Chapter Five
The next month or so found at least one of the boys finding some excuse to be with me nearly at all times. It was endearing, as well as a bit stifling, but I almost didn't mind, if it meant I was safe. Leon even made a few changes to my guards, making sure that the best knights were always around me. "We're never going to let Lot take you," he promised me.
But Leon soon had other things on his mind. Two days before Midsummer, a rider, an older man with more grey than brown in his hair, came tearing into the courtyard, bearing the Cavendish family crest. "I need to speak with Sir Leon!" he cried to the guards.
Gwen and I were on our way to the stables for a morning ride, but we quickly adjusted our destination. "Sir Leon is in the training grounds. We can show you the way," she told the man.
"My Queen," he gasped a bit, eyes widening as he dropped a quick but low bow. "I'm sure one of the guards can lead me there. It's not necessary-"
"Nonsense," she quickly said, cutting off his protestation. "Lady Anna and I were on our way ourselves to observe our knights. Come along."
The man most definitely did not believe her, as we quite obviously were heading in the other direction, but he was wise enough to say nothing about it. He introduced himself as Martin when asked, but otherwise offered nothing. Even when Gwen asked after Leon's family, he declined. "I must inform Sir Leon before anyone else, Your Majesty." That, of course, piqued our curiosity, but we kept it to ourselves.
Activity on the training grounds slowly halted around us as we headed for Arthur and Leon. Both men smiled when they saw us, but Leon's faltered when he saw who accompanied us. "Martin, what is it? What happened?" he asked, hurrying toward us, Arthur on his heels.
"My lord, my king," Martin started, bowing to Arthur. "I'm afraid I've come with terrible news." He looked around, noticing that the other knights on the field had all stopped what they were doing and were now crowding closer to their beloved leader.
Arthur noticed this, as well. "Back to work, you lazies!" he barked, but there was no heat in his words. It was swallowed up in concern for his friend.
The rest of the knights hastily began practicing again, with the exception of Gwaine and Percival. They merely stepped closer to Leon in silent support.
"What is it, Martin?" Leon asked again, concern and worry bleeding out into his every word.
"It's your brother, my lord," the man said finally. "Lord Owen Cavendish had an accident coming home from the village three nights ago. He finally passed this morning. I'm terribly sorry, my lord."
Whatever Leon had been expecting, that clearly was not it. His face ashen, he swayed, Arthur and Gwaine keeping him upright. "Owen… is dead?" he whispered.
Martin nodded. "Yes, my lord. As he only had daughters, you are now Lord of Cavendish. And as Lady Cavendish has also passed, you are also guardian of their three daughters."
This appeared too much for Leon, as his shoulders further slumped. It was nearly painful to see the normally strong man seem so suddenly weak. "Why don't we continue this business inside?" I suggested, going to Leon's side and gently pushing Arthur out of the way. "I'm sure Martin's horse has been taken care of, but you must be fatigued from such a swift journey."
"Yes, we'll have a meal prepared for you," Gwen said, followed the thread I'd begun. She planned aloud to keep the attention on her, leaving me and Gwaine with Leon.
"Come along, mate," Gwaine said gently, considerately.
I slipped my arm through Leon's elbow and began walking. To anyone looking on, it would have appeared that he was being a gentleman and accompanying me, not that I was guiding the unseeing man back into the castle.
Gwen led us all into her sitting room. "We'll have some food sent in for you, Martin," she told the man, who nodded gratefully. "And we'll leave you two to discuss what you need in privacy," she added, neatly shooing the rest of us out of the room with merely a pointed look.
After sending a passing page to the kitchens for food, we found ourselves at a loss as to how we could help Leon. But there was nothing more for us to do, at least until he came out and told us what he needed.
"Do you think he'll stay here, in Camelot?" Arthur asked softly, after several long, uncomfortable moments of silence from all of us. "If that's what he-"
"No, Arthur, I'll stay here," Leon assured grimly, coming out of the sitting room with Martin. "I'll bring the girls here, if that's alright with you?" he added, pleading with Gwen with his eyes.
"Of course!" she immediately responded. "We can have several rooms arranged for you all to be close together."
"Thank you." He managed a smile, one that didn't convince anyone. "Martin, once you've rested, will you head home and prepare for my arrival?"
"Of course, my lord. I'll leave at once," the man said firmly, then bowed to Arthur and Gwen before exiting quickly the way we'd come.
Arthur, Gwaine, and Percival, now assured that their friend was somewhat alright, all made hasty exits, with Arthur dragging Gwen along, as well. "Would you care for a walk, my lord?" I asked, teasing gently.
