'Arthur, you can't do this,' Merlin erupted, striding into the room after the king.
Arthur made no attempt at a reply, systematically taking himself out of his armour and chainmail, even though the task required a second person's assistance. But he didn't wait for Merlin, looking on silently as if he were the only person in the chamber.
Merlin stepped forward and began helping him. His heated words didn't cease, however.
'This is far more reckless than what happened with Caerleon. Fine, you listened to Agravaine back then because you were...' he tried to think of the right word as he unclasped one of the armour fastenings, 'new to the throne. And it was the life of one man. But this,' his eyes blazed with disapproval as Arthur turned around and now faced him, 'this is cruel. You've ordered to burn down an entire village! Just to send a message -that's madness.'
Merlin recalled that even the normally hard-hearted Agravaine seemed quite taken by surprise at Arthur's announcement about the village. Arthur had presented to the court his decision about a rumoured threat to Camelot from the warlord Helios. In order to send Helios a message, the king had commanded that one of the villages under the warlord's rule be burned down.
Arthur refused to make eye contact with Merlin now, taking himself off to sit at his table.
Merlin's tone softened for a moment. He put his palms flat on the table and leaned forward to look at the king, 'This isn't you.'
'The villagers will be warned,' Arthur said to the table, 'as you've heard.'
'These are innocent people,' Merlin punctuated each word. 'Even if they survive, you're robbing them of their homes, their livelihoods.'
Merlin seemed as angry as he had been on the day of Gwen's banishment. He had been relentless in telling Arthur he was making the wrong decision. Merlin had declared that he believed Gwen. Merlin pursued the argument that Gwen had no reason to betray Arthur like that. Therefore it wasn't her doing.
Besides, there was one thing that he was sure of. 'Lancelot must have been a shade,' he had said quietly. He couldn't tell Arthur about how he and Gaius had discovered that fact.
'And your gut feeling told you that, did it?' Arthur had retorted.
'Gaius believes so. He looked it up in one of his books.'
Arthur hadn't argued further. He also didn't change his mind about Guinevere. Merlin and Arthur hadn't been in the best of terms since that day.
'My decision is made,' Arthur sounded faraway now.
Merlin stood there for a moment, piercing his friend with his eyes. 'It's because of Gwen, isn't it?'
Arthur sat entirely still for a moment. Then he slowly raised his head, resting a steady, furious gaze on Merlin. 'I thought I told you not to speak of her.'
Merlin looked away. He knew Arthur wouldn't acknowledge it, but he knew what was really going on: Arthur had felt he had wronged Gwen and now he allowed that to let his world fall apart. He no longer hesitated in making rash, heartless decisions.
Merlin had to turn his friend away from this path of self-destruction.
He turned from the table and began tiding up some clothes lying around. 'You know you haven't done the right thing with Gwen. That's why everything else is...turning into a mess,' he said loud enough for Arthur to hear. 'You need to make your amends with her-'
'Merlin!' Arthur's tone was fiery.
Merlin looked up.
The king made himself calm down then simply said, 'She's gone.' Then added sternly, 'Neither she nor you have any business in the matters of the court-'
This time it was Merlin who cut in. 'I know where to find her,' he blurted. He turned to see the king looking at him. There was something like hope or relief in Arthur's eyes.
'Why would you say that?'
'Because...I'd seen her once, after she was banished.' Then he told him, about that day when Arthur was on a hunt with princess Mithian. How their prey had been the enchanted Gwen, appearing as a deer.
Arthur stood up from the chair, leaving it at an angle facing away from the table which he didn't bother to fix. He stood against the table so that he was closer to Merlin.
He listened with eyes focused on Merlin. Now it made sense, how he had come to find Guinevere's ring that day.
'And you decided it was best to leave all this from me?' Arthur's voice was calm but his eyes held bitterness.
Merlin struggled to say the next part as Arthur stepped towards him.
He grabbed Merlin's shirt-front, neckerchief and all. 'Oh that's right, according to you I've lost all good sense, so I suppose leaving things out from me sounds perfectly fine.' He let go of Merlin and looked away not seeing his manservant swallow nervously.
He went over what Merlin had just revealed.
He had nightmarish thoughts of what was happening to Guinevere while she was out there, on her own. Once he had found her ring, it only made the guilt in his stomach tighten.
And now he just found out that after escaping Helios, she was made to be the target of his own weapon.
'Gwen said she doesn't want to see you,' said Merlin. 'Trust me Arthur, I begged her to come back to Camelot. She's the one who had told me of Helios's plan.' He looked down, sorry to bring this news to Arthur. 'But she refused to see you. I didn't know how to say that to you. So I left out the part about finding her.' For the first time Merlin's eyes lit up with a smile, 'But don't worry, I've convinced her to stay at Ealdor with my mother. She should be there by now.'
He didn't say how Gwen initially refused to listen to him. Like Arthur, the Lancelot event had turned her heart into ice too. She was too proud to seek shelter with a friend, hoping for Arthur to return to her one day. Instead, she wanted to set out on her own, start a new life.
But in the end Merlin managed to make her promise she would go to his mother's home.
Arthur remained silent and rubbed his face. 'I don't think I'd be able to see her either,' he said, all the resentment drained out of his voice, as if he was admitting defeat.
Merlin looked to him, brows furrowed. 'You mean you still don't believe her?' he sounded shocked.
'No, Merlin,' the king looked at him and took a moment to gather his thoughts. 'I thought I had made the more merciful choice by letting her go free.' Arthur looked across to the floor, as if unable to continue. Then he spoke again, 'Now I understand what I've done instead: I condemned her to a punishment worse than death. I threw her out, made her walk into danger.' He pierced Merlin with an intent look. 'I don't know how to face her after that.'
Later that night Arthur tossed and turned through his conversation with Merlin, while tossing around his dinner with his fork.
Then he stopped. He put aside his plate of barely-eaten meal and reached for a fresh parchment on his table.
He could at least spare those villagers.
Three days later, however, that decision proved to be completely useless. A note arrived from Helios, declaring he will not stand cowering before Arthur Pendragon, that he would make the young king pay for his withdrawn threat. The Southron army invaded Camelot the next day.
It was a kick to the gut for Arthur to know he had brought this onto his kingdom.
