Chapter 21

The sunset the night before the execution had foretold the beautiful, clear morning that dawned the next day. Arthur was, however, unaware of the sunshine and blue skies as he calmly stood alone in the dim light of the dungeon. The manacles were no longer on his wrists, as he had been released from them so that he could wash and change, but also in preparation for being led out to his death. The bowl of water that Arthur had used was in the corner of the room, with his discarded tunic next to it. But for once in his life he'd folded his dirty shirt and put it neatly by the bowl. He didn't quite know why, but for some reason it seemed to matter that day. He had requested the white shirt to wear that Gwen had mended. Somehow knowing that she had washed it and mended it for him helped him to feel closer to her. After he had buckled his leather belt loosely over the shirt, just below his waist, he looked down at and fingered Gwen's meticulous and neat needlework on the right sleeve and smiled to himself. He then picked up the favour from Gwen, brought it to his lips, and then began to attempt to tie it around his arm, just above his left elbow. Arthur quickly found out, however, that it wasn't an easy task to accomplish with only one hand, and he began to get frustrated by his inability to do this simple task, and that was all that it took to unsettle him.

His frustration somehow opened the door for all his grief to begin rearing its head again, and he found himself struggling to control his feelings and he started to breathe rapidly and unevenly. And although he didn't fear death itself, he was suddenly terribly afraid of not being in control of himself when the guards came for him or, even worse, when he was led out. And as his grief and fear threatened to overwhelm him, he desperately tried to steady himself, saying to himself over and over again, "Come on, Arthur… Arthur, come on!" And he closed his eyes and whispered, "Help me, mother. Please help me!"

And whether it was because of her or some other unseen power, he began to be calm again, and a faint smile came to his face – he knew that he had been heard. At peace once more, he was able to finish tying Gwen's favour, and then waited his fate calmly, facing the door. A short while later, the key turned and the door opened, and Arthur found himself flanked by half a dozen armed Mercian guards. Two of them stood behind him, took hold of his arms, and bound his hands tightly behind his back. He didn't resist them, but when two others of the guards went to take hold of him to lead him out, he said simply: "You don't need to hold me. I'll go where you want me to." And there was something about the quiet authority in his voice that made them comply, and Arthur walked freely between them and out of the dungeon.

He looked up and for the first time since the trial, he saw daylight as the doors at the top of the steps were flung open, and Arthur walked steadily up the steps - conscious of the single drum beat that was sounding - and out into the open air on the north side of the square. He had expected the square to be full, but hadn't quite expected it to be so packed with people, all there to watch his gruesome death. And above all their heads he could see the raised platform in the centre of the square, and on top of it, the large wooden block, with its curved groove for his neck to rest in, and the hooded executioner holding the axe – and, despite his calm, he still felt his stomach lurch. Although the steps up to the platform were directly opposite him when he emerged from the dungeon, he wasn't led directly to them. He was marched around the outside of the square along a corridor between the crowds that had been marked out by Mercian soldiers, and Arthur was conscious that every eye was on him, each person curious to get a glimpse of the condemned prince. And what they saw was a young man simply dressed in a white tunic, not cursing and swearing and fighting against his guard as so many of those on their way to execution tended to be, but walking to his death calmly and peacefully, and with his head held high.

When Arthur reached the centre of the west side of the square, he was halted next to a raised dais and the drum beat stopped as he turned to face Bayard, who stood there with Ivan at his side. Arthur bowed his head to the king in respect, and then raised his head again to look directly at Bayard, blocking Ivan out of his sight and out of his thoughts as the king started to speak.

"Arthur Pendragon, you have been found guilty of the attempted murder of Prince Ivan, heir to the throne of Mercia. You have been sentenced to death by the laws of this land, and that sentence will now be carried out. May God have mercy on your soul."

Arthur bowed to the king again, and the drum beat started once again as he was finally led away from the king and down anther corridor between the crowds towards the platform.

