Chapter 22

After a short time spent planning the journey home, the party dispersed in different directions to make preparations. Arthur's desire to leave Mercia and get Gwen safely back to Camelot was so great that it was decided that they would ride ahead of the cart that would bring back all their paraphernalia, and return home as soon as possible. And Bayard promised a guard to ride with the cart that would follow on later. And so Merlin and Arthur found themselves walking together back to what had been Arthur's room, and the prince had one particular question to ask his servant - at least it was only one to start with – and it was the question of how this particular dragon was still very definitely alive, in the light of Arthur's previous encounter with Kilgarrah.

Arthur turned to him as they both walked along the corridor. "Merlin, I thought you said that that dragon was…., " but his question abruptly stopped – as did he - and he looked intently at his servant. "Merlin?"

Merlin stopped and looked back at Arthur who was by now a couple of paces behind him. "Hmm?"

"Is that my jacket that you're wearing?"

Merlin looked down at the jacket, as if he needed some confirmation, before looking back up at Arthur again. "Yeah."

Arthur scrutinised him further. "And are those my boots you've got on?"

"Mmm."

And there was a tone of incredulity in Arthur's response: "You could have at least waited until I was dead before taking and wearing my things!"

"What? Oh no! It's a disguise, dollophead!"

Arthur looked his servant up and down once again, and the good natured sarcasm was unmissable in his reply: "Good disguise, Merlin! I barely recognised it was you!"

Merlin ignored him, and went on. "Sorry about the boots, by the way. They got a bit muddy in the woods."

"Well, as it's you who's going to be cleaning them, that really isn't my concern."

"Or maybe I could just keep….."

"No!" interjected Arthur, before Merlin had the opportunity to finish his sentence, and they both resumed walking side by side, with Merlin grinning, as Arthur returned to his initial question. "Anyway, as I was saying….. I thought that that dragon was meant to be dead. When it attacked Camelot you said that I'd mortally wounded it."

"You stuck your spear in it, it flew away – it was my best guess."

"Your best guess?" Arthur raised his eyebrows at Merlin as only he could.

"What, would you rather it was dead? Because, let's face it, you would be dead too if that was the case." And Merlin decided that it was time to rapidly change the subject. "Which reminds me, Lancelot said that you were going to tell me something when you saw me…"

Arthur fixed his gaze straight ahead, slightly embarrassed, and wouldn't look at his servant. "It was something I was going to tell you if we both ended up dead."

"That would have been an interesting conversation…."

"In the afterlife, you idiot!"

"Well, you could tell me now instead, seeing as we're both still alive."

Arthur continued looking straight ahead, but Merlin noticed, with another grin, that Arthur had reddened slightly. "That's where you're wrong, Merlin, because it was one of those things you only tell someone when you're just about to die."

"So….. you're not going to tell me, are you?"

Arthur quickened his pace to get away from Merlin and said without looking back at him, "Very good, Merlin, you're not such an idiot after all."

And as Arthur started to go up the stairs, Merlin stopped. "You were going to say something nice to me, weren't you? You know, it really would help you to talk about your feelings more!"

Arthur continued going up the stairs and didn't look back. "Shut up, Merlin."

Merlin still hadn't moved from the bottom of the stairs, and so shouted up after Arthur, "I'll just wait, then, till you're next at death's door…."

And a sharp rebuke came from the top of the stairs. "Merlin!"

But Merlin just grinned and ran up the stairs after his master.

The sun was almost at its zenith when the party was finally ready to depart from Mercia, and they were assembled in the main square – from which the platform had hastily been removed – with everyone mounted on their horses apart from Arthur and Guinevere. The couple stood holding hands, with Arthur not ashamed to show all in Mercia his feelings for her, and Bayard saw the serving girl in a new light. He saw how the love that Arthur had bestowed upon her had given her a dignity and sense of worth that raised her far above her lowly station, and that made her now look to him as if she were born to stand at Arthur's side.

Bayard began to apologise once more, but Arthur quickly interrupted him and brushed it aside: "It is past, your majesty. Please, let neither of us feel the need to speak of it again."

Bayard stood looking at the prince for a few moments before saying, "Arthur – you'll make a fine king one day."

"That's kind of you to say, my lord."

But Bayard hadn't finished: "…and I believe you will have a very fine queen at your side." And with that, he took Guinevere's hand and kissed it. "My lady."

Gwen curtseyed to him, "Your majesty."

Bayard turned back to the prince. "Your ways may be very different from the other kingdoms in these lands, Arthur, but I do not fear for Camelot's future under your rule."

Arthur just smiled as Gwen looked at him in pride. Bayard then handed a sword to him. "Your sword, I believe – we have cleaned it for you."

Arthur took it and put it in the sheath on his horse, thanking Bayard as he did.

The king then continued, "And I am sorry that I didn't get to see you fight again in the tournament."

Arthur leant over and dropped his voice so that the others couldn't hear. "You may have possibly saved me from an embarrassing defeat at the hand of one of my own knights, so I'm not entirely sorry!"

Bayard smiled, "I'm not so sure about that Arthur, having seen both you and Sir Gwaine fight. So, as we have abandoned the tournament, we will call it a draw?"

Arthur answered with a wry smile on his face, "And I thought it wasn't meant to be a contest between Mercia and Camelot….."

Bayard then leant in and also dropped his voice, "Oh, I think both you and I know that that was never really true! A draw then?"

But as Arthur helped Guinevere up onto her horse, he turned to Bayard and said with another smile, "And I think both you and I know that that was a win for Camelot."