Alaia Skyhawk: Here we are, part one of episode 2. I hope you like some of the lines I've added, hehehe XD
Disclaimer: I don't own Merlin.
Music:
(Added: As it has been requested, I've posted what "Episode" in Whom History Won't Remember corresponds to this episode in this fic)
Whom History Won't Remember Episode: Twenty Years
~(-)~
Chapter 7: Valiant ~Part 1~
This was already turning out as bad as he'd expected, and so far all that had happened was he'd been loaded with armour.
Merlin struggled to keep up with Arthur, the prince striding ahead of him and leading him to a grassy area outside the castle walls. Seems he wanted to be away from the other knights while he practised... Either because he expected Merlin to be embarrassingly bad as a sparing partner, because he'd be able to beat the crap out of him more without someone maybe frowning on it... or both of the above.
Reaching that area, the sun just starting to creep towards the top of the castle ramparts, had he known Merlin's thoughts, Arthur could have told him it was neither. Yes, he was frustrated at being embarrassed in front of Sir Tarven, namely because of the horse's actions more than the servant's impertinent remark about hair colour. But what was more on his mind still was the fact he still hadn't found out why he even cared if Merlin made fun of him.
"Now, draw your sword and sheath it again... I need to get an idea of just how easy I need to go on you."
He turned to face Merlin, who had his helmet tucked under his shield arm and looked liked he'd gained more than a few pounds in weight due to all the padding he was wearing. Stood there in three layers of quilted tunics, the outermost of which was a dark green, the dull colour only seemed to emphasise how pale he looked above the steel of the hauberk he wore. It was the only armour he wore other than a pair of chainmail gloves, seeing as trying to get the set of arm and shoulder guards normally attached to it over the padding would have proven impossible.
Arthur's thoughts became gradually more bemused, as Merlin did indeed draw his sword... rather badly... and then proceeded to stiffly manoeuvre the tip back to the sheath, wedge it in, and let gravity send it the rest of the way. The prince admitted the padding must be cumbersome, but even he knew it shouldn't have been that awkward.
He sighed, shaking his head.
"Ready?"
Merlin regarded him uncomfortably.
"Would it make any difference if I said no?"
Arthur turned his back, idly drawing and swinging his sword. Well, no matter how bad Merlin was at this, it was still a chance to get rid of some of that frustration.
"Not really." He turned back to see Merlin had put his helmet on, waiting for him to draw his sword again before darting forward and calling out where he'd hit as he struck. "Body, shield, body, shield, shield, body, head!"
"Head? Oww!"
Merlin's yelp merged with the ringing sound of his helmet being hit, Arthur circling him and tapping him on the rear with the flat of his sword.
"Come on, Merlin, you're not even trying!"
"I am!"
Arthur was starting to smirk.
"Then what happened to your reflexes? At the market the other day you were actually something of a moderate challenge. But this, this is pathetic."
Merlin turned to face him, his voice revealing the frown that was hidden by his helmet.
"At the market I wasn't weighed down by all this padding and metal!"
Arthur laughed.
"Then it just goes to show something that wearing armour doesn't slow me down. Try again... To the left, right, left, right, head!" Another clang and a yelp, as the prince's sword struck home. He frowned. "Come on, Merlin. I've got a tournament to win."
"Can we stop now?"
Arthur didn't answer, instead launching into another pattern of strikes, driving Merlin backwards before ending it with three hits to the helmet.
Merlin staggered, slowly toppling over backwards to fall flat on the ground, the piece of abused headgear rolling free as he landed.
"...Oww..."
Arthur walked over, before stopping and staring down at him.
"You're braver than you look. Most servants collapse after the first blow."
Panting from effort, Merlin looked up from where he lay.
"Is it over?"
Arthur's smirk returned, as he pulled his mace from his belt and swung it idly over his head.
"That was just a warm up... How's your mace-work coming along?"
"...You have got to be kidding me."
~(-)~
Gaius looked up at the door of his chambers opened, Merlin stumbling in and dropping a shield and helmet as he went. Arthur had 'kindly' unfastened the hauberk for him before sending him off, but it only made the warlock look even more frazzled.
The physician chuckled, starting to smile.
"So how was your first sparring session with Arthur? Did it go well?"
Merlin put a hand to his head, still looking rather dazed.
