A/N: Here is the next chapter. It came out so long, that I needed to make it in half, next part I think I add Tuesday, I will see how busy, my days will be.
Leon wanted to close the door with a bang but stopped himself. The whole castle did not need to know about his foul mood. The senior knights would definitely use it against him if they could. Two weeks had passed since had become the First Knight and the trainer of the Round Table Knights, he was done with it. Done with everything.
Falling on his bed, feet over the edge, he was glad that he had taken of his mail before was summoned to the Rising Sun, he would not have had energy to deal with it now. He had a deep wish to go to Arthur and ask two weeks off, so he could go and lock himself into the wine cellar of Leodegrance. He closed his eyes and wished that sleep would take him. His thoughts were interrupted when the door opened and closed, and soft footsteps neared his bed.
Merlin, he knew, none other would enter his chamber like that, Arthur would come stomping and others would knock. He did not open his eyes, he knew that she was standing before him, hands on her hips.
"I know I did not make it to our meeting, I was ready to step out the door when I was summoned to the Rising Sun."
"Gwaine," With that whisper, Leon felt how his bed dipped by his side and felt Merlin's hand sneaking into his, "What did he do?"
He squeezed her hand. "There was a spat in the training today, he almost punched Lancelot into the face, Lancelot did not even provoke it, something had irritated Gwaine and he decided to live it out on them. I stepped in, almost getting hit myself. I tried to talk to him, find out what had happened, but he stomped off. I decided to let it be." He opened his eyes and rose, his eyes met Merlin's sea blue ones, oh he still could drown in them. "When I got out that damn council meeting two hours ago, I started to head to meet you and there was a knock on my door, a boy from the Rising Sun. Tavern Keeper wanted Gwaine out of the tavern and had decided to call me, because he did not believe Lancelot, Percival or Elyan would be much help. When I reached there, he was drunk, I have never seen him so drunk. I have dragged him out of there five times in the past week and this time it was worse than I have ever seen him. When I stepped into the tavern the room fell silent, they all expected a show, knowing how Gwaine reacts to me. But they did not get it, as soon Gwaine saw me he fell silent and rose, coming with me." Leon rubbed hand over his eyes. "The silence did not last long, he started to mutter how all nobles were bastards, when I had enough, I reminded him, that he himself was a nobility now. You should have seen his face when it hit him, he had not thought of it before. He muttered fuck and staggered off. I followed behind to make sure he got into his rooms."
"Was he alright?" She asked looking at Leon's tired eyes, she knew it had not been easy two weeks for the man. The Round Table Knights were acting out, not finding their place in Camelot. And some of the old Guard were also acting up resenting the fact Leon had surpassed them. They knew well why Leon had been handed the position, not because he was one of the best friends Prince Arthur had, but because his bravery, his skills. He was one of the best strategist and tactician there was in Camelot, and he had survived feats that many of them would not have, everyone trusted him, if he could, he would solve all the problems, that people faced. But somehow, the knights could not see pass their noses.
"I sent him to his rooms, he fell in his bed and slept. He will be very miserable tomorrow morning."
"His second time." Merlin sighed.
"Yes, the leach tank. That means tomorrow morning will not be pretty." Leon groaned. "That means training will go into hell. Like we do not have enough troubles. Percival is still uncertain that he belongs here, that he is a knight, he is afraid that if he says or does anything wrong, he will be cast out. Lancelot he is not using his full potential, he holds himself back, I do not know why he feels like he had to do it. Gwaine does everything to contradict the reason Arthur knighted him and Elyan he does not find balance between being a knight and a smith, I may be one of the reasons that he is hesitant. He does not know that I forgive him." Leon pushed hand thru his hair. "They are doubting their place as knights, and I cannot find a way to prove that they are."
"You will." Merlin consoled, same time trying to figure out, how could she convince the Round Table Knights of their place and importance.
Leon turned to her with a smile and frowned at the look in her eyes. "You are planning to talk with them yourself."
"I had that plan, yes." Merlin pushed the lock out of his eyes, "are you against it?"
"No, how can I be. They are your friends, Gwaine became a knight because of you. I will find my own way too, so they would understand they can trust me."
"As I said, you will find a way," She kissed his cheek, "how are the other knights?"
Leon rose at that went to the small table by the fireplace poured them both goblet with wine. "Most of them have come around, but there are some who still resent the fact that I surpassed them. And they are not happy about the knighting of commoners." He gulped down almost all the wine. He stopped himself, before the goblet was empty. "I have a bad feeling that Gwaine's bad mood is related to them, it is another thing that I need to attend to."
Merlin rose, placed her goblet on the table and hugged Leon. "They know, why you are the First Knight of Camelot, they all know the reasons even if they do not want to admit it just yet, but you will get to them, I believe that."
Leon kissed her forehead. "I do not know what I did to deserve you?"
"Just being you. Now you need to sleep, seems like I am always telling you this."
"You are right, thank you for being here for me."
"Always." Merlin whispered, kissed him, and stepped back. Then a mischief appeared in her eyes. "When you entered to the Rising Sun, did your cloak pillowed dramatically after you?"
