Wowzas- over 50 reviews in total. Thank you so much guys. That's an average of about 10 reviews per chapter! I'm so happy! (Although, being the greedy creature I am, I really wouldn't hold it against you if ever more of you chose to review :P)

Alright, here we go XD

Disclaimer: I don't own Merlin

Chapter 6

Three days after Arthur and his group had returned from their patrol, the Prince was finally allowed out of his room. For a council meeting. As he walked in to the council chambers he went straight to his seat, barely even sparing his father a single glance except for the customary nod expected of him.

The meeting originally seemed as though it would pass without incident. They started off by discussing the collection of taxes from the outlying villages, and once that was resolved talk finally turned to the matter of the kingdom's border situation. For the first time during the entire meeting, Uther finally spoke to his son.

"Arthur," he inquired, "you said you had encountered a group of Alined's men the other day."

Arthur faced his father determinedly, knowing that he had to push his personal feelings aside for now if he was going to get Uther to listen to him. "I did. We were about a league east of the village of Fairley when we encountered the enemy. Our scouts counted thirty-five men- at least five of them Knights. We were able to emerge victorious, but lost eleven men in the process."

"And what would you suggest?"

"Well, as far as I am aware, Alined's men have been seen entering our borders systematically over the course of the past three months. We have also received reports of similar circumstances regarding Cenred's men, together with Sewell's and even Bayard's. I would suggest sending emissaries to each country, as well as strengthening our own border defences."

Uther nodded. "I shall arrange for messengers to be sent out within the week. I trust I can leave the issue of border patrols to you?"

"Of course father. If you'll just allow me to cut down the number of men sent out for the searches, then I can-"

"No."

Arthur froze, not quite able to believe what he was hearing. "No?"

"No. I cannot allow the reduction of men in the searches. There are more than enough Knights left in the city each time. It should not prove difficult to supplement the border patrols we already have."

"But father," Arthur replied, trying hard to remain calm, "if we do that then the city won't be well enough protected."

"I will not give up on finding Morgana!" Uther was practically yelling now, and Arthur was finding it difficult not to follow suit.

"No-one is telling you to give up on Morgana, but the entire Kingdom is at stake here. We cannot allow the kingdom to fall just because-"

"I have said no Arthur. You will arrange the patrols with the men you have left."

"But-"

"I have given my final word!"

Nobody spoke for several moments after that, although there were a few council members who shifted uncomfortably in their chairs. Arthur would have liked to think that, if it weren't for the diminished relationship he now had with his father, Uther would have heeded his request. Unfortunately, he knew it wasn't so. The truth was, however much Uther cared about his kingdom, he cared about Morgana more. There would be no convincing him.

Eventually, Arthur managed to force out a brief sentence.

"As you wish, sire."

It was hard to pay attention to the rest of the meeting. Probably the only reason he managed to keep calm was by focusing on the fact that later on he would be joining the Knights for training later on for the first time since before the patrol. Practising on his own in his chambers would only take him so far. He needed real-life experience if he ever truly wanted to improve.

Until then, he decided, he would simply keep himself going with the knowledge that he would be out of sight of his father in just an hour or two.

'Now this,' thought Arthur, as he strolled out on to the training field, 'this is what I needed.' He looked contentedly around the field, sword in hand, and breathed in deeply. His frustration was always knocked down a couple of notches whenever he came out here, even with Bennett standing in the spot which would usually have belonged to Merlin. He was a warrior- there was just something about being on a training field which would always be able to calm him down.

He split most of the men in to pairs, and spent the next half hour studying their movements, yelling out instructions where needed. For some reason, their overall ability seemed to have diminished dramatically since the last time he had seen them. He had noticed it the past couple of days whilst watching from his window, but had secretly been hoping that he had just been imagining it. Because if the Knights were deteriorating at this rate, then if it came to a battle then he wasn't too sure about Camelot's chances- especially with four different Kingdoms against them.

