Part Three
Arthur was stuck for ideas. He needed out of this engagement and he needed to convince his father that he wasn't enchanted or crazy. And he needed to see another face other than Merlin's, preferably that of Guinevere.
But he needed Merlin in order to get out. He had distracted Guards before now, knocked them out – which was lightly insane – and helped him out of his room. Being cooped up in the four walls was driving him insane. Rational thought was leaving him rapidly. He had to think reasonably.
Getting out; that was step one. Step two? That was slightly more difficult to decide on. It was a toss between beating the hell out of the guards on the prison door and seeing Gwen; talking to his father and convincing him he wasn't mental; or try and stop the engagement. The only person he could think of that could put a stop to it, which would listen to reason, was King Olaf.
"That's it."
All he had to do was wait for Merlin to come back.
-
"You want me to break you out of here? Again?"
"Yes."
"That didn't end so well last time." Last (time Arthur had ended up face first in some excrement. What had started out as such a fantastic idea hadn't really ended that way.
"So I recall. But I need to speak to Olaf, and I can't walk out of here on my own. Four guards against me, I might be good, but nobody stands against those odds," Arthur missed Merlin's raised eyebrow as the servant turned his back on him.
"You do realise I'll get flogged for this?"
"Only if you get caught," the look on Merlin's face did nothing to discourage Arthur from his idea. Merlin could get him out. He'd never admit it to him, but he did have some faith in the bumbling buffoon.
Merlin exited the Prince's chambers, and carried on down the hallway. If he was getting Arthur out of his room, he didn't need the guards of Camelot swearing blind that he was a sorcerer. Then, at least, the heat would be off of Gwen and onto him. That would be a good thing, dying, not so much. Not that Arthur would ever believe him capable. Oh ye of little faith.
Once hidden out of sight around one of the corners, Merlin backed up against the wall and sought a look back around. He raised his hand and mumbled the words; "licentia conscientia," he watched as one by one the guards dropped as the spell hit them. Onlookers would say they had fainted and passed out, then shouted 'magic!' and run off to the King. Merlin didn't have long if that were the case.
He ran back up the corridor to the Prince's quarters, opening the door; "That was quick!"
"I don't hang around," Arthur patted Merlin quickly on the shoulder before taking off out the door and towards Olaf's quarters, "Not even a 'thank you'," Merlin shook his head and stepped over one of the fallen guards as he headed back to his and Gaius' quarters.
-
"Arthur?" Olaf exclaimed as he greeted the Crowned Prince entrance to his chambers. He knew that he'd been confided to his own quarters. Without the King of Camelot with him, he knew this wasn't a visit that had been okayed by his father.
"Olaf," he took a deep breath. All the way over, Olaf was on the other side of the castle to Arthur, he had been thinking about what he could say to him, at the same time as avoiding the people milling about the castle, "Where do you stand in this arrangement?"
"I don't understand what you mean?"
"Do you agree with it?"
"For so long now I have stood in the way of my daughter and what she wants, I do not think I should anymore. She has grown up."
"Grown up enough to manipulate a fearful King into marrying his only son and heir off to somebody who he does not love?"
"I agree that perhaps she went about it the wrong way-"
"The wrong way? The woman I love is being executed tomorrow because your daughter fed my father lies," his tone was harsh, as were his words. He needed to hit it home to Olaf that his daughter was manipulative and undeserving of any position in the court of Camelot. He needed to make a point to Olaf, and he would have to do it the only way he knew how; "I'm sorry, but if you allow this to go ahead, I would never forgive you, or her, and once I'm King, the alliance between us will cease. You can not allow for that," he paused, giving Olaf his sternest look, "And I cannot marry your daughter."
"I feel for you, Arthur, I do. But what power do I have against your father?" He had a lot of power against his father. If he said so the whole engagement could be called off in a second. Arthur knew, and deep down, he was pretty certain that Olaf knew it too.
"Vivian is your daughter, once you say no, he cannot make you co-operate. I'm asking," no, he was begging, "Please, take her home."
"Arthur-"
"Please. I'm not enchanted and I'm not insane," and he knew that Olaf recognised that he was no longer talking about Vivian. The look that adorned his face told him as much. It was like he had known from the start that it was a bad idea, but he didn't want to upset his daughter. She was more than old enough now and he knew it, but he still didn't know if he could let her marry a man who would never care for her as much as he did another woman. That wasn't fair on all parties involved.
"I don't believe you are. Your father fears what he does not understand," that much was true. So very true. The whole of Camelot knew it. The King pretended to be ignorant to their knowledge, but deep down he knew that they saw right through his weakness.
"I couldn't put it better myself. But understand this, I know what I want and I know what I'm doing. I do not love your daughter, and I never will."