"Do you hear clanging?" He stumbled a bit further, wincing as he lifted off the hauberk and set it on the table, then proceeding to drag three layers of padding up over his head. "If I never have to do that again, it will be too soon."
Gaius raised an eyebrow.
"That bad?"
Now down to his shirt, Merlin slumped down onto a bench at the nearby table and winced when Gaius set to work getting the stiffness out of his ward's shoulders.
"It was horrible! And I still have to learn all that tournament etiquette stuff by morning."
He focused his eyes on the book he'd left on this table earlier, murmuring an incantation and causing it to slide over and open itself to the correct page.
Gaius then clipped him around the back of the head.
"Oi! What have I told you about using magic like this?"
Merlin turned in his seat to look at him, wincing from the hit.
"If I could actually feel my arms I'd pick up the book myself!"
The physician was frowning.
"Never mind you arms, what would I do if you got caught?"
"What would you do?"
The stared at each other for several seconds, before Gaius sighed and resumed massaging Merlin's shoulders and arms.
"Well you just make sure it doesn't happen. For both our sakes."
That line was punctuated by a yelp from Merlin, when Gaius put pressure on a particularly sore spot. He didn't look too impressed.
"I save Arthur from being killed and I end up as his servant. How is that fair?"
Gaius gave him a long look.
"I'm not sure being fair comes into it. You never know, it might be fun."
"You think mucking out Arthur's horses is fun? Or picking up the mess he leaves in his chamber every morning? Or being his sparring partner, or rather punching bag?" Merlin's expression was one of almost disbelief. "You should see my list of duties. All the things I'll end up having to do as well as all the regular things. Did you know that if Arthur goes to the courtyard to greet an arriving guest, I have to carry their bags even if they have a servant with them? I got away with it today because I had to take that horse to Arthur's stable."
Gaius paused, frowning.
"What horse?"
Merlin snorted, at least now a little amused.
"From Lord Hargren of Ulwin. His son, Sir Tarven, brought it with him. It's for me to use, or rather 'Prince Arthur's manservant'. Merik says he must have sent it because it acts up, like how it tried to bite both him and Arthur. It's just a fluke that it seems to like me, because apparently Hargren has his horses trained to kick people's heads off." He groaned. "And what's the bets that since it's my horse, I'll have to do all the taking care of it."
Gaius chuckled.
"That's the job of the stablehands, the most you'll have to do it muck out after it now and then, which if it's in Arthur's stable you'd have to do anyway. Besides, we all have duties, even Arthur."
Merlin rolled his eyes.
"It must be so tough for him... With all the girls, and the glory."
"Well he is a future king. People expect so much from him. He's under a lot of pressure.
Merlin yelped as Gaius bore down on his shoulder, making the joint creak from the force.
"That makes two of us."
Gaius let go of his shoulder, sighing before pointing to the book.
"You'd better get that read. Magic won't help you to not make a complete fool of yourself tomorrow."
He walked away, leaving Merlin to read the book. He was right about that, especially if Arthur decided to be a prat.
~(-)~
The town was bustling the next morning, Merlin carrying Arthur's armour back to the castle after a crash course in how to put it on given courtesy of Gwen. He'd been surprised when Gaius suggested going to see her, after all why would a lady's maid know about armour. But, as it turned out, Gwen was the daughter of Camelot's main blacksmith, and knew all too well about that topic.
Her explanations and advice still running through his head, Merlin hurried to tent marked with Camelot's crest. Most of the knights had to share tents to prepare in, due to the small scale of this particular tournament. The only one sharing Arthur's tent with him was Sir Tarven, and both of them arrived together with Tarven's servant in tow.
Arthur stopped beside the table where Merlin had placed the scrambled heap of armour, pointedly not saying a word although his expression of irritation spoke volumes... Starting with a frown that said 'start putting that on me, NOW'.
Merlin scrambled to obey, trying to remember the exact order Gwen had told him. Meanwhile Tarven's servant had also started preparing his master for battle... and was quite frankly doing a far better job of it.
Within three minutes, Sir Tarven and the red-headed halfwit were done and walking towards where they other knights waited, Arthur watching them go before frowning at Merlin in disgust.
"Congratulations... You've just officially taken longer to do this than a man with the intelligence of a cabbage. You do realise the tournament starts today?"
Merlin fumbled to finish fastening the wrist guard on Arthur's right arm, grimacing a little as he tried to act cheerful.
