Chapter 50 [About the Time of the Events in Chapter 48]
[Inside of the Citadel]
Prince Kay glared around the dungeons randomly at the carnage about himself. He huffed heavily from the exertion of the grueling charge up the drainage passage. He and most loyal followers had engaged the few guards left down there in a fairly even melee.
Those Cawdorian bodies lay strewn about the area.
I can't believe Sir Ywain disobeyed me! He would side with THAT BEAST over me? I'll attend to them both and put Britomart in her place as well! Mithian has bewitched Father. I know it! He wiped the blood from a gash across his arm with a spare cloth. Then he bound the wound and looked toward the stairs and the area beyond….
…the area where he'd find Meleagant….
Anger and indignation burned in his heart. He frowned deeply; Vengeance gouging canyonesque lines in his face. He clenched his sword firmly as the other two remaining knights descended the stairs from above.
"My Prince!" Galahad insisted. "The floor above is deserted. It seems the knights are on the square dealing with an uprising."
"It could still be a trap," Hector noted cautiously. He glanced toward the drainage passage. "Perhaps we should get more men…?"
"And be talked out of this by those Amazons or bewitched by my sister? NAY!" Prince Kay seethed. "Follow me!" He stormed up the stairs and through the thick oak door.
The two knights glanced anxiously at each other. Since the Prince decided upon this course of action, they noticed an uncharacteristic rashness in the normally even-tempered royal. They could see Sir Oswald, Sir Ghenrald and Sir Tancred lying cold and unfeeling on the stones; their spirits already on their way to the next world.
And even if they all got through the gauntlet above…how would the Prince deal with the King and his sister?
"We should take care of him," Hector insisted.
"If he'll allow us that," Galahad replied nervously. "We…."
"KNIGHTS, ATTEND ME NOW!" Prince Kay snapped from the doorway.
The two knights wondered how Prince Kay's instincts had evaporated so dramatically. As they crept into the first floor passage, they noted how terse he was being. Knowing that their voices could echo through the empty granite halls, they worried that the remaining occupiers would hear them.
"About time," Prince Kay moodily indicated before making his way down the hall and toward the stairs beyond.
"This palace is enormous, my Lord. Where would we look?" Hector proposed.
Prince Kay snorted. "The bastard will look to secure his power. We head for the throne room first. After that, the royal apartments. Meleagant cannot leave without his supporters. He's here somewhere." He crept almost predatorily up the stone stairs; his foot falls echoing a slightly higher pitch with each footfall toward the top. "I can't believe nobody has met us yet!"
"With all due respect, my Prince, perhaps we might want to be more stealthy? Meleagant has to know we're coming…." Galahad pointed out.
"Unless he's a sorcerer like his allies, I doubt it." Prince Kay stopped his men before a door at the third level. "This is the way to the throne room." He pushed the door allowing it to creak open. "Follow me!" He drew his sword and strode purposefully toward the destination in question. Finding that room's door half open, he peered inside.
Meleagant stood at the window watching the events unfolding in the square below. He sipped from a bottle of Arthur's choice southern Gallic wine before setting the goblet on the ledge to his left. "You might as well come in. I heard you all the way up the stairs." The sun glinted off of his crimson armor as he turned to face the trio.
"Then the need for skulking is over," Prince Kay concurred tersely as he stalked into the room. "Sir Hector and Sir Galahad, flank him. His evil ends today."
"Three against one is it?" Meleagant's eye glimmered with an air of sarcasm to it. He grinned in satisfaction. "Now what would Rodor say to this, Kay? His prize son stooping to the scoundrel's level? Whatever happened to chivalry and fair play?" He slowly slid a massive sword from its scabbard on his back. He whipped it around menacingly through the air. "I have to hand it to Uther. He certainly built quite a throne room for himself. No wonder Morgana wants it so badly." He smirked. "Perhaps I should let her have all of you when she returns."
Kay grimly watched his adversary's martial ballet. He circled himself to counter the moves maintaining his distance. He motioned to the two knights to do likewise. "Then you have not heard? Both she and Morgause are gone! Banished for their sins! You are alone!" He too surveyed the chamber. "You seem to have more than you can chew."
"I can chew quite well. You and these two are all you brought? Pity!" Meleagant ran his gloved hand over the fine mahogany arm rest on the throne. "You can bow to me and save the formalities."
"I'd rather go rot first!" Kay spat before rushing at the usurper. He swung his blade with temerity.
"Sire, don't!" Galahad advised caringly.
"Too late. He did." Meleagant met the Prince's blow with his own blade adroitly. "You think you can take me? Let us see." He thrust and parried, matching the other stroke for stroke.
Prince Kay deflected several advances from the Red Knight before scoring a cut on the other's left arm. "HA! First blood!"
"Well done, Boy. See if you can finish it!" Meleagant pressed harder swinging his blade with more strength and anger. His sword echoed off of Prince Kay's louder and louder.
