Disclaimer: I still don't own Merlin.
So, this was just a fun chapter that I wanted to write. The round table meeting is next chapter, and everything will be explained about the reveal. I'm not going to put a flashback in here, but I might write a prequel about the reveal if I still have inspiration when I'm done with this story. I promise that every necessary detail, plus more, will be in the next chapter, though.
Leon was surprised when he woke up very comfortably the next morning. It took him a moment to realize that he was in Camelot rather than out in the forest. He was tempted to stay in bed for a few minutes longer, but he quickly stood up before he could fall back asleep. The King would be holding their daily training in about an hour, and Leon didn't want to be late on his first day back. Before the two-month patrol, Arthur had been personally training him and the rest of the round table knights nearly every morning. The senior knight was looking forward to getting back into that routine. He was actually most curious about what Mordred had been doing while they were gone. Arthur had probably temporarily assigned him to another group of knights to train with. Leon paused and made an effort to organize his thoughts more effectively.
As he pulled on clothing and armor, Leon allowed his mind to drift back over the events of the previous day. He quickly came to the realization that no one had been surprised enough to see Merlin and Mordred out on their own. He and the other knights had simply been too exhausted to realize that anything was strange. It was a dangerous state of mind for a knight to be in and also the reason that patrols never lasted longer than two months.
He grabbed breakfast on his way down to the training field and began to try to piece together what Merlin and Mordred had been doing so far from Camelot. The two were friends- not quite as close as Merlin and Arthur, though no one was as close as Merlin and Arthur- so it made sense that they would travel together. What Leon couldn't figure out though, was why no other knights had been sent out with them. The way those two had been acting, it had almost seemed as if Merlin were in charge, and Mordred was just along for the ride. Which also made no sense. As much as Arthur trusted Merlin, the servant wouldn't have been sent out to do something on his own. He must have been missing something.
The knight's musings were interrupted by the arrival of Gwaine, Percival, and Elyan on the steps of the Castle. Leon was pleased to see that they all looked well-rested.
"We've decided that Merlin's keeping secrets from us," Gwaine announced as the quartet headed out to the training field.
Leon nodded in agreement. "I've been thinking much the same thing. He implied that Arthur was aware of what was going on, though, so I suppose we'll be told about it today." He turned to look behind him as a servant dropped several weapons on the path.
Percival immediately went to help the unfortunate boy carry some of it. "I really appreciate the help," the blond servant thanked him. "Merlin said you'd be nice."
"You're the one who was talking to Merlin yesterday," Gwaine observed. "I'm Gwaine. Who's you master? I don't know that I've seen you around before."
"Gale," the boy responded as Leon watched, surprised to see him so comfortable among the knights. Perhaps he had befriended Mordred as well. The young knight's shyness actually tended to attract people to him. "I'm actually the king's servant."
"Merlin is the king's servant," Leon said, confused.
Gale bit his lip. "I probably shouldn't tell you anything, but I'll tell you what's common knowledge around the Castle at least." He paused to readjust a few of the weapons in his arms. "King Arthur and Merlin, about a week after you'd left, went out on a hunting trip. They were gone for less than a week, but everyone could tell that something was wrong when they got back. The next day, a rumor started that Sir Mordred had made a bet with the king. Apparently, he believed that he could train Merlin to fight decently with a sword, so the king released Merlin from his duties. Merlin came down to the kitchens where I was working that same day and told me that I was now the king's manservant."
"Merlin and Arthur aren't still at odds, though, are they?" Leon asked, absorbing the new information.
"As far as most people in the castle believe, they never were."
"You know differently."
"I apologize, Sire Leon, but I've said all that I'm going to say on the matter."
Leon nodded in acceptance. He could see that Merlin had chosen his replacement well. That fact alone spoke volumes about just how serious Arthur and Merlin's falling out had been. Most of the time, Merlin made sure that the king received a servant that would drive him crazy because Merlin had every intention of coming back. Leon could tell that Gale had been chosen because Arthur would genuinely like him.
Gwaine looked as if he was about to try to pry more information from the servant, but something ahead of them caught his attention. Leon looked to see what it was. They had almost reached the training field at that point, and Leon could see two figures sparring with swords on the far side while another watched. The king was obviously the spectator, and one of the combatants appeared to be Mordred, but the third was a mystery.
The stranger was slight but tall and wore some type of lightweight leather armor. While he wasn't up to the standards of the other knights by any means, his skills were actually on par with many of the squires in Camelot.
"Is that Merlin?" Percival asked disbelievingly. Leon's jaw dropped when he realized that the figure was indeed the raven-haired servant.
"Sir Mordred took the bet very seriously," Gale explained.
