43. The Conversation

"What is going on around here?!" Arthur demanded the moment he walked into the table room. Everyone at the table turned to look at him, all stunned speechless. Arthur wasn't a rash guy, he rarely lost his cool, which made his outburst seem quite odd.

"You've returned," Bedievere commented with practiced coolness.

"Really, what gave that away?" Arthur retorted with sarcasm. Wet stick's eyebrows raised in surprise, his friend was off and that alarmed him. Sure Arthur was witty, a bit sarcastic, and sensibly calm, but he never was loud and angry, not like this.

"It's just we are surprised to see you. We weren't expecting you this late at night." Bedievere answered.

"Well, I am here now. Explain why there is a horde of people surrounding my castle." He demanded of his knights.

They all stared back at him, none of them uttering a single sound. They weren't sure how to relay the news, but it was Bedievere who stood up and delivered the blow.

"Rogue Vikings attacked 2 of our ships while you were gone and they are threatening to go to war with us." He stated firmly.

"The people have been restless since then," Percival commented.

Arthur took a deep breath and calmed himself for a moment. He knew that when he followed Lucy he would be creating a mess, but he never thought it would be a mess like this. His people doubted him, rogue Vikings were attacking, and he still didn't fully understand the situation with Lucy's sister. There was no doubt in his mind that his impromptu vacation had resulted in his shirking of responsibilities.

He rubbed his hand through his hair. He knew these matters were important, yet all he could think about was Lucy laying down in bed alone. He wanted to be with her, wrapped up in her, and just being. He never hated his new role more than he did in this moment.

"And the plan, have you guys done anything in my absence?" He asked with genuine curiosity but it came off ungrateful. He shook his head, what was wrong with him, these men were his friends and most trusted advisors. They were the ones who stayed and protected his castle and kingdom while he was off galavanting about, chasing after a girl. A girl none the less who had yet to show any sort of commitment to their eventual union.

"I'm sorry, you guys don't deserve that, just... Just catch me up on the conversation."

"Um well," Wet stick began, "we were actually discussing our Mage friends." Everyone at the table looked nervous and Arthur picked up on that.

"Yes?" He asked. What were they hiding from him?

"Well, new rumors have begun to arise concerning the black witch. Rumors insinuating that she is related to, to Lucy." He continued.

"And?" Arthur asked, not fully understanding. This was information they already knew.

"Well the people know, and they have been talking about it." Wet stick said.

"And what that means for the kingdom. You know, after you eventually marry her, since you just chased after her like a lunatic." Perci added.

Arthur let out a long breath. It was true, from an outsiders perspective, none of this looked good. Mary was a dark and growing enemy looming in the distance. Her relation to Lucy was compromising. The king being distracted by a common woman who was initially hired to be his seamstress was unusual enough. Lucy's heritage would eventually come out, but until that day the public would doubt her and her intentions.

Things definitely took a hard left somewhere along the way and now he had to deal with it. His feelings on the matter hadn't changed though, he loved Lucy and when the time was right he would marry her. She would be his wife and they would get the happy ending he dreamed of.

"Okay, well one problem at a time. Vikings first, I want someone to get Greybeard here. I wanna talk to him."

"As you wish sir," Bedievere said with a slight nod of his head.

"In the meantime, I will see George about locating this rogue Vikings and taking the fight to them. I realize I've been more than absent lately and that stops now. Going forward we will be taking the fight to them."

"Arthur, are you sure this is what you want to do?"

"I appreciate your concern Bedievere but yes, I know what I am doing."

The table was silent for a moment. Nobody else wanted to take the risk of questioning Arthur while he was in this sort of mood.

"So, in other news, how did things with Lucy go. Where did you guys go? What did you do?" Percival asked. He was genuinely curious to know what Arthur had learned in his time away.

"It's a long story, but to keep things short, we ended up in Savernake Forest, and we met the last remaining Oracle Sister."

Bedievere's head perked up. "You met one of the Oracle Sisters? How? We believed they were all dead."

"Um yes, well I suppose you all deserve to know. Lucy and Mary are direct descendants of an Oracle Sister." Arthur nodded his head, informing them of the latest development.

"Oh dear. This makes our mage situation a bit more complicated." Perci shook his head. This situation just kept getting more and more complicated.

"Speaking of our mages, where are Merlin and Mága?" Arthur inquired. He had yet to see them or hear of them and that worried him some. He still knew very little about these people and what that meant for his kingdom. He didn't want to risk his people for something he didn't fully understand.

"They have been staying out of sight and out of mind. Merlin would like to speak with you though when you are available." Bedievere stated. He too remained eternally grateful that the mages had stayed calm and out of the way in Arthur's absence. He also felt that Lucy's absence had something to do with it. They knew she was important to their cause, but what exactly was their cause. Bedievere knew he would soon find out, just as long as Arthur stayed safe.

"Alright, well it's late. Let's pick this up tomorrow."

"Art?" Wet stick asked, stopping him from leaving.

"Yeah?" He sighed, the long day riding was finally catching up with him.

"We can trust Lucy right?"

Arthur squinted his eyes at him. Did hid knights now doubt him too? What was happening? Had he checked out that much recently that not even he knew what he was doing anymore? When had this all happened?

"Are you questioning my loyalty?"

"No Art, I trust you. I'd follow you to the ends of the Earth. We all would, you know that."

"But?" Arthur encouraged him to continue.

"Where does Lucy's loyalty lay?" Goosefat Bill finally spoke up. He had been oddly quiet which told Arthur he was the instigator of this suspicion.

"I appreciate your concern, but Lucy wouldn't do that."

"Do what exactly? Arthur, she could do everything with the best of intentions in mind and we could still get screwed. Her sister is the enemy, how do we know she isn't helping her."

Arthur shook his head he refused to believe such a thing. Lucy loved him, he knew she did. She wouldn't do anything to hurt him, she didn't have it in her to hurt even a fly.

"No, I'm done talking about this. I know her and everything is going to be fine. We just need to deal with these rogue Vikings."

"As you wish," Bedievere nodded.

Arthur gave one last look around the table then got up from his seat. He was exhausted and all he wanted to do was fall into bed and wrap his arms around Lucy and keep her close. He didn't want to think of the risks and implications, he just wanted to escape this harsh reality and sleep.

Author's Note: 1338 words

Hey guys! I'm back again! I thought this chapter was really great cause it's all Arthur so I hope you enjoyed. I recently rewatched the movie and man Charlie Hunnam is a sexy man. It also made me kinda feel like I wasn't completely capturing him, which is probably true but I'm happy with the character building I've done so far.

Also my goal is to completely reread my story before my next update. Wish me luck.

Stay Tuned!

Love Always,

Surviving