Prince Kay staggered back under the flurry. Still he managed to keep his footing. After backtracking three steps, he took the advantage back momentarily. His anger rose like a furious flood washing across his vision. It blinded him to everything else.
"My Prince, let us deal with this!" Hector pleaded.
"NAY! STAY BACK!" Prince Kay ordered firmly while pointing at the two underlings. "I will deal with this pest!" He advanced again for another blow.
At that moment, the sonic boom ripped through the air, disorienting the four warriors. Their ears rang and their legs wobbled. The glass windows shattered in a rain of glass.
The shockwave shook the citadel as it did everything else.
Prince Kay stumbled backward while trying to keep his footing. He tripped falling backward onto the floor.
Galahad and Hector braced themselves against one of the walls while somehow trying to keep standing.
Unfortunately a large piece of a wooden overhang fell to the granite floor separating the two companions from their master.
Meleagant however managed to stay upright. His eyes sparked sinisterly at his fallen opponent as he set an armored foot on Prince Kay's chest. "You gave me a decent fight, Prince." He ground his foot into the other's midsection.
Prince Kay wouldn't give him any satisfaction. He reached for his sword lying inches from his extended hand.
"I think not! Adieu!" Meleagant stabbed the fallen Prince through the heart. He turned the blade twice with malice before pulling it out. "It is a shortcoming—that blind vengeance. Is it not?" He smiled triumphantly before wiping his sword on the other's surcoat.
"It…will not…matter. I…will be…avenged!" Prince Kay stammered. His limbs weighed down with iciness and clamminess. His chest became numb. He hacked several times. Then his head leaned to one side as he passed on.
"So you believe. Your sister and father will join you soon enough!" Meleagant threatened. He noticed that the two knights had made it past the debris. "A pity you weren't a moment sooner. You have failed your Prince!"
"We will not now!" Galahad vowed while drawing his sword. "DEFEND YOURSELF, COWARD! HECTOR!"
"I am with you, Galahad." Hector drew his sword in an even continuous motion. Unlike his Prince or Galahad, he forced himself to remain on an even emotional keel.
"So it is two on one now? All the better!" Meleagant crowed triumphantly. "I crave the sport!"
And with that, the clash of swords started anew…..
[Down the Hall]
Mithian ran through the granite hallways almost blindly. Since she and Merlin had stepped onto the balcony, the feelings of dread had assaulted her sensibilities. Her brain burned as if on fire. She knew something truly horrible had happened….
…something had happened with Prince Kay….
Something terrible….
Kay, what have you done? She struggled to comprehend the emotional tide crashing over the stones and swamping her. Each step felt like moving through a quagmire. Still she forced herself forward. Follow the energy. Follow….
Mithian! Please slow down! I'm here! Merlin called out to her through the link.
We can't! Something's happened to Kay. We have to make sure he's all right! she responded. She leaned against the stones for a minute allowing her pounding heart to slow its erratic beat. She huffed raggedly as the sweat evaporated from her exhausted skin.
And then, in direct contrast, a sudden chill seemed to envelop the passage…..
What now? How can I be cold like this? She shivered inexplicably quaking and quivering. As in the nightmare realm where she'd found Elena and Gwen, the stygian chill permeated every pore and inch of skin. The elements burned much as if she'd touched dry ice.
In the midst of this journey, four feathers brushed across her shoulder.
Wait! Feathers?
Then, as the contact deepened, said feathers pressed still softly yet with more weight…
…weight turning into fingertips….
She sucked in a burning breath. Her left hand drifted toward the fingertip contacts. As it grasped the source, she relaxed realizing it was a comforting hand….
…the hand of her Warlock….
"Hold me?" she croaked hoarsely.
"Always. We have a minute," Merlin concurred in a comforting whisper caressing her ears. He gently tugged her into his embrace. What is this?
I don't know, she responded telepathically. It's so much like Morgana's nightmare place. I wish I understood. I….
He nodded numbly. While he didn't understand it either, he determined to be strong for her sake. We can investigate it together. Right now, we need to check on Prince Kay.
She nodded allowing her confidence to at least show on her face despite not wholeheartedly feeling that way. "Right."
The sounds of clashing swords alerted them to a potential place to look.
"The throne room!" Merlin realized. He grabbed her hand and tugged her in that direction.
"He would!" she presumed fearing the worst.
They rushed toward and into the chamber stopping cold in their tracks at the sights therein.
Several pieces of masonry and wooden debris lay scattered across the polished oak floor.
Hector braced against the wall and binding some sort of leg wound. He clearly clenched his teeth during said activity.
Galahad dueled Meleagant sword to sword. Each one had scored several wounds on the other. Neither one would back down to the other either. Their blades clanged and echoed lethal sounds off of the surrounding granite.
Crumpled about ten feet to the right of the dueling knights, Prince Kay's prone form lay unfeeling; his spirit already committed to the next realm. The large wound in his chest left no doubt to his condition.
The blood drained from her face. Tears streaked her face. She trembled from the realization—understanding what the source of the passage's sudden chill….
