Quelling My Bloodlust

Chapter Twenty-Five

Once Merlin disappeared early the next morning without letting the rest of those from Storybrooke know he was going out to try to speak with Hook aboard the Jolly Roger before they arrived, Emma and the rest of the heroes slowly made their way from the castle through the forest to make their own way to the ocean where the pirate captain was finishing preparing his ship for her guests. Thankfully, there were no more incidents involving Arthur or his knights as they left. However, each of them suspected it was because he was busy planning something worse than just a small attack like he had attempted to make on them as they freed the Sorcerer from his imprisonment.

The trek felt long, as hardly anyone spoke while they walked on. However, they weren't far from the shore at last, when a soldier on horseback suddenly charged through the trees only a few feet away and kept racing past them towards the direction of the castle. Recognition suddenly set in David as the Prince and sheriff suddenly called out to the rider by name, causing the soldier to stop quickly by pulling back on his horse's reins before turning the animal around to see who was calling out to him.

David smiled, and this time so did Mary Margaret as they both walked towards the rider who looked down at them in surprise while he stated, "David? Snow? My God… it's so good to see you! What are you doing here?"

When he dismounted as his friends came forward, Mary Margaret spoke up as well saying, "Lancelot… Is that really you?"

"Of course it's me," the knight replied assuredly when he immediately pulled the Prince and Princess into a firm embrace. "Who else could I be? I told you all those years ago that I was from here… from Camelot."

"We know, but we thought… We thought you were dead," David sternly answered him as he lifted his hand to squeeze their friend's arm in relief upon seeing he was really alive. "We were told by Cora… or at least Snow and our daughter were, that you were dead. That she had killed you."

Lancelot let out a sigh of disbelief, then despondently he responded, "Cora only thought she had. She almost did in fact. However, despite being badly wounded, I was lucky enough to claw my way through the woods where I encountered that witch until I was found and saved by someone living nearby."

Mary Margaret hugged him once again until she suddenly turned him and herself towards Emma and exclaimed happily, "You haven't met our daughter yet. Or she you. Emma, this is Lancelot… the real Lancelot. Lancelot, this is Emma Swan. And everyone else with us… they're our friends."

"It's a pleasure to meet you," the soldier replied quietly, reaching out to shake Emma's hand, then looked around at everyone else as he bowed his head towards them in greeting, while they did the same in return before continuing on towards the shore once more. "But uh… you guys never answered my earlier question. What are you all doing here?"

"Emma, you go on ahead with the others," David quickly said as he turned to the Savior again when she remained with them. "Your mother and I are going to stay here for awhile so we can talk with Lancelot. I'm sure you'd like to get back to Hook."

Emma nodded, then answered, "You're right. Just be careful, you guys. You remember what happened the last time we believed we were in Lancelot's company, Mom?"

Mary Margaret glance at their friend apprehensively, then turned back to her daughter again as she responded, "I do. But honestly… what are the odds that two people with magic would impersonate Lancelot? And why here and now? Don't worry… we'll be fine. Get back to Killian."

"Someone tried to impersonate me?" the knight then asked when Emma rushed onward to catch up with the others.

"Cora did… so she could try to deceive me and my daughter some time ago when we wound up trapped here in the Enchanted Forest," the Princess replied again. "But that doesn't matter right now. I'm afraid we didn't come here again because we've decided to return to our home in the Enchanted Forest. We came here to find and save the man our daughter loves from the darkness."

Lancelot looked at her with surprise and turned to David with the same look, while David simply nodded, then their friend uttered, "You're here to try to save the Dark One? And your daughter is in love with him?"

David clasped his friend's shoulder as he answered, "It's a long story. One we'd like to explain if you'll come with us to join him and the rest of us on his ship… the Jolly Roger."

"And the Dark One is also a pirate," he retorted curtly, still in disbelief over what they were telling him. "Captain Hook… you mean? Or is it Black Beard?"

"Captain Hook," Mary Margaret immediately responded. "Black Beard was only in command of the Jolly Roger for a brief time. But don't worry about Hook being a pirate, or the Dark One. He's a good man. He's changed and worked very hard to do so. He's only the Dark One because he took it upon himself to save all of us when the darkness was unleashed from its former host. It had to be tethered to a human being. Emma was about to sacrifice herself until he made the sacrifice instead. He didn't have to kill for the power. Instead it's killing him. That's why we're here. That… and to free Merlin from the tree he's been imprisoned in for all these years. Which we succeeded in doing just last night."

