait for a couple of hours surely?" Freya said looking at him lovingly.
"Whenever you look at me like that, I can never say no to you." Merlin smiled.
Freya smiled back holding out a hand, taking it they walked to the door.
"Make sure you have your nap Gaius." Merlin said sternly.
"Of course I will." Gaius smiled. "Off you go enjoy yourselves." Once the door closed behind them, Gaius slowly got up. His age was quickly catching up with him, he was just thankful that Freya took a lot of the load off him now. Not only that, the girl gave much pleasure to Merlin as well. He was just glad that at long last the boy was coming out of himself, and looked a very happy young man.
He eased himself down on the bed, and closed his eyes, happy that for once there was little to do. He was happy that there would shortly come a time when he could hand over his job to Merlin and Freya, as they made a good team.
Training Ground.
"Come round, move your body quickly right round." Isolde shouted. "That's it. Feel how much better that lunge was."
"I can't believe the difference." Gwen exclaimed. "It felt much better."
"I've told you, you need to trust yourself more, Gwen you're a very good swordswoman now." Isolde remarked, feeling satisfied with her work for the afternoon.
"All thanks to you, you are some teacher, Isolde." Gwen smiled gratefully.
"I think it's important that everyone knows how to defend themselves." Isolde pointed out. "Why should only men be able to fight?"
"Absolutely." Gwen agreed. "If only I could get Arthur to see that. He still doesn't understand why I'm doing it."
"Some men are just like that they think women should be meek and their men should protect them. As I say to Tristan if we live together, then we fight together."
"Has the lesson finished?" Arthur asked as he joined them.
"Just about." Isolde said. "I think your wife is a very good fighter now."
"Good." Arthur grinned. "Not that she needs to be, as I will always be there to protect her."
Gwen rolled her eyes at Isolde " What did I tell you." she laughed.
"What?" Arthur asked genuinely puzzled.
"You!" Gwen said. "You are so old fashioned Arthur Pendragon, in today's world women should be able to protect themselves."
Isolde nodded in agreement.
"Yes of course." he grimaced, turning his back to pick up a sword from the ground.
Isolde made a face at Gwen. Before Arthur knew where he was he was on the ground with his wife's sword pointing at his chest. Winded he looked up at his wife with an amazed look on his face.
"Guinevere." he remarked.
"What Arthur?" she said. "Isn't this the first thing you tell your Knights, never to turn your back on your opponents?"
Arthur looked at her speechless, his mood starting to turn to embarrassment, and that was before Merlin and Freya arrived on the scene.
"Oh look at that the royal prat on his ass." Merlin laughed. Freya put her hand over her mouth, trying to stop from laughing as well.
"Merlin!" Arthur shouted "I could easily stop your day off you know."
Freya looked at him questioningly.
"Now then Arthur haven't you enough woman problems for one day?" Merlin giggled.
Isolde and Gwen giggled as Arthur warily got to his feet. After glaring at a departing Merlin, Arthur joined in the laughter.
"Okay you've proved your point Guinevere." he smiled. "I have to say that was a good slice."
"Thank you." Gwen smiled. "The praise needs to go to my teacher though."
"Anytime." Isolde said. "Now I had better go and find Tristan, he'll be missing me."
After she'd left, Arthur took Gwen by the hand and took her inside.
"I'm afraid I'll be leaving tomorrow for a patrol on our eastern borders,"
"Anything serious?" Gwen asked concerned.
"We've had reports of bandits raiding villages and taking people away." he said.
Gwen looked worried, she would never get use to the constant worry when Arthur was away. But she knew that he was surrounded by good Knights and Merlin would do his best to keep Arthur safe.
"We'd better make the most of tonight then." she smiled.
"I could do with an early night." he smiled in agreement.
Next Day
Early next morning Arthur, Merlin and the Knights minus Sir Leon left Camelot. Gwen watched them leave from the throne room. Before long she was joined by Isolde and Freya, both looking as worried as she felt.
"I don't think I'll ever get use to this." Gwen sighed.
"I know Merlin has his magic to protect him, but I think I'm a better fighter than he is." Freya remarked.
"I can fight as well as Tristan can." Isolde fumed. "I should be there with him."
"Well let's just hope it doesn't turn out like last time." Gwen said remembering when they were forced to rescue them.
"On the contrary, I hope it does." Isolde smiled. "We proved a point then."
"I don't want my Merlin getting captured by anyone." Freya complained.
"You've just pointed out he has his magic to protect him." Isolde smiled.
"Let's hope it is more straight forward this time." Gwen said, trying to remain upbeat.
"I'd better go and help Gaius with the potions, it will help keep my mind from worrying." Freya said, walking to the door. "Let me know if you hear anything Gwen."
"Of course. I'm sure they'll be fine try not to worry Freya." Gwen smiled.
Freya softly shut the door behind her, leaving Gwen and a frustrated Isolde behind. Gwen decided she would keep herself occupied by finishing off some paperwork. Isolde on the other hand spent her time walking around the room, getting more and more frustrated with herself. Noticing Gwen tried to persuade her to give her a hand with her work.
