Hearts of Camelot
1st Required Featured Character: Gwaine
Ratings/Warnings: K+ A/N: I'm just going to assume that his moon charm on his necklace used to be his father's.
Word Count: 573
Summary: Gwaine's bravery and nobility in rescuing Merlin from Oswald and Ethan, although Uther thinks differently. Set in 3x04; Gwaine
Beta'ed by shortstuff410
Gwaine felt frustrated and humiliated at the injustice of his arrest, as the castle guards forced him to kneel in front of the king. Shaking his brunette hair off of his face, Gwaine briefly glanced around in the brightly lit council chamber of the castle he was deposited into, the candles occasionally flickering. Gwaine's first instinct was to rescue Merlin from imminent danger, just like he had acted upon instinct to protect Arthur at the village tavern, though he hadn't known Arthur was the prince at the time. He thought he clearly explained this to King Uther but Uther's face remained the same expression, looking down at him contemptuously. Uther's assumptions about Gwaine struck a bit of a nerve. Gwaine already knew he could be a shameless flirt and that he was a handsome roguish man who loved having fun. This did not mean he was merely an outsider with a quick temper.
Thank you, Arthur, he thought. Gwaine's body still ached slightly, the result of being backhanded by Sir Oswald. Gwaine admitted his surprise to himself as Arthur came to Gwaine's defense. Only cowards like Oswald would attack someone when their back was turned. Arthur…I see now that you are the opposite of your father. I hate that you made me scrub the army's foul-smelling boots with Merlin, but nobility is truly in your heart. At least, Merlin and I bonded well enough during our task.
Oswald and Ethan could never truly understand what it meant to be a knight, if they simply enjoyed picking fights. Gwaine stared at them, immense dislike in his deep brown eyes. He cursed at them inwardly. They're the ones breaking the laws here. Merlin risked his life to get those infernal swords forged with sorcery from their chambers!
Part of Gwaine always yearned to be a knight one day like his father and defy preconceived notions of a true knight. There was no chance of that while Uther was still king, though. My opinion of kings hasn't changed at all. Gwaine thought, reaching out to touch the silver crescent moon at the centre of his simple chain necklace to seek comfort without being too obvious. Unfortunately, the heavy iron chains shackled around his hands prevented him from doing so. A long time ago, the charm was handed down to him by his father, a nobler person than Uther could ever hope to be. Uther's decisions constantly clouded by his badly informed judgement could sway more towards the greater good if he bothered to listen more to Arthur.
Gwaine recalled marvelling at the beauty of the grey castle turrets and the sprawling city of Camelot beyond, as he leaned out of the small window of Merlin's musty room for the first time. It gave him more of a clearer perspective to how his father would have once thought of the city, before Uther sent him away to die.
"Nobility is defined by what you do, not by who you are," Gwaine said to Uther, directing his furious steady gaze towards him. He had to make Uther realize how badly he made his mother suffer once, turning her away in her time of great need.
As Gwaine started to get dragged out of the room by the guards, he vowed to somehow help Merlin reveal the two false knights. Oswald and Ethan do not deserve to be in this mêlée. A plan was already forming in his mind.