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"Leon, it is good to have you back here after being so long away at your home estates. How was your family?" Morgana said sweetly as she stood near the knight.
"Fine, Milady. Older, but still just as I remembered them."
"That's good to hear." They stood in silence, watching the dancers and groupings of nobles as they chatted amongst themselves. She could see Arthur and Merlin, a small gathering of knights and nobles around them as they told some tale from before their arrival in Camelot.
"It is strange, to be back among humans again?" She asked as the silence stretched on.
She watched him out of the corner of her eye as he turned to glance at her. He finally spoke, voice cautious as he thought over his words with care. "It is…shall I say, perplexing. I spent so long among them and gotten used to their ways, and yet barely scratched the surface. And now I am back home and have to start all over again to regain my lost footing."
"What are they like? The Druid people." She was slowly luring him closer to her chosen topic, but it was still trying her patience to be this subtle. Sometime, she wished she could just ask right out.
"A very secretive people. They revere power of any kind, placing the most powerful at the top. Yet they believe that even those at the top must work for a better life the next time they are reborn."
"Reborn?" She was actually intrigued.
"Reincarnation, rebirth. They believe life is a cycle of life and death, where each time you die, you are reborn again in a different guise and station. How you lived in your last life will determine where you end up in the next."
"That is…interesting. I wouldn't mind studying it later on, once the treaty is completed of course." Her eyes strayed to Arthur's group. Merlin had disappeared somewhere, but Arthur seemed not to notice as he continued on with the story. "I missed him, greatly." She said softly, scanning over the man who had come back in her little brother's place.
"And he you. I remember a number of times, he asked for stories of the king and queen, and you too. I think he wanted to have a memory to work with and not just the locket her majesty gave him before he left."
He had given her the opening she needed. "And Merlin, what was he like?"
"I'm not sure. He was an odd one, a mixture of childish innocence and sagely wisdom. It was a very strange thing to see in a child."
"He seems to be really enjoying himself here. What was he like in…Avlin, was that the capital's name?" She honestly wasn't sure at the moment.
"Yes." He stopped after that, as if unsure of what to say. "Among his own people…to my human eyes at least, he looked isolated. Most wouldn't talk to him unless necessary. Those who did, I think they only did it because of his mother, a sweeter lady I'll never meet. But again, I am just human and unsure of what this could mean."
"Well, he doesn't have to worry about it here. He's got Arthur, and Gwen and I as well. Many of the knights seem to be friendly with him others, more than friendly." She said coyly.
"Cardok?" He said softly, glancing at her sideways.
"You noticed, too?" He nodded. "What I want to know is if it's genuine or wanting of something unattainable?" She groused in annoyance. He could throw a crimp into her plans.
"I do not know my lady. He was not even a squire when I left for the Druid lands. I could ask the younger knights. They may know?"
She looked up at him. "Would you? I don't want the talks going awry because some young idiot thought the rules didn't apply to him." He nodded. "Then thank you, that would be most helpful and I'll keep my eyes and ears open for anything else like this." He nodded again and bowed, excusing himself from her company to make rounds and glean information. She turned back to the gathering across the room and saw that Merlin had returned with a goblet in hand. What she had learned so far was enough food for thought to last for many nights.
She turned at a touch on her shoulder and found Gwen waiting to speak with her, her own information gathering finished. "We'll talk after the feast. Go enjoy yourself for now." Gwen smiled and curtsied before making her way to the servants table to get some food.
A light tap at the door had vivid brown eyes looking up from a stack of letters in front of her. Pushing a stray lock of hair out of her face, Freya Rowan got up from her bench and went to the door to see who it was.
Gwen, a small smile on her lips, nodded to her. "Gwen, what are you doing here? Shouldn't you be at the feast with Morgana?" She asked, confused, but let the brunette in anyways.
"Milady gave me the night off, but it was getting really stuffy in there and kind of crowded, so I thought I would come and visit you. It's been a while since we last just sat and chatted."
"Oh, um, well come, sit down. I was just going over some last minute messages of Merlin's, but I can finish them later. So, what do you want to talk about?" She sat down on the bench, Gwen snagging a nearby stool and sitting as well.
"Well…I know you would never say anything out loud, but I was just wondering if Merlin is treating you well. I know nothing of Druids and their practices, so I was just worried he might be doing something…" She trailed off as Freya shook her head.
"No, nothing like that. He treats me very fairly. It seems he really needs me, or he'd be buried under all the letters he receives." She joked.
"What's he like? I mean, I've spoken with him, but it was only briefly and I couldn't really tell anything." She asked, hands clasped in her lap.
"Well sometimes he does something odd that will totally throw me off, but usually, he acts just like any other noble would in this position. It's just…mostly, he seems sad, like he's missing something, but I think it just grief from his mother dying. And I want to help or at least do something that will help, but I've no idea what to do in this situation. It's so confusing. What do you think I should do?" She asked the handmaid.
"What you've been doing, I think. Making sure he eats and stays healthy, help with his letters, just be there for him. You're always so caring, Freya." She smiled brightly at her friend. The woman flushed slightly, but smiled back. "Oh, I should be getting back to my lady. It was nice talking to you Freya. We need to do it more often." The paler woman waved and smiled as her darker friend hurried out of the Druid's chambers.
