Chapter 44 [Whitgate]

Hundreds of miles to the west, storm clouds hung heavily over Nemeth's capital. Chill winds blew. A persistent mist moistened denizens, property and crops alike. It was a day more fit for late fall than the spring season….

…all the more telling considering the climate within its walls….

Prince Kay stood on the palace's balcony overlooking the upper square. Against the advice of his council, he wanted to get the pulse of activity within his city. He saw some carts moving through the gates toward the bartering area on the city's far eastern edge. He hoped that the farmers in the outlying villages could coax some kind of crop for revenue reasons from their devastated fields….

…anything to take his mind off of the developing mess around himself….

According to the council's reports, Nemeth had little remaining fighting ability. The training knights only had attained basic fighting skills. Between the three invasions, most of the more experienced fighters remained either too wounded to fight or rested in freshly dug graves….

…and that wasn't counting the townspeople practically laying siege to the palace down below…

He knew they should've been working to continue rebuilding the city and reestablishing the flow of resources. He'd implored them directly and through indirect means to do so to no avail….

…and he knew why this was all happening….

Mithian, why did you force me to exile you? WHY? He glanced toward the remaining reliable military cadre, ironically the remaining dozen surviving Cawdorian troops, and sighed reluctantly. Unlike his council who would've had a functioning knight corps march out and dispel the peasant rabble, he understood that he needed his people's backing to function properly.

And the people, fed on by rumors that Rodor was dead, clamored for Mithian's restoration and to be placed on the throne…

…her and her sorcerer lover….

I will NEVER allow such a travesty on the throne! Father, despite how tolerant he is, would never either! How can those people ever understand such things? I mean really? Prince Kay grimaced in disgust. They have no idea. I know she was kind to them. I want to be too. Still I have to keep the throne's traditions intact!

At that moment, Master Wyngate rushed into the chamber. "My Prince! Come at once! It's the King!"

"What about King Rodor?" Prince Kay queried with a mix of concern and anxiety.

"He's awake! He's asking for you," the physician informed him. "Please. Come!" He waved his hands invitingly.

"Lead on then, my good man. I appreciate this message," Kay responded. If Father is awake, how will he take this? I did try to keep things together. It isn't my fault that such things went to hell! With such thoughts, he trudged toward the royal bedchamber…..

[King Rodor's Bedchamber]

Even as Master Wyngate rushed off to get the Prince, King Rodor eased himself into a sitting position under the sheets. He propped himself up with a few pillows to support his back while trying to regain some circulation into his almost numb limbs. His skin tingled and burned slightly from Mithian's scene in the council chambers. His head still had a dull ache from what the healer had called a concussion.

I know Mithian would *never* attack me. What is that bracelet doing to her? She was in pain. Then she lashed out. This has to be Morgana Pendragon's work! He pondered the recent misadventures suffered by the kingdom over the previous month. Odin and that witch devastated our kingdom. Now I see a soldier in a strange uniform guarding my chamber? What has transpired since?

A knock solemnly came from the door.

"Enter!"

Prince Kay opened the door slowly and eased himself inside. After deliberating for the entire walk over from the throne room to the apartments, he had decided to ease the King into what he needed to know…or what was safe for him to know for the present. "It is me, Sire. I am relieved to see you awake." He bowed respectfully before his father.

"Please rise. Where is your sister? Given some of the events which have transpired, I would have expected her to be confined. I wish to speak with her," Rodor requested.

"Sire, that is not possible. When she…attacked you, the magic she used teleported her to Camelot. Once there however, King Arthur apprehended her using said sorcery and returned her here. She escaped again however…." Prince Kay reported.

"Impossible! I can't believe that Mithian is a witch, Kay. Even so, she wouldn't hurt anyone or anything! This is Morgana's work to be sure. Mithian has been in periodic pain since that witch set that bracelet on her wrist," Rodor presumed.

"King Arthur and several knights observed her doing so, Sire. Alas she was almost executed for it here…." Prince Kay started to reply.

Rodor stared incredulously at his son. "Executed? Have you lost your mind?"

"With due respect, Sire, Morgana invaded us again. She allied herself with Queen Radegund of the Amazons and King Meleagant of Cawdor. With our forces still in shambles, we fought but lost in the end. I was taken prisoner. Mithian and I were deposed in a mock trial. Meleagant decided to burn her at the stake. That set the stage for an incredible rescue," Prince Kay recounted.

"I trust that Arthur and his knights acquitted themselves quite well once again," Rodor assumed. Seeing Kay shrug. "Arthur did not help?"

"The Amazons captured King Arthur and took him back to their kingdom. His knights fought their way out of our prison where the usurper put them. No it was Merlin who led the coalition along with Sir Ywain, Britomart, Sir Gawain and several others."

"Merlin?" Rodor glanced at his son incredulously. "As in Arthur's servant? While he is a brave and earnest young man, he could not have stormed the walls by himself."

"You should have been there, Sire. Begging your pardon," Master Wyngate muttered before remembering his place.

"He used magic to free Mithian and stop the execution. They tried to coerce me into accepting magic. After what you've endured of Morgana Pendragon's foul craft, I could not do so. I banished Merlin and his compatriots rather than imprison them. I tried to get Mithian to relinquish using it but she would not. She claims to be in love with Merlin as well," Prince Kay continued.

Rodor slumped back in his bed; his mind swimming from all of the unbelievable facts He struggled to believe what had happened in his four day coma….