Upon feeling great relief at the good news, Lancelot exclaimed, "Merlin's finally been freed? You mean… Arthur's done it?"

David sadly bowed his head, then replied, "I'm afraid a lot's happened since you've clearly been gone from your kingdom awhile."

"I've been a prisoner myself within a dungeon for the last four weeks under orders of the new ruler of one of our neighboring kingdoms," the solider answered, until he raised his hand to lay it against his horse's neck to pet the creature while he continued. "DunBroch. Arthur sent me there on a mission to have them sign the peace treaty we believed was settled between our King and Queen Merida. However, she went back on her word and will soon declare war on Camelot because she believes we are responsible for the death of her father. She wants to destroy us, as do the rest of the clans from that island thanks to her."

"We've met Merida too," Mary Margaret responded, looking over at her husband while she did so. "Only we didn't realize she was the new Queen of her kingdom. We didn't really have a chance to talk. But she didn't seem like a woman who wanted a war. She only wanted to find her three brothers."

Lancelot sighed in frustration, then looked between his two friends as he replied, "I don't really suppose any of this much matters. What does, is what you were trying to tell me about whatever terrible thing has happened here in Camelot. Are Arthur and Guinevere alright?"

David looked at him directly while he answered, "We're sure the Queen's just fine. But Arthur… He's a traitor, Lancelot. To both Camelot and to his people. He wants to destroy your kingdom with the control of our friend… Hook. He also hoped to be able to keep Merlin imprisoned in the tree, or to kill him should we have succeeded in freeing him, which we did. He even killed Grif in order to try to keep his secrets about his motives."

"What you're saying cannot be true," the knight of Camelot darkly responded. "Arthur is a good man and an even better king. He would never become a traitor. He would give anything to save our kingdom."

"Which is why… I'm afraid I have to do something I hoped I wouldn't have to do," he then added while Lancelot pulled out a thin, long vile containing what looked like pink dust and pulled the cork to quickly spill a little into the palm of his hand before he suddenly blew it into the Charmings' faces, causing them both to stagger back a little as the dust's enchantment began to take its hold over them. "I'm sorry, David… and Snow. But I had explicit orders to place you under Arthur's command. For the good of Camelot."

It was then that King Arthur appeared on horseback from among the trees, along with a few of his most loyal of knights like Percival had been as they came out of hiding, when Arthur spoke to his newly compliant guests saying, "With enchanted sand from the mystical Isle of Avalon. I acquired it from my wife not long ago when she considered it using it on me to make me stop obsessing with my quest. Only she changed her mind because she understood why it was so important to me. She gave me this as a way of apologizing. And now last night… thanks to your Savior and her monstrous pirate, I was given no choice but to use it on my wife in order to make her my Queen again, loyal only to me. Just as I have made Lancelot… and now you two as well. Loyal that is."

One of the other knights behind him questioned, "You've used that pink sand on Lancelot too? But why? He was already loyal to you."

"I imprisoned him in our own dungeons for the last few weeks because he learned what it is I have to do now for the sake of our kingdom," the King replied as he looked between the three heroes standing before him waiting for him to give them their orders. "The story he told them just now was all a lie. Like the rest of these so called heroes, he attempted to defy me, so I had to keep him locked away until the time came for me to use his services. David and Mary Margaret mentioned to me that they had been close friends with him, which is why I needed someone to get close enough to them to be able to do as I've done."

"And what will you do now?" another of his men asked as well. "Is that magic powerful enough to make them kill the rest of their friends?"

Arthur looked back at his soldier, then answered, "Of course it's powerful enough, but that's not what I had in mind. All I want is the Dark One's dagger. So that I can control him to force him to do as I require. David and Mary Margaret are going to tell me where it is and then will help me to get it."

Under the sands' enchantment and against his will, David looked over at the King as he responded, "The dagger is in the hands of one of our friends. The doctor we introduced to you as Archie Hopper. He's powerless and hardly a fighter, but he also won't give up the dagger so easily. Give us your orders, Your Majesty. What do you need from us?"