I'm sorry I haven't had the chance to respond to all of your lovely reviews. I really appreciate all the support, life just got in the way a bit. Hope you like this next chapter!
It took Arthur only a few weeks to develop a strong dislike for Galahad.
Within a few years, it had progressed to hatred.
He never said anything though. The man was a good teacher and Arthur knew he was doing well with his lessons. But the way the knight treated Merlin – as if he was nothing more than an inconvenience – infuriated the young boy. Arthur would have taken it out on Galahad but his desire to learn how to use a sword properly meant he didn't dare. Instead, he silently seethed.
What made it worse is that Merlin shrugged it off. He said it was because he wasn't interested in the sword and that meant Galahad had no time for him. As long as Arthur didn't grow up to be like that, then Merlin didn't care. Arthur could sense his friend was only half joking when he said that, and Arthur solemnly vowed he would never dismiss Merlin. After that, guilt had pricked at him that he had already doing it and he made sure he paid his friend extra attention over the following few weeks.
Arthur couldn't shake the feeling the man didn't like him either. As time passed, Galahad became stricter and more ill-tempered with the young boy. Arthur often found himself banished from the cottage in the afternoon after Merlin had gone home. Knowing Nimueh forbade him from leaving the grounds, he would spend the time practicing his moves in the small garden and glaring up at the house. He had no idea what was going on inside, but he worried there would come a day where the man wouldn't let him back in. His only comfort was Merlin and his mother. Arthur found himself spending more and more time at their house and when Hunith asked, he couldn't give a reason for it. He felt safe there, more than could be said for his own home.
By the time he was twelve, Arthur knew two things. That he was good with a sword and that Galahad knew something about him that he didn't. There was a glint in the man's eye when he looked at Arthur and more and more, he was making snide comments about Arthur's parentage. He had always known Nimueh wasn't his mother, but no one had ever addressed the issue with him. He had tried asking when he was younger, but Nimueh had punished him for it and Arthur had never dared to ask again. There came a day, however, when he couldn't take it anymore.
"What sort of hold was that?" Galahad sneered. He had disarmed Arthur with one blow, resulting in Arthur nursing a sore hand and burning in humiliation as he went to retrieve his sword. His grip was usually stronger than that but he clearly hadn't adjusted his stance enough to block the blow.
Arthur ignored the comment, bending down and picking up the sword. Instantly, Galahad knocked it from his grip again.
"Is this how you would react in battle?" He mocked. "Pouting and sulking like a spoilt child."
Arthur flushed. He knew he was far from spoilt. Merlin received more attention from Hunith than he did Nimueh. He spent all day studying and practicing his sword movements. But the words still hurt. Nimueh might have been firm with him, but she wasn't cruel, nor had she ever been. He wasn't used to being addressed in such a way.
"You'd be dead before you could pick it up once, let alone twice." As Arthur bent down to pick up his sword again, Galahad's own wooden practice weapon rested under his chin. A hand grasped Arthur's arm and he was thrown back from the sword onto the grass. This time, the sword was resting on his chest.
"Dead, dead and dead again."
"I bet you couldn't do it when you were my age!" Arthur shouted. He knew not to let his temper get the better of him but he had struggled in his morning lessons as well plus Merlin had been running late and darted off with only yelling goodbye over his shoulder.
"I was better at your age," Galahad sneered, exerting a little more pressure on his sword. Arthur clenched his fist and struck out at the wood, forcing it away from his chest. He rolled before Galahad could replace it and jumped to his feet.
"Now where are you going?"
"In."
"The little lord can't take it then?"
"What?" Arthur paused. He didn't want to. He wanted to march off with his head held high as if Galahad's words meant nothing to him. But something niggled at him and he glanced over his shoulder before he could stop himself.
"You heard me. You think you are so high and mighty, don't you? Let me tell you something, boy. You are pathetic and weak, just like your father."
Galahad walked off before Arthur could respond. His words should have stung but Arthur barely noticed the insult. Galahad knew who his father was.
He knew his father.
Arthur felt the world spinning around him as he stared after the man. He understood Galahad's condescending tone – he knew the man wouldn't tell him anything if he went and asked now. But Arthur started planning how he was going to win his favour again in order to ask.
Darting into the house, he quickly sought out Nimueh.
"Can I go to Merlin's?" Arthur asked, breathless. She pursed her lips as she stared at him. Eventually though, she nodded.
"Be back for dinner."
Arthur was hard pressed not to yell out loud as he sped upstairs. Putting his practice sword away, he grabbed his cloak and stronger boots before running back out again. It had only been in the last few months Nimueh had granted him permission to go to the village on his own. Arthur knew he was being tricked though. He could feel the woman's magic accompanying him and knew if he even thought about diverting, she would know about it. But there was nowhere else for him to go without Merlin and Nimueh's power seemed to disappear when he was with his friend. Arthur could only assume it was because she trusted Merlin more than she trusted him. Maybe it was just about the magic?
