Arthur and Gwen were finishing dinner, when both looked up as the alarm bell began to ring out. They looked at each other, the dread obvious on both their faces. Grabbing his sword Arthur stood, watching as the door opened and Elyan rushed in.
"What now?" Arthur asked. Elyan was bright eyed.
"Leon… its Leon" he said softly. Arthur looked away from him, at Gwen, who was shaking.
"Stay with her" he ordered. Elyan nodded, Arthur running past him, out the door. Elyan went to his sister as she stood, pulling her into an embrace.
"Why is this happening?" she said as tears began to fall. Elyan, having no answer, just held his sister.
Arthur ran as quickly as he could, brushing past a guard, the guard watching panicked, but remaining silent, finally stopping when he reached Leon's chambers. Gaius was inside a maid was sat on the chair, distraught.
"Gaius?" asked Arthur as he approached, feeling bile rising at the rope tied around Leon's neck.
"He was strangled?" asked Arthur, looking at the old physician.
"No actually, at first that is what I had believed, but the actual cause of death is that his neck was broken" he explained. Arthur moved around the room shaking his head.
"I was talking to him less than an hour ago!" he suddenly roared. Gaius stood and moved over to him. "How the hell could he have been killed? He's one of the most proficient knights of the realm!"
"Because he'd also been drugged" explained Gaius, pounting to the water jug. "He wouldn't have been ale to put up much of a fight even if he had been capable of doing so" Gaius explained. Arthur looked back at Leon's body, then over at the serving girl.
"And you found him like this?" he asked her. She nodded at him.
"I was bringing him his food sire. I knocked and, when I opened the door…" her voice trailed off.
"Okay, its okay" Arthur said gently. He looked back at Gaius, and shook his head.
"Have him put down with Percival" he said softly.
"Of course sire" Gaius said. Arthur moved to the hall, gesturing for one of the guards to come over.
"Sire?" he asked.
"I want this room sealed off, you're personally responsible for making sure no one enters understood?"
"Yes sire" the guard said, his eyes going wide as two men brought the covered body of Leon out of the room, Gaius following him. Arthur reached over and closed the door, then stormed off down the corridor.
Brenda the cook was busy, pots were boiling on, meat was cooking. She took delight in the simple sounds and smells of the familiar kitchen. She'd heard the alarm bell go, wondering what had happened now, but of course she still had her job to do. She turned and picked up a pot of vegetables and turned, the pot slipping from her grasp as a man stepped out. She backed away from him, eyes wide.
"I didn't tell the king anything" she said. The man advanced on her, then stopped, nodding. Brenda, eyes wide slowly moved forwards.
"I swear to you, all they did was ask me about that guard coming down here" she said. The man nodded again, then without warning, picked up one of the boiling pots, throwing it into her face. She screamed, falling back even as the man advanced on her, pulling a wicked looking dagger. The last thing Brenda heard was her ribs as they cracked open where the dagger pressed in.
"Helmet" Merlin whispered. Gwaine shot up and moved to him.
"Merlin?" he asked.
"It wore a helmet" Merlin said, his eyes were closed, and Gwaine wondered for just a moment, if Merlin was in the grip of a fevered dream.
"Who did Merlin, who was wearing the helmet?"
"I don't know" he replied, tears falling from his eyes. Gwaine took his friends hand and held it gently.
"It's okay Merlin" he whispered, looking up as Gaius entered, stopping short.
"I think he's coming around" said Gwaine.
"has he said anything?" asked Gaius moving forwards quickly.
"He said they were wearing a helmet"
"and?"
"That's it, I wasn't about to push him on it" Gwaine said. Gaius nodded and smiled.
"Go, tell Arthur he's coming around" Gaius whispered.
"But-"
"Gwaine, please" the knight slowly nodded and then stood, and with a last squeeze of Merlin's hand ran from the chamber. Gaius looked back to Merlin, and took the hand Gwaine had been holding.
"Merlin?" he said leaning forwards. "Can you hear me"
"Yes"
"Merlin, I need you to think, if this wasn't important, I would not ask"
"I'll try" he said.
"I need you to remember, tell me what happened" he said.
"there was… I sound. I thought it was you" Merlin said. I opened the door, then I felt it. The knife" he said, then he began to sob.
"I tried to do something. Magic, but it hurt" he said. Gaius patted his hand gently.
"And the person who did this to you?" he asked.
"They were wearing a helmet" Merlin said to him.
"Do you remember what it looked like?"
"no. just an ordinary helmet" Merlin said. Gaius was about to ask more questions, when the door opened again. Gaius looked over, then nearly fell back as a helmeted figure entered the room. It looked from Gaius to Merlin then back again, pulling out a deadly looking serrated dagger as it advanced.
