Aaaand here's part 2, aka The Darkest Hour, Part 2. Feel. The. Angst. LOL :)
I was too frightened to move, so Lancelot checked Merlin's pulse and made sure he was breathing. By some miracle, he was still alive. I silently thanked all the Gods I could think of for that. Percival volunteered to carry him outside, where dawn was just breaking. Finally.
Percival laid Merlin against the fire pit. He sat there limply while Lancelot tended to him—putting a bit more wood on the fire and wrapping him in a blanket. "We need to take him back to Gaius," I stated.
"And give up the mission?" Leon replied.
"He saved my life, I can't have him die."
"Sire, we must go to the Isle of the Blessed or hundreds more will die." I looked back at Merlin. Do I save one or many? It's a debate I've had with myself before, but not like this, with my best friend's life on the line.
"I'll take him," Lancelot volunteered. Here was the answer.
"Bearing an injured man alone; that'll take you two or three days to get back."
"Not if I pass through the Valley of the Fallen Kings. You can't abandon the mission."
"Sire, he's correct," Leon interjected. I nodded. No matter how much I wanted to take him back myself- because it was my fault –I couldn't. There still were many more lives to save.
Percival carried Merlin to his horse; I secured him to it myself. "This is my mistake and I'm sorry," I told him.
"Please bring me with you," he pled. What?!
"You'd die, Merlin." I tried to stay matter-of-fact.
"But you don't realize . . . Please, Arthur." I could barely understand him.
"Do you ever do what you're ordered?"
"I must go with you." Why? What did I do to deserve such devotion?
"Merlin—"
"We have to go," Lancelot said.
"Go." I squeezed Merlin's shoulder and sent him off with Lancelot, looking after them worriedly. Lancelot had better take care of him, or there'd be hell to pay. I'd come back from the dead if I had to.
The rest of us packed up quickly and rode off. No one talked much; Merlin nearly dying had affected all of us. We stopped after a few hours to rest our bottoms. Everyone dismounted and we walked for a bit.
"Do you hear that?" Gwaine asked.
"Bees," Leon answered dubiously.
"Food," Gwaine replied with a smile. He walked to the honey tree and took off his glove.
"Aiming to get us killed?" Leon asked.
"We're heading to our deaths anyhow." Gwaine replied cheerfully. He put his hand in the tree.
Leon walked over to me. "It helps to let the horses rest." He paused when I didn't reply. "You seem subdued."
"That's the result of three days of listening to Gwaine." Leon smiled and chuckled. He knew that wasn't the real reason.
"You did the proper thing, you know. Merlin couldn't have kept up with us." I looked at him.
"I should've saved him."
Behind us, Gwaine made grunting noises and ran away from the honey tree. Leon and I turned to watch him swat at the bees now attacking him. He ran off into the woods to escape the bees. I rolled my eyes while Leon chuckled.
"If anyone can get Merlin safely home, it's Lancelot." Leon clapped me on the back and walked off. He was right though, Lancelot would do it. He's almost as tenacious as I am.
We rode toward the Isle of the Blessed until sunset. When we reached the Tunnels of Andor, we stopped and dismounted. "We'll be on the far side of the mountains by dawn," I told the knights.
"You must be joking. These caves are swarming with Wilddeoren," Gwaine replied.
"These caves will take days off our trip."
"If we get out alive."
"We'll smear ourselves in Gaia berries."
"Ha. Sounds fantastic."
"It's your decision, Gwaine. Wilddeoren or Dorocha."
"I know what I'd prefer," Elyan interjected.
"Me too," Leon added.
Just as we entered the tunnels, we heard a Dorocha. But we were all inside, right? The sound came closer and Percival suddenly ran back out; I followed him with a torch. It looked like Percival had tackled Gwaine out of its way—they were both on the floor. The Dorocha came back then. "Quick!" I yelled and we retreated into the tunnels. Of course I really wanted to be wandering through caves all night with flesh-eating giant rodents inside and shrieking spirits who freeze you to death outside. That was much better than actually sleeping.
"Tell me again why we're covered in this revolting goo," Percival commented. He sounded as thrilled as I was.
"Wilddeoren are totally blind, they depend completely on their sense of smell. Gaia berries will cover our scent," I replied, bored. If one more person asked me that, I'd . . .
"What are the odds of us making it through here without spotting a Wilddeoren?" Gwaine asked.
"None," I replied. Gwaine stumbled across a skull. I couldn't have highlighted my point any better if I'd set that skull there myself. He rushed from the back of the line to just behind me. Ha!
Just then we heard a pig-like squeal. "Shh!" I told them. Leon and I threw down our torches and stamped them out. We hid behind a long rock and peeked over the edge. Two Wilddeoren approached us. When one got close we ducked down, and I said, "Stay still. Don't even breathe." That Wilddeoren wandered off, much to our relief. Gwaine smiled, but it faded when the rest of us stared at him because a Wilddeoren was sniffing him. It pinned him hard against the rock and sniffed around his face. He finally got annoyed and killed it. Oh no. "You idiot," I complained.
