In the background
Guinevere placed her hand on his hand. Her face expressed despair, but there was something more hidden there, some sinister shadow. It danced in her eyes, almost elusive, but Leon was painfully aware of it. He had seen too much in his life to not to notice it. He felt the lump in his throat, which had been growing since the nightmare began, about to grow to a size that made it impossible to breathe. Tragedy hung in the air, like a hail cloud. Arthur stood at the threshold of death, Guinevere was entering the way of madness. God knows what she went through in the Dark Tower.
Leon tried to gently turn her back from this way. He mentioned that she was worthy of the crown, that Arthur would like to see her on the throne. He hoped that she would find a ray of light in his words, that she would reflect on who Arthur trusted and why, that she would rethink her decision.
He assured her that he and other knights stood by her side. For he was indeed standing by her side. And he wasn't going to let her do something she wouldn't forgive herself for when she regained her sanity. He preferred not to imagine what would happen if Arthur recovered and found out that Merlin had been hanged.
He breathed deeply, and the lump in his throat lessened a little. He stood up, bent down to kiss the hand of the unconscious king and left, trying not to think that this might be the last time he would see him alive.
In the corridor he met Gwaine, who looked as if someone had forced him to eat a bucket of snails and not let him wash them down with alcohol. At the moment, Leon would most like to force him to do it himself. He swore that he would really do it when it was all over.
"I don't fucking believe in anything or anyone anymore," said Gwaine. "He's changed completely since I met him, and he's been even weirder lately."
Leon nodded slowly, struggling to restrain himself from telling Gwaine to start making use of the contents of his helmet and strengthening his resolve to feed him snails. Or frog squawks. Never, in all his life, he hadn't been so disappointed by anyone's attitude. He wasn't surprised by Percival, who, although smart, considered the words of the king or queen as sacred and it wouldn't have occurred to him to question anything. That was how he had been brought up. But Gwaine? A man who proclaimed to all and sundry that he was Merlin's friend and that he owed so much to him? How could he believe that Merlin, who would have drunk the poison for Arthur ten times over without hesitation, was a traitor? What the hell is Morgana doing with all of them? Is Camelot rotting from within, loyalty an empty word and faith in a friend a folly? His hands were itching to shake him, to remind him of the round table where Merlin also sat and all they had been through together. If Merlin is a traitor, then no one is trustworthy. Might as well hand the kingdom over to Morgana and throw yourself off the tower.
This wasn't, however, the right time to discuss it with Gwaine. If Leon's plan was to succeed, he had to keep a stone face, not make any ill-considered moves that might suggest that he was particularly anxious to save Merlin. Admittedly, he doubted that anyone would suspect him of this, but he still preferred to play it safe.
"Find Percival and Mordred and patrol the corridors," he said. "We don't know what's going on. The Queen could be in danger. Anything suspicious you spot..."
"Yeah, right," muttered Gwaine. "What about Arthur?"
"Unless Gaius performs the miracle of which he is capable, I think we will bid him farewell tomorrow," replied Leon dryly. He quickly passed Gwaine and, breathing deeply to ward off tears, set off for the physician's chambers. He had to speak to Gaius immediately. The last think they needed, it would take for him to fall ill from despair, or to set about rescuing Merlin himself and get into trouble. Besides, his help was necessary.
Leon's plan was to make everyone think Merlin had died in the dungeons and then hide him with his sister, Lady Eleanor, where he could safely wait for the develop of the situation. He was well aware that Gaius knew such tricks, so there should be no difficulty with this. Perhaps this 'sudden death' would make the Queen shake? He begged all the gods he had heard of to make it happen, to make the Guinevere he knew return.
Gaius acted surprisingly distrustful, as if he suspected it was some kind of ruse, but in the end he allowed himself to be persuaded. Events unfolded differently, however, which Leon welcomed with unspeakable relief. The old physician had once again performed the miracle they so desperately needed.
Arthur sat in bed, leaning against the pillows, pale as a wraith but alive. In a hushed voice he spoke to the cook, who finally nodded eagerly and left, with the guard who had brought her.
After an unmercifully prolonged moment of heavy silence, Guinevere entered. She approached the bed, tears glistened in her eyes. Gwaine and Percival stood with their heads down, Mordred looked completely panicked. It flashed through Leon's mind that he, in fact, had no reason to worry. Arthur instructed that he be brought in, unless he's busy, which he didn't specify for the others.
"The Council demands a hearing before he is released," said Guinevere in a trembling voice. "Don't you think we should? For the sake of completing the formalities?"
Sitting by the bed, Gaius stirred, for the first time since Leon entered the chamber. Arthur calming patted his hand.
"There will be no formalities. They have my word and a witness, in case they decide that the royal word is not enough. They won't get anything else," he replied, in a tone that was making most people immediately want to bend their knees. A few tears ran down Guinevere's face. Arthur fixed a penetrating gaze on her. Then he reached out and brushed his fingers across her cheek, as if he couldn't prove to his eyes and reassured himself that it was her.
