FIC: The Blacksmith's Son (Arthur/Gwen, PG, 10/?)
When Arthur decided to leave Camelot, it was an incredibly hard decision for him to make. But though the idea of never seeing Gwen again tore at him and it saddened him to leave Merlin behind, there was nothing left in Camelot for him. Nothing worth staying for.
Even before he bid her goodbye, he’d made up his mind to leave without the intention of ever coming back. He made the pendant for her to remember him by, and handed her both that and her sword as he congratulated her on her upcoming nuptials. Telling her how he felt about her was impulsive, but he needed to relieve his burden to her. He didn’t expect anything in return and yet her words in response had reignited that spark of hope he didn’t even realise he held, and what was meant to be his words of goodbye, turned into a goodbye kiss. After that, he walked away from her and Camelot with both the sweetest and bitterest taste on his lips.
His father took him to one of the neighbouring kingdoms, Lyonesse. At first, Arthur was uncertain as to their purpose there, but then he learnt that the king was his mother’s brother. Being in Lyonesse was incredibly emotional for both him and his father. This was the home of the woman he never got the chance to know, the kingdom where she grew up in and the king of which was the brother that she had adored. There were memories of her everywhere: in the paintings that adorned the walls, her name carved in the tree that she used to love to dance around and imprinted on the faces of her brother’s daughters. For the son who knew near to nothing of his mother and the husband who found it too painful to think of her, seeing ghosts of this woman they loved all around was extremely hard to bear, but something they both needed to endure.
Despite the fact that they were virtually strangers to the kingdom, the king welcomed them with open arms, glad that after many years of begging Uther to visit, he’d finally done so. The last time Uther had been here, he’d escorted Igraine to Camelot, where they were to wed. With her gone, he never wanted to return; the pain of her loss too vivid.
But there are few things you can run away from and fewer things still that you can keep hiding in the dark from.
***
Finding a rare moment to relax, Arthur leans out of his bedroom window and gazes fondly at the view of the kingdom.
Almost a year has passed since he arrived in Lyonesse and his life has changed so much that he struggles to recognise the man he used to be. Instead of a shed of a house, he now lives in one of the spacious castle rooms, of which he has all to himself. Whereas before he had only his father’s company, that of Merlin and sometimes Gwen to be content with, nowadays he is constantly surrounded by people. Whether it’s his uncle or his wife, Iseult, their four children of whom he is quite fond of or the people of Lyonesse who are all eager to know him, Arthur is never short on company. He finds the fuss over him quite overwhelming, but not unwelcome. His father however, is not so keen, and he takes up post as a royal blacksmith, away from all the noise. As for Arthur, being in Lyonesse has finally given him an opportunity to pursue his dream of becoming a knight. Unlike Camelot, there is no one remotely like Lancelot. The knights of Lyonesse are honourable and decent men, whom Arthur enjoys working with. Being a knight is everything he ever hoped it will be. He excels in all sorts of fighting, and his sword-fighting in particular is much admired by the other men. He gets the chance to defend and serve the kingdom with pride and honour; a role in which he relishes deeply.
And while there never seems to be a shortage of women clamouring for his attention, he never once gives them a second glance. Somehow, none of them are able to inspire the same interest in them as he was in Gwen.
Much time has passed since the announcement of her engagement, and Arthur keeps his ear pressed to the ground, awaiting news of her marriage, but it never comes. Thinking that he must have missed the news, he thinks nothing of it. But as much as he tries to forget her, Gwen graces his mind often.
But not once does it ever occur to him that she could be in danger.
***
A week later, Arthur is out training with the knights when he spots a dark shape in the sky. On closer inspection, he realises that it’s a bird and that it’s heading his way.
It literally falls out of the sky, and immediately recognising it as Merlin’s owl, Arthur reaches out his hands to catch it.
“What is that?” one of the knights asks.
Arthur grins. “Why, Gawain, I thought you’d recognise an owl when you saw one,” he says as he tries to revive the owl.
