A/N: Thank you SnidgetHex, GuestM, steffiundaxel, and Buckhunter for reviewing the last episode! I'm glad you're enjoying these. :D
Chapter 1
Arthur lined up his shot at the pool table and struck the cue ball. It ricocheted against the blue, which in turn knocked the green into the side pocket. The cue ball rolled into the corner. Leon shook his head as he rounded the table to try and line up any kind of decent shot from that position.
It was a quiet mid-morning in The Apothecary, the Pendragon's Knights the only patrons at this time of day. So when the door squeaked open, it drew everyone's gazes. Arthur went rigid at who walked in. Dressed in a business suit, black hair slicked back, Agravaine looked just as he did the last time Arthur had seen him.
The man roved his gaze around the bar, expression brightening when he spotted Arthur.
"When did he get out?" Leon asked quietly.
"Don't know," Arthur replied and set his pool stick down. He marched across the room, guard up. "What do you want?" he asked hostilely.
"Now is that any way to greet your uncle after all these years?" Agravaine replied, tone gratingly pleasant.
"I thought my silence over that time made it clear I never wanted to see you again."
Agravaine sighed with a wounded expression. "It's been a long time, Arthur. I was hoping we could put the past behind us, start over. Prison has a way of changing a man, you know."
"No, I don't," Arthur said tersely. "Now get out."
"Arthur," Agravaine said pleadingly. "I have something to give you. From your mother."
Arthur froze at that. His mother had died giving birth to him. He'd never known her, never even had a piece of her. He turned back to his uncle. "Alright."
"I don't have it with me. Why don't we meet for lunch. I can give it to you, and we can talk."
Arthur clenched his jaw. Of course anything Agravaine offered came with strings attached. He wanted to tell his uncle where he could shove his invitation…yet the chance to have something of his mother's…
"Fine," Arthur ground out.
"Great," Agravaine said with a beaming smile. "Lunch today, at The Revlon, say in three hours?"
Arthur nodded grudgingly.
"Oh, and do make sure to dress appropriately."
Arthur bristled, already regretting his agreement.
Agravaine left, leaving Arthur in a sour mood.
Leon came up next to him. "You sure about this?"
"I have no intention of letting him back into my life. But if he has something of my mother's…"
Leon nodded in understanding.
Arthur's cell rang and he fished it out. It was Morgana. "Hey," he answered.
"Arthur, I'm sorry to bring you something last minute."
"That's alright," he replied. He could use a distraction.
"I'm prosecuting a soccer coach for molesting one of his thirteen-year-old players," she explained. "But the kid is having a difficult time dealing with the trauma, and my entire case hinges on his testimony. This morning his parents called to say he'd changed his mind. I was hoping you could try to help him."
"Of course." He could hear Morgana's exhalation of relief.
"Thank you. I'll text you their address. I told Mr. and Mrs. Hoge about you and what you do. I'll call to let them know to expect you."
Arthur hung up, and a moment later his phone beeped with the text message. "Round up the Knights," he told Leon.
The gang responded quickly, and they were riding up to their destination within the hour. The sound of seven motorcycles negated the need to ring a doorbell, as Mr. Hoge opened his front door at their raucous arrival.
"Mr. Hoge," Arthur greeted after dismounting. "I'm Arthur Pendragon."
The man nodded stiffly, looking uncertain about a bunch of bikers coming to his house. "Ms. Pendragon told us about you. Come in."
The Knights filed in and met Mrs. Hoge, who looked just as skeptical at them being there.
"Adam's in his room," she said. "He hasn't come out since yesterday. Ms. Pendragon assures us this is the kind of thing you deal with, but frankly I'm concerned you'll just scare our son more."
"We understand," Arthur said. "But our intimidating look is for the scumbags sitting on the defense side of the courtroom. I promise you we only want to support your son."
"Mind if we go try to talk to him?" Merlin asked.
Mrs. Hoge exchanged a nervous look with her husband, then shrugged and gestured up the stairs. "Second door on the right."
Arthur nodded, and just him and Merlin went up while the others stayed to get more details about the case from the parents. The second door on the right was shut, and Arthur knocked on it gently.
"Adam? My name is Arthur. Ms. Pendragon called me. She thought me and my friends could help you. Can we talk?"
"No. Go away."
"Hey Adam," Merlin tried. "Would you like to see a magic trick?"
"What? No."
Merlin pulled a deck of cards from his pocket and fanned them out, then stuck the tops under the door. "Come on, take a card," he prodded.
He waited several long moments, but finally Arthur saw one of the cards slip out of the group. Merlin removed the rest of the deck and stuffed it back in his pocket.
"Okay, now rip it up and slide the pieces back under the door."
Adam didn't say anything, but a few moments later, ripped up pieces of the card were shoved back under the door. Merlin gathered up the pieces and with a swift twist of his hand, flicked the card back under the door, whole.
Adam yanked the door open and stood there gaping. "How'd you do that?"
Merlin grinned. "A magician never reveals his secrets. I'm Merlin, by the way. Can we come in?"
Adam warily backed away from the door without closing it, so they took that as permission. He retreated to the far corner of his room. Arthur and Merlin stayed just inside the doorway so as not to make him feel crowded.