If there was one thing Olaf respected of Arthur it was his blunt honesty. He stood contemplatively, looking at Arthur, studying him. And he saw it. He saw the look in his eyes that he saw in his own eyes when he looked in the mirror when he was the same age. He knew it as love. Not enchantment.
He couldn't allow himself to get in the way of that, and that included his daughter.
"You are right, Arthur," he said finally, after a minute's silence, "I can see that your father is very wrong about you. He fears you are too young, that you can not rationalise, but you can. I can see it in you. Your honesty has earned you my eternal respect. I will not let Vivian keep you from the woman you love."
"If only my father were so understanding."
"Give him time, Arthur, he will come round."
"I fear time is the one thing I do not have," Arthur nodded at the King and turned to leave. He halted by the door and looked back over his shoulder, "Thank you."
"You will be a good King, Arthur. I trust it would be better to have you as an ally than an enemy."
-
"Father! I do not understand where this has come from. I am to marry Arthur."
"No, my girl, you are not. You are too young, and I will not have you marrying without love."
"But I love him."
"But he does not love you, my girl, and I will not see you hurt," Olaf's act was for the King and the King alone. He knew that Arthur had not had contact with anybody but him and his manservant since being confined to his quarters.
"I am sorry you feel this way, Olaf, the marriage would only strengthen the unity of our lands."
"I fear you are wrong, Uther. I do not think Arthur will see it that way."
"He will learn to live with it."
"He is a boy in love, Uther, for all you know, he will turn on all of us if you go ahead with this," he looked at his daughter, she was pouting. No tears were evident and that told him all he needed to know. She did not love Arthur and there was no point in a loveless marriage, "Come Vivian, pack your things. We should ride immediately. I think we have over stayed our welcome."
"You are always welcome in Camelot, Olaf."
"Thank you, Uther, but at this moment, I think it is best you work out the differences with your son than with us."
-
Arthur watched from his window as he saw Olaf force Vivian onto her horse. She snapped - more than ever - at the stable hands. One boy looked like he was about to cry. Arthur made a note to make sure he was paid for his troubles, even if he had to pay the boy himself. Nobody deserved to be the target of her wrath.
Merlin knocked on Arthur's door and entered without Arthur saying he could as usual. He left him off this time, merely because he had helped him escape earlier in the day. Had he not, Arthur probably would have shouted at him, but with Olaf leaving it had put him in a better mood than he had been in all week.
"She's going?" Merlin asked as he too approached the window and looked out over the courtyard.
"Good riddance I say."
"What did you say to him?"
"I appealed to his better nature. Convinced him it would be better for all of us if he left with her and called of the engagement."
"What did he say?"
"He agreed with me, naturally," Merlin laughed a little and set about changing Arthur's bedclothes like he had entered to do, "And said he would leave with her immediately."
"You still have to convince your father though, Arthur."
"Yes, Merlin, you idiot, you don't think I know that?"
"I'm just saying. Don't get your hopes up. The battle is won but the war is not."
-
With the Lady Vivian and her father gone, Uther was at odds with what to do. Olaf's words were grating on his mind. He had expressly told him that his son was in love and not with Vivian. Olaf was the first to admit that they were too young, or too naïve, but not this time. What could he see that Uther couldn't?
It had been a long day. Gaius had watched Merlin rise early – for him anyway – and listened to his elongated banter about freeing Arthur and knocking out guards. He'd witnessed Vivian leave Camelot and Uther near breaking point all within the last six hours. Now he was being called to the King, what he wanted, he had a fair idea.
"Physician, I wanted to ask your opinion," gathering counsel from Gaius was not a rare feature for the leader of the lands. Many a time advice from the Court Physician had aided Camelot, let alone Uther and Arthur in turn.
"On what matter, my lord?"
"This Guinevere. What do you know of her?" Gaius paused a second to gather his thoughts. This was what he had expected, but in a time like this, one needed to make sure that they used the right words, else all hell would break loose.
"She is a very honest and loyal individual, my lord. And if I may, a very hard worker, sire."
"And Arthur?"
"I know many things about the Prince, sire."
"In regards to Guinevere?"
"I know Arthur has been rash in his actions before, but in the case of Guinevere he has been anything but."
"You knew? You knew and you didn't tell me?" Gaius had dealt with the King many times before. He knew that he saw reason when there was some, even if he was blinded by his hatred of magic. All he was doing, in this current moment, was looking out for the son he'd nearly lost a hundred times over. Worrying about Arthur was Uther's best talent. If he wasn't pacing about the laws of the lands it was to do with his son.
"It was not my information to tell, my lord."
"Of course," the calm before the storm. Gaius knew the King, if he disagreed with anything he said then Gaius would be for the stocks. Or at least, Merlin would be, due to age and long-term loyalty from the physician.
