Chapter Twenty-Two
Hi! (For the second time today :D)
I meant to get this up earlier today. But...the bloody power went out at my house and I lost a few paragraphs and then the power stayed out for hours...so this is late. Sorry. I hate power outages :(
Anyway...enjoy the chapter! I hope it doesn't disappoint!
"My father killed…your mother's siblings?" Arthur sounded, regrettably, rather idiotic as he said this. Merlin couldn't blame him all that much for it, though.
Gwaine snorted. "No, he just gave the order. Naturally, he never did like getting his pretty hands soiled, now did he?"
"How dare you…" began Arthur, but Gwaine cut him off.
"How dare I insult your father? Oh, come on, Princess, don't you want to insult mine, too? For marrying a sorceress? How could he be so stupid!" Gwaine was laughing again. "I don't have magic myself, if that's what you're really worried about. If I did I probably would've killed Uther when I had the chance. Yeah, I meant that, Pendragon." He intentionally whispered the last word, presumably so that the guards didn't hear, but his tone was still acidy.
Arthur stood up and moved to the front of his cell, completely livid. But he kept his voice low as he ground out, "If you hated my father so much, why did you become one of my knights?"
"The key word in that question is 'my'. Or 'your', depending on your point of view." Gently easing his sister's head off his lap, Gwaine also stood and stepped forward so he could glare directly through the bars at Arthur. "I became one of your knights partly because I had nothing better to do with myself, but also because I believed…I hoped that you were different. That you weren't entirely your father's son."
"And now you think…what? That I am my father's son? I loved and respected my father, but I do not adhere to all his doctrines. You know that! I do my best to be a just and honorable king!"
Gwaine shook his head. "Oh, Arthur, here we go again." Venom seemed to drip from his every word. "Just and honorable. You Pendragon's and your 'honor'. Now, what the hell is your version honor? The right to wear a bright cloak and swear to defend your homeland at all costs, even when it's wrong? The right to claim revenge for being dishonored? Let me tell you something, Arthur…upstairs, in that throne room, is someone who has taken honor a few steps to far, just like you've come so close to doing so many times…and just like your father did for the entirety of his reign. Honor…I see nothing honorable about killing children, do you? Or unarmed prisoners…we were all a witness to that, Arthur, if you recall…I see no honor in hunting people for something they cannot change. Because magic is not a choice, Arthur. I learned that very early. Perhaps if you and your father had gotten that through your thick skulls a little earlier, your sister wouldn't be trying to kill you all the time."
"Magic…" Arthur gathered himself and launched his own attack. "Magic killed my parents! Magic has tried to destroy Camelot a thousand times over! Magic is evil! It corrupts and devastates…I'm not saying your family is evil, Gwaine, but magic…"
"Spare me the lecture, Pendragon!"
"Spare us all." Aldwyn grumbled, but Gwaine wasn't finished.
"Magic has not tried to destroy Camelot, those who use magic for evil have! Can't you see the difference, Arthur? Or are you really too much like your father? God knows I've tried to defend you, saying that isn't true. But maybe I was mistaken."
"Too much like my father? I'd like to know exactly how much you're like your father, Gwaine! And, for that matter, who the hell are you two, anyway? We find two Bernician boys in the woods, captured by slave traders, then we rescue them, then it turns out they're the cousins of one of my knights, then we end up captured by some insane warlord…what is his problem with you…you Barclayns? He said he wants revenge…for what?"
Gwaine completely ignored the latter half of what Arthur had said. "My father, Arthur? I don't know exactly how similar I am to my father, but I like to think that he is a man of true honor. Not that we Bernicians particularly enjoy using the word all that often."
If it weren't for the bars on these cells, I have a feeling that somebody would have a very black eye right about now. And a few broken ribs. Merlin groaned inwardly. This is not going well at all…
It was Elyan who spoke next, clearly wanting to diffuse the situation somewhat. "Well," he said as he scrambled to his feet to stand beside Arthur, "I suppose we'll have to see that out for ourselves when we reach Bernicia. I think getting out of here is first priority, though."
"It is." Aldwyn spoke suddenly before Arthur and Gwaine could start arguing again. "We do need to get out of here. But you lot," he gestured with his head at the men from Camelot, "you are not entering Bernicia. None of you."
"And why ever not?" Leon asked, clearly offended.
"Because I said so." Aldwyn stood up, seemingly much taller than normal in the shadowy dungeon. "And for your information, Pendragon, the Barclayn family is the ruling family of Bernicia. And as Crown Prince, I am telling you that you are not to enter my father's kingdom."
Dead silence. Merlin resisted the urge to drop his head into his hands.
Elyan's voice broke the stillness. "Gwaine…is he telling the truth?"
"Yes." Gwaine abruptly sat down again before carefully pulling his sister close to him. "He's royalty, I'm royalty, the twins are royalty. And yes, he'll kill you if you try to cross the border into Bernicia without his go-ahead. Barclayns respond badly to provocation."
