Dinner had been an awkward affair since Krysia was deemed fully recovered. She had taken to sitting beside Arthur, as far from Uther as she could sit, and everyone certainly had noticed. Arthur had in fact taken to waiting for her to sit before he took his seat, always then filling the seat between her and his father, as if they'd choreographed it. Tonight, Uther was pointedly not looking at her, but Krysia didn't mind. She preferred this to the sometimes-pained expression he had when he looked at her anymore.
"What news from the northern borders?" Uther said to Arthur.
"There've been a number of minor skirmishes," Arthur said.
Krysia noticed that Arthur made a point of brushing his hand on Gwen's, and Gwen smiled. Krysia felt the absence of Gwaine more strongly than she had since he left, and she looked down at her plate. He promised he would find a way to return, and she could only hope that he figured it out sooner than later.
"You think Odin is testing our defenses?"
There was a long silence, and Krysia realized Arthur hadn't heard his father, staring at Gwen as she moved around the table to pour Morgana's drink.
"I expect Odin is doing that at the very least," Krysia said, trying to cover for Arthur, but Uther didn't address that she'd even spoken.
"Arthur, are you listening?" Uther said.
"What's that?" Arthur said.
He moved to reach for his cup and managed to knock it over.
"What on earth is wrong with you?" Uther said as Gwen hurried to clean up the spill.
"Nothing, sorry," Arthur said.
Krysia noticed that Morgana was watching Arthur, and she felt a chill down her spine, but as Arthur managed to get wine on her white dress, she excused herself, glancing back to see Morgana smirking to herself.
Something certainly wasn't right.
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Krysia pulled on her purple silk gown and frowned at her reflection, turning to adjust her belt and silently cursing the clinging property of silk. Smooth and soft, yes. Practical and functional, less so.
She sat down to brush her hair when there was a knock at the door. She told the knocker to enter and smiled to find Geraint there. He looked around the room like he was looking for something—Enid, Krysia hoped—and then addressed Krysia.
"Good morning, my lady," he said. "You look lovely this fine day."
"I feel ridiculous," she said, brushing her hair. "I don't suppose you've ever had an opportunity to wear silk, Geraint."
He grinned and said, "I can't say that I have, my lady."
"Whoever invented the fabric should be drawn and quartered," she said. "It's horribly uncomfortable."
"Ah, perhaps," he said, winking at her, "but I know that when you wear that white silk gown you were wearing yesterday, half the knights lose function of their tongues, so I suspect it serves its purpose."
She threw her hairbrush at him in half-joking frustration and Geraint caught it with one hand, then tossed it back to her with a little less force, and she caught it in two hands.
"You didn't come to have a conversation about silk," she said.
"No, I didn't," he said with a smile. "Leon wondered whether you might rather have the morning meal with he and me, rather than eating alone or going to break fast with the king."
"Did he?" Krysia said, smiling. "Tell him I'd be delighted, and I will join you as soon as this hair is…well, when it resembles something."
"I think it resembles something now," Geraint said. "And I'm sure Leon would agree."
Krysia brushed back a strand of hair with her fingers and frowned at her reflection. She thought she looked fine as well.
"Enid would kill me," she said.
"Who gives orders to whom?" he said with a laugh. He held out his hand. "Come, the food is already waiting for us, and I, for one, am famished."
Krysia took his hand, smiled, and felt for the first time in she couldn't remember how long like a child again.
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Uther took a deep drink of his tea, wondering where Krysia had got to.
"It's such a beautiful day," Morgana said, "I was wondering if you might join me for a ride."
"I have council matters to attend to," he said, lowering his goblet.
She frowned slightly and said, "It's just, I get to spend so little time with you these days. Time together is…so precious to me."
Uther hesitated. He could go to the council meeting and have to stare down the table at Krysia, or he could go on a ride with his daughter, which he certainly didn't do often enough. It perhaps wasn't the responsible decision of a monarch, but even without her being queen, he trusted that Krysia would see to matters with the council. He couldn't substitute a ride with Morgana.
