Gwen sat with Arthur in the throne room and both studied the laws and judgments concerning sorcery. It was a very tedious business, because the texts were full of hate triads and spurns of the magicians. It was not the first time that Gwen suppressed a shake of the head or a horrified groan. She did not know until now what the exact laws of the kingdom were on this subject, and she was more than shocked. It almost seemed to her that execution at the stake was one of the most merciful ways of killing. Other methods of punishing the sorcerers were one more brutal and inhuman than the other. She felt that they did exactly the right thing, because according to these laws she did not want to react with Arthur a kingdom. The more judgements she read, the more desperate she became. Gwen didn't know until yesterday that not only suspicious adults were executed, but that under this law even a sorcerer's infant deserved to die immediately, and that any assistance, however much it may be to feed a sorcerer in a tavern, should also be punished by death. After a few hours, Gwen could not read a single sentence, for she could not bring herself to read it. Arthur also stopped reading when he realized that his wife was just staring straight ahead.
"Gwen?," he asked quietly. Since his wife did not respond, he touched her lightly on the shoulder.
Gwen shrugged violently, "Huh, Arthur, sorry, I wasn't with myself just now," she explained.
"What's going on inside you?" he asked further.
Shaking her head, she replied, "I knew magic was forbidden, but I had no idea of the extent of the hatred that was involved. These legal texts lack any logical basis. The judgments are so far away from justice and reasonableness that I cannot find words for them. The absurd thing is that most of the people in the castle, including both of us, would have to be executed simply because of the fact that Merlin is a magician. Who knows who else possesses magic without us knowing? And I mean that without fear - I am simply curious." She saw that Arthur was in pain and put one hand on his arm. "What's on your mind, Arthur?" she asked.
Arthur pulled a face in pain and shame and looked past his wife when he replied, "I haven't done anything about it all these years. I have killed magicians without questioning the order. I do not want to say how many there were, what gender they were, or even how young some of them were. I really believed that magic is abysmally evil. My experiences in the past have always confirmed me in this, but I don't know if I didn't make it too easy for myself. I did not look for counter-arguments, nor did I question whether the magicians had a good reason to want to kill my father. And now I sit here and read all these senseless condemnations and have an answer to the question: Yes, they did not have only one reason. There are hundreds, if not thousands of reasons in these judgments. What kind of king am I that in my kingdom on sorcery still officially stands the execution? Yes, yes, I know. I have not had a magician executed since my reign, but does that really make me better than my father?" Gwen shook Arthur slightly and forced him to look at her. "Arthur, you are so much a better man than your father in so many ways. Fortunately, you do not have a blind hatred for wizards and you try to understand Merlin, for example. I have come to realize that magic is not evil, only its use can be used for evil. I am very sure that the law must be changed. It may meet with resistance from some, because in their minds hatred and fear prevails. But we can overcome this together. Your knights will also help you. Even Sir Leon, who served your father for decades, questions his view on magic. We probably won't convince all of them, but most of them will be behind it after a period of getting used to it. Your people will also be relieved to lose the fear of having accidentally helped a wizard. Just imagine the distrust towards any stranger and the conflict that many tavern owners will surely face. They also live off the strangers and travelers and can never be sure that a wizard was not among them after all and they must fear the death penalty for this. And this is exactly the point where I would approach this matter. Repeated small changes cause less resistance overall. We could decide today in the next council meeting that this law should be changed. For example, the wording could be as follows: 'The harboring and feeding of sorcerers will result in an interrogation, but will not be punished further. If this wizard attempts to harm Camelot, he must be reported immediately and any violation will be punished appropriately. Gwen's eyes glowed with excitement.
Arthur took time to reflect on her words, smiled and kissed his wife on the forehead with the following words: "I am a happy man. My wife is not only beautiful, but she is gifted with common sense."
The moment was interrupted by his stomach growling and he smiled apologetically. Quietly they ate a small meal that Gareth had brought before.
Sir Leon and Sir Gwaine came into the throne room a short time later and bowed. "My King, the woman described by Gareth was seen, but no one knew exactly who she was. She has no employment in the kitchen. I am inconsolable that we have not yet found the culprit," Sir Leon reported.
"Thank you, Sir Leon, we will give each guard a description of the woman and they are to report it immediately. Gwen and I are currently reading legal texts and judgments concerning sorcery," Arthur began and reported on Gwen's suggestion.
Gwaine grinned widely as the language fell on the taverns. "Yes, that's good practice. We will adjust the laws bit by bit and people can slowly get used to the fact that magic is not generally bad and is ostracized. At some point, maybe knights with magic will become a familiar sight and we won't be so helplessly dependent on Merlin's intervention. Maybe he won't be the only magician who uses his power in the background to protect us.
The rattling of the throne room door delayed further discussion. The doors swung open and Tea was stopped by a guard. She frustratedly blew a curl from her face with the following words: "King Arthur, could you please tell your guards that I have permission to visit you.
The adults looked at the girl speechlessly. As the king nodded at the guard, Tea let go and closed the double door again.