"I trusted Arthur would tell you in his own time. He didn't expressly tell me. Neither of them did. I merely observed, my lord."
"Thank you, Gaius, you may go," Gaius bowed his head and left the King to his thoughts, he had rounds to make. Perhaps a short visit to the dungeons as well. He would be given free pass to tend to the prisoners, and make sure they did not die before their time.
-
"I have to make my rounds," Gaius stated as he reached the guards at the prison door. They nodded and let him pass. He walked straight passed all the prisoners and directly to Gwen's cell, "Guinevere?"
"Gaius!" she scrambled across the floor towards him, "How are you?"
"I should be asking you that."
"I'm fine, honestly," her futile attempt at a smile did little to reassure him, "They won't let anyone see me."
"I know. Uther will come around, Guinevere. You just wait."
"I can do little else."
"This will not be the last place you see, Guinevere."
-
Of all the people to greet him when he returned home after tending to a depressed Arthur, Uther hadn't been on the list of the expected. He had seen Merlin in this manner once before. But he had just saved his life – again, only this time with him knowing about it – so he hadn't expected to see him.
"My lord?"
"Merlin," he started sternly, the look in his eye making Merlin's knee shake. He knew one wrong answer and he would joining Gwen, "I'm under the impression that you may know my son better than I do."
"Okay?"
"I am going to ask you a series of questions. I want you to answer them as honestly as you can."
"Yes, my lord."
"This Guinevere," he started, "Does my son care for her as he says he does?"
"I believe he does, my lord."
"And there is no hint of witchcraft?"
"With all due respect, my lord, ask around. It would seem everybody is under the very same enchantment. Everybody but you. Why would she risk her life like that if she were capable of the magic you fe- believe she is?"
Uther nodded once, his jaw set, "How long has my son been in love with a peasant?"
"As I know?" Uther nodded, "A little over a year, my lord," he saw the King's bottom jaw literally drop. He hadn't been expecting that. A short whimsy perhaps, but this, this was beyond Uther's imagination entirely.
"And Arthur has trusted you with this information?"
"I, sort of, figured it out for myself, my lord. On mentioning it to him he seemed reluctant to admit it. But there was no denying his feelings. One does not risk his life for a maid servant, no matter how much she means to her mistress. And one certainly wouldn't do without back-up."
"I have been blind," Uther stated, looking at Merlin, "But this, it can not continue. She is not of noble birth. She can not be Queen."
"With all due respect, my lord, Gwen is one of the noblest women I have ever met. And if Prince Arthur is in love with her as much as it appears, I do not think your opinion will matter in the end," Merlin's confidence had taken him one step too far over the line he had been toeing from the start of the conversation. Uther's gaze snapped towards him, fire behind his eyes.
"You hold your tongue," Merlin nodded and looked to the floor, avoiding Uther's maddened gaze, You have been most informative." Without even an utterance of thanks. "And Merlin,"
"Yes, sire?"
"Ever knock out a guard of Camelot again, and I'll have you in the stocks for a week." The King left the physician's quarters. Merlin let out a long sigh. Either his words had done them good, or ruined their chances completely.
-
After his excursion, Uther had seen that Arthur be more carefully guarded, and banned his manservant from being allowed anywhere near his chambers. Arthur would be well and truly stuck. The guards might be a bit rubbish, but they weren't completely stupid.
Arthur sat on his sill, looking out over the kingdom, a kingdom that would one day be his kingdom. A kingdom he didn't want unless Gwen was at his side to rule it.
With Vivian gone, he no longer had to worry about the impending doom of marrying her, but instead had to come up with a way to convince his father to let Gwen go. The thing was, other than blind reason and talking at his father until he was blue, he couldn't think of any other way to convince his father that that was where his heart truly lied.
In fact, he wasn't entirely convinced his heart was his own anymore. Only the beating in his chest made it clear to him that it was still there. He liked to think he had Gwen's heart, and she had his, and that was the only reason he was still alive. Stupid of course, but the thought gave him some hope.
A hope that was dashed when he thought of Gwen no longer being a part of his world, as her heart stopped beating it would kill him.
He had to find a way of telling that to his father. But Uther had never responded well to poetics.
-
The King sat in his chambers, his dinner going cold in front of him. He leant his elbow atop the table, rubbing his chin with the pads of his fingers. He needed his son on his side, and right now there was nothing else he could think of than the girl.
Even if he merely freed her he feared that his son would still turn his back on him for her.
"Guard?" he called out, looking towards the door. One of the guards outside his room entered promptly, attentive to the King's needs, "Fetch my son, take him to the Great Hall," the guard nodded, exiting swiftly.
Uther rose from his seat, gulping down the remainder of his drink and leaving his quarters.
