"I might not be your teacher any more, Sire, but that does not give you the right to act so irresponsibly. I will make sure your father is informed of this immediately."

"Fine, it's not like he would actually care."

Leon groaned as he headed towards the training field as fast as he could, knowing precisely who the raised voices belonged to. Arthur had been knighted on his nineteenth birthday, finally ending his time with Bors and allowing the man the retirement he had been considering even when he took Leon on. But with Leon constantly being sent on patrols and no longer having Bors to reign in his behaviour, Arthur was slipping again. He didn't have to answer to anyone other than the king now that he was no longer a squire. Most men his age also still had the fear of their parents keeping them in line, but Arthur was more likely to act out to get Uther's attention. Even now, at twenty, he was still just as desperate for approval from his father when he had been half that age.

Leon arrived just in time to see Bors walking off, his shoulders slumped in disappointment. Arthur had turned, clearly intending to make a retreat himself, but Leon wanted the full story of what had just landed the prince in trouble this time. He cleared his throat meaningfully and Arthur stopped. He turned, and Leon wasn't sure how he was supposed to feel when Arthur seemed to deflate upon seeing who it was. While he was touched that the prince still reacted to him so well, it was nothing short of a nuisance. Leon had duties and keeping Arthur under control wasn't one of them.

"What happened this time?" Leon demanded, knowing that if he appeared to be soft in anyway, Arthur would walk all over him. Despite knowing that the prince reacted to him more than others, Arthur's knighting had changed things. For the first time in the prince's young life, they were on the same footing. Leon had always been one step ahead – first of all with their tutors, then as a squire, then finally as knight. Despite the older man having far more experience than Arthur, he knew what it meant to the young man to finally feel like he had caught up with the one person he had been looking up to for his whole life. Leon had hoped it would change things for the better, but it just seemed to be making Arthur more argumentative. Arthur shrugged at his question and Leon had to bite back a groan at seeing the slight grin tugging at the corners of his lips. It was exactly the same expression when Arthur had been up to mischief as a boy.

"I've never seen Bors look like that, what did you do, Arthur?" That seemed to get through to the prince a little more and Arthur sighed.

"I was on patrol with the others…"

"The ones heading to the northern border? I thought you were looking forward to that?"

"I was! What made you think I had suddenly changed my mind about it?"

"The look on your face right now," Leon muttered, hitching himself up onto a fence post and studying Arthur closely. From what he could make out just through Arthur's expression, the prince had been genuinely looking forward to it, and then something had happened along the way that had either changed his mind or made him act out. Arthur looked a little surprised at Leon's reasoning, but then smiled properly, seeming to know that nothing was ever going to get past the man when it came to how he was feeling.

"Galahad ended up coming as well."

Leon's heart sank. He had hoped the young troublemaker from so many years ago would have left Camelot by now. But instead, there had been a sympathetic knight who had taken him on and he was approaching his own knighthood. Many said that he changed, but Leon caught the smirk on his face when he didn't think anyone was watching. He had changed – he had simply got better at not being caught. Several incidents that seemed to stray true to his behaviour when he was just a boy had sprung up, and although there was never any proof, Leon knew who it was. He had seriously hoped to be able to keep Arthur away from him, or at least make the prince be on his guard. He knew that Galahad was still a smooth talker.

"I'm assuming you mean that he accompanied his master, he is still a squire," Leon prompted, keeping his fingers crossed that someone had been on hand to control the boy. Arthur shook his head.

"He came on his own, just turned up when we were two days ride. There had already been signs of disturbances in the forest, and he played the squire card to make sure that he didn't get sent back on his own. I didn't like it at first, it was supposed to be my first official patrol. But then…"

"What?" Leon could feel the suspicion stirring in the pit of his stomach. In a way, he knew that while Arthur was responsible for his own actions, he was still too easily influenced. Apart from Leon, no one had ever been a friend to the prince, not even Galahad and his group those years ago. The slightest bit of positive attention and Arthur fell on it like a starving dog. Galahad wouldn't have had to do much in order to persuade Arthur to do something common sense would have otherwise prevented the prince from partaking in.

"What did you do, Arthur?"

"We slipped away in the night when I was supposed to be on watch. We were only an hour from the nearest town. I thought we would be back before they realised that we were gone, we were only going to go for one drink…"

"You are a knight of Camelot yourself, Arthur. Surely you know full well just how alert the men you were with would have been, especially having the prince along with them? How long did it take them to come after you?"

