Quest of the Holy Quail
As King, Arthur was to see that his kingdom was running smoothly and everyone was doing what they were supposed to do. But then Guinevere told him that Viviane was late in bringing Duran in for his nap, and then Sir Pellinore grumbled how his two elder sons were not in the library for their lessons and finally Merlin remarked that Amhar was missing. He knew that five children were off somewhere else and so he, as king and father, had to go fetch them.
Arthur finally went into one of the unused parlors when he spotted his goddaughter holding a net.
It had been raining for the better part of the week which meant that the boys were cooped up in the castle. Seeing as the rest of the castle was more than a little occupied, Arthur had given the task of entertaining the youngsters to the seemingly capable hands of Viviane and Amhar.
"Viviane, what the devil is going on? " He said with more harshness than he intended.
"Hello Uncle," she only replied.
Viviane was hovering over Duran who was on his knees and looking underneath a wardrobe. His brothers Amhar and Gwydre were not far off, but appeared more professional as they hunted whatever beast they were after this time. He amusingly observed how Jack was stood far back, holding a small book- holding it in such a way so that one finger stuck in between the pages to mark the page he was reading.
Arthur then returned his attention to Viviane, "Viviane…"
"Well, you see Uncle," Viviane dropped the net tersely on the floor, "- Jack was reading us some story about questing and the little ones, Gwy and Duran, became curious so he started explaining the whole affair. Then they got excited and they've been awfully restless-"
Arthur stuck up a hand, motioning for her to discontinue her babbling which she did promptly. The girl could talk forever (much like her father) but she understood when to stop.
He then pointed to his youngest child, "Duran, what are you doing?"
"Questing Father!" Duran answered with glee and picked up the long-handled net with wobbly effort.
"Questing?"
"It's the Quest for the Holy Quail," Viviane clarified with just the subtlest hint of sarcasm.
"Quest for the what?" Arthur was more baffled.
"The Holy Quail!" Gwydre called out.
"Jack came up with the name," Viviane continued as she took the net back from a pouting Duran.
"Why?"
"Because 'Chase the Fowl' sounded stupid," Jack replied with a hint of exasperation.
"We're hunting for the quail- two teams. Whoever catches it gets to choose the next game," Amhar said. His eldest son was, as expected, devoted to his brothers and had no problem thinking up or even playing "childish" games.
"What are you?" Arthur asked Jack.
"Referee." Jack replied, nonchalant.
"And, uh, why a quail?"
"It was all we had at hand."
"...Where did you get it?"
"Oh, me," Viviane picked up Duran so he could peek over the overhang.
"Ah, you wouldn't happen to be using the quail we had given to your father for dinner, would you?"
Viviane began to form a reply, but chose instead to clamp her mouth shut, shrug, and smiled sheepishly.
"Viviane, you're too old to play with your food." Arthur reprimanded tonelessly.
"Bird!" Duran yelled, pointed to the window sill. Everyone turned there and saw their prize flapping in and perched onto the sill.
The Holy Quail appeared to be a gray-feathered, plump bird donning a small paper hat. Arthur was torn between bafflement at the lengths to which the game had been taken, and curiosity at how one went about attaching a paper hat to a fowl.
They, however, were not the only ones who caught sight of the bird, as The Feathered Holiness' dramatic entrance was ruined by the swipe of a paw, which it fortunately managed to dodge.
"Mim!" Jack cried out to his pet cat.
As Mim the cat chased The Holy Quail, the children chased after her. Duran was jumping strides with Viviane and her net close by, unsuccessfully trying to trap either one of the beasts. Jack was focused on his cat, his book firmly in his hand and page still marked. Amhar, with all his skills in hunting, was no better since he was busy keeping Gwydre from knocking over a vessel or running into the others. Arthur simply stood in the near middle of the parlor and watched the entire spectacle, waiting for an opportunity to act on and still wondering about the paper hat.
The bird then made the poor choice to try and fly past Arthur's shoulder and was shocked to find itself caught by the neck. As the bird struggled in his grasp, Arthur motioned for the cage.
Amhar came running with the requisite cage (in what Arthur supposed was an attempt at valiance) and the Holy Quail was swiftly thrown back in to its wicker prison.
Jack whistled Mim over and she obediently, if not dejectedly, plodded to his feet.
"Since it was I who caught its...Holiness, I choose the activities. Amhar, it is time for your lessons with Merlin; Viviane, please take Duran to Guinevere, it's high time for his nap; Jack, you and Gwydre head to the library for your lessons with Sir Pallinore."
The children dispersed, although not without some grumbling.
"The Holy Quail?" Arthur seemingly demanded of Amhar as they left the parlor and walked down the corridor.
"Well, Merlin suggested we have Mim play a dragon which we would then slay, but Jack wasn't having it."
Arthur swore he could hear the wizard's sniggering from where he stood.