Disclaimer: I do not own Merlin, it is owned by BBC, Syfy, and its creators. The basis of this chapter comes from the Season 2 Episode: Sweet Dreams, and all dialogue and plotlines from it are owned by the writer and those that own Merlin. I do own Anne, Caylene, Daylen, Fastion and Amyntas.
Uther tucked Daylen in closer to his chest as he walked to the edge of the castle walls above the main gate watching as the colors of Alined moved toward them. He frowned as he looked out and tightened his hold on his son, thinking about what the success or failure of this meeting for peace might mean for the boy. He heard boots tramping up to him and looked up to see his eldest walking toward him dressed in his formal princely attire, he gave Arthur a wry grin before turning back to watch the procession. Arthur stopped next to him as they continued to watch the procession in silence, King Ian had arrived earlier in the day, which left Fastion, Alined, and Olaf to arrive. Of the other four kings Alined and Ian were the ones he was most worried about. Fastion he was sure would easily agree to all the compromises Uther put forth as it would only help to bolster their alliance and it helped that the man was his father-in-law, friend and that he would want the best for his daughter and her children. Olaf he was sure would agree to compromises as long as no one did anything to infuriate the man.
He was pulled out of his thoughts by shifting in his arms and looked down to see a small mouth whimpering and the small body jerking as Daylen resurfaced from his sleep. He chuckled a bit and ran his knuckle against the two month-old child's cheek before looking back up and frowning. "Father, we're not going into battle. You don't have to look so sombre. I can't remember you looking so sombre in the last few months," Arthur remarked.
Uther kept his eyes on the figure he recognized as Alined as he informed Arthur, "Never before have the rulers of the five kingdoms come together in this way. Never before have we all worked towards the same aim, towards peace. If these talks are successful, Camelot will enter a new era of prosperity. If they fail, we will almost certainly be at war." He noticed the depressing look Arthur was now projecting at the parade in front of them. He lifted his left hand and dropped it on Arthur's shoulder and waited until he had his full attention before giving him a slight smile, "If these talks are successful, Arthur, it will mean that there is even less of a chance of my ever having to go to war or send you or your brother off to war and I would give anything to keep you from that."
Arthur smiled over at his father, before the older man nodded toward the staircases that led back into the castle. He followed Uther and they headed out toward the courtyard meeting up with Anne and Caylene, who was toddling and jabbering to Anne as they walked forward. Anne was wearing her crown and Caylene was wearing a small tiara on her head that Arthur had bought for her recently, something that had placed him at the top of her most favorite person in the world list.
As they headed toward the main entrance to the castle, Anne reached toward Daylen, and Uther surrendered him so that they would be ready to greet King Alined properly.
As they entered the courtyard they watched as Alined kicked his servant in the butt warning the man to stop his "whingeing". As the man apologized Uther decided to cut the servant's humiliation short and called out, "Alined! You are most welcome on this momentous occasion." He smiled tightly in response to Alined's mutual forced smile and took the other man's forearm both trying to make the other whimper in pain from the pressure of their grip.
"Momentous? Let us hope so," Alined sneered politely.
Uther ignored the man, and turned slightly to his family, extending his hand to Anne who moved forward, "Alined, let me introduce you to my wife, Lady Anne." Anne curtsied and Caylene followed her movements as they had been teaching her, while Alined took the hand Anne had extended to him and kissed it. "You already know Arthur," Uther said nodding toward Arthur, before smiling down at Caylene, "and this is my daughter, Caylene, and my other son Daylen." He finished with a proud smile pointed toward the baby in Anne's arms.
"Quite the family man, Uther, but then that cannot be hard to do with such a bride," Alined remarked, causing Arthur and Uther stiffen and Uther reached out to grab Anne's hand in a warning so that she would not say anything that might disturb the peace talks.
Uther motioned for Alined to follow them inside and he quickly went to arrange Alined's quarters while Anne went to attend to the children's needs. A half hour later a guard came running to tell them that King Olaf's party had been spotted and that Arthur had already gone to greet them. Uther headed toward the main entrance to greet him, reaching the door at the same time as Anne, who was walking quickly without the children around her.
