CHAPTER 8 : ESCORTING A DUKE
Arthur woke early the next morning. He'd forgotten how comforting it was to have Merlin's arm over him. He propped up his head and looked around their turret room which was filled with so many happy memories.
He looked at the window trying to figure the time but it was overcast and the sun's shadow was absent. His eyes flickered to the table and he saw the pot of primroses. Merlin was an incurable romantic. He thought of the times when primroses had played an important part in their lives. How could such an insignificant plant, found growing along the ditches and hedgerows of the kingdom, carry such a forceful message, 'I can't live without you!'
Merlin stirred and Arthur snuggled back down into his embrace. There was no hurry to get up, it was nice just lying there, imagining...
The sun was finally shining by the time, Merlin got up. He insisted that he was going to be daring and go downstairs to the antechamber to bring up their breakfast.
"...and if you get caught by the patrol. How would you explain disappearing behind a curtain with breakfast platters?"
"You weren't hungry but I was famished and I was going to scoff it all in secret?"
"As if that would fly! But then you have lost a lot of weight, so maybe someone would believe you. How did it happen? Look, I can see you hips and ribs quite clearly."
Merlin thought, 'Gawaine would say, tell him!' "Well, I was worried..."
"Why, what do you ever have to worry about?"
"You!"
Arthur's face dropped. He had been responsible for the weight loss because of his thoughtlessness. He felt sick. Why hadn't he seen it? But then he remembered how he had treated Merlin over the last month. He hadn't made eye contact and certainly hadn't checked him out as he was doing now.
"I'm sorry. My mind was so preoccupied with someone else."
Merlin returned and sat on the edge of the bed. "We were both preoccupied and why not. We were in shock. Life seemed to have left us behind and we were floundering to the surface but getting nowhere fast."
"You, really wanted little Merlin to live didn't you?"
"Arthur, it was one of the things that I would think about when I lay by myself in bed, waiting, hoping that you would return from Guinevere's room. That the forced separation would all be worthwhile, if one day, you would have let me hold your son or daughter.
"And, you did. You were so generous with him. You gave me the chance to know how my Mam felt when she had me and how Igraine must have felt when she first saw you. Then I thought of all the men who lose their sons, not all newborns, some toddlers or even teenagers, others adults in battles, and I realised that our ability to mourn is directly related to our ability to love.
"I'm not sounding girlie, am I Arthur?"
"No Merlin, you are just sounding like the special man without whom my whole life is pointless. It is in loving Gaius and you, that I was able to love Little Merlin. I will never regret grieving his death, as his being with us that night was worth all the tears and grief over the last couple of weeks."
"I love you Arthur Pendragon, Prince of Camelot!"
"...and I love you Merlin, best friend and only love interest of said Arthur Whatever-His-Name."
Breakfast was never brought up to the chamber, but Merlin and Arthur did get down to their royal chambers for lunch. They were both starving and every time Merlin stretched over for another piece of bread or cheese, Arthur smiled across at him. He thought, 'I'll make sure that he eats.'
There was a knock on the door and a subdued Gielbert walked in, but when he saw their faces and the smiles, he became relaxed and thought, 'Thank God...' He said, "The king was wondering if you were joining us this afternoon. He wants a group of knights to meet up with and escort the Duke of Locksly to the castle. Something to do with the elderly Duke, as he has no heirs..."
Merlin's stomach clenched and he sneaked a quick glance at Arthur but he had on his down-to-business face and although he had clenched his fists, gave no other indication of how the words had affected him. His mind went back to what they were talking about.
Gielbert continued, "...wanting to form an alliance with Camelot. Then upon his death, his holdings will by law belong to Camelot. Seems the duchy is large and favourable so once Sir Rupert came back from visiting with him, and gave the king all the information this meeting, was arranged."
Arthur was much brighter. "Sounds great! Time I got out of this place. Merlin you'll come too. An outing without fighting or hunting would do you good. What time are we leaving?"
Merlin dressed Arthur with a light heart. He was twice reminded about his wandering hands but they still made it to the courtyard as their horses were arriving with their grooms. Mulgan danced impatiently as Arthur mounted. Merlin had to stop to have a word with Gidun before mounting him.
Arthur said, "Excuse me, but was that a morsel of royal bread, I just saw disappearing into your horse's mouth?"