But now was not the time and Arthur ran practically the whole way to Merlin's house. Hunith was in the front garden and she looked up and smiled when he arrived.
"Arthur. What are you doing here?"
"Can Merlin come out?" Arthur asked, plastering an innocent smile on his face. He simply had to talk to his friend and was almost hopping from foot to foot as Hunith sighed.
"Very well. I want him home for dinner and not covered in mud this time."
Hunith went to fetch her son after Arthur had promised. He thought it was a little unfair – Merlin was normally the one to blame for any mud incidents, not him. But the protests remained in his head and he stayed quiet until Merlin had come out and given him a quizzical look. Arthur jerked his head off to one side and Merlin nodded. Without a word, the pair of them ran that way and within moments, were hidden up an old oak tree that had long since been their place to hide from the world.
"What's wrong?"
It didn't surprise Arthur that Merlin knew something was troubling him. After all, they had nothing planned for that afternoon. Since Nimueh had insisted on Arthur knowing how to handle a blade, he hadn't had afternoons properly free for a while now.
"Galahad said something today," Arthur began. Merlin fleetingly touched his leg from where he was sitting on the branch below. Arthur knew his friend was well aware of the enmity between Arthur and his instructor. But Arthur shook his head.
"I think he knows my father."
Merlin didn't say anything. They both knew that they were different from the other children in the village as they didn't know who their fathers – or parents in Arthur's case – were. Others were missing fathers but they had known them. Merlin had no more of a clue than Arthur did.
"Do you believe him?" Merlin's voice was soft and hesitant. Arthur chewed his lip while he thought about the answer.
"Yes," he said finally. "He was trying to insult me and then he stormed off before I could ask him anything. I'm not sure he meant to say it."
"Are you going to ask him about it?"
Arthur peered down the tree at Merlin. "How can I not? Wouldn't you if he knew who your father was?"
"I don't know." Merlin shrugged the best he could considering their precarious position. "He could say anything. It's not like he actually likes you. What if he makes it up and gives you a really bad father just to get to you."
"A bad father is better than no father at all."
Silence fell between them for a moment and Arthur felt a flash of annoyance shoot through him.
"I thought you would be happy for me. After everything we've talked about, I thought… I thought you would want me to know."
When Merlin didn't answer, Arthur scrambled down from the tree. His friend's silence hurt worse than Galahad's mocking words had. Realising that he was fighting back tears, Arthur only sped up when he heard Merlin calling after him. When he didn't stop, however, he felt a wave of magic wash gently over him and for a moment, Arthur was physically incapable of taking another step forward. He fought against the magic, but it was unrelenting until Merlin had also jumped down from the tree and hurried after him.
"Of course I am," Merlin continued as if nothing happened. The magic lifted and Arthur stumbled before regaining his balance. "But I'm worried for you."
"You're worried for me and yet you just used magic to stop me from walking off? Did you even notice you had done that?" Merlin's flush gave Arthur his answer. Merlin hadn't meant to use magic on him, he had just reacted with his emotions.
"I thought you were supposed to be working on that."
"I'm trying," Merlin scowled at the floor. "She just makes everything so difficult and my magic always seems to act out however it wants when you're involved."
"So you're blaming me?"
"No! Stop making things so difficult, Arthur." Merlin took a deep breath and it was only then that Arthur noticed a wind had been steadily rising. It dropped again as Merlin controlled himself. "Of course I want you to know what you can about your father. I know how much it means to you. I just don't trust Galahad to be the one to tell you. I don't think he will tell you the truth."
"You think I should ask Nimueh?"
"Don't you? She is… well, your whatever."
"I can't," Arthur muttered.
"Why?"
"I just can't!" He didn't know how to tell Merlin that Nimueh had spanked him the first time he had asked. It had been bad enough when he was eight, but Arthur wasn't sure he could handle the shame now that he was twelve. Merlin raised his hands in surrender before jogging to catch Arthur up again.
"Alright. But let me be there as well."
"Why? You're hardly going to persuade him to tell me the truth."
"No. But at least then I can be there for you afterwards."
This time, it was Arthur who stopped and Merlin who carried on walking. Arthur instantly felt guilty. It hadn't crossed his mind that Merlin had wanted to be there for him. He swallowed and then hurried after Merlin.
"He might know something about your father too," he murmured. Merlin smiled. Arthur knew he didn't believe it any more than Arthur did, but the fact that he didn't say anything showed that he accepted Arthur's peace offering.