I smiled at Uther as he raised his eyebrow questioningly, "Caylene is napping at the moment in Morgana's room, and Morgana refused to hand Daylen back." Uther chuckled and nodded, before we both moved to the courtyard, my hand slipping into the crook of his arm.
I watched as Olaf walked forward, with Arthur and a beautiful young woman in a light blue dress followed after him. As he caught sight of Uther, Olaf groused, "What kind of welcome is this? You have us hanging around like the last swallows of summer." I heard Uther chuckle and peeked out of the corner of my eye to see him smiling at the visiting noble.
As we drew near to the man, Uther replied warmly, "You are welcome indeed, Olaf." He pulled away as he hugged the other man, both chuckling and smiling at the other. "May I present my wife, Lady Anne."
Olaf looked over at me with a smile and bowed at the same time I curtsied, and then kissed my hand. As he straightened up he said, "It's a pleasure to meet you, Lady Anne. May I present my daughter, the Lady Vivian."
I nodded to Lady Vivian, and watched as she bowed in the general direction of Uther and I, and Uther reached out his hand, "Lady Vivian. How like your mother you are." He kissed her hand and let it go, and I watched her politely smile at him before we all turned at the sound of horses' hooves entering the courtyard.
I smiled as my eyes landed on my father, who quickly rode up to us and dismounted. Though he smiled at me, he looked over to Uther and Olaf first. "Uther, it is good to see you." The two men hugged and then he turned to Olaf, "And you as well, Olaf." The two men clasped forearms as Olaf introduced Lady Vivian to my father, who kissed her hand before he turned back to me. He reached out his arms and pulled me into him, tightening the circle of his arms around me as he stuck his face in my hair and whispered, "My Anne. I have missed you, little one." He then stepped back and ran a calculating eye over me, "And I don't have to thrash Uther for not taking care of my daughter." He gave Uther a wry grin, before turning to Arthur, "And how is my grandson?"
"I am doing well, Fastion." Arthur replied giving the older man a hug as his father had done.
"Where are my other grandchildren?" Father asked looking around.
"They are with Morgana at the moment," Uther replied. He backed up and stretched out his arm, "Please let us help you to your quarters. Arthur, can you help Lady Vivian and Olaf to their quarters while Anne and I go get your siblings." Arthur nodded and led Vivian and Olaf away. Uther headed toward Morgana's chambers while I stepped back to slip my hand in my father's arm, both of us catching up on the affairs of the other's kingdom and what was going on with Uther and I's family.
Uther stopped at Morgana's door and knocked at it. A few moments later Gwen opened the door and backed up, bowing as she let us in to the chambers, and my father greeted her before turning to face Morgana and the two little ones. Morgana looked up from where she was sitting on the bed taking turns at tickling a giggling Caylene and chortling Daylen. Her grin widened as she took in Fastion, and she stood up rushing over to him and hugged him. "It is good to see you again, Morgana," my father said as he hugged her, before releasing her and walking toward the bed. When he reached it he bent down a bit and murmured, "Hello Caylene. Do you know who I am?"
"Papa!" Caylene squealed as she clambered up off her back and threw her arms around her grandfather. Uther and I had talked about him as often as we could and had described him as often as we could so that she would know him when she saw him. Soon enough, she pulled back and pointed at Daylen, "Dis Day."
Father nodded, "Yes, I know this is your little brother, Daylen." He bent down and picked up the little boy who was staring intently at him.
"How about we show you to your rooms, and you can relax after your journey," Uther suggested.
Father nodded distractedly and stood up, but otherwise kept his focus on Daylen, as Caylene reached up and tugged his pant leg. He looked down to see her arms extended up to him. He chuckled and readjusted Daylen in his arms, before he bent and picked up Caylene as well before following us out of the room, with a promise to see Morgana later and take her on a ride during his stay again.