"My cloak is not dramatic." Leon tried to sound offended.
"Oh, yes, it is." Merlin laughed and kissed him again. "Now to sleep, I am going to check on Arthur." Saying that she was gone, she did not add that she was going to check on Gwaine as well.
Leon felt suddenly so alone and empty, he knew he always would, when Merlin was not with him. But she was right, he needed the rest, to solve the problems he had. He emptied his goblet, looked at Merlin's goblet and emptied that as well, hoping in that the Mother would not hand him a hangover tomorrow morning for drinking so fast.
He did not who had blessed him, the Mother, the Crone, or the Maiden, he did not have a hangover. Leon had just left the kitchens, he tried to have breakfast with Marleana every week, he turned the corner when heard himself called.
"Sir Leon!" Leon turned and saw George heading his way.
"George, what can I do for you?"
"Can we talk somewhere privet?" George looked around little fear in his eyes.
Leon frowned, it was never good when a servant was afraid, it was bad when it was George. "Of course." Leon nodded and headed to the room he knew to be empty, he checked it and pushed George in.
"What troubles you?"
"Yesterday morning I saw something." George was hesitant, "I knew I should tell you, but every time the moment came there were to many people." The way George said people, Leon knew, that the servant meant the wrong kind of people, who he did not want to hear what he had do say.
Leon's brows burrowed. That meant George meant the knights. "Who did or said what?"
He saw George waver a little, then he collected himself. "Sirs Farvel, Peverel, Namer, Sloan and Boen had cornered Sir Gwaine, called him names, mocked him, telling him that he was not a knight, if he was, he would have the cloak of the knight Camelot."
Stupid Leon, you are so stupid, he could only think in his mind, of course that's why Gwaine acted like he did day before. And how could he have forgotten the cloaks, how? All the knights would get their cloaks when they are knighted, but when they had gotten Camelot back, they did not have spare ones, because Morgana in her hate of Camelot had let all of them be burned. The cloak was the thing that identified a knight of Camelot. How could he forget, he was an idiot as Gaius was fond of saying.
"Thank you, George, for bringing this to my attention. It all would be dealt with."
"Always, I am glad to help." Leon stayed in the room when George left, he leaned against the table, flabbergasted. How in the name of the Maiden, he had forgotten such a small detail. If he looked back some other things came to his mind, they did not have new clothes, they were nobles now and wore the same cloths they had come to Camelot. How had he missed all that, yes, he was over worked, but it was so simple. Curse him and his oblivion. He stood out from his lean; he knew exactly with whom he should talk to.
He stepped out of the room and almost collided with someone, the someone who he wanted to talk to. "Guinevere." he placed his hand on her shoulders to stable her.
"Leon," she gasped, "next time we both should look where we are going."
"Yes," Leon smiled sheepishly, then he remembered, that he had come to look for her. "Do you have time?"
"For you, always."
Leon guided her into the room he had just stepped out. "Are you busy?"
"Busy? Since Elyan's knighting I do not have anything to do. I am no longer a servant and I do not fit into the nobility. They do not know what to do with me." Gwen crossed her arms in frustration.
"Well, I think, I to know what you could do." Leon smiled; he had a solution for one of his problems. "What to our dear knew knights wear?"
Gwen frowned, then she understood what Leon meant. "The same cloths they arrived with."
"Yes, can you help me."
"Of course." Gwen would do anything for her friends.
"Good," Leon looked at the sun. "To you need time to prepare."
"A little."
"I am meeting them in half an hour on the training ground. I need to talk to them, is hour enough?"
"That would be perfect, with that time I will find all the materials I need."
Leon nodded and turned to leave, then he remembered. "Please find the fabric for the cloaks."
"The cloaks, oh goddess, how did we all forget about the cloaks?" Gwen looked at him with frightened surprise.
"Because, when we discovered that the cloaks were destroyed, Arthur had planned to replace them quickly, but then we discovered problems that were more important and the cloaks for the knights were forgotten."
"I start collecting the fabrics, in an hour I will be waiting for you here." Leon smiled gratefully and headed to the training grounds. Thankfully, they were empty, and he could ponder over the problem: How to make the Round Table Knights see that they belonged.
Elyan would be simplest, but how to get the others, he sat on the wall, wanting to curse the situation he was in. He was rather surprised that Gwaine had not attacked his tormentors, how the hot-tempered knight could hold himself back was a wonder to Leon. Just Maybe, he will find his way to the man.
His thoughts were interrupted by a sound of cart approaching. He looked down to the road and saw two horses pulling a cart. On it was something strange shaped, it looked like a cylinder, but as the cart passed him, Leon could see what it was. It was the round table from Castle of Ancient Kings, he remembered Arthur talking about bringing it to Camelot, he had not known that Arthur had already organized it.
Then it hit him, how he could get his point across to Lancelot, Elyan, Percival and Gwaine. He just hoped that it would work.
A/N: Somehow could not imagine they having spare cloaks to the new knights, when I thought about it, this part of the story came to me.