Humiliation

(A/N: Second up today. If bullying triggers you, be warned.)

Agravaine stared numbly down, pale. It went too far. He could see it had gone too far. Everyone could see! Even Brandelis could see. The horrified gasps and screams, then the alarmed murmuring, then… then the anguished cries…

Subduing them had been as easy as catching them alone where no other people were. They came up from behind, him and Brandelis, and they knocked the two out. They'd dragged Segwarides and Hoel off into the alcoves above the assembly hall. They'd stripped them to their loincloths and bound them to chairs. The two had woken up and there was panic. When they realized who it was who'd done this to them, there was defiance.

"Hey Hoel, remember when we hung Artie from the net during that assembly where the ogre came and took him away? Yeah. That's gonna be you soon," Brandelis had sneered. "You and your little Arabic buddy both. Revenge is a bitch, huh? Especially when you're the price for someone else's stupidity. Hey, you can thank Arthur for this. And Segwarides can thank his moron brothers for it too."

"You are going to pay!" Segwarides said, spitting out the last word.

"I'm counting on it," Brandelis replied. Segwarides jerked against his bonds, but it was pointless and all he got for his trouble was a punch across the face.

"I call Hoel," Agravaine said. "Blood and all that."

"Sc-Screw you Agravaine!" Hoel shouted. He'd been rewarded with a beat down for that.

"Stop! Stop it! You are going to kill him!" Segwarides had freaked out.

"Oh please, you think we don't know how to avoid murder?" Brandelis replied.

Sure enough, Agravaine stopped. When Hoel's eyes were both black, his lips were swollen and bloodied, a deep gash was carved into his nose, and three gashes were on his cheek. "Nothing personal cuz, err second cuz, but money's too good to pass up."

"B-bastard!" Hoel spat out. "Oh wait. Th-that w-would be your fr-freak of a little b-brother Mordred!" Agravaine all but leapt on top of him, totally unleashing. Segwarides, though, had managed to throw himself against Agravaine, knocking him off Hoel before he really did beat him unconscious. Brandelis had pulled Segwarides off him and given him a real good work-over. Split lip, gash across the forehead, gash down the side of his face, bruises covering it. It wasn't pretty. Neither of them were very pretty when they finished with them…

But Agravaine began to feel regret…

"You want to what? No! We need to leave it at this," he said to Bran de Lis, watching his second cousin subtly and a bit guiltily.

"You're being paid to help me humiliate them. The beatings they brought on themselves," Brandelis replied. "Thought you'd consider it a bonus."

"I know we agreed to hang them from the nets, but we're pushing our luck as it is. Segwarides's brothers see him like this, we're in for more than we bargained for," Agravaine replied. "If nothing else we should at least dangle them clothed instead of, you know, next to naked?" It might as well be fully naked when they were hanging upside down, he wryly noted to himself. Why did this idea even cross Brandelis's mind, again?

Brandelis seemed to seriously consider Agravaine's words. He too saw they were maybe going too far now… "My father will have your heads," Segwarides all but confirmed. "Let Hoel go, and I will make their retribution less painful for you than it will already be."

"I'm n-not g-going anywhere," Hoel said, glaring darkly at their captors.

Segwarides was quiet. "But then you will suffer too," he replied.

"Y-yeah. I-I know. B-but hey, w-worth the rush," Hoel said, smirking at Segwarides. Segwarides started then smirked back, amused. Rolling his eyes, Brandelis went directly to Segwarides and punched him in the stomach, eliciting a cry of pain from him. "Hey! Hey, leave him alone!" Hoel immediately protested.

"That was a message from Lancelot for Palamedes," Brandelis said, ignoring him. "And this?" He punched him in the chest. Segwarides made a loud and anguished sound that wasn't quite a scream but wasn't not a scream either. "That's a message from Galihoden for Safir."