"We had just reached the border of the town when they turned up. Some of the locals tried to get involved, it almost turned into a full on fight." Arthur mumbled, clearly knowing the fact others had almost got hurt because of him would make things a whole lot worse with Leon. For his part, Leon simply sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose with his thumb and forefinger.

"Arthur…"

"I know, I know, I shouldn't have done it. They reported to Bors, he says that he is going to tell the King."

"You abandoned your post, Arthur. If there had been something in that forest, the men you were supposed to be guarding would have been left without warning, potentially defenceless."

"I know that!" Arthur yelled, sinking his fist into the fence. It was only then that Leon noticed he was shaking with anger. But who that anger was directed at, the knight wasn't quite sure. Something told him that Arthur was angry at himself. For the first time ever, he seemed to really regret what he had done and the fact he had been so easily led astray.

"So why did you do it?" Arthur went red and Leon found himself blinking in surprise. "Arthur?"

"Galahad had something over me. He said that he would tell the others if I didn't go along with it. He made me take the blame, knowing that I wouldn't be dismissed because I'm the prince."

"What did he have over you?" Leon asked slowly, hating the idea that Arthur had done something so bad that it could be used as blackmail. But he knew how dangerous secrets like that could be, especially considering Arthur's position. The prince seemed to realise that Leon was not going to let him go before he told him precisely what was going on.

"You know when I sprained my shoulder last month?" Arthur asked quietly and Leon simply nodded, a frown pinching his nose. Arthur took a deep breath. "I didn't do it during training. I did it the night before."

"What do you-,"

"I mean I've been sneaking back to the training grounds each night after dinner. I know we have strict routines to make sure we don't overdo it, but for once I just wanted to prove that I could do this. I wanted… I…"

"You wanted to be able to hold your own in a fight?" Leon asked quietly and Arthur nodded, looking miserable.

"I didn't want what happened last time to happen again," he murmured, and Leon didn't need to ask. Arthur had never quite got over the idea that all of the knights would put themselves in harm's way to make sure he was safe. Despite knowing he was still supposed to be in scolding mode, Leon couldn't stop the fond smile spreading over his face. Only Arthur would end up being blackmailed because he wanted to make himself a better knight.

"Galahad said that if they found out, they would take my key for the armoury and I would barely be allowed to train at all."

"And you believed him?"

"How could I not? I once saw Bors practically scream at a man for overdoing it, saying that if they were doing something wrong and there was no one there to correct them, they could do serious damage. He gave me such a lecture on it afterwards, I wasn't going to risk him finding out. Maybe it would have been better, surely that has to be better than having my knighthood taken away because I abandoned my post."

There was such a miserable look on Arthur's face that Leon hopped down from the fence and put his hand on the young man's shoulder.

"You wouldn't have your knighthood taken away and your father won't find out. I'll make sure of it."

"Why? I let you down again."

"And you also admitted it. Yes, you acted foolishly and you can still be as much of a brat as you were a few years ago. But your heart is in the right place, Arthur. While you are trying to do your best, you are never going to let me down, understand?"

Arthur nodded and Leon gave his shoulder a squeeze before sighing. He knew that Arthur would get there. Arthur had been forced to grow up before he was ready, partly through the pressure he had put on himself. But Leon knew that he had done a similar thing. Despite never being one to be able to take compliments without turning fantastically red (much to Arthur's amusement) Leon knew that he had turned out alright in the end. He knew that Arthur would get there, but until he started living for himself rather than just for his father, he was going to get things wrong.

"Actually, Arthur, that wasn't what I came out here to talk to you about."

"What was then?" Arthur followed Leon's lead and fell in step with the man as they began heading back towards the castle. Leon knew that Arthur was not going to like this news, especially not as he didn't like it himself. But he had no choice.

"I'm leaving."

"What?" Arthur stopped walking, staring at Leon as if he expected the man to suddenly announce that he was joking. Leon only wished that was the case. He sighed, giving Arthur a nudge to make him walk again.

"You know there have been more raids on the outlying villages and Cenred seems to be behind it? We have a fort on the eastern border but it has suffered losses lately. It needs a command. And the king…"

"Is sending you?" Arthur finished, his voice nothing more than a whisper. Looking at him, Leon was forcibly reminded of a much younger Arthur who had demanded his friend stayed in Camelot after his father's death simply because he had promised to be Arthur's friend. The prince had the same look on his face now and Leon knew he was about to protest.

