Again, thank you to the people who reviewed, alerted and favorited this story.
Not going to nag about wanting more reviews from now on.
I'm entering my acceptence-stage. Like accepting I probably failed my exam yesterday.
Yep, and nothing better to keep my mind off of that than writing some fanfic. :)
Enjoy!
5. Disobeying your king
Elena's story sure had given Arthur enough to think about.
'As if another dragon threatening to destroy Camelot was not bad enough, no, let's add a bunch of crazy sorcerers on top of that.'
he thought as he watched his father pace in front of his thrown.
He was about to turn and leave his father as he had ordered, when the last one called him back.
"Arthur." Uther's voice echoed through the empty hall.
Merlin, who had already reached the doors, turned to Arthur to see what he should do, until Arthur motioned for him to go and the doors closed behind his servant.
"We should prepare ourselves." Uther suddenly said.
Arthur was surprised. He hadn't thought his father would agree this quickly, he had thought had would have to persuade him.
"I agree, father."
"We must ride out to Cenred's kingdom immediately. Assemble the few knights we have left and…"
"Father, no." Arthur suddenly interrupted.
"No?" Uther asked, turning so he was now facing his son. "You do not think this threat should be dealt with?"
"Of course I do father, but we have not enough knights as it is, and…"
"And?" Uther questioned.
Arthur suddenly felt very uncomfortable under his father's demanding stare.
"I think there is a more potent threat we should address first." he said.
"Surely you are not talking about the witch's little story before, are you?"
Arthur's prolonged silence answered that question for him.
"Arthur." His father suddenly said, taking his son by his upper arm, searching for his eyes. "There is no such thing as another dragon. She lied."
"And why would she do that?" Arthur now questioned his father.
Uther let his arm drop from his son's arm. "Because that is what sorcerers do, Arthur. They lie and they cheat. That's just how they are."
"Maybe, but what if she speaks the truth. I mean, she saved my life today."
"To earn our trust no doubt." Uther quickly countered.
Arthur was surprised to hear his earlier thoughts were now being used against him. Since when had he changed sides?
"Nevertheless, you have seen her power. She has the power to come back from the future, and still she sits in our dungeons, waiting for your judgment. Why would she not just save herself now she sees her plans have failed?"
"We have no prove she is from the future." Uther said, once again pacing in front of his throne.
"The ring, father." Arthur said, his voice raising while he pointed to the ring, lying forgotten at a small table near Uther's throne.
"It's the Pendragon seal ring."
"It could easily be forged." Uther said dismissively. "I have sworn to protect this kingdom against this aberration. This land was mired with chaos when I first got here, caused by magic."
"I know father." Arthur tried to intervene, having heard this story so many times before.
"No you do not know. You cannot know if you haven't seen it for yourself."
It was silent for a while before Uther spoke again.
"I will not hear any more of this."
"I can not accept that." Arthur said, straightening his back as he did so.
"Excuse me?" Uther asked, eyeing his son warily.
"I can not live with myself, knowing I could be the source of Camelot's fall. I will not."
"Then you should face Cenred. He is the real danger to this kingdom, not some dragon from a sorceress' story."
"But father…"
"I am not speaking to you as your father, I am speaking to you as your king."
'This sentence sure made a more frequent appearance the last few months.' Arthur thought as he looked back at his father and king.
Did he have the power to stand up to his king once again?
"And I am speaking as the Crowned Prince of Camelot when I tell you that I will fulfill my duty towards my kingdom."
Uther nodded his consent at that. "Good. Now go and prepare yourself. You have a long journey ahead of you."
Arthur bowed his head to his father. "Yes, My King." he said, before turning and heading out of the great hall.
'The other side of the great isles sure sounded like a long journey to him.'
When Arthur opened the door to his chambers he was surprised to find his traveling bag already half filled on his bed. He looked around in utter confusion, though the matter was quickly explained when Merlin appeared, his arms full of what seemed freshly washed shirts.
"Merlin." the Prince said, startling his manservant, thereby causing the carefully folded shirts to land in a disorderly heap on the bed.
"Oh Arthur." The boy sighed relieved, already starting to refold the shirts. "You startled me."
"Merlin," the Prince said again, "what exactly do you think you're doing?"
