Takes place immediately after S3. A continuation of the multi-chapter tale from Chapter 6.
Gwaine woke with a start, but when he glanced around the room, he could not tell what it was that had awakened him. All was silent and still. Contrary to the reputation he seemed to have acquired in Camelot, for which he blamed Merlin and the royal prat, Gwaine was not a perpetual drunkard. He certainly appreciated the finer ales at the tavern, but one did not live as long as he without some restraint and moderation. He only drank heavily in order to forget, to numb, to make merry. Since last night did not require any of the above, the newly knighted Gwaine was clear of mind and ready to begin the day.
Hastily dressing himself, he surveyed his chamber with some reserve. It was decorated in a manner both opulent and somber, practically reeking of Uther's influence. Uther, who was still king of Camelot by title but was in no capacity to rule, as far as Gwaine could determine. Thus preoccupied in thought, he began making his way down the hall before he heard someone call his name. It was Gwen. Somehow, women always seemed to be able to surprise him.
"Gwaine, good morning!" Gwen smiled.
"Good morning, princess," Gwaine greeted, giving a mock bow.
Gwen laughed.
"I told you Arthur was fair and he would repay you one day," Gwen said.
"Truly you did. Now I must take my leave and go to practice before Arthur changes his mind," he joked.
When Gwaine arrived at the practice fields, a few of the knights were sparring, but most were milling around, examining equipment to make sure they were not damaged during the brief reign of Morgana and Morgause. He quickly spotted Percival, for after all, how difficult could it be to spot a giant?
"Here, catch."
Percival tossed a blade to him in greeting, which Gwaine fortunately caught without losing any of his fingers.
"Where's the rest of the boys?" Gwaine asked Percival.
"Lancelot and Elyan are at the stables. Leon—"
Gwaine cut him off.
"Sir Leon," he said, emphasizing the title. "Sir Leon is not a commoner knight."
Percival gave him a strange look before shrugging.
"He's still one of us."
"Yeah well, why is he over there with the highly ranked gentry?"
Percival did not quite know how to answer. It was clear Gwaine held some sort of grudge against Leon, or perhaps against the entire nobility. He supposed he could ask his fellow knight about this grudge, but Percival was not one to explore deep feelings even with a friend, much less with a man he had met only a few days prior. As he tried to formulate a reply, Percival desperately wished he was hacking at something with a sword instead.
Gwaine was oblivious to Percival's inner turmoil, turning about to cast an eye over the practice fields. Elyan and Lancelot were now heading their direction.
"Percival, Gwaine," Lancelot said, nodding at each of them in turn. He was already fast friends with Percival, and he had heard some stories of Gwaine from Merlin. It was not these two knights he was uneasy about; it was Elyan. The man himself was unassuming enough, with a kind demeanor. The problem was, these were the same characteristics that Gwen possessed, and each time Lancelot looked at Elyan, he could not help but be reminded of Elyan's sister. A sad look crept into his eyes before Percival nudged him with his elbow. Arthur was finally making his appearance.
The prince strode confidently across the field, Merlin in tow, with no hint of the weariness from the night before. As he approached the ragtag group of commoner knights, Leon detached himself from the men he had been conversing with and came to join them. He and Gwaine stood as far apart as possible.
"Alright, men," Arthur addressed them. "I understand that up to this point, you may have been fighting as only one man. But now as knights of Camelot, you will be expected to fight alongside comrades and allies. We will practice that today. Leon and Lancelot, you are one unit. Gwaine and Percival, you two will be sparring against them. Elyan, come with me."
The knights divided as they were told. Arthur gestured at Elyan to follow him and led the way to the practice dummies. Elyan thought Arthur was singling him out because he was less skilled with the sword than the others. He was determined to prove Arthur wrong.
"You should go for Lancelot, and I will go for Sir Leon," Percival suggested.
"Why?" Gwaine questioned.
"We are more of a match this way."
"Fine with me."
Percival sighed with relief. He was not sure why, but he believed if Gwaine and Leon came to blows today, something terrible would occur. On the other side of the field, Lancelot and Leon were disagreeing over tactics.
"We each pick our own man and let them wear themselves out," Leon insisted. "You know we are more strategic, while they tend to attack with force."
"That may be true in most battles, but not this time. Gwaine and Percival hardly know each other; they will not be fighting as a unit. Our advantage will be greater if we fight back to back," Lancelot argued.
Leon inwardly thought he did not need Lancelot to protect his weak side, but wisely bit his tongue and muttered an assent. If Lancelot wanted to fight back to back, very well. He would show him and the rest of the commoner knights the superior training of the Camelot soldiers. Leon looked for Arthur to signal the start of the match, but the prince was nowhere to be found. Only Merlin was standing there, awkwardly grinning.
"Where's Arthur?" Lancelot asked Merlin.
"Oh, he said you can begin sparring whenever you're ready," Merlin answered.
"That's good enough for me," Gwaine said. "Let's get started."
The four warriors agreed that Merlin was to give the signal, after which they would spar until one side surrendered or was disarmed.