"They need someone with experience, Arthur. Most of the knights have only just been knighted, or are too old to make the journey and the living conditions out there."

"But why does it mean it has to be you?"

"I'm the only one that can do it. It's the King's orders, Arthur. I leave in two days."

"But how long will you be gone?"

Leon sighed. "A year at the least, maybe two."

Arthur didn't say anything this time, but Leon was slightly alarmed to see how pale the prince had gone. He quickly took Arthur's arm and managed to get them back to the prince's chambers, sitting Arthur down on the bed before he said anything else.

"It won't be forever. I'll be coming back."

"Unless you get yourself killed out there," Arthur muttered almost sourly and Leon laughed gently.

"Have a little faith in me, Arthur. If I've put up with you for all of these years, a few bandits won't be stopping me from coming home again."

"But…" Arthur's voice trailed off and he stared at nothing, seeming to not know what to say.

"You're a knight now, Arthur. You understand that I have to follow orders? This isn't my choice and it doesn't matter how I feel about it, I have to go."

"I need you though," Arthur whispered and Leon sighed, immediately feeling himself soften. He sat down on the bed next to Arthur.

"No, you don't. Not the way you did. You're a man now. You don't need me."

"I do! Don't you understand? With you gone, who have I got? Who is to stop me from…from…"

"Being a brat?" Leon smirked, raising his eyebrows. Arthur jumped off the bed and whirled around to face him angrily.

"Exactly! Don't you see, I knew what I was doing was wrong and I still did it! The only reason why I even went to speak to Bors was because I knew that would have been what you wanted from me. What if I don't feel sorry for what I'm doing because you're not here?"

"Arthur, listen to me," Leon inserted a little authority into his voice, playing on the fact that he knew Arthur would listen to him. He hadn't seen the prince look this close to tears for a long time and realised just how distressed Arthur was finding the news. Leon knew he wouldn't be happy, but he hadn't expected this. He waited until Arthur had looked at him properly before continuing.

"You should just carry on as if you knew I would find out about it. The chances are I will, news comes and goes to the fort the whole time. If I get whispers that you are acting up again, I'm not going to be happy. I don't have to be physically here just to disapprove. You know what you should and shouldn't be doing. You know when you've done something I wouldn't have approved of. No one told me about today, I just overheard you. Yet you went to Bors, knowing that was what I wanted. But you also went because it was the right thing to do."

"But…" Leon knew his words had hit home. Arthur's eyes had darted around the room as he clearly tried to find reasons for Leon not to go. Arthur knew and understood why he had to go, just as he knew when he acted up without someone having to tell him that he was being a brat. He didn't need Leon, but the knight knew that he just had to realise that on his own.

"You are going to be just fine, you hear me? Listen to your head, not your heart. Think about whether someone wants the best for you, or the best for themselves. And don't train after hours and give them an excuse to blackmail you."

Arthur let out a small smile at that and Leon took that as his cue to go. The longer they spent discussing this, he knew the more convincing Arthur's arguments would sound. He didn't want to be leaving the prince, not now after everything they had come through together. They were supposed to be finally getting the chance to work side by side and yet something had come and torn him away.

"Where are you going? You said you don't leave for two days." Arthur looked so startled by Leon's movement the knight was laughing before he could stop himself. Arthur simply stared before he too seemed to realise how he had sounded and grinned, running a hand through his hair as he did so.

"I don't know about you, but I'm starving. And then I believe I have an old master of ours to try and convince not to go to the king. Oh, and you're coming with me for that."

"I am?"

"I'm not going to be here to fight your battles for you, Arthur. It's time you learnt how to get in Bors' good books on your own and I know a trick or two."

"But you were never in his bad books," Arthur grumbled, but was already following Leon out the door. The knight tipped him a wink.

"Then I would say my tactics worked, wouldn't you?" As Arthur grinned again, finally seeming to relax, Leon couldn't stop himself from reaching out and ruffling the boy's hair. He knew that Arthur would mess things up more than once when he was gone, probably even more so in the first few days of Leon's departure. But he also knew that Arthur had a good heart and his instincts were true when he allowed himself to listen to them.

He just didn't realise it would only be a week after his departure that someone else would come stumbling into Arthur's life. Someone who would be the friend that Arthur had spent his life looking for even if the prince didn't realise it.