"It's dead," Gwaine replied.
"That one is, yeah. They hunt in packs." Cue more pig-like squeals.
"Run," Elyan said. We wasted no time running through the tunnels, chased by Wilddeoren.
After what felt like forever, we managed to elude the Wilddeoren and escape the cave. That little adventure had taken all night. We were exhausted but alive as we washed off the Gaia berries in the stream.
"The men should rest, sire. Even Gwaine's gone silent," Leon commented.
"Seems like a great reason to keep walking," I replied, and we all stood up to resume our journey.
We were unfortunately slowed by our lack of horses, so we didn't make it as far as I thought we should. We'd been forced to camp in the woods; no other shelter was nearby. Someone built a fire and we lit torches from it. I went to stand watch while the others sat around the campfire. Someone approached me, but I didn't turn.
"Spotted anything?" Elyan asked. I shook my head. "Do you know what we'll meet on the Isle of the Blessed?" I nodded this time. "Want to enlighten me?" he pressed.
"The duty's mine and mine to handle alone," I said.
"Look around, Arthur." He motioned for me to look at the knights behind us, around the campfire. "We would battle a thousand armies with our bare hands for you. We're not alone. We stay together. Get on over there, I'll take watch." He reached out to take my torch. "You must rest." I handed him the torch and put a hand on his shoulder.
"Thank you." I patted him on the back as I walked away. Then a Dorocha shrieked nearby and we both ran to the fire. We made a circle around it, facing outward. This was getting to be a habit, unfortunately.
After a while, the Dorocha seemed to find better targets and left us alone. We were able to sleep in shifts all night, which improved our moods in the morning. The day was spent walking, following the sun westward. Nothing significant happened to us and we made it to another abandoned fortress before nightfall. We made a campfire right away, making sure to pile plenty of extra wood nearby.
When night fell, we sat around the fire and tried to relax. We succeeded until Gwaine decided to take off his boots and socks.
"Did something die?" Elyan asked. He and Leon gagged at the smell.
"How come I'm always the butt?" Gwaine asked.
"Can't imagine," Leon replied sarcastically. He and Elyan got up to join Percival and me on the other side of the campfire.
"Tease Percival," Gwaine shot back.
"Why me?" Percival defended.
"He bathes," Elyan replied.
"And he doesn't light his socks on fire," Leon pointed out.
"Ugh! No!" Gwaine snatched his socks from the fire and tried to put them out. The rest of us grinned. Funniest thing to happen all day.
I heard a sound in the darkness. "Quiet," I ordered. We all heard a gate open in the distance and drew our swords. Then we stood up and moved into formation. We held our defensive stance until a figure walked into the light. "Lancelot? How's Merlin?"
"Terrible news. He's still alive." Lancelot smiled and stepped aside as Merlin walked up behind him. I laughed in relief.
"Merlin!" Elyan exclaimed. I think he spoke for all of us. The rest of the knights came forward; most hugged him while I watched. If no one else had been around, I might have too. I wanted to. I just shook Lancelot's hand and gave Merlin a shoulder squeeze.
"Nice to see you, Merlin," I told him simply. He knows what I really mean.
"Yeah. It's nice to see you too," he replied. I just looked at him for a minute. He knew. I practically yanked him over to the fire, to help dissipate all this sentiment hanging around.
After a bit more chatting, the rest of our group went to sleep. Merlin and I took watch, though there was nothing to watch for. The Dorocha were strangely silent. We ate as we lounged by the fire.
"It will be fine. Everything will be all right," he said, reading my mind.
"I'm just worn out," I replied, and turned away. I didn't want him to read me right now, when I felt so vulnerable.
He spoke again after a few moments. "You don't need to sacrifice your life."
I looked back at him. "To save my people."
"Let me take your place."
I shook my head. "Merlin."
"What's the life of a servant weighed against that of a prince?" He was serious. Too serious.
"Well, a decent servant's difficult to come by." I tried to make light of it; I couldn't handle the alternative.
"I'm not that decent."
"True." Ha. He'd stumbled right into that. But . . . "One thing. Take care of Guinevere; I wish for her to be happy all her days. She deserves that."
"Don't be concerned. I'll look after her."
We didn't say anything else for the rest of our watch. Things had gotten a bit too maudlin. But we were all able to wake up and get going before dawn. When the sun came up, it was still dark due to the overcast sky. What a cheerful beginning to the day.
It wasn't a long walk to the Seas of Meredor. We paused just above them to get a look at the forbidding isle in the center. It was shrouded in fog, but one could see the ruined fortress. "The Isle of the Blessed," I commented. We walked along the shore until we found a ferryman to take us to the isle. The crossing was silent, save for the screeching sounds along the way. I didn't want to contemplate what that might be.
We finally drew up to the entrance and disembarked. The screeching grew louder at the same time. Just great.
"What's that?" Leon asked, looking up. We drew our swords.
"I sincerely hope I'm mistaken," Gwaine said.
He wasn't mistaken—a wyvern flew down at us. "Wyvern!" I yelled, and slashed at it when I dived at us. More wyverns joined the fight then Percival got slashed and fell to the ground.