"Man whore!" Segwarides shouted in fury. Brandelis stiffened, then just like that he was on top of Segwarides, unleashing on him. It had taken Agravaine's all to drag him off the Saracen prince before he ended up getting them both executed for murder. Segwarides was left barely conscious by the beating, and Brandelis's body… It was shuddering… Agravaine didn't have long to think about why that was, though.

"We need to get them ready to drop in on the assembly," Agravaine said in an attempt to pacify Brandelis, who still quivered in his arms.

"Leave. The Saracen. To me," he darkly and dangerously said, voice shaking with rage.

"Not when you're in this state," Agravaine replied.

Brandelis had managed to calm down enough for Agravaine to feel comfortable with allowing it, eventually. His mistake. Hoel and Segwarides had been separated, each at one end of the court, and their ankles bound by the ropes that would suspend them. Agravaine had tried to talk Brandelis into backing down or clothing them again. Brandelis had refused and made it worse, subtracting loincloths from the equation altogether. Agraviane had tried to protest, but when Bran had almost turned on him, he backed down, totally thrown as to Brandelis's behavior and how to take it. The guy wasn't usually this... sadistic. Like ever. It was kind of worrying him and freaking him out. He really, really, really wished he hadn't backed away from trying to talk the guy down now, though…

KAK

The first anguished cry came from one of the Saracen's brothers. "Segwarides!" Safir cried out in grief, all but throwing himself off the bleachers and charging towards his hanging, humiliated, and beaten brother.

"Nay!" Palamedes echoed in grief and horror, shoving his way down the bleachers and practically stepping on anyone in the way before leaping down and racing to his bleeding and unclothed sibling, who dangled upside down openly exposed to everyone. Safir cut the rope deftly. Palamedes caught their brother in his arms and lowered him quickly to the ground before covering him with a cape he often wore, tears spilling from his eyes. Safir gave another anguished cry and sobbed, falling next to their humiliated brother and clinging to his hand tightly and reassuringly. Segwarides clung back whimpering, burying himself in them in shame, desperate to just disappear into nothingness.

"Oh my gods!" Arthur suddenly managed to blurt from the bleachers, leaping up and racing down them. "Hoel! Hoel!"

Hoel's eyes flickered painfully open, little more than slits right now. It took him a minute to process who it was. "H-hey c-cuz," he weakly answered on realizing, giving a pained little smile to try and somehow maybe reassure Arthur he was okay. He wasn't, but he hated to see the grief and guilt and distress in his cousin's eyes... He still cared... Arthur still cared...

"Somebody help me! Help me get him down!" Arthur pled, totally ignoring the remark, probably too panicked to even register it. "Please!" he begged when no one moved to do so. Kay suddenly snapped out of it with a gasp and ran down. Morgan came after him. Kay seized Hoel and Arthur cut the rope. Kay caught the boy and laid him down. Both Arthur and Morgan fell next to their cousiin in alarm, eyes wide in shock and disbelief.

"M-Morgan? Wow… It's b-been a wh-while," Hoel said to her, smiling weakly. Morgan was too stunned to reply.

Agravaine quickly got down out of the rafters unseen. Brandelis joined him. One look at the other told Agravaine that Bran was suddenly really, really regretting this too. Whether out of fear or guilt, though, was hard to tell. But to be fair, it was probably hard to tell with him as well. They exchanged looks.

What have we done...?

Quickly they made their way around to slip into the gym and hopefully go undetected.

KAK

They hadn't even sat down in the bleachers before suddenly Palamedes, shaking in rage, rose, and everything went dead quiet. They heard only his heavy breathing, and soft sobs from Safir as he held Segwarides close. And from Hoel, who was now held tightly in Arthur's arms. Arthur whose teeth were clenched tightly in guilt and grief and regret all, and whose eyes were squeezed shut in pain. Morgan was still, just holding Hoel's hand unable to think of what to do. Kay had backed away to give them space.

