Arthur prepared himself for the fight. Lancelot, Elyan, and Percival had all agreed to try and tail Valiant. They wanted to know if he was up to anything. After all, Gwaine loathed him, Merlin was afraid of him, and Sir Kay was injured by him. Each moment the man was in Camelot, it seemed like more things went wrong. Arthur was surprised more knights didn't volunteer to tail him. After all, the knights of Camelot were a very tight-knit group. They did not take kindly to men forcing their way into their brotherhood.
Of course Leon was still busy with the actors, setting up the stage and finalizing details. He seemed more frazzled by the day. And Morgana was having terrible nightmares. So she wasn't helping that much either. Arthur didn't like to admit weakness, but right now he felt weak. His support system was slowly being pulled from him. Sure, Elyan, Lancelot, and Percival were all capable and skilled fighters, but Arthur was still down three knights and his sister. He needed all the help he could get if he were to figure out what was going on here. But something or someone was isolating him. Arthur had never felt so alone and so overwhelmed.
He heard Merlin stumble into the tent. If Merlin knew about Arthur's thoughts, he would take the situation into his own hands. And that would only lead to disaster.
"I found your halberd," Merlin stated proudly. Arthur turned to see Merlin holding up the piece of armor proudly.
"That's the pauldron," Arthur sighed. Honestly, how did Merlin manage to mix those two up? They didn't even look remotely similar.
"Oh, well I found your pauldron," Merlin said, brightening up once more. Arthur sighed and let Merlin drag over the plate before hopping up on the table to attach it. Arthur steadied him. Gaius wouldn't like Merlin coming in because of a concussion again.
"Thank you, Merlin. You are a huge help," Arthur said. Merlin didn't catch the sarcasm. Or maybe he was too busy trying to breach the next topic of conversation.
"So, did you find out anything about Valiant?" Merlin asked, deliberately not looking at Arthur.
"Even if I did, it is none of your business. You aren't a knight. It's not your job to worry about these things," Arthur said. Merlin nodded and hopped down from the table. The pauldron wasn't attached correctly. Merlin needed more lessons with Gwen before Arthur got killed due to the boy's shoddy skills.
"Oh, I know. I just was wondering if you wanted me to, you know, use my special talents to find something?" Merlin said, shrugging his shoulders.
Arthur's eyes widened. He grabbed Merlin's wrist and pulled him towards him.
"Absolutely not, Merlin. Do you know what will happen if you get caught? I can only protect you so much but if something happens, you'll have to leave Camelot immediately," Arthur hissed. Merlin's shoulders slumped and Arthur mentally kicked himself. He needed to be gentler with the kid. He knew what it was like to feel useless. But he refused to put Merlin in danger, no matter what the Great Dragon said about their shared destiny.
"Sorry. I just thought I could help. I want to help. And I won't get caught," Merlin said, looking at Arthur with large, pleading eyes.
"I will not risk it." Arthur paused, trying to decide if this approach was going to work. He figured it wouldn't hurt to add a little something other than worry. "Besides, if I call upon you for help, how do you think Lancelot, Percival, and Elyan will feel because they couldn't do their job properly?" The effect was what he wanted.
Merlin shook his head viciously. "No, I don't want them to feel bad. They can keep doing the searches. I can find some other way to help."
Arthur smiled. "Good. Now go sit in the stands with Gwaine and Morgana and cheer me on while I fight. That's how you can help me."
"Yes, sir." Merlin scampered out of the tent. Arthur slumped over in relief.
"Good God this child will be the death of me," he muttered. He straightened himself out and followed Merlin out of the tent. He would win this battle if it was the last thing he did.
oOoOoOo
Valiant whistled as he flitted about his tent, putting the finishing touches on his armor. His eyes lit up as he spotted another pouch of money tucked away in the corner.
"Well things are certainly going my way," he chuckled. He picked the money up and began rummaging through the bag, trying to get a sense as to how much he owned now. This was the best decision he had ever made. And he once had, intimate, activities with two women at once.
"Don't spend it all in one place."
Valiant smiled and turned to see Nimueh standing behind him. She had that same serious look on her face. Nimueh was always so serious. It was like her face was stuck in a permanent scowl. Maybe once he succeeded she would smile.
"Come to wish me luck?" Valiant grinned.
"Don't beat Arthur Pendragon. We need you on Uther's side if this is going to work. Fight him long enough to show off your amazing talent but then let him get the upper hand and lose," Nimueh said, slowly walking forward.
"You know, the more stipulations you put on me, the more likely I am to mess up," Valiant chuckled. Nimueh's eyes flashed and Valiant felt an invisible rope constricting around his neck. He quickly fell to his knees.
