Chapter 15

Although she didn't know it, Gwen was sitting in the cell in exactly the same place as Arthur had been the previous evening. Elyan was sitting alongside her, his arm around her shoulders and her head was resting on one of his. She had her eyes closed, and was weary with grief. The rest of the knights stood away from her, nearer to the bars of the cells, and were speaking in low tones so that she wouldn't hear.

Gwaine, however, was finding it hard to keep his voice down, given the anger he was feeling. "I will not stand by and watch Arthur butchered!"

Leon was just as loyal to Arthur as Gwaine, but more level-headed: "But there may be as many as fifty or even a hundred armed Mercian soldiers there at the execution."

"Then, I will take as many down with me as I am able….."

Lancelot countered, "What with, Gwaine – your bare hands?"

"It would be no rescue mission, it would be suicide!" continued, Leon. "Believe me, if there is any possibility of rescuing him I will gladly take it, whatever the cost, but if we don't have any idea of how we could do it, we would be doomed from the start. Would you want Arthur's last moments to be spent watching his knights get slaughtered in front of his eyes?"

Percival sighed deeply before he spoke, "At least he would know we had tried, and not just stood by - he would do the same for us."

"Look, we all feel the same, and all would willingly give our lives for him," reasoned Lancelot, "but we do not honour Arthur by simply throwing ourselves on Mercian swords. And aren't you forgetting something…..?" He cast his eyes in the direction of Gwen. The others followed his gaze and understood his meaning, but they were all still torn, and the mere idea of doing nothing to at least try to save Arthur was anathema not only to their code and vows as knights, but also to their devotion to their prince.

Gwaine shook his head again, but all he could say was "I will not stand by and do nothing!"

None of the knights had realised, however, that Gwen had actually been following every word that they had been saying, and suddenly she spoke up in response to Gwaine's statement. "Neither will I. If we die, we die," but the tone of her voice was flat and dull.

Percival met her eyes, shaking his head as he spoke to her, "No, my lady."

"Surely that's my choice," she insisted, but again her voice was dull.

Lancelot, of course, was the one who understood better than any other what Arthur's heart would be on this matter. "He would not want to see you die, my lady."

Gwen answered quietly and miserably, "At least we would be together."

Elyan pulled his sister closer to him, as he said, "Lancelot's right, Gwen – Arthur would lay down his life a thousand times over to protect you. But it would break his heart if he knew you were even thinking of throwing your life away for him."

And Lancelot also understood another thing that the others were unaware of. He alone knew something of what Merlin was capable of. "Look, we still don't know where Merlin is or what he's doing - we must wait to see what he's able to do."

"What hope has he against the whole of Mercia?" asked Percival, "and Camelot is far more than a single day's march from here – he has no hope of even getting there before the hour of execution, let alone returning with forces to free Arthur."

"He's more resourceful than you realise. I know that he's helped saved Arthur's life more than once before. For now, he's our only hope."

But there was little hope in the grim looks that all the knights exchanged.

And there would have been even less hope had they known what was happening in another part of the castle, as some of Ivan's guards reported to their latest findings to him.

"My lord, we think someone fitting the description of Prince Arthur's servant was seen in a tavern in the lower town."

"And do you have any idea of where he is now?"

"No, my lord, but when we checked back in the prince's room in case he went back there to get money or provisions, we found some of his clothing discarded there."

"You've done well. He can change his clothes, but he can't disguise his smell. Get the dogs – I think it's time to have a little hunt. They should pick up the scent, especially if he decides to run from the city."

And running from the city was precisely what Merlin was doing.