Arthur just reached a harbinger who announced the imminent arrival of King Olaf. The royal couple set off with Tea to greet King Olav and his entourage, as the herald had ridden only a few minutes before his ruler. Arthur was surprised to find that Princess Vivian also accompanied the king.
Tea said softly to Arthur: "It is lucky that you did not marry this woman, she looks like trouble.
Arthur replied softly, "I never intended to marry Princess Vivian. The only thing between us was an angry love spell, which fortunately was broken."
Gwen put on her friendly smile and gave Arthur a little nudge to welcome the guests properly.
"King Olaf and Princess Vivian. Several years have passed since our last meeting. Unfortunately, not only good things but also sad things have happened during this time, so it is all the more gratifying that your visit has come so quickly in this precarious situation."
"King Arthur, although the circumstances of this meeting are not under a good star, I am nevertheless pleased that we can finally continue our peace negotiations. I..." King Olav interrupted his greeting, as another delegation came riding into the castle courtyard. He frowned. "Are you expecting another negotiating partner?"
Vivian tugged excitedly at her father's arm and said angrily: "Look father, there is a blonde and elegant woman who is certainly also after King Arthur.
The royal couple heard these words in bewilderment, but Tea giggled softly. Arthur began to explain: "Yes, several letters were sent. If the impression has been created that only you have received a message, then I must put it right."
Arthur could not continue his explanation, because he already had to welcome the next arrivals. Tea made big eyes when she saw the blonde woman and said to the queen not exactly quietly: "Wow, how beautiful and elegant this woman looks. That's exactly how I want to become, or like Princess Mithian or like you are.
Princess Vivian heard her words and looked at Tea angrily. She took advantage of the unobserved moment and stuck out the princess' tongue.
"King Godwyn and Princess Elena! It is truly a pleasure to welcome you. If I may be so bold," said Arthur and addressed his word to Elena, "but you are even more beautiful and elegant than I remember.
The Princess smiled with pleasure, made a very elegant curtsey and replied: "Thank you, Arthur, for the compliment, but you look excellent too. It seems that not only being a king is good for you, but also married life. And this is your Queen Guinevere. I am very pleased to finally meet you and wish you all the best for this love marriage.
At the last words Elena had shortened the distance between herself and Gwen and had taken her hands. King Godwyn smiled happily at his daughter, and Princess Vivian was outraged that she was no longer the center of attention. Since Arthur made no effort to invite the guests into the castle, Gwen took the floor. She informed the visitors that Princess Mithian was already staying in the castle and that more important people were expected until tomorrow. Tomorrow morning the first joint talks would be held in the throne room. Since it was already late, everyone was brought a little something to eat to their room.

Arthur decided to visit the head of the castle guard and discuss the new situation with him. When the king himself came to Warrick's room, he was surprised at first, but immediately took a stand and greeted him appropriately.
"Warrick, since there are many rulers from other kingdoms residing in the castle at the moment, it is of absolute importance that the safety of all is ensured. This includes not only that no one from outside is allowed to enter the castle without authorization, but also that the guests are not involved in any disputes among themselves. It is to be arranged immediately that the guards are increased and special attention is required.
"My King, it will be done as you wish. Do you want to continue to report how the people react to the release of magic?", the guard asked cautiously.
Arthur was astonished to hear the castle guard speak of this, but he nodded.
"Sir Leon had asked me to listen to what the people had to say

Magic thinks. I am surprised that most people have received the news very positively. I suspect that some of them even possess magic themselves, but are still careful to say this out loud. Nevertheless, I notice that magic is no longer practiced in secret. I just saw another colleague cleaning his sword with a spell. Also in the city people are more open with this topic. It remains to be seen whether the euphoria continues or the mood turns back to fear. In all taverns this is - besides the dragon, the enemy army and the high visitor - the main topic of conversation. The people seem to have found new hope and are confident that the current threat can be mastered.
"Good, that's good. Keep listening and take care of the doubling of the guards."
Warrick called a farewell to the King, since he was already on his way to Sir Baron.
Arthur sent for Sir Baron. A servant informed him that although he was not at home, Arthur's message would be delivered that Sir Baron should contact him as soon as there was news from the druids.