"I'll ask if I can stay for lunch tomorrow," Merlin said as they weaved back towards his house. Arthur nodded. Deep down, he wasn't sure if he could wait that long to ask. If he saw Galahad again that evening, Arthur just knew something would come out of his mouth. He walked Merlin back to his house but his friend grabbed his wrist before he went in. Startled, Arthur jumped.
"What?"
"Promise me you won't do anything rash?" There was such a look of concern on Merlin's young face that Arthur smiled reassuringly. He nodded, prising his arm lose.
"I promise."
Merlin didn't look convinced, but he let go and nodded. "I'll see you tomorrow. Then we'll sort it out."
Arthur nodded again as Merlin scampered back into his house. Watching him go, Arthur sighed before turning. He was going to have to run if he wanted to be back before it got dark. If he didn't make it back before dinner, Arthur knew full well he would have to go without. Walking quickly through the village, he couldn't stop Merlin's words from playing over and over in his head. Would Galahad lie to him in order to spite him? Or would he tell him the truth realising that Arthur had no idea of his parentage and wanted to know?
The troubled thoughts occupied his attention and Arthur was pushing open the cottage door before he realised he was back. Nimueh was setting his dinner on the table and Arthur sighed in relief as he slipped off his shoes. Things were hard enough as it was right now, he didn't want to deal with matters when he was hungry as well.
"Wash your hands," Nimueh called and Arthur obeyed before slipping into his seat. He ate hungrily, but his eyes kept drifting to Galahad's empty seat. Nimueh saw his gaze.
"He said you misbehaved today and he had no desire to spend longer in your presence. What happened, Arthur?"
Arthur kept his eyes on the table and shrugged. "I didn't have my grip quite right," he murmured. He didn't want to tell Nimueh the whole truth. She would forbid him from talking to Galahad about it and Arthur knew her magic had a way of making him do as he was told. Luckily, Galahad had clearly told her a similar story and Nimueh didn't say anything more about it apart from instructing him to do better the next day. Arthur nodded and escaped to his room as soon as he could.
Nimueh only looked in once that evening when she told him to go to bed. Arthur obeyed and then slipped out from under the blankets as soon as he knew she would be gone. Galahad's words about his father wouldn't leave his mind and he knew he wouldn't be able to wait until Merlin arrived the next day to ask him about it. Arthur padded across his room, his hand reaching out to touch the handle. He would have to go and ask him now and hope Nimueh didn't find out.
But before he could open the door, the handle pressed down from the outside. Arthur jumped back but his heart didn't stop its frantic pounding when it swung open to reveal Galahad standing in the doorway.
"Can I come in?"
Arthur didn't say anything. He didn't know what to say. The tall man sighed.
"I came to apologise, Arthur. I shouldn't have spoken to you the way I did. But you're right. I do know your father. If you let me in, I can tell you about him if you like."
His voice was too kind. Arthur glared at him suspiciously before he let the tension go from his body and nodded. He would be a fool not to hear what the man had to say and Galahad quickly entered before shutting the door behind him.
"I brought you something as a peace offering. Don't tell Nimueh. Would you like to try your first ever mulled wine?" The idea of doing something behind Nimueh's back was too great for Arthur to refuse and he nodded eagerly. Galahad chuckled, bringing a wine skin out from behind his back and pouring some into a goblet for Arthur.
"Don't drink it too fast. Now, what do you want to know?"
Arthur didn't know where to start. The indecision must have shown on his face because by the time he took a mouthful of the liquid, Galahad had sat on his bed, gestured for Arthur to do the same and started talking.
Arthur barely believed what he heard. A story of kings, death and magic. Of witches and kidnapped princes. But while some part of him wondered if Galahad was doing just that – spinning him a story – Arthur found himself believing it. It matched with everything that Nimueh had – or rather more importantly, hadn't – told him about his past and his parents.
"So this missing prince, the one the witch stole…"
"Is you, Arthur. You are Arthur Pendragon, Prince of Camelot. One day you will be King."
"But why did Nimueh bring me here? Isn't this my home?"
"She wanted to punish the king for the great purge that spread throughout the land, Arthur. Not everyone is safe to practice magic. I believe she hopes that when you are ready, you will return magic to the land."
"Why didn't she tell me?" Arthur felt tears pricking at his eyes. How could he be a prince? He couldn't even hold his sword right.
"Maybe she didn't want you to hate her."
"Well, I do," Arthur declared obstinately. He didn't even know if that was true. But it was the only reaction the twelve year old was capable of as he struggled to process everything that he had just been told. At Galahad's prompting, he took another drink. But his head felt sluggish and he didn't want anymore. When he said that out loud, however, the man only chuckled.
