Chapter Eight: Swords and Blood

"Cwellan þone cyning," Morgana whispered. "Slītaþ hine barl!"

(Kill the king. Cut him painfully!)

Arthur didn't understand the words, but the order was clear. Elyan already raised his sword. Arthur yelped and rolled on the floor, avoiding to get his throat cut open. Owen kicked at him and Arthur gritted his teeth as he was hit in the side. There was no time to catch his breath, Percival swung his heavy poleaxe at Arthur's head. Hastily, he scrambled away. The axe impacted hard with the floor, splintering the wooden flooring. Again, Percival wielded his weapon. Morgana's laughter echoed in his ears as Arthur jumped up from the floor. Another blade sliced at him and he gasped in pain as it scratched over his arm, leaving him bruised. Luckily, his chainmail prevented worse. Arthur stumbled away from the knights, heart thundering in his chest. Their faces were blank, eyes misted over, as they raised their weapons at Arthur. Hand trembling, Arthur pulled his dagger. His panicked thoughts screamed at him that that wouldn't help him against swords and axes. Another knight slashed at him and Arthur jumped back. He had just regained his balance, as suddenly sharp pain erupted in his right shoulder. Arthur screamed out in pain. He turned his head.

"No…"

His stomach twisted into a painful mass. Guinevere stood there. A sharp dagger lay in her hand and Arthur saw his own blood dripping from the blade. This couldn't be happening. Please. He could feel tears prickling in his eyes. Guinevere raised her dagger again at him. Before she could attack, a knight, Arthur couldn't tell which one, slashed his sword. Arthur dropped to one knee and threw himself to the side.

Now they all attacked. He wildly scrambled away from sharp blades. Someone managed to ram a knee into his stomach, winding him. The tip of a sword penetrated his chainmail and Arthur gasped in pain as his arm was cut open. Someone punched him in the jaw. He could barely breathe as he dodged and twirled around to avoid getting gutted. Another stroke of a sword scraped over his gorget and downwards across his back. Arthur could feel the blade ripping through his chainmail at places. The skin of his back was sliced open and he instantly felt blood gush, the pain didn't hit him yet, though.

Thoughts tumbling into a wild mess, Arthur's eyes shot around. The knights still attacked and he barely escaped the lethal blows. In trepidation he noted more and more of the enchanted people joined. A maid swiped at Arthur with a wooden club. Trembling all over, Arthur then spied the servants' exit at the side of the hall. It was closer now. His body was screaming at him in pain, but Arthur didn't know what else to do. He couldn't avoid the deadly blows any longer. So, he decided to stake everything on one card.

Pulse loudly rushing in his ears, Arthur raced towards the exit. He ducked as one of the attacking servants threw a punch at him. Another hurled a heavy earthen jug of water at him. Arthur hissed in pain as it collided brutally with his shoulder and burst. In another two steps, he reached the door and ripped it open.

"Get him!"

Morgana's shrill voice followed him as Arthur dashed from the throne room. He was shaking all over as he raced down the corridor. Blood trickled down the side of his face and into his eye. Arthur wiped it away and hastily turned into the next corridor. His heart skipped a panicked beat as he heard loud steps following him. He needed to get away from them. Wild look on his face, Arthur ran down a staircase, taking two steps at a time. His breathing was going fast and laboured as he raced down another corridor. More blood flowed from the deep wound in his back and he could already see dark spots dancing in his vision.

It was as Arthur turned into the next corridor that his luck ran out. Something collided cruelly with his back. It pushed all air from his lungs and Arthur crashed to the stone floor, sliding a bit with his momentum. Gasping desperately, he tried to suck in air. Another sharp pain hit him in the left arm. A whimper left him. Weakly, he rolled on his back. A jolt of panic wrenched at him as he saw Percival towering over him. The knight again raised his poleaxe. Arthur rolled away from the other man and jumped up in a crouch. His vision again blurred and he felt painfully dizzy. This was bad. Percival swung at him again and Arthur barely managed to dodge. He couldn't face the knight. Not like this. Percival moved to attack again. Arthur knew he had to run. He didn't hesitate but sprang up from his crouched position. He turned to race away from the knight. A surprised gasp left Arthur as he found Elyan right behind him. Eerily blank look on his face, the knight made a sharp movement. Arthur couldn't place it at first and just stared at the knight.

Then he felt the cruel pain in his side. His whole body started to tremble uncontrollably. Arthur looked down. He saw a sword protruding from his side, but his thoughts didn't really catch up. Dark red blood drippled over his chainmail. Abruptly, Elyan pulled his sword back. Arthur's body jerked as the blade left him. More blood. Automatically, his hand went to his side. The blood felt sticky and warm. He crashed to his knees and stared up at the knight. Elyan raised his sword again. Arthur didn't really understand anymore. The world started to spin around him as Elyan's blade descended upon him.