Uther smiled as he sat down at the head table watching as Alined's jester entertained everyone. The day had been a good one as his family had been able to spend some time together with Fastion while the other kings relaxed and rested up from their trip. Fastion had quickly been told everything that had transpired around the kingdom by Arthur and Morgana. While everyone had chuckled watching as Caylene showed Fastion everything she was able to do from walking to talking to playing with her dolls.
Fastion at the sight of the dolls had pulled out several packages for the family with each person being handed a package. Morgana had gasped at the new white gown with gold embroidery that Fastion had gotten her and threw her arms around him in thanks. Arthur and Uther had discussed the new hunting crossbow that Arthur had received and the ceremonial dagger Fastion had given Uther. Caylene shrieked as she opened her package to find a new dress that was light blue with gold embroidery much like Morgana's and a smaller dress exactly like it to put on her dolls. Daylen's gift was a quilt with Fastion's kingdom and Camelot's crests intertwined on it. Anne's gift had been a gown as well that was white with the exception of a black velvet bodice.
Uther was pulled out of his musings as he realized that Trickler, Alenid's jester, was currently spewing fire out of his mouth as cheerful music surrounded the diners that included Ian, Olaf, himself, Anne, Fastion and Alined at the head table. Arthur was seated at the table to his left with all of his knights, while Morgana and Vivian were sitting at the table to his right with the other kingdoms' knights scattered throughout those tables as well.
Trickler began tugging himself in multiple directions until he stood right in front of Uther, and they watched as he seemed to be ready to lose whatever he had eaten all over the floor but as he opened his mouth fire came shooting out and lit the candles in front of the kings, Uther and Anne. Uther laughed as he clapped, though he felt Anne squeezing his elbow and looked over to see a trace of nervousness slowly disappearing from her face. He brought his hand down over hers and squeezed it gently, and was rewarded with a grateful smile from her.
They looked back to the man in front of them when he stated, "But it is not enough to please just the gentlemen of the court." He moved to where he could look at Morgana, Anne and Vivian all at once as he said, "Now I have a spectacle for the ladies." As he spread his arms out away from his body, butterflies appeared from around him and fluttered around the three women. Uther watched as Anne stared in fascination at the one that landed on the plate in front of her, she slowly reached toward it but jerked back her hand as it flew off.
Uther leaned over to her and said, "It is skill indeed."
"We aim to please," Alined stated, overhearing Uther's remark to his wife, and Uther looked up at the other man with a nod of thanks.
He turned as he heard a gasp come from where the jester was and looked over as the man stared at Lady Vivian, "But what is this? Lady Vivian…" He moved forward and Uther tensed as he saw Olaf at the edge of his vision growing tense and getting ready to yell at the jester, but sighed as they watched the man pull a butterfly from behind her ear and bring it back to himself, as Vivian gasped and giggled in delight at the trick causing Olaf to relax once more. The jester having not seen Olaf's reaction continued, "It has mistaken you for a beautiful flower." Then he bowed and turned away heading out of the room.
A few hours later, Uther stood up and looked around the room, "Anne and I must bid you all good night and look forward to seeing you tomorrow." He reached down and helped Anne out of her seat before they walked out of the room. He looked down as she slipped her arm in his and rested her head on his shoulder as they walked, "Did you enjoy yourself tonight?"
She nodded, "Quite. He is really good at the tricks he performs, I would imagine that Caylene would find him interesting."
"You could always ask Alined if he would allow his servant to perform for Caylene during the negotiations tomorrow if the man has nothing else to do," Uther remarked.
Anne shook her head, "No thanks. He may be good at his tricks, but his smile is creepy and he works for Alined which makes me all the more cautious around him."
"You don't trust Alined?" Uther asked softly.
"And neither do you no matter how much you might pretend," Anne remarked.
"True, which is why I have slept with a dagger on my end table, and I have posted sentries and patrols around the family quarters at night while he is here,"Uther admitted as they entered their chambers, excusing Merlin who was reading a book to Caylene, who was fast asleep on their bed with Daylen asleep in his cradle nearby.