"I'd like that," he replied, a small, real smile lifting his lips for just a moment.
We walked to the battlements in peaceful silence as I kept my arm through his, just to help remind him that he was not alone. My guards trailed behind us, close enough for safety, yet far enough for privacy. As we stood up above the castle, looking at those below us, I couldn't help but remember my own brother's death. For a moment, the grief came rushing back, feeling as new as the day I lost him.
"I adored Owen, as a small child," Leon suddenly said. "He was my idol, my hero, being that he was a good five years older than me. He could do no wrong in my eyes, and I wanted to be just like him. My mother saw it, and she sat me down one day. I was probably only four years old at the time, but she said, 'Leon, I love your brother very much, as he is my child, but I never want you to be like him.' Of course, I was shocked. How could she not want me to be just like him? She went on to explain that Owen was a bully. He took whatever he wanted, did whatever he wanted, as he was going to be the lord of the manor one day. And Father let him, encouraged him, even, saying that he was learning his place in the world. But Mother did not want that for me."
He let out a sigh, dropping his head to look at the parapet beneath his hands. "I soon started seeing what Mother meant, and I vowed that I would never become like him. I started telling him off, trying to get him to see the error of his ways. Obviously, Owen didn't like that, and I became his newest target. That's how I got to be so good with a sword," he said, a little self-deprecating laugh flavoring his words. "He was far too lazy to regularly practice, so I quickly was able to defend myself when he would occasionally take a swing at me. And then I could beat him, so he found new ways of beating me. If I had my eye on a particular horse, he would ask Father for it first. He killed my hunting dog in an 'accident'. And then, when I was fifteen, I fell in love."
I knew what was coming next. In an attempt to comfort him, I wrapped my arms around his. Leon looked to me with a sad smile. "Elaine was the daughter of the sheriff, and she was the most beautiful girl I'd ever seen. She had hair the exact color of ripened wheat, and eyes like the summer sky. And she was intelligent, and fiery, and loved proving me wrong. I told a friend that I planned on asking her father for her hand, and Owen happened to overhear. As she was beautiful, and he wanted to ruin my happiness, he asked her father first. When I went to ask him, Owen was there with the ugliest smirk on his face. And what could her father do? He'd already promised Elaine to Owen, and he couldn't go back on his word, not to the future lord of the manor. And he was sensible. I was the second son. I'd inherit nothing when Father died, and the whole village knew I planned on becoming a knight. Not many truly believed that I could make it, so I can't blame him."
After a moment, I hugged his arm closer. "What did you do?" I asked softly.
Leon laughed bitterly. "What was there for me to do? I came to Camelot the next day. I've only been home seven or eight times since. I couldn't bear seeing Elaine so miserable, bearing Owen's children. It was like a knife to the heart each time."
"And what happened to your lady?" I asked gently, remembering that Martin had said she'd passed.
"She died in childbirth, almost two years ago now," he said softly, painfully. "Elaine was ill towards the end of her pregnancy, and Alis came early, very early. We almost lost the baby, as well, but with her very last breaths, Elaine kissed her forehead and named her, giving her a blessing. With magic that I didn't know she knew. And Alis has been healthy ever since."
…
None of us wanted Leon to go through the funeral by himself, so the next morning he was a bit surprised to see so many horses prepared and waiting in the courtyard. "If you think we weren't planning on going with you, mate, you don't know us very well," Elyan told him as he helped me onto my horse.
"We're a family," Hunith declared firmly. "And we take care of our own." And that was all there was to say about the matter. Leon simply smiled slightly and mounted his own horse, leading the way to his childhood home.
It wasn't a long journey, only about half a day's ride, so we arrived in the village shortly after midday. Once there, though, our progress slowed immensely. It seemed that every inhabitant of the village wanted to greet Leon, welcoming him back home. And most were awed by Arthur, Gwen, and Merlin, and to a lesser extent, the rest of us. "It's such an honor to meet you, my Lady," a woman, who looked about Hunith's age, gushed to me. "We've heard so much about you lot," a man, who happened to be even larger than Percival, told Elyan. "You've kept our kingdom safe, and for that, we owe you more than you could ever know," a tiny elderly lady said to Gwaine. Then she added, "And it helps that you're so pretty." Gwaine looked as though he wasn't sure if he should preen or run away. It was terribly difficult not to laugh at him.
We finally made it through the walls of Leon's family's manor, just to see a tiny blonde projectile racing for him. "Unca Lion!" the projectile screamed, barely managing to avoid being flattened by his horse. Leon, to his credit, kept control of his horse, apparently used to this projectile's behavior. He quickly dismounted, then gathered the girl into his arms, cuddling her for a bit. Then, without warning, he threw her into the air. My heart leapt into my throat, preventing any sound that might have tried to come out, but the little girl just laughed. "Gain, Unca Lion! Gain!" Leon, to his everlasting credit, obliged. Three more times, in fact.
