First, I wanna say thank you to Jac, who accepted be my beta for this story! The first chapter was revised too, so I reposted it.
Second, thanks to YOU for read this, and special thanks for the reviews I received! They made me wanted to develop more the friendship between Arthur and Lancelot, and their personalities. But when I started to write this, I choose a structure where every scene was linked to a part of the song, and the song is not long enough for me to extend the story for more than five chapters. So I'll keep the structure, but I'll try to make longer chapters and I'll try my best to give you all a proper development of the characters in this short story!
Third, sorry for the delay in updating, next time I'll start to look for a beta before I start to post!
Calliann: Again, thank you for your support! I'm really glad you liked! I'm excited to show you how I think their friendship developed! In this chapter, Kay will plant some seeds, and in the next ones, Arthur and Lancelot will harvest them. Hope you enjoy this chapter!
Lancey: Thanks for your review! I hope you had liked the first chapter, and enjoy this one as well!
KnightGuardian: I'm glad you liked the beginning of my story! You described Lancelot's thoughts perfectly; this is exactly how I'm writing him! But Kay is there to show Lance that things are not that simple. I'm glad you liked my young version of Lancelot! He still has a lot to learn, but he's already arrogant and sarcastic - he's Lancelot after all!
Cardeia: Thanks for your suggestion! My word processor didn't have support for English, but now I found another one, and it really helped me to write this chapter! I'm glad you're enjoying my young Lancelot! He's my favorite knight, and I'm having lots of fun trying to imagine his young mind processing the world around him!
Disclaimer: I own nothing or no one. My beloved Lancelot follows me everywhere because he wants. I'm not forcing him to anything!
Author's Notes: English is not my native language and I'm still learning it, so feel free to help me pointing at any error you find!
Many thanks to my lovely beta Jac! And if there are any errors remaining, they're mine!
The bold lines in the story belong to Best of You, from Foo Fighters.
Any feedback will always be welcome, so please, review and let me know what you think!
"Are you gone and onto someone new?"
Arthur looked at the man in front of him; a knight who had first served under his father's command, and now was his own second in command. Kay was just a young boy training to become a knight when he was sent to Britain, and in his first battle at Hadrian's Wall, Arthur's father had died in his arms. Now, it was Arthur's first year as a young man trying his best to be a great commander. Kay's fifteen years were over, and the knight was packing his things to leave back home the next morning. Arthur had known the knight almost his whole life, and knew his life wouldn't be easy without the older man. Kay was the last of the older knights; when he left, Arthur would be alone to command a group of thirty young Samartian knights who still hated the Romans and didn't trust Arthur at all – just because Arthur was a Roman commander.
"You worry yourself too much, Commander!"
Arthur was brought back from his thoughts by Kay's words and smiled at him from where he was sitting, at the chair beside Kay's bed.
"Don't worry, Lancelot will watch your back, at least until you find a new Second."
"Yeah, I know. He'd been practicing with me for almost three months now… but are you sure he's the best one to be at my side? He's really skilled with those twin blades, but the boy is too quick tempered!"
"Of course he's skilled! I am his sponsor, I taught him everything he knows!" Kay gave Arthur an open smiled and sat at his own bed. "And he's one of your knights. Sooner or later you'll have to learn to deal with his mood… actually, with the moods of all of them! The sooner, the better, Arthur!"
"He has a tongue as sharpen as his blades!"
"I know! The boy is good, isn't he?"
"I'm serious, Kay! How can I have him as my second?"
"So you are thinking about name Lancelot your second, eh?"
"I've been thinking about that, now that we are practicing together. I saw him with the other knights and he has a natural leadership among them... but he's always questioning me, facing me, confronting me!"
"Is that bad to be questioned?"
"But all the time, every single word I say? It is not exactly pleasant! But at the same time I just can't ignore him, I'm always compelled to answer him…"
"Answer? You mean yell back! Your discussions and arguments are already becoming an attraction at the fort! Maybe you should not pay so much attention to Lancelot's offenses."
"I know, and I'm trying! But he's not like the others, them I can manage to overlook or let go of their offenses; I feel like I own Lancelot some kind of response, an urge to answer right away… "
"Lancelot draws people to him, and he's not easy to ignore… I guess that's why the other knights would choose him to speak for them, and this single aspect would made him be an excellent second in command for you! But he's hot tempered, strong head and stubborn as a donkey! If you choose him, you must be ready to deal with that!"
