Seek and you will find
Summary: Seek and you will find is a theory Sir Leon has always believed in but he never guessed that a search for his lost prince and friend would lead him to find so much more than he was looking for. AU story that starts mid season 3 but mostly takes place 18 years in the future.
Disclaimer: Sorry I forgot this last time. I don't own most of the characters in this story I am just borrowing them for a little bit.
AN: Thank you for all of the feedback, I love hearing what everyone out there thinks of my stories. I hope you continue to enjoy this one.
Chapter 2
When the Knight's of the round table and the children of Sir William clattered into the court yard it was already a hive of activity, guards and citizens alike were all rushing to follow the instructions that where being barked out by a man dressed in full armour including helmet.
Tobias and Chadrac where both on the ground before the beasts had even come to a full stop.
Leon knew without asking that the man in the armour had to be Sir William as he was never seen by outsiders without it.
"Father" Chadrac called out confirming Leon's suspicion
"Chadrac, Tobias" Sir William greeted his sons warmly by clasped each of the boy's shoulders firmly, showing his pleasure at seeing them safe and well despite the tense situation they found themselves in.
"Father" Isobel cried practically springing from her sister's lap to reach him
"Isobel I am glad you are safe" Sir William said hugging the youngest of his daughters as best he could while wearing his armour.
"I need you to go to the infirmary, there will be casualties and your Mother will be thankful of your help" he told her sadly
"Be safe Father" was the little girl's only reply before she left to follow his orders
"Bronwyn" Sir William approached his oldest child who still sat astride her charger
"Can I convince you to aid you Mother as well?" he asked clasping one of her small hands in his larger gauntlet covered one
"The workers in the northern fields must be warned Father" she told him and it was obvious that she planned to be the one that warned them
Sir Leon decided that as much as he did not want to encroach on Sir William's moment with his daughter it was time for him to step forward
"Sir William, I fear that my friends and I are the reason that Cenred's men are here" he said sorrowfully
"I don't doubt it" Sir William agreed without looking away from his daughter
"But I also know you never meant to bring any danger here" he said throwing a glance at the Knight of Camelot as he finally relinquished hold of Bronwyn's hand
"Thank you for your understanding Sir William but we did bring this danger to your lands and we will help you to see it off" Leon told him firmly
Sir William seemed to consider the men in front of him for a moment (it was impossible to know for sure due to his helmet)
"Father we haven't much time" Bronwyn reminded him
"I must go now" she insisted before spurring her horse and racing out of the castle's rear gate.
Leon could not wait for Sir William's permission any longer he had to act now because he was not prepared to let a young woman face a danger that was of his making unprotected.
"Merlin, Gwaine go with her, provide what help you can" he ordered
His choices may have been quickly made but they where well thought out. Gwaine and Merlin had always worked well together even before the Arthur had vanished. Gwaine was a strong fighter who had an abundance of (what Merlin called) street smarts while Merlin was magic.
All of the Knight's of the round table knew Merlin's secret they had been saved by it on many occasions and in return they had helped him to keep it hidden. Leon had been the only one who was at all wary of Merlin's gift but after seeing how much good Merlin could do with it the Knight knew magic could not be purely evil as his King had insisted; now he could only hope that the talented sorcerer could use it to preserve the life of Sir William's head strong daughter.
Merlin and Gwaine where almost out of the gates when Sir William called out to them
"Remember this is not Camelot anyone who uses magic against our enemy or to protect our people here are to be thanked and protected nothing else"
Sir William's words made Merlin smile, it was always nice to know that saving someone else's life would not cost him his own.
Once the 2 departing riders where out of sight Sir William turned to the rest or the visitors from Camelot, he quickly began to ask question and give orders as if he had been doing so his whole life
"You?" he demanded pointing at the largest man in the group
"Percival Sir" said the man quickly providing his name
"Are you as strong as you look Percival?" he asked
"Yes Sir" beamed Percival with no false modesty
"Chadrac, take him and your men, guard the rear gate, it is not to be closed until every man, woman and child is safely through" William ordered the youngest Captain of his guards
"Aye Father" the boy replied leading Percival and his troops away with him
The next member of the team that Sir William turned his attention to was Elyan
"Can you use them?" he asked pointing to the Blacksmiths hammers that hung on the man's belt next to his sword
"Yes, but I fight better with the sword" Elyan told him laying his hand on the weapons hilt
"I'm sure you do but I need you more in the armoury than I do on the battle field" Sir William informed him
Elyan was not pleased with his assignment but the firm nod Leon sent his way told him that he had no choice but to agree
"Tobias" William called his younger son to him
"Yes Father"
"Take the Blacksmith to the armoury, then I want you to gather as many of the other boy's in training as you can find and withdraw to the catacombs" he ordered
"But Father-" the boy tried to protest
"No Tobias" Sir William cut him off
"There will be other battles for you to fight in, today I need you in the catacombs to protect the women and children" he told his son earnestly
"Very well Father" the boy sighed in defeat before signalling for Elyan to follow him
"Catacombs?" Lancelot questioned
"There is a maze of tunnels and small caves beneath the castle" Sir William explained
"Those who cannot fight retreat there during attacks"
"I assume that is also where your infirmary is?" Leon stated with a slight smile as it became clear to him that Sir William had managed to send at least 3 members of his family (Tobias, Isobel and his wife) to the relative safety of the catacombs
"Gentlemen would you care to join me and my guards?" Sir William asked the last two members of the Camelot party
"It would be an honour Sir William" Leon answered for both of them as Lancelot dipped into a small bow
While roles were being assigned at the castle Gwaine and Merlin had arrived in the northern fields. Bronwyn was already there and was doing her best to capture the attention of the workers but she did not seem to command authority as effortlessly as her brother so was not having much success.