"You're right!" Leon yelled.
Merlin crouched down to hide while the rest of us scanned the sky continually. I heard something hissing or growling and looked around to see what it could be, but my attention was drawn away by the wyverns that suddenly stopped their attack and flew away. Merlin was standing again.
"Ha! That's how you handle them," Gwaine announced proudly. Yeesh.
"We have to keep going," I ordered, not wanting to wait around until they came back. I don't know what made them retreat, but we needed to take advantage of their absence. In fact, more wyverns circled overhead as we entered another passageway.
"Sire, you must keep going! We'll take care of them!" Leon yelled. I didn't want to split up, but he had a point. I kept running, Lancelot, Gwaine and Merlin behind me. Leon, Percival, and Elyan remained outside to handle the wyverns.
"Good luck," Gwaine yelled back to them.
The four of us soon entered a huge, central courtyard with an altar. The view of the opposite side was marred by a huge, black column of what looked like smoke. Was this the tear?
"It isn't often we entertain guests," sad an ancient-sounding female voice. A figure dressed in a black, ragged dress and cloak appeared at the base of the tear. She looked as pale as death and held a strange staff. Maybe she was death.
"Stop this. I command you to mend the tear between worlds," I stated.
"It wasn't I who caused this rupture. So why should I repair it?" she replied.
"Because innocent people are dying," Merlin interjected. Merlin?
"Naturally," she replied, and started laughing maniacally. Gwaine roared in anger and charged her with his sword raised. She threw him back with magic, which knocked him out. "This is the best you can do?" she taunted.
"I know what you require," I told her
"Do you? And are you ready to give it to me?" She asked this like she already knew what I was going to do. Maybe she did.
"I'm ready to pay, whatever the cost." She motioned for me to come to her. After a moment, I started walking toward her. Suddenly some force stopped me and threw me backwards. I hit the floor and blacked out.
xxxXxxx
When I woke, I saw Gwaine sitting close to me, rubbing the back of his head. Merlin sat between us. The strange woman was nowhere to be seen; neither was the tear. In fact, the sky had cleared and the sun was shining brightly over us.
Merlin glumly told us about Lancelot's sacrifice. We sat there, the three of us, pondering that for a minute. On one hand, I was grateful to him and relieved that I hadn't had to die after all. On the other, I felt selfish about my relief and grief about losing the brave and noble knight. After a while, we got up and walked to where we'd left the other three. The wyverns had mysteriously flown away once the sun had come out.
When they saw our faces drawn despite our victory, I told them about Lancelot. Merlin was reluctant to retell the story. Now all of us were depressed. We walked somberly to the entrance and rode the boat back across the sea in silence.
The journey back home should have joyful—we had saved Camelot. But our victory was marred. We talked some, but when his name came up, we stopped abruptly. It seemed to take twice as long to get back as it did to go there, but it didn't. Not really. The depression just made it feel that way.
A joyful crowd greeted us in the square as we rode up. But many faces fell when they saw our demeanor. I quietly called the council together and reported the events of our quest. Many were saddened; despite Lancelot's commoner background, he had quietly worked himself into the hearts of many. A memorial service was to be held the next day, but the news wasn't to be spread.
After the meeting broke up, I asked Guinevere to meet me in my chambers after dinner. I knew she and Lancelot had been very close at one time, and she deserved to hear his story from me. She immediately burst into tears and was inconsolable until very late at night, when I finally convinced her to go to bed.
xxxXxxx
In the morning, Merlin helped me prepare for the service, the first part of which would be held in the council chambers. The full court had assembled, and I opened my mouth to speak to them.
"I wish to pay homage to Sir Lancelot. We are greatly indebted to him. It isn't only his act that we'll always remember. It's his bravery. His compassion. His selfless heart. He was the noblest knight I'll ever know. He sacrificed his life for every one of us."
After my speech, those who would reconvene for the funeral in the courtyard did so. All of the knights and most of the army had assembled there. A pyre had been built, but since we had no body, we used a spare knight's cape and sword as proxy. I placed these on the pyre while Merlin brought me a torch to light it. I took it without looking and tossed it on the pyre. I could feel the sorrow and solemnity of everyone behind me. Especially Guinevere's. I knew she'd be crying; I couldn't blame her. I saw the sword begin to steam in the flames and walked back and took Guinevere's hand.
She spoke after a few moments; the men had started to leave. "He didn't give his life for Camelot. I asked him to watch over you and he pledged to do so with his life. He held fast to his word." I thought about what she'd just said, then placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. I left her by the pyre so she could mourn in private.
He sacrificed himself for me? Or had he sacrificed himself for Guinevere so she wouldn't lose me? I knew how he'd felt about her. He hid it pretty well, but not from those who knew him best. Maybe he did it for both of us; because it would end the constant pain he must have been in. To always be around the one you loved and not be able to act on your feelings . . . well, I know what that's like. But I am choosing to remember him as the bravest and most noble knight I ever knew.
The next chapter . . . will end with several recitations of "Long Live the King." woooo!