"So we've noticed." Leon muttered.
The silence got even more strained over the next few moments. Merlin was the first to crack.
Oh, no, Merlin, don't you dare start laughing…A completely useless order; he started giggling hysterically a few seconds later.
Well, it was either laugh or kill someone, and given the circumstances, the former was preferable.
Unsurprisingly, Gwaine started laughing next. Then Aldwyn, then Elyan. Even Leon let out a bemused chuckle, shaking his head. Arthur held out the longest, but finally broke down as well.
Maybe it's finally happened. We're all going insane.
The laughter clearly startled the guards at the end of the passage; they turned and gave the prisoners such bewildered looks that it was genuinely funny, which of course kept the captives laughing even longer. When the noise died away suddenly and harshly, Arthur was first to speak. "You're banished from Camelot, Sir…no, wait, what am I supposed to call you, Gwaine?"
"Well, 'Lord Gwaine' would do just fine." Gwaine stifled a snort. Been a long time since I've heard those two words strung together…
"Whatever. You're banished." Arthur also sat down with a grunt.
"That's just fine by me, since I have finally given in and decided to hate you."
Arthur shook his head. "I always knew you were hiding something behind that drunken grin."
"Oh, dear God, Gwaine, you passed as a drunkard?" Aldwyn sighed heavily and slumped down on the stone floor. "This whole business is going to be just wonderful to explain to Father. Which is why you're the one who will be doing the storytelling, Gwaine."
"Hey, I was a drunkard, and a very good one at that! And I'm not telling Uncle Harlan that I became a knight of Camelot. He'll eat me alive!"
"Good, just so long as it's not me."
"Yeah, but you're his heir, aren't you?" Elyan pointed out suddenly, though Gwaine thought he spotted the dark-skinned knight grinning.
"I am, but he's got four other children, remember."
Arthur let out a heavy sigh. "All right, everyone, let's stop discussing succession and think of a way to get out of here so you can discuss it further if you so choose."
"Sounds fine by me." Aldwyn responded in a sarcastic tone.
Merlin let out another amused chuckle, earning a "Shut up, Merlin!" from Arthur. With that, the prisoners lapsed into silence only broken by the muffled sounds of voices and weapons clanking from the end of the passageway.
Gwaine found it hard to think of an escape plan while his thoughts kept becoming occupied with the limp figure in his arms. She was so pale and weak. The very sight of her injuries pained him to the degree where he almost felt every whiplash and bruise on his own skin.
He'd never seen his sister this dazed and helpless; more often than not he'd been the one in that position and his sister had been his rescuer. Like the time he'd broken his arm racing through the apple trees. But now…now he was the strong one. He just wasn't used to it. While roaming around the countryside, he'd run more often than fought. In Camelot, he'd always been with the others, with his friends.
And then it hit him. You're banished from Camelot. You're no longer a knight.
Funnily enough, he'd more or less already made up his mind to leave the knights and go home. It had been occurring to him slowly but steadily as of late; he had to go home. He'd expected to feel loss at leaving the knighthood, at leaving his life in Camelot. But right now, he didn't feel that at all.
He felt…liberated.
At least it's all in the open, now. Well, almost all of it. Enough, least-ways.
Of course, now there was the question of "Is this going to cause a war or not?". Unlikely; Arthur didn't seem to want to come to Bernicia and Aldwyn certainly had no strategic interest in Camelot, and besides Harlan wouldn't sanction war without a bloody good reason. Or, at least, Gwaine didn't think he would…
Father would tell him not to make it a bigger issue.
That made Gwaine feel better and worse at the same time.
Father's still alive. If…when we get out of here, I'm going to see him again. Alive.
But, according to Aldwyn, he wasn't the powerful warrior Gwaine had known.
That's my fault. I'm going to have to say sorry. For what I did then, and now…what happened to Elen…I should've gone with her…
Then maybe she wouldn't be unconscious on his lap right now. Maybe she wouldn't be dying.
She can't die. I won't let her.
Which brought up another pressing question. If we do escape, if we have to fight our way out of here, how do I protect Elen? He couldn't assume that Arthur or Elyan or Leon would. Merlin, maybe, but under pressure the manservant would probably pick his master. Gwaine wouldn't blame him in the slightest for that.
Aldwyn will have my back, of course. But there's only so much one man can do…
Perhaps, if they were very, very lucky, someone would rescue them.
Hopefully before Haig decides exactly how he wants to kill us all.
Gwaine's thoughts continued to spin around and around long after the thin streams of sunlight filtering through the cracks in the dungeon walls faded into darkness.
It was getting late, and Hayden was routinely checking his wyverns over before going to bed.
