A/N: Here is the next chapter, this hopefully is the last before the last, if Leon of course does not start grumbling and demanding more, if he doses I need to start another story with him and Merlin, but first I need to finish this and finish Faramir's Story what I have been writing for 12 years now. Where the time has gone, I do not understand.
He heard footsteps approaching, the Knights of the Round Table entered to the field. He leaned against one of the posts were usually the training dummies were placed on.
As soon as Gwaine stopped before Leon he snarked. "Yes, I know, glorious leader of ours, the leach tank is waiting for me."
Leon pinched root of his nose, headache started to form behind his brow. "I find myself wondering why I am doing this. Why am I spending my time training you. Percival thinks, that if he does something wrong, he will be cast out," Percival's eyes grew wide, not expecting Leon to figure it out, "Lancelot holds himself back, not letting anyone see his potential," Lancelot had the same reaction as Percival, "Gwaine acts out, hoping to get rise out of me, so he can prove that every noble is an arsehole," Gwaine only smirked, "and Elyan is lost, he does not know anymore where he belongs." Elyan lowered his head.
"But you all forget, why you really are here. You sat at the round table; you all became part of Arthur's most trusted people. I just saw how the round table was brought into the castle, because Arthurs wishes for you sit behind it and beside him as equals."
He rose from his lean and stepped before Percival. "You were Bravery behind the table, and you are brave. First brave thing you did, was when you came to help people you did not know. Second brave thing you did was when you called an heir to the Camelot throne by his given name, when he asked you, many would have not done it. Third brave thing was when you rose from the table and offered your help even if you knew, it could mean your death. It is bravery to admit your faults, you have done it many times, even if it always was for your protection. Believe me Percival no one is going to cast you away because you say or do something wrong." He said it all looking into Percival's eyes so the younger man could see truth in his. He got back a little nod even if tall knight was little shocked by the speech.
He looked then at Gwaine. "I know why you are doing all of this. You do not trust me; it is your choice. You are hoping that I finally will bash your head in for insulants. Like I said you yourself are one of the nobilities now, are you trying to prove yourself an arsehole." He raised his eyebrow, how he wished he had a brow of doom like Gaius, but look in Gwaine's eyes told him, that the words had hit, if Leon was correct, they had hit already yesterday, he continued before Gwaine could answer, "Arthur selected you to be one of his trusted knights, his consolers. By that table you were Strength. You are strength, it needs great strength to sit beside people who you do not trust and rise and accept challenge to help get back a throne to a king you do not like. It needs strength to hold your beliefs and the same time accept the beliefs others hold. And most importantly, it needs strength to walk away from a fight, I congratulate you for walking away yesterday when senior knights cornered you." Gwaine looked surprised, he had not expected Leon to learn about it. "You and also the other knights forget that the castle has ears and eyes everywhere and people talk to me." He turned and did not see how four friends looked at each other, just then they understood the reason why Leon was the First knight. Leon abruptly turned back to Gwaine. "You are better with two swords than I am. Gods be damn, you are strength and Camelot and Arthur need strength."
Leon turned to Lancelot. "You were Honour. You are most honourable person I know. In your little finger there is more honour than most of the knights in Camelot all together. I am not that honourable, even if I have tried all my life exceed it. What you have is what all the knights should try to accomplish. But you are holding yourself back. I can see it in the fights in the interactions with others. Stop doing it, nothing will happen Arthur is not going to banish you, like King Uther did, you are finally what you have dreamed all your life." Leon looked at Lancelot, the frown what had appeared between his brows disappeared and he smiled gently. "If King Uther had not banished you, I have a feeling you would be standing here instead of me as the First Knight." He nodded when he saw Lancelot's surprised look. "Honour is what Camelot needs right know, it seems like most of us have forgotten what it means."
He patted Lancelot on the shoulder and turned to Elyan. "My oldest friend, my brother. I forgave you the moment as soon as I got back to the camp side before, we reached the Castle of Ancient Kings. I can understand your reasons to find yourselgõf, but the way you accomplished it, I will never understand." Leon shook his head, but continued, not letting Elyan to say anything, "You were Duty, thanks for your leaving your family and returning to them, you know what means duty to your family. You know your duty to Camelot; you will never doubt who you are. You only need to find balance between the smith and the knight, and when Guinevere finally marries Arthur, you will be a prince." Leon held his smirk seeing how all the colour trained from Elyan's face. "Elyan never doubts again where you belong. Your place is here amongst the knights of Camelot, to serve and protect Camelot's people."
He squeezed Elyan's shoulder and stepped back, "You will be the regent's company, his advisors, if you ever doubt your place or reason to be here, go talk to Arthur he will assure your place in Camelot."
He saw that his speech had affect the Knights of the Round Table, he finally had gotten thru to them. Before he could continue, Lancelot said, "Sir Leon you forgot one?"
"Did I?"