Over the next few days I rarely saw Uther or my father as both were tied up in negotiations for the peace treaty, however that had also given me time to catch up on the household paperwork that had been put on hold and piled up during the weeks after Daylen had been born. It was on the second afternoon when I gave a distracted "enter" to the person who had knocked at the door to my rooms that I looked up at Gwen's voice. I smiled and tossed the quill in my hand down, "What can I do for you, Gwen?"
"Have you seen Lady Vivian? I just went to her rooms to ask if there was anything she needed and she wasn't in there," Gwen asked, her face looking partly relieved and partly worried.
"Umm….no…," I stated, before quietly admitting, "I have been trying to keep as much distance as possible between us as she seems a bit…"
"Pompous," Gwen blurted out before slapping her hand over her mouth in shock at her "rudeness" and giggling a bit as well in nervousness.
"Yes, though that was a lot more polite than I would have put it," I admitted, joining in as Gwen started laughing louder.
"She does make it rather hard to like her, doesn't she?"
"A bit. I wonder where in the world she got her attitude, as Olaf is nothing like that, and it can't be the excuse that he spoils her because she is his only daughter, I mean I grew up the same way and I'm not spoiled," I stated. I stopped, frowning, before I looked up at her concerned, "Am I?"
Gwen shook her head, "No, I have yet to want to stick poison ivy oil in your bath water so I would definitely say you are fine concerning that area." I felt my jaw drop in shock at Gwen's words, and then shook my head just as I heard someone roaring through the hall and as the voice passed my rooms I realized that it was Olaf. Gwen looked at me, "I feel sorry for whatever man has looked at Vivian, as King Olaf does not seem to be in a good mood."
"Yes," I agreed as I went back to working on the paperwork and Gwen slipped back outside to finish her work.
Uther looked around the table as he asked, "Is there anything further that needs to be discussed and placed into the peace treaty terms?"
"One more thing for my kingdom," Fastion interjected and everyone turned to look at him. "As you know, Uther, you were declared heir to my throne after you married Anne. Now with the birth of Daylen, who is of my bloodline, I plan on declaring him next in line to my throne. With that being the case, I propose that after my death and as soon as he is of age Daylen will be declared king and with that kingship a treaty between our two kingdoms will be placed so that neither of your sons will fight over the throne of Camelot or use their kingdoms to war against each other."
Uther sat quietly for a bit, and then nodded, "Agreed." He and Fastion quickly got the terms of their agreement written into the treaty. As soon as it was finished, he started laughing as Olaf teased the both of them on their agreement, which resulted in everyone around the table laughing and some clapping at the good-natured words. Uther stood up and raised his goblet up for a toast, "This is indeed a momentous day for the five kingdoms." He reached down and clasped forearms with Olaf, before dropping his hand to settle on Fastion's shoulder with a smile. "This peace treaty has been long in the making. But I know you must all be keen to return to your families," he stated, nodding to the soldier who was to take the treaty to Geoffrey for recording into the kingdom's laws, as he continued, "so we will make preparations for the signing ceremony immediately." As he went to walk around the table he clapped King Ian on the shoulder, "I am pleased, friends." The other kings stood up and toasted as he finished, "Very pleased." He looked over and clapped Alined, who had remained sitting, on the shoulder.
"As are we all," Alined smiled, causing some of the kings to laugh. Soon enough they parted ways and Uther headed to his rooms to change for the signing ceremony.
Within a few hours he and Anne were ready and waiting within the audience chamber with the other kings as they stood waiting for Arthur to arrive. Olaf was storming about behind Uther, who looked over at Anne nervously before motioning a guard over and ordering him to find Arthur and if necessary drag him to the room immediately. The guard left and Uther turned when he heard Alined ask, "Is there a problem, Uther?"
"No, not at all. Arthur's just running a little late, that's all," Uther stated, trying and failing a bit to keep his irritation with his son out of his voice.