After about half an hour, he allowed the men to take a ten minute break, then called four of the better men- Vidor, Benedict, Kennard and Wade- to follow him. It was about time he got to let out some steam of his own.

He had the men surround him, one at each point of the compass.

"Alright- you know the drill. On my count, I want you to come at me as you would in a real battle. No holding back. See how long you can hold me back. Are you ready?" Four helmets went on, followed by four nods. Arthur put on his own headgear, lowering himself down in to position. He grinned confidently. "Bring it on, boys."

Wade was the first to come at him- the man had always been too quick to judge on the battlefield. Arthur stepped smoothly to the side, slamming the hint of his sword in to Wade's stomach, knocking the air out of him. Wade was on the floor in seconds, fighting for breath.

Next was Benedict, with Kennard following half a beat behind. This one was going to prove slightly more difficult- Benedict was a highly skilled and vicious fighter, and Arthur had long ago noticed Kennard's agile mind and swift feet when the younger man was in battle. Benedict would keep the Prince busy, and Kennard was an expert at spotting weak spots- weak spots he exploited with no hesitation.

Arthur parried a blow from Benedict, his sword shaking slightly under the impact. He tried to keep an eye on Kennard as the young Knight circled around behind him, possibly searching for a blind spot. Vidor, meanwhile, was still hopping from foot to foot, searching for a good point to join in.

A surge of exhilaration rushed through Arthur's body. This was just what he had been needing for weeks now- a trial without needing to run in to an enemy. A test of his abilities. He could feel his grin widening, thoughts of Merlin pushed to the back of his mind until the fight was over. He could win this. He just needed to stay focused.

A flash of reflected light to his left had him ducking just in time to see Kennard's sword swinging directly towards where his shoulder had been seconds before. He rolled to the side, leaping up so that all three of his opponents were in his view. He glanced between the three, searching for the most effective weak spot.

There!

Just as Benedict rushed forward once again, Arthur spun out of the way of the other Knight's sword. He thrust his fist up as hard as he could towards the now unprotected chin, sending his opponent sprawling on to his back, sword flying from his grip. Two down, two to go.

Kennard had stopped where he was, in the process of moving off to Arthur's left. He had Vidor beside him now. Both men were quick, and Arthur had never known Kennard to make a stupid mistake. He was definitely the biggest threat here.

Vidor, however, was a different matter. He had been getting more rash lately, as had all the other Knights (apart from Kennard, it seemed). And on top of that, the short-haired Knight had a strange light in his eyes. Almost dangerous. It was a look Arthur had never seen before in training, but only in the heat of battle. And whatever the reason behind it, the look sent an immediate warning to his brain. He tensed, about to call the fight off before Vidor did something he would regret later.

Until Vidor rushed towards him, face twisted in to an ugly snarl.

Arthur parried the blow directed his way. Somewhere in the corner of his mind he registered the shock on Kennard's face, though it quickly turned in to comprehension. The Prince logged that away, far too focused on the fact that Vidor was raining down blow after blow to think about whatever it was Kennard had just concluded.

Vidor seemed practically possessed now- nothing like the jovial young man who usually passed his time cracking (extremely bad) jokes. And the madder he got, the less mistakes he seemed to be making. As shocked as the Prince was by his Knight's change in personality, it was no surprise that he was being forced back.

Forcing himself to calm down, Arthur readied himself for his counter attack. Hopefully it would end with Vidor either unconscious or restrained. He tried not to think of the worst case scenario.

Suddenly, he felt a movement beneath his feet. If he'd had the time, he would have cursed- it was Benedict's sword. He stumbled, forcing himself to prepare to roll away. He saw Kennard off to one side, eyes searching wildly for the best moment to intervene with the least level of injury to either party. Then, just as Vidor's sword fell one final time, Kennard just stopped, stepping back slightly, his expression certain.

Arthur would have yelled, if he weren't so focused on the sword flying towards him.

He remembered the protective tattoo less than a second before the shield blasted Vidor through the air.

Deep beneath the castle, a pair of normally blue eyes snapped open, flaring gold.

Bam!