“I’ve never seen an owl before,” Gawain confesses. “And besides, aren’t they nocturnal?”
“Not this one. He’s...special. Just like his master.”
Gawain gives him a confused look and Arthur manages to awaken the exhausted owl.
Instantly recognising him, Archimedes gives him an affectionate if tired hoot.
“What are you doing here, Archimedes?” Arthur questions.
Standing up in his hands, Archimedes lifts up a leg and Arthur immediately sees the note there. Untying it, he reads it:
Arthur,
I don’t know where it is your quest has taken you and how you are keeping, but Camelot has fallen under grave danger. The king has fallen ill, the kingdom is under famine and worst still, Lancelot has imprisoned Gwen in her room and is going to force her to marry him against her will. If you can, I implore that you come back to Camelot with help. Gwen desperately needs help and I can’t do it alone.
Merlin
Immediately, his face grows ashen and he turns around, walking away from the knights.
“Wait, Arthur, where are you going?” Constantine asks.
“To see the king,” he answers, before stopping and turning around to face him. “Do me a favour, will you? Find this owl a mouse to eat,” he says, handing Constantine the owl.
Dumfounded, he takes the owl and watches as Arthur rushes to the castle.
***
A few hours later, Arthur has permission to go and help Camelot, and he brings along Gawain Constantine and two other knights to help him. The knights are fond of Camelot and in particular of Guinevere, whose beauty and benevolence precedes her, and are eager to do all they can to help her.
Darkness has already fallen over Lyonesse when they set off, and logic tells him that they should wait until dawn until they set off, but reason seems to escape him. He’s gone almost a year without news of her, and now that he has heard of her, the news isn’t exactly good news.
The entire journey he spends scolding himself for not being more attentive to news from Camelot and for not making an effort to keep in touch with Merlin.
If he’d known about the famine...
If he’d known that Camelot was in trouble...
If he’d known that Gwen hadn’t married Lancelot after all...
...then things would be so different.
***
They ride fast for a few hours, and thoughts of Gwen imprisoned by Lancelot preoccupy his mind. He tries to control the surge of anger that overcomes him when he thinks of this, and vows that when he sees Lancelot, he will pay. Arthur had warned her of the man’s true nature, but he had never wanted to be proved right.
The men enter a dense forest, lit only by the flames of their torches. They navigate through it as if it were a maze, but after a while something grabs their attention and they stop.
Up ahead of them, an unnatural light begins to shine, dimly at first before getting brighter and brighter; lighting up the entire forest.
“It must be the work of sorcery,” Gawain mutters.
Sorcery.
Arthur suddenly remembers the spells that Merlin put on Gwen’s sword at his request, and instinct tells him that it is the sword that is causing a light to shine so brightly. Of all the scenarios, he never envisioned that Gwen would have escaped and be out here in the forest. But it seems that even though far from Camelot, she’s not far from harm.
“No,” Arthur answers. “I have a feeling that it’s a sign from Camelot. We must hurry over, but men approach with caution. There is danger ahead.”
Heeding his words, the men begin to ride over to the source of light, and all the while, Arthur’s heart races, scared of what he might find there.
What they discover are knights of Camelot scattered on the ground. Alarmed, Arthur tries to locate Gwen, and sees her being dragged away by a knight still standing. She’s injured, he can tell that much, and as she drops the glowing sword from her hand, he rushes over.
Picking up her fallen sword, he makes his way over to the barely-conscious Gwen and the knight. Trying to suppress his rage at the sight, he asks the knight, “Don’t you know it’s dishonourable to attack a woman?”
The man says nothing. Instead, he drops Gwen to the ground and begins to attack him, but he is no match for Arthur and the fury behind his movements.
In no time at all, the knight falls down and Arthur heads over to Gwen’s side.
He kneels down beside her and sees that she is looking at him with her eyes almost closed.
He presses a trembling hand against her cheek, only to find it cold against his glove.