"Well, he likes me to bring him treats, he'll even eat sprouts because he knows they are good for him not like someone else I know!"
"You, Merlin, are going to be the death of me!"
"Don't say that, Arthur, even fooling. I could never live if due to some action of mine you were hurt, let alone died. Promise me that in the most dangerous of situations that you will always listen to me and do what I tell you?"
Arthur wheeled Mulgan towards the portcullis and called over his shoulder, "Merlin, who do you think you are, my guardian angel?"
Merlin thought, 'If you only knew the half of it...!'
The escort of knights chatted as they rode through the forest to the designated meeting point. Arthur was disappointed as they saw a wild boar, usually so difficult to find. "We'll come back hunting as they must be living in the area."
Merlin suddenly saw Gidun looking into the distance and motioned to the others to stop and be quiet. Suddenly a wild sow and six little piglets with their tails held high crossed the trail. Arthur almost fell off Mulgan as he had never seen a litter in the daylight. Merlin was mesmerized by not only how adorable they looked but at their resemblance to fawns but with striped coats.
"We'll be back this way again. Roast suckling pig, just what the doctor ordered, Merlin!"
Merlin almost turned green. How could Arthur be so hard hearted? Then, he remembered that in Ealdor all the little piglets grew up to feed the villagers. He leant over to Mulgan and said, loudly enough for Arthur and the others to hear, "Mull, old friend, be thankful you aren't edible as I wouldn't trust your master."
Retaliating by pulling ahead and talking to Gidun, Arthur said, "Gidun, old pal, be thankful I haven't sent you and Merlin to live in France!"
"That was uncalled for, Arthur. If you must pick on someone pick on Gielbert as he came back from his wedding, waxing about chevaline and I actually saw him eyeing Mulgan the other day and by the look of it, he was evaluating him for the table!"
Gielbert laughed saying, "Don't knock it, if you haven't tried it!"
Soon they reached the meeting point and dismounted, loosening girths and letting the horses drink from a nearby stream. Two of the knights rode ahead, to see if they could see Camelot's guest in the distance.
The knights were relaxing, when one of the horses threw up its head and whinnied. "Mount up!" Arthur ordered. This was delayed as girths were tightened and knights lined up. They could hear horses heading their way and they stood respectfully waiting for the guests.
Suddenly around the bend, cantering came two of the castle destriers, one without a rider and the other having a rider with an arrow protruding from his back, slumped in the saddle. The horses stopped as they reached their stablemates.
Arthur motioned for the rest of the knights to enter the woods, Romney grabbed Jonathan's horse's bridle and rode a little further into the woods. He leaned over to see if he was breathing but it was impossible to tell but by the amount of blood, he wasn't optimistic. Merlin appeared on foot and managed to reach up to Jonathan's chest but shook his head as he could feel no pulse and as upsetting as it was he knew that the arrow had pierced him through and was embedded in the saddle. The knight wouldn't be falling off his horse.
Suddenly, they could hear the sounds of a battle and Romney left Merlin with Jonathan to ride to the aid of his brother knights. Merlin was momentarily torn, stay with the body or return to Arthur. He needed to have Arthur in his sight so he tied the horse to a tree and told it he would be back. It was quite happy eating the leaves which it could reach.
He crept back and saw the knights fighting what looked like bandits, well trained bandits to boot! He crept forward and noticed one on the ground near a horse, by the angle of his neck he could see that he was dead. Having worked with swords since he'd been with Arthur, he was impressed at the quality of the workmanship of the sword near the bandit.
Creeping forward, he could see the main engagement. The knights were slowly decimating the bandits but he saw one standing to one side, still except for the twisting of his head and what looked like the wringing of his hands. Arthur was in the clear and Romney had his back. He could pick out Gielbert and Valentin. They were all accounted for but Rawn whose horse had come back with Jonathan's, but without him.
Merlin circled around and came up near the non-fighting bandit. He could hear him mumbling and as the man turned his head, Merlin realised that he was gagged. He took a second look and saw that this was an older man. He caught his eye and said, "Duke...?"
The man's eyes widened and he looked really frightened. He turned to run but stumbled and fell to the ground, hands tied in front of him.
Merlin heard him grunt. He was beside him in an instant and said quietly, "I'll help you up." He pulled him into a sitting position. "I'm Merlin, I am with Prince Arthur." Again, the man's eyes widened. "Let me remove your gag." The man held still and Merlin was able to remove not only the gag but the cords around his wrists.
