A/N: Let's start with the second, even bigger part of the story! There are many things going to happen... And I can promise you, you will be surprised, shocked and confused but, hopefully, you'll follow through till the very end :D
Also, I've been wondering if any of you would like a spin-off with drabbles and one-shots in between seasons 4 and 5 to give Will's friendships with the knights some more depth? I'm sure I could come up with something, so just let me know... :D
As always, reviews are appreciated :)
So, without further ado... - We'll start with series 5!
Chapter 11 – Never getting any easier
I awoke with a headache. Only after I really tried to remember, the memories came back in little fragments.
We had celebrated the Queen's second year of reign and the second anniversary of the royal marriage with a big feast and lots of drinks. And after both King and Queen had retired to 'go to bed early', we continued to feast. When there was literally no wine left any more, Gwaine proposed to go to The Rising Sun.
Judging by my headache, we did, but everything after the feast in the castle was a blur. It was kind of surprising that I was actually laying on my own bed in my room and not somewhere in the gutter or, this had happened once before, in the midst of the courtyard with mud all over my face and wet clothes. It had all been very embarrassing and, of course, none of my fellow knights remembered who had been with me that night or where I had been to get this dirty.
I rolled onto my back, fighting down the nausea, and, while massaging my temples, cursed Gwaine under my breath. It was, after all, his fault that I had the worst hangover ever.
Hopefully he was even worse than I was.
I stood up and staggered over to the table, where the wash-bowl stood. The cold water helped me to regain some of my senses, which was bad, because now every step hurt even more and the light coming from the small window was far too bright.
I skipped breakfast and walked to Gaius' instead, knowing he could provide me with something against headache and nausea. He didn't ask what I needed and had all the suitable herbs already sorted out, so I had the feeling that I wasn't the first to seek his aid or he foresaw that most of the knights would come to him in the course of the day.
When it was lunch-time, I was hungry enough to go to the main hall to eat, expecting to meet the inseparables.
Today, though, I saw only Elyan and Percival. An almost gleeful smile crossed my face: Gwaine obviously was too groggy to be up yet. Serves him right, I thought, but I wondered where Leon was. It wasn't like him to miss a meal or sleep late. He was far too dutiful for that.
Elyan sat down on the bench next to me, but instead of digging into his food like he usually did, he turned to me with an apologetic look: "Have you heard about Leon?"
"No! What happened?", I asked in alarm.
"Nothing serious. On his way home he managed to stumble over his own feet and now he has a badly strained wrist. He won't be able to accompany us today. I know its your day off, but I was hoping you'd come along."
"Of course I'll come with you, I know how important this is for you both." I grinned and added, "But we really have to stop Gwaine from dragging us along to the tavern every time he wants a drink."
Elyan nodded, thanked me and then started to dig in like he hadn't seen food in a week.
Smiling to myself, I turned back to my own plate. I could eat just as much as he could and, despite having been made for many, the food tasted delicious.
At least if you're hungry enough.
They left us at the edge of the woods to proceed alone. Elyan and Gwen had solemn faces and their eyes were full of memories, both good and bad. They walked arm in arm and took their time in getting up to the top of the hill.
I could just make out the siblings beside the small pile of stones marking their father's grave, two dark figures against the magnificent blue summer sky.
It reminded me of something I had managed to think of less and less over the months, but now it was present again.
"It never does get easier, does it?", I asked quietly.
Gwaine shrugged and after a little while said: "Don't think so. But you get used to live with the pain", he added after a moment.
Despite the warmth of the day, I shuddered, but then pushed the memories aside. It had been four years and a half, and there was no way of knowing what could've been or should've been.
I settled down on a fallen tree with eyes closed and turned my face so the sun could shine on it. It was quiet, except for the shuffling of the horses, the singing of the birds and the occasional bumblebee buzzing around.
It was one of those moment of peace that I had really come to cherish in the two years since the Southrons were driven out of Camelot. Things had taken a long time to quiet down, but now, finally, there were no fights in the near future that I could see, and until the events after which everything would go down in flames, one year was still to come.
Suddenly water was poured all over my face. Coughing and spluttering, I opened my eyes in shock, though the laughing already betrayed the person who had, apparently, emptied the whole of his water skin over my unsuspecting face.
"Gwaine! What was that for?!", I exclaimed and tried so smooth my hair back into shape. It had grown in the last months and I had not yet thought of cutting it shorter again. Judging by the way it fell into my face when it got wet, I definitely should, or I would look like Gwaine in a few weeks. Horrible idea, I mused, and smiled up at him sweetly, fighting down the embarrassment of having been startled like that.
Then, before the knight had a chance to react, I jumped up and wrestled him to the ground. He fell down, but somehow I was sure it was out of surprise and not because of my strength. As always, within a few minutes he had the upper hand and finally pinned me down underneath him.
Percival, who was minding the horses, laughed in his own, specialway and clapped mockingly.
Grinning widely, Gwaine stood up, extended his hand to me and said: "You really aren't getting any better at all!"
I was about to complain when he winked at me and gave me another smile, making an absurd little bow in the direction of Percival, who snorted in answer and gave his horse another apple.
Both of us panting, I resumed my place on the log and Gwaine lay down next to it on the ground, his arms behind his neck, smiling up at the sun.
I wasn't paying attention to the conversation until Gwen directly addressed me: "Tell me, William, has Gwaine told you anything of this new girlfriend?"
"What?", I asked and tried to piece together what I had missed, but couldn't. Even while I was thinking, a movement in the undergrowth caught my attention. Before I had time to warn the others, Saxons jumped out of the bushes, yelling at the top of their voices, their swords up high in the air. They looked like creatures out of nightmares.
We had an emergency plan for situations just like these at hand, so despite being surprised, we composed ourselves after a few dangerous seconds.
"Protect the Queen!", Elyan shouted while drawing his sword.
Percival, who had been next to Guinevere, forced her horse out of harm's way to the left, while Gwaine, Elyan and I blocked the Saxons' way to them.
While knight and Queen escaped into the other direction, we took care of the assailants. It didn't take more than a few minutes before they lay fallen on the ground and we turned to follow Percival and Guinevere.
"We should have found them by now!", Elyan said, his concern obvious. He looked shaken and guilty, barely hiding his anger about himself and his concern for his sister.
"They definitely have gonequite a long way", Gwaine murmured, barely loud enough for me to hear. I nodded, carefully looking at the path as well as the woods at the side, just in case the had hidden alongside the road. As if our situation wasn't bad enough yet, it was getting darker every moment. Dusk was approaching fast.
"There!", Gwaine suddenly exclaimed and pointed ahead and a bit to the left.
Sure enough, there was Guinevere's horse standing next to a birch tree and, a few metres behind it, I could just make out a red cloak spread on the ground.
"Percival!"
It was a few minutes before midnight when we reached Camelot. Arthur, who had obviously anxiously awaited our return, rushed to the main gate as soon as we reached the courtyard: "What happened?"
It was fairly obvious what had happened, but still, none of us wanted to tell him or even meet his eyes.
"Elyan! What has happened?", Arthur repeated his question, his voice a mixture of command, plea, and fear.
Elyan shook his head.
"We lost the Queen, Sire", Gwaine finally admitted.