The life is ebbing away from her, he realises with horror.
He takes off his helmet to see her better, and sees that blood is pouring from her arm.
His eyes try to lock onto hers and keep her with him, but her eyes have already shut. Mind frantic, he tries to find something to impede the bleeding, and lifting up his chainmail, he tears at his undershirt. He ties the material around her arm, and hopes that it is enough to help.
Lifting up his head, he sees that the other men have quickly taken out the last standing knights.
Gawain approaches Arthur.
“Is that the Lady Guinevere?” he asks.
Arthur nods silently.
“Is she going to be okay?”
“I don’t know,” he answers hoarsely.
Elsewhere, the knight Bedivere speaks. “Arthur, there’s a young man here! He’s unconscious but alive.”
He realises immediately that it’s Merlin.
“Gather him up,” he orders. “They both need help.”
“Where are we going to go?” Constantine asks. “Camelot is far away and by the looks of things, too dangerous to risk trying to save their lives there.”
“We’ll turn back and head home,” Arthurs answers.
“But Lyonesse is a few hours away.”
“We don’t have much choice,” he says with anguish. He knows that in that time Gwen could die, but he refuses to believe it.
He picks up Gwen and holds her in his arms, and holding her close to his chest he slowly heads towards his horse.
Behind him, Gawain collects the sword from the fallen knight and finds it still glowing.
Beside him, Bedivere hoists Merlin over his shoulder, and takes him to his horse.
And with lightning speed, they rush back to Lyonesse, Arthur fervently wishing that they make it back in time.
***
After an hour, Arthur notices that Gwen’s arm still hasn’t stopped bleeding. He also notices that her breathing has begun to slow and that she’s getting colder.
He begins to panic, but keeping his mind focused, he rides on.
Behind him, he hears the sound of groaning and then a, “Where am I?” and moments later, “Wait, stop! Stop!”
Halting his horse, he turns around only to find Merlin climbing off Bedivere’s horse and heading towards Arthur, in a disorientated fashion.
“You’re awake,” Arthur states, surprised.
“Of course I’m awake, why wouldn’t I be?” he replies, eye glued onto Gwen.
“I don’t know, maybe because not so long ago you were out cold?”
Merlin doesn’t pay attention to Arthur’s words. “Hand her to me,” he instructs.
“What?” Arthur asks, his mind taking a moment to register what Merlin is saying.
“I can save her.”
Nodding, Arthur lowers Gwen to Merlin, and he takes her, kneeling down to the ground.
“She’s lost a lot of blood,” Merlin murmurs.
“Are you sure you can save her?” Arthur asks in concern.
“I’ve never been surer of anything in my life,” he responds. Swallowing, he places his hand over Gwen’s wounded arm. Blood covers him, but he ignores it. Instead, he utters a foreign phrase and Arthur watches as Merlin’s hand lights up.
They wait with bated breath to see what happens. Slowly, Arthur notices that Gwen’s arm stopped bleeding and after a while, her breathing begins to pick up. However, her eyes remain shut.
Confused, he says, “She’s not conscious.”
Merlin smiles and removing the neckerchief from his neck, his mops up the dried blood on his hand and on Gwen. “No,” he replies. “Give her a while to regain her strength and she will be.”
Arthur finds himself smiling too; suddenly ecstatic. “Thank you,” he says to his friend. Arthur realises then that he’s spent so long worrying about Gwen that he hadn’t thought about the welfare of Merlin. This is the first time he’s seen him in so long, and up until now, this thought hadn’t even occurred to him. “It’s good to see you, my friend,” he says.
Merlin continues grinning and hits Arthur in the shoulder. “It’s good to see you too, Sir Arthur.”
***
A few hours after the break of dawn, they arrive back at the castle.
Arthur carries Gwen to a guest room nearest to his, and slowly lowers her to the bed. His hand feels something cold at the back of her neck, and gently lifting the item from where it is tucked into her tunic, he sees that it is the necklace he gave her so long ago.
