Chapter 4: And There Was Much Rejoicing

King Uther, Arthur said, was sure that this creature was a product of sorcery. This, hypothesis necessitated a visit with Gaius, so Leon and Gwaine withdrew slashing overhead with flailing arms as they retreated from the courtyard and followed their prince. The three of them jogged to through the castle to the old man's room. When they arrived at the Gaius's door, they found it already ajar. The two knights and the prince filed in. Gaius was bent over a large book that seemed to be perpetually dusty albeit its frequent use. As Arthur and company piled into the space behind him, the healer flipped to a page bearing the colorful illustration of the very monster that was outside terrorizing the city.

"Ah…it's as I thought," muttered Gaius cryptically. "We are in grave danger. This a Plotdevicius, a rare creature born of magic." Arthur and Gwaine gasped.

"I should have believed you, Merlin," said Arthur pulling Merlin aside.

"The bestiary says that the Plotdeviceius can be banished from the realms of man, with this elixir that Merlin and I just happen to have been working on," said Gaius his hand moving over a table cluttered with bottles of varying heights and shapes. Before long he produced a small bottle glimmering with bright orange elixir. Leon couldn't help but wonder what exactly was in all these bottles and why neither Gaius nor Merlin seemed to find the time to organize or label them in a more practical fashion. He made a mental note to ask Merlin later.

Coming out of his revelry, he noticed Merlin and Arthur exchanging that glance of theirs. The same glance they'd always exchange at this interval of the adventure, the one that wordlessly conveyed their deep bonds of platonic friendship. Arthur squeezed Merlin's shoulder, his features puckering into that "I think I learned something here today" face, though what heart-melting wisdom Arthur had attained was left for Leon to guess.

"How does this elixir work? Can we just toss it at the whatsitsname, or does it have to drink it, or what exactly," Gwaine asked tracing his finger along the edges of the picture, the gears in his head clinking almost audibly.

"The elixir must coat its eyes," said Gaius, his gaze taking on a dire shadow and locking onto Merlin's face. Merlin nodded almost imperceptibly. Leon didn't ask questions because he knew that everything would be explained to him when the time was right. Instead he stood by silently, imitating the serious, unhappy demeanor that was reflected all around him. Truth be told, Leon was actually very happy. He loved being a knight. He loved living in Camelot and he loved the constant onslaught of malcontented oddities it seemed to invite. He would be ready to defend the kingdoms and all her quirks, tooth and nail, as soon as he was bid to.

"Leon, Gwaine…I have a plan," said Arthur at last.

"It was right near sunrise and it looked like the Plotdevicius would come out victorious," started Gwaine tankard in his fist, a ring of women around his shoulders. Leon was sipping his mead thoughtfully, entertained by the dramatic retelling of the past night's events.

"...and then, just as the creature flew in for the second time, BAMN," Gwaine shouted slamming the tankard unto the table with emphasis. Arthur's plan was the usual plan: circle up and jab the creature swords until it relented. As usual this plan wasn't as effective as it seemed in the planning stage. "The creature took a bite at poor Sir Reese, got him right on the ear of all places." That it had, Leon recalled, and an awful lot of blood and mess that was. "Then this ray of sunlight—brighter than any flame or light had any business to be—shone as if from heavens themselves and distracted it. Your prince, with a deal of help from yours truly," said Gwaine flipping his hair back, "leapt for its face and poured the elixir right on its eyes…and ladies, did it get angry!"

"How angry was it, Sir Gwaine," purred a comely brunette from his side. Leon all but bit his lip off stifling his laughter. Angry. Yes well... The beast was only angry enough to lunge at poor Reese's other ear before to turning to stone, falling over, and shattering into a thousand pieces as it met the cobblestone. It was rather anticlimactic really. He knew Gwaine and Arthur were anticipating a last triumphant stab at the beast, and even he was expecting a last burst of vicious magic or something. Still the beast was vanquished and only two men were injured. How Sir Meloncamp managed to fight with only three fingers on his sword hand and a set of broken ribs, Leon would never know. The man's leg cast would match his arm cast though, thought Leon bemused. He took another swig of mead. When he imagined that he could be on a boat somewhere, tying knots with his feet, or in some other, less eventful kingdom, he felt an overwhelming happiness that he was in Camelot. Plus, it seemed Arthur had forgotten all about his forced holiday. Just then the door to the tavern jingled and the mass of ruffled black hair appeared through the door. Leon waved him over.

"Merlin, I noticed that you and Gaius keep an awful lot of unlabeled bottles," started Leon satisfied beyond words with the day he'd had.

Fin!