…his daughter manifesting sorcerous abilities….

…both Camelot and Whitgate falling before Morgana Pendragon and her allies….

…the remnants of his knights swept aside in a bloody tide….

…King Arthur, really Nemeth's chief ally, languishing in captivity….

…and Merlin, the servant, rising to the occasion again, snatching Mithian from the flames and spearheading a decisive sortie against Meleagant…

…a melee preserving his throne for the second time in just over a week….

…even as Mithian, if Kay was correct, had fallen for said servant against all of the feudal rules of courtship….

…and they'd been banished for these deeds?...

"Father?" Prince Kay glanced anxiously at Master Wyngate. He noted his father's furrowed brow and hoped the latter wasn't slipping back into some stupor or worse.

"You're as bad as the council, Kay. Perhaps you might not agree with the use of sorcery but to banish them?" Rodor glared at the Prince disapprovingly.

Prince Kay blinked anxiously. His jaw dropped. "In the midst of the crisis, I had to assert order. I could not let Merlin or his sorcerer friends wield power with impunity. Uther set the example. I know I've seen…."

"I respect that you've seen a great deal, Kay. However Merlin has saved our kingdom twice. He has put himself at great risk to do so. While I agree that such a match would normally not be even considered, Merlin has earned himself some regard both here and in Camelot. As for Uther's example, there are a great many things I respected about him. However, as you know, I did not enforce his rules and edicts. I have allowed magic users to live here peacefully. Merlin is such an example. From what I saw of him, he only lives to serve his king and the knights. He was injured trying to help Mithian. He stood by Arthur when everyone else protected your sister and me. No, Kay, I see something else entirely. I understand why Mithian is so taken with him. He has done enough, in my estimation, to take a closer look—magic or no," Rodor concluded while getting out of bed and drawing his robe on.

"Sire, should you be up?" Wyngate queried nervously.

"I've slept for four days, Master Wyngate. My kingdom needs me." The revived monarch slowly made his way to the window. As he gazed out onto the square, he rubbed his forehead at the sight. "I am glad your grandfather could not see this."

"I am sorry, Father. With few knights left, there was not…."

Rodor nodded numbly acknowledging that fact at least. His eyes swept across the still charred stones and structures. He lamented the loss of lives on all sides; a reality confirmed by the bodies lying under sheets down there. He beheld the hole in the outer wall.

The scaffold and stake loomed in its midst. It seemed to hunger for those who were different. It evoked intolerance…pain…humiliation….

Not discriminating between innocent and guilty…

Only feasting on an orgy of agony from those sacrificed to it….

Those including his precious daughter….

Because of Uther's fears and prejudices….

No more….

"You left that standing?" His eyes flared angrily.

"Father, we have greater priorities. We…." Prince Kay replied hesitantly not understanding where his father was going with that point. "Besides magic is still a threat. We…"

"No. Magic is a threat because we make it such! That scaffold comes down now before anything else!" Rodor declared. "At least tell me that we have Meleagant confined so I can deal with him."

"Father…Meleagant disappeared while he was being escorted to the dungeons. I surrounded him with an armed guarded escort of six knights!" Prince Kay protested. "Morgana…."

"And you drove away the allies who could have prevented it? Kay, think on what you're doing!" Purpose and determination fueled his steps as he marched across the room and threw the door open.

Outside the two knights snapped to attention at the old king's presence. "King Rodor!"

"Yes. I thank you both for your duty." He narrowed his eyes at the Cawdorian crests on their uniforms. "I would think my own men could do this however. Who are you both?"

"I am Alain. He is Nicholas. We…are your men in a manner of speaking. Our king, Meleagant, abandoned us. We wait to return home, Your Highness," Alain explained.

"We…volunteered to serve while needed first," the other Cawdorian continued. He quivered in spite of his training. "Permission to speak earnestly, Your Majesty?"

"Granted. Still do so with care, Sir Nicholas," Rodor relented guardedly.

Nicholas sighed and glanced at his countryman. Then he pressed on, "Watching Princess Mithian and Prince Kay endure their trial impressed us. In addition, the Princess' manner in approaching the scaffold made a further impression. We…decided to serve and asked the Prince if we might assist you." He bowed his head repentantly.

"And while I wish you and your compatriots had not sacked my city, I thank you both for that at least. Tell me…what do you both have back in Cawdor? It's all right. I do not plan to take reprisals. I just wish to know," Rodor queried.

"We're hangers-on, newly inducted knights who haven't earned any land yet," Alain noted. "We have no connections."

"Orphans inducted into service. We seek to serve honorably," Nicholas added.

"I see. I am pleased that you do so." Seeing Prince Kay about to object, Rodor silenced it with a slight shaking of his head. "Have you eaten?"

"No, Sir. We've taken shifts being here for the past two days. We didn't want to ask…."

Rodor grimaced. "We shall attend to that presently. Prince Kay, summon the council if you would. I have heard enough. There is legislation to be promulgated forthwith. Meantime, Sir Knights, if you would care to join me for a meal? Your service has merited that at least." With that he led the two guards down the stairs and toward the dining chamber below.

"I think the ordeal addled his thinking," Prince Kay complained.

Wyngate shook his head. "I respectfully disagree, My Prince. I have not seen the King so determined in years." He bowed to the Prince before leaving.

Prince Kay shook his head in wonder. What is this world coming to? He sighed and rolled his eyes before stalking down the stairs himself.

The wheels of change seemed to be in motion….