Arthur finally made his way to his chamber. He was looking forward to talking to his wife about the day for a short while and then finally being able to sleep. On the way there, he recalled the conversation with the archer. It really looked like it had been an accident that the young man had let go of the bow's tendon out of nervousness.
He saw that although Gwen had already gone to bed, she had been waiting for him to return.
They exchanged views about the day when Gwen sighed.
"What's bothering you?" Arthur asked.
"The talks tomorrow will be a tightrope walk. There will be quite a few rulers sitting in a room who are used to having their orders carried out. We will also encounter false pride and vanity. I simply hope that the negotiations end without incident and that we manage to protect Camelot and the other kingdoms".
"Yes," Arthur said, "so do I."

_

Merlin woke up the next morning and he was overjoyed. He just couldn't help it. Magic - magic was finally no longer forbidden in Camelot. He knew that within a few days there would have to be fighting. He also knew that there would probably be important negotiations today that would determine the future of Camelot, and yet, in his head, for example, there was only the thought of Aithusa, how she had simply been by his side yesterday, or how Tea had smiled at him beaming with joy. He spoke briefly with Gaius, who had talked and exchanged a lot with Bronwen yesterday. Not only Bronwen was amazed at how comprehensive the knowledge of the court physician was. Gaius was also amazed at how much the young healer already knew about the art of healing and magic. He was not ashamed to admit that he had not paid much attention to the practical, healing art of magic during the last decades. Bronwen was particularly impressed that the court physician seemed to have practical experience in many areas, even though magic had been punished by death for decades. It reassured Merlin that in Bronwen, Gaius had someone who shared his passion and could relieve him. Merlin literally gobbled down his food and was on his way to the kitchen to get the royal couple's breakfast. On the way he noticed a commotion. He was surprised to discover that King Odin was involved in a dispute with another man.
Merlin cleared his throat loudly and bowed unconcernedly, saying, "Can I possibly help you, King Odin and ...". But then Merlin came to a halt, because he did not know the other man. He took a closer look at him. This one looked kind of scary. From his clothing and posture you could tell that he was a ruler of a kingdom and through a scar in the lower chin area, you could guess that he had fought and survived many battles.
" ... and King Lot", Merlin finished his bow, as this could be the only reasonable conclusion.
"How do you know my name, laddie?", he asked and came threateningly towards Merlin.
King Odin stood in the way. He had not forgotten that it was Merlin who had made Arthur consider whether his own death or sparing his life would bring peace to Camelot

