Chapter 2
It had been three days since Arthur started working for Gaius, and the old man had not waste a moment of Arthur's time. The blond man un-dusts himself as he walks towards the old physician.
"I finish cleaning the bookshelves, classifying the books, polishing the floors, cleaning the -blah, ew- bug/thing water tank, wash the rags for the patients, and got us food. Now, I going to bed."
"Did you pick up feverfew?"
"I did yesterday." Arthur answers and he turns to search for the glass containing said plant, but he finds the glass container empty.
"A fever had been going on around the town. I need more feverfew, boy, hurry! Before the sun goes down."
Arthur gives Gaius a nasty look before leaving with his little herb basket.
The sun is at the edge of the earth, Arthur wants to go and chase it, and see where does the sun goes to sleep. But he has a mission, a mission that does not involves feverfew, cleaning, or living the day after…
When Arthur reaches the hill where the herbs are, he sees a young man picking only the leaves of the feverfew.
"Hey!" Arthur screams, he needs does plants. The stranger looks up to him, a smile appears on the boy's face like he was welcoming a friend.
"What you think you are doing?!" Arthur says as he is ready to inform the young man that he is picking from the royal 'wild' herb garden.
"A crown" The man raises one of the flower crowns (chamomile, oregano, and feverfew crowns) to show his progress. Arthur had to stop talking to understand that yes, this stranger had been picking important herbs and using them to make flower arrangements, and wasting precious medicine supplies.
"Do you bother thinking before you do something? You brainless ass." Arthur moves with all the intentions of adding some color to the young man's pale face.
"Wh- what?" The man seem startle at Arthur's language.
"People need those herbs, moron! And I need to sleep" Arthur grabs the man by the necktie he wears.
"You can have them!" Arthur looks at the herb crowns, and nods. But he decides that a lesson is still due on the man's face.
The bigger man throws one punch, fast and accurate -hitting the cheek but not the cheek bone of the stranger. The man reacts like he had never been punched in the face before; falling on the ground, protecting his face, and trying not to cry.
"How dare you!"
The stranger finally screams, but Arthur is too far away to actually answer, so he just whispers 'baby,' and continues his way back to Gaius.
Once he reaches the physician's office he offers the herb crowns to Gaius, who gives the blonde man a skeptical look.
"I didn't make them into crowns!" Arthur was ready to tell his strange encounter with the dark haired young man, but Gaius talks before.
"I know. You have no magic, and this crown had been enchanted. They will be useful." Gaius says and moves to his lab.
"Oh." Gaius waits for him to continue, but Arthur decides that he is too tired and confused with this land and it's rules. The physician wants to force some sort of answer from his assistant, but the delirious cry of a old man has priority of whatever Arthur had done.
Arthur is ready to walk away and hide in his room for the night when he is distracted by a man resting next to three sleeping people. The man had sorrow in his face, old sorrow that lives with you and grows with you until you learn to wear it. Arthur recognized the expression because that is how you look if you fought for Camelot. But the problem was that the man was not sleeping, he was resting -his eyes close, quite, young and strong man with not sweat on his forehead resting in a crowded bed next to sick people.
The physician's assistant decides to stay the night with his mentor in case of this no-sick man was planning to attack, but the possible attack never came.
And Arthur wasted a well needed night of sleep.
The next morning the young man eyes the now sleeping bastard angrily as he begins to suspect that last night sense of danger came from stress and homesickness, or maybe he has catch whatever illness is going around. Arthur picks dry pitchers of water and refilled them, helps stand up those who are ready to leave, pulls from the drawers two pieces of old bread he holds one with his mouth and gives the second piece to Gaius, who thanks Arthur with mumbles. Gaius looks at the young man move here and there, he looks at the small child that stares at Arthur's bread.
"You want this?" Arthur asks as he pulls his bread apart making it into two smaller pieces. The kid takes what is offer, and Gaius questions how did he ever thought that Arthur could bring any vile and rencor from the old war.
A young man, if not a tall kid stands or tries to stand up as he almost falls over.
"Wow." Arthur catches him without much trouble. "I think you better stay down." He lowers the guy to the humble bed made of covers in the floor.
"I had work to do!" The boy sounds breathless.
