Chapter 5

Hātian Brond

Disclaimer: I own neither Danny Phantom nor Merlin

Danny blinked as a red cloak swirled out the door. His first meeting with the blonde king had been... intense. Talking to him though, it was hard to see the legendary king underneath the layers of paranoia and condescension. It was there, just not as obvious as the power Merlin's exuded was to him. The conversation itself had seemed only barely above an interrogation, but Danny had been fairly honest in his answers. He just hoped he didn't get Merlin in trouble, aside from being a terrible way to repay the man; it could completely mess up the timeline.

"What was that?" Danny asked, staring at the closed chamber door.

"That, was the princess." The knight from the previous night, Gwaine, Danny recognised, said.

"Is he always...?" Danny trailed, unsure of how to phrase the question without either raising suspicions or offending anyone.

"Pretty much." The dark haired knight commented, taking a lounging seat at the small table in the middle of the room.

"Camelot has been frequented by many ill meaning people of recent years." Gaius supplemented. "Many of its people have developed a certain sense of paranoia."

"Pretty much this is one of the most politically unstable kingdoms to have come visit." Gwaine commented from his seat at the small table.

Merlin sighed from beside the door. "Unfortunately, Arthur is still suffering for the betrayal of his half sister and his uncle." The raven-haired man said, taking a seat at the small table next to Gwaine. He gestured to the seat opposite him and Danny came over himself, Gaius drew over a stool so that all four of them could sit comfortably.

"That's not entirely fair, Merlin." Gaius added with a long suffering sigh. "The king has faced many trials over recent years, the least of which was the death of his father at the hand of sorcery. It would be remiss of him to completely trust strangers when it seems as though the people in his life will always betray him."

Danny nodded in understanding. In a way it was like that at home; many people were wary of strangers on the off chance that they ended up being ghosts. And he had faced his own share of betrayal, even if it was never long lasting. "That's fair." Danny commented. "And probably wise in the long run."

"Doesn't make it any easier for people like you though." Merlin said.

"Nah." Danny replied smiling softly. "All part of the fun. So long as he doesn't start taking it out on complete strangers I can respect that point of view."

"So what did you think of the princess?" Gwaine asked, leaning over his elbows.

Danny frowned, if he had to describe the young king it wouldn't be prideful or intimidating, for all the confidence that the young king presented. In fact, if he could only use one word it would be... "Courage" Danny replied. "He seemed very courageous. Like he wouldn't give up on anything, even if he had to take a more difficult path."

Danny paused when he noticed Merlin's round eyes, and the way that Gwaine had peaked his eyebrow in curiosity. "Really?" The red-cloaked knight asked. "That's not the impression I got off him when I first met him."

"It could be me transplanting my ideas of a good king onto him." Danny backpedalled. "I mean, I've never really met a good king before; the only kings I've seen have been corrupted by the power they wield. And um..."

"I think I understand." Merlin said, taking over for Danny's floundering. "Relative to that, Arthur would have seemed kind and courageous given that he didn't just eliminate a perceived threat."

"Yeah, that." Danny agreed. "I mean, one of the kings I've met just took whatever he wanted and kept the people under a ridiculously oppressive rule. They weren't allowed to progress at all, they were stuck with the same technology which they had when the king came into power. And the other king was viciously cruel. If someone opposed him he destroyed them completely, and sometimes it was even if they just annoyed him or even looked at him."

Danny bit his lip as he realised how fast he'd been speaking and came to a half embarrassed stop. The knight was looking at him strangely and Merlin just looked plain alarmed. "Mate, where in Albion do you come from to have seen two kings like that." Gwaine asked with raised eyebrows. "I don't even think Morgana got that bad, even if she did play games with us."

"I'm not from Albion." Danny replied sadly. "And my home... kingdom... isn't so bad. It's just like anywhere else; if people start abusing their power then everyone suffers. It doesn't matter if they're a king or an everyday person, they can still cause pain all the same." It was weird trying to conform his understanding to the world into a medieval framework, and he felt like he was tripping over himself when he said it.

"And that," Gwaine commented "is precisely what makes Arthur a good king to follow. He's got people like Merlin and me to keep him in check." The knight affectionately ruffled Merlin's head and Merlin fruitlessly attempted to dislodge the older man.

Eventually Gwaine let go of Merlin, and the blue eyed man sent a half-hearted glare at the knight. "Speaking of the princess." Gwaine commented looking at Merlin. "Shouldn't a certain manservant be making sure he doesn't trip over his own cloak wherever he's supposed to be next?"

"Drat." Merlin said, shaking his head. "He won't know who he's supposed to be talking to. Um Danny..."