After we were all assured that the little girl was in no danger, and that Leon hadn't suddenly lost his mind, we all dismounted from our horses and handed them off to the waiting servants. "Well, 'Uncle Lion'," Arthur grinned at his friend, "are you planning on introducing us to this lovely lady?"
Leon turned to us with a smile, his niece still in his arms, though he did manage to avoid eye contact with all of us. "Everyone, this is my niece, Boudicca. Boudicca, these are my friends. Can you say hello to them?"
"Hello!" she chirped happily.
"Uncle Leon!" The call had us all looking to the door of the manor, out of which came flying another blonde projectile. This one was a bit older, and she was carrying yet another blonde child. "You're here! You're here!"
Leon impressed me when he crouched to catch the new additions, managing to hold all three girls without dropping any of them. "And how is my lady Godiva today?" he asked, nuzzling the older girl's cheek with his nose.
"I'm so happy you're here!" she squealed. "Alys is, too!" The baby giggled happily, grabbing chunks of Leon's hair.
"Well, I am very glad to be here, as well," he grinned back at them. "Now, would you ladies like to meet my friends?"
Suddenly, three pairs of identical sparkling blue eyes turned on our group, with varying interest. Then, as Godiva noticed Arthur and Gwen, she whispered to Leon, though at a volume that was nearly the same as her speaking voice, "That's th' king and queen, Uncle Leon."
"It is," he whispered back. "Would you like to meet them?"
With eyes the size of my horse's hooves, she nodded solemnly. So, with considerable skill, Leon lowered the two older girls to the ground before taking Alys from her sister. Together, they walked the tiny distance to Arthur and Gwen. "My king, my queen," he said, full of grave importance, "may I introduce you to my nieces, the ladies Godiva, Boudicca, and Alys?" The two oldest then curtsied quite well for their ages, even if Boudicca's was rather wobbly.
Gwen and Arthur nodded just as gravely, though I could see the twinkle in Gwen's eyes and Arthur's smile he was barely concealing. "It is a pleasure to meet such beautiful ladies," Arthur said.
"Yes, you ladies will make all the women in Camelot green with envy," Gwen added.
"Why would they be green? Are they sick?" Godiva asked, eyebrows drawn in confusion and worry.
That made the rest of us laugh. "It's just a saying, little one," Leon assured. "Now, we have a few more people to get to know." He introduced each of us, and the girls curtsied some more. They were rather pleased when I curtsied back. But their interest in me faded when they realized that the person standing next to me was Merlin.
"Can you magic?" Boudicca asked him, eyes gleaming in excitement.
Instead of answering, Merlin cupped his hands in front of his mouth, whispering for a long moment. When he opened them, a vibrant butterfly flew from them, lighting on Boudicca's hair briefly, before flying away. And I was sure that was the moment she fell in love.
All during the tour Godiva insisted on, Boudicca rested on Merlin's shoulders, turning his head with his ears, just like a horse with reins. Godiva was in front of our little group, showing all the best features of the house with pride. I somehow ended up with Alys in my arms, the tiny girl focused on my curls for a long time. "Pwetty," she finally declared, patting my head with authority.
"Yes, she is, isn't she, Alys?" Gwaine asked, sending me a sly grin.
"Thank you, Alys," I told the girl, while ignoring the man. "I think you're very pretty, as well."
"Ays pwetty," she said with a definitive nod, patting her own head just as she had done mine.
By dinner time, it was clear we were all besotted with the girls. Hunith was bouncing Alys on her knee, while Merlin was entertaining her sisters with a lovely story, complete with magical effects. "If you hadn't already planned on taking them back with us to Camelot," I told Leon lowly, "I would have kidnapped them and brought them, anyway."
"They do have that effect on people," he agreed with a grin. "Or, rather, people other than their own father. He couldn't have been bothered with them," he added, sighing.
"Well, now they have you, and all of us. They'll never want for love again," I assured firmly.
AN: I'm sorry it's been so long since my last update. Between some medical problems and major writer's block, I really haven't been writing very much. But I promise I'm not abandoning Anna! We've got a long way to go, but I promise to stick with her, and I hope you all will, too! Thanks for reading, and a special thanks to those of you who favorited or followed. And a huge thanks to parimalik, KayJane16, PurpleReader29, and MagicIsPowerDearie for your reviews! Reviews make my little writer heart happy!