"I don't think so." Arthur says as he touches the boy's sweaty forehead. "Gross. No, you can't go." Arthur says as he wipes his hand on the guy's clothes.
"I can go" Arthur turns to see that the guy from last night is now awake and offering his help.
"What do you do?" The hidden prince did not trust this man, and he had always follow his first instincts.
"I serve wine." The kid said. "But you don't had to-"
"Is okay. I'm not from here, and yet I had received such hospitality. I would like to return the favor. Please" The stranger pleas, and Arthur moves towards the man and puts his hand in the man's forehead. It wasn't hot and Arthur's hand was damper than his skin. He wasn't sick.
"No, you still sick. You can't served food either!"
"I feel fin-"
"But my jo-"
"Quite!" Arthur raises his voice. "You need to get better." He points to the no-sick man. "I can do your job for today." Arthur tirely promises to the kid.
"Thank you!"
Arthur does his best to smile, but is not coming out right.
Gaius questions Arthur of his decision, but there is nothing left to do -Arthur has never broken a promise. With that the old man nods and sends Arthur away.
"Where?"
"You need to change, learn what to do for today's party."
"Is serving wine, how hard could be? Wait. What party?"
"You are very new." Gaius says surprise that the other doesn't yet know.
"Today is the prince's birthday." Arthur makes and 'oh' with his lips and puts an unamused expression as jealousy brews in his stomach. A prince who has a kingdom to love, a kingdom that would celebrate his birth, that could celebrate anything. While Arthur had ruins and old tales of dead knights.
"I didn't know."
"Will you be okay?" Gaius asks.
"Is serving wine, how hard could be?" Arthur repeats, fully aware that is not what Gaius asked.
The young man leaves after the stranger had been sent in his way, 'because the beds are in need for those that are sick.'
People are sick. Arthur thinks, is not strong -nothing but fevers and nausea. But the prince be celebrating.
Arthur leaves the physician's room and walks to the kitchen. The kitchen is only one set of stairs away, but it was a whole different world.
The kitchen was only a little bigger than the infirmary, but it lack even the smallest of leisure space. People entered and leave so fast it made impossible for Arthur to count how many persons were actually working on the making of the feast, bringing in baskets of fruits, waiters running out with platters of food, ladies hurrying to chopped vegetables, a young girl chases a fugitive chicken, fire that burn high and constant was controlled by a large woman, a old man opens and closes cabinets and levitates glass containers in and out, and no one seen to notice Arthur's presence.
The young man looks around trying to decided who should he asks for instructions. When the large woman controlling the fire call him over.
"YOU. Blonde kid, hurry and bring me some water." The woman asks not very nicely, but Arthur guesses that standing so close to the fire must be very tiresome.
He follows a girl who carries a bucket of water to the corner of the room and asks her for a cup, she stares at him like he had asked her for her most precious possessions for almost a whole minute before nodding.
Arthur wanted to asked her if everything was okay, but he had a feeling that he let the fire-lady waiting too long already.
The lady smiles as she looks that the cup of water and she snaches out of the young man's hands. She drinks it all and looks at the cup like she half expected it to magically refill. Arthur looks too incase that is what is about to happen, but it doesn't.
"You are new." The lady states.
"Yes. I'm-"
"Don't interrupt me! Have some matterns boy. If you are standing in this kitchen, then I'm your boss and what I said is law. Now. Are you filling in for someone?" The lady asks and she returns the cup into Arthur's hands.
"Yes, he told me that I most serve wine…." Arthur answers but he is distracted with the large organized mess that lives on the kitchen, everyone moves on a hurry and no one gets on the way, and suddenly Arthur feels like is highly unlikely his only shore would be to serve wine. He can feel his tired back tighten at the prospect of more work.
"And?" the lady asks.
"...That's the only thing he said…" Arthur answers and the lady gives him an incredulous glare and then she sighs.
"Is the guy you are covering for a tiny sickly boy who looks like a mop that grew arms?" The lady asks and Arthur tries to laugh at the uncanny description.
"Yes, madam."
"Madam?! I like that, continue addressing me that way. And you should embrace yourself. You are serving the royal table." The lady says and Arthur holds his breath.