It didn't cut off Arthur's head. Another sword blocked it. Arthur blinked tired eyes as he stared up at a red cloak and tried to push his thoughts into moving again. There was a blurry of sword blows, loud clanks, and gasping breaths …though those might've been his own. Then suddenly a familiar face swam into focus in front of Arthur.

"Sire?" Leon said, out of breath.

Arthur furrowed his brow, but couldn't reply. Leon grasped his arm and wrenched him up. The king hissed in pain at the movement. More blood flowed from him.

"We need to leave," Leon decided.

Already, he pulled Arthur with him. As they left, he glimpsed Percival on the floor. Elyan already tried to get up again, although now without a sword in hand. Leon's hand tightly held Arthur and pulled him away.

"Quick, this way!"

Arthur groaned in pain as they climbed down yet another staircase. As they reached its foot, Leon had to sling Arthur's arm around his shoulders. Without another word, the knight hauled Arthur away, always staying in the shadows. All the king managed to do was try to cling to his consciousness. On their way, another servant attacked them. Luckily, the man was unarmed. Leon punched him in the face and the man was out cold. Arthur pressed his hand over his bleeding side. By now, the pain had caught up with him. Like a white-hot snake it had crawled into him. It twisted and sliced inside him.

"Stay here," Leon told him.

Arthur looked up. They were in the stables. How they had made it here, Arthur couldn't tell. Weakly, he leaned against a wooden beam while Leon saddled two horses with practised moves. Then he grabbed Arthur again. Pain sliced into him cruelly, as Leon pushed him into the saddle of one of the horses. Leon hastily mounted the other horse.

"Sire?" he called Arthur.

Arthur blinked his eyes and tried to focus on the knight. Leon's face was pale and his voice tight as he said,

"We have to get out the city."

Arthur gave him a sharp nod. One arm curled around himself, he grabbed the rains in his other hand. Voice weak and hoarse, Arthur whispered,

"Lead the way, then."

.+.

Arthur was slumped over in the saddle, barely able to hold the reins of his horse. He was strangely glad that it was his own horse, Pomers, that Leon had saddled for him. A bit familiarity in all this agony was appreciated. In a blur of pain, they had left Camelot. Pastures and fields now surrounded Arthur as Leon and he rode on. With every step his destrier took, an unbearable, piercing pain stabbed Arthur. He could feel the blood running down his side where Elyan's sword had stabbed him. Now and then, his vision blacked out from all the pain. All he could do was trying to stay in saddle.

Luckily, Pomers was a smart horse. Even without any direction from Arthur he followed Leon's own horse. The knight hadn't slowed down at all. Arthur knew why and it made panic simmer in him. An agonized gasp left the king as Pomers took a jump over a small stream. Leon had most likely heard it, still the knight didn't slow down to ease the king's pain. Arthur couldn't blame the man. They were still much too close to the city. He was quite sure that Morgana had sent a party after them. Arthur shuddered involuntarily. His own knights were hunting him down like he was some common criminal. Unbidden, he wondered if this was how Merlin had felt as he had fled Camelot with Arthur's men hot on his heels. Arthur's mouth tightened into a thin line and he determinedly pushed that thought away.

"Sire," Leon threw over his shoulder. "We'll try to lose them in the Darkling Woods."

"Okay," Arthur whispered hoarsely.

He glimpsed the concern on Leon's face before the knight turned around again. Damn it. At this time of the year, with spring nothing more than a promise in the air, the forest was mostly free of undergrowth and the trees were without their leaves. That would make it easy for their pursuers to spot them and also quite easy to follow their tracks. Arthur swallowed nervously. If their pursuers caught up with them, he would not be able to fight at all. If they were caught, they were done for.

They slowed a bit as the horses had to climb an incline. Arthur turned around and squinted his eyes against the sun. He could see the white walls of Camelot, but no riders. Unfortunately, that didn't mean there were no pursuers.

"Leon?"

The knight maneuvered his horse up a steeper stretch and already reached for the reins of Arthur's horse to help. The man looked at Arthur. Painfully, Arthur held his bleeding side as he whispered,

"If they catch up with us-"

"They won't," Leon quickly assured, worry swimming in his eyes.

"But if they do," Arthur insisted, breathing laboured. "I want you to leave."

Leon's eyes widened at that. He shook his head in disbelief. A hint of indignation woven around his words, the knight replied stiffly,

"Sire, I certainly won't abandon you."

Arthur sent him a mirthless smile. "Morgana wants me dead. There's no use of us both dying if it comes down to it."

For a moment, Leon stared at him with a stony face. His voice, though, betrayed him and trembled slightly, as he said, "I won't let it come to that. I'll protect you, your Majesty."

Stubborn. A wry laugh fell from Arthur's lips. "I know you will. But sometimes, despite our best efforts, there's nothing to be done."