Alined looked around before looking back puzzled, "As is the Lady Vivian." Uther looked over at Olaf just as his friend looked over at him. Uther twitched nervously as he began begging Arthur silently to not have been so foolish as to be the cause for the anger showing on Olaf's face.
As Olaf suddenly marched out of the room, Anne leaned over and whispered, "Go. I'll work on getting everyone seated."
Uther nodded and soon followed after Olaf, as Anne bid the other kings to take their places at the table and did her job as queen to keep them all entertained. As Uther walked into the guest quarters he heard shouting and moved quickly in that direction, only to hear Merlin yell, "I don't believe it!" as he entered the quarters assigned to Lady Vivian.
As he took in the scene in front of him, he was not sure who he was going to strangle first his son who was in an embrace with Vivian on her bed, Merlin who was standing beside the door in shock for not keeping Arthur from this situation, Alined for bringing Vivian's lateness to Olaf's attention, or Olaf for being an overprotective father. However, his rage was stopped as he heard Vivian gush, "Father! We've got something to tell you."
With that remark Uther's rage was coupled with shock as he shouted, "Arthur!" Only to grow more exasperated with the situation as Olaf threw down his glove in challenge.
"Father?" Vivian whined in annoyance at the other man's action, and at the moment Uther fought to keep from telling her to shut up.
He looked over as he heard his friend growl, "You once said that if you truly offended my honour, then you would happily pay the price. What say you now, Prince Arthur?"
He looked over at his son, who pushed himself off of the bed to ask in a shocked tone, "How have I offended your honour? Surely not with my love alone." With those words Arthur pulled Vivian up by her hand and to his side, and Uther clenched his fists so that he would not move to his son and shake some sense into the brain that had clearly departed his son's head.
He was pulled back into the conversation by Olaf scoffing, "Love?! You don't know the first thing about love. You're taking advantage of an innocent girl."
Uther heard Vivian's complaint to her father, which sounded more like an objection at the word "innocent" as he found himself begging for an explanation as he said, "Arthur?!"
Arthur stood proudly in front of them, as he put his arm around Vivian, "I assure you, my feelings for your daughter are as real as they are strong."
Uther fought to keep from smacking himself on the forehead in exasperation as Olaf commanded, "Unhand her or suffer the consequences." Which only resulted in Arthur grabbing Vivian's hand and holding her to him more tightly. At this movement he heard Olaf try to reason with the young man, "Is this really worth risking your life for?"
Uther pinched the bridge of his nose as a headache blossomed and expanded when Arthur assured Vivian and Olaf, "Indeed it is." Uther rolled his eyes at the nonsense he was hearing from his son as the boy continued, "I would rather die than deny my feelings. I love your daughter with all of my heart." With that declaration Arthur kissed her and then accepted Olaf's challenge by picking up the glove.
Olaf roared with rage and stormed out declaring that he would meet Arthur on the tournament grounds the next afternoon. Uther turned to Merlin and said, "Get him out of here and keep him out of here, do you understand?"
"Yes, sire," the young man replied and hurriedly moved to Arthur and began pushing him out of the room, something that only happened after Uther yelled Arthur's name loudly causing the young man to get out of the room quickly as he had not heard that tone in a long time. Then Uther left the room, demanding that a guard stay outside of Vivian's quarters just to ensure that nothing like that happened again before he went to try to smooth things over with Olaf.
I looked up as the door to my bedchambers slammed shut, and Uther marched in. "The dinner went well, though I have to say the others are wondering what is going on."
"Arthur was caught in Lady Vivian's chambers,"Uther growled as he threw himself on the bed and tossed his arm over his eyes. "On her bed."
"He what?" I yelled in shock, and then quickly lowered my voice as I looked over at Daylen, Uther's head popped out from underneath his arm as well to see if our noise had awoken him. "What did Olaf do?" I asked more quietly moving toward his bedside.
He reached out and tugged me onto the bed, and wrapped his arms around my waist as he laid his head against my shoulder in frustration, "He challenged Arthur to a duel, and the fool accepted it. I tried to get Olaf to calm down and rescind it but he won't."
