For one so flashily dressed, Sir Bertilak kept to himself for the rest of the evening. The kitchen staff brought him some dinner, which he sat and consumed by himself, and then he stood by the wall with his arms crossed and watched everyone else mingling, laughing, and dancing. A couple of people tried to draw him into conversation, but he returned monosyllabic answers, and they soon desisted. Even Lady Ettarda, the biggest gossip and flirt in Camelot, couldn't get more than a couple of words out of him. Merlin noticed that Bertilak was scrutinizing the other knights and the two kings, Arthur in particular.

"It worries me," he told Gaius that night. Gwaine had walked Anna home after the feast, and they were alone in the surgery. "It looked like he was sizing Arthur up."

"Well, Arthur is fighting in the tournament, and he is justly reputed to be one of the greatest swordsmen in the kingdoms," Gaius pointed out.

"He also has a track record of being the number one most targeted individual at tournaments," Merlin said sourly. "I'm constantly amazed I've managed to keep him out of trouble thus far."

"We don't know that Sir Bertilak means Arthur any particular harm," Gaius repeated patiently. "Just—go to bed, Merlin."

But Merlin's fears were not to be long assuaged. "He's a mercenary," Anna announced the next morning when Bertilak was mentioned.

"What?"

"Gwaine said he heard of Sir Bertilak on his travels. The word is he's a sword-for-hire—will do any job, as long as the price is right. There are rumors that his axe is enchanted—that while he holds it, no blade can harm him." She looked at Merlin's worried face. "You don't think that's true, do you?"

Merlin shook his head. "I don't know." He glanced out the window. "But I know that no magic can protect me if I'm not in Arthur's chamber on time!" He headed toward the door.

"Should I ask Gwaine to keep an eye out?"

Merlin frowned. "Better not," he said at last, his hand on the door. "If Bertilak is using magic, it may take magic to defeat him." Anna nodded. "Just—keep your eyes peeled. See if you can find any evidence of magic."

000

But in the end it was Merlin himself who found the evidence. Arthur had hauled him down to the practice grounds with him to polish his armor while Arthur took part in sparring practice with the visiting knights. Sir Bertilak was there, and behaving very differently than he had the night before. He was joking with the other knights, calling friendly taunts at his opponents. He was wearing chainmail this time, though still with his gemmed belt, his green sash, his gold spurs, and his magnificent axe.

As Merlin polished Arthur's helmet, he watched Bertilak sparring with an inexperienced young knight from Gaheris's kingdom. "Bring your blade up a little higher," he advised, the iron of the axe haft clanking against the young man's sword. "That's better."

"Watch your feet," Leon called from behind him.

"Huh?" the young man said, slewing around to see him even as Bertilak closed in. Just then, the young knight tripped over a hillock and went down, bringing down his opponent on top of him. The young man's sword blade was still up, and Bertilak's ribs came right down on its point.

"MERLIN!" Leon shouted and raced over, pulling Bertilak off of his opponent and pulling the sword out of his chainmail.

"It's alright; the chainmail stopped it," Bertilak reassured them, straightening up.

"I'd like Merlin to take a look at it anyway," Leon said quickly, clearly disbelieving him. "He's our physician's apprentice."

"It's fine, really," Bertilak continued to insist as they helped him over to a bench and pulled off his hauberk. There was a hole in it, and a corresponding hole in his arming jacket and linen shirt, but sure enough, there wasn't a mark on him.

"It's a good hauberk," Bertilak explained quickly as Leon and Merlin and a small group of knights who had been drawn over by the commotion goggled at him.

"The blade must have just gone to the surface of your skin and no further," Leon finally rationalized. He clapped Bertilak on the shoulder. "You're one lucky man!"

Merlin didn't say anything, just scrutinized Bertilak's face with a frown.

000

"Are you sure the blade should have gone into him?"

"Yes! Why do you keep asking?"

Anna frowned. "Well, it just seems a little too convenient, is all. You go out there expecting to see something happen that proves he's invincible, and the first thing that happens fulfils all your expectations."

"Anna's right," Gaius agreed. "I can't help but wonder if you saw what you wanted to see." Merlin tried to interrupt, and Gaius talked over him. "You're so eager to find someone cheating at the tournament."

"Because there so often is someone cheating at the tournament! It's become a theme of my life!"

"And Bertilak is a rather distinctive-looking fellow," Anna added to Gaius, ignoring Merlin's outburst. "He's a good fighter—so somebody exaggerates, the story catches on… Maybe it's all nothing."

"Maybe," Merlin said, and they looked up at him again. "And maybe he's trying to kill Arthur or Gaheris!"

Gaius sighed. "What will it take to convince you that Bertilak's axe isn't magic?"

"I need to try it myself," Merlin said.

"Fine." Gaius crossed his arms. "Why don't you go down to the armory and give it a try."

"…Seriously?"

"If that's the only thing that will convince you that maybe this time the tournament is just a tournament with no magical cheating… yes."

Merlin fought the urge to roll his eyes, and headed toward the door.

"You're not going without me!" Anna said, running after him.

"We're not supposed to be down in the armory. If anybody caught us down there we could get in trouble."

"Then we'll just be very, very quiet," she said, smiling brightly. "If this thing actually works, I want to see it for myself."

It was after supper, and there was nobody about when they got down to the armory. Each of them lit a tallow candle before going down the stairs into the dark rows of weapons.

"We'll split up—we can search faster that way," Merlin said quietly. "Come get me if you find it."

Anna nodded and they headed off in opposite directions. It actually didn't take Merlin long to find Bertilak's armor—it was the only metal in the place that shone green in the candlelight. Bertilak's huge axe was leaning against a wall, with some of his other weapons and armor around it. Merlin put down his candle and picked up the axe—it was startlingly heavy.

Now, to try to cut himself while holding the axe… Merlin looked around for a sharp blade. Bertilak's golden spurs were nearby. Holding the axe up in one hand, with difficulty, Merlin reached down and squeezed one of the rowels of the spurs. He sucked the air in between his teeth and looked down at his bleeding thumb. It hadn't worked.

"What are you doing with my things?" a voice boomed, and Merlin nearly dropped the axe on his toe, grabbing it with both hands at the last moment. He looked up—and up, and up—into the face of Sir Bertilak.

TBC


AN: Thank God the semester (and the grading) is over! Wahoo!

Thank you to everybody who reviewed—I'm glad people are enjoying this as much as I'm enjoying writing it.

Please review!