"What happened? Where is your escort?"
"Dead or tied up like me. They ambushed us but I was the only one they took with them."
Merlin led him over to some rocks and managed to partially hide him. "Stay here. I have to go to look after...I mean, check on the fighting. I will be back, don't worry."
Merlin could hear the sounds of a diminished assault. He came through the trees to see, six bodies on the ground, four bandits and two of the duke's escort. He couldn't find Arthur and thought, 'Why did I bother with the Duke, I should have been here for him!' Then, he saw him, sitting on a log, his head in his hands; he walked over to him and sat beside him.
"Merlin, is that you? I think I need help..." and in true Arthurian style, he rolled off the log out for the count!
Merlin crawled over to him. His pulse was strong but he had blood all over his face. His breathing was normal with no limbs at strange angles. Merlin pulled him up against the log. A nasty slice over his eye was the reason for all the blood..."
There was a scream and the final bandit was dispatched, slowly the other knights returned to the glade.
Catching Romney's cloak as he passed, Merlin told him to follow him as he had the Duke hidden. "They were ambushed; somewhere his escort is tied up hopefully Rawn is with them." He led him to the Duke and introduced them. The Duke's eyes lit up as he saw Camelot's red cloaked knight.
"Go back to Arthur," Romney said, "We'll come over slowly." Then Merlin was gone.
By the time he got back, Arthur was awake but groggy, "So, you decided to have a nap, Oh Mighty One?" Arthur glared at him so Merlin dug him in the ribs.
Valentin sitting nearby, grinned, Merlin always made him laugh even in serious situations.
"Arthur, I found the Duke, he and his men were ambushed. Romney will be here with him soon. Also, I've bad news..."
"It's Jonathan, isn't it? Is he alive?"
"He didn't make it, he's dead. It must have been quick as the arrow pieced him through and is embedded in the saddle. Hopefully, Rawn is with the Duke's men."
As if on cue, the Duke and Romney appeared out of the trees. Merlin hoisted Arthur to his feet and that started the bleeding again on his forehead. Merlin took off his neckerchief and tied it around his head. Arthur, looking like a pirate, was introduced to the Sir William, the Duke of Locksly. The remaining knights gathered round and made plans. Gielbert and Valentin would advance along to trail on foot hoping to find Rawn.
Merlin offered to go and collect Jonathan and his horse. In no time, he brought him back to the glade. Jonathan had been invested the same year as Arthur and Merlin could see that it brought home to Arthur, how dangerous a knight's life could be. They had gone from suckling pig to death of a knight in such a short time.
The Duke was a feisty old chap. He insisted that the bandits were too well trained to be your usual raggle-taggle types. They sounded from the area and nothing out of the way had struck him, except that the one who had gagged and tied him up hadn't hurt him and had apologized that it was necessary.
Romney collected all the swords and daggers and they were all high quality weapons. "Arthur, I think that these were mercenaries in disguise. Did anyone get anything out of the last bandit before he died?"
None of those present were able to shed any further light on the subject. They had seven swords which they would take back to Camelot, spoils of an afternoon outing, and the body of one of the knights. Arthur felt responsible but when they had left they had not expected to be attacked and although they had swords, they were wearing no chain mail. There were supposed to be an honour guard and they were still in the kingdom of Camelot.
They stood there, each one trying to figure out what had gone so awfully wrong. Valentin came down the trail, "Arthur, we found them. No one is dead but Rawn has been beaten up and I think he's got a broken leg. It's safe up there and I think the Duke's men would be happy to see him. All the horses are accounted for including the six belonging to the bandits. The man left to guard everyone took off when the fighting stopped but when we appeared, he was too far ahead of us so we let him go."
Arthur said, "Good, he can tell his leader not to mess with us, even if we were not prepared for a fight."
Merlin smiled as he could see that Arthur was back in form and completely in charge of their little band of victors. "Arthur, can I go to check on Rawn. Before we try to get him back to Camelot on a horse, I'd like to go over him."
Arthur turned away from the others, he had a grin on his face and he said quietly, "No taking liberties with poor Rawn. Your roaming hands belong to only me."
