Baby Pendragon!
It had been five days since the passing of Queen Igraine, King Uther's dear wife and mother to his new born child, the child who would inherit the throne to Camelot, the child which both Uther and Igraine yearned for and tried for for so many years, the child in which Uther turned to magic to have.
King Uther hadn't slept well since his wife died during the birch of the child, a baby boy, the Prince of Camelot and one day he would be King.
His birth was marred with tragedy, pain and grief, a birth should be celebrated and a joyus occasion but for King Uther it was the saddest day of his life.
The grieving King sat at his table in his chambers, they were so cold and empty now Igraine had gone, he could still smell the sweet aroma of her perfume, her trinkets and hair brush still laid on the dresser where she had left them, her favourite pendant was still laid neatly along side her jewellery box.
He sighed deeply as he fought to hold back the tears that he felt himself about to weep for his late wife, the only woman he would ever love, the only woman he ever needed.
Everything was a constant reminder to him, the scent which lingered in the air everywhere in the castle, the items of clothing and jewellery that was in the room, every tiny corner of the castle held memories for the King.
It wheart breaking, he couldn't go any where with out having the memory of his beloved thrown in his face, he wished he could just run away, it was no way for a King to act but he didn't care he just wanted to get away from everything.
He needed time to think, mourn and get some closer, he had never felt so lost, alone and abandoned.
He had a whole Kingdom in his control but still he felt the loneliest man in the world and nothing would ever ease the pain.
He had been in his chambers for hours, in fact he had been in there for the best part of the day, the sky was growing darker and the sun was going down, as he glanced out of the window at the sky over Camelot he saw that there was a red glow in the distance, the sunset it looked so beautiful and enchanting, yet he still felt sad, dark and empty, nothing was as beautiful as his Queen and now she was gone, he was on his own left to rule Camelot, how would he cope, how would he continue to be the King he had been all these years? Without Igraine to guide him and love him.
Then the thought dawned on him for the first time clearly since the tragedy, he was not just the King now he was a father, he not only had to rule the kingdom he also had to raise a child, his son, the son he had longed for for as long as he could remember.
It had been five days since his birth and Uther had only seen him a total number of three times, once at his birth and twice since he was moved to the nursery.
King Uther had left him in the care of his nurse maids, two loyal women who had been with the Queen all through her pregnancy and during the birth, they had spent his first few hours with the infant caring for him, swaddling him and pacing the nursery with him as he cried.
Even from the moment he was born the infant knew something was wrong in his kingdom, he could sense the loss of his mother, his bond from the womb had been severed for good, he would never know her.
King Uther knew deep in his heart his behaviour towards his own son, his new born son was unacceptable, he didn't even know what colour the child's eyes were or his hair colour.
Was he light like his mother? Or was he dark like his father?.
All Uther knew was that the child would be the ultimate reminder of his wife, the last thing he had of his wife, the life Igraine died for bringing into the world.
The nursery was on the cool side so the nurse maid had given the baby an extra warm woollen blanket in a beautiful dark red with the Pendragon family crest delicately stitched to it.
The baby was sleeping soundly after hours of crying and screaming, a wet nurse had been found with in a day of the Queen's death to help care for and feed the infant, a woman from the town who was young but who had lost her baby days after its death so she was still producing milk, the castle staff had heard of the tragedy and sent a servant in to the town to speak to her and offer her a position as the young Royals wet nurse, she would feed him from the breast as it was the best for the baby, the nurse maids had tried to feed him with soaking bread in warm milk and getting the child to suck on it, when that didn't work they used a piece of cloth soaked in milk and tried to get the young Prince to suckle on that but that didn't work either, the nurse maids were desperate and saw a wet nurse as a last resort, neither of them had children and were unable to produce milk, so they sent out the Queen's servant a sweet young woman named Meagan to find a woman in the town who would be willing to assist them in the care for the infant.
Meagan found the grief stricken woman who had lost her own child, her breasts were swollen and sore from the build up of milk she had produced, Meagan thought it was a sign from God and she hoped the young woman would agree to help care for the young Prince.
The woman was not sure at first, she feared if she failed with the Prince and he would not take to her breast and feed and he got sick and died from starvation would she be put to death? This and many more thoughts ran through her mind.
She spent the night thinking about the proposition she had been given, she had lost her own child, her milk was going to waste, the build up of milk in her breast was beginning to make her unwell and has her child was born out of wed lock she had no husband or partner, she still lived with her parents in a small shack house, so really speaking she had nothing to lose.
As soon as the sun rose and the first cockerel made his call she was up, dressed and went straight to the castle to speak to the servant guard who had spoken to her about the baby and told her she would help.
The nurse maids had later told Uther about the plan for a wet nurse to feed the infant and as they told him of how his son was becoming sick due to lack of food, as he refused to take the milk they offered him, they told him of how if the baby did not feed soon he would surely become too ill and eventually die.
King Uther could not bare to lose his son on top of losing his wife, he could not allow his son to die, his heir.
King Uther allowed the nurse maids to set on the woman as the babies wet nurse.