"For goodness sake listen to me" she cried out loudly
Seconds later a boulder that stood not far from her exploded with so much force that both Merlin and Gwaine were thrown from their horses
"A little warning would be nice next time next time" Gwaine yelled at Merlin as he dragged himself back into the saddle
"That wasn't me" Merlin called back as he did the same thing
"Then who was it?" Gwaine asked in disbelief
"I think it was her" Merlin told him gazing at Bronwyn in wonder, Merlin was not the only one looking at her every eye in the field was now on the young woman.
"We are under attack" she announced calmly all traces of awkwardness where gone and she was completely in control just like Chadrac had been in the town
"Gather only what tools you can use to protect yourselves and retreat to the castle" she ordered them
The workers were just moving to follow Bronwyn's instructions when a large number of men broke through the tree line that bordered the far side of the field. Panic swept through the workers as they realized the journey to the castle had just become a run for their lives.
"Go, quickly" Bronwyn urged as she road though the swarm of fleeing men towards the oncoming attackers.
Merlin and Gwaine shot one another a look of resigned agreement before racing after her.
"Get everyone to safety" Merlin shouted to Bronwyn who was rounding up the stragglers
"We'll hold them off" he promised her
"How? There are only two of you"
"Don't worry about us Sweetheart" Gwaine assured her cockily
Bronwyn flashed the men a tense smile before continuing to guide the men to the safety of the castle
Merlin magically held back as many men as he could while Gwaine cut down those that managed slipped through.
"We've got to get out of here" Gwaine yelled as more and more men began to charge at them
"Hold on to something" Merlin ordered seconds before his eyes flashed a brilliant gold and a huge crevice opened between them and their enemies
They didn't even have time to enjoy their small victory before the thunder of hooves behind them had them turning to defend themselves once again.
"I thought you might need a ride" a familiar voice called out to them.
Bronwyn had recaptured the horses that both Merlin and Gwaine had been forced to abandon during their skirmish
"I through we told you to get out of here Sweetheart" Gwaine snapped pulling himself into the saddle
"I'm no good at following orders and I'm not your Sweetheart" she shot back
"We really need to go now" Merlin yelled at the two squabbling riders
Neither Bronwyn nor Gwaine where silly enough to argue with him and the three of them took off racing towards the safety of Lord Mark's castle. Merlin's magical barrier gave them a few minutes head start but it could not hold indefinitely and as soon as it broke Cenred's men were doing their best to cross the newly appeared ravine and give chase.
Reaching the castle before they where over run by Cenred's men was never going to be easy but a barrage of arrows from the pursuing men made it even more difficult.
Merlin threw invisible shields up around the three of them as best he could but they were not infallible. Bronwyn let out a yelp of surprise and pain as a stray arrow grazed her shoulder but her balance never faltered.
She dared to cast a look over her now wounded shoulder and was horrified by the number of arrow's sailing towards her. Out of pure instinct one of her hands released the main of her horse and came up to shield her face.
Merlin who was trying to watch out for the scared young woman and keep track of Gwaine felt the undeniable tingle of magic in the air before he saw its affects.
A pulse of energy seemed to emanate from Bronwyn's out stretched hand and surge across the field behind her, it not only shattered the arrows that it came into contact with but also pushed the following riders back so forcefully that some of them where unhorsed
"The sorceress, don't let her get away" one of the men (presumably some kind of leader) yelled but it was too late the gates of Lord Mark's castle where already in sight.
The gory seine that met Bronwyn told her that the fighting around the gates must have been much bloodier that the attack they had just escaped in the fields but she was glad to see Chadrac unharmed and fighting on. Gwaine and Merlin where also pleased when they spotted the easily recognisable figure of Percival among the unwounded fighting force
Cenred's men that had survived the battle at the gates began to disperse as soon as Merlin, Gwaine and Bronwyn road into view, their arrival seemed to steal most of the fight that had been left in the attacking force. The order to retreat could be heard ringing out but most of Cenred's men had already turned to run.
"Take the boy" a departing solider roared at a man mountain that was bringing up the rear
Before Bronwyn could even wonder who "the boy" was the giant had come up behind Chadrac and wrapped his arms around her brother in such a way that the sword he normally welded so skilfully was suddenly useless to him
"Chadrac" she cried as she tried to force her horse through the departing crown but she knew there was no way she would reach the man in time to stop him leaving with his prize.
Bronwyn had never found any pleasure in other people's pain before but she could not deny the joy she felt when a dagger flew through the air and lodged it's self so deeply in the enormous man's arm that he had no choice but to release Chadrac. The smirk plaster across Gwaine's face told Bronwyn exactly where the dagger had come from.
The last of Cenred's men were out of sight by the time Bronwyn finally reached her brother's side.
"Chadrac are you alright?" she asked him fearfully
"I'm fine" he said with a reassuring smile as he climbed up behind her
The siblings where the first to clatter through the gates, Merlin followed behind them leading his horse that was loaded up with wounded soldiers' and Gwaine's horse was the last in struggling beneath both his and Percival's weight. There was a momentary rush of relief as all of them made it safely into the court yard but they all knew that the worst was probably yet to come
Thank you for reading and please let me know what you think
Millie