Merlin was shocked. How could Arthur even think that he didn't know the difference especially as he had so often helped Gaius? "Arthur, I can't believe you said that!"
Arthur grinned, "One point for me. Go on, I was fooling but I got you. Right?"
Grabbing Gidun's reins and shaking his head at Arthur, he left to ride up the trail. His mind was on how he intended to get even with Arthur. Suddenly he knew that he was not alone. He trusted Gidun and as the horse turned his head, he aligned himself so he could see between his ears. Sure enough there was another horse in the woods. He walked Gidun, slowly towards it and saw that its reins were entagled in the branches of a fallen tree.
Merlin dismounted and made his way towards it and unhooked the reins. He was impressed with the look of the horse and its tack. He led it back to Gidun, and mounted leading it. He could hear voices up ahead and waited, better to be sure than sorry. He saw a flash of red and realised it was Gielbert. He reached the group and one of the servants cried out when he saw the horse. "Sir William's horse, he'll be so pleased to have him back."
Rawn was looking pretty much like Gawaine often looked, following a tavern brawl. His face was turning black and blue and his eyes were scrunched up in pain. Merlin went over him carefully. The leg was broken but it felt like a clean break and was not yet too swollen. "Jonathan?" was all he said.
"With the others..." lied Merlin, He wanted to get his leg in a splint before discussing the death of the other man. "Is there anyone here who has had experience with broken limbs?"
A little man stepped forward and explained that he had sometimes helped the Duke's physician with battle injuries. Merlin told him to get two branches as straight as possibly and the width of his wrist. He then told Gielbert to hang onto Rawn's shoulders and with one move he placed the leg in a more normal position. Rawn made not a sound, however tears ran down his cheek from the excruciating pain.
The other man, Charlie had reappeared and Merlin and he managed to immobilise the leg in a splint. He said, "You'll be alright now and Gaius will see you as soon as we get back. Hang in there, Rawn!"
Gielbert and the Duke's top advisor got the others organized and mounted and slowly the stragglers made their way down the trail to where Arthur and the Duke were. Merlin took Arthur on one side and said that Rawn would be unable to ride but that they could make a litter and it could be carried between two horses. He asked if Gidun could be one of the horses and chose Romney's to be the other carrier as they were well matched in size and movement. Arthur nodded.
And so the little band of men, made up of Arthur and four knights, the Duke and most of his escort made there way slowly to Camelot as Merlin, Romney, and four of the Dukes's men made there was back up the trail to build a litter for Rawn.
It was dark by the time Merlin and the others reached the outskirts of Camelot. Other knights hearing about Jonathan's death met them with torches and escorted their brother knight back home. Rawn had not got a glimpse of Jonathan's body and had traveled mostly with his eyes closed, as every hoof beat, brought pain.
Merlin was exhausted, he dismounted and undid the ties holding the litter between the horses. Gaius was waiting and when Rawn heard his voice, he visibly relaxed. Jonathan's horse was led away with an escort of four knights. Merlin didn't relish their job, he just wanted bed but his job wasn't finished and he walked following the litter to Gaius's, taking Charlie with him as he figured an extra set of experienced hands might come in useful.
Gaius saw to Rawn immediately. He rebound the leg and put on new splints congratulating the two of them for their professional work. Rawn was out of it after one of Gaius's draughts. "Are you two hungry?" Both were starving but bed seemed a better solution. They could eat tomorrow.
Romney came in to check on Rawn and offered to take Charlie to the quarters assigned to the Duke's servants. He turned to Merlin and said, "...and you young man, look dead on your feet. I don't know where Arthur is at the moment but if I were you I'd nip upstairs and get forty winks before he arrives."
Merlin didn't hear Arthur arrive, he only knew that when he woke up in the middle of the night that someone was beside him with their arm around his shoulders so he rolled towards him and snuggled in.
He could feel the sweat running down his back, he couldn't go any faster.
Arthur was up ahead of him leaving him behind.
He had to get to him before the piglets did. Their eyes were red and their tusks gleamed in the moonlight.
Arthur turned to him yelling, "A lot of help you are, Idiot!"
He watched as the first piglet latched onto his calf and then he was down, out of nowhere the sow appeared and latched onto his throat while her offspring were in a feeding frenzy.
He yelled, "Arthur!"
Arthur put his arms around him and whispered, "Merlin My Love, you're dreaming, I'm right here..."
