Chapter 7: Arthur and Aredian (Part II)
Arthur and Aredian entered the council chambers, where there were only the king and Gaius. Uther said, "Arthur. Where have you been? I have had search parties out looking for you." Arthur replied, "We went to hunt down Morgause." Uther replied, "And?" Arthur continued, "We found her, fought her, and nearly defeated her," he paused for a moment before continuing, "but she used some kind of teleportation spell to escape." Uther said, "This is the result of disobeying my orders."
Arthur said, "At least I tried. We cannot let sorcerers run rampant through the kingdom." Uther sighed and looked to Gaius. "You had something to tell me?" Gaius replied, "I do, sire." He continued, "While I was treating her wound, I noticed that she wore a bracelet. It bore the mark of the great house of Gorlois. There is only one person, other than Morgana, who would have cause to wear such a bracelet. That is, a half sister."
Uther said, "I was led to believe that the child had died." Gaius replied, "The child lived, My Lord. She was smuggled out of Camelot shortly after her birth." Uther interrogated, "How do you know of this?" Gaius answered, "It was I who entrusted the child to the High Priestesses of the Old Religion. I had sworn a solemn oath, my Lord. I'm only breaking it now because she has resurfaced."
Arthur said, "So both daughters of Vivienne have magic. Is there any reason to fear they know of each other?" Gaius replied, "I'm fairly certain that Morgause knows of Morgana, but I doubt that Morgana knows of her." Aredian interjected, "Morgana cannot find out about her. If she allied with her, I fear that their power may become exponentially increased." Gaius said, "As I said, there is nothing to worry about." Arthur added, "For now."
Arthur and Aredian walked out of the room. Arthur said, "I'm exhausted. We've been hunting down Morgana for weeks, and now we have to deal with her sister." Aredian said, "Indeed. We need a break." Arthur smiled and said, "We could use some meed. We can't exactly go to a tavern in the city. But I have heard of one far enough away that I won't be recognized." Aredian said, "Let's go then."
They took horses and went to a distant village's tavern. They went inside and sat at a table. The waitress said, "Afternoon. What'll it be?" Before Arthur could respond, she said, "You're a handsome fellow." Arthur arrogantly said, "Well, you wouldn't be the first to say it." She said, "Oh, no, sorry. I was talking about your friend here." Aredian smiled and said, "Why, thank you, my lady." Arthur said, "Two tankards of mead, please."
A gruff-looking man entered the tavern, and everyone became quiet. He threw what another waitress was holding and said, "Afternoon, Mary. Business looks good." She said, "We have our better days." He said, "I don't suppose you'd begrudge me my share, then." She gave a few coins, but the man wasn't happy and asked, "And the rest?" to which she replied, "That's all we've got." The man then threatened her with a knife, saying, "I will not ask again."
Arthur got up, approached the man, and said, "Take your hands off her." The man went to him and tried to punch him, but Arthur dodged and kicked him in the leg. The man fell but got up in less than a second and said, "I'm gonna make you pay for that!" Seeing this, Aredian couldn't help but laugh lightly. That fool was going against Arthur. He was the one who was going to pay for that decision.
But then, the man whistled, and a dozen or so men, clearly goons of his, entered the tavern. At that time, a man with long hair got up from a table and said, "You two have got yourselves in a bit of a pickle, haven't you?" Arthur advised him, "You should get out of here while you have the chance." To which the man replied, "You're probably right," before punching the leader of the thugs in the face.
A fight began in the tavern between the thugs and Arthur, along with the man with long hair. Aredian decided to join the fight. He used the skills he acquired in decades of witchfinding (and killing) to his benefit. In his subtle methods of fighting, he ended up behind the counter of the tavern, throwing plates at the thugs, a strategy that was very effective. After he used up all the plates, the man with long hair came up to him and said, "Pass the jug," pointing to a jug behind him.
Aredian passed the jug, from which the man with long hair promptly drank. The man asked for his name, to which he replied, "Aredian." The man said, "Gwaine. Pleasure to meet you." A thug tried to attack him from behind, but he smashed the jug against his head. He then said, with a smile, "Such a waste, huh?"
There was only one thug left standing, the original one. He managed to knock Arthur to the ground. He pulled out a dagger. Gwaine rushed him and managed to drop him to the floor, but he got stabbed in the leg in the process. Aredian immediately went to bandage his leg. Arthur asked, "How is he?" He replied, "Not good. He's losing a lot of blood."
The thug leader was put in the stocks. Arthur sat on his horse and said, "If this man ever troubles you again, word is to be sent to Camelot. Soldiers will be here within a day." Mary asked, "How can you make a promise like that?" Arthur replied, "Because I'm the King's son, Prince Arthur." Arthur and Aredian then rode off, with Aredian taking Gwaine.
They took Gwaine to Gaius, who did his best to heal him. The following day, in the morning, Aredian went to visit him, only to find he was still asleep. So he woke him. Gwaine immediately asked, "What am I doing in this bed?" He replied, "You're in Camelot, being treated by the court physician." Gwaine had a startled look on his face, so he added, "The man you saved is Prince Arthur." He was shocked to hear Gwaine say, "If I'd known who he was, I probably wouldn't have. He's a noble."