This made the boy lay down his task for a minute to look up to his master.
"I euhm… I just thought we'd…"
"There," the Prince said, coming to stand beside his servant. "that's exactly the problem. Don't think Merlin."
he warned the other young man sarcastically, while looking through the things his manservant had already packed.
"Did you pack my woolen shirt?" he suddenly questioned the man beside him.
A grin suddenly lit Merlin's face. "Right here." he said as he handed one of the shirts he just refolded to Arthur.
"My father does not approve of this." The latter one suddenly said.
"He thinks I should ride for King Cenred's kingdom. He does not believe in the existence of a second dragon."
"Well, what do you think?" Merlin piped in.
"I don't know Merlin." Arthur answered irritated by that fact.
"Fact is, I can't risk it. Even if it means I have to trust a sorceress. I will not see Camelot fall."
"So, we ride out in the morning then?" Merlin questioned as he put the last shirt in Arthur's bag.
Suddenly the Prince's blue eyes were boring into his own.
"You should not be so keen to disobey your king, Merlin." Arthur lectured him.
"No Sire." Merlin said, before turning back towards the bag which he put on a chair next to the table, trying to hide his grin. Like Arhur wasn't doing the exact same thing.
"Though technically, he told you, and not me, not to go. So technically, I won't be disobeying my king."
"Oh shut up Merlin." Arthur answered, casting his servant a irritated, yet amused look. "We ride at dawn. Make sure the horses are ready. I will meet you at the old stables."
Merlin nodded one last time before closing the bag and leaving Arthur's chambers.
-Sent by a king-
Not long after Merlin had left, Arthur locked the doors of his chambers behind him as he made his way to the dungeons, making a small detour to Morgana's chambers. He slowly opened the doors to the now almost dusty chambers. No one had entered these chambers after Morgana's disappearance, not even Gwen. The king had ordered to let them in the exact state as she had left them, something Arthur could only be grateful for now. He quickly made his way to her bedside table, swiftly took what he had come for, before he, with one last look over his shoulder, left the room and closed the door to let the dust roam once more.
As expected his father had increased the watch that night, and Arthur could guess as much that his father would have instructed the guards to not let him talk to the prisoners. After making sure no one saw him he made his way back up to the kitchens. There he asked Evlyn, head servant of the kitchen, who had always had a soft spot for Arthur since he was a young boy and she had no children of herself, for a jug of wine and five goblets. After a few minutes of teasing about the fact he shouldn't be holding a party at this time of the night, she send him of, a tray in hand with five goblets and the jug filled to the very maximum. He quickly hurried towards a less-used hallways between the kitchens and dungeons and was filling the goblets when he suddenly heard a whisper through the dark shadows.
"Arthur?" A familiar voice asked.
It didn't take long before Gwen appeared in the glowing of the single torch that alighted the deserted hallway.
"Is that Morgana's sleeping draft?" she questioned as she saw the now empty vial in Arthur's hand.
He had no time to answer, for she answered the question herself.
"You are going to drug the guards." she said, not accusing at all. "You are going to free the sorceress and that knight."
"I will not stand by and see my kingdom fall." was all he answered.
He could not lie to her. Not to Gwen. She just nodded once before she took the tray out of his hands.
"Gwen! What are you doing!" His whisper filling the otherwise empty hallway.
"Your father suspects you are up to something. He ordered the guards to not let you see the prisoner."
"Since when do you eavesdrop when the king orders his guards?" Arthur asked her with an amused smile on his face.
The smile only widened when he saw Gwen's face redden in the dimly lit hallway.
"I didn't… I mean, I didn't mean to… I…"
"Guinevere." Arthur said, bringing his hand to her elbow. And with that simple word, with that simple touch, he brought that smile back to her face.
"Either way, they will suspect something is wrong when you bring them drinks."
Arthur nodded. He could see that.
"There is however, nothing suspicious about a servant bringing them the last wine of the barrel, now is there?" she asked, a mischievous grin spreading across her face.
"No Gwen," Arthur said, once again grabbing her elbow as she was about to turn. "I can not ask this of you. The king would throw you in the dungeons for this."
She smiled a small smile. "You are not asking." she said before turning and disappearing around the next corner.
He didn't have to.