Chapter 3

Uther was having one of his better days when Arthur and the others departed for Mercia. He was able to join them in the square to say goodbye, and he looked up at his son who was already mounted. "Arthur, I trust that you and your knights will not disgrace Camelot at the tournament."

"I have every confidence, Father, that we will do Camelot proud."

"And you will bring the trophy back?"

Arthur was thankful for the ambiguity in the word you: "We will."

Father and son nodded to each other, and with that, the prince and his party reined their horses around and headed out through the drawbridge for the ride to Mercia.

The journey, of necessity, was a fairly leisurely one, given that behind their horses there was also a cart being driven by one of the more elderly servants of Camelot, which held the travelling trunks, the shields for the tournament, and the necessary food for the trip. There were also a number of tents for the overnight stop on the way, Arthur having decided that Guinivere deserved better than having to sleep out under the stars as they might otherwise have done had she not been with them. The two of them were at the front of the party, enjoying the opportunity to simply be in each other's company, but the conversation as they went along was often with the whole group. Arthur, in particular, enjoyed these times away from Camelot with his inner circle of knights. Somehow away from the city it felt more like a group of friends than a prince and his subjects, and it wasn't only Arthur who felt that.

The voice of Percival calling out to Arthur started one particular exchange. "So, Sire - these Mercian knights – are they any good?"

Arthur twisted round on his horse to face him as he replied, "We'll be fighting Mercia's best, that's for sure."

Elyan smiled and asked in a light-hearted manner, "So does that mean you think we're Camelot's best?"

Arthur turned back to face forwards again as he answered, but as he did so, he and Gwen exchanged smiles at Elyan's question. "I couldn't possibly say."

Gwaine was quick to come in with his response to Arthur's words. "So we'll take that as a yes … and so who do you think is the best out of us then?"

Arthur replied, again without looking back, "Whoever wins….. and I'm confident that that will be one of the knights of Camelot."

Gwaine grinned, "But not you."

The prince turned to look at his knight this time, "I didn't say that!"

"You did earlier! I noticed when we left. You didn't say that you would bring the trophy back."

"And what makes you think that I'm not going to win?"

"Oh, just a feeling….."

Arthur had a wry smile on his face by now, "A feeling…."

"Alright, it's not a feeling – you're carrying too much weight at the moment – it's slowing you down."

Merlin decided that this was the perfect moment to add his contribution, and so piped up from behind, "I'm always telling him he eats too much!"

The knights were all grinning by this time, enjoying these exchanges and the chance to give Arthur a hard time in the safety of a place away from Camelot.

Elyan decided to pick up where Merlin had left off, "Too much time with my sister and not enough exercise!"

This led to a slightly shocked response from his sister, "Elyan!"

"Too many distractions…" grinned Leon.

Gwen decided it was time to stick up for Arthur, and turned around to chide them, although she too was enjoying the light-hearted exchange. "Stop it, all of you! You know perfectly well that Arthur's not overweight."

There was a slight pause as the horses walked on.

"Just cuddly". Gwaine had directed his comment particularly towards Gwen, but everyone – apart from Arthur - laughed, including her. Arthur for his part reddened slightly and was just glad the knights couldn't see him blushing.

Arthur did respond, however, and said with good humour, "I do trust that whilst we're in Mercia, for the sake of Camelot and its honour, my knights will afford me the respect that it is customary for subjects to give their prince!"

"Absolutely, your majesty."

"I'm not king yet, Gwaine."

"And you're not going to win either…..!"

Gwen turned to the prince and asked, laughingly, "How far is it to Mercia, Arthur?"

He replied, with a shake of his head to himself, and with good humour, "Too far!"

But eventually, late on the afternoon of the second day, they did finally arrive in Mercia's capital, and as they rode through its streets, its citizens were curious to see the knights of Camelot, about whom they had heard so much. Bayard and some of his courtiers were ready to meet the party, as they entered through one of the gates into its large, impressive central square. Arthur was the first to dismount, followed by the others.

Bayard stepped forward and greeted the prince warmly with a smile, "Welcome Arthur!" and as they shook hands, Arthur bowed his head slightly in respect for the king, "Your majesty."

"It is good to see you again. I trust you had a good journey from Camelot."

"The time passed quickly, my lord - the company was very pleasant."

The knights all smiled to themselves, understanding Arthur's meaning.

Bayard continued, "I'm sorry that Ivan couldn't be here to meet you as well – I'm afraid he had some pressing business to attend to."

"I'm sure I'll meet him soon enough."

"Certainly at the opening banquet tonight. We're going to perform the draw for the tournament there. You will, of course, join us at the head of the table?"

"I'd be delighted to, your majesty." Arthur then half turned to his knights, "And these are my knights who will be competing in the tournament", and he proceeded to introduce them, indicating each one of them in turn as he spoke. "Sir Lancelot, Sir Leon - whom I believe you've met before - Sir Elyan, Sir Gwaine, and last but by no means least, Sir Percival."

Bayard had a wry smile on his face, seeing the size of Percival, as he addressed all the knights, "I trust you will give us all a good show?"

The knights either nodded or replied in the affirmative with the words, "Your majesty".

Arthur then turned to Merlin and Gwen: "And these are my servants – some of Camelot's best," -Gwaine turned and gave Merlin a nod and a grin at this comment - "Merlin and Guinivere. They shall be attending to our needs whilst we're here."

"I trust your needs will be few, Arthur. If you're ready, you'll be shown to your quarters now. I trust all will be to your liking."

"I'm sure it will, my lord."

As a number of Mercian servants approached the party, Bayard added, "And you know our custom, Arthur, in the court of Mercia?"

"You require us to surrender our weapons whilst here. We willingly do so."

"It's a rule we apply to all our visitors, however welcome they are."

Arthur handed his sword to the servant who moved towards him, and indicated to his knights that he expected them to do likewise.

Gwaine whispered to Percival, who was standing next to him, "Well, that certainly makes me feel welcome here."

Bayard continued, "You will be issued with suitable swords at the start of each fight, and your weapons will be returned to you on your departure."

Arthur nodded to the king, "We're happy to comply, my lord," and then added with a smile, "I'm sure that, apart from the tournament, we'll have no need of them here!"

"I will see you at the banquet later, then, and we'll see what fate awaits our challengers in the luck of the draw."

And as Bayard turned to go, Gwaine leant over and whispered to Arthur, "And some of us are going to need all the luck we can get….."

"Shut up Gwaine."