"Don't worry mate." Gwaine commented. "I'll look out for the boy. Give him the full tour of the castle. Sound like a good idea, Danny?" Danny nodded appreciatively for the offer.

"Thank you Gwaine. I better..." Merlin began; a sincere gratefulness in his eye.

"Merlin!" The sound of King Arthur echoed through the chamber door, making all four of them jump slightly.

"I'd better go see what he wants." Merlin finished, and in a repeat of that morning he was out the door in an instant.

"They won't admit it, but anyone can see that they're actually good friends." The knight commented as the heavy wooden door swung closed. "Gaius, do you mind if I do take Danny on a tour? Merlin said he'd been helping you all day so..."

"As long as you show him where the well is that would be fine." The silver haired man replied. "I would like him back before late, so no visiting the tavern."

"Great." Gwaine said with a large smile, rising from the table himself and stepping out the door.

"Oh, and Danny," Gaius commented as he moved to follow Gwaine. "Do take care of yourself." Danny nodded, hearing the underlying warning in his voice; to be careful about what he said in case it revealed anything he shouldn't know. Danny shook his head. He'd enjoyed spending the morning with Gaius; the man was somehow both inquisitive and wise. Actually he was a lot like the 'Merlin' Danny would have expected based on the legend. But Danny didn't know of a Gaius in the stories of King Arthur and Merlin. Then again, his knowledge of the subject wasn't exactly the best.

Gwaine, however, he did know of. Sam had taken particular interest in the story of 'Gawain and the Green Knight'. She found it morbidly fascinating, but Danny admittedly hadn't been paying much attention to her then. All he knew was to be wary of knights dressed in green who offered to exchange a blow for a blow.

"So, Courage, huh?" Gwaine asked as he led Danny down the spiralling staircase. Danny just made a noncommittal noise in response. Beside him Gwaine nodded, a strange sparkle in his eye. "You know, I once met another person who called Arthur 'Courage'."

Danny half frowned, he recognised that tone from Jazz when she wanted to pry into something that wasn't her business. The problem was he was in a different time to his own. So he barely even knew the cards that were on the table. He felt like he was trying to play poker with Sam's tarot deck, so instead he tried to deflect the question.

"Well, I've met lots of people who just call themself by their biggest personality trait." Danny commented. "Most prominent of them were Pariah Dark and Fright Knight."

Gwaine paused at the bottom of the staircase. "I can't tell if you're being serious or if you're pulling my leg."

Danny just chose to just smile enigmatically in response. There was a short silence before Gwaine chose to break it. "Where do you really come from?" The brown haired man asked curiously.

"A long way away." Danny replied. "What's it like being a knight?" He asked, more for the sake of distraction than anything else.

"Entertaining." The brown eyed man replied. "In Camelot it's rare to have too much down-time. There's always some quest to be going on or some sorcerous rebellion that needs squashing. Never a dull moment. Why? Think you're knight material?"

Danny shook his head. "Considering I've held a sword maybe twice in my life, no." He replied lightly. Gwaine led the way out a different doorway and into what Danny could only guess was the main courtyard. It was busy, and the early afternoon sun was beaming down onto the soft grey stones.

"But you can fight." Gwaine pressed.

"What makes you say that?" Danny asked.

"The way you walk," The dark-haired knight replied. "It's guarded. And you place your feet to make very little noise as you move. And earlier when you stumbled it was controlled."

Danny frowned. He knew he walked more quietly than most people did, Sam had commented enough about it this last year. But his clumsiness was natural, or at least natural in his human form. "I hadn't noticed." Danny replied honestly. "I know a little about hands on defence, mostly out of necessity, but little more."

"Necessity?" Gwaine asked, but it was with light curiosity rather than defensive interrogation.

"When I was younger I wound up in a lot of fights." Danny explained. "Most of the people I was up against were bigger and stronger than me. Sorta came down to learn or suffer the consequences, often with an evil laugh tacked on."

Gwaine snickered, his eyes twinkling with mirth. "I think I like you, Danny." The man said, leading Danny through a large archway and out to an open green. Danny could see a number of people in red cloaks out on the field, and the clash of metal rang in the air. A number of weapon racks and shields sat idly by a number of tents, and there were a few of the red cloaked people milling aside or watching a particularly interesting fight.

Danny only noted two people specifically; one was tall with short blonde hair, almost in a military buzz cut. His chainmail was sleeveless, showing off huge muscles. But despite his bulk he moved with fluidity, easily matching his opponent. The dark skinned man was shorter, but held strong against the blows that the tall man dealt. Danny was awed with the skill and power behind each blow. While it was clear that this was just a training match, Danny could see the force that went behind each strike.