"I've heard from someone pretty close to you, that you're very good with numbers." she enquired.
Isolde looked at her with a look of exasperation on her face, and for a minute Gwen
Wondered if the suggestion had been a good idea after all. She prepared herself for a rude reply, only to find that Isolde instead apologized.
"I'm sorry, I'm not good when I'm apart from Tristan. I find it so hard just to wait. From the moment that we've met we've been together. I feel as if I'm missing an arm when he isn't with me." she smiled sadly.
"You are a woman of contradictions Isolde." Gwen remarked looking closely at her friend.
"What do you mean?" Isolde asked curiously.
"On the one hand you are fiercely independent at looking after yourself, yet at this moment you are unable to survive without Tristan." Gwen mused.
Isolde thought for a second, she supposed that Gwen actually had a point.
"I was alone from when I was a young girl." she explained. "Once my parents were killed I had to look after myself. I suppose I did get very independent when I was growing up. I never even thought having a man was that important until I met Tristan. We just instantly bonded with one another. But I still like to think I can take care of myself."
Gwen smiled at Isolde's proud tone, it was something she could understand.
"I know when I started courting Arthur, at times I wondered whether we'd ever become a couple. I felt as if we had too many obstacles in our way, with me being a servant and him being a member of the aristocracy. But I suppose in the end if it's meant to be, it's meant to be." Gwen concluded.
"It is rarely easy for us women." Isolde agreed. "Let's have a look at this paper work then. Hopefully it will stop me getting worried."
A couple of hours later they were still working away, suddenly there was a knock on
the door, and a Knight entered.
"My lady we've had word, that the King and his patrol have been captured." He reported.
Gwen attempted to remain calm. "Exactly what do we know?" she asked.
"Only that they were entering one of the border villages, a place called Bymersol when they were captured by a group of bandits. We are still awaiting more up to date reports. Would you like me to get some Knights ready?" he asked.
"Is Sir Leon available yet?" Gwen asked.
"I think he is definitely on the road to recovery my lady."
"Summon him immediately I need to speak with him." she commanded.
"Of course my lady." the Knight bowed and left the room.
Gwen pondered her next move, as she did so she could feel Isolde eyeing her keenly.
"We must go with Sir Leon." she said unable to stay quiet any longer.
"I'm not sure if Sir Leon will see it like that." Gwen commented.
"I'm sure between us we can persuade him." Isolde commented grinning.
"I'm sure we can." Gwen smiled. "First thing go and let Freya know, I'm sure she will want to come along as well."
"I'm really impressed." Isolde said, "I thought I'd have to work on you."
"There's not much point in learning to fight, if I don't get the chance to use my new skills is there?" Gwen asked raising her eyebrow.
"I totally agree." Isolde said clutching Gwen's hand.
"Now go and tell Freya and leave Sir Leon to me." Gwen said.
Within a few minutes Sir Leon walked briskly into the throne room. Gwen had quickly decided on her tactics with her old friend.
"My lady I've just heard the news. Do not worry I will immediately get a group of Knights ready, and we will leave early tomorrow." he said.
"That's all very well, but I have the feeling that just sending the Knights will not be enough." Gwen said worriedly.
"Oh?" Leon enquired.
"From my conversations with Arthur before he left, he informed me that he thought magic was involved." she explained. "Unless any of the Knights possess magic, I fear you may have a problem."
"I'm sure we can think of something my lady, we've dealt with magic before." Leon pointed out.
"Yes of course." agreed Gwen. "But I need not remind you Merlin was with you then, sadly he like my husband has been captured. But we do have a solution here."
"Oh?" said Leon not liking where the conversation was going.
"Freya of course she possesses magic, I believe quite powerful magic according to Merlin."
"Yes that maybe so. But I'm not sure that Merlin would be very pleased about her being used like this." Leon pointed out.
"Luckily for us Merlin is not here to say no." Gwen pointed out. "Isolde and I will keep an eye on her."
"My lady?" Sir Leon asked worry all over his face.
"You will need as many people as possible Sir Leon. Our best Knights have been caught, Isolde and I are more than capable of fighting I can assure you."
"Is it wise to leave the Kingdom unguarded though?" Leon asked struggling for ideas to put forward.
"It wasn't so long ago I accompanied Arthur to a Peace Conference outside of Camelot." she pointed out. "I'm sure Lord Bevan will stand in again, I trust his leadership and I will ask Gaius and Geoffrey to keep an eye on things."
"I suppose it is a waste of time me arguing any longer?" Sir Leon smiled.
"Very clever of you Leon." Gwen smiled. "I will make sure we are all ready at first light tomorrow."
"Very well my lady. I will get the Knights ready." Sir Leon bowed and left the chamber worry etched on his face.
Freya and Isolde came bounding into the room.
"You handled that very well I have to say." Isolde smiled.
"Just make sure you're both ready at first light tomorrow." Gwen said, as she watched them leave.
Gwen breathed out and relaxed. She thought of her husband locked up somewhere, her worry turned into determination. Just you wait Arthur Pendragon I will show you just how much I've learnt, she thought to herself.