Old Sapphire and Ruby are in the shed…Obsidian and Citrine are in their enclosure together…weirdly affectionate with each other, those two, even for mates…Ah, there's Obsidian's little brother Diamond in the corner…Emerald's a little apart, as usual…then Amethyst and Peridot are tangled up together…where's Topaz? Ah-ha, there he is, on the other side of his mother…
Routine over, Hayden stifled a yawn as he turned towards his cottage. It was really more like three cottages built together on a small rise so that it resembled an anthill. My grandfather had no aesthetic taste, apparently…Hayden laughed over that, not for the first time.
A loud snort from behind him alerted him first. He spun around; he'd recognized Obsidian's particular vocal tone, and he trusted Obsidian's senses. Sure enough, he began to hear hoof beats only seconds later, approaching fast.
When he could make out the rapidly-slowing shadowy figure approaching in the twilight, he backed up against the wyvern pen and called, "Who's there?" Silently, he added, A couple whistles and my wyverns will tear you to pieces.
"Hayden!" the figure shouted as his horse thundered to a to a stop a few feet away.
The young man relaxed immediately. "Ryle! What are you doing here?"
His distant relative swung off his horse and stumbled towards him. "I need your help."
"Why? Are you injured?" Automatically, Hayden stepped forward and gripped Ryle's shoulders. The older man didn't look injured, but he did appear to be exhausted.
"No, no, I'm fine…" Ryle dragged his hand through his tousled hair. "There was a skirmish…Some warlord named Haig has Elen Barclayn…and Prince Aldwyn and Gwaine…yes, Prince Goddard's son Gwaine…and Arthur Pendragon…it's a long story…I think the twins got away with Cleva, but I'm not sure…they'll be killed, the lot of them if we don't rescue them, it's too far to the city so I thought of you…"
Ryle ran out of breath there and stopped, gasping. It was just as well as it took Hayden a couple minutes to work past "Arthur Pendragon". "Wait, so this 'Haig' has captured three Barclayns plus a Pendragon…How the hell did that happen?"
"As I said, it's a long story." Ryle choked out. "I'll explain on the way…You've taken your wyverns hunting. Can they attack people?"
"They'll attack anyone I tell them to." Hayden replied involuntarily. "But…Gwaine Barclayn? So you did see him further south?"
"Oh, for God's sakes, there's no time!" Ryle yelled. "They'll kill her…I mean, them…" He trailed off, spluttering.
Hayden stared at the uncharacteristically anxious man before him and suddenly understood. They'll kill her… "We'll rescue them." he assured Ryle. "The wyverns are resting, but I can get them up easily enough. Your mount looks spent, so we can borrow some horses in the village down the valley…they know me, they'll be glad to help." He stopped, momentarily distracted by the Emerald's hot breath as the wyvern approached and breathed over the fence onto his neck.
Ryle eyed the beast warily. "Can you really get them up and ready to fight?"
"They're wyverns, Ryle, not soldiers. But yes, they can fight. As for getting them to wake up…raw fish does wonders."
Ela usually didn't stay up late reading, but she'd found a fascinating tome on rare medicinal herbs and the time slipped by her. In fact, she didn't even recognize how late it had become until she heard her husband cry out.
Dropping her book and racing to the bedchamber, she found Goddard sitting up in bed, hair and nightshirt alike drenched in sweat. "Pain or nightmares?" she asked as his dark eyes met her sky-blue ones. Physical pain was easy for her to deal with; she was a healer, after all. Nightmares…not always.
"A little of both." Goddard sighed and flopped back on the pillows. "Nothing I can't handle, my love."
With a nod, Ela began to get ready for bed. She was still concerned, but no more than usual until Goddard said suddenly, "Ela, remember when I used to joke about your 'mother's intuition'?"
That made her smile a bit, though she wondered concernedly where he was going with this line of inquiry. "It annoyed me to no end, as I recall. Especially since I was usually right."
"True enough. What is it telling you now?"
Ela stopped in the middle of combing her long hair and turned to stare at her husband. He wasn't joking, not in the slightest. So she complied and searched her instincts.
Her stomach clenched a little as she admitted, "I'm worried for them. I feel as if they're in danger. But…I can't tell...it could just be that they're far away. Separation causes worry." She finished brushing her hair and got into bed.
As her husband wrapped his arms around her and she nestled into him, she murmured, "Goddard?"
"Yes, dear?"
"I want them back. Both of them. I want them both with me. Elen is always running off these days, and Gwaine…" She stopped there. It hurt. Badly. Ten years and it hasn't changed.
Goddard's arms tightened around her. "I miss him too, love." he whispered into her hair. "I miss him too."
I honestly don't know where that last bit came from. But I liked it so I left it in.
I'm so happy that lots of you like the wyverns! I really wasn't sure about putting them in this story at first...but I'm glad I did. I promise you'll see a lot more of them in the next chapter or two!
To those of you who live in the US...Happy Fourth of July! (thirty-five minutes early :D) To the rest of you...have a great day/night!