What Arthur had been unable to see because of the crowds were his knights and, of course, Guinevere. They were standing with Merlin on the opposite side of the platform to Bayard, in a line with Merlin on the end, and Lancelot next to him, and then Gwaine, Gwen and Elyan, Leon and Percival. They were heavily guarded, again with soldiers armed with crossbows. Ivan was making sure that nothing could possibly disrupt the final fulfilment of his goal. The faces of his friends were all grim as they looked directly ahead, not able to see Arthur above the crowd just as he couldn't see them.

Arthur's escort stopped at the bottom of the steps on the north side of the platform, leaving him to climb the steps alone to where the executioner stood at the top. But when Arthur reached the top step he paused, looking around the square, searching for those he loved, and his gaze stopped as he caught sight of his friends away to his left. As they finally saw their prince looking towards them, the knights all saluted Arthur by dropping to one knee and bowing their heads, shouting out as they did, "For Arthur and for Camelot". Only Merlin and Gwen remained standing. And as Arthur caught sight of Merlin, his heart lifted as he realised that he was alive after all, and the crowds saw the prince – inexplicably, to them - break into a warm smile as he nodded to Merlin. His only sadness at that moment was not having given the message for Merlin to Lancelot after all, and he hoped that Merlin would nevertheless know just how much he had been valued and loved, and how he had been the best friend that he had ever had. And Arthur finally looked to Gwen, who raised the ring that he had given her to her lips and kissed it. Arthur then looked deliberately down at the favour tied to his left arm so that she could see that he was wearing it, and he smiled at her across the square. As the knights rose to their feet again, Arthur nodded to them all one final time, and then tore his gaze away from them to face ahead as he took the final step up on to the platform.

The executioner stood directly ahead of him with the block to his right. Arthur took a deep breath, and turned his back to his friends so that he was facing Bayard and the block, and he walked slowly towards the large piece of wood with its neck-rest as the drum continued to sound its steady beat. Although Arthur had been calm, he nevertheless felt his chest tighten and his heart begin to pound as he knelt down before the block, bowed his head and placed his neck down on the wood and then closed his eyes.

As Arthur knelt and the single beat became a continuous drum-roll, Gwen turned her back to the platform and begged her brother, "Hold me, Elyan!" She buried her head in his chest, holding on to him tightly, as he wrapped one arm round her, and with his other hand, held her head tightly against his chest, and as he did so, he could feel her trembling violently. All the knights, with the exception of Lancelot, bowed their heads and closed their eyes, their faces all bearing the signs of deep pain, none of them able to watch the execution. But they were not the only ones who bowed their heads. Despite the stories that had been flying around the city since Arthur's trial, many of those watching in the square that day had the same two thoughts – that they had never seen a man walk to his death with such dignity and calm, and also that there was something very wrong with what was happening. There were also others who were very aware of Ivan's reputation – especially with serving girls – and who wondered if this prince had not, in fact, been justified in his actions. And they too – including some of Ivan's own knights - bowed their heads.

But Merlin and Lancelot stood with their heads up and their eyes open, searching the skies, though their faces were grim. They were both desperately nervous and afraid, feeling that they were running out of time. Lancelot whispered, "Merlin…?", and Merlin replied with a similar anxiety in his voice as he began to panic as the executioner's axe was raised: "I know…"

Although Merlin swore for years afterwards that Kilgarrah deliberately delayed just for dramatic effect, the dragon always maintained that to rescue the once and future king, Arthur needed firstly to be away from his escort – which could only happen once he was up on the platform – and secondly, safely out of the way of a dragon flying low and fast, which required him to be on his knees. Whatever the truth of it was, the looks on the faces of Arthur's two friends rapidly changed - Merlin suddenly grinning broadly, and Lancelot having a look of total and utter disbelief on his face. And the cause was the same – an enormous dragon suddenly and rapidly flying into their field of vision and propelling the executioner thirty paces from the platform with a single swipe of its paw. And many things suddenly happened all at once.