"I couldn't have described him better!"
Arthur and Kay shared a good laugh at that. Then Arthur stood up and headed for the door.
"I know he's not an easy person, but I'm sure that if you give him a chance, he won't disappoint you."
Leaning at the doorframe, Arthur eyed Kay closely.
"You really like him, don't you?"
"How can I not? He's just like me when I was his age!"
"Yeah, but I don't recall you being so requested by the ladies at the tavern as he is!" Arthur could still hear the older man's laugh when he closed the door behind him, and a small smile formed in his face.
--o--
"I needed somewhere to hang my head without your noose
You gave me something that I didn't have but had no use"
Kay's horse was all ready to leave, just waiting for his master. Kay had said his good-byes to all the knights, and then headed for the stables, Lancelot following him. Although his heart had the happy feeling of being free, Kay's heart was a little sad in leave behind the boy he had grown to love like one of his own. Lancelot was only in the first of his fifteen years under his service to Rome, and Kay knew that the boy's life would not be easy – just like his had not been.
"I guess is time to go! Take care of yourself, boy! I want to meet you again in fifteen years when you return home!"
Lancelot smiled at the older man, trying to fight the sadness of seeing his friend leaving - Kay was going home after all! He was free! Free… the word danced in Lancelot's mind. Would he be free one day? No, this was not time to think about the future.
"Aye! You too my friend! Find a nice woman, get married and have a beautiful daughter so I can marry her and call you father!"
"Like I would let a daughter of mine marry a cocky bastard like you!"
The two shared a bout of laughter, like they had so often before.
"Now be serious boy, you'll keep your promise, right?"
"Yes, I'll watch the damn Roman's back…"
Lancelot rolled his eyes and Kay smiled.
"Speaking of him, where's Arthur? I didn't get to say good-bye to him yet…"
"The bastard is in his office, he had a meeting with some other Romans. But he's probably finishing already, he'll be here to see you leave."
"So now you know every step of your commander, eh?"
"Yeah, some silly old knight made me swear I would keep one eye on him, so now I'm attached to Arthur!"
"You will be attached to him for the next fourteen years, until the end of your days under Roman service, so you better be used with the idea! Accept the fact: Arthur is your commander!"
"I don't give a damn about him!"
"If you don't care, why you question him so much? Why is it so important for you to drive insane someone you don't give a damn for?
Lancelot opened his mouth, but didn't know what to say. In truth, he had no idea why he spent so much time with Arthur. He only knew that he needed answers, and whether he liked or not, Arthur was the only one who would listen to him and give him some response – other than beat him up like the other Romans around. Kay smiled, knowing he had achieved his point, and rested a hand on Lancelot's shoulder.
"Rome may be our enemy, but Arthur himself is not! Stop looking at the Empire as a whole and look at the man. Arthur is much better than his beloved Rome - and I trust you to help him and the others to see that!"
Lancelot could only nod in response. Kay's trust was something he treasured, and he wouldn't risk to loose it at his lasts moments with his friend in Britain.
"Fine, I'll think about it, all right? It's the best I can promise! I don't want to argue with you because of that Roman."
"Neither would this Roman want such a thing."
Kay and Lancelot turned to see Arthur entering the stables, a warm smile in his face.
"I'm glad I caught you! I was afraid you could leave without I had the chance to say good-bye!"
"Actually, I was just waiting for you! Now that you're here, I can go!"
Kay gave Lancelot a warm embrace, and turned to Arthur, whispering in his ear while he embraced the Roman.
"Is not bad to be questioned, and Lancelot is not the only one looking for answers."
Kay mounted his horse and looked down at the two men standing in front of him. Arthur gave him a quizzical look and Kay smiled.
"Are you giving the answers to him or to yourself?"
Kay winked to Arthur and turned to Lancelot.
"And you, boy, remember: look at the man!"
Lancelot just nodded and watched as Kay urged his horse and left the stables. Before pass through the gates, Kay looked back and stared as the two young knights walked away together. He knew that Arthur and Lancelot were a perfect match, and he had done everything he could to put them together. But now they were by their own, and Kay could only pray for the Goddess to help those two stubborn young knights to really see each other.