Leon's fingers tightened around the reins of Arthur's horse and he led the destrier up the last steps. The knight was probably glad to have an excuse for not replying as he could now usher the horses to a trot again. Arthur hoped that he would listen to him, though. Once again, the landscape rushed by and all Arthur could do was hold on and try not to pass out from the cruel pain in his side. Only absently, he noticed that Leon hadn't relinquished the reins of Arthur's horse again. Probably a good decision, the king thought, feeling dizzy.

He couldn't tell how much time had passed, but at one point fields and pastures had been replaced by trees standing tall and proud. In the forest, Leon was forced to slow down a bit. Arthur squeezed his eyes shut and tried to take in measured breaths of air. His hand was pressed over the wound at his side and he could feel blood seeping between his fingers. He felt himself trembling all over and trepidation curled around him.

"Hold on, Sire," Leon's voice tried to soothe. "I'll get you to a physician as soon as possible."

By now, Arthur felt too light-headed to reply. His world turned to a haze of pain and worry as he followed his trusted knight. Arthur couldn't tell how long they had ridden through the forest, but he was eternally gratefully as Leon finally slowed down. Twilight had fallen over the woods and Arthur was feeling shaky and sick. He left it to Leon to find a suitable place for them to wait out the night. The knight carefully helped Arthur from his horse, still the royal moaned in pain. He squeezed his eyes shut as Leon placed him on his spread out red cloak and propped Arthur's head up against a fallen tree stump.

"We'll leave these woods tomorrow," Leon said as he quickly set up a fire. "I'm pretty sure a bit to the north is a village."

Arthur almost sighed as the warmth of the fire hit him. Hopefully, their pursuers wouldn't see the shine of the flames. Leon sat down beside Arthur and started to undo the clasps of the king's chainmail.

"What're you doing?" Arthur asked.

"You're bleeding," the knight whispered as he gently moved the chainmail up. "I have to at least wrap it up."

A wry laugh fell from Arthur. "You think that's going to do any good?"

Leon threw him a look, barely concealed worry on his face. "You mustn't lose hope, my Lord."

Arthur didn't argue with the knight on that. He wasn't an idiot, though, and neither was Leon. That wound from Elyan's sword was deep. Still, Leon did his best to use some strips of cloth to bandage the wound tightly. It hurt and Arthur gasped in pain with every move. Once again dark spots danced in his vision as the knight was finally finished. Arthur weakly lay on the forest floor and it felt like all energy just bled out of him. Leon settled by his side and stoked the camp fire with a stick.

"Leon?"

The knight peered at him. Arthur felt his eyes drooping and exhaustion tugged at him, seducing him into sleep. In all honesty, Arthur was scared to fall asleep. There was a chance that he wouldn't wake again.

"Why weren't you trying to kill me?"

Leon winced at the question. His voice shook slightly as he replied, "I don't know, Sire. You said it was Morgana?"

"Yes," Arthur replied weakly. "She attacked us in the throne room, Saxons by her side. Morgana cast some kind of enchantment over the knights… over everyone really. It was like they lost all will of their own."

"…and attacked you?"

"Yes," the king sighed. "But the spell didn't affect you, did it?"

A frown appeared between Leon's eyebrows. "It didn't. Though, I don't know why. I was on my way to the throne room for the knighting ceremony. I was running late, because I had to break up a brawl between two of the stable lads." He shook his head slightly. "I had entered the castle, when I noticed strange things."

"Strange?"

"I saw a servant, basket of laundry in hands," the knight said, voice hushed. "Suddenly, the lad just dropped everything, turned and left, with no care that clothes were strewn around the floor. I called after him, but he ignored me. I waved over a maid to clean the mess up. The girl completely ignored me as well. Eyes empty and clouded, she followed after the servant."

"Morgana's spell," Arthur mumbled.

Leon nodded, troubled look on his features. "I think so. Everyone around me suddenly just dropped everything as if they'd been called somewhere. I decided to investigate. It wasn't long that I ran into a pair of guards. They were enchanted as well. Before I knew what was happening, they attacked me."

"Just great," Arthur sighed sarcastically. "Morgana must've ordered them to attack anyone who hadn't fallen under her spell."

He carefully tried to readjust his position. Instantly, pain flashed through him and Arthur gasped. Quickly, he gave up and just continued to limply lie there.

"It still doesn't explain why I've been unaffected by Morgana's spell," Leon noted, voice tight.

"It does not," Arthur whispered, voice slurred.

Leon peered at him. The worry on the knight's face told Arthur that he must be quite the sight. Leon unclasped his cloak and gingerly draped it over Arthur's prone form.

"You should rest, Sire."

Arthur wanted to protest, but his eyes already slipped close. Darkness tugged at his thoughts, beckoning them, and that still scared him. There was nothing he could do, though, as sleep harshly claimed him.

.+.