Hello, beautiful people from the internet!

I'm so sorry for taking so long again, it's just that school and Christmas time drive me crazy, I barely have time for other stuff. But well, here's the new chapter, we're getting close to the end!

Thank you so much for the follows, favourites and reviews, it means a lot!

Words woithout A/N: 2 456

9. The rescue. Part one

''There is not greater glory than to die for love.'' Gabriel García Márquez

''In about two minutes, they will exchange places.'' Leon whispered ''We could go to the back and kill two of them when they arrive, that would give us around ten minutes to enter. However, I don't know if someone else is watching. I doubt there's a door there, meaning we would have to climb. My wound still hurts and Pers may not be ready for it.''

''We could use a distraction.'' Elyan said.

Leon frowned, that comment bothered him, it reminded him of Gwaine, and about how stupid he had been, he should have never let him go. It was unfair, Gwaine had made himself a human diversion, no one deserved to become that. Leon was angry with himself, for making his friend feel guilty; Gwaine's choice had been his fault somehow. But he was going to fix that, he was rescue Arthur, Merlin and Gwaine no matter what.

He kept observing the guards, he had learnt their routine: two stood on the front of the fortress and other two on the back of it; every ten minutes, they switched places. At the beginning, when Gwaine was captured, there had been a big group outside, waiting for the knights. But most of them had had gone back inside an hour later.

While they were waiting for Percival to awake, Leon had walked around the fortress carefully. Apparently, the only way in was the front door, which was probably more guarded than expected. They knew trying to enter quietly was almost impossible, they would have to use force to and that was going to call everyone's attention.

Percival had woken up around an hour ago, he wasn't dizzy or confused, which was good, meaning he could fight. The three knights were ready to attack, but they didn't have the strength yet, Elyan was the only one without wounds and, still, they were three against God knows how many. There wasn't a strategy either, how were they going to do it? Dawn was near, they had to do it when it was still dark, they had to...

''I think I know how to do it.'' Elyan whispered. Leon's heart jumped inside his chest and his throat went dry. His friend continued ''I think it's the best option for now. You learnt their routine, right? When they have to leave their spots to exchange places, they walk around the fortress, true?''

''True.'' Leon confirmed,

''We know the front must be protected, same for the back... but what about the sides? If we meet them at the sides, we could finish with them before they could scream and without the risk of being seen.''

''That is brilliant, Elyan.'' Leon said, feeling as if half of the weight he felt over his shoulders had been taken away.

''That is a great plan, but we will have to hurry.'' Percival said. ''We will have to enter immediately and, well, who knows how many we will have to fight.''

''We can do this, I bet tomorrow night we will be getting close to Camelot with Arthur, Merlin and Gwaine.'' Elyan said. ''Let's hurry, I'll go to the right side and you two go to the left. We'll see what comes next together.''

Leon swallowed and started walking towards the left side of the fortress with Percival. They hid behind some trees and waited. He held his sword tightly and took a deep breath, his friend did the same. Some minutes later they saw the two guards walking to their opposite side. Percival walked slowly towards them, still hiding, Leon followed. They were getting closer... and closer... the guards were about to reach the middle of their path...

''Now.'' Percival whispered.

Without thinking about it, both knights ran towards the two guards. One was about to scream, but Leon's sword reached him before he could even react. In less than ten seconds, the knights were running towards the front of the fortress to met Elyan and enter.

''What now?'' Percival asked when they met.

''When enter.'' Leon said confidently. He opened the door carefully. There was a guard with his back at them.

''Why are you opening the door? Did something ha...?'' He started, turning around. He gasped when he saw the knights, drew his sword out and screamed. ''They're here! They're here!''

Leon didn't hesitate, he ran to the guard and killed him on the spot. Adrenaline was running through his body, he had a lot of energy even though he hadn't slept at all. He felt no fear, no insecurities. There was only one thing on his mind: rescuing his friends. He could do it, he knew he could, and no one was going to stop him. He had faced death so many times... Jesus, he had even faced a dragon, what could ever possibly stop him?

He observed the place, they were in a large room that was only a small part of the fortress. It was a good and expensive building for something illegal; the walls and floor were made of stone, several torches provided light. The room had two doors on the sides, they would have to choose one to follow, the one that would guide them to their friends.

And their answer arrived, a bunch of guards entered running from the door on the left. Percival, Elyan and Leon fought bravely and with no problem, in less than a minute, all their enemies were laying on the floor. But there were probably still a lot in other places, absolutely aware of the knights' presence.

''Where to now?'' Elyan asked.

''To the left, where they came from. Its' obvious that, if this side is more protected, it's our path; they need to keep Arthur where he is.'' Leon answered.

The knights ran to their left, being guided by the amount of guards on the way. They had to fight with strength and energy as they were in great disadvantage; the territory wasn't theirs and there were so many enemies. But they weren't the only ones in danger, Gradel, the slave trader, could easily use one of their friends as a weapon. That's why they had to be fast and get them as soon as possible.

Their path seemed to get easier with every step. Enemies kept coming, but the knights were better at fighting and more organised. They continued at great speed, confident about the path they were following...

And then the giant appeared.

While running, Leon had entered a room and seen a door half open, he caught a glimpse of that small space: a group of stairs that lead to the dungeons. They were around five meters away from it so they tried to run faster. However, a man appeared from a near room and stood in front of the door with his sword out. The knights would have advanced with no fear, but one hit coming from this man could be deadly. ''Man'' wasn't even the right word to describe him, he was even bigger and taller than Percival; he was a beast, a giant.

''Elyan, close the door behind us.'' Leon said when he heard more enemies coming. They had to deal with this huge one, they had no time for others.

His friend did as he was told and Percival spoke. ''We're trapped with him, what now?''