and thus the servant had indirectly saved his life with his intervention.
"You are protecting the boy, so it is a confidant of yours, Odin!", King Lot spat out.
He heard that the servant desperately tried to suppress a laugh.
Since both kings found this reaction totally inappropriate, they were speechless.
Merlin took advantage of the silence and introduced himself: "No, Your Majesties. I am no confidant of King Odin. I am Merlin, the personal servant of King Arthur. I will inform the royal couple immediately that other guests have arrived during the night. If you wish, breakfast can be taken in your room. In the morning, a meeting with all participants is scheduled in the throne room. If you wish to be greeted beforehand by the two Highnesses, I can of course pass this on." Merlin said this kindly, but without excessive subservience or even fear.
King Lot's eyes narrowed to slits and he said in a cutting voice: "I demand to speak to King Arthur at once, and alone.
Immediately Odin took the floor and he ordered: "I also expect a meeting with the king, before the meeting this morning in the throne room.
Lot's clothing gave the impression that he had just dismounted from his horse, but Odin seemed to be rested. Merlin bowed again and replied, "As you wish. I will tell King Arthur that you, King Odin, await him in your rooms after his breakfast.
King Odin nodded and turned on his heel.
"If it is no trouble for you, King Lot, I can take you directly to the king and you can have a snack together with the royal couple. If you would like to retire to a room to freshen up and have breakfast alone, I will arrange it immediately.
"Take me to King Arthur immediately," King Lot commanded.
Merlin nodded and went off. "If you would like to follow me. But it is quite possible that King Arthur is not yet ready to receive visitors," he said with a grin.
King Lot was indignant. He could neither estimate nor intimidate this servant. He was not sure whether the servant was simply an idiot or tired of life, or whether Camelot was very different from Essetir.
Merlin knocked and announced that breakfast and King Lot were at the door. Merlin heard a dull thud and entered. He saw that King Arthur had fallen out of bed. Merlin was relieved that Gwen had apparently already got up and gone to her room to change. King Lot marched into the chamber and Arthur quickly jumped to his feet. The sight of this king made Arthur wide awake at a stroke. He ignored his unbecoming clothes and greeted the other king.
This one just growled.
Gwen just came into the room and Arthur introduced the two to each other. When the mood in the room became even more tense, Merlin cleared his throat and suggested: "Excuse me, my queen, your breakfast is served".
Gwen smiled gratefully at Merlin and said, "King Lot, would you be so kind as to join me for breakfast so that my husband can dress in something more appropriate?
Again King Lot growled, but sat down opposite the queen. Merlin already had clothes for Arthur in his hand and helped him dress quickly. Meanwhile, he quietly informed Arthur that King Odin had also arrived at the castle and was waiting for Arthur in his room after breakfast.
"I assume you have just arrived," Gwen began the conversation and poured water for herself and the king.
"Hm," said King Lot, and drank from his cup only after Gwen had drunk from hers.
"Did you come alone?" she continued with a smile.
"Hm," he growled again.
"I am pleased that you have also responded to the letter with a visit. I was pleased to note that you did not order your army to commit suicide, so you have a large, healthy, battle-hardened army," said Gwen in a chattering tone, just as if she was talking about the weather.
King Lot jumped up and demanded to know where she was getting this information from. Arthur calmly sat down next to his wife and began breakfast as well. He gestured to King Lot to sit down again.
"Aithusa told us this yesterday at noon."
King Lot did not sit down and asked in a cutting voice: "Who is Aithusa?"
Arthur replied, "Aithusa is a white dragon lady who has it in her head to protect Camelot."
"I do not believe in fairy tales," King Lot said angrily.
Suddenly the door opened and Tea came storming into the room. She ignored the Highnesses, stood directly in front of Merlin and asked, beaming with joy, "Good morning, are we visiting Aithusa again today? Do you think she could fly a round with me or does she perhaps not like it? Have you ever flown on a kite before? I imagine it would be wonderful!"
King Lot could not hold on to himself and cried out in anger: "Is everyone here crazy?
Tea noticed the presence of the strange man and greeted him well-behaved with a curtsey: "Forgive me, I am Teaghan. I have recently moved to Camelot and am friends with Merlin, Mithian and Aithusa.
King Lot winked several times and he was not sure if he was caught in a ridiculous nightmare. Tea waited for the man to introduce himself, but he said nothing. She asked Gwen, "Did I introduce myself wrong?"
"No, Tea," said Gwen, "you did everything right. This is King Lot from Essetir. He has just arrived today and we were just talking about Aithusa."
Tea beamed at the strange man and said, "Have you met the Dragon Lady, too? She is beautiful, isn't she? I do not understand why people are afraid of her, she is rather gentle."
King Lot fixed the girl and asked, "You saw the dragon with your own eyes?"
"Yes, and I might even touch her," said Tea proudly.
"Magic is forbidden in Camelot! How does it fit in with the alliance with a dragon?" King Lot asked Arthur.
"Well, that law was recently abolished. Magic is no longer generally outlawed in Camelot," said Arthur, and he could not keep his pride or conviction out of his words. "My wife has just mentioned your decision to let your army retreat. May I know how this decision came about?"
King Lot briefly processed the information, sat down and replied: "Your letter was only one reason for this decision. The sheer size of the enemy was overwhelming. I am not thinking of sending my army to death because of false pride. Nevertheless, I want the enemy force to be crushed, as they are looting and pillaging my kingdom right now, and that is absolutely unacceptable. I have never been a friend of the Pendragons. This is still true, considering who your sister is. "Morgana is responsible for so much suffering among my people that I would rather she were..." He broke off as he followed the queen's gaze and it came to rest on Tea.
The girl looked him straight in the eyes and the little girl spoke to him: "Yes, yes, and so on. You now have a common enemy and immediately... What exactly do you want to accuse Arthur of? He can't change who his father was or who his sister is, nor does he need to justify himself for defending his kingdom relentlessly. So what is your personal grudge against Arthur?"
"Uther did then," King Lot replied, interrupted by Gwen.
"That was not the real question. This is not about Uther or Morgana. This is about Arthur and myself and the knights and people of Camelot."
King Lot entangled the army and kept silent. For a moment, Teas eyes became glassy. "How revolting. Why do you hang heads on the outer wall of your castle? It's disgusting and barbaric!"
The mood suddenly became charged. King Lot repeatedly wished to return to the battlefield, for there he was in his element. He looked into the icy blue eyes of the girl and heard him reveal the real reason for this act: "It serves as a deterrent. I love to look at the decomposing heads of my enemies, so that everyone thinks twice about whether it is really the right decision to become my enemy. If this measure keeps some from committing atrocities, it has served its purpose.
Tea frowned and said, "I do not understand. The dead can no longer feel any pain from this act, but the family in question is in nothing but pain from this sight.
"How old are you?" exclaimed King Lot.
"I am twelve," said Tea.
The king did not know how to answer this.
Sir Mordred appeared at the door and spoke softly but forcefully to Merlin. He nodded, cleared his throat and said aloud, "King Bayard from Mercia and King Alined from Deorham have also arrived. King Arthur, you are expected by King Odin and soon after the negotiations will start. May I escort you, King Lot, to your chamber?
King Lot bid a stiff farewell and followed Merlin. On the way, King Lot had an idea: "You must be the jester of the castle," he noted with satisfaction.
Merlin laughed and said: "King Arthur would probably confirm this immediately, but I am really his servant.