…somehow it was Kay trying to reach her…
"KAY!" she screamed in horror.
Merlin squeezed her arm supportively. I'm ending this! His eyes glowed. He muttered briefly and flung his arms in a motion so that they reached as far apart as possible.
Almost like two marionettes on strings, Galahad and Meleagant flew backwards away from each other. Each hit the wall opposite to one another.
Without regard to her own safety, she rushed to her brother's side. She stooped down beside him and felt his face. Using what Britomart had taught her, she felt his neck and wrists but felt none of the pressure signs. Her tears fell upon his face like a gentle rain even if an emotional tempest raged inside of herself. "Why didn't you wait for us? WHY?"
"Milady Mithian!" Hector acknowledged before limping as quickly as he could to her side. He nodded to Merlin who crossed the room himself toward them. "Merlin, my thanks for keeping her safe."
"As I have promised King Rodor, so shall I do. Besides…." Merlin instinctively killed the quip about to come out his mouth due to the circumstances. "Besides….I can do no less for her in any event. I do not wish trouble, Sir Hector."
"And you'd have none despite our Prince's decree, Merlin. We owe you our lives. Princess Mithian deserves respect," Galahad assured them.
"Such weak sentiments! So Arthur's prize servant is in reality a sorcerer, is he? I suppose you are the one Morgana schemed against, Emrys?" Meleagant scoffed sarcastically while climbing to his feet.
"That is what the druids call me," Merlin admitted firmly. "Do not start with me, King Meleagant. You have enough to answer for already."
The villain laughed mockingly. "You? A mere servant questioning me? What do you understand of such matters, BOY? Uther slew my father! While dealing with Kay was a necessity of battle, this will not be settled until Arthur lies dead at my hand! Although from what I've heard, I'd have to go through you!"
"Meleagant, stop! While Merlin may be that at the moment, he is MY CHOSENand holds KING RODOR'S BLESSING! Perhaps Uther slew your father. For that I am sorry. Do not, however, USE THAT as a pretext for MY BROTHER'S DEATH OR TRYING TO MURDER ME!" she retorted fiercely.
"Rodor has come back, has he?" Meleagant rolled his eyes. "Too bad. I had hoped the old fossil would've stayed where you so conveniently put him."
"That was an accident. I tried to leave the room. Perhaps if Morgana hadn't put that bracelet on my wrist, none of this would have happened!" Seeing the tyrant about to retort, she shook her head. "Not another word. I mean it, Meleagant!"
"Perhaps I might kill you now! Arthur would praise me and…." Meleagant presumed picking up his sword and taking a step toward her.
Merlin's eyes flashed once again. "Dh'èireas!"
Meleagant struggled while floating in midair.
"Thank you, Merlin." She considered the floating Red Knight with icy contempt for a brief second. A flurry of horrid tortures and pain passed through her mind. She shook as her conscience clashed with her vengeance.
She glanced toward Merlin. He's so evil. We…I….
He's not worth it, Mithian. We're bringing him to justice. Don't cross the line as he has. Prince Kay wouldn't want that. Neither do I! Merlin pointed out over their link. Please!
She clenched her fist and bowed her head. Then she took a step back. "We'll let my father and King Arthur deal with you, Meleagant. I will not stoop to your level." Her eyes flashed.
On cue, Meleagant's sword flew from his hand clattering to the floor.
She picked it up and considered the implement for a second. Then she shrugged. "I am not you. Be grateful. That…and I have other things to live for besides blood and vengeance." She smiled toward her love.
He returned the gesture with a big goofy grin of his own. His heart warmed with relief and admiration for the fine woman in front of himself….
…his witch….
…his Princess….
…his heart….
"Perhaps we might restrain our prisoner? We need to get him back to King Rodor and the others as you've said, Princess," Hector brought up.
"Yes," Merlin agreed. Seeing a piece of chain strewn across the floor, he picked it up. "This should do." He strode over toward the floating prisoner.
"Don't you touch me, Sorcerer! I'll kill you when the time comes!" Meleagant groused.
"Be grateful that it never shall," Merlin rebutted as he wrenched the captive king's hands behind his back and bound them with the length of chain. He motioned with his fingers.
Meleagant started floating across the room.
"I believe my father is waiting for us all," she presumed. She wanted to ask Merlin for assistance with Kay's body but knew he was focused on the spell restraining Meleagant.
Before she could ask, the two knights lifted their Prince between them. "We can carry him out, Princess. Perhaps the King might send somebody for our comrades in the dungeon? Sir Oswald, Sir Ghenrald and Sir Tancred died bravely in battle," Galahad offered.
"We shall do so indeed, Sir Galahad. Thank you indeed for your service to the Prince and our kingdom," she expressed. "Come. Which way, Merlin?"
"This way," Merlin noted while leading the group out of the throne room and toward the stairs beyond. With a hand motion, he tugged an indignant Meleagant through the air in their wake.
One battle was over but another was about to begin….