The drum roll stopped abruptly just as the screaming started. The crowd filling the square suddenly began to scatter in all directions, running for cover, with every soldier in the square who was carrying a crossbow discharging their bolts in vain against the dragon. Arthur, on the other hand, was still kneeling with his head on the block, somewhat bewildered at finding that, although the drum had stopped, his head was definitely still firmly attached to his shoulders. He had felt a rush of air, heard a loud thump, and then – much to his surprise – the unmistakable sounds of screaming and running. He opened his eyes, but with his head still down, he could only make out a lot of rapid movements in all directions out of the corner of his eye. When he finally looked up the scene that greeted him was one of utter chaos. When a few more moments had gone by without anything happening to him, he struggled awkwardly to his feet – his hands still bound tightly behind his back – and looked around him. The executioner was nowhere to be seen, and the only evidence of him ever having been there was his axe lying on the platform, and Arthur looked around and then towards his friends in utter bewilderment.

When the knights heard the same things that Arthur had heard, they too opened their eyes. Gwen also couldn't figure out what on earth was going on, and so had also turned back around. All of them followed with their eyes the direction in which many in the crowd were looking as they scattered, and Gwaine's two words aptly summed up what they all felt on seeing the dragon wheeling around the square: "WHAT THE…?!" And Merlin would remember with amusement for the rest of his life the stunned expression on Arthur's face when he finally looked up into the sun and then a split second later had the sun blocked out by a dragon bearing directly down on him.

But the dragon passed harmlessly over his head, and resumed its tasks of causing chaos rather than carnage and of ensuring that any crossbows were emptied of their bolts in his direction. Whilst Kilgarrah could simply have snatched Arthur away and borne him to safety, Merlin knew the prince too well. He knew that there would be something that Arthur would want far more than freedom at that moment – he would want justice. And Merlin knew – and told Kilgarrah – that all they needed to do was put Arthur in a position where he could get it, which would be by giving him the upper hand in the square - and two armed knights at his side. And as Arthur spun round to follow the dragon's line of flight, he began to get the very strange and bizarre impression that the dragon was on his side.

Meanwhile, the knights were standing in similar bewilderment to Arthur, again with the feeling that that dragon was there to help Arthur, but all suddenly aware that their prince was still totally vulnerable, as he was still bound. Leon spoke but, as he did, none of them took their gaze off Arthur:

"What do we do now? We gave him our word…."

Merlin and Lancelot had been correct about Gwaine. "To hell with that - he didn't say anything about dragons!"

And if there were any doubt left in their minds about what they should do, Gwen dispelled it.

With a vehemence in her voice that none of them had heard before, she as good as bellowed at them, "YOU GO AND GET HIM!"

Lancelot turned to Gwaine. "Come with me!" and he shouted to the others. "The rest of you – stay here with Gwen – keep her safe."

And there followed another sudden burst of action. None of the Mercian soldiers who were meant to be guarding them were looking at them. All were too busy trying to reload their crossbows as the dragon swooped towards them again. Percival whacked the nearest soldier, grabbed his sword and tossed it to Lancelot. Gwaine had another guard quickly knocked to the floor and took his sword. Merlin, of course, was surreptitiously casting spells in every direction, and soldiers found the crossbows in their hands suddenly and inexplicably swinging backwards towards them to hit them on the head, and several of the soldiers ended up knocked out on the ground. Leon and Elyan were soon armed, with Percival's fist coming in helpful again. The dragon, who had been circling around the platform flew over to Merlin and the others, breathing a line of fire between them and some Mercian soldiers who tried to come towards them. And as Kilgarrah finally landed near the party from Camelot, Lancelot and Gwaine began running towards the platform, demolishing anything and anyone that stood in their way.