"You just need a little more. You don't want to be known as the prince who said no, do you?"
His words were a challenge enough for Arthur to take another gulp, then another. He kept going until the wineskin was empty and made to stare defiantly at Galahad. But the man breathed out a long breath.
"At last," he murmured, standing up. Arthur suddenly realised how tall the man was as he loomed above him. "I thought you would never finish. What you're feeling, Arthur, is a sedative that I laced the wine with."
Arthur stared at the skin, vaguely aware that he hadn't seen Galahad drink any. Even as his muddled thoughts tried to process what happened, he felt his body pitching forward until he was sprawled across the bed. His limbs felt heavy and lethargic and he didn't have the strength to call out. Galahad flung back his cloak, revealing that he was wearing his travelling gear. He pulled out a length of rope from his pocket and there was nothing Arthur could do to stop him pulling his hands behind his back and tying them there.
"It's nothing personal. Well, maybe a little," the man informed him as he bound him. Arthur tried to call out, but Galahad produced a strip of fabric and tied it securely around Arthur's mouth. He then crossed the room and opened the window.
"I've left Nimueh a note. I came to check on you and you had run away. I've gone to find you." Leaving the window open, he swung Arthur over his shoulder and left through the door, pulling the door too. Arthur knew how it would look – he had gone out of the window and Galahad had seen that at just a glance into the room. Arthur tried kicking out, but Galahad was holding him in such a way it didn't matter. His legs didn't connect with anything and bound and gagged, there was nothing he could do as the man carried him down the stairs and out of the house. It must have been late considering there was no movement from Nimueh.
Galahad took him around the back to where they had built a rough stable for his horse. Arthur now knew where the man had been during dinner, for the beast was saddled and a bag of provisions was swung over its back. Galahad balanced Arthur over the horse's neck before climbing on and holding the boy in front of him over the saddle. A flash in Arthur's mind made him grunt in pain. He wasn't sure what it was. But he couldn't escape the feeling he had been in this sort of position before.
Galahad kept the horse at a walk as they passed the cottage.
"The king will have no choice but to welcome me back into his ranks and restore my position, title and fortune," Galahad told him. "No one else has ever come even close to finding you. Not only will I deliver the king his brat, I can tell him where Nimueh is as well. I will be rewarded and this whole village will be destroyed."
Arthur tried crying out but the fabric around his mouth muffled any sound. He didn't want to go back! This was his home. Not to mention if what Galahad said was true, then Merlin was in danger. Arthur couldn't let anything happen to his friend, or Hunith. He squirmed, legs kicking helplessly but Galahad only chuckled.
"You're not going anywhere."
It seemed to be the truth. Galahad moved slowly, clearly not sure of the forest in the dark. But he was gradually putting distance between Arthur and the cottage. It didn't take long before the sedative overcame his fear and Arthur was lulled into a strange stupor. He was conscious, but barely alert. He didn't notice time passing, but suddenly became aware that he was being lifted down from the horse. The fabric around his mouth vanished and Galahad tipped water into it instead.
"We're far enough. We'll rest here. Get some sleep." Without another word, he tethered the horse, laid out some blankets for both him and Arthur and manhandled the boy onto one. Arthur didn't go to sleep though. The sedative had run its course. As soon as he heard Galahad's breathing even out, he awkwardly rolled to his feet and set off at a run. Galahad might have moved slowly because he didn't know the forest. But Arthur had spent his life playing around the area and he could make out the sound of the river. It ran behind the cottage and he knew if he followed it, he would make it home. There was nothing else for him to do but run and hope the knight didn't wake up.
Somehow, it worked. Dawn was breaking when he skidded to a stop. The cottage was in view. But Arthur couldn't take another step. Exhaustion crashed through him, greater than anything he had ever felt before. Feeling his legs buckle, he dropped to his knees just as he saw the cottage door open. Nimueh came tearing out in a fury and Arthur was sure she must have seen Galahad's note. He tried to get up, but he didn't have the strength. Instead, there was nothing he could do but pitch forward into the grass and hope she found him before Galahad did. He might not know what was going on anymore, but he was convinced she wouldn't hurt him.
It took all of his strength to hold onto that belief, however, when he heard her anxious voice and hands roughly rolling him over. Arthur looked up, barely awake, to see the gold leave her eyes and realised he could move his hands again. He pushed out at her, finally letting the tears fall.
"You're a liar!" He shouted, not caring who heard them. "He…He told me!"
"You believe someone who kidnapped you?"
"How do I know that wasn't you?" Arthur hiccupped through his tears, exhaustion blurring everything in his mind. Nimueh's hand reached towards him, cupping his face.
"Oh Arthur," she murmured. Then her eyes went gold again and Arthur knew nothing more as he fainted.