"Ah, Merlin, this is Sir Valiant. Valiant, Merlin Emrys, Druid Ambassador." The Druid looked at the man before him. He was new, that much was certain. Short chopped brown hair, a firm square jaw and aquiline nose completed the image. He was wearing his family colors, a dull yellow tunic with his emblem of three snakes stitched over the heart.
"It's a pleasure. I've not had the pleasure of meeting a Druid before." He nodded to the Druid. Merlin inclined his head likewise. "I've only just arrived a few days before the start of the tournament and have been busy."
"As we all have. I look forward to yours and Arthur's match tomorrow."
"I certainly can't hold back, not when it comes to him. But for now, I bid you both good night, for I must rise early." He inclined his head to Merlin and bowed to Arthur before giving his regards to Uther and Ygraine.
"So, what do you think?" Arthur asked quietly, following Valiant's path through those gathered.
"He is certainly confident about the fight tomorrow. As far as I can tell, an ordinary knight. Though since I have not seen him fight, I can't say anything about his skills." He, too, was following the man's path before he disappeared from the room. "I think I will copy him though. I'm tired. I see you in the morning." Arthur nodded to him and he left, making his own path to his room and bed.
The crowds seemed to have increased today, the noise they made as they cheered for their prince and last year's champion. Merlin, for the most part, tuned the noise out as he tried to wake his tired brain up.
As the two combatants stepped forward, the noise gave one loud surge and then slowly died off as Uther spoke to the two. He ignored him as something else caught his attention. Somewhere in the area, he could feel the telltale signs of magic. It was faint, probably a small working, but he could feel it nonetheless.
Arthur and Valiant were already facing each other, ready to fight when he finally realized it was coming from somewhere in either the gathered crowd, or somewhere in the fighting ring.
He was jerked away from his quest for the source of the magic when the sound of sword striking sword rang through the air and his thoughts. Arthur and Valiant had started. Neither seemed to be going all out yet, just testing the waters, seeing how the other fought.
He remained only half aware of the battle going on in front of him, his mind, and magic, continually searching parts of the area for any trace of the elusive spell. It wasn't in any of the crowds, though he did fell a few humans with the smallest trace of magic in them, inherited from ancestors past who had power.
The flash of light on metal drew his gaze back to the fighter. It was still going, neither seeming to get the upper hand as of yet, though it would be soon. As he watched, he felt the lightest tingle run over his skin, drawing his eyes towards its source.
His gaze stopped on Valiant's shield. It was yellow, with three snakes on it, his crest. He sat forward intrigued, analyzing the spell as he spoke aloud to Uther. "I didn't know you allowed spelled weapons into the fights." He didn't see Uther jerk and turn to look at him.
"What?" His face was turning a light shade of red.
"The use of spells in tournaments. If I had known, I would have done so for Arthur, though he complains he doesn't need the help."
"Who?" His face was darkening as what Merlin said sank in.
"Valiant. His shield is spelled. It's crude, but effective. An illusion placed upon it until it comes into contact with flesh and then solidifies. What the illusion looks like, I don't know." The fighters kept on, unaware of the conversation taking place nearby.
As they pushed away from each other, Merlin let a dart of magic loose towards the shield, activating the spell placed there. The crowd gasped, and there were even a few high pitched screams as the three snakes came to life, falling from the shield to slither on the ground.
Apparently, they had a set of instructions, for they flew across the ground quick as a whip towards Arthur. They didn't reach him, of course, but they tried. They kept running into a wall, one that slowly tore away at their insubstantial bodies.
"Halt the fight." Uther's voice roared over the crowd. He turned to Valiant. "You…you dare use magic in my tournament, against the prince.
"Merlin." Arthur's voice rang out, all turning to look at the Druid.
He gave a huff of exasperation. "Fine, but don't come complaining to me if you get hurt." He waved his hand and the wall vanished in a shower of sparks that destroyed what was left of the snakes.
"On guard." He told the knight. Valiant wasted no time in rushing at him. It seemed he realized he was in more trouble than he had thought. He probably hoped that winning would easy the punishment.
Except, he didn't take into account who his opponent was. Arthur had learned to fight against both the magical and nonmagical. It was soon over as Arthur took his silent anger out on the man. Arthur hated cheaters just as much as he hated those who lied…and spiders, but that was something altogether.
Valiant was on the ground, sword at his throat as Arthur glared down at him. "For your stupidity, you will be punished. Since I do not want to deal with you, you will also be at the mercy of my father." He turned and left, palace guards coming to take his place and escort the disgraced knight from the field.
Merlin, already anticipating this, had left while the royal family went to deliver punishment. He met up with Arthur just inside the courtyard. "You had to show off." The blonde remarked.
"How was I supposed to know that magic was against the rules. Though I must admit, that piece of magic was very cleverly done, though still crude." They continued up the steps, side-by-side.
"You're hard to please when it comes to magic." Arthur shot back, smirking when Merlin scowled at him, but said nothing. "Thanks though, for back there. I would have been in a pinch if those snakes had gotten a fang in me." Merlin just nodded, keeping step with him into the depths of the castle.