Characters/Pairings: Tom/OC
Rating/Warnings: K
Universe: Canon
Word Count: 355
Prompt: The Chains That Bind Us
Notes: First I was going to write about Gwaine, then Kilgarrah, and then this idea popped into my head and I decided to roll with it. It was difficult to come up with an ending, and it still seems a bit rushed to me. Ah well. Enjoy!
The order had been delivered to the forge at lunchtime, and Tom had agonized over it all day. Now he stood before his wife, watching her as she deciphered the ornate script, and tried to gauge her reaction.
"The money's good," she said finally, handing it back to him. Her expression was guarded.
"It is," Tom agreed, wringing his hands, and then everything came pouring out. "Elyan's growing fast, and with another one on the way... We could use that money. From the king himself, too! If I got his favor, we'd be... " He trailed off, and then gestured agitatedly. "But look at what he's asking for! Shackles and chains, Maria... Those could only be for one purpose, and I don't know that I want to be a part of it." His hands tightened, and the paper crinkled between them. "Damn the magic ban," he said hoarsely, "they're our neighbors."
The words hung in the air, hushed and treasonous, and Maria glanced at the window before saying, "What will we do?"
"I don't know," he said honestly, dropping into the chair beside her and putting his head in his hands.
"Don't do it."
"I have to, Maria. If I don't then there'll be questions as to why, and after the Felder girl last week you know that a question's as good as a conviction these days."
"We could run. We can leave this insanity far behind us, and go back to Longstead."
Tom laughed hollowly. "Maria, my sweet, I know you're always ready to go back to your village. But we wouldn't escape for long. Longstead wouldn't be a haven, Maria, sorcerers are being rounded up everywhere. It's not just in Camelot any longer, and if I set up shop in Longstead... soon enough I'd be making their chains, for your Elsa and Ben and Rose..."
Maria paled, and whispered, "No."
"I have to do it, Maria," he said after a long silence. "I have to." And one day, he thought, he might even be able to convince himself that he had had no choice.
