Chapter 9: The Druids

LANCELOT

We followed the mysterious messenger for hours. Our feet were aching and the lack of food was definitely getting to us, but that wasn't what bothered me. I could feel the stares of my friends boring into my back. I knew that things would never be the same between us, not after I'd helped to hide Merlin's secret.

Merlin, I thought. Wherever you are, I hope that you'll be able to handle Arthur's wrath if we return. I shook my head. When we return, I amended. We could not afford to fail. Gwaine followed our mysterious friend closely. Arthur was only a few strides behind him while Guinevere and I walked side by side. Although her hands were clenched, and her nostrils flared a little when she looked my way, she was the only one who could stand to be around me for the time being.

After minutes of silence punctuated by the cawing of predatory birds and mulch crunching under our feet, Gwen drew in closer to me. As quietly as she could, she whispered, "Why did you do it?" I looked down at her as we walked slowly, intentionally falling even further behind Gwaine and Arthur.

"Why did I not betray Merlin to the people who would most likely tie him up and set him alight?"

Gwen's jaw muscles flexed, and her eyes became intense. "How dare you? Do you think so little of us? We would have done no such thing!"

"And Arthur? He is the prince of Camelot. He of all people must abide by the kingdom's laws. Do you think he could choose between his best friend and his duty? I did not wish to put Arthur in that position, nor did I want to betray Merlin's confidence." I stated firmly. Gwen pursed her lips and turned away from me.

Our guide suddenly stopped. "We are here," they announced. We looked around the copse of trees and saw nothing unusual.

"Where, exactly, is here?" Arthur snarled. "There's no one around! I knew we shouldn't have trusted you!" He made to turn and storm off in the direction we came from.

"Patience is a virtue of kings and queens, Arthur Pendragon," our guide rasped without turning around. Arthur fumed but remained where he was. Seconds ticked by and then there was a rustling in the bushes.

"Who's there?" a voice called. "What do you want with us?" A peppered hair man, clad in a dull green cloak emerged from the foliage. He carried a long white staff in his right hand. Our guide stepped forward and showed the man something. I could not see what is was, but the man immediately paled and bowed to our mysterious friend, who turned back to face us.

"I have done my duty," they said. "I will take my leave now." Then our guide faded into a swirl of nothingness. Gwaine gave a startled shout while Arthur, Leon, Percival and Elyan leapt back in shock. Gwen jumped as well, but I stayed rooted to the spot. I believed something like this might happen; everything about the figure in grey screamed magic. Still, it was disconcerting to watch someone vanish into thin air.

The only one who didn't seem surprised in the least was the stranger in the green cloak. He stepped forward and said, "Follow me." He turned around and was about to head back into the forest when Gwaine stopped him.

"Why should we trust you?"

The man turned back, bewildered.

"Are you not here at the behest of the White Lady?" he asked. We exchanged glances.

"White Lady?" I asked tentatively. "Who is she? Our guide from a moment ago," I glanced at the spot where they vanished. "Mentioned the lady in white as well, but we have never heard of her, much less met her." The man frowned.

"A very powerful being," he replied vaguely. "Now follow me. You are searching for the one known as Emrys, yes?"

Arthur nodded. The green clad man eyed Arthur quickly with a sad look in his eyes that was not hard to miss. Arthur's own eyes widened briefly, then he straightened his shoulders and started forward with a huff. The rest of us followed suit and began another long trek through the forest.

By the time night fell, we had arrived at a large camp.

"You shall stay with us for the time being," the man in green told us in a low voice. My spirits rose as I realized that this wasn't any ordinary camp; it was a camp of Druids. Perhaps they could help us. I saw my companions' faces light up as well.

Then I really examined our gracious hosts, and my heart sank. There weren't many adults, and even fewer children. The only little boy and girl - both terribly gaunt - stared at us out of large, tired eyes. I assumed they were siblings as they had the same mousy brown hair and thin lips.