As he walked down the corridors, he failed to notice the servant diving out of his path, avoiding him at all costs. He reached the hall in no time, settling himself on his throne and waiting for his son.
He didn't have to wait long; he suspected that the guard had jogged to his son's room.
"Father?"
"Have you thought about your actions?"
"Have you?"
"Do not push your luck son; I have been very lenient with you."
"With me, perhaps, but not with Guinevere."
"The girl-"
"What about her?"
"I have heard for several sources that I am mistaken."
"And yet you don't believe them?"
"I am starting to think that, maybe, I acted too rashly, that I made a mistake," Arthur jaw dropped slightly, not entirely sure what his father was admitting to; being wrong about Gwen's 'magic' abilities, or that he was wrong in telling Arthur that he wasn't in love.
Perhaps both.
"What have you been told?"
"That I have been blinded. That if I watched closely enough I would have seen this so-called relationship," Arthur snorted in disgust, his father ignoring him, "I'm willing to admit I was wrong, but at the same time I can not allow this charade to continue."
"Father-"
"Arthur."
"You have to understand-"
"You're in love with her? Maybe you are, but she is a blacksmith. A former servant. A peasant."
"That doesn't matter."
"Yes, Arthur, it does."
"It doesn't matter to me."
"It matters to the rest of the world."
"Really? Ask around father, people don't mind, people don't bat an eyelid. The townsfolk, they like Guinevere. She is noble of heart and mind, if not in history. She is loyal and kind and the best sort of woman."
"I can not allow you to continue this. She can never be anything more than a mistress, Arthur."
"She can be Queen, and she will. I don't care if I have to wait a year, ten years, or twenty. I will wait and I will marry her."
"You are living in a dream world, my son. She doesn't know the first thing about being Queen."
"Then she'll learn."
"Then you are a fool."
"Better a fool than a King unwilling to accept change," they stood in a stalemate, neither willing to accept defeat. They stared each other down, not moving from their positions, "Free her."
"I am more than tempted to make you join her."
"I'd rather be with her in the dungeons than living in this world without her."
"Think about what you are saying."
"I am."
"She really means that much to you? That you are willing to risk spending an eternity in the prison just to breathe the same air as her?"
"Yes, father. Be open to reason. You loved my mother more than anything, more than anyone. You wouldn't let a single soul get in your way. Why must you act as a blockade to my love? I am asking of you one thing, father. I seldom ask anything of you, just this one thing. Release her. Give her a chance."
-
Guinevere sat alone, staring at the floor aimlessly. Any minute now.
Any minute now and she would be lead to the courtyard. Her execution public. It was the end of the line.
She shifted where she sat; the muscles in her back and legs aching, she could no long get comfortable. She'd been confined for too long.
She could hear the rattling of keys in the lock. It was time.
She scrambled to her feet and shrank back into the corner of her cell, the furthest from the door as she could get.
Step. Step. Step. Only a few more and they would reach her to take her to her death.
Step. Step. Step. She flinched away, screwing her eyes shut against the thought of her impending doom. She'd rather not face the person come to take her away in case she knew them.
The key in the lock.
The door swinging open.
The quick succession of steps towards her. She heard it all.
Arms around her shoulders, bringing her into a firm chest. A hand in her hair, tangling with her curls. Lips on her forehead.
"Arthur," she managed breathlessly, her eyes still closed, fighting against the idea that she could be dreaming.
"It's okay. It's all going to be okay," he whispered into her hair. The heat of his breath on her ear. This had to be real.
She took her chance and looked up, catching his blue eyes staring down at her, "I've missed you so much."
"You're never leaving my side again," the briefest of smiles graced his lips before he leant his face down to hers, "I love you."
"I love you too," she managed just before their lips met in a sweet kiss.
"We have forever, let's get you out of here now," Gwen clung onto his tunic, not wanting to let him go in case it was all in her mind.
He slowly led her from the dungeons, past the guards who didn't try and stop them, past the servants who all wore grins from ear to ear on seeing Gwen safe. Finally to Merlin to sweep her up into the biggest hug, "I told you. I told you he would get you out."
"Thank you," after nearly a minute of Merlin clinging onto her; they both heard Arthur clear his throat. Hey broke apart, Merlin looking sheepishly at the floor.
"I'm just so glad you're okay."
"Come on," Arthur urged, "It's time to get you home."
She walked with him, leading her up stairs instead of out of the main doors. Past his chambers and around the next corner. Stopping at a door, behind which Gwen knew it was empty.
"Arthur?"
"This is your new home. If you want it," he opened the door. It was a small room, simpler than Arthur's, but far more generous than Gwen could ever have imagined.
"I don't know what to say."
"Then don't say anything," they both smile at each other, Arthur pulling her into him and encasing her his arms once again, "I'm never letting you go again."
- End -