Disclaimer: I don't own Camelot.
Summery: Lance has to decide whether to keep quiet about something Guinevere did (which he knows will get her in BIG trouble with Arthur) or to inform Arthur and keep his purity.
Lance paced the halls of the kingdom. He felt very conflicted. He always believed in purity. He always believed in honesty. It was part of who he was. He couldn't help it. Right is right and wrong is wrong and there is no in between. That was until he fell in love that is. He loved Guinevere like Romeo loved Juliet. Still he had never acted on his love for her. He loved Arthur as well. Arthur was a dear friend and more like family then his own brother. Now Lancelot had a serious conflict to handle.
Guinevere had gotten into some minor trouble with Arthur after she had been offensive to a visiting knight. It was from a neighboring kingdom and Arthur feared that war would be declared had this not been resolved swiftly. As a consequence for her offense Guinevere was not only made to apologize to the knight but also assigned an unpleasant task that needed to be done around the castle. She was tasked to clean out the stable. Lance felt a bit sorry for her having to do such a task and decided to at least keep her company. He certainly could not do the task for her because that would be morally wrong but he knew time went by faster with company.
To his horror he discovered that Guinevere had charmed one of the knights into doing her task for her. She had not made any advances or anything like that but somehow she had charmed the knight into cleaning out the stable in her place. Lance knew he had a difficult choice to make. If he told Arthur he would keep his purity but he would get Guinevere into much bigger trouble. If he didn't tell Arthur he would no longer be pure for he would no longer be honest.
He wondered what would happen to the queen if he did chose to tell Arthur. Would she face the lash or even worse banishment? But still how could he compromise his purity?
The question was settled when Arthur happened by.
This is surely a sign, Lancelot thought to himself, The Lord is telling me to remain pure.
"Lance," Arthur said in greeting.
"Your majesty," Lancelot said, "I need to speak with you."
"Of course Lance," Arthur replied.
"Thank you," Lance wiped a tear from his eye, "Your majesty even a sainted heart can break. I have twisted and turned this over in my mind to know if what I am about to do is right."
Arthur waited patiently. He knew Lance's quirks by now and tolerated them considerably.
"Your majesty I saw something today that I hesitated to make you aware of," Lance began, "But I feel you must know."
"Say on then," Arthur said.
"Before I do," Lance said, "Please recall that you are a king of kindness. Recall that you are a king of gentleness-"
"Recall that I am a king who likes to hear what his subjects have to say," Arthur said, "So if you could speak up before I am too old to hear?"
"Yes your majesty," Lance said, "Today I walked to the stables and I found that..."
He closed his eyes as if in pain.
"I found that the queen had charmed one of your knights into cleaning out the stables for her instead of doing it herself."
Lance tried to catch an expression on Arthur's face. It was nowhere to be found.
"And," he asked.
"What do you mean," Lance asked, "That is what I have to tell you."
At that Arthur laughed.
"Look your majesty," Lance said, "I know it was a wrong thing to do and that is why I hesitated in telling you. You and the queen are both my friend and I fought between my friendship with the queen and my purity. Still I knew I had to tell you. But I ask you to be lenient with her. Do not send her to the lash or banishment. Whatever you do make it something of kindness and do not stop loving her. She never used advances."
"Lance," Arthur said, "Relax. In the first place to stop loving Jenny would be the equivalent of to stop breathing. As for the lash or banishment... I have never done that to anyone. I don't believe in it-"
"Don't believe in it? Sire it does exist."
"The fact that it exist does not make it right," Arthur said, "Disease exists too but I'd not do anything to perpetuate that."
"So what are you going to do," Lance asked.
"Nothing Lance," Arthur laughed, "Did you really suppose I did not know that Jenny would not end up doing the task? The court adores her. They're falling all over themselves to do things for her. I merely tasked her with that in order to avoid war being declared. Sir Blake had to sir for certain that this hand been under control. Otherwise it is much likely he'd have reported the offense to the king of his country and the consequences would have been deadly."
Lance was dumbfounded. At the same time he was confused. Arthur reacted in a way he had never seen before. In his country if someone had disobeyed the king they were subject to swift and severe punishment. Arthur had chosen to act through love.
"You know Lance," Arthur said, "Your purity is admirable. But there is a part of your purity that you fail from."
"I... fail your majesty," Lance asked confused and disheartened.
"Lance mercy is a part of purity."
"I... I suppose I never looked at it like that before," Lancelot admitted, "I've been so focused on doing right that I forgot that others do not have my strengths"
"Tell me Lance do you not have any flaws? Maybe you have some sort of shame in your heart that you wish nobody to know of?"
He asked that question in a way that was pointed but not angry. His tone made it obvious that Arthur was well aware of Lance's imperfection. He looked down in shame.
"Your majesty I did not chose to feel the way I do and I did not chose to have the secrets in my heart that I do."
"Lance of course you do not chose to have imperfection. There is nobody in this world who would purposely have imperfections. But you must be forgiving towards other people's flaws. If you were to do something unacceptable I know I would never hold it against you. You tend to hold faults against other people. You say you don't expect others to be like you with your words but with your actions you say differently."