"I don't think you get it. Right now, I hold all the power. If you mess this up for me, I will not hesitate to get rid of you. Do not test me," Nimueh growled. Valiant clawed at the air, trying to figure out where the rope had come from. Nimueh's eyes flashed once more and the air refilled Valiant's lungs.
"I understand. I'll throw the match," Valiant gasped. He coughed and hunched over.
"Good. Have fun," Nimueh said before disappearing once more.
Valiant wasn't sure he would have fun. The good mood he had procured had vanished. And now he was going out to lose.
oOoOoOo
As Arthur expected, Valiant was an extremely good fighter, as good as Gwaine said. He had asked Gwaine about Valiant's fighting style before, hoping to get some insight. Gwaine went on a ten minute rant about how the man was surely cheating and how no one could possibly be that good at fighting. Arthur had figured it was jealousy and rage that Valiant had beaten him. Turns out it wasn't. Arthur was sure that Valiant was doing something illegal. He just couldn't figure out what. It was as if Valiant was absorbing Arthur's fighting skills and making them his own.
Arthur lunged forward, trying to get the upper hand. Valiant blocked with ease. Arthur could hear the crowd screaming in the stands, willing for someone to win. This was the match everyone wanted to see. This was the match that would determine the champion. This was also the match that would quite possibly kill Arthur.
Arthur was afraid that he wouldn't be able to last for much longer. Valiant was quickly gaining the upper hand. But, just as Arthur was ready to call the match and face his father's disapproval, Valiant's eyes went wide and he let out a cry. Arthur managed to avoid the man as he tumbled to the ground. Valiant's sword skidded across the dirt, out of his reach. Arthur quickly turned Valiant over with his boot and put his sword to his neck.
"Better luck next time. Leon will drill into your head that fancy footwork isn't always better," Arthur said. He couldn't help but grin. Finally, someone had taken Valiant down. Granted, his foot probably just got caught on a rock or something stupid like that. But still, Arthur didn't lose and that's all that mattered. Valiant looked angry for a time before putting on, what Arthur decided was, a very false smile.
"Thank you for the match, my lord. I look forward to undergoing Sir Leon's training," he said with a smile. Arthur decided to be a good sport and pulled Valiant to his feet, patting him on the back. The crowd roared as Arthur was announced the winner. Morgana was scowling at him. Arthur fought the urge to stick his tongue out at her. Couldn't she at least pretend to be happy for him? Arthur really didn't want to know what Uther would say if he lost this match, no matter how good Valiant was at fighting.
Arthur walked off the field, to where Merlin was waiting with some water.
"You did so great, Arthur! I knew you would beat him," Merlin said, handing Arthur the water skin. Arthur was about to respond when Merlin's sleeve fell down his wrist enough to show the skin was discolored.
"Merlin, what happened to your wrist?" Arthur asked. He grabbed ahold of Merlin's arm, above the elbow, and pulled back the rest of the sleeve to reveal a very colorful bruise. "Did someone grab you?" he demanded. It wasn't uncommon for nobles to be abusive towards those of a lower position. But neither Arthur nor Uther tolerated it. And to attack a child, how low could someone get?
"Oh, that's nothing. It doesn't even hurt," Merlin said, pulling his arm away.
"That wasn't the question. Now who did this to you?" Arthur growled. He put his arm around Merlin's shoulders and began leading him back to the tent so as not to cause a scene.
"It's really nothing, Arthur. It was my fault anyways," Merlin continued to protest.
"I don't care whose fault it is I want to know what happened," Arthur hissed. Merlin ducked out from underneath Arthur's arm.
"Gaius took care of it already. It's really nothing," Merlin said. Arthur was taken aback. Why wouldn't Gaius tell him someone had hurt Merlin. Arthur couldn't have his citizens being attacked, grabbed, and bruised, no matter what their class was.
"Then I'll speak to Gaius later. Go clean my room. And yours. Honestly, you have a cupboard. Try getting your belongings in there instead of on the floor."
Merlin nodded and scampered off. Arthur continued to try and get his armor off so he could go take a bath and sleep for the next year. Sadly, the actors were coming in three days to perform so until then Arthur would have to work hard to ensure everything was running smoothly.
"How does Leon do this?" Arthur sighed.
oOoOoOo
Morgana tossed onto her side once more. She wasn't awake. Instead, she was trapped inside a dream. It was horrible. Morgana was walking along the road. But everything looked bigger. So she wasn't in her body, but another's. One who was much smaller than her. She continued walking until she saw a woman up ahead. This woman was dressed entirely in white from head to toe. Curious Morgana, or rather the person who's body she was inhabiting, called out.