He had been waiting for an opportunity to kill king Balinor, but he never suspected that the moment would come so fast.
"Yes, madam. I'll get ready." Arthur says as he tries to decided which short sword should he take.
"'Madam,' I like you kid. I gonna make you a great dinner when the feast is over." The lady says and Arthur smiles and tries to push the guilt out of his heart.
The fallen prince didn't imagine that the inhabitants of Eldor would be so...human.
He runs out of the kitchen with the excuse that he needs to wear his best clothes in front of the king.
Gaius is too busy to notice what is happening, and Arthur searches through his belongings. The young man had decided that the king must paid, that someone has to suffer for the fatalities of war besides his people, and now the prince holds two knives; a small sharp simple knife he uses to slaughter pigs, quite fitting. And a bigger one old daggers, wore out to be thinner that it was meant to be but still lethal, it belong to his father -the tragic king.
Arthur changes his clothes, cleans his room because he doesn't want to leave a bigger mess than necessary for Gaius, and he hides the dagger on his sleeve.
He returns to the kitchen and brings some water to the fire lady.
"Here...madam." Arthur gives her the water and she smiles.
"You look too nice, the prince is going to snatch you alive!" She says before taking the water. Then she addresses the room.
"Hey. Everyone Get Ready. I don't want another failure like the winter ball!" She screams and people hold their mouths to contain their laughter, Arthur stands in place as he knows he has not enough knowledge to understand that joke.
Everyone seem to know their job and everyone hurries to their positions.
"You all did so bad, I'm still apologizing!" The room mood changed quickly.
"I showed too much of… fears." She finishes and everyone burst with laughter. Even the weird girl Arthur saw earlier.
The blonde young man is not sure if he should pretend he understands and laugh alone, or it might be too obvious.
That's when he sees a woman who smiles tired and without grace, she looked wore like a blunt sword. She has the eyes of a grieving child who grew to be a defective woman. She tries to laugh but she can't seem to imitate the feeling.
"Enough! Raise them up." The fire lady says and all the platters the waiters carry levitate like by magic...magic.
Arthur panics and he looks around, the sad woman is the only one who is not levitating her platter.
She is not from here.
Arthur mentally curses as he wonders if she is planning something, and he barely notice a girl walking towards him.
It was the same girl Arthur asked for the water earlier, she holds a nice silver platter and three bottles of wine towards him. The young man takes them and thanks her, she gives him the smallest of smiles. She seem sad too, but is a different sadness.
"Blonde! Get in line, behind the orange-trying-way-too-hard dress. Can you hold that?" Arthur finds the girl quickly and he tries not to laugh at the perfect description of the other's waitress dress.
Arthur as no problem balancing the heavy bottles on the platter, as she has plenty of experience running and working as a server for back at his broken down place.
However the lady doesn't look satisfied with his performance.
"Can you levitate them? It is far prettier." Arthur throat goes dry, but the lady answers for him.
"No. Okay. I guess another night my serving choreography won't happen." She whines and she looks at the other server who is carrying the tray.
"Damn you, fever that keeps taking my workers out. Okay. Move, MOVE. Move!" The fire lady walks behind them, and Arthur does his best to stay on line.
Small fireballs appear between the line, but since no one seem to mind Arthur tries to ignore the floating fire next to his head.
The fear of being burn, the doubts of the sad woman, and his mission of killing the king almost distract Arthur from the ballroom.
It was the first ballroom that Arthur had ever been that wasn't on ruins. The ceiling was intact, the walls look sturdy, and no was huddling on the floor because it is the only safe place to sleep.
It was beautiful.
It was covered with beautiful paintings, large glass windows, lavender candles and music. And people dancing.
Even the guards looks calm and at ease, each of them showing their face, but one.
The fireballs move throughout the room lighting candles and fireplaces, and making the bright room even lighter.
The people on the front of the rows bow and move to place the feast on the table, but it wasn't until the silver lids of the plates were lifts that Arthur was able to smell the feast.
The waiters bow once again and the move out of the way. The people that were left step forward and the move across the ballroom like they were dancing. Arthur tries to follow them but he is ignorant of the dance, his role and the music.
