A/N: Apologies for my long absence. Sometimes life happens. I know that I haven't updated my fics in a long time – for some of my older ones, years – but I am still working on all of them, if slowly and sporadically. They are not abandoned, I promise! Here, have part one of a ficlet:
Arthur looked at the faery standing in front of him. He had been riding with his nephew and a handful of other knights to look into reports of disquiet along the river Glein. Among them was his nephew's squire – and why was it, Arthur paused briefly to wonder, that whenever something strange happened Gawain (and his squire) always seemed to be at the heart of it?
The reports had been worrying – and certainly strange enough to give him cause to suspect his nephew's squire was somehow caught up in the matter. There had been a disturbing and escalating series of incidents, beginning when children claimed to have seen people – or 'not-people', as one child had called them – coming out of the river, and building up to the most recent report of some sort of monster causing the deaths of all the animals in the area, and eventually the disappearance of several children. He wouldn't normally have ridden out himself, but for the fact that no one seemed able to describe the culprit, there were no signs of anyone coming into the area, and the local townsfolk had begun to call the river 'cursed'.
So Arthur had gathered Gawain, Tor, Lionel, and their squires, and left Kai in charge of Camelot. The adults they had spoken to all seemed unwilling to say anything, but the children had described monsters that Arthur ought to have put down to their fanciful imagination. And he would have – except that at one particular description. The child described a large, long-armed, monster covered in hair. Tor had scoffed, saying the child must have seen the abductor and gotten frightened and carried away. Arthur would have thought so too, had not Gawain had suddenly paled and looked to Terence, who had looked unusually serious and said something to Gawain without saying anything, in that frustrating silent communication the two of them had.
And then, not moments later, Terence was suddenly moving, coming forward to crouch in front of the child, asking calmly and kindly with an entirely straight face exactly which part of the river the monsters were coming from. When the child said something softly and pointed, Terence ignored all the bewildered knights, striding in the direction the child had pointed. Gawain had immediately dismounted, only a step behind Terence and with a grim look on his face. Arthur, Tor, and Lionel had followed, Lionel with a disbelieving look at the knight falling into step behind the squire. When they reached the shore, Gawain and Terence had a conversation that didn't explain anything – because they didn't seem to feel the need to use actual words – before Terence's face set into something hard and cold, somewhat disturbing to Arthur to see on the face of the normally calm and friendly squire.
It was at that point, of course, that the faery – for whoever he was, he was undeniably fae, with a face meant for mischief set in unusually serious lines – had walked out of the water. Arthur heard Tor and Lionel, standing behind him, startle and draw their swords. Terence and Gawain, however, didn't bat an eye. Arthur decided it was about time he had some control over the situation. "Nephew?" he prompted Gawain softly.
"Your Majesty." It was not Gawain, but the faery who spoke, sweeping a bow that was somehow both serious and mocking. Arthur looked hard at Gawain for a long moment, before turning his gaze to Terence, who somehow went from looking grim to slightly sheepish in the course of an instant, though his face was still creased in worry.
Gawain looked between them and then said, rather unhelpfully, "Ah… Uncle, this is Robin."
"I take it you are already acquainted?" Arthur said carefully.
Gawain looked from Arthur to Tor and Lionel, who were still holding drawn swords, and finally to Terence. "I think you'd better explain this one, lad," he said.
Tor looked curious and Arthur felt resigned, but it was Lionel who could restrain himself no longer. "He's a squire! What on earth do you mean by it" he directed at Terence "and if this" he gestured at Robin "is what took those children-"
Terence stepped forward, his expression hardening once again. "Robin is a friend, to both Gawain and me. And he is not responsible for any of this." Lionel looked about to speak again, but Terence cut him off with an upraised hand. The authority Terence commanded in that moment was undeniable, and Arthur was suddenly reminded of the half-bow, the dreams, the way Terence acted with Gawain – and remembered that Terence had never been just a squire.
"It can wait, Sir Lionel," Terence said. He was calm, but his voice was like steel, and when he turned to Robin it was with all the authority of a lord commanding a vassal. "Only one got through?"
Robin nodded. "The crossing's secure. I was sent to tell you. It's under control on the other side, but you'll have to deal with whatever got through. We think it's just the one – but we can't be sure."
Terence turned to Arthur. "Your Majesty, Robin is of Avalon. He serves Ganscotter the Enchanter, ruler of the Seelie Court."
Tor stared. Sir Lionel looked incredulous and outraged. Gawain looked like he would rather be anywhere else. Arthur sighed, and looked Terence in the eye. "I expect an explanation for all this later, Terence," he said mildly. "But right now, I want to find those children."
"Yes, Sire," Terence said. "The short explanation is that Avalon is divided into two courts: the Seelie and the Unseelie. Usually, both are fairly uninvolved with our world. The Seelie Court, while they stay mostly uninvolved, mean well for England. The Unseelie Court, for the most part, has nothing but ill will for our world. There are crossings, but as I said: mostly they don't interfere in our world."
"But sometimes they do." Arthur said.
"Yes. From the description, and the tracks," Terence indicated a patch of ground. Arthur peered closely and realized there were indeed faint cloven hooves marked into the mud, but they were so faded he could hardly spot them. Terence continued, "I think a bogle has come through the crossing. Whether it is acting on its own, or is working as an agent of the Unseelie Court…"
He glanced at Robin, who shook his head. "I couldn't say. But you should know – this isn't the only unusual activity we've seen. The Unseelie Court is growing restless."
Terence looked worried. Lionel asked, a little aggressively, "What, you mean we'll be chasing these faeries down all over the place?"
The knights looked at Robin, but it was Terence who answered. "Usually the crossings are watched… and it is difficult to go through unless one knows how." He looked thoughtful for a moment, before suddenly turning to Gawain. "Find out if there's anywhere it might have laired – any caves or holes nearby that have become more dangerous this past week." With a gesture, he beckoned Robin to his side. Gawain nodded and moved away. Arthur raised his eyebrows at his nephew, who was acting as if it was perfectly normal for a knight to take orders from a squire. Sir Lionel sputtered a little, and Tor stared. Terence ignored them all and moved a little ways away to consult with Robin in a hushed voice.
Gawain had headed back towards the townsfolk, and Arthur hesitated a moment, looking between him and the place by the shore where Terence and Robin still conferred quietly. Terence was gesturing at the water – or the air above the water, Arthur wasn't sure – with a serious look on his face and worry marked on his brow. Robin looked serious, and it was a contrast to the mocking look he had worn when he had first greeted Arthur. The solemnity looked somehow wrong on his face. Arthur made his decision.
"Tor, Lionel, go with Gawain. If there are rumours of a place the… attacker…" he winced at his own phrasing, not sure what to believe, "may have been, or may have laired, help him find them."
Sir Lionel looked ready to protest, but Tor, after a sharp look at the faery man and a thoughtful look at Terence, jabbed him in the ribs, nodded to Arthur, and set off after Gawain.
A/N:
I already know what the creature is… what are your guesses?
Also, there is a sad lack of Squire's Tales fics, so if you're reading this, I have a CHALLENGE for you!
Write a drabble, a ficlet, a little tiny something for Squire's Tales and publish it! If everyone who read this published a baby fic we would probably almost double the number of Squire's Tales fics.
If you need a prompt, here's one:
"Gawain glared at Terence. "Will you stop laughing?" he snapped. Terence only laughed harder.
