Chapter 21 [Along the Gedref Road—Two Turns of the Hourglass Later]
[A/N: Reader's Advisory: There is some ugliness here….]
Luna brushed the countryside with her beams. Stars twinkled overhead. Breezes billowed through the trees' branches save those burdened as we shall see….
Meleagant left a message for Camelot it seems….
Arthur pressed his patrol toward the Severn. Urgency and Crisis prodded him ever onward. Rodor's and Taene's progress left them exposed be it in Gedref or along that road. Mithian's account unsettled him. Cawdor's betrayal jarred him. (Uther half-expected it.) Diplomatic hopes lay in Leon and his contingent rescuing Kay. Merlin's aid to Mithian and Britomart improved matters in that regard at least….
Merlin….
How does he do it? Most times, he cannot even keep from tripping over a chamber pot! He can barely set a dinner service or wait on me properly. He can barely hold a mace. He cannot even take a hit on a shield. Yet somehow, he saved my life. Then he rescues Princess Mithian from the Cawdorians? Arthur shook his head. Could he be bored? That's two feats on Camelot's behalf. Maybe Father should make him a knight? His eyes rolled. Nay. Absolutely not. I do not have time to watch over him constantly. He would do something *stupid*. He looked about the area. "They should have been here by now." Acrid stench clogged his nose.
"Maybe they are still back at the Severn?" a dark-haired slender knight presumed.
"Princess likes to think she's a man. I heard she hunts. Maybe that is what held them up here. Sir Lucius?" Another knight spied something in the field beside a clump of trees. "Prince Arthur! That looks like a wagon!"
Arthur frowned. He pulled up on his horse's reins. "First of all, Sir Kevin. Princess Mithian can hunt or do whatever she likes. King Rodor allows it. That is all you need to know. Be glad the King did not hear you. Aye she was hunting. That is why she and her maid are safely in Camelot." Disapproval narrowed his eyes for a few heartbeats. "Take care with that wagon. This could be a trap. Stay close." He drew his sword and rode toward the wagon. Luna offered him and the others enough view for investigation. He pulled up on the reins and dismounted. "Kevin, Lucius, Michael, take a look around."
Former campsite lay in ruins. Wagon laid on its side. Torn and disheveled clothes spread out from that spot. Servants and knights stared at Nocturne's backdrop through lifeless eyes. Mouths lay open in silent screams. Blood stained their chests and throats. Arms lay broken and in awkward positions. Burned skin's acrid odor defiled the air. Knights lay in their tunics and pants. Chain mail, weapons and valuables taken who knew where.
"Who would have done this?" Lucius winced at the grisly scene. Nausea beset his stomach. Smoke reddened his eyes.
Arthur hissed a sharp breath. Outrage flared within his heart and mind. Disgust soured his outlook. This is an act of war against Nemeth and Camelot. Whether King Rodor wants it or not, Father will not allow this to stand! How dare Meleagant do this HERE? He clenched his fists. Discipline and Instinct restrained a potential outburst. "Cawdor obviously does not care about peace. This was done on King Meleagant's order. We heard Princess Mithian's and Merlin's accounts. Those on watch saw Cawdorian knights pursue them to Camelot's walls." He grabbed the wagon's side against the ground. "Help me turn this back over." He led the other knights in standing the wagon back up on all four wheels again. "We owe it to Nemeth to treat these people with respect." He walked amongst the fallen. "Sir Charles. Sir Samuel. I watched them fight in tournaments. Both of them were noble knights." He shook his head. "Let us load them into the wagon at least. Lucius and Michael, hitch your horses to the wagon. I want you both driving it. I do not want the wolves coming for them on this night."
"What was Merlin doing out here? He is a servant." Michael helped Lucius with a chestnut-haired woman's body. He glanced toward Arthur while tending to their task.
"Merlin is also Gaius' ward and apprentice. Lady Morgana allowed him to pick certain medicinal herbs for treatments." Arthur shrugged the point off. Usefulness gained Merlin another point in his eyes. Even if he's acting like a *girl, he does his job. He saves the Princess. Disbelief and Questions filled his mind yet again. He and Kevin carried a slender young man's body with a crooked nose toward the wagon next.
That observation elicited Admiration's whistle from Kevin in spite of himself. "A servant and an apprentice healer too?" He slid the body's head and upper torso into the wagon.
"He saved us all from that witch pretending to be Lady Helen. Just do not remind Merlin of that." Arthur raised his hand. He shook his head and slid that body's legs and feet into the wagon as well. Once again, Merlin's potential worthiness cramped his brain. Could he be a knight? He let that thought go. Then he and Kevin set to carrying the next victim to the wagon.
For half of Hourglass' next turn, Respect guided the group toward getting said bodies into the wagon and secured the tailgate. Then they gathered the remaining goods. The horses were hitched to that wagon.
Caution advised Arthur to get back on the road. Urgency tugged him toward the Severn. Potential Ambush merited backup from Nemeth's remaining knights. Despite Camelot's familiar terrain, Cawdorians had plenty of hiding places. "Mount up! King Rodor and Queen Taene are still out there. I will feel better when we find them. We will ride to the Severn if we have to. But we will find them. Be on your guard!" He climbed back into his saddle. He watched the others do the same. Then he galloped back toward the Gedref road anew. Within several heartbeats, his horse's hooves trod the road's dirt again.
The wagon bumped and jostled its way across the meadow and onto the road as well. Lucius and Michael rode on its seat. Kevin rode alongside of it.
Arthur galloped off toward the distant river. Issues with Camelot retreated to the back of his mind. Merlin, however, continued to remain on his mind. He shook off his servant's conundrums. Security, Diplomacy and Safety all took priority at that point. He glanced toward the northwest. Hopefully Leon can find Prince Kay without running into a full Cawdorian patrol. He scoffed at himself over that thought. He pushed his horse faster still.
Tempus fugit. Priorities clamored to be fulfilled….