Chapter Text
Camelot was a dark place.
Hushed whispers died whenever the piercing sound of metal echoed against the stone floor. The hallways were mostly empty. Servants liked to scurry away whenever a knight drew near. Leon could not remember the last time he had heard a child laughing in these halls.
It had been over a year since King Uther had died and Arthur had become King, but very little had changed. Not that anyone would have expected it to.
Sir Leon wiped a strand of hair out of his face and schooled his expression into something cold. He descended the stairs into the courtyard and onto the training field. A cold frisky wind greeted him and helped him remain stoic. He needed to be, to not scoff at the sight before him.
“Your majesty,” he bowed and ignored the way his insides turned whenever he heard King Arthur’s axe hit dead centre into the wooden, broken shield of a defenceless servant. Servants weren’t supposed to serve here. Arthur brought them here for his own amusement and their torment only.
“Sir Leon. How nice to see you. Want to join?” Arthur grinned widely at him, grabbed himself another axe and swirled it in his hand.
“I’m afraid not, Sire.” Leon grimaced and kept his head lowered. “I’m here to bring word from the delegation you’ve sent to Ealdor.”
Immediately, the King turned serious and put the axe away. “How many casualties?”
“All of them.” Leon answered through gritted teeth. “It’s always all of them, my Lord.” Always.
Rage overcame the King’s features, and he grabbed the axe again to throw it through a shrieking mass of waiting servants and knights, before the blade got stuck in a tree at the edge of the forest. “This is IT!” King Arthur yelled. “Emrys wants to play? LET us play. Set fires all around his forest! Smoke him out of his hiding place! I will not let this mockery stand!” His fist hit the table with the axes on and a vein seemed to pop in his head. It was moments like these when the resemblance to Uther Pendragon really shone from his son.
Leon shuddered but managed not to let it show. “Of course, my Lord. I’ll sent word immediately.” Tomorrow, Leon knew, they would have the wrath of Emrys set against them. He would have protested, but Leon wasn’t insane enough to side with a sorcerer. Not in a kingdom that killed people by mere association.
Well, okay, to be fair, Arthur hadn’t gone down Uther’s path THAT far.
Even Arthur Pendragon had shivered the day that Tom the Blacksmith, who had only been an associate of a sorcerer, had been sent to death, his daughter following a day later because she had not ratted her father out.
But Leon was afraid that this was the path that Arthur Pendragon was headed. Uther’s teachings had made Arthur have his own half-sister banned into the dungeons. The pressure of his expectations had pushed Arthur to deny his own sense of justice and do what was expected of him. What would have been expected of Uther. It was only a matter of time before Morgana’s head too rolled off the executioner's blade.
So, Leon did what every knight did, he bowed his head and remained quiet. Camelot was still the safest place one could be. That, he thought bitterly, said more about the state of this world than it did about the progressiveness of Camelot.
“Sir Leon! The King is asking for you!”
The next morning, Leon was basically thrown out of his dreams. “What?” He asked the serving girl who seemed nervous and quite honestly, terrified. “He’s awake?” King Arthur usually slept until noon. It went without saying that this was not positive news.
The serving girl bit her lip. “He’s upset.” She said quietly and instantly dooming Leon’s premonitions for the day. “He keeps asking us where ‘Merlin’ is.” She made air quotes, looking shaken and confused. “He says you would know what he means.”
“A merlin?” Leon blinked, feeling stupidly stunned. “What does he need a bird for?”
The girl shrugged, not only afraid of Arthur but of Leon as well. Leon couldn’t blame her. There were knights who abused their station, and it wasn’t like the King cared very much when someone complained. Quite the opposite. Everyone who dared to speak out against him was gotten rid of in some way. Leon was one of the least terrifying knights, he wanted to believe, but that didn’t help make the servants less wary.
“It’s alright. I’ll be there in a second,” Leon assured her and shooed her out of his room.
Quickly, Leon got up and put on some clothes. If the King demanded his immediate presence, then he didn’t have the time to put on armour. But gods did he wish he did. He always felt saver under a layer of metal. He grabbed his jacket on the way out, shrugging on his boots as he half walked half jumped down the hall, and finally scurried into a sprint.
The door to King Arthur’s room was half open when Leon arrived, out of breath, so he didn’t really have the time to steel himself before he pushed it open. The King would have heard him hesitate. King Arthur did not allow hesitation.
“Leon.” Arthur greeted him with a hurried expression as the King just shrugged on his shirt. “Good, you’re awake. I was worried I would wake you. Have you seen Merlin?”
Leon froze in his steps. ‘What?’ he couldn’t help but think. And who could blame him. Not only had Arthur just politely acknowledged that he’d disrupted Leon’s precious sleep, but he also seemed rather – calm for someone who’s hair stood in all directions. He seemed upset – but calmly upset.
“I’m sorry, your highness. What is it you need?” Leon asked, not to be impolite.
The king stopped for a moment, then raised a brow at him. “You can relax, Leon. It’s not your fault that Merlin is the most useless servant I’ve ever had.” He paused and nearly grinned. “Unless you went to the tavern with him last night.”
Sir Leon was at a loss for words. He hadn’t been to the tavern in years. And what did he mean, ‘Merlin was a useless servant?’ “A servant, Sire? You wanted –“ Why on earth would a King ask his servants for another servant, let alone a ‘useless’ one? “If you need a servant, my Lord, there are plenty at your disposal.” Disposal being the key word here.
Arthur raised a brow and sat down as he put on his boots. “No. Merlin will do just fine. Besides, he has the schedule for my meetings. Where is he? Don’t tell me Gaius sent him to gather herbs again.”
Now, Leon thought he must have missed something. “Gaius is – dead, Sire. If you need a physician-“
Arthur looked up, eyes widening. “Gaius is what?! ” He stared at him openly. If the shock in his face wasn’t any indication to make Leon worry - Uther had Gaius executed years ago – then the next words seriously were. “So that’s why Merlin didn’t show up.” The King cursed and shook his head and immediately got up. “I must go to him.”
“To – Gaius ?” Leon blinked. Whatever was going on in King Arthur’s head, he didn’t get it at all.
Arthur blinked at him. “Yes!”
“But, Sire – He’s been dead for years.” Leon was beginning to sweat.
Arthur stared at him as if Leon had gone mad. He stopped in his motions to dress himself and stood up straight. Then, something seemed to flicker over his face. Something like dreaded recognition, like he had figured something out, as if it had clicked in his mind. “Okay –“ He said slowly, yet still calmly. “I would think you’re lying to me, but I know you better than that. I KNOW I saw Gaius yesterday. If you think he’s dead – then something is wrong. Have you really not seen Merlin?”
Leon felt a bit hopeless at this point. “With all due respect, my Lord. I don’t know any Merlin.”
Arthur stared at him for another long moment, as if he were deep in thought. Then he nodded in quiet understanding. “Ok, alright.” He paused, hand flicking to his forehead. “That simply can’t be true.” He exhaled and closed his eyes, keeping himself collected, and wow, that was new. “I want to be wrong, but - Gather the council. I need to know what’s going on. Nothing is approved until I said so. No matter how old you think your orders are, ask me again. I think we might have been attacked by a sorcerer.”
That, on the other hand, sounded a lot more like the King Arthur he knew. Leon swallowed. “Yes, Sire.” If sorcery was mentioned, this could not be good.
“Thank you, Leon. You are dismissed.”
Leon was out the door before he let out a panicked whisper. “Did the King just thank me ?”