"Tall one's Sir Percival, the other is Sir Elyan." Gwaine said idly as he noticed Danny's awed gaze. Percival swung wide, whether by accident or to prepare another blow Danny wasn't sure, but Elyan took the opportunity and cut in, his sword hovering by Percival's neck in a killing position.

"Wow." Danny commented with wide eyes. It was one thing to fight ghosts, even to visit Dora's kingdom, which was populated by people from this sort of time frame. But ghosts were ghosts, and practically immortal. The fights they had were a different calibre than this. Danny was awed by the skill demonstrated by these two human men, and the way that they bowed as a team for their watching audience at the end.

"They are pretty good." Gwaine commented. "But they're better when they're not putting on a show. Isn't that right you two?" The last sentences were called just loudly enough to earn a half scowl from the two red-clad knights.

"Sod off Gwaine." Percival groused, but there was no heat in it.

"Why do you have Merlin with you?" Elyan asked, as the two knights walked over. But they both paused when they got closer.

Gwaine looked at Danny and laughed. "Elyan, Mate. This isn't Merlin."

"Nope, doesn't have the right ears." The taller man added as he and Elyan got close enough.

"And he doesn't have a neckerchief." Gwaine added, circling Danny almost predatorily.

Danny took a step back, thrown off kilter by the knights. His foot caught on something and before he knew it he was on the ground. "But he is just as clumsy as Merlin." Danny heard Elyan say. Gwaine however hummed thoughtfully, watching as Danny stood up and brushed himself down.

"I'm Danny." He introduced himself, trying to fight back his embarrassment. Clumsiness was a natural part of his life as Fenton, even if he couldn't figure out why his ghost form and human form were so different. Jazz had once tried to explain it as something to do with his own subconscious expectations of his human self manifesting physically in his human form. Or something. To be honest, the psychobabble had gone over his head.

Elyan and Percival nodded in unison, but Gwaine was staring at him inquisitively. "I'm curious." The dark haired knight said, his brown eyes sparkling mischievously. "See, it's not often that we get new blood through Camelot, and I'm interested to see how well someone from 'a long way away' handles some of Camelot's own."

Danny bit his lip in confusion, but wasn't given much time to think before the dark haired knight swung at him. Danny dodged the punch easily, compared to a ghost, even the fastest human moved at snail's pace. But Gwaine seemed to take it as a challenge. The knight grinned at him with friendly daring. Danny sent the tiniest of nods back, realising that Gwaine would probably dog him about it until he was proven right on whatever point the brown eyed knight thought he had to make.

The two of them moved out to wider ground, Gwaine beaming in anticipation all the way. An unspoken signal passed between them, and then Gwaine surged forward.

Arthur groaned tiredly as he rubbed his knuckles on his forehead. Despite the fact that he didn't have many pressing obligations today, he was quickly developing a headache. The Potters Guild meeting had finally finished, but only after a half hour of complaining about the quality of clay that was coming into Camelot. Fortunately the meeting had concluded with relative ease, after Arthur had promised to look into a better quality supply of clay for them.

Now he was back in his chambers, attempting to catch up with some of his work while Merlin pottered around cleaning the room. The younger man was humming absently, and it was only adding to his headache. Arthur sighed, giving up on the attempt to rub his temples into submission, and instead stared at the long list of taxes that he had to read over before the next council meeting. After five minutes staring at the long list of numbers he gave up and instead walked over to the mantle to pour himself a glass of wine.

"You know you really shouldn't be having that before your dinner with Gwen." Merlin commented, suddenly by his side with a water jug in his hands.

"Merlin." Arthur reprimanded, annoyance flaring in his eyes. "You do realise that this is entirely your fault."

Merlin, however grinned at him "And what exactly makes you say that, sire?" the impertinent man asked. And somehow he still managed to make the word 'sire' sound like an insult.

"Hmm." Arthur hummed as though he was legitimately thinking of a reason why. "Let's see. First of all you completely fail to do anything useful during training, then you tell me you've brought a complete stranger into the castle, and now you won't stop making that infernal humming noise and let me think."

Merlin raised an eyebrow. "At training I did everything you asked of me, so if I wasn't 'useful' it's your fault for not asking. And you know I always hum when I work, so I hardly see how that makes any difference to anything. As for Danny, you do realise that every day hundreds of people come into and out of the citadel, so it shouldn't matter that I brought one more in."

Arthur frowned, looking down into the red liquid of his cup. "It's not every day that you bring a warrior into Camelot Merlin." He murmured.