Gwen asked Sir Mordred for news. He reported that some of the guests were up early and some had already arrived in the throne room.
"Please go to the throne room and observe the situation. If it gets dicey, King Arthur will come and fetch the knight," the queen told the knight.
Before Mordred could leave the room, the queen asked surprisingly: "What do you know about prophecies?
The knight frowned and asked, "Why do you want to know?"
"I believe that Merlin saw a vision of Arthur dying. I will do everything I can to save Arthur. Unfortunately, I do not understand prophecies very well. The book of Prophecies has given me some insight into the subject, but there are some aspects I do not fully understand."
Mordred was still on guard, but was somewhat reassured by her answer. "I have had little contact with visions and prophecies among the druids. Basically one should distinguish between prophecies that were seen by means of visions themselves or whose wording was recorded. Visions whose wording has only been noted down are very imprecise and allow a high scope of interpretation. Visions are easier and more difficult at the same time. The scene seen will occur exactly as seen with a very high probability. But the question is rather what meaning or consequences the scene has. Some situations seem more harmless, others more dangerous than they really are in the present.
"Can you give an example of this," Gwen asked in a concentrated manner.
"Assuming that you see in a vision that Arthur is being poisoned, that doesn't necessarily mean that he dies. The vision did not show what would happen next. It's just an excerpt from a very probable future. If no antidote were found, death would be the consequence - but if an antidote were found, he would survive. Only a fool would throw a vision to the wind. But he who interprets his actions only according to a vision is a fool as well.
"Oh, I wish I had more time to deal with the subject, but I fear that this wish will not be fulfilled. I'll consult with Gaius before the negotiations begin. Somehow, that won't leave me in peace." Gwen paused and then asked hopefully, "Do you think Kara could know more about prophecies?"
Mordred said evasively, "It's possible."
"Could you please ask her about this subject today? I have a feeling this is important," she asked Mordred.
"Of course," he replied.
"Thank you very much. After I have visited Gaius, I will come directly to the throne room."

_

Arthur went quickly to King Odin, because there was not much time left until the negotiations. He knocked and entered the room. King Odin had already finished his breakfast and was walking impatiently up and down the room.
"What exactly do you intend to do?", Odin wanted to know. "Don't think that just because we have a truce at the moment that automatically means that we're going to have a truce..."
"There is an army on its way here that Camelot will not withstand without help," Arthur explained.
"You ask me for help?" Odin asked astonishedly and grinned gloatingly.
Arthur clenched his hands into fists out of anger and gradually forced his fingers to relax. "I offer you the opportunity for us to help each other. This army will not stop at Camelot, nor will it spare Cornwall. This is not about me, my pain or my vengeance, but about protecting my people, and I will."
Sir Morderd appeared in the room and reported: "King Arthur, the situation in the throne room is escalating. Your presence there is urgently required."
"Thank you, Sir Mordred. "I will meet with King Odin at once in the Make way. Is my wife here yet?", Arthur inquired.
"No, she has been delayed, so we must hurry," Sir Mordred replied.