AN: Hello, it's your friendly neighborhood author here, continuing to add to a story she thought was completed! This WILL BE the last update for Excalibur, since it kind of deals with Arthur's ultimate fate and all.
Just a heads up, this is not BBC compliant people! I took bits of different versions of the King Arthur tales and wove them together to make this, so if something seems off, or you don't recognize it, I probably borrowed the idea from another version of the tale!
Disclaimer: I obviously don't own any characters you may recognize, or anything else belonging to the Arthur legends. Just the unique-ish plot is mine!
The harsh sounds of battle could be heard for miles around the field. The clang of swords, the sound of horses hooves galloping across the fields, and above all, the cries of men who were losing their lives every minute. This was a battle that would be remembered for all time.
Knights fighting for the love and loyalty they had for their King, and an army dressed in black fighting for the vengeance of their master. Both sides clashed with an almighty roar when the fight broke out, and neither side showed signs of relenting.
King Arthur, blood drenched and taking a moments respite from cutting down his latest enemy, removed his helmet to breathe the air. Though tainted with the scent of blood and sweat, it was the first good breath he'd had in hours. Upon standing a moment later he saw a flash of black disappear into the woods bordering the field. Leaving his helmet behind, Arthur took up his sword Excalibur, and followed the figure into the forest.
Just under a hundred yards into the woods, the trees parted, opening into a small clearing. Within that clearing stood a single soldier. His armor was black as night, as was his hair. He stood regally, breathing in the clean air the forest offered, listening to the sound of bloodshed beyond the trees.
"It's beautiful isn't it?" he called back to Arthur. "The sound of men hacking each other to pieces. The sound of war." He turned to face the King, a smirk evident on his pointed features, his deep green eyes filled with mirth.
"This war is useless, Mordred," Arthur replied. "There's no need for more of my men, or yours, to die."
"There is every need. Father." Mordred spat back at the man who was responsible for his life. "Your precious wizard killed my mother, your half-sister. This is my revenge, and I will not stop until I have destroyed Camelot!"
Mordred began to walk the edge of the clearing, his anger beginning to get the best of him. Arthur, wanting to keep his distance to try and reason with the young man, began to trace the boundaries himself.
"Morgan's death was not Merlin's fault. He did not mean to cause her any mortal harm."
"That's a lie!" Mordred cried, the grip on his sword becoming tighter in his rage. "Merlin hated my mother, she was his greatest enemy. He's always wanted her dead, and now he has gotten his wish. And soon I shall make hers come true."
Arthur was finally beginning to see there was no reasoning with the man. He had tried, and failed, with Morgan when he'd all but begged her to give up her mission to destroy his kingdom. To let go of the crimes his father committed and let Camelot live in peace. That had all been for naught. Now he could see the same, unyielding hatred she held, reflected in the eyes of her son. There was no ending this brutal war until one of them was lying dead in this clearing.
"I can't let you destroy this land, Mordred." Arthur said to the knight, stopping in his path around the clearing. "If it's a fight you want, it is a fight you shall get."
Arthur held Excalibur before him, preparing for Mordred to strike at him. With a fierce battle cry, the black knight lunged across the field, his sword coming down against the steel of Excalibur. Arthur spun his arm, forcing Mordred back and causing the enchanted blade to sing.
The two circled each other for mere moments before both went in to attack. Swords clashing, breath heaving, neither man was willing to back down from this fight. One man fighting for the love of his country, the other for revenge.
The battle went on, Arthur and Mordred were locked in a fight in which they were too equally matched, until Mordred slipped and Arthur managed to inflict a deep wound on Mordred's right arm.
His sword arm now injured, Mordred had no choice but to strike harder than before. His swings where heavy, and were beginning to take their toll on the already tired King.
Their swords locked together after a Mordred's latest attempt to disarm this opponent, and Arthur made one last effort to reason with him.
"Please Mordred." He began. "End this war, you can have land, gold, whatever you want. Just end this." Sweat was dripping down his face and under his armor with the exertion the fight had required.
"There is only one thing I want from you." Mordred replied, the venom dripping from his voice. "I want you, and your pet wizard Merlin's lives, in exchange for my mother's." With those words, Mordred drew the dagger he had tucked in his belt, and pierced the weak links in Arthur's armor, rendering his sword arm unusable.
Falling to the ground, Arthur looked up at the dark haired man from his knees. Green eyes met blue and, with out hesitation, Mordred forced the point of his sword through Arthur's stomach.
"Go to hell. King Arthur." Were Mordred's final words as he walked away, victorious.
Hearing his named being called from behind him, Mordred turned around one final time to hear Arthur's last words.
He felt a pain, then looked down to see a sword protruding from his chest. He looked at the dying King before him in disbelief, before collapsing to the ground, dying in a pool of his own blood.
With every bit of remaining strength he had, Arthur had managed to pick up Excalibur, and send it singing through the air towards his enemy. Watching him quickly die, before finally succumbing to the darkness pulling at him.
It was some hours later, when the battle finally ended in a Camelot victory, that Merlin came across his King in the clearing. He shed few tears at the death of his dearest friend, but he knew Arthur would have wanted his first priority be to see Camelot protected.
Mordred was placed upon a funeral pyre and left to burn in the clearing in which he died.
Arthur was placed in a tomb within the walls of Camelot, and a statue of him was erected in the main square in the town, where his subjects could pay their respects.
The sword Excalibur was never seen again. It was meant to be wielded by Arthur, and Arthur alone. And so Merlin returned the blade to the Lady of the Lake, to be protected by her in the depths of her enchanted home, until the end of time.
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