"Guards!" Gaius called out. Nothing happened. Gaius backed away, looking at Merlin, who's eyes were closed squinted in pain. The man stopped by Merlin's pallet and looked down at him quizzically.
"Don't you dare touch him!" roared Gaius moving forwards. The man knocked him aside, sending him crashing into the table, hitting his head as he did so. Slowly the man turned back to Merlin, and held the dagger high. Merlin opened his eyes, tried to cast a spell, but even as he attempted to do so, the blade came down, into his chest this time. Merlin yelled in pain, then there was nothing. The helmeted man turned to Gaius and knelt down. Waving the blade under the old mans face. Gaius opened his eyes, then they went wide as the dagger moved up swiftly into his neck. Gaius gagged and felled to the side. The helmeted man standing and dropping the parchment on the floor. He quickly turned and left the room.
"I told you not to leave him!" Arthur roared.
"Gaius told me to get you!" Gwaine yelled back, as Arthur pushed open the door to the Pharmacy. Stopping as he entered.
"No" whispered Arthur, rushing in. Gwaine was behind him, suddenly silent. Arthur ran to Gaius, while Gwaine went to Merlin.
"Gaius?" asked Arthur, though it was fruitless. Slowly he looked over to Gwaine.
"Merlin?" he asked. Gwaine turned and shook his head. Arthur nodded then suddenly roared kicking out the table, the chairs, anything he could vent his anger out on. Gwaine moved to him, gripping him, even as Arthur fell to his knees, his eyes red as the tears fell. Outside the alarm bell sounded, Gwaine looking up, even as Arthur continued to cry in his rage and grief.
An hour later he stood in the audience chamber, Geoffrey, Gwen, Elyan and Gwaine with him.
No one except himself and Gwaine knew of Gaius and Merlin.
"As you know, there have been several deaths, The latest, Brenda the cook" he said. "What you don't know is that Merlin began to regain consciousness, and passed along what he could, which, unfortunately, wasn't a lot" he said.
"What did he say?" asked Elyan.
"just that whoever attacked him was wearing a helmet, obviously to conceal their face" Arthur said. "But the point is, Gaius sent Gwaine to get me. And while he was-" he suddenly took Gwen's hand. "While Gwaine was…" he couldn't do it.
"While I was gone the person doing this… went to the pharmacy" Gwaine said gently.
"So.. they're dead?" asked Gwen, her voice choking. Arthur nodded slowly at her. Gwen leant back, sitting in the chair as she began to cry.
"Leon, Percival, Merlin, Gaius and Brenda" Arthur stated. "With the exception of one of them, all close to me" he continued.
"Why Brenda?" asked Elyan. Arthur nodded at him.
"A very good question" he replied. "The only thing I can think of is that she possibly stumbled across something the killer didn't want found" he said.
"Good lord" said Geoffrey suddenly. Everyone turned to him.
"Geoffrey?" asked Arthur.
"It's your round table council" he said. "Yes they were your friends, but above that they were all members of the round table!" he exclaimed. "Merlin was a serving boy, the least important" he said.
"one" said Gwaine catching on. Geoffrey nodded at him.
"Then there was Percival, the unknown knight, only knighted because of his dedication to you"
"Two" Elyan said.
"Then Leon, who was already a knight" said Arthur.
"Three" said Gwen. "you didn't knight him, Uther did" she said.
"And Gaius, also, like Merlin not knighted, but still important when the battle against Morgause took place" said Geoffrey.
"Four" Arthur said.
"And it explains why no parchment was left on the cook" said Elyan.
"How could I have missed this" muttered Arthur.
"does this even tell us anything?" asked Gwen. Arthur looked at her. "Morgause is dead" she said.
"Morgause is, but although his army attacked us, there's one person we never saw" Arthur told her. Everyone looked at him.
"Cenred" he explained. The room went quiet. "We beat them yes, but his body was never found, his castle was left empty" he finished. The room fell silent again for several moments, then Arthur nodded.
"Elyan, you to still stay with Gwen" Arthur said. Elyan nodded and moved to Gwen. Arthur looked over at Gwaine.
"You'll have to be my second" he said.
"What's the plan?" asked Gwaine. Arthur looked at him, the smile have gave was one of pure vengeance.
"We're going hunting" he said. "Gwen" he said turning to her. She stood and nodded.
"Tell me what I have to do" she replied. Arthur smiled at her.
"It stands to reason, if what Geoffrey says is true then Elyan or Gwaine will be next"
"Ooo happy thoughts" said Gwaine, shutting up when the others glared at him.
"We're going to make him rethink his list. We're going to give him too tempting a target" said Arthur.
"What are you going to be using?" asked Gwen. Arthur looked at her and took her hand.
"Me" he said.