The Siege of Camelot

The Story Proper: In which there are Arguments, and Gawain becomes un- grumpy.

Disclaimer and credits: see Prologue

Sorry, I'm being a bit random today. What am I saying? My muses are always random. And I know Terence has problems. I can't help it.

And I am so awfully sorry that this took soooooo long. See, I was in Italy for three weeks...and I got fifteen minutes of computer time during the whole trip...sorry...

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"I say, Gawain, do we really have to pack?" Terence and Gawain were in Gawain's quarters, packing for the journey to the North. "I mean, knights-errant and berries and minstrels and all that."

Gawain shot his squire an odd look. "We are not eating knights- errant or minstrels. And yes, we are packing."

"I didn't say that we were going to eat knights-errant or minstrels!" protested Terence indignantly. "I said that minstrels say that knights- errant find berries and...and...and so on while they're traveling!"

Gawain sighed. I'm not in a mood to argue right now... he thought. "I don't care what the minstrels say. We are packing, and that is final," he said, in a tone that made it quite clear that Terence would be in deep hot water if he decided to argue.

Terence apparently took the point, because he sighed and was silent. A few minutes later, after Gawain had finished the first of his two saddlebags, he spoke up again. "Are you sure beyond any shadow of a doubt that this knight is Gaheris?" he asked, looking slightly uneasy about something. "I mean, 'Jean le Forestier' means something close to 'John the Woodcutter' in French, you know. It would be a perfect fake name for someone who wanted to hide their true identity..." He trailed off, and looked hopefully up at Gawain.

Gawain eyed him suspiciously. "You know something that I don't."

Terence looked slightly unhappy. "Yes..." he said reluctantly.

"What?"

Now Terence looked decidedly unhappy. "I can't tell! I've sworn an oath!"

"Figures," Gawain muttered under his breath. "I suppose it has to do with the identity of Jean le Forestier?"

Terence didn't respond, except to set his jaw in an exceedingly stubborn way.

"Well, if that's the way of it," Gawain said, exasperated, "I suppose we'll just have to go through with this. And that includes packing," he added pointedly, looking at the empty saddlebags.

Terence sighed and mumbled something under his breath, but started packing anyways.

.

In about thirty minutes, both men had finished packing. Gawain looked at Terence. "Now what?" asked the squire.

"Now we plan," answered Gawain.

Terence gave a puzzled frown. "Plan? Whatever for?"

"For the journey, of course!" snapped Gawain.

Terence said to the world at large, "And who got up on the wrong side of bed this morning, hmmm?"

Gawain mumbled, "You'd like to think so, wouldn't you?"

"What, are you always like this?" Terence asked, peering at Gawain in mild surprise.

"In the mornings, yes."

Terence looked at Gawain, but didn't comment.

"So. Planning. What do we do after we get Gary?" asked Gawain.

"What is the safest way for a knight to travel?" Terence countered.

"How about as a kitchen servant?"

"Are we playing the question game?" [This in a suspicious tone of voice]

"Are we?" [This absentmindedly]

"How should I know?" [indignantly]

"What do you think of having Gary travel as a dwarf, like he did before?"

"How would he become a dwarf?"

"I think Lynet knows how --"

"Ha! I won!" Terence cried triumphantly.

"--doesn't she?" finished Gawain, smirking.

Terence deflated. "Cad."

"No, I'm not."

"Yes, you are."

"No, I'm not."

"Yes, you are."

"No, I'm not. After Lynet turns Gary into a dwarf -- with his permission, of course -- then what?"

"Yes, you are. Do we know how to turn people into dwarfs?"

"Not. I think so..." Gawain thought for a second. "Aye. Why?"

"Are. Probably one of us should turn Lynet into a dwarf."

"Not. Whatever for?"

"Are. So that...unpleasent...things don't happen to her on the way to Camelot."

"Not. I see your point," Gawain said pensively.

"Are. She'll probably object, though," observed Terence.

"Am. She probably will," Gawain agreed.

"Not -- hey! Unfair!" complained Terence. Gawain grinned. "And King Arthur's dream had a damsel and a dwarf riding from the north, didn't it?" the squire continued somewhat sulkily.

"Right. So Lynet stays human. And we drag Gary to Camelot -- wait a second. How are we supposed to get all the way to my estates and back to Camelot without being challenged or anything?"

"Hmmm. Turn ourselves into dwarfs?" Terence suggested.

Gawain laughed. "Dolt." Terence grinned. "The thing is," Gawain continued, "fat lot of good we'll do Arthur if we die ourselves. You're all right, you're a squire, in your better moments..."

"Better moments, my foot," muttered Terence.

"...but I'm a knight. And a prince."

Terence thought for a few moments. "I do know how to turn people into dwarfs. All right. I could turn you into a dwarf." Gawain shot him an amused look. "No, really!" Terence said, affronted. "No self respecting knight would challenge a dwarf!"

"You may be right," mused Gawain. "But what about you?"

"Oh, I'll be all right," Terence said, waving his hand about absently.

"I suppose you wouldn't care to enlighten me?" asked Gawain, amused.

"I am the Duke of Avalon, after all," Terence replied loftily.

"Aye, and I'm not likely to forget it," rejoined Gawain. "So we go off from Camelot looking like a travelling circus."

"Exactly!" Terence beamed.

"We've forgotten something," muttered Gawain. "What is it? Oh yes. How are we going to convince Gary to fight Sir Murille?"

"Oh, we'll manage somehow," replied Terence confidently.

.

airefree[applicable numbers here] -- well, nothing much has happened yet...but things will soon! grins

Thanks for reading!

Mac