"Danny's not a warrior." Merlin scoffed.

"That is precisely the problem." Arthur replied, turning to look his manservant in the eyes. "He doesn't look like it, but his movements betray him. It's in his eyes too, as well as something else that I can't quite place." Arthur frowned reflectively. It wasn't precisely that he didn't trust the boy; he had been perfectly candid during their brief meeting. And he had convinced Arthur that he genuinely was lost and a very good distance from home.

The problem was that he could easily see that the boy was more than met the eye. He could understand that Merlin wouldn't see it, but Arthur had been trained as a warrior since birth. Arthur could see battle honed reflexes in the way the boy moved, but at the same time there was an incongruent clumsiness that rivalled that of Merlin. He had always been taught to get a quick read on his opponents, to predict their every movement and how to best counter it. But he couldn't do that for this boy, and it unsettled him.

"He's lost." Merlin pointed out, rather unhelpfully.

"I am well aware of that, Merlin." Arthur replied.

"No." The dark haired man replied reflectively. "I think it's more than that. Do you remember all that time ago when you came to Ealdor to deal with Kanan?" Arthur simply nodded. "You asked me why I left Ealdor and I said I just didn't fit in anymore." The man sighed, walking away from Arthur and moving to the window.

"You said you wanted to find somewhere you did." Arthur finished, recalling that night. That was the first time he'd seen a different side of Merlin. He'd always known that Merlin was brave but foolish, but seeing him there in that small village had brought home how much strength the dark haired man really had. And seeing the harsh life those people led had helped him see how amazing Merlin could be, even if it had turned out that Merlin's oldest friend was really a sorcerer.

"I think Danny's like that." Merlin murmured. "I get the feeling that he's searching for somewhere he fits in nearly as much as I was back then."

Arthur sighed, looking at the slight slump in his manservant's shoulders. He hadn't understood what had led Merlin to be so at odds with the people of Ealdor that he'd felt he needed to leave, nor could Arthur ever figure out how Merlin had managed to fit in so seamlessly here. But now he couldn't picture Camelot without Merlin. Sighing heavily Arthur came to stand behind his friend.

"Then it looks like you have yourself a ward." Arthur said, laying a hand on the man's shoulder. But seeing the telltale signs of Merlin's getting excited he flattened his tone. "Perhaps this way your chores will actually be finished on time, and I'm sure Gaius wouldn't mind the occasional assistance." Arthur smiled as Merlin bristled briefly before breaking into a wide grin. With a sigh (that no doubt Merlin would assume was fondness) Arthur suggested that they go find the boy and tell him both of the news and his duties.

"That's fine. I left him with Gwaine." Merlin replied.

"You left him with Gwaine?" Arthur repeated, unable to think of a suitable reprimand he just settled for an exasperated "Merlin!" before heading out the door. Arthur and Merlin then traced their way to the physician's chambers, hoping to catch the two before Gwaine got Daniel into too much trouble. However on arrival in the herb-scented room they found that Gwaine had elected to take the boy on a tour of the castle. Thus Arthur re-angled himself, choosing the most direct path towards the Rising Sun. Given Gwaine's natural tendencies it seemed a likely stop on his 'tour'.

Arthur led the way down the spiralling staircase, but when he got to the main courtyard he paused, hearing a commotion echoing from the training grounds. Exchanging a glance with Merlin he once more changed direction and stalked out the archway and through to the open grounds where he had left his knights training earlier in the afternoon. What he did not expect was a small audience of knights and soldiers staring out at the training field.

Being the king that he was, Arthur quickly carved a path through the knights to come up to the fence that marked the edge of the training grounds. Gwaine was casually leaning over the fence, chewing idly on an apple which Arthur had no idea where the man had pulled it out from. The dark haired knight was studying the field intensely, and Arthur followed his gaze. His eyes widened as he realised that Percival was fighting against a much smaller opponent, but it was only when the two moved that Arthur saw that it was the boy, Daniel, who was fighting against Camelot's largest knight.

"Impressive, isn't he." Gwaine commented, not moving his gaze from the fight. And he was right. Both of them held only wooden sticks, but the way that they moved it was clear that Percival was not going easy on the younger boy. Yet despite the intensity of the blows, Daniel was able to deflect each one and move around the larger man with ease.

"It would seem so." Arthur replied, careful not to reveal his surprise.

"What I find most interesting," Gwaine mused aloud after a minute "Is his footwork. He's light on his feet, but he stays on the balls of his toes. It almost looks like he's ready to jump into the air." Arthur frowned, watching the boy's movements more critically. Gwaine was right; it looked as though somehow it was effortful to stay on the ground. But that didn't make sense; every good warrior knew that they needed to use the ground to their full advantage.