As Merlin looked over to the platform, he wasn't sure whether Arthur's desire for justice was about to be made harder or easier by the fact that Ivan was moving through the chaos towards the platform from the other side of the square, and Merlin stood by, ready to act. Ivan had not given up, and when he had seen Arthur's vulnerability he had started making his move, sword in hand, determined to see Arthur killed. When Arthur spotted Lancelot and Gwaine coming towards him, he turned to go down the steps of the platform - only to see Ivan coming up them. Arthur backed away across the platform as Ivan came towards him, and both of them had their eyes fixed on the other. But suddenly Ivan let out a huge cry of pain and looked down. With their gaze on each other, neither Ivan nor Arthur had seen the axe – which was still lying on the platform in the place where it had fallen from the executioner's hand – suddenly swing round, seemingly of its own accord, so that its handle smashed into Ivan's shin with great force. And as Ivan momentarily looked down, Arthur rammed the full force of his body into him, knocking him to the floor. And with two bounds up the steps, Lancelot and Gwaine were both finally at Arthur's side. Arthur immediately spoke his words of command fiercely and forcefully, "I want him alive!"

Gwaine brought his foot down swiftly on Ivan's right wrist, pinning his sword arm down, and brought the tip of his sword down on his chest, pinning the rest of him to the ground, glaring down at him and almost willing him to try to resist – but Ivan didn't. Lancelot went behind Arthur to free him. "Hold still, my lord."

Arthur looked over his shoulder at Lancelot, "Guinevere?"

"Perfectly safe, sire."

Gwaine, without taking his eyes off Ivan, couldn't resist adding, "That would be because of the dirty great dragon she's got guarding her!"

As Lancelot was cutting the cords binding Arthur's wrists, he looked across to Gwen and the others, and found himself coming to the peculiar conclusion that what both of his knights had just told him was perfectly true. And so once free, he then marched over to Ivan and grabbed the sword from his hand that was still pinned down by Gwaine's boot. And Arthur allowed his anger, which he had put to one side the day before, to finally come out. He grabbed Ivan by the collar, pulled him roughly to his feet and put his sword to him, saying grimly and fiercely as he did, "You're coming with me!" Lancelot grabbed Ivan's other side, and he and Arthur together half dragged Ivan down the steps and across the square, with Gwaine clearing a path for them where needed as they made their way towards Bayard. The king had come down from the dais and was being protected from all that was going on by a core of Mercian knights, and as the party of four approached, Arthur again put his sword to Ivan, and bellowed. "Let me pass!"

The Mercian knights, not wanting Ivan to be killed and seeing Arthur and the others as a force to be reckoned with, parted to let them through. Arthur strode up to Bayard, still dragging Ivan, and forced him to his knees in front of his father with the words, "ON YOUR KNEES BEFORE YOUR KING!" But Arthur then lowered his sword, and bellowed at Ivan once again.

"Tell him, Ivan! Tell your father what really happened! TELL HIM!"

But Ivan remained silent and sullen.

And Arthur, with Lancelot and Gwaine at his side, finally found the voice that had been silenced in the courtroom when he had stood alone. And he spoke rapidly and with anger and passion in his voice.

"Tell him, Ivan, that the only thing that I struck you with was my bare fist and the only reason for it was your despicable behaviour! Tell your father how you deceived not only him but the whole court, and how you twisted the truth into a lie and invented evidence where there was none! Tell him how you risked war and the lives of countless innocent people out of a desire for nothing other than personal revenge! And tell him that this all started because I found you shamelessly forcing yourself on a defenceless and frightened serving girl who is not some plaything of mine, but a lady who is far more honourable and noble than you will ever be, and the one who has won my heart and who will one day be my wife and my queen!" Ivan looked genuinely shocked at this comment. "TELL HIM!"

Ivan, however, remained silent, but Bayard was now looking at his son in shock. And Arthur continued, "And if you still have the temerity to claim that I am in any way misrepresenting you, then you are welcome to challenge me to a duel to the death and I will happily oblige!"

Bayard glared at his son: "Is this true, Ivan?" But Ivan was still silent, so Bayard shouted at him, "IS THIS TRUE? You will answer me as your father and your king! For the very last time, is this true – yes or no?"