For some reason, seeing her with his necklace strikes a chord deep within him. It’s almost as if he expected her to forget him. But how foolish he was to think so.
Daylight pours through the window and Arthur finally gets the chance to truly examine her. She’s covered in dirt, from the mud in her messed up hair to the grime and blood on her tunic. Despite the dirt, he can tell that she’s lost a lot of weight since he last saw her and that she’s become painfully thin. Worry lines are etched deep within her face and she seems to have aged a great deal.
“Oh Gwen,” he says to her. “What troubles have you endured since I’ve been away?”
He clasps her hand and is relieved to find it warm, and slowly, he watches as a smile etches on her face.
He knows that he wouldn’t have been able to prevent a famine, or her father falling ill had he remained in Camelot. But knight or not, he would have made sure that Lancelot didn’t cause her an ounce of misery.
Gwen lets out a quiet sigh, and smiling, Arthur leans towards her and places a kiss against her lips.
“Sweet dreams, Gwen,” he says softly to her, before getting up and leaving.
He gives her a final look, in hope that she wakes up soon.
***
Chapter Eleven
Even before he bid her goodbye, he’d made up his mind to leave without the intention of ever coming back. He made the pendant for her to remember him by, and handed her both that and her sword as he congratulated her on her upcoming nuptials. Telling her how he felt about her was impulsive, but he needed to relieve his burden to her. He didn’t expect anything in return and yet her words in response had reignited that spark of hope he didn’t even realise he held, and what was meant to be his words of goodbye, turned into a goodbye kiss. After that, he walked away from her and Camelot with both the sweetest and bitterest taste on his lips.
His father took him to one of the neighbouring kingdoms, Lyonesse. At first, Arthur was uncertain as to their purpose there, but then he learnt that the king was his mother’s brother. Being in Lyonesse was incredibly emotional for both him and his father. This was the home of the woman he never got the chance to know, the kingdom where she grew up in and the king of which was the brother that she had adored. There were memories of her everywhere: in the paintings that adorned the walls, her name carved in the tree that she used to love to dance around and imprinted on the faces of her brother’s daughters. For the son who knew near to nothing of his mother and the husband who found it too painful to think of her, seeing ghosts of this woman they loved all around was extremely hard to bear, but something they both needed to endure.
Despite the fact that they were virtually strangers to the kingdom, the king welcomed them with open arms, glad that after many years of begging Uther to visit, he’d finally done so. The last time Uther had been here, he’d escorted Igraine to Camelot, where they were to wed. With her gone, he never wanted to return; the pain of her loss too vivid.
But there are few things you can run away from and fewer things still that you can keep hiding in the dark from.
***
Finding a rare moment to relax, Arthur leans out of his bedroom window and gazes fondly at the view of the kingdom.
Almost a year has passed since he arrived in Lyonesse and his life has changed so much that he struggles to recognise the man he used to be. Instead of a shed of a house, he now lives in one of the spacious castle rooms, of which he has all to himself. Whereas before he had only his father’s company, that of Merlin and sometimes Gwen to be content with, nowadays he is constantly surrounded by people. Whether it’s his uncle or his wife, Iseult, their four children of whom he is quite fond of or the people of Lyonesse who are all eager to know him, Arthur is never short on company. He finds the fuss over him quite overwhelming, but not unwelcome. His father however, is not so keen, and he takes up post as a royal blacksmith, away from all the noise. As for Arthur, being in Lyonesse has finally given him an opportunity to pursue his dream of becoming a knight. Unlike Camelot, there is no one remotely like Lancelot. The knights of Lyonesse are honourable and decent men, whom Arthur enjoys working with. Being a knight is everything he ever hoped it will be. He excels in all sorts of fighting, and his sword-fighting in particular is much admired by the other men. He gets the chance to defend and serve the kingdom with pride and honour; a role in which he relishes deeply.
And while there never seems to be a shortage of women clamouring for his attention, he never once gives them a second glance. Somehow, none of them are able to inspire the same interest in them as he was in Gwen.