''I received strict orders from my superiors.'' The big man said with a deep and scary voice. ''I will not allow you to get in.''

''I believe you.'' Leon said. His blood was boiling with rage, he hadn't gone that far to end up being stopped, he was going to rescue everyone. ''But I doubt you'll be useful as a dead man.''

The other grunted like an animal and raised his sword. The knights ran to surround him, trying to make him leave his spot or harm him somehow. Percival attacked first, but the giant's sword stopped him, giving Leon a chance to attack him. He did so, but his enemy seemed barely bothered by it. The pain and rage must have been so little that, instead of stabbing the knight, he pushed him away with his arm. However, he didn't push him as if trying to make him just back away, he pushed him as Leon as if he was a little bug ready to fly... and he did fly. Against a wall.

Leon hit the wall and landed painfully, he felt a jolt of pain on his wound. How could one man's arm make him fly that far away? He had hit his head, so he was dizzy and unable to move correctly. He blinked a few times and noticed that his friends were trying with great effort to fight the giant. It seemed hard, but the man was holding with his hand the spot Leon had wounded.

''You okay, Leon?'' Elyan asked while trying to hit that beast with his sword.

''I am.'' He said standing up and grabbing his sword.

''Try to lock the door with something. I think they're...'' He continued, dodging and avoiding a slash with the deadly sword. ''I think they're trying to get in.''

Leon ran to the door as fast as he could and blocked it with a piece of wood he found on the floor. He was going to return and help his friends, but there was a hard hit on the door and the piece of wood almost broke. Leon threw himself back at it to hold it. For the first time since they had entered, the knight was afraid; they were trapped in a room with a giant and a group of people trying to get in.

He needed to think, the three of them were going to end up dead if they kept doing as they were. His enemies hit the door again, but he was strong and the piece of wood was still whole. However, one more hit and the door would end up falling over Leon. He looked at the giant, he had no intentions of leaving the door he was protecting. Nevertheless, that door wasn't completely shut; they could still get in somehow.

And his opportunity arrived.

Percival slashed his sword and harmed his enemy's arm, which made him grunt and get distracted; his side was making him lose blood and now his arm was making him weaker. Leon knew the rest of the guards would enter the room if he left his spot, but he also knew that the giant would never expect an attack coming from him. Before the enemy could rise his sword again, Leon ran as fast as he could and pushed him; the man tripped, opened the door with his weight and fell down the stairs.

''Quick! Get in and close the door!'' Leon ordered. Just when they entered, their enemies broke the previous door. Elyan shut the door quickly and ran down the stairs, being followed by his two friends; Leon was slower as he was still a bit dizzy. He let out a sigh of relief when he was close to the end and realised he was actually in the dungeons.

There was a guard there, but he didn't even have his sword out. He looked at the unconscious body of the giant with confusion, then at the knights. ''Brutus? What the hell is..?'' He started, but Percival punched him in the face and he blacked out.

''Was that Percival?'' A familiar voice was heard, it came from the inside of a cell. Leon smiled and ran towards the sound, it was indeed Arthur who had spoken. The king and Merlin, who was by his side, opened their eyes with surprise. ''Leon?''

''Hello, Arthur, Merlin! I'm glad you're safe!'' Leon said, smiling and looking at them happily, but feeling scared when he noticed Gwaine was nowhere to be seen. He heard the door being opened: their enemies were getting in.

''I found some keys!'' Percival said and tossed them to Leon, who was closer to the cell. The knight grabbed his sword and ordered. ''Open the door for them. Elyan and I will keep them away.''

Leon caught the keys and nodded. What his hands had grabbed was a big ring with a bunch of keys; that was going to take time and they actually needed some. But he wasn't going to lose more time, he started with the first key. He looked at his friends, they seemed terrible; Merlin was skinnier than usual (if that was even possible), Arthur was probably exhausted, the bags under his eyes confirmed that. They were also dirty and pale, the king was probably desperate to take a bath.

Leon kept trying, but the right key still wasn't found. He had to be quick, Percival and Elyan needed support, and Gwaine... Gwaine. The knight spoke. ''I'm sorry we took so long, sire, I got wounded and...''

''Oh, God, are you better now?'' Arthur asked.

''I am... sorry, we would have come sooner, but I had to recover and Agravaine wouldn't give us permission to leave.''

''What? My uncle didn't let you...?''

''No.'' Leon answered seriously. ''He didn't say why. He told us he would think about it, but never actually confirmed anything.''

''That doesn't make any sense.'' Arthur muttered. ''Agravaine... he...''

''I didn't expect that either, my lord, but I guess you two could talk about it when we're back.'' Leon said, trying with another key... a key that fit. Arthur smiled and Leon started turning it. Then, he looked at the king with desperately worried eyes and asked what he really wanted to know. ''Is Gwaine here?''

''He is.'' Merlin answered with a concerned voice.

''Where?''

''There's a door at the end of the corridor, it probably leads to a room, he's surely there.''

''Is he alone?''' Leon asked, scared. He was almost done with the door and the keys.

''Our enemy was there a couple of hours ago; then he went out. But ten minutes ago he went back in.''

Ten minutes. Leon and his friends had entered ten minutes ago. He opened the door quickly, gave the king and his servant a rapid hug and spoke. ''Grab that fallen guard's sword, help Percival and Elyan, I'm going for Gwaine.''

He was about to run, but Arthur stopped him by grabbing his armour. He looked at him with serious and worried eyes. Leon's heart stopped, no one would have stopped him if it wasn't important. Arthur sighed before speaking. ''Leon, we believe he was tortured and we're not sure if he is a... look, it's just that last time we heard him scream was around an hour ago.''

Review?

TheLoner7