Chapter 1: Prologue
…It was the silence which he found most disturbing. The complete lack of sound. Gwaine would never admit it to the others, but for that one moment, he was afraid. Afraid of what they'd find in the deserted village, the village which was once so full of life.
… Of all the knights, Percival felt he had suffered the worst of the world, and lived with the consequences. He was devoted to the world that Arthur would create. But standing here, looking at what was left of Esalen, Percival could feel his resolve weakening. How could peace ever come to these lands, when there were still men with enough anger in their hearts, men who just didn't care, to do something like this? Standing there, Percival felt as though he were returning to his own village, on that fateful day, all those years ago.
… Arthur stared around in shock at the devastated remains of the village of Esalen. The village was deserted, the burnt out shells of several of the houses still smoking in the late afternoon sunlight. A stray chicken wandered across the open space, which was littered with burnt wood, hay and the possessions of the villagers who once lived there, in happier times. Before the raiders arrived.
Chapter 2: The Un-read Letter
It was just an ordinary day, to begin with. He'd just finished a meeting with Lord Baldwin about the group of bandits that were roaming around in Mercia, near Camelot's eastern border, and was on his way to his chambers to change for a training session with the knights. After the confines of the stuffy council chamber, Arthur was looking forward to putting the knights through their paces. He had reached his room and was attempting to strap on his armour, which was actually a lot harder to do alone, when Merlin burst into his chambers
"Honestly Merlin, have you never heard of knocking!" he asked exasperated, but to his surprise, instead of the cheeky comeback that Merlin usually produced, there was silence. Arthur looked up at his manservant, noticing how pale his skin was, the unusually serious look in his blue eyes.
"Are you alright Merlin?" He asked, trying to make the question seem as uncaring as possible, despite being genuinely concerned. Instead of replying, Merlin handed him a piece of very old parchment. Arthur turned it over and saw that it was a letter of some sort, addressed to Merlin.
"What am I meant to do with..."
"Just read it." Merlin interrupted him, no trace of a smile on his face. Feeling more and more concerned, Arthur looked at what he now realised was a letter. It was covered in neat, loopy handwriting, addressed to Merlin and was very long. Arthurs mind, already fogged from hours in the council chambers, felt as though it would explode if he had to read one more word.
"Not now Merlin!" he said, as he pushed past his manservant, trying to ignore the look of hurt and anger, sorrow and desperation, on his friends face.