Much time has passed since the announcement of her engagement, and Arthur keeps his ear pressed to the ground, awaiting news of her marriage, but it never comes. Thinking that he must have missed the news, he thinks nothing of it. But as much as he tries to forget her, Gwen graces his mind often.
But not once does it ever occur to him that she could be in danger.
***
A week later, Arthur is out training with the knights when he spots a dark shape in the sky. On closer inspection, he realises that it’s a bird and that it’s heading his way.
It literally falls out of the sky, and immediately recognising it as Merlin’s owl, Arthur reaches out his hands to catch it.
“What is that?” one of the knights asks.
Arthur grins. “Why, Gawain, I thought you’d recognise an owl when you saw one,” he says as he tries to revive the owl.
“I’ve never seen an owl before,” Gawain confesses. “And besides, aren’t they nocturnal?”
“Not this one. He’s...special. Just like his master.”
Gawain gives him a confused look and Arthur manages to awaken the exhausted owl.
Instantly recognising him, Archimedes gives him an affectionate if tired hoot.
“What are you doing here, Archimedes?” Arthur questions.
Standing up in his hands, Archimedes lifts up a leg and Arthur immediately sees the note there. Untying it, he reads it:
Arthur,
I don’t know where it is your quest has taken you and how you are keeping, but Camelot has fallen under grave danger. The king has fallen ill, the kingdom is under famine and worst still, Lancelot has imprisoned Gwen in her room and is going to force her to marry him against her will. If you can, I implore that you come back to Camelot with help. Gwen desperately needs help and I can’t do it alone.
Merlin
Immediately, his face grows ashen and he turns around, walking away from the knights.
“Wait, Arthur, where are you going?” Constantine asks.
“To see the king,” he answers, before stopping and turning around to face him. “Do me a favour, will you? Find this owl a mouse to eat,” he says, handing Constantine the owl.
Dumfounded, he takes the owl and watches as Arthur rushes to the castle.
***
A few hours later, Arthur has permission to go and help Camelot, and he brings along Gawain Constantine and two other knights to help him. The knights are fond of Camelot and in particular of Guinevere, whose beauty and benevolence precedes her, and are eager to do all they can to help her.
Darkness has already fallen over Lyonesse when they set off, and logic tells him that they should wait until dawn until they set off, but reason seems to escape him. He’s gone almost a year without news of her, and now that he has heard of her, the news isn’t exactly good news.
The entire journey he spends scolding himself for not being more attentive to news from Camelot and for not making an effort to keep in touch with Merlin.
If he’d known about the famine...
If he’d known that Camelot was in trouble...
If he’d known that Gwen hadn’t married Lancelot after all...
...then things would be so different.
***
They ride fast for a few hours, and thoughts of Gwen imprisoned by Lancelot preoccupy his mind. He tries to control the surge of anger that overcomes him when he thinks of this, and vows that when he sees Lancelot, he will pay. Arthur had warned her of the man’s true nature, but he had never wanted to be proved right.
The men enter a dense forest, lit only by the flames of their torches. They navigate through it as if it were a maze, but after a while something grabs their attention and they stop.
Up ahead of them, an unnatural light begins to shine, dimly at first before getting brighter and brighter; lighting up the entire forest.
“It must be the work of sorcery,” Gawain mutters.
Sorcery.
Arthur suddenly remembers the spells that Merlin put on Gwen’s sword at his request, and instinct tells him that it is the sword that is causing a light to shine so brightly. Of all the scenarios, he never envisioned that Gwen would have escaped and be out here in the forest. But it seems that even though far from Camelot, she’s not far from harm.
“No,” Arthur answers. “I have a feeling that it’s a sign from Camelot. We must hurry over, but men approach with caution. There is danger ahead.”
Heeding his words, the men begin to ride over to the source of light, and all the while, Arthur’s heart races, scared of what he might find there.