All at once Palamedes spun around and shot across the gym. In a second flat he'd caught Lancelot, dragging him from the bleachers and throwing him up against a wall with sabre at his throat. "If thou art behind this, knave, pray. Death shalt not come swift to thee!" he darkly threatened.

"I wasn't behind this, I swear to you I wasn't behind this!" Lancelot immediately defended, eyes still filled with shock. Palamedes, scowling, read his expression… It was the sincerest he'd ever known it to be…

"Then who?" Palamedes darkly asked.

"I don't know," Lancelot answered, shaking his head. He had a pretty good idea, though. Galihoden really, really had it in for the Saracen brothers for whatever reason. He wasn't about to let Palamedes know that, though.

"Then die as their sacrifice!" Palamedes said, and Lancelot genuinely thought he was going to be killed.

"Galihoden! If it was anyone it was Galihoden!" Agravaine suddenly blurted. Brandelis had told him as much. He'd wanted to know where his gold was coming from. He immediately regretted saying it, but he'd seen the anguish and fear that flashed to Gawain's face, and he just… he couldn't see his brother go through that kind of pain! Lancelot was his brother's best friend, and probably his only true one too.

Palamedes looked over quickly, eyes narrowed darkly. Galihoden sat still, pale as a ghost. Palamedes shoved Lancelot away and turned to approach Galihoden, who stood fearfully. "I didn't plan this! I paid him to humiliate them, but I didn't think it would happen like this! I didn't!" he exclaimed in defense. In fact this was worse than anything he ever would have done. Worse than anything he'd expected Bran to even be capable of! Bran wasn't exactly the most hardcore bully out there, so yeah, seeing this side of him was a total shocker.

"Who didst thou pay that I should put him to death with thee, then?" Palamedes murderously asked.

"I-I… It was Agravaine and Brandelis!" Galihoden said. Agravaine wasn't getting away with throwing him under the carriage! Maybe he should have kept Brandelis' name quiet, though… Oops.

"Screw you Galihoden!" Agravaine freaked.

Brandelis for his part, though, was eerily silent, head bowed low. He wouldn't even look up. Palamedes darkly glared at him. He inwardly winced and drew a shaking breath, looking up. "It was my idea," he finally said, tone quiet. "Agravaine just... he just played along. This was all my idea, not his." Palamedes stared at him. Collective murmurs went through the crowd.

"What?" a member of the faculty, Sir Meliot aka Meliant, said, staring at Bran in shock.

Gawain rose, eyes wide and suddenly concerned. "Brandelis… Brandelis, oh my go. What did your…?" he began.

"Stop caring!" Brandelis shouted at him suddenly, shooting to his feet and cutting him off. "Just stop caring, Gawain!" He looked at Palamedes. "Beyond a payment Galihoden had nothing to do with this. If you want blood, take it, but the only one of us you can justifiably kill for this offence is me!"

Palamedes glared darkly at Brandelis. After a while, though, he let out a shuddering breath, bowing his head and lowering his blade, closing his eyes painfully. Brandelis's mouth quivered and he rose, fleeing from the assembly hall. "Bran!" Gawain shouted, immediately going after him. Arthur watched it all in silence, not sure what to even think anymore. Why was Gawain so concerned about him after what he'd done? There was something else going on here, and he just... he didn't know what to make of it.

KAK

"Segwarides, please," Esclabor begged, trying to keep his son calm.

"Where is Hoel?!" Segwarides demanded. "Is he alright?"

"He'll be alright," Pellinore answered for Esclabor. "He's recovering well and has been assured you're alright as well."

"And you'll stay that way. If this is the sort of treatment that you receive in this school…" Esclabor began, enraged to know of what humiliation and shame had befallen his son.

"I want to stay!" Segwarides immediately said, shocking Esclabor. It probably shocked Pellinore even more. "I want to stay," Segwarides repeated.

"Segwarides… After this, after everything that…" Esclabor began.

"There is something good here, abba. Hidden but good," Segwarides insisted. "When something is good it is worth fighting for, so you fight for it and do not give up. That is what you taught us. If you will not let us fight in your battle, then let us fight in this one."