"It's very wrong that this happened," he finally said. "But your actions I can understand. I can imagine the paths your thoughts took. You have been through too much lately, you were in despair." He grasped her hand, although she gave the impression that she wanted to move away. "We all reach a point sometimes, beyond which we lose our balance and sober judgement. We are only human, but... it's very dangerous, when you wear a crown. I hoped... I believed that the Round Table was a guarantee of mutual trust and support. - He ran his eyes over the faces of the knights. - Am I a fool? How many trials have we been subjected to? How many times have we proved our loyalty to each other? By what right have you decided that Merlin doesn't deserve not to be insulted by the suspicion of committing an act which he not only would not have committed, but which he would have prevented if he could, without hesitation sacrificing his own life? Because he is formally a servant? By what right did you decide that Guinevere didn't deserve words of truth in a moment of weakness? Were you going to allow her to make a mistake that she would never forgive herself?"
"My Lord..." Mordred began uncertainly. He was almost green in the face. Arthur looked at him in mild surprise, as if he had only just noticed that he was in the chamber.
"I don't blame you. You have been with us too short a time for me to require this kind of trust from you. It comes with time. But the rest of you? Did you really believe that Merlin could have poisoned me? Even you, Gwaine? Or did you just let it go because he's not a knight!?"
Leon felt trickles of sweat run down his back. Arthur's voice seemed to fill every available space, every corner, the smallest crevice, leaving no room to retreat. He wouldn't have been at all surprised if the walls had shaken. His heart thudded in his chest like mad. The deathly pale, anguished king brought to his mind an angry God, thundering from on high at an ungrateful people.
"The hell, I'm asking you something!"
Guinevere almost jumped up, Gaius drew in air violently. Gwaine took a few steps forward.
"I'm ashamed, but I admit it, I believed it," he said. "Merlin has changed so much," he added after some thought. Arthur shifted his gaze to Percival, who seemed to shrink in on himself.
"Sire, her majesty has set out what it looks like and everything pointed to the fact that he did it. What right do I have to question the Queen's words?"
Arthur sighed heavily.
"And you, Leon? What do you have to say to me?"
Leon swallowed. He bowed his head, under the King's intense, investigative gaze, and said:
"Having the memory of previous betrayals, I believed it. I am ashamed of it and I am ready to suffer any consequences."
Gaius raised one eyebrow. In response, Leon shrugged his shoulders slightly, in a way that made it look like a casual movement. Talking about how he was the only one who didn't doubt, putting himself forward as an example, wouldn't do anyone any good. He wouldn't dare do that. He was their brother. His plan had proved unnecessary, Arthur had survived, the Queen had avoided a terrible mistake, Merlin was about to be released and that was all that mattered.
"There will be no consequences, Leon, for neither of you has committed a crime," said Arthur and took a sip of water from the goblet Guinevere had given him. "I'm also sure that you will not hear a word from Merlin about this and you will still have a friend in him. Your actions will show whether you are worthy of it."
As if on command, they nodded their heads.
"Mordred, Percival, find and arrest Sindri. Gwaine, go get your friend and send him to me. I want to see him right away."
Gwaine moved towards the door without a word. It crossed Leon's mind that he had never seen him so depressed.
"If you allow me, sire, I will go with him," Gaius spoke up.
"Yes, of course. And you, Leon, stay a while longer. I want to have a few words with you regarding this intruder who got into the citadel."
The knights and Gaius left. After a moment, the queen also left the chamber, taking a few scrolls of parchment with her. Arthur sat up straight, discarded his coverings, and then stood up carefully. Leon immediately came over to support him. The king leaned on his shoulder and allowed himself to be led to the desk, but Leon got the impression that he did so more to avoid refusal than out of any real need. Gaius had really performed a miracle, or some supernatural force was watching over Arthur.
"May I ask how you are feeling, my lord?"
"It's like I've escaped from a funeral pyre," replied Arthur, and to Leon's great amazement, he smiled. "It was really killing me. It was very close and then, suddenly, it started to recede."
He rested his chin on his fingers, drifting off somewhere with his thoughts. Leon felt all the tension fall from him. There was something reassuring in Arthur's attitude now, something he surrendered to eagerly. From outside the window came the joyful chirp of swallows, swirling their nests under the citadel roofs.
"You know, I was very surprised by what I found out when I woke up," said Arthur, indicating a chair to Leon. "I was sure Merlin was by my side the whole time, I could hear him. I think he was praying. I think he often does, and whatever rules this world listens to him."
"It's possible," replied Leon quietly. He was suddenly overcome with emotion. The king's simple confession penetrated his soul to the core and he had to clench his jaws until it hurt, to keep from crying.
A pigeon sat on the windowsill. It glanced inside first with one eye, then the other, and for one brief moment Leon was convinced it was about to say: "Excuse me, could I come in and have a look at the map?" He smiled in spirit. Damn, he's probably more tired than he thought.
"You're a great friend," said Arthur. Leon couldn't stop the expression of astonishment that appeared on his face. He didn't have the strength to do so.
"I'm afraid I don't understand you, my lord," he replied earnestly. Arthur shook his head.
"All right. Don't say anything. There's no need. But know that I will not forget it."