"Yes, Sire." That done, he began checking that he'd fastened the hauberk properly, glancing towards the arena as he did so. "Are you nervous?"
"I don't get nervous."
Arthur's reply had come after a moment's hesitation, for all that it had been delivered flatly. Merlin didn't catch the hint.
"Really? I thought all people got nervou..."
"Will you shut up!"
Merlin flinched at Arthur's angry tone, scrambling to do the last few things like fastening Arthur's cloak on, handing him his helmet... oh, and forgetting to hand him his sword until reminded as if it should have been obvious... which admittedly it should have been.
Arthur stalked away, Merlin watching him go slightly bemused.
"I guess that went well..."
He followed, watching as Arthur joined the rest of the knights in formation ready to march through one of the side-gates of the castle grounds to where the arena was set up just outside the walls. The stands around it were packed with nobles and commoners alike, although the nobles got the best seats of course. In a personal seating area at the centre of that span of tiers, a throne waited within it for the king. As for Uther himself, he strode across the arena floor to stand before the now assembled knights, his voice silencing the crowds almost instantly.
"Knights of the realm, it's a great honour to welcome you to the tournament at Camelot. Over the next three days, you will come to put your bravery to the test. Your skills as warriors. And of course, to challenge the reigning champion... my son, Prince Arthur. Only one can have the honour of being crowned champion, and he will receive a prize of one thousand gold pieces. It is in combat that we learn a knight's true nature, whether he is indeed a warrior... or a coward." He raised his arm, his voice raised with it. "Let the tournament begin!"
The crowd erupted into cheers once again, Uther moving to take his seat in the stands while Arthur and one other knight stayed in the arena, but not before he paused by his son and murmured something to him. Arthur's frown had deepened slightly after that, before cloaks were passed to the tournament stewards, shields accepted in return, and he donned his helmet. He then took up a waiting stance, sword at the ready for the signal for the first match to begin.
The signal itself wasn't a signal, but instead some unspoken word between him and his opponent that told each other they were ready. Sword clashed while Merlin watched, and before he even realised it he began to cheer Arthur on, until the prince delivered a blow with his elbow right into the other knight's helmet-covered face.
The other knight went down, Arthur walking victorious from the ring while Sir Tarven and another knight took their places. The knight from Ulwin made similarly quick work of his opponent, before he removed his helmet and lifted his head high as if daring those who called him weak behind his back to do so now. He gave a nod to Arthur as he left the ring, acknowledging that with the both of them fighting each other next, he already knew who would win... There was no shame in losing to the reigning champion. He'd shown his strength once, he'd show it again, and that would be enough.
Merlin continued to watch from his place behind the wall by the gates, watching as fourteen more bouts took place. Sixteen competitors were left, and after the next string of matches that would be reduced to the eight who would compete in the second day.
Tarven glanced at Arthur, when the time came for both of them to return to the ring.
"If you think I'm going to let you have this victory easily, you are mistaken, Sire. Knowing you are the better of the two of us only makes me seek to strive even more to best you."
Arthur let out a single laugh, smiling slightly.
"I'd expect nothing less from the son of Lord Hargren."
They strode out into the arena, facing one another and remaining utterly still with swords at the ready. They remained motionless for so long that the crowd actually fell silent in anticipation, waiting for when the knight from Ulwin signalled to the Prince of Camelot with the smallest of nods. Ulwin versus Camelot, the stewardship that guarded the border with Cenrid's kingdom, up against the kingdom it served and was a part of... They were going to give the people here a fight to inspire more talk than even the final itself.
They almost seemed to explode from their positions, swords clashing with more speed than in any fight during the first sets. One moment Arthur would drive Tarven back, and the next the roles would be reversed, some of the spectators rising to their feet in reaction each time it seemed one of them might gain the upper hand.
But true to the expectations and knowledge of both men, there came a moment when Tarven's guard lay open for a moment too long. Arthur slid his sword into that gap, twisting it around Tarven's blade and wrenching it from his hand.
The crowd roared their approval, as Tarven bowed to the prince in respect for his victory. Arthur picked up and handed his sword back to him, before they both walked out of the ring. Arthur may technically be the winner of the fight, but both had been victors. Tarven had only competed to prove that he was no pampered show-piece knight, and if the sweat dripping from Arthur's forehead was any indication, he'd certainly done that.