"You wouldn't either if you were in his place."
Uther looked up frowning, "I would not threaten the peace between our kingdoms over a childish infatuation, if it is that."
"So you are saying that if you ever caught a young man in Caylene's chambers on her bed you wouldn't in a sense declare war on him?"
"First off, Caylene isn't going to be allowed to even look at boys in such a way until she is fifty and she will never be allowed in the presence of any man she isn't related to one on one ever," Uther snapped.
"Good thing my father did not feel the same way," I remarked cocking my eyebrow, "Or I would never have gotten you."
"That's different," Uther argued.
"Always is when it comes to the father's daughter," I teased. "However, I have to agree with you on this. Arthur is clearly not thinking right, and I refuse to have her as part of the family because I am sure that I'd probably kill her before she had a chance to say her vows." Uther looked at me in confusion, so I explained, "She is just a younger version of Lady Weyland."
Uther winced, knowing how I felt about that particular female. He kissed my temple as he promised, "Than I shall do everything in my power to keep her from ever becoming part of this family."
The next morning I went with Uther as he tried to talk some sense into Arthur. I stood next to Merlin as we watched Uther explain everything he had done to try to get Arthur out of the challenge, finally ending his argument with, "It's no good. I've spoken to Olaf. He will not rescind that challenge." We looked into Arthur's bedroom where Arthur was leaning against the column in the middle of the room watching Uther pace, as he continued, "He says his honour has been tainted. He demands recompense."
Arthur spoke up, "You didn't have to do that, Father."
Uther stopped and placed his hand on his hips, and both Merlin and I exchanged amused grins as we realized he was about to lecture Arthur, "The fight is to the death. What did you think you were doing?"
"You cannot help who you fall in love with," Arthur replied looking at Uther and I.
"Maybe not. But if you are going to use your father and I as examples, may I remind you that your father courted me with my father's consent, we didn't go sneaking behind his or anyone else's back by doing it. We did nothing that would taint my honour, his hounour or my father's honour, something that you failed to do with Lady Vivian!" I snapped at him.
Uther moved toward Arthur, "Anne is right, what you did dishonoured us, yourself, Vivian and her father. But there is more at stake than just our honour. You do realize your actions threaten the peace talks, and it may yet bring war to Camelot?"
"I am happy to fight for what I believe in," Arthur said dismissively.
"You maybe, but all the others who would have to go to war due to your actions won't be so nonchalant or happy about it," I growled. "And I won't be happy with the fact that my husband would be gone to war due to your actions either." Arthur waved his hand dismissively.
I looked over as Uther suddenly spun around to face Merlin, and pointed at Arthur over his shoulder as he asked, "What's happened to him?" Merlin merely shrugged and shook his head in bewilderment of Arthur's actions.
But we all turned around when Arthur stated Vivian's name and looked at him incredulously. "Nothing more," he said, giving us a dopey smile as he walked towards us, "And yet, who could wish for more?" He turned around and walked back toward his room.
I looked over at Uther to see his mouth dropped open in shock, and realized that his face had to be the mirror image of my own, before he turned back to Merlin and opened and closed his mouth trying to say something. Finally, he shut it and threw his hands up in surrender before leaving the room in aggravation. I looked over at Merlin and whispered, "Please tell me there is something you can do about this?"
"Gaius is working on it. We know it is a magic spell but we are unsure as to how to break it," Merlin murmured, both of us trying to block out Arthur's lovesick words about Vivian. "I tried a few yesterday when I first caught him in her room, but Olaf and Uther arrived before I could try anymore spells and the few I tried after Arthur went to sleep and before he woke this morning did not work either."
I nodded as I looked over at Arthur, before leaning closer to Merlin, "Please do anything you can to help him. As I don't think any of us could survive if she wound up Arthur's bride." Merlin's face turned pale at the thought, but then he laughed as I added as I walked away, "And she won't survive us as I swear I will help Gwen with dousing her things in poison ivy."