"You're right," he said. "We don't spend enough time together. The council can wait."
She smiled, and the touched their goblets together to seal the deal.
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Gwaine had a feeling that something wasn't right as he gathered his things that morning. Again, he felt he was being watched, and he considered possibly not considering his south, but crossing the border back into Mercia. Sure, there weren't any border towns left where he hadn't had an issue in the tavern, but he'd never had this feeling there.
He paused to get some water at a nearby stream and was just about to stand again when he saw a shape in the water below him.
Gwaine reached for his sword and was about to draw it when he felt a blow on his head and the world went dark.
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"I'm glad you persuaded me to come," Uther said to Morgana as they rode through the woods. "We must do this again."
She smiled at him her best smile and she said, "I'd like that very much. Come on, I'll race you."
Before he could answer, she had already urged her horse forward, and Uther laughed, following her into the forest.
He drove deeper, deeper, following Morgana's excellent riding, and it wasn't until she stopped suddenly short that he stopped beside her.
On the forest floor, on a blanket, were a pair kissing, and not just any pair. Arthur was there, kissing a serving girl. Gwen's serving girl, on point of fact.
"Arthur!" Uther said.
His son looked up at him with shock and fear, and it was everything Uther could do not to laugh and give too much appearance of levity to the situation.
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Arthur paced the council room when Uther arrived in it to speak with him. Arthur stopped when Uther entered, and Uther took a moment to give his son a serious look, then could hold in his laugh no more. He slapped Arthur's shoulder and was pleased to see Arthur's serious expression melt into a smile.
It was such a thing Gorlois might have done, skipping on duties to kiss a pretty maid in the forest, that Uther couldn't help but laugh. It was good to see that Arthur did have interests, even if he hadn't managed to be interested in any woman put before him by his father.
"I thought you'd be furious," Arthur said.
"I was young once," Uther said. "I'm more than familiar with the temptations of serving girls."
Arthur hesitated, then said, "I'm sorry I kept it from you. I thought it for the best."
"No serious harm has been done," Uther said. "I can't allow it to continue, obviously."
Arthur's face went serious again, and he said, "What are you talking about."
"You can never see this girl again."
The fact that Arthur looked surprised and even upset by this was perturbing to Uther. What part of this wasn't clear?
"You've just said that no harm had been done," Arthur said.
"You've had your fun, now it must come to an end."
"What does it matter that Guinevere's a servant?" Arthur said.
Uther narrowed his eyes, not liking where this was headed.
"The survival of Camelot depends on forging an alliance through your marriage."
"But I can't marry someone who I don't have feelings for."
There was no apology in Arthur's face, and Uther felt the words were specifically chosen to remind Uther of his own recently failed engagement. He decided to let it go this once, as Arthur was clearly upset.
"Your first duty is to Camelot."
"I care about her—"
Uther shook his head and said, "I cannot allow this. I forbid it."
"You can't forbid my feelings any more than I can," Arthur said, suddenly quite bold. "I won't deny them any longer. I love her. I love Guinevere."
Uther stared at his son, startled. This was something more than a simple fling with a pretty serving girl. Something more dangerous.
"You leave me no choice," he said. "She's banished from the city."
"You can't do that," Arthur said.
"She has three days to leave. To return is on pain of death."
"She has nowhere to go! Her, her life is in Camelot."
"You have caused this to happen, Arthur," Uther said, pointing at his son. "My decision is final."
All the boldness had gone from Arthur, but the foolishness wouldn't go away. He kept pressing, even as Uther sat to review the papers from the council meeting he'd left in Krysia's hands.
"Please, do not banish her," Arthur said. "I give you my solemn word that I'll never see her again."
"You have made it clear to me that you cannot control your feelings for this girl."