"Phew! Thank you very much. Merlin and Mordred finally talked to each other, and I was getting pretty bored with Bronwen, and I had promised to accompany Merlin and you so often,as it is just possible. By the way, I have brought you a gift because you are a really generous host. I know it's not worth much, but I found it very beautiful."
Tea joyfully presented the small stone slab to the king and looked so pleased with her gift that Arthur marveled at the green and white pattern. He wanted to put the plate on the table next to him, but the girl suddenly looked so sad that he decided against it and let the small gift disappear into the inside of his coat. "Thank you for your gift, I have never seen such a piece of stone before. To prevent the stone disk from accidentally falling off the table, I will carry it with me today and bring it to my chamber later," said the king with a smile.
Tea beamed all over his face and then frowned. "Can she not fall out of your coat either?"
Arthur scratched his head and Gwen came to his aid. With a quick flick of the wrist, the disc was stowed in the breast pocket of his shirt. That wasn't very comfortable for him, but that way he couldn't forget it and take it out of his shirt before he took it off. Besides, he didn't want to be disturbed by a piece of stone - what did it look like before his knights? Out of the corner of his eye he saw the first knights who were already entering the throne room. Tea, too, saw the men enter the hall and also noticed the surprised looks that lay upon her, so she quickly whispered to the king: "What is your reason for letting me watch the council meeting?
This question was quite justified. What could he tell his knight? Unfortunately, it was still too early for you to tell the truth, but he didn't want to lie either. He noticed that his concentration had decreased considerably, apparently a little rest would have been a good idea for him after all, but he had to grit his teeth now. Unfortunately he did not have a good idea for the question.
When all the knights had gathered, Gwen opened the council meeting: "Greetings, Knights of Camelot. Be lenient with your King, he has not yet fully recovered." She gave Sir Gwaine a striking wink, and not only a knight could not help but smile. Arthur didn't like it because he feared he would appear weak, but blaming it on the wine was a good excuse for the time being. "I would also like to introduce you to little Teaghan. Even if Gaius does not want to admit it, but unfortunately he is no longer the youngest. The healer Bronwen has been staying in our castle since yesterday and Teaghan belongs to her. We hope that we can offer them a job in the castle so that Gaius will be relieved. I demand of you all to keep absolute silence towards Gaius about Bronwen replacing the old healer. Since it is already known that Merlin cannot attend the council meeting due to his own fault, Tea will represent him today. We hope that tomorrow he will receive the receipt at the pillory with rotten vegetables".
There was laughter. Gwen leaned over to Tea and said not very quietly, "Don't worry, Tea, it just meant refilling the king's wine, but preferably not too much.
Laughter was heard again. Tea nodded understandingly and smiled as well.
"Let today's council meeting begin! Does anyone have a specific request?" Gwen ended her opening address.
Sir Fewon immediately spoke: "King Arthur, are you all right? Was it really just the wine that got to you?"
Arthur looked in the direction of the knight and replied: "It is embarrassing to admit, but I guess I had an upset stomach. I should definitely pay more attention to what I ingest in the near future. But I feel much better and after a good night's sleep I feel great again, thanks for asking. Are there any other concerns?"
Sir Fewon spoke again: "If I may ask, my king, what are your thoughts on sorcery?"
"This is not an easy question to answer simply 'yes' or 'no'. I have begun to question my father's laws. This does not mean that I suddenly abolish all laws and dictate my own indiscriminately. My wife and I began to study the laws and judgments concerning sorcery, one law in particular caught our attention. Residents of the kingdom must face the death penalty if they help a sorcerer even unknowingly. This also applies, for example, to harboring or feeding magicians. But how should an owner of a tavern or inn be able to verify that he is a magician? This is probably only possible if the owner of the tavern or inn has magic himself. My subjects live with the constant fear of having accidentally helped a wizard and receiving the death penalty for it. But they must make a living, otherwise they and their families would starve. I would like to discuss the proposal first and then vote to change this law. The discussion is now open..." Arthur could hardly finish the sentence when a heated discussion was already raging. It was difficult for him to follow the various fragments of the sentence and to absorb the atmosphere, as his head began to hurt. He looked at his wife, who listened intently to the discussion. Here and there she frowned and smiled briefly.
Arthur again concentrated on the discussion, when suddenly Sir Fewon screamed red with anger: "Magicians are evil! Helping them makes those affected just as complicit".
Arthur fixed Sir Fewon and quietly asked into the resulting silence: "Sir Fewon, correct me if I am wrong, but you have a preference for berry wine, don't you?
Sir Fewon did not understand the change of subject, but nodded.
"This would mean that you deserve the death penalty if, for example, one of your wine sellers has magic. After all, you bought goods from him and thus supported him with a few coins.
In the meantime, the knight's head was swollen dark red and a vein was throbbing at his neck in anger. "Yes, then I deserve it. Where would we be if we allowed the unwitting help of sorcerers today? Then in a week's time, cursed magic will be allowed throughout the kingdom, won't it?"
The other discussions had long since ceased. Arthur looked at Sir Fewon defiantly and said softly, "And if it were so?"
Sir Fewon muttered, "She was right. She was right. I can't believe it."