They returned to the tent they shared, once against Tarven's half-wit servant doing a far faster job than the inexperienced Merlin. The warlock had only gotten as far as removing the voiders and the hauberk when a certain knight he'd noted came back to the preparation area... clearly a victor and one of the final eight.
Knight Valiant of the Western Isles, and he had the kind of manner to him that made Merlin think that snakes were a rather apt symbol for him. After all, the man had three of them entwined on his shield as his crest.
He walked over towards the four of them, nodding to Arthur.
"May I offer my congratulations on your victories today."
Arthur paused for the slightest moment before responding, seemingly picking up on the unpleasant attitude himself.
"Likewise."
Valiant nodded again, before walking away.
"I'll see you at the reception this evening."
As soon as he was gone, Merlin muttered under his breath.
"...Creep."
Arthur actually let out an amused snort of amusement, before realising he'd just agreed with his much-disliked manservant. Almost as if to correct himself, he then reeled off everything he wanted Merlin to do before tomorrow even as he walked away and left him there.
"I won't need my meal bringing tonight, but for tomorrow I need you to get my shield repaired, my tunic washed, clean my boots, sharpen my sword, and polish all my armour."
Merlin gaped at him in disbelief, before starting to mutter under his breath in disgust. He picked up all the armour, the sword, and the shield and started to trudge into the castle, unaware that Tarven and his servant were both looking at him.
Tarven turned his head slightly towards the man beside him, murmuring to the red-head.
"Don't bother getting my gear repaired just yet, Fyren. Leave it until tomorrow. Watch him during the rest of our stay, but leave him be when he returns to Gaius' chambers. We don't want to make him suspicious. Tell me if you see him do anything strange."
Fyren dropped his dullard façade for a moment, smiling slyly before pasting it back in place when he set off to do as instructed.
"As you wish, My Lord."
~(-)~
"So, Sir Tarven, how fares your father?"
The four of them were seated at the table in the council chambers, dining together for the first time since the man in question had received his knighthood. As much as he'd have preferred to dine in a less formal setting than this after the tedium of the reception in the Great Hall, Tarven let no sign of that desire show in his face or expression as he replied.
He set down his goblet, regarding his king with a slight smile.
"He fares well, Sire. Cenrid has done little by way of raids this season, and it has allowed us to better prepare defences for those areas he seems fond of trying to hit the hardest. He is a coward, who sends those brigands he calls soldiers right into the teeth of the border defences. If he had bothered to send en mass all those he has sent in scattered mobs over the years, he'd have broken through long ago. As it is, it seems he only seeks to irritate us."
Arthur raised his eyebrows, looking across the table to where Tarven had Morgana's usual seat. She'd been moved down a place, although she didn't appear bothered. In fact she appeared to be trying not to look bored.
"He knows that Camelot's walls are too strong for his forces to breech, so you may well be right. Let him waste his men in the borderlands, it means less of them later if he decides to be serious for once."
Uther frowned at his son, his voice a little stern.
"Not that we would wish that. A senseless war means the senseless deaths of our soldiers and knights, and it would be foolish to waste either of them. So long as we remain strong, steadfast, we remain a force to be reckoned with and respected." He looked again to Tarven. "Although, from the reports your father sends me, it seems much of our current reputation is down to you. Your command of the Ulwin Garrison has been exemplary."
Tarven bowed his head respectfully.
"You honour me with your praise, Sire."
Uther smiled.
"It is praise well deserved."
Arthur listened as his father and Tarven continued to discuss the recent events within the Ulwin Stewardship, starting to agree with Morgana's boredom. He and Tarven had been rivals of a sort ever since they'd first been introduced to each other twelve years previous, although things were a lot more amenable between them now than they were back then.
Seven and nine-year-olds don't tend to understand diplomacy much, even if both of them had known better than to openly express dislike of each other.
He sat through the remainder of the meal, hoping tomorrow's feast would be more interesting. At the very least he'd have other people to talk to... In fact right now he was almost, almost missing having his new manservant close by... As irritating as Merlin was, it was impossible to be bored while listening to him prattling.
~(-)~
Alaia Skyhawk: Hehehehe, poor Arthur.
By the way, if you're wondering why I cut Merlin repairing the shield and washing Arthur's tunic, in a real castle they would have had specialists to do the shield and armour repairs, and a group of maids to do the laundry. Individual servants doing those tasks for their masters would be inefficient and waste a lot of time. So I tweaked things to make them more realistic and fit with how I've done the staff setup in Motives :)