"Miss, are you alright?" the voice of a young girl said. Morgana's mind screamed at her to run away as fast as she could. But the little girl kept walking, forcing Morgana to get closer and closer to the figure.
"Is that a child I here creeping closer to me?" the woman in white said. She began swaying in the breeze like a blade of grass. Back and forth. Back and forth. Her head lolled forward onto her chest, allowing her long, dark hair to shield her face.
"I can take you back to my village, if you need help. It's not far from here," the little girl said. Morgana started to scream inside the child's mind, begging her to just turn around and run the other way. It wasn't too late yet. The girl could still be saved. Except, she couldn't.
The woman's head pitched forward again before rolling back, revealing an eye with blood dripping from it. And claw marks running down her face. The little girl screamed and began running back to her village.
"This is my punishment. For a crime I had every right to commit," the woman in white said. Her dress had started to become stained with blood. The little girl kept screaming for someone to help her. But the woman simply walked, keeping pace with the little girl perfectly.
"Children can't be trusted. Children can't be tamed. Children must be punished. Or else they will win the game!" The woman's face contorted into one full of boils, scabs, blood and puss. She lunged at the little girl, her mouth unhinged like a snake so that she could eat the little girl in one bite.
Morgana fell off the bed screaming.
"It's alright. It was just a bad dream." Gwen was there, kneeling next to Morgana, her hands smoothing over her shoulders. Morgana tried to slow her breathing down.
"I'm so sorry Gwen. I must have woken you," Morgana said, trying to play down the immense fear she was having right now.
"Do you want me to get Gaius or Arthur?" Gwen asked. She knew Morgana would try to soften this as much as possible. She couldn't have that happen. She had to get to the bottom of what had happened. To her surprise, Morgana nodded.
"I think I need to tell Gaius what I saw. I think it's coming here next," Morgana said shakily. Gwen nodded.
"Alright then. Do you want to come with me?" Gwen saw Morgana jumping at every shadow and creek that echoed in the room. Now was probably not the best time to leave her alone.
"No, just make sure there's a guard outside. I can hardly be seen around Camelot wearing my bedclothes. It's hardly proper," Morgana said with a small laugh.
"Alright. I'll be back in a minute or so. Gaius wakes up pretty easily." Morgana watched as Gwen left. She went to light every candle she could in the room and checked behind every curtain to ensure the woman in white wasn't anywhere near her. Her dream wasn't a premonition of what would happen to Camelot. It was a look into the past. That's what scared Morgana even more. This had already happened once, and it was probably going to happen to Camelot now. The only problem was that she had no idea what it was or why it would happen to Camelot. It could be a curse, the woman was talking about how children needed to be punished. But Morgana thought it was something much deeper than that. She would also go talk with the Great Dragon tomorrow to see what he thought of the situation. Gaius didn't know everything after all.
Soon enough, Gwen came back with Gaius in tow.
"My dear, what seems to be the problem?" Gaius asked.
"I had a dream, Gaius. It was terrible," Morgana said.
"Do you need a tonic to help you sleep?"
Morgana shook her head. "No, but I saw a vision from the past. A woman in white, luring a child away from her village only to transform into a hideous monster and attack her!" Morgana started to cry. The vision was made even worse because Morgana was experiencing it first hand. It would have been different if she was just watching along the sidelines.
"It attacked her? Was there anything else?" Gaius asked.
"Yes. The woman, she said some sort of rhyme. It went 'children can't be trusted. Children can't be tamed. Children must be punished, or else they will win the game," Morgana choked.
"Do you think it's coming to Camelot next then?" Gwen asked. Morgana nodded.
"Well, I've never heard of such a thing. But I will look through my texts," Gaius said.
"And I will be talking with Kilgharrah tomorrow about this as well. If anyone knows anything, it will be him," Morgana said solemnly. Gaius stood up and patted Morgana on the shoulder.
"Don't worry. We're getting a warning so we can hopefully stop it before it does a lot of damage. I suggest you tell Arthur as well so he can be on the look out for any sort of misdeeds." Gaius hobbled out the door. "And please let me know if you change your mind about the sleeping draught."
The door shut and Morgana collapsed back on the bed.
"Gwen, I won't be sleeping much these next few nights," she said. Gwen sat down next to her.
"Don't worry, my lady. We're getting ahead of this thing so that we can protect Camelot and the children."
"I hope you're right, Gwen." Morgana sat up and went to start flipping through her spell books once more.