Soon the young man could hear the guests laugh, and see the fire-lady cover her face on shame.
Arthur felt embarrassed and mad, how was he suppose to know what to do when no one had giving him any detail instructions. But it didn't matter.
The young man tries to ignore the eyes when he sees a girl take his arm and start to dance with him away from the group.
Arthur recognized her from earlier, but now that he sees her closer she might be older than he first thought. She looks pale and almost sick, her hands were tough and her grip was shaky.
"Thanks." Arthur whispers to his savior once they are away from the dancers-waiters, she only glares at him and leaves without saying a word.
Arthur wonders for a moment the attitude of the girl and then he touches the arm she hold, and he can fill at the end of his fingertips the hard edge of his dagger.
"no." The fallen prince whispers and he hurries to look around him, worry that he would see guards head it his way. But no one comes.
Arthur does see the sad woman that holds a platter with food, she looks around like she is looking for someone. Arthur breaths in a long breath and he sees the no-sick-man he saw last night under Gaius' care.
"You can't dance. It was like watching a fish trying to juggle, it was so unnatural, stiff and plain sad. Now. Go sever the wine." The fire-lady orders him after having insult him.
Arthur acts as he was told and walks towards the large table the king is sitting on.
No one is wary of Arthur, the place resounds with laughter, the king is sitting next to a young man same age of Arthur. The prince is twenty today, he should he thankful he got his father for twenty years, Arthur didn't get one whole year.
The young prince has a bruise on his cheek.
Arthur barely recognizes the young man on the hill, but the prince recognizes Arthur at the moment their eyes met. The blue eyes are full with fear and surprises, but the perfect lips stay silence. The raven haired man won't tell.
Not that matters.
Arthur serves the glass of the prince full and ignores the smile in the prince's face. The Arthur moves to serve the king, the man stops talking and turns his attention to his cup. He lifts his cup to his mouth and tilts his head back to drink leaving his throat exposed. Arthur's quick hand reaches for his dagger and he pulls the blade out, his senses heighten as he aims to kill.
It was then when Arthur remembers the execution he first saw the day he came to Eldor, and the two men and woman grieving. He had seem tonight one sad woman and a no-sick man, where is the third. The only guard that was wearing his helmet.
Arthur remembers where was that guard standing and his body move on its own as steps away from the king and turns just on time to see the arrow aim to the prince. He slashes the flying arrow with his dagger before it could reach the prince, and the guards hurry to capture the traitor.
The panic on the crow allows the sad woman to move almost undetected, but Arthur runs towards her and he had disarm her she can reach the royal table.
The no-sick man knew better than to try to attack and Arthur watched him get away.
The two mortals were no match for the magic the guards had, and Arthur watch them as they are taken away.
"Thank you!" A men says and Arthur turns to face the king. The young man could feel the acid and blood from his stomach climbing his throat and taste it on his mouth.
"No." He could barely said.
"You save my son!" The king insists as he hugs the prince who still looks awfully shaken by the attempted murder.
"No. I just reacted." Arthur says in a different type of shock.
"Let me reward you."
"No."
"I'll give you a better job than serving wine. You are a warrior, you should be a knight!"
"No." Arthur hisses, and can't help to hate himself for feeling desire to be a knight.
"He is already my assistance." The man next to the king says, and it was only then that Arthur sees Gaius. He had been so busy trying to complete his mission that he didn't even saw Gaius. But instead he prevented the assassination of the prince of Eldor.
Part of him understood. He was train to be a knight, not a killer and the prince look like a ...a man, like a simple man with his bruise face and stupid smile.
"Oh!" The king says.
"Could you teach me how to do that." The prince finally speaks, but he still shakes.
"...no." Arthur answers.
"Yes. You are now, royal ...teacher." The king says with a smile, and Arthur wishes he could kill him now, but everyone is too alarm. So he puts his dagger back inside his sleeve, and lets his fingers stretch.
"That seems doable!" Gaius seem to agree but it was obvious he was far more concerned with prince's wishes than Arthur's opinion.
People around hurry to thank Arthur for his quick actions and the fire lady promised him a great feast only for him.
Arthur try to imagine what his mother would said, she could always make things seem a little better or at least she could make it so it made sense, and Arthur could really use that.