Arthur glanced briefly in Sir Fewon's direction, but was distracted by Sir Percival, who turned to the other knights: "I fear that not many people will remain in the kingdom if this law is rigorously enforced. How would one know whether a stranger or perhaps a well-known person possesses magic? And even the phrase "any help" could cover almost anything, from a friendly smile over a jug of beer to the planning of a murder."
"Thank you, Sir Percival. First, I would like to vote on whether or not this bill needs to be changed. All in favor of amendment, please raise your hand."
Everyone in the room raised their hands except Sir Fewon. He remained motionless in his place and seemed to no longer follow the conversation.
"Well, that settles that. Now it is a matter of determining the content and the exact wording of the legal text. I have a proposal for this, which I would like to put up for discussion: 'The harboring and feeding of magicians leads to an interrogation, but will not be punished further. If this wizard attempts to harm Camelot in a demonstrable manner, this must be reported immediately and any offence will be punished appropriately.
Sir Leon frowned and remarked: "The wording 'any help' should appear in the text and the inn could serve as an example.
The knights continued to discuss the specific wording. Arthur had to suppress a yawn. He found this council meeting extremely tiring. He was not interested in the exact words. It was mainly important what content should emerge from them. On the other hand, he also did not want the law to be twisted and yet again innocent people to die. He went to see Sir Fewon, since he still hadn't gotten out of his paralysis. Even when Arthur approached him, he did not move. He grabbed him by the arm when he suddenly jumped up. When Arthur then saw a knife rushing towards his chest, he could only follow the knife tip, which ate into his shirt. He heard a scratching sound that hurt his ears, but he could not identify it. His thoughts were still sluggish, and he could only marginally hear the chaos that suddenly broke out in the throne room. He actually expected to see blood flowing from his chest, or at least to feel pain besides a brief squeeze.
Sir Leon had immediately disarmed and immobilized Sir Fewon. He babbled to himself the whole time: "This cannot be allowed. That must not happen. Magic is evil. It is evil! I saved my family from this before it was too late. It can't be done. They can't have died for nothing. It just can't be. I saved them!"
Gwen was by Arthur's side seconds later, examining his chest. But she found no wound. Everyone had clearly seen that Sir Fewon had stabbed him without hindrance, so he must have a wound.
"Magic has saved the king," was suddenly whispered.
Arthur noticed someone tugging at his cloak and he looked into Teas satisfied smile.
"Too bad about the stone disc. Maybe I'll find a new one someday. Will you take better care of it then?"
Gwen slapped her hand in front of her mouth after she pulled out the broken stone disk in the breast pocket of Arthur's shirt. "You have ... saved my life ... with your gift ... your stone disk ...", the king stated chopped off.
A murmur went through the throne room. Tea now beamed all over his face and said, "Yes, the gift was apparently more valuable than I thought. I am relieved that nothing happened to you. May I now attend council meetings more often? They are not so boring after all."
The knights didn't know whether to laugh it off or shake their heads. Gwen crouched down in front of Tea, gave her a warm embrace and said, "You are welcome anytime, my dear Tea with the icy blue eyes.
Tea gladly returned the hug and said, "Thank you, my Queen. Is the vote finally taking place or will these discussions go on for hours?"
Gwen had to hold back a smile. Arthur replied, "Tea, you are right that further discussion will not change the actual outcome. Gwen, you know my opinion. Can you amend the proposed law accordingly and then call for a vote?" "And you, my dear husband, go to Gaius as a precaution and have yourself examined anyway," Gwen asked. Seeing the contradiction in Arthur's eyes, she added: "Please, I would be more comfortable with this thought.
Arthur sighed and was actually glad to finally be able to escape from the throne room. He noticed that the shock from the attempted murder was subsiding, he was struggling with fatigue again, and his concentration was failing again. He smiled and gave his queen a kiss, then the king said goodbye with the words: "How could I refuse this request? The next council meeting will exceptionally take place tomorrow at the same time".
The king stood up and was about to leave when a smaller hand crept into his. He looked at the foreign hand in bewilderment and understood that Tea wanted to go with him, holding hands. Since the girl was so radiant, he automatically smiled back and continued on his way without further comment. He was quite sure that all eyes in the throne room followed this scene. Tea began with, "Are we going to visit Merlin now?" as the doors of the throne room closed behind the two of them.
Many stared after the king in the castle as he walked to his chamber with a girl with angel curls on her hand. It was not surprising that the rumor mill was bubbling. The rumor that the brat had saved Arthur, however, persisted. Some rumored something about magic, others could deny it with the sober explanation that a piece of stone would have prevented worse wounds. It was also rumored that a knight of Camelot, a nobleman from a famous house, had attacked the king himself. Some suspected a conspiracy, others saw evil magic behind it. The truth, however, was difficult to discern from the rumors.
Hey hey:)
at first, thanks for reading this story. I can´t believe that I actually meet people here who really read and like my stories. Just so you can catch the prologue, I´m also now writing on Archiv of our own (Ao3) and I´m also publishing this story on my account there. It´s the same Username as here. So if you rather read it there you can do it too. Otherwise im thinking about uploading this story and other stories in the future on my wattpad, but does anybody of you have wattpad? If so, please let me know:)