Uther frowned as he looked out on the tournament grounds where Arthur and Olaf stood waiting for their duel to start. He looked over and frowned at the empty chair beside him, Anne had chosen not to attend as she needed to attend to Caylene and Daylen as apparently Gwen was feeling unwell or some such thing and Morgana had planned to attend the duel. He looked up to find himself looking into Alined's eyes and his frown deepened, before he looked to his right as Fastion and Morgana looked straight ahead concern on their faces. His gaze then dropped to Lady Vivian and he felt annoyance at the sight of her, and soon realized that like his wife he had come to dislike the young woman, mainly because of the frustration his son's infatuation with her had caused him.
He finally looked forward and addressed the assembled crowd, "King Olaf has demanded recompense, and by the ancient laws of Camelot, the matter will be settled by a tourney in three stages. The weapons chosen are quarterstaff, mace and sword. The fight will be by the Knight's Rules and to the death." He looked at his son and seeing the dopey expression he had worn earlier that day and that the boy was silently flirting with and exchanging looks with Vivian, his temper broke through his strained voice and he yelled as he looked pointedly at Arthur, "Are we all clear?" Arthur jerked to look at him and nodded. Uther looked over at Olaf who also nodded his understanding. Uther raised his arm and watched as the timekeeper got ready to flip the hourglass, and did so as Uther dropped his hand and took his seat.
He watched as Olaf suddenly attacked Arthur who responded by going on the offensive as well before they both backed away, and Arthur blew a kiss to Vivian. Uther clenched his jaw in irritation wanting to yell at Arthur for his stupidity at not paying attention to what was happening in the arena. But Arthur quickly focused back on the field and attacked before ducking under Olaf's quarterstaff. Olaf attacked again forcing Arthur to defend himself until finally he was able to slam his quarterstaff into Olaf's gut. Uther breathed in and sat back thankful that his son's mind was finally back to the task at hand.
But just as he leaned back in his chair Olaf swept his staff out and knocked Arthur's knees out from underneath him causing Arthur to fall down and barely have time to raise his staff up before Olaf beat him with his staff. Arthur pushed him away and got up, fighting the older man once more before Olaf found an opening and slammed his quarterstaff into Arthur's ribcage. Arthur gasped in pain and looked towards Vivian just as the gong for the end of the match sounded. Uther resisted his urge to drop his head into his hands as Arthur showed the girl his quarterstaff and both young people shrugged sheepishly.
After the quarterstaffs had been replaced with maces and Uther had given the signal for the current round's time to start, he watched as Arthur and Olaf traded blows until Arthur doubled over in pain taking a blow to the stomach. His son backed up and continued dodging and defending himself with his shield, but his brain was obviously still not functioning properly as he left himself open and Olaf was able to get another blow to the stomach again. Uther sighed in relief as Arthur quickly rallied his senses and defended himself until he was in position to attack Olaf once more. They continued to trade blows until Arthur hit the back of Olaf's leg causing the older man to drop. Uther applauded Arthur's move glad that his son had finally gotten his head back into his fighting, only for Olaf to charge Arthur with a roar of rage. Arthur was quickly put on the defensive until Olaf hit his shield so hard it spun him around and Olaf raised his mace again and brought it down on Arthur's shoulder forcing Arthur down to the ground. Having felt the blow of an enraged Olaf once before when they were young Uther could imagine the pain Arthur was feeling and winced in sympathy as he watched Arthur look up from the ground as Olaf swung the mace. As he continued to swing it Uther realized that Olaf was getting ready to kill Arthur, and he found himself rising a little out of his chair in fear. As he heard the gong sound, and Olaf's snarl of frustration, Uther felt his legs buckle beneath him and quickly took a seat due to the relief flooding his body.