"Begin!" Merlin cried, then stepped back as swords clashed immediately.
Although Lancelot and Leon began the match with their backs against each other, they were soon separated. Percival drew Leon away and then stepped between him and Lancelot, at the same time that Gwaine managed to pivot around Lancelot so that Gwaine and Percival were back to back, with Leon and Lancelot on the outside.
Lancelot wondered if they had planned it, or if chance happened to smile upon the two.
Gwaine was rapidly beating down Lancelot's defenses. Lancelot was a decent enough swordsman who could face most of Camelot's knights, but here was a formidable foe indeed. He barely parried Gwaine's next blow. Gwaine threw his shoulder against Lancelot, causing him to stumble. Before he could recover his balance, Gwaine used his free hand to push Lancelot to the ground and his sword to flick Lancelot's blade away from his grip.
"That is a dirty and dishonorable move," Leon yelled. He was apparently keeping his eyes on both his own fight and Lancelot's.
"You should pay more attention," Percival said tersely before bringing his sword down on Leon's blade. The force was so great, and Leon so distracted, that Leon dropped his weapon with a clang. As Leon stared at his sword in the grass, Percival sheathed his.
"Well," he said casually. "I guess this bout is over."
Percival walked to where Gwaine was helping Lancelot up.
"No hard feelings?" Gwaine asked.
"No hard feelings," Lancelot reassured him.
"You don't think it was a dirty move?"
"It is not something I would have done, but I understand why you did it," Lancelot replied. "Even an honorable man, if desperate enough, will do anything within his means to survive. I know I have."
"And here Merlin had told me you were a man of honor," Gwaine commented casually. Before Lancelot could respond, Percival interrupted.
"He is. And I wouldn't question it if I were you," Percival said in a low voice.
Normally, Gwaine would bridle at the veiled threat and make the man eat his words, but oddly enough he felt no anger. He could see that Lancelot held a few painful secrets and Percival, privy to some of them, was trying to protect his friend.
Friend. He turned the word over in his mind. It was true, what he told Merlin, about not having many friends. And if Percival was a friend to Lancelot, Lancelot a friend to Merlin, and Merlin a friend to him, then by extension Percival was a friend to him as well. Right?
He shook his head. He needed a drink to help him sort out this suddenly expanded circle of friends.
"Want to go to the tavern?" He asked Percival and Lancelot.
They exchanged looks. So maybe the rumors about Gwaine the drunkard were true after all.
"The tavern?" Leon exclaimed. He had come over and overheard the last part of the conversation.
"Yeah, the tavern. What about it?" Gwaine turned to him defiantly.
"Practice isn't over," Leon said, as if stating the obvious.
"We beat you."
"So we go again and again. That is what training means. It isn't about who wins, but about becoming more skilled."
"So you want to be beaten again?"
Part of Leon wanted to tear his own hair out, and the other part wanted to tear Gwaine's hair out. How could anyone stand such an infuriatingly arrogant person? He glared daggers at Gwaine's back as Percival and Gwaine moved to the other side of the field.
"Why do you do that?" Percival asked.
"What?" Gwaine asked, though he knew exactly what Percival meant.
"Rile him up."
"He deserves it," Gwaine shrugged.
"What did he do to you?"
"Threw me in prison."
"Ah," Percival coughed, at a loss for words. He really should have left the talking and the exploring of feelings to Lancelot. He really should not have opened his mouth in the first place.
"Don't worry," Gwaine smiled reassuringly. "I won't let it happen again."
Percival groaned. The Knights of the Round Table, as some had taken to calling them, were far from united.
Fortunately, before the group fractured any further, Arthur and Elyan returned from their practice.
"Sir Leon," Arthur called.
"Yes, sire?" Leon responded.
"I want you to take Elyan here and make sure he gets the best training he can get from you," Arthur intimated.
"From me?" Leon repeated. He had not had to train a new recruit in a very long time.
"Is that going to be a problem?" Arthur asked. He did not raise his voice, nor did his face show any emotion, but there was an undercurrent of steel in his tone, and Leon was reminded that Arthur was Uther's son.
"No, sire," Leon said hastily.
"Good. I want to see his progress at the end of the week."
With that, Arthur clapped Sir Leon on the shoulder and strode off toward the other knight. Leon did not know quite what to make of the gesture. Arthur was a cold, commanding ruler one second and a friendly, egalitarian peer the next. No wonder poor Merlin looked so lost most of the time.
"Well, Elyan, let's get on with our training."
"Sure."
For Leon, Elyan was the one he could most easily embrace as a knight. He was brave, loyal, and honest, at least when they had played together as children. Did Elyan remember those times? They had played knights and bandits, with Gwen sometimes taking part, until their parents found out and forbid them from playing together.
As if he had read Leon's mind, Elyan asked, "Just like knights and bandits, Leon?"
Leon smiled.
"Something like that."
Thank you for your guest review!
Readers, so so sorry it has taken so long to post an update. I hope this can tide you over the Thanksgiving holiday (if you are American) before another one gets posted. Stay tuned as the knights fight creatures and inner demons alike.