"No! I—"
Uther was surprised when Arthur grabbed his arm, and his disapproving surprise must have shown on his face, because Arthur stared back at him as if afraid of what he'd just done, then let go. This only solidified Uther's point. He gathered the papers to review them in his chambers.
"This is for your own good," Uther said. "She is nothing and no one. You will see."
He left Arthur to determine how to deliver the news to the girl in question. Three days was more than fair. He could have given her until sundown.
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Krysia went to Arthur's chambers as soon as Enid gave her the news. He was pacing, Merlin was watching him pace, and Arthur paused to let Krysia embrace him.
"How did Uther know where to find you?" Merlin said from where he sat.
"I don't know," Arthur said, pacing again. "You were the only person who knew where we were."
"I didn't tell him," Merlin said, gesturing awkwardly.
Krysia raised an eyebrow and said, "That I believe, but is it possible you hinted without meaning to?"
"I didn't say anything," Merlin said.
Arthur latched onto the idea of Merlin the accidental snitch, however, and said, "You know, Merlin, you couldn't keep a secret if your life depended on it!"
Krysia bit the inside of her cheeks to keep from reacting, but a frustrated Merlin said, "You'd be surprised!"
She jerked an eyebrow up and said, "Care to share?"
"Nothing," Merlin said quickly, sighing.
Arthur stared at the floor, pausing in his pacing. There was a long, painful silence between the three of them as he just stood still.
"What are you going to do?" Merlin said.
"I don't know," Arthur whispered.
The door opened, and Krysia turned to see Morgana coming in looking the kind of upset that Krysia could almost believe.
"Morgana," Krysia said.
"Leave us, Merlin," Arthur said.
Merlin and Morgana shared an icy glance on Merlin's way out, and then Morgana's expression melted back into her sympathetic mask.
"Arthur, I heard what happened," she said. "I can't tell you how sorry I am."
"It's all my fault," Arthur said.
Krysia shook her head and said, "You didn't do anything wrong, Arthur."
"I—I can't accept that I may never see her again."
"Uther has banished her," Morgana said, forcing a nervous smile. "Surely you have no choice."
"There are always choices," he said, suddenly quite steeled.
Krysia took a concerned step toward him and said, "What are you thinking of doing, Arthur?"
"I'll leave with her," he said.
Morgana did look surprised at this, and she and Krysia exchanged what Krysia believed was a genuinely shocked look.
"You're leaving Camelot?" Morgana said. "You'd give up your rights to the throne!"
Arthur shook his head and said, "One day we will return to Camelot together, and Guinevere will take her place on the throne beside me."
Suddenly Krysia's belly turned to ice as she realized what these words much be doing to Morgana, who saw Camelot's throne as hers. He'd just sealed Morgana's next move as ending any possibility of that. But how she would do it, that was the question.
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Gwaine came to on the floor of a tight round room filled with other men. They were packed together uncomfortably, so that they couldn't all sit at once. There was a reason, he realized, that he was the only one sitting, propped against a wall.
His bag was gone, he realized, as was his sword, and he surreptitiously checked his pocket. Mercifully, whoever had stripped him of his things was a fool who neglected to check pockets. He balled it carefully in his hand and slid it down his boot, working so that it ended up in his heel.
It wasn't comfortable, but he would not lose her here, wherever he was. He stared at the other men in silence. No one said a word to him, so he determined not to say a word to them, not until someone with some authority came to…wherever they were.
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Uther was reading over Krysia's notes on the situation on the northern border, and it struck him not remotely for the first time how brilliant she was. She saw motivations, organization, tactics so cleanly, so clearly. Like her father. No one had ever had a better head for troop movements than Marcial. In all other ways he'd been a perfectly passable knight, but between his strategic eye and his prodigiously fast riding, there had been no better scout in all the five kingdoms.
Someone knocked, which was just as well. Reading Krysia's assessments was both a painful window into the past and a bitter reminder of just what a brilliant queen she would have made.
"Enter," he said, setting aside the assessment.