"They are here on behalf of the White Lady," our guide suddenly announced. Whispers immediately erupted around the campsite, and the two children ran to hide behind their mother's skirt. Slowly, the chatter died down and everyone turned to stare at us. There were so many emotions written on their faces - wariness, fear, awe, curiosity, and maybe even respect. The flames dancing across their features made it all the more eerie. I glanced at my companions uneasily. Who was this White Lady that the mere mention of her caused such an uproar?

"Please sit," a voice whispered. We turned to see a kindly woman ladling soup into wooden bowls. Her robe - once a rich shade of violet - was faded and worn with long use. I couldn't see her face as her auburn locks shaded her eyes, but she seemed fairly young. "If you are truly here because of the White Lady, you must have traveled far. She does not give easy tasks."

"But… why would you do that?" Arthur's voice broke the silence. "You don't know us - for all you know, we could be here to rob you!" The woman didn't look up from her task.

"You are not here to rob us. You don't mean us any harm," she said. She sounded so confident that Arthur nearly had a stroke.

"What do you mean? How do you know that? Do you know who we are? Who I am?" Arthur exclaimed.

"They are knights of Camelot," the woman motioned to us, then glanced at Gwen. "And she is the future queen. You are Arthur Pendragon," she said calmly. "Son of Uther Pendragon and Emrys' mission." A few people gasped and one young man practically fell over in shock. Arthur paled.

"How do you know this?" he said hoarsely. "And what do you mean by Emrys' mission? Does is have something to do with Merlin?" For the first time, the woman raised her head and we could clearly see her bright blue eyes. They were unusually pale. I looked closer, then realized with a jolt that the woman was blind.

"Emrys' duty was to protect you, he who would save Albion in its time of need," the blind woman said. The young man who had fallen over earlier was now sitting up and glaring at us. He fiddled with something in his hand. It made me a bit uneasy.

Arthur blinked. "Wait, Merlin's job was to protect me? Merlin?"

"Emrys is powerful. It is said that he is the greatest sorcerer to ever walk this earth." A stunned silence followed this statement. Merlin must possess great restraint and humility if he was hiding a power this great for so long. However, the moment didn't last long.

"You're pretty," a small voice piped up. We all looked around to see the little girl tugging at Gwen's dress. "Are you really gonna be the next queen?"

"I… well, I don't…" Gwen spluttered. She glanced at Arthur and their eyes met. Both quickly looked away, red-faced. She was saved from answering by the little boy.

"She don't look like a queen. Look at her clothes! Aren't queens s'pposed to dress all fancy and stuff?" he asked, peering at Gwen closely. The little girl rolled her eyes.

"That's 'cause she's on a mission, silly. She can't go around looking like a queen in a forest! Bandits would jump her right away! And besides, a heavy, fancy dress is no good for running around in," she declared smugly. The boy fumed.

"So? Queens ain't supposed to do anything anyway! They're just s'pposed to sit back and let the men do the work. Women don't know how to use a sword." I had to bite my lip to keep from chuckling, and I noticed a few others doing the same. Oh, if only the little boy had had a chance to meet Hale. The thought saddened me, but I wasn't able to dwell on it for very long.

"Not true! I bet there's plenty of queens and ladies that can fight! I know I can beat you in a wrestling contest," here she grinned smugly at the boy, who turned bright red. "And look at her hands!" The girl grabbed Gwen's hands and shoved them in the boy's face. "They're all callused and stuff. This queen ain't a lazy noble lady like all the rest. She knows how to work." The girl glared triumphantly at the boy, unaware that she hadn't let go of Gwen's hands.

