I failed. In the flashback chapters I included mentions of Gwaine, somehow forgetting that (SPOILER) he died at the end of the series. Maybe I didn't want to remember, who knows? Point being, I fixed those chapters, Gwaine was dead for them. If you're reading this for the first time after early September 2016, you won't even know what I'm talking about. Sorry for the mistake, also sorry for Gwaine fans who might have thought I had hime alive on purpose.
I don't Merlin
The next day the numbers swelled once again. Not only had people arrived in the night, but more and more larger groups arrived throughout the day. Once again, those from Camelot spoke to the new arrivals, and those who were already there. Arthur had been thinking about what he would say to the people and he wanted a better idea of what they thought about him, and the plan. Gwen spent some of the morning helping those who arrived settle in, but after a while Gaius took over for her and she went to speak with some of the others. She found Emily not far away and stopped to talk.
"You're finding everything alright here?"
"Yes. Thanks for asking," The two of them started to walk through the tents and people spread out on the hill, "Gwen... Is that short for something?"
"Oh, uh, yes. Guinevere."
"Lovely name."
Gwen smiled, "Thank you. Any reason why you ask?"
"Just wondering."
"I see," Gwen thought for a moment, "I was wondering... Have you heard anything about what people think of our plan?"
"Most of them seem interested, even hopeful. But... I'm a little worried about some of the chatter I've been hearing from the soldiers."
"Chatter?"
Emily lead Gwen a few steps away from a family nearby before speaking, "Probably - hopefully nothing. Some of them have mentioned that the higher-ups in the army don't seem to be thrilled with this gathering."
"Well that's unsurprising, we never expected this to go easily."
"Yes... But I've heard some people mention that, and it might just be rumour, but, as I said, mention that there are plans of an attack."
"An attack. On us?"
Emily nodded.
Gwen bit her lip, then looked up and smiled, " Don't worry. I... I'm sure we can be ready for it."
"I hope you're right."
Gwen nodded slowly, "Well thanks. I should be going, I need to check on something."
Walking quickly, Gwen scanned the crowd, looking for Arthur. She saw Merlin first, and hurried over. He turned to look at her and his brow creased when he saw he face.
"Gwen. Is something wrong?"
"Have you seen Arthur?"
"Not recently, why?"
"It might be nothing, but there's something I need to tell you. Both of you."
"Alright, come on, we can talk over here."
Gwen followed him, explaining as she did, "Apparently, some of the soldiers have been saying that the more powerful people in the armies might be preparing to attack."
Merlin looked at her calmly, "Do you know any details?"
"No. But I thought you needed to know. I'm not sure how this will change the plan."
Merlin nodded. "We can work around it." He placed a hand on Gwen's shoulder. "I'll tell Arthur."
"Alright," She started to leave, then turned back, "Have you found out anything interesting?"
"No. Not really."
But, as a matter of fact, he had. No one had told him, or asked him questions, but he'd heard mutterings that Arthur and his friends were in fact the figure of legends. Merlin suspected their names, especially his, had started the idea, but he couldn't be sure that one of the others hadn't let something slip. He still wasn't sure if the rumours would help or hurt their cause. A strangely large number of people seemed drawn to the idea, contrary to what Merlin would have suspected. But that didn't mean they'd be more likely to work with Arthur. It made it more possible that they would just want to see what was about to happen, and had more interest in the spectacle than the cause.
It was harder than he expected to find Arthur. He went over the whole area twice with no luck. Finally, he spotted him halfway down the slope and went to meet him. Arthur was seated, and he didn't seem to notice Merlin's approach. Merlin sat down next to him and sighed.
"What do you want, Merlin?"
"That's not a very good start. Why don't you try again with something like, oh, I don't know... Hello?"
Arthur looked at Merlin, unimpressed.
"Alright then. I've been trying to find you for at least twenty minutes, what are you doing here?"
"Just...taking a break. The crowd's a little chaotic."
"Makes sense."
"So why are you here? I take it you didn't just want to see where I was."
"Uh, no. There might be more trouble than we hoped. It's possible some of the army leaders are planning an attack."
Arthur frowned, "Right... Well, we need to start forming a strategy, then. I'll need to talk to the knights, and figure out who's willing to fight. That will be challenging, considering we invited them here for peace." Arthur sighed heavily. "Better start sooner rather than later."
"I can help."
"No offence Merlin, but you don't really know much about strategy, best leave it to the experts."
"You don't know everything about me. I can help. I know about what's going on here better than you."
"Alri-"
"And I've had more experience giving advice on this sort of thing than you know, and you can't expect me not to help, this was mostly my plan."
"Alright! You can help, please, just..." Arthur stood up, "Stop talking..."
"Right, yes. Quiet." Merlin stood up too. "We should get started then, shouldn't we? I mean, if we expect to get the plan in order-"
"Merlin. Shut up."
The rest of the day was mostly uneventful, as they worked on the best way for their plan to proceed. It was decided that Arthur should talk to the group the next morning. Should they be attacked, anyone who wanted to defend themselves or fight back would be organised to do so, anyone else would be lead by Gaius to a safe place. Several different plans of attack were formulated, depending on how many people stayed. As the afternoon drew on, the hill was covered by people. Not just the top now, but the slope on all sides. But this was dampened by the sight of the lights that began to show in pinpricks in the distance. The armies were indeed approaching. Merlin used magic to view their foes, and confirmed what the knights had learned from those who joined them that day: few of the soldiers had stayed with the opposing forces. This gave them hope, but there were enough to still pose a serious threat, and mood was still grim.
An hour or two after dinner, Merlin noticed Arthur walking towards one of the few empty areas of the camp. He almost followed him, but stopped himself. Arthur wouldn't be going if he wanted company. A short time later Gwen went for a walk and found Arthur sitting on his own, looking out at the view from the hill.
"Looking for familiar sights?" She sat down, "That's what I've been doing."
Arthur nodded, "You can sort of see it in the general shape of things."
"Arthur... You should get some sleep tonight. It doesn't seem like you have been recently."
"I haven't. There's been so much on my mind."
"Of course, it's a lot to think about. But you're not alone in this."
Arthur smiled, "I know that. Merlin won't give me a moment's peace."
"Do you want me to go? If you want to be alone..."
"No, I don't mind."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes, of course."
Gwen smiled, "It's been so good to see you again, Arthur."
"You too," He paused, "Were you alright after- after I was gone?"
"Not right away, no. But eventually... I had enough good memories of you that those were what remained."
"Good. I'm glad," Arthur was quiet for a while, then he stood up, "I should find Merlin, I want to go over something with him."
"I'll come with you, I think I'm going to go to bed soon."
Arthur nodded, "You know - and don't tell him I said this - but Merlin's actually not bad at planning."
Thanks for reading, please review!