Ivan would not look up but gave the smallest of nods. Bayard was barely able control his anger as he spoke again, "You have brought shame on Mercia, shame upon the throne, and shame upon yourself!"

Arthur's anger finally began to subside as he realised that he was vindicated and that the king believed him. He let go of Ivan, and spoke more calmly to Bayard. "Your majesty, although I've every right to demand your son's death, this is your realm, and I leave Ivan to your own justice. If you choose to be clement and to show mercy to your son, I and Camelot with me will respect your judgment. I do not seek revenge but only the truth, and I've no desire for war between our kingdoms."

Bayard simply replied, "Nor I." And with that Bayard beckoned his knights. "Take my son to his room and keep him under guard there until I decide what to do with him." And with that, Ivan found himself marched away, and it was the last Arthur saw of him. The king sighed and after a long pause turned back to Arthur. "I'm not sure that Mercia - nor I - can ever repay you for the injustice you have suffered, Arthur. An apology seems so inadequate….."

"It is sufficient your majesty….. I know that you were only seeking to see the rule of law upheld."

The king went on, shaking his head as he did, "I shudder to think now of what would have happened had there not been….. " – he searched for the right word – "…. intervention."

And at this point they all suddenly became acutely aware of something that had been temporarily forgotten, and they turned their gaze to the dragon sitting quietly in the corner of the courtyard, who was looking directly at them, which made them all slightly uneasy. Bayard was the first to speak again, but as he did, none of them took their eyes off the dragon.

"Arthur, do you think you would be so good as to order your dragon to depart our courtyard now that its work is done…"

"Believe me, your majesty, I would gladly do so if it were my dragon or I had any power to order it!"

But the great dragon, perfectly aware of what had just been said, rose up on its hind legs, stretched out its wings, and gracefully rose up into the sky and soared away. And on the other side of the courtyard, Merlin and Lancelot were both grinning as they watched it climb. Bayard and Arthur also followed it as it rapidly grew smaller and smaller. "And yet, Arthur, it seems to be on the side of Pendragon."

Arthur replied, completely perplexed and speaking slowly in a puzzled tone, as he continued to watch it disappear into the distance, "Yes, it does rather…"

And not too many moments later, Arthur was walking back across the square, flanked by Lancelot and Gwaine, all with swords still in their hands. All the others stood looking towards them, with smiles that showed their deep affection for Arthur. He momentarily looked down as he approached, almost shy as he sensed their love for him, but Gwen could wait no longer and ran towards him. Arthur tossed Ivan's sword away just before she reached him, and they embraced, eyes closed, holding each other tightly, with Gwen resting her head against his chest, and Arthur resting his head for a moment on hers. And across the square, Bayard watched the prince and the serving girl together, and knew that what he was seeing was love, and that every word that Arthur had spoken was true.

Merlin, Percival, Leon and Elyan walked over to join them, and as Gwen and Arthur remained in their embrace, the prince looked up and after a pause addressed his knights, jokingly chiding them. "So, about this solemn oath that you took… You do realise that you have all broken a sacred rule of the knight's code?"

Lancelot, however, threw it back at Arthur with a cunning smile, "As did you, my lord, when you made us knights!"

Arthur laughed and shook his head. "It seems, Sir Lancelot, that you have defeated me this time!"

Lancelot continued, "Besides, my Lord, we were under orders from a higher power."

Arthur looked at him quizzically, but Gwen - still in his embrace - lifted her head from his chest, and looked up into his face, as he looked down at her. "I ordered them to rescue you, Arthur."

Arthur smiled at her and shook his head again, and Gwen kissed him and asked "Am I forgiven for telling your knights to disobey you?"

Arthur laughed again. "It seems that I'm outplayed on all sides." He kissed her back, and then looked around at them all, paused, and then spoke with great sincerity, "Thank you – all of you," and they all simply smiled in reply.

"Come on, let's get our things. We're going home…"

Author's note

I had to resist the urge to put the words, "Make my day, punk" in Gwaine's mouth when he had his sword against Ivan!