"That don't mean she can save us!" the boy snapped. "That stupid Cairon is still tearing everything up! Look at what he did to the village of Howden! Everyone was turned to skeletons in minutes! What can one 'queen' and her escorts," he glared at the rest of us, "do against someone like that? They don't have magic! Heck, that one," he pointed angrily at Arthur. "Despises magic. Why are they even here anyway? They can't do anything!" The little boy huffed, and it broke my heart to see someone so young filled with so much fear and despair. The little girl was trembling, and looked like she was on the verge of tears. She turned and buried her face in Gwen's dress. Gwen leaned down and embraced the girl, then looked up at the little boy.

"You're right," she said quietly. "We can't do anything against Cairon as we are now. However, we came here to seek aid. We need to find someone who can help us in the battle against Cairon. That person is Emrys, a powerful sorcerer," she stumbled on the last word and Arthur winced. "And a very dear friend of ours. Once we find him, and we will find him, we will go to battle. Arthur is a good man, and is devoted to his kingdom. The knights of Camelot are just as devoted. We will look for allies, and even if Camelot stands alone in this battle, we will win."

"But how do you know?" the boy cried. "So many others have tried to bring Cairon down, and now they're all dead!" Gwen reached out a hand and placed it on the boy's shoulder.

"We will win because good always triumphs over evil," she said calmly. "It won't be easy, and there will be many casualties, but I truly believe that we can win. Albion was not meant to fall to the likes of Cairon." The boy's eyes were wide, and he looked at Gwen with a mixture of skepticism, awe, and maybe even a little hope. Arthur looked at Gwen in much the same fashion, although there was definitely pride in his gaze.

"Spoken like a true queen," the girl mumbled into Gwen's skirt. Her head suddenly popped up. "See? She's definitely queen material! She's nice, pretty, and strong! I believe in them! They're definitely gonna win!" the girl proclaimed. Gwen smiled and hugged her tighter.

"Thank you for having faith in us," Gwen told the girl quietly. "It means a lot to me. To us." They smiled at each other.

"Well, ain't that sweet. I think I'm gonna get a cavity," a voice sneered. For the umpteenth time that day, we whirled around to find the camp surrounded. About two dozen men, all dressed in dark clothes and wielding shimmering swords, leered at us from the trees. The man who had spoken, apparently the leader, stepped forward.

"It's an honor to finally meet'cha, Arthur Pendragon." He grinned. "Lord Cairon's had his eye on you for quite some time now. I was told you hated magic though. Imagine his surprise when we tell him we found and killed you in a camp of Druids."

Immediately, we all drew our swords. How had Cairon's men managed to find us? Gwen grabbed the little boy and girl and shoved them behind her. She grabbed a sturdy branch lying on the ground nearby and waved it threateningly.

"Go to your parents, and stay back. All right?" she told the children. They nodded fearfully and rushed to their mother's waiting arms. The leader tutted.

"A charming gesture, but useless. You're all gonna die tonight anyway. Can't have potential threats wandering around, no matter how insignificant they are. You," he turned to the angry young man from before, who jumped. "Get yer ass outta here. Guess you weren't as useless as you look." Nodding and trembling, the young man leapt to his feet. That's when all the pieces fell into place.

"You betrayed us?" one of the women asked, horrified. "You sided with Cairon?"

"You're all insane if you think he can be stopped," he snapped. "If you want to survive, you have to be on the side that wins. Since they," he pointed at us. "are apparently the best hope for defeating Cairon, I think it's pretty clear who will be triumphant." The woman growled.

"TRAITOR!" she screamed. "How dare you side with the one who has killed so many innocents? Who betrayed the Druids that only wanted to help him?"

"It was the Druids who gave him power in the first place!" he roared back. He was about to continue when the leader yanked him back.

"I said get yer ass outta here," he snarled in the young man's ear threateningly. "I give orders, you follow them no questions asked. I'dve killed you for your back-talk but you actually gave us some good information. I ain't gonna be so nice next time. Got that?" The young man nodded, and scampered off into the forest as soon as the leader let him go. The leader watched him then turned back to us with a bloodthirsty grin on his face.

"So. Who's gonna die first?"