"Yes, you forgot Loyalty." Lancelot smiled at him, "Everything you said is important, but you did not say anything about loyalty, the one thing that binds us all together. Yes, loyalty can be blind, follow leader without questioning his/her actions. There are stories about you in Camelot and surrounding kingdoms, how you are prim and proper, how you follow every order," at those words Leon felt all of colour was draining from his face, he had not known it was that bad, "but there are tales, that have been spoken in hushed tones. How you stand for what you believe, and those beliefs have not matched the ones of the King, how you question commands that you do not agree with. Stories of your kindness and helpfulness, your willingness to listen and be there when people need you. Your plans how to rebuild outer villages after Cenred's attack, are used right now all-around the kingdom. You are not only loyal to the King and the Prince, but you are loyal to Camelot and her people. You say, if I had not gotten banished, I would have been the First Knight, but it is not so, you are the one who has always deserved to be the First Knight even if I was in the picture and everyone knows it." The other knight nodded.
At that Leon knew he had gotten his point across to them. "Thank you," he smiled, "now follow me."
"What about the training?"
"What about the leach tank?"
"The training has been cancelled and the leach tank, can wait, because Gwaine I suspect that you will not like what will happen now." Leon shot another smile back at them. When they reached to the end of the training ground Merlin was standing there, Leon suspected she had heard everything.
She took his hand squeezed it and whispered. "You did good." she placed a kiss on his cheek and walked away.
His smile grew wider and then disappeared, hearing Gwaine muttering something. "Gwaine if you open your mouth again, the leach tank will be on the agenda again." Gwaine took as breath to say something, but Leon interrupted him, "and twenty push ups with full armour." That shut Gwaine up.
He guided them into the room where Gwen was already waiting. "I let Guinevere explain it to you. I have one thing I need to take care of and then return."
He stepped out of the room and headed to the Noble's Hall, the knight all should be there, in the middle of their breakfast, all had arrived none had left, he had scheduled the training so that the senior knight would be eating and none of them could come and disturb the Knights of the Round Table training. He entered the hall, as he expected all the knights were there, he went and leaned against one of the empty tables and waited if and when he was spotted, he was not going to stand at the First Knight's place, he had a point to make, and to make it, he needed to be among his fellow knights.
It took few moments, but the hall started to grow silent, and the attention was turned to him. The five knights who needed to hear it the most, were seating near him.
"We are brothers in arms, none of us is above the other, none of is below the other. We stand for Camelot, her people, her freedom, her right to exist. We are not bullies," he looked all of them, to make his point clear, "we are not King Cenred men, apologise King Lot's, prince Arthur just learned that Cenred is dead and King Lot now rules. We are King Uther's and Prince Arthur's knights. We represent all that is good in knighthood: bravery, courage, duty, wisdom, friendship, strength, honour, and loyalty. We do not bully others because we feel like it, because we feel insulted. The castle has eyes and ears everywhere. If I hear again that knights of Camelot bully someone, the one who is bullied and the bullies will meet at the training grounds, there would be a fair fight, if the one who is bullied does not have fighting experience, he/she can choose a campion for themselves." He looked at the knights and for a moment his eyes stopped at the five knights who were guilty of this decision. He saw in their eyes a calculation, all the knights knew well why Arthur had knighted the commoners, all of them had seen the fighting styles and skills with the sword and they knew very few of them were match for the commoner knights and now even less when Leon was training them. And if any of the servants was to pick a champion the Camelot knights knew they would choose the First Knight, Leon's skills with a sword were remarkable.
Leon saw all those thoughts going thru the minds of his brothers in arms and hoped it helped. "We all should be glad that this incident has not reached Prince Arthur, I could imagine his punishment would be much harsher." He nodded at them, hoping that his little speech had made them think.
He headed out of the room, his cloak, as Merlin would say, dramatically pillowing after him.
He headed back to the room where the Knight of the Round Table and Gwen were, when he neared, he heard Elyan ask: "We get the Camelot cloaks, but why does not Leon get one?"
"What do you mean?" Gwen asked.
"Well," this time it was Lancelot, " the one he wears now, it is old, from afar it looks perfect, but when you look at it closely, you see the wears and repaired tears."
"It is, it was the cloak he got when he was knighted, he says that he does not see a reason to replace it. When he was up in the north, he repaired it himself, when he got back I did it. When we escaped from Morgana, he hid it under a lose stone in the dungeon. I was with him, when he went to get it, he was so afraid that someone had found it and he would never wear it again. But thankfully it was still there where he had left it. It is one of his most precious possessions. Getting that cloak and the sword Elyan and I gave him, was the high light of his life."
Leon waited at the door a little and then stepped in.
"How is it going?" he decided not to show that he had heard anything.
"Well, we are almost done with the measurements, and we are going to choose which colours would fit them best?" Gwen cocked her head and looked at him closely, "you have not had a good night rest again." it was not a question but a statement.
"You should not worry about me." Leon tried to push away her worry.
"I always will. Now sit and rest your eyes or I will tell Gaius or even better Arthur," and then her eyes lit, "Merlin I will tell Merlin."
Leon grumbled, sat, and closed his eyes, he was asleep as soon as they closed and he did not hear his friends' chuckles, now they knew that there was at least one person who Sir Leon Leodegrance was afraid of.