Next thing he knew he was in the kitchen, and the servants were covering him on gifts.
Not able to take or understand what was happening he stands and leaves the room against people's pleas. He heard someone saying that he must be on shock -that arrow was very close.
Arthur hurries away from people and on his quest to find a place where there is no one and it doesn't look so much like Eldor, and Arthur leaves the palace. He walks until he has reached the forest, and he can feel safe on the darkness. He can't see nothing but nothing can't see him either, and to Arthur that seems fair.
He stays sitting under a tree repeating the events that lead him to save the prince of Eldor, a part of him wonder if it was because he never thought to kill him.
Arthur never thought to kill anyone but the king of Eldor.
The temperature lowers and Arthur can smell food. For a moment he thought it was his imagination, but soon he can hear footstep.
A person was walking on his direction, they don't trip or slow down, Arthur takes out his dagger expecting a guard who had figured out why did Arthur had a dagger on the first place, or the no-sick-man coming to take revenge for his fallen comrades with Arthur's life.
"Is that knife for me?" A girl asks and Arthur recognizes her.
"No." Arthur answers and he feels like is the only word he can say.
"I brought you food." She says as she moves closer. Arthur can't make out her shape until she is only a couple of feet away. He feels almost touching his face a cold glass surface.
"And wine. It's cheap, but strong." She says and Arthur can't help but like her a little.
She waits until Arthur has drink his first swing of the bottle to give him the bowl he carries.
"If the knight wasn't for me, then was it for the prince?" She asks and Arthur stops spoon mid way to his mouth. He quickly wonders why would she think he was planning to kill her.
He stays silence for a long time, but the girl seem to had an outstanding patience.
"No." He says and returns to eat.
"... Was … was it for the king?" She asks again.
And Arthur doesn't answer, he concentrates on the beef stew he is eating and wishes he could actually enjoy it.
"You had that look." She explains and Arthur can hear her sitting.
"I had a feeling you wouldn't kill him." She says and that got a reaction out of the fallen prince.
"What do You mean?!" Arthur finally really speaks.
"You don't seem… hateful…" She answers.
"I hate him with every breath I take!" Arthur states.
"I believe you. I just don't think it is yours…" The girl says and Arthur wishes he didn't understand what she means. He grew up in the ruins of Camelot, he had seen children who are born without a crime yet they grow in borrow sorrow, and they mourn more than they live. And Hate is a powerful thing, it can trickle down through generations, and Arthur knows he wants to advance his people for they sake.
"It is my destiny. I'm destined to destroy Eldor!" Arthur hisses to the girl who stays quiet for a little, she moves closer to Arthur and for a moment he worries he would had to fight her, but she reaches for the bottle.
She drinks out of the mouth of the bottle until she is ready to speak.
"I believe you." She says and Arthur is not sure why he feels so relief to hear someone said. Someone who doesn't depend on it.
"I was suppose to kill the king, But I instead his stupid shelter son!" Arthur says allow and he is thankful for cover of the dark because he could cry out of frustration.
"I think you were not meant to kill the king, at least not today." She says.
"I need to destroy this blood tainted kingdom!" Arthur hisses.
"You won't destroy it by killing the king. The prince would just take his place, he is not ready, but the kingdom would go on."
"...How can you be so sure?" Arthur asks.
"I'm a creature of destruction." She says and she feels like that is all that Arthur needs to know.
"Are you gonna talk riddles all the time, or only during really important conversations?" Arthur asks as he questions himself for believing the girl. She could easily betray him and accused him for treason.
"I couldn't be more clear!"
"Give the bottle!" Arthur says and he takes another swing of the wine, it taste awful and it stung his throat, but he could feel his head becoming lighter and his problems becoming foggier.
"It is good." She says.
"Who are you girl?" Arthur asks even though he doesn't care.
"Freya." She says lightly and softly like she didn't wanted Arthur to hear.
"I'm the prince teacher, this is not I wanted." Arthur says and he hang his head between his knees and thinks of his knights.
"What you wanted would lead to your dismiss before your time. Don't be stupid. And I think you're destined to destroy Eldor, and I think you had to be alive to do it."