Esclabor was quiet. "Alright," he finally relented. "Alright…"

Segwarides looked over at Palamedes. "You did not hurt him? Bran de Lis?" he asked.

"Nay," Palamedes replied. "Among all those accused, Lancelot alone didst not betray the others. Brandelis alone didst not try and escape his fate by putting it on another. He deserved something for that, and so I gaveth him mercy." Agravaine and Galihoden had spilled their guts. He hadn't been impressed, but neither of them was worth his time.

Segwarides nodded and relaxed a little. "Who came to help Hoel?" he asked.

"Arthur, his cousin, and his other cousin Morgan, Arthur's half-sister," Pellinore said. Segwarides frowned a bit. Again he had missed seeing this 'Arthur', but now Arthur wasn't the only one he'd become intrigued by in this school. Brandelis was climbing the ladder too.

He'd seen regret and hesitation and shame in his eyes before he'd pushed him off… And uncertainty and fear…

KAK

Hoel moaned softly, starting to stir. He grimaced in pain as he slowly woke, and his eye fluttered tiredly open. He looked around. "Hey," a voice said. He frowned and looked over before stiffening up a bit, then relaxing. Arthur.

"H-hey," he said, voice weak. "L-long t-time no s-see, c-cuz."

Arthur was quiet, looking a moment guilty. "Yeah… Guess that's more my fault than yours," he finally replied.

Hoel was quiet, watching Arthur. "I've m-missed you," he finally said.

"I… I know… I missed you too…" Arthur replied. "I'm sorry I ever abandoned you."

"Ab-abandoned? Arthur, th-that's not w-what happened b-between us. We just… got b-busy with our own lives," Hoel said. "I m-mean, interests b-branched off from each other and w-went in di-different di-directions, I guess."

"Yeah… I guess," Arthur replied, offering a weak smile.

The door opened, and Morgan slipped inside. "You're awake. The concoctions worked," she said.

"Oh no. W-what did you p-put in me?" Hoel asked with a groan.

She smirked. "Nothing out of the ordinary. Arthur talked me out of it."

"Thank goodness," Hoel said.

"Figured you'd suffered enough," Arthur flatly said. He looked at Hoel, expression becoming serious. "What happened, man?"

"A-ambushed, knocked out, st-stripped, b-beat up, h-hung from the nets. P-pretty self-explanatory," Hoel answered. "Ju-just… gr-grudges and unease. P-people with p-power don't like losing their p-power. Leave it at that." Arthur looked like he didn't want to, but soon relented. "How's S-Segwarides?" Hoel asked in concern. "The other one st-strung up with me?"

"I don't know," Arthur replied. "Fine, last I understood it."

"Oh… G-guess he w-won't be staying, w-will he? N-not after all of th-that," Hoel said.

"Why do you think I have all the answers?" Arthur bluntly asked.

"He's staying," Pellinore said, entering the room to check on his other student. "He's… intrigued with this place. Why I can't fathom, but it's been determined they'll all stay here. Esclabor leaves in a day or so, and they'll remain as new students. I can only hope they survive. Given how things have been going for them lately, I have my doubts."

"That's a grim prognosis," Arthur said. Pellinore usually wasn't one for grim stuff. The principal simply shrugged.

"G-good. I th-think I could really get t-to like Segwarides," Hoel said. "Curious about his-his b-brothers too."

"So am I," Arthur admitted looking down. And how...

KAK

Esclabor, about to board his ship, held his three sons tightly. "Do not worry, my lights. I will be alright, and I need you to be as well. Can you promise me that?" he said to them.

"Verily father, if thou couldst promise us the same," Palamedes answered.

Esclabor was quiet. Could he, he wondered? "I can only promise to try," he finally replied.

"Then we'll only promise you the same," Safir replied.

"I need more. I need to have the promise that I will have you and your brothers here to come back to when it is all over," Esclabor said. "That will be my incentive to do more than try to keep my promise to you."