Suddenly a loud crack snapped across the training grounds, and Daniel's stick snapped cleanly in half. Arthur smiled, despite Daniel's obvious skill it was certain that Percival would win now. However Arthur was further surprised as the dark haired boy ducked under Percival's follow up attack and was able to press his back tightly against the larger man's chest, Percival's stick pulled out of his hands as he swung. A moment later the tables had turned and Percival tripped over the stick as it was swept beneath his feet. The larger man toppled, overbalanced, and Arthur stared as the boy held the stick precisely above the man's chest.

It was impressive. Very impressive. The boy had gone from a sure loss to victory in all of three seconds, even when his own 'weapon' had been destroyed. Arthur pressed his lips together as he watched the boy help Percival back up. Beside him Gwaine was grinning triumphantly, as though he had just proven some huge point. "I knew it." The brown eyed man smirked as he tossed the apple core over his shoulder.

"What did you know?" Merlin asked curiously from behind Arthur, almost making the young king jump.

"That he could fight." Gwaine replied. "Last night when you introduced us I did the typical threat evaluation that the princess here is so fond of. But I could have sworn that he did the same for me. So I wanted to see how good he actually was."

"And was played with for nearly twenty minutes before Danny got bored and ended the fight." Elyan commented as he appeared on Gwaine's far side.

"I could've taken him." Gwaine defended.

"Anyway, then Percival thought he might give the boy a workout since clearly Gwaine couldn't handle it." Elyan continued as though Gwaine hadn't said anything. Arthur smiled inwardly at the dynamics of his knights. Although it was surprising that Daniel had been able to fight with Gwaine for so long. Gwaine was renowned for his employment of many different battle techniques, so it usually didn't take too long before the man was able to pull a trick that nobody had seen before and thus earn the sway of the fight.

"He's a fierce little bugger." Gwaine surrendered. "Clever too. He's got a good amount of strength to him, but he's better about redirecting physical attacks."

"Maybe he'll be able to teach Merlin a thing or two." Arthur commented, sending a teasing grin at his dark haired servant. Before the man got a chance to reply however Daniel and Percival reached them. There was a hint of a smile in the larger man's eyes, and Arthur got the distinct impression that Daniel was going to fall prey to a prank in return for his victory. Sure enough, as soon as the boy stopped he was caught in a headlock beneath Percival's no doubt sweaty armpit. The boy struggled for a minute as the larger man ruffled the boy's hair with a knuckled fist before releasing him, and the disgruntled look in Daniel's blue eyes made everyone laugh.

The boy shook his head in a movement that reminded Arthur of a younger Merlin before the boy took note that Arthur and Merlin had appeared. He smiled sheepishly at Merlin before nodding vaguely deferentially towards Arthur. It was interesting to watch; the warriors grace was still there, but it was reserved. Probably only a trained fighter could see it beneath the surface. On the outside he looked like a clumsy shy child, no doubt from a small poor village.

"Daniel." Arthur acknowledged, meeting the boy's eyes for a moment before turning to face Gwaine. "Sir Gwaine, given what we have just seen, what is your opinion of young Daniel?"

Gwaine looked at Arthur, evaluating him carefully before he continued. "I do not believe he bears any ill will to Camelot or its people." The knight said eloquently. "And he could prove an asset to have around, if simply because he is able to employ different techniques than we do."

"Good." Arthur replied with a knowing smile. He turned his "I am glad you think that because Merlin here has accepted to take Daniel on as a ward."

Arthur inwardly smirked as he watched the reactions to this statement. Daniel's eyes widened and glittered somewhere between confusion and gratitude. From his left side he felt Merlin stiffen; obviously the young man had not thought Arthur was being entirely serious in his earlier declaration. Elyan and Percival each had similar smiles, edged with cautious kindness. Gwaine however grinned, stepping over to the boy and tousling his hair.

"Well then I guess I can officially say welcome to Camelot, Danny." The knight declared brightly, his brown eyes sparkling mirthfully. "Now, which way to the tavern so we can celebrate?" He asked, beaming, and Arthur couldn't help but join in as Merlin and the knights laughed.

AN; Sorry for not doing the actual interaction between Danny and Arthur, but it was pretty much gonna be a repeat of what has already happened. This way you get the hint of suspicious Gwaine.

I hope you enjoyed; I had fun writing this. And to everyone familiar with Merlin the series, I figure Danny, being a creature of the Old Religion, would innately know names like 'Courage' for Arthur.

Translation;
Hātian Brond – Heating Fire

Fare thee well,

Bluerose