The child was settled and sleeping when Uther went to check on him later in the evening.
King Uther entered the nursery and politely nodded his head as a greeting to the nurse maid who was caring for his son that evening, she curtseyed to him and continued to busy herself with tidying the room, she folded blankets, lit the oil burner and added a scented oil that Gaius had given her to help calm the baby and aid his sleep, she then left to leave the King alone with his son.
As Uther stared into the crib he gazed up on the smallest thing he had ever seen, the most precious thing he would ever have in his care.
He watched as his son slept soundly, his eyes closed and his lips parted as he breathed softly, his skin was pale and smooth, so beautiful.
He was swaddled in a blanket which hid his form but Uther could tell from the length of material used to swaddle him he was small, so delicate and pure.
He was perfection, he had come into the world surrounded by grief and despair but he still was the picture of perfection, so angelic and innocent.
Uther thought to him self how could this beautiful boy one day be the King of Camelot? How could he learn to be a Knight as well as a Prince and learn to fight? How could something so innocent be taught to kill?.
The baby was wearing a sweet cream hat to keep him warm as the nursery was not that warm at all, a cool draft ran through every so often almost like the room was being visited by past Royals and spirits, there was a ghostly silence to the room as the King pulled up a chair and sat it next to the crib so he could spend time gazing up on his child.
"So beautiful my young one" he whispered as he sat back and took in the babies chest movements.
Uther's eyes began to sting as the vision of Igraine crept back in to his mind, he didn't know how he would cope with raising the child alone, he knew he would need help, he would have to be tough on the boy as well as being soft and sweet like a mother should be, he would have to be both parents to the child, just how would he cope?.
The nurse maid came back in to the room with a blanket for Uther she smiled politely at him and handed him the thick woollen blanket.
"I thought you could use this sire, the room can be on the cold side at night" she said with concern.
Uther took the blanket and thanked the woman, she then strolled to the other side of the crib and stared down at the baby, she smiled and sighed softly.
"He is so beautiful just like the Queen he has her eyes" she said as she adjusted the blanket to keep the child covered.
Uther felt a sting in his heart as the words took hold, he didn't know the colour of his sons eyes, something he should know.
"They are blue" he said more asking a question than stating a fact.
"Yes sire, the most beautiful blue, like two sapphires" she replied.
Uther smiled, Igraine had the most enchanting eyes in the kingdom, he was glad the infant had her eyes, Camelot would not be robbed of that beauty.
"He will be the most perfect Prince, Sire, golden hair, blue eyes, pale skin, he will be the most beautiful man in Camelot when he is older" she said boldly.
Uther smiled again, his son was just like Igraine, he had her eyes and he had the same hair colour as her too.
That was a good thing, he would be a beautiful, strong and noble man one day, but for now he was a baby and he needed his father.
Or was it the fact that Uther needed the child?
"May I speak freely Sire?" the maid asked as she stared him straight in the eyes, not a smart move with Uther at the best of times, but she felt she needed to.
Uther nodded as he raised his head to listen, he was curious as to what the woman had to say.
"The baby..... what is his name going to be?..... I mean he needs a name, he can't be refered to as baby Pendragon forever" she said in between pauses.
Uther's face fell stern and a little moved at the same time, he hadn't given any thought to his son's name, he intended to leave that to his wife, now she was gone it was up to him.
Uther lowered his head as he did not want the maid to see the uncertainty in his eyes.
"Did the Queen speak of any names she liked?" she asked curiously.
Uther only stared at the crib, he didn't know, every time she wanted to talk about names he was always too busy, he either had training the Knights to do or hold some feast.
The rest of the time he was either tired or preoccupied to speak about the baby, he always thought they had all the time in the world and once the child was born then they would decide on a name together, see what he looked like.
"We never spoke of it" he admitted sadly.
"What names do you like Sire?" she asked with a cheery tone, which startled the King, he sighed as he fiddled with a corner of his blanket.
"I've not really thought of it" he replied.
The maid leaned in to the crib and gently stroked the baby "what does he look like?" she asked.
Uther sat forwards in his chair and gazed in to the crib, he admired the babies angelic features and calmness.
"He might suit Henry" he said his tone unsure and shaky.
The maid continued to stare into the crib and coo over the baby "Henry... Henry Pendragon... hmmm I don't know, he doesn't look like a Henry".
Uther raised his brow as he thought hard about a name for the child, he thought of four maybe five more names but neither of them suited the child.
"Aww you are the.... are the.. most adorable" the maid cooed as she placed a small teddy in the crib next to the babies side.
Uther's head shot up in surprise "that's it" he said loudly, the maid hushed him then later cowered at her actions as his eyes stared in to her.
"I'm sorry Sire but he... he takes a lot to get back to sleep" she said grovelling.
Uther only nodded agreeing "yes, I am sorry, I should have known better" he replied.
They shared a smile and the atmosphere seemed to lighten again "what were you going to say, about his name?" she asked as she headed towards the window.
"His name... his name will be Arthur" he replied with a bold smile as he stared down at his son.
"Arthur Pendragon, I like it" she replied smiling.