"Then we promise," Segwarides said quietly, mumbling against his father's tunic.

"Good. I love you all. Your sister will join you shortly," he said. "Take care of her."

"Verily, father," Palamedes said. "We relish her arrival." He nodded, kissed each of them gently, then boarded the boat and sailed off, them watching forlornly after him and exchanging worried looks with one another. They really hoped they hadn't made a mistake…

As they walked back, Segwarides said, "I would like to meet King Arthur. Do you know where he is? Either of you?"

"I hath also curious been, dear brother," Palamedes said to Safir. Safir was the only one of them who'd actually interacted with Arthur. Beyond a mention of him by Lamorak, Palamedes and Segwarides hadn't even known the guy existed until Safir had come home talking about how Arthur had protected him and Pelleas from Lancelot and the jousting team. Now he was curious too, to meet this young king. Not enough to go out of his way, like Segwarides seemed to be, but enough that if this was an opportunity, he was taking it.

"I don't know where he hangs out. I mean Pelleas might, but I don't," Safir admitted as they reached the courtyard of the school.

"Then we shall seeketh him," Palamedes said.

"Seeketh who?" a voice asked suddenly, making Palamedes jump with a yelp and turn. There, not far off, were Lamorak and his brothers. Lamorak had been the one to ask.

"We seeketh Arthur," Palamedes answered, relaxing again. "He hath done my brother Safir a kindness for which I desire to thank him."

"He's in my Alchemy class," one of them, Dornar, said. "He usually gets there early because Gwen, Guinevere, is in it too. She's his crush. Anything for a chance to maybe be acknowledged by her. He's got it bad. I'll take you to it. We can hover outside the door until he shows up, and you can say whatever it is you want to say to him."

"Gramercy, Dornar," Palamedes said. Dornar shrugged and led the way. Lamorak, Percival, Aglovale, and Tor stayed behind and went their separate ways.

KAK

They approached the alchemy class and Dornar stopped outside of it. "He'll show up here soon enough," he said. "Guess I might as well wait with you. I don't have anything better to do."

"Sure. We don't mind," Safir replied. Silence fell. It was slightly awkward.

Dornar began to shift. After a moment he turned to look at Palamedes. "Uh, hey… Palamedes?"

"Yay?" Palamedes asked.

"I… It's just… Listen, I'm… Ugh, okay, let me try this again. What I'm trying to say is I'm… grateful to you. For befriending Lamorak. He's… not easy for people to get along with. I mean, me and my brothers have always been tight, us against the world. You three probably know how that is. Just… one day something happened and then Lamorak wasn't… Lamorak anymore. He stopped playing with us and started playing with music, he wouldn't dance or sing unless it was performing, music started to be this-this weird obsession and it drove people away. I mean, the guy sings half his sentences. That's freakish behavior if there was ever any, and I guess you two probably connected because you're just as freakish."

"Hey!" Safir and Segwarides immediately defended. Palamedes waved them off. Dornar wasn't wrong, after all.

"It's just… nice. To see him connecting with someone who isn't, well, us. Someone who's equally as weird and can get his behavior," Dornar continued.

"Oh. 'Tis mine pleasure, good prince. Truth be spake, thine brother is… perhaps the first friend I hath e'er made. In mine life," Palamedes said.

"Fast friends if you're calling him a friend after a week," Dornar said.

"One day thou shalt also find thee such a friend," Palamedes said.

Dornar looked unconvinced and chose to say nothing in response. He looked down the hall and started, straightening up. "Okay, there he is," he said. They looked over. Safir smirked at the confusion he saw on the faces of his brothers as they tried to pick out this 'King Arthur'. He couldn't blame them. Arthur was in the process of getting held up against a locker by the jouster Bleoberis, who was currently shaking him down. Arthur looked terrified and was quick to give up everything. Honestly, he was less than impressed too, and if this had been his first impression of Arthur instead of what it had been? He wouldn't have wasted his breath even thinking about him probably.