Leon just nodded in wordless agreement. He had known that Merlin wasn't the useless idiot most people thought him to be, but this was beyond anything that he thought possible.
"Merlin," Gwaine called out once they reached the king's position. "You've been holding out on us."
"Not about my sword fighting ability," Merlin argued back as he and Mordred walked over to join the group. "This is a new development."
"We heard about the bet. I take it you're rooting for Mordred."
"I'm actually part of the bet. Mordred and I each get two days off if we win."
"I never actually agreed to that," Arthur debated.
"So the three of you made a bet, but never actually agreed on the winnings?" Elyan asked slowly. Leon silently agreed that nothing was making sense anymore.
"That would be a topic for the round table meeting after lunch," Arthur told them. "Let's get training out of the way because this meeting could take a while."
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Merlin laughed at all of the incredulous looks the knights had been giving him for the past hour of training. Each of them had taken a turn fighting him, and, while they were all far more skilled, he had been able to hold his own for a short time. Percival had taken his new skills in stride, and Gwaine seemed more entertained than anything, but Leon and Elyan seemed completely shocked.
Mordred had also been receiving praise from the returned knights as he had been the one to teach Merlin in the first place. Though he was a newer addition to the round table, his skills were nearly on a level with everyone else's.
Sword skills and magic actually went remarkably well together. Mordred, and more recently Merlin, had been finding that the sixth sense that alerted them to danger also helped them to anticipate an opponent's moves. That extra awareness of the world was a large help, but Merlin simply hadn't known how to apply it to sword work until Mordred had explained it.
It resulted in a radically different fighting style that only others with magic would be able to copy, so Mordred had taken pains to make sure that he fought in similar fashion to the rest of the knights. His magic senses still aided him, but not to the extent that they could have. Since Arthur already knew about Merlin's magic, and the round table knights would soon be told, Mordred had decided to simply teach Merlin the most effective fighting style for a mage even though it would be noticeable. The odds were that no one remembered how some people fought before the Purge anyway.
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"If you've been able to do this in only six weeks," Leon said to Mordred, "then you're going to make a fantastic instructor in the future."
Mordred shrugged. "I don't know that I'm all that great of a teacher," he told the knight. "I just happen to understand how Merlin thinks and reacts. If you look for it, you'll see that even now he's moving differently than the other knights."
Leon turned to where Merlin was currently facing off against Percival. They were quite literally David and Goliath. Although Merlin was fairly tall, Percival had muscle in addition to a height advantage. Percival was using his usual technique, designed to use his strength to its best advantage. Merlin, though, was fighting very strangely. Most swordsmen would parry an oncoming sword with enough power to knock it some distance out of range, and they wouldn't take any chances when ducking or dodging their opponent's sword. Merlin, on the other hand, seemed very sure of exactly where the stronger man's sword was at all times. He only deflected it enough so that it wouldn't hit him, and sever times he dodged only enough so that the sword ghosted across his leather armor.
Percival, despite being thrown off by the new style, did ultimately beat Merlin. The servant might actually have stood a chance against a common bandit, though. That triggered something in Leon's memory, and the senior knight took a moment to figure out what it was. "He fights like you!" Leon finally exclaimed to Mordred a full minute later.
"I'm not sure what you mean," the younger knight responded. "I fight very similarly to the rest of you."
Leon nodded in agreement. "Most of the time, you do. I've seen you change styles a few times while we were fighting dangerous enemies, though. You slip into that style that you've taught Merlin and become far more effective." He hadn't been sure that it was happening, or that Mordred was even consciously changing styles until he had seen Merlin fighting. Leon had less than no idea what to do with the information, though.
"Your questions will all be answered in a few hours. I honestly can't tell you anything right now."
"Mordred, how does a unique fighting style have anything to do with your secret mission yesterday or the king's new servant?" Those three topics were the ones which Leon had been specifically told not to ask about, but he couldn't find any sort of connection between them that made sense.
Mordred grinned. "Our fighting style actually isn't that unique. However, most people cannot or will not use it anymore."
"I'm just going to stop asking questions now. The king seems to know what's going on, so that shall satisfy me until this afternoon."
A clatter resounded across the field, and Leon turned to see what had caused it. Merlin was on his back with his shield on top of him, and his sword way laying several feet away. Gwaine had been trying to show his friend some kind of new move, but was now doubled over laughing at the servant's- was servant the right word anymore?- predicament.
"You tripped me!" Merlin complained.
"You need to pay more attention to your surroundings," Gwaine laughed back.
"You told me to pay attention to you!"
"Yes, but skill is being able to split your concentration." Gwaine pulled Merlin to his feet.
"You try cramming ten million moves into your head within six weeks, then talk to me about concentration."
Please review. I really want to improve my writing skill.