Aredian chuckled and said, "Then you wouldn't be interested in meeting the king and collecting the reward he'll give you for saving his son?" Gwaine said, "No, actually." Aredian looked at him and thought he had found another man of conviction, something he appreciated more than anything else. This was the type of man who would never sell his soul to sorcery. He said, "Why did you help us?" He replied, "Your chances looked between slim and none. I guess I just kind of like the look of those odds." Aredian smiled lightly and left the room.
Aredian went to the council chambers, where the king and prince were chatting. A man who looked like a bounty hunter came through the door suddenly. Uther greeted him by saying, "Ah, Halig. You've come bearing gifts?" Halig replied, "Yes, sire. A druid girl. But she escaped last night here in Camelot. The bars of her cage were broken into pieces, as if torn apart by some monster." Uther looked concerned and replied, "Set up sentries on all the gates. Have some guards assist your search."
Arthur said, "Aredian, we should hunt this druid girl or creature, whatever it is." Aredian smiled and said, "Of course." Aredian sneered at the bounty hunter as he was leaving. Arthur asked, "Do you not like him?" Aredian said, "Why should I? All he cares about is collecting his bounty." Arthur said, "Maybe, but he is fighting sorcery in the process." Aredian said, "If he is only beholden to his pay, he can just as easily switch sides if offered a high enough price."
Arthur said, "I guess. Anyway, how's Gwaine?" Aredian replied, "He's recovering." He then added, "I have some ways to hunt down druids. I'll get to them immediately. See you later, Arthur." "Later, Aredian," said Arthur. He couldn't help but admit that the witchfinder was quickly becoming his best friend. He actually looked forward to seeing him every day. Besides, he was the only one courageous enough to fight sorcery with him and by doing so, avenging Gwen.
The next day, two dead bodies were found. It did not take Aredian even a moment to realize it was the work of a magical creature, probably the druid girl. He informed Arthur of this and also told him, "The druid girl is probably a Bastet. At night, they turn into hideous creatures who kill indiscriminately." Arthur said, "We'll be prepared tonight." Aredian said, "There is another matter. Gwaine went to a tavern last night. The innkeeper forwarded the bill," he said as he handed a note to Arthur and then continued, "to you."
Arthur said, astonished, "How did he eat four dozen pickled eggs?" Aredian said, "I have no idea." Arthur said, "I'm not paying for this. He'll need to work to pay this off." He then told Aredian what Gwaine's work would be and said, "If you wouldn't mind," Aredian said, "I'll inform him."
Gwaine said, "I have to clean all this," looking at rows of boots. Aredian said, "For the whole army." Gwaine retorted, "This is cruel and unusual punishment." Aredian chuckled and said, "While you do this, can you tell me why you don't trust nobles?" He replied, "My father was a knight in Caerleon's army. He died in battle, leaving my mother penniless. And when she went to the King for help, he turned her away." Aredian said, "That means you are a noble. If you admit that, you won't have to clean up all this. But I know you won't."
Gwaine said, "You know me well." Aredian said, "I know your type. You have strong principles that you abide by and that mean more to you than anything else." Gwaine nodded. Aredian then said, "Well, Arthur's the same. He's different, you know. I'm a commoner, yet he treats me as an equal." Gwaine replied, "Maybe. But none of them are worth dying for." Aredian said, "One day, you'll find someone worth dying for. I hope it'll be Arthur." Then Aredian left him alone.
That night, Arthur, Aredian, and Halig were patrolling the streets when a large, hideous creature greeted them. Before they could even react, it struck down Halig, something that pleased Aredian. Gwaine walked down the street at that time. He was drunk and inattentive. The fight was still raging between Aredian, Arthur, his guards, and the creature. But he ignored it.
But then the creature tried to attack Gwaine. But Arthur jumped in front of him, saving Gwaine's life but getting severely injured in the process. Aredian used one of his tricks to distract the creature, which gave Arthur enough time to attack it with his sword. It was immobilized and thrown in the dungeons.
The next morning, the creature, which was at the time a druid girl, was placed on the pyre. Though Arthur was injured, he still attended. Both Arthur and Aredian had no greater joy in life than to see the downfall of arrogant sorcerers, enchanters, and all manner of magical creatures.
As the pyre was lit, Arthur imagined his sister on it. And to his surprise, a smile came to his face, picturing that. He was set in his convictions. And nothing and no one could pull him out of it. Aredian stood next to him, as always. Everything was as it should be.
Later that day, Aredian saw Gwaine packing. Aredian said, "You should stay. We could use another sword in the fight against sorcery." Gwaine said, "Perhaps one day. Arthur is one noble who is worth dying for. And when he sits on the throne, maybe I'll return." Aredian smiled, picturing that day, a crown on Arthur's head, and him by his side.
A/N: I know the timeline doesn't perfectly fit. But Gwaine could've been drinking at that tavern earlier. And the thugs could've been extorting the tavern earlier. So I hope it'll do. Thanks for reading! Please review if you have any thoughts, positive or negative.