Pt.3
"Oh no!" Cassandra gasped. "How horrible! Especially for that boy! Were you able to save him?"
"Saving him wasn't my priority." Arthur stretched to reach his beer bottle on the table in front of him. "Getting this idiot out of the water before he drowned was kind of my priority."
"I was doing pretty well" Jenkins protested, waving off the offer of a beer from his friend.
"Sure you were" Arthur said with a smirk.
Jenkins rolled his eyes at his friend's sarcasm. "At least I didn't drown."
"No thanks to that peasant boy you were trying to save." Arthur said.
At the river
Galeas gasped as the current tried to pull him under again. It had swept him along towards the still struggling boy, dragging him under several times before he had caught up with him. The boy, terrified, was still flailing trying to keep himself above the water. "Stop struggling!" Galeas sputtered, trying to grab the boy's shirt. "You're going to kill us both!"
A rough hand grabbed Galeas by the back of his tunic, yanking him back from the boy. "Galeas!" Arthur's voice roared suddenly in his ear. "Hang on to me and I'll get us to shore!"
"Arthur! The boy! He'll drown!" Galeas grabbed his friend's arm as the older man appeared beside him.
"Not if we can help it." Arthur desperately treaded water, trying to hold on to his young friend and keep the peasant boy from getting too far out of reach. The current was still dragging them down the river, making it hard to stay above the water. Ahead, Arthur could see a rock formation in the river, just big enough to park at least one of the two struggling swimmers. "See the rocks up ahead? Stay on your back and let the river move you towards them then grab on. The barge is right behind us – they can pull us up as they move by."
Galeas did as he was told, trying to stay on his back as his friend towed the two swimmers towards the rocks. He grabbed at the slippery stones, managing to hook an arm over a break in the boulder. Arthur pushed the peasant boy up against the rock cluster, trying to wedge him between the rock and himself as he also held onto the boulder. The young boy was limp and cold, barely breathing.
"Is he still alive?" Galeas asked, shaking from the cold.
"I have no idea. Where is that barge?" Arthur groused, the cold making holding on to the others more and more difficult.
"I think I see it" Galeas shouted, his teeth chattering.
"Arthur!" Lancelot's voice soared over the sound of the river. "We're coming!"
"So is Christmas." Arthur grumbled. He shifted position, trying to keep hold on the unconscious boy.
The river men struggled to maneuver the barge close to the rocks, fighting to keep the current from sweeping them away while one of the knights threw a rope at the group. Galeas was able to grab it as it sailed close to him, wrapping the length around his arm while trying to keep hold of the stone.
"Can you hold this boy while they pull you in?" Arthur shouted, shifting the boy's body slightly to keep him pressed against the stones.
"I think so" Galeas replied, switching hands on the rocks. He was able to wrap his arm around the boy's waist, clutching the boy in a death grip.
"Pull them in!" Arthur shouted, waving his now free arm at the barge. The knights proceeded to haul the rope back, pulling Galeas and the boy back towards the moving barge. Lancelot knelt at the edge of the craft, reaching out to haul the two boys aboard as soon as they were close enough. He pulled Galeas out of the water while one of the other knights wrestled the barely breathing youngster out of the young knight's arms.
Arthur sighed, the initial adrenaline rush started to subside. He glanced back at the shore, still a distance away and frowned. There was something on the shore, something that looked … odd. He shook the water out of his eyes and looked again, seeing even more dark figures gathered around a lump on the ground. "What the…crows? Ravens?" He squinted again, a sense of unease settling in his chest.
"Arthur! Hurry! We can't stay here long!" Lancelot's voice was barely understandable over the roar of the water.
Arthur looked back at the barge briefly then back at the shore. Something was there – something he needed to see. With a sigh, he let go of the rock and threw himself backwards into the current again.
"Arthur, what are you DOING? No!" Galeas stared in horror as his friend's lanky form disappeared into the water.