A few minutes later, Arthur walked back into the arena with his sword in hand. Uther looked him over and realized that he finally seemed to have his senses back in order, and Uther prayed that that was a fact as he motioned for the time to begin and watched as Olaf attacked Arthur and the two men began to trade blows. Soon enough Arthur gained the upper hand and began to attack holding on to his dominate position until Olaf pushed him away and butted shoulders with him forcing Arthur to fall on his back. Uther found himself once more sitting on the edge of his seat in worry for his son as Olaf tried to pin Arthur down. However, Arthur rolled until he was able to get his foot in a position to flip Olaf over his body. Uther stood up grinning at his son's fighting ability as he heard Olaf land with a thud and heard the breath escape his body. Arthur scrambled to his feet, picked up the sword he had lost and pointed it at Olaf's chest.
A few moments later though he pulled it back from its position and shoved it into the ground as he leaned on it taking deep breaths, before he declared, "This is no way to achieve peace." Uther stood up proudly at his words and watched as his son reached down and helped the other king to his feet. Olaf and Arthur both clapped each other's shoulders in understanding as the crowd applauded, Uther soon following their lead with a smile of pride on his face at Arthur's accomplishment and survival.
A few days later, Uther and I strode down the corridors overlooking the courtyard with Olaf. I looked over and smiled as Olaf told Uther, "Your boy has a very wise head on his shoulder." Uther smiled and proudly agreed to Olaf's statement as he slipped his hand into mine. "No doubt he gets that from you."
Uther chuckled at his friend's observation and Uther looked over at me, I smiled at him and nodded my agreement at what had been said, before Uther turned back to Olaf, "I hope that these events will not harm our peace treaty."
Olaf stopped walking , and we both followed his lead looking at him and then following his gaze as it landed on a disgruntled Vivian walking down the stairs into the courtyard, "Oh, I believe that Vivian was as much to blame as Arthur. I'll take her away from temptation." Uther grinned at that as they continued to watch Vivian, and I pressed my face into Uther's upper arm to keep my laughter from spilling out at his words. "She is far too young to encounter such things," he concluded, and Uther nodded slightly still watching Olaf's face for any indication as to how he was feeling. Olaf finally turned to us and smiled, "But yes, I go in peace."
Uther clapped him on the back in relief, though I could tell he was still worried about Olaf's reaction to everything that had occurred as he said, "I am very pleased to hear that." We continued walking toward the courtyard and found ourselves at the top of the stairs looking down at a tied up Trickler and King Alined growling at him by his horse. Uther spoke up, "Why so cross, Alined?"
I looked over to see Arthur by my side as he challenged, with his arms crossed, "Anyone would think you didn't want peace?"
"But of course I do. Peace…I love it," Alined grounded between his teeth that were stuck in a forced smile.
"Well, you may return any time to view the treaty," Uther smirked at him as he wrapped his arm around my waist.
"You're very kind," Alined snarled with a smile as Uther turned away to say good-bye to Ian and I chuckled as Arthur waved. Uther turned back to me after saying good-bye to Ian and we watched as his entourage and Alined's both exited the castle walls.
"Glad those two are gone," I muttered and I saw Uther's mouth tip into a slight smile as he overheard it. We turned as we heard Vivian's voice asking for permission for them to return as well.
I looked over and smiled at the annoyed expression Olaf gave his daughter, and bit back a giggle as I turned to Uther for his answer, watching as he sighed and closed his eyes for a bit in irritation before answering, "You are always welcome." But soon enough he looked over at Arthur and smirked at him as I let loose a quiet giggle.
Vivian also looked over at Arthur and declared, "My heart will remain, and I hope to join it soon." Olaf's annoyed expression immediately turned into one of anger and he dragged his daughter away as Arthur gave her a slight wave and a grimace. I quickly buried my head in Uther's chest as I giggled, feeling his own chest heaving with silent laughter, until we both heard Arthur's muttered "not too soon", and with that I laughed and felt Uther dip his face into my hair as the sounds of his giggling slipped into my ears. The huff of indignation from Arthur and then his agitated footsteps moving away from us led both of us to look at each other and burst into laughter as we turned to watch all the kings, with the exception of my father who was staying to visit for a while, head back to their kingdoms in peace.