Morgana came in, and he smiled at her, pleased and surprised that she would come up all this way.
"Morgana," he said.
"I was concerned about you, my lord," she said. "You weren't at dinner."
She looked at his workspace and began to gather some candles, moving them nearer to the table.
"I had no appetite," he said.
She hesitated, then said, "Are you avoiding Krysia, or worried about Arthur?"
Both, but he didn't want to admit the blow to his pride out loud, so instead he shook his head and said, "I do not understand his feelings for this girl. She's a servant."
Morgana lit a few candles and started to say, "It is strange that…"
She hesitated, even pausing in her work.
"What?" he said.
She hesitated, then said, "Arthur tells me everything, and he's never expressed any feelings for Gwen, and suddenly he's declaring his love for her."
She put out the match, and Uther narrowed his eyes, considering her points. There was something she didn't seem to want to say out loud.
"What are you saying, Morgana?"
"I'm sure there's an explanation," she said, trying to brush the comment away, but he held up his hand.
"Speak your mind."
"You yourself have noticed Arthur's strange mood," she said. "It's almost as though he's…been enchanted."
The idea was a disturbing one, and one he might be inclined to hesitate on, however after what had just occurred with Krysia, he could not afford to ignore the suggestion. Whoever had tried to strike that blow at Camelot by controlling Krysia might have redirected their efforts after the lack of success, and what better target than Arthur?
The question was, what would the girl's motives be, if found out?
No, better to be safe on these matters. A search should be conducted at once.
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When the knights brought the poultice to the council chamber, Uther called Gaius there at once. Morgana was seated, waiting, and Krysia had come in on Gaius's heals. Uther looked at her for only a moment, regretting that she had to be here for this, so soon after her own near-death experience at the hands of magic, perhaps even the same practitioner. But he could not force her to leave.
He'd already imposed his will on her too much. Best to tread lightly.
Gaius examined the poultice, and Krysia stood nearby, arms crossed, waiting.
"Is it magical?" Uther said.
"I believe so," Gaius said, gesturing to several markings. "These are the symbols of the Old Religion."
"Could it be used to cast an enchantment?"
"Enchantment?" Krysia said, her voice tight.
"That would be one use of such a poultice," Gaius said slowly.
"This enchantment," Uther pressed, "could it cause someone to fall in love?"
"It is entirely possible," Gaius said, turning to frown at Krysia, then turning back to Uther. "May I ask where it was found?"
Uther snatched the poultice out of Gaius's hands and gestured to Leon.
"Arthur's chambers," Krysia whispered, trembling slightly.
"Find Morgana's maid," he said to Leon, who glanced at Krysia. "Bring her to me immediately."
Leon bowed, and Gaius turned to look at Krysia again. She was trembling slightly, but she had not buckled, had not fainted, and looked lightly resolved. She had gone silent, and it would have been impossible to determine her feelings by her expression.
Surely she thought, they all thought what Uther thought: the one who had nearly killed Krysia would be unmasked tonight, would be executed as early as dawn, and then they could all put magic behind them for some time.
A/N:
To the Guest Reviewer: Uther getting slapped by reality…ha! Yes, that's one of my favorite things to do, actually, is to slap Uther with reality. If you go and read the earlier part of this cycle, Camelot: Forged from Ashes, you'll get to see Uther frequently slapped by reality.
To LucidChocolate: So glad you enjoyed! Yeah, I know how simple it is to create a damsel in this time period, but one thing I appreciate from the original Arthurian legends is how that did *not* describe the women in those tales. More often, the women were incredibly powerful actors, sometimes manipulating entire situations for their own aims and good. I think this show does a great job of that, for the most part, and I wanted Krysia (and Zosia) to honor that tradition.
To tatysantannag: Yeah, poor baby Leon. He had a really rough few weeks, and they culminated in a really rough night. And…it's about to get harder in a few episodes. Because I think y'all know what's coming soon.
-C