"We're part of a group of bikers who stand against child abuse," Arthur said. "We come with them to court when they face their abusers. If their abuser isn't in jail yet, we stand guard outside their house so they feel safe. Whatever they need, we're there for them. We'd like to be there for you."
Adam regarded him warily yet thoughtfully.
"Want to come out and meet the rest of the guys?" Merlin asked.
Adam didn't say anything, but he slowly slunk away from the wall. Arthur reached out to shake his hand, which Adam took tentatively. They then headed downstairs to make introductions.
"We understand you're feeling nervous about testifying," Arthur brought up after that was done.
Adam immediately blanched. "He'll be there."
Arthur nodded soberly. "He will. But so will we. And he can't hurt you."
Adam shook his head frantically. "I can't."
His pale complexion suddenly took on a green tinge, and he bolted from the living room. A moment later came the sound of retching.
Mrs. Hoge wrung her hands in her lap, distraught. "We can't do this. We can't put him through this."
"He's already going through it," Merlin pointed out kindly.
Mr. Hoge shook his head. "We just want this to be over."
"We know it's hard," Leon put in. "But Adam's coach shouldn't be allowed to get away with what he did. He'll just go on to hurt someone else. And it won't truly be over until Adam can get that closure."
"We'll work with him," Merlin promised. "Help him get to a place where he feels he can testify."
His parents shared fraught looks but then nodded. "Alright. We'll let you try. But don't push him."
"That's not what we do," Arthur assured them. "Our mission is to help the kids. The justice system will take care of their abusers."
Unfortunately, Arthur had to leave Adam with the rest of his capable Knights since he had a lunch appointment. As much as he wanted to postpone it, he didn't have a number to reach his uncle at.
He stopped by his house to change clothes, even though it irked him. He'd grown up wearing tailored outfits and suits, and it was a life that wasn't for him, wasn't him. Part of him wanted to say screw it and show up in his black jeans and leather jacket, but pushing Agravaine's buttons would only result in some kind of emotional punishment—like withholding whatever it was he had to give Arthur from his mother. So Arthur settled for digging out an old button-up shirt with a proper collar and some casual slacks, but he was not going to wear a suit jacket or tie.
He rode to the restaurant on his bike, which the valets looked at dubiously. There was an empty area with just enough space to park his motorcycle, so he did.
"Uh, sir?" one of the valets addressed him.
"Any of you have a motorcycle license?" Arthur asked.
"Er, no…"
"Then I won't be long."
He strode past them and into the restaurant. Agravaine was already there, seated at a table in the center of the dining room. He raised a hand when he spotted Arthur, that genial smile on his face that grated on Arthur's nerves.
"Arthur, I'm glad you came."
"I said I would," he said curtly as he slid into the seat across from his uncle.
A waiter came over and asked what they wanted to drink. Agravaine ordered one of their alcohol menu items while Arthur asked for just water. As the waiter went to get their drinks, Arthur opened the menu to scan the dishes.
"You're looking well," Agravaine said.
Arthur didn't respond to that. "I'll order the chicken," he said, putting the menu down. The sooner they ordered, the sooner they could eat, and the sooner Arthur could politely leave.
"Hm," Agravaine hummed, surveying the menu. "The steak here is excellent."
Arthur almost asked who was picking up the check, given his uncle probably didn't have much money to his name and Arthur did.
The waiter returned with their drinks and then took their orders.
"How have you been, my boy?" Agravaine asked.
Arthur clenched his fists in his lap. Of course his uncle was just going to act like they had a normal relationship, that all the years of beatings didn't happen. "Fine."
"I'm glad to hear it. I followed some of your work while in prison. You've made quite a…name for yourself."
Arthur forced out an equally insincere smile. "You have something of my mother's?"
"Ah yes." Agravaine leaned back in his chair and pulled a silver locket from his breast pocket.
Arthur reached across the table to take it reverently. It was delicate, with intricate filigree across the front and smooth etching on the back. He opened it. Inside was a picture of a young woman with blonde hair.
"Is that her?" he asked. He'd never seen a picture of her before; his father hadn't kept any reminders of her after she died.
"Yes," Agravaine replied. "She was beautiful."
Arthur nodded, soaking up every little detail about the woman's face, her kind eyes and expressive smile.
He was interrupted when their food arrived, and he closed the locket, keeping it in one hand as he picked up his utensil with the other.
"She was the life of the party wherever she went," Agravaine continued. "That's what caught Uther's eye. Oh, but she made him work for it."
"What was she like?" Arthur asked, desperate to hear anything about her. He'd asked his uncle before, of course, when he'd been a boy, but Agravaine had never indulged him.
He'd had this locket for years and never once thought to give it to Arthur, his sister's son. Arthur knew Agravaine was just using it now to manipulate him, and damn was it working.
As soon as he finished his plate, Arthur jerked himself out of his desperate need. "I need to go," he said abruptly.
Agravaine blinked in surprise, then nodded. "Alright. I hope we can do this again soon."
Arthur wanted to say no, knew he should say no.
"We can talk more about your mother."
And there it was, the hook Arthur couldn't resist.
He gave a grudging nod as he left enough cash to cover both their meals, hating that after all these years, his uncle still had power over him.