"Who is the boy being shaken down by the giant? Why is this King Arthur not helping him?" Segwarides asked.

"Hoo boy, Safir gave you the totally wrong impression of the guy if you're asking that. That, guys, is King Arthur," Dornar said.

Palamedes and Segwarides blinked blankly then shot utterly disbelieving looks at Safir and Dornar. Safir was blushing red in embarrassment at the looks his brothers were giving. "You are kidding, right?" Segwarides said.

"Nope. Hey Bleoberis, how about letting the punching bag go!" Donar called out. "He needs to make political connections." The giant glared over at him in annoyance, frowning. He grunted and released Arthur, obviously finished with him. Arthur made a sound of pain as he hit the ground on his backside. Bleobeis shuffled off. Arthur grimaced, rubbing his backside and rising. He looked over at Dornar, eyes narrowed suspiciously, and started, blinking. Oh great… "Artie boy! Meet the three Saracen princes yet? The guys whose people may or may not totally decimate your land? Or hey, maybe we'll be the ones decimating theirs. War can go either way, after all." The three princes shot him annoyed glares before turning back to Arthur.

Arthur turned to walk away, feeling like this was probably going to lead to bullying. "Wait, squire Arthur! We wouldst speak with thee only!" Palamedes called out.

Arthur looked incredulously back. Seriously? Poetic speak? Finally, though, he turned and approached them cautiously, warily eyeing them. "What?" he carefully asked.

"Thou didst protect mine brother from the jousting team, didst thou not?" Palamedes asked.

Arthur was quiet. "I mean, a couple of the guys with me did," he said.

"But you refused to hand him over to them?" Segwarides pushed for Palamedes.

Arthur was quiet. "Look, it was no big deal," he finally said with a sigh. "They were outnumbered, that's it. They probably could have taken us all out if they'd really wanted to. It was just too much hassle for them to bother with right then."

"Wait, you're serious?" Dornar asked, raising an eyebrow. "You got Lancelot to back off you?"

"Back off them," Arthur corrected with a grimace. "He's been letting me have it ever since, though. He wasn't impressed."

"Wait, what?" Safir demanded. "What's he been doing to you?" Even Dornar looked surprised at this.

"Look, I've always been the guy's favorite target. He just wasn't impressed that suddenly I wasn't taking it is all, so he lashed out the minute he could. Like he does. He's a creep. Leave it alone. I can deal. Really, it's nothing," Arthur said.

"Art thou saying he makes thee suffer for saving mine brother?" Palamedes demanded.

Arthur blinked. Was he? He thought if over. Huh. He hadn't thought of it like that before. He shifted a bit then sighed. "Look, it's no big deal, okay?" he said, feeling a bit awkward now. "He makes me suffer for the sake of making me suffer. Safir and Pelleas were just an excuse he didn't need, but used anyway."

"Have you told anyone about this?" Segwarides asked.

"No. It's not atypical, okay?" Arthur said. "Really. Don't make this into some weird heroic sacrifice thing."

He pushed passed them and entered the classroom, leaving them behind and vaguely surprised. Safir was a little disappointed nothing had happened that got Arthur to show his hidden colors. He'd hoped Segwarides and Palamedes could see it. "Look, whatever side of Arthur you saw out in the ruins, Safir? That was a once-in-a-lifetime deal. Arthur's still just a loser, albeit one who maybe stepped up once or twice. But in the end a loser's all he'll ever be. See you later. I've got to grab my books from my locker before class," Dornar said, waving and walking off. Safir cringed and looked towards the Alchemy room door uncertainly. Maybe Dornar was right…

Arthur, on the other side, winced at Dornar's words and bowed his head low, hurt. But the guy was right. Ultimately all he was and would ever be was a loser, so why even try to fight it? Sighing heavily, he went to a table to sit and wait for the class to start. He couldn't wait until the day was over.