What they discover are knights of Camelot scattered on the ground. Alarmed, Arthur tries to locate Gwen, and sees her being dragged away by a knight still standing. She’s injured, he can tell that much, and as she drops the glowing sword from her hand, he rushes over.
Picking up her fallen sword, he makes his way over to the barely-conscious Gwen and the knight. Trying to suppress his rage at the sight, he asks the knight, “Don’t you know it’s dishonourable to attack a woman?”
The man says nothing. Instead, he drops Gwen to the ground and begins to attack him, but he is no match for Arthur and the fury behind his movements.
In no time at all, the knight falls down and Arthur heads over to Gwen’s side.
He kneels down beside her and sees that she is looking at him with her eyes almost closed.
He presses a trembling hand against her cheek, only to find it cold against his glove.
The life is ebbing away from her, he realises with horror.
He takes off his helmet to see her better, and sees that blood is pouring from her arm.
His eyes try to lock onto hers and keep her with him, but her eyes have already shut. Mind frantic, he tries to find something to impede the bleeding, and lifting up his chainmail, he tears at his undershirt. He ties the material around her arm, and hopes that it is enough to help.
Lifting up his head, he sees that the other men have quickly taken out the last standing knights.
Gawain approaches Arthur.
“Is that the Lady Guinevere?” he asks.
Arthur nods silently.
“Is she going to be okay?”
“I don’t know,” he answers hoarsely.
Elsewhere, the knight Bedivere speaks. “Arthur, there’s a young man here! He’s unconscious but alive.”
He realises immediately that it’s Merlin.
“Gather him up,” he orders. “They both need help.”
“Where are we going to go?” Constantine asks. “Camelot is far away and by the looks of things, too dangerous to risk trying to save their lives there.”
“We’ll turn back and head home,” Arthurs answers.
“But Lyonesse is a few hours away.”
“We don’t have much choice,” he says with anguish. He knows that in that time Gwen could die, but he refuses to believe it.
He picks up Gwen and holds her in his arms, and holding her close to his chest he slowly heads towards his horse.
Behind him, Gawain collects the sword from the fallen knight and finds it still glowing.
Beside him, Bedivere hoists Merlin over his shoulder, and takes him to his horse.
And with lightning speed, they rush back to Lyonesse, Arthur fervently wishing that they make it back in time.
***
After an hour, Arthur notices that Gwen’s arm still hasn’t stopped bleeding. He also notices that her breathing has begun to slow and that she’s getting colder.
He begins to panic, but keeping his mind focused, he rides on.
Behind him, he hears the sound of groaning and then a, “Where am I?” and moments later, “Wait, stop! Stop!”
Halting his horse, he turns around only to find Merlin climbing off Bedivere’s horse and heading towards Arthur, in a disorientated fashion.
“You’re awake,” Arthur states, surprised.
“Of course I’m awake, why wouldn’t I be?” he replies, eye glued onto Gwen.
“I don’t know, maybe because not so long ago you were out cold?”
Merlin doesn’t pay attention to Arthur’s words. “Hand her to me,” he instructs.
“What?” Arthur asks, his mind taking a moment to register what Merlin is saying.
“I can save her.”
Nodding, Arthur lowers Gwen to Merlin, and he takes her, kneeling down to the ground.
“She’s lost a lot of blood,” Merlin murmurs.
“Are you sure you can save her?” Arthur asks in concern.
“I’ve never been surer of anything in my life,” he responds. Swallowing, he places his hand over Gwen’s wounded arm. Blood covers him, but he ignores it. Instead, he utters a foreign phrase and Arthur watches as Merlin’s hand lights up.
They wait with bated breath to see what happens. Slowly, Arthur notices that Gwen’s arm stopped bleeding and after a while, her breathing begins to pick up. However, her eyes remain shut.
Confused, he says, “She’s not conscious.”
Merlin smiles and removing the neckerchief from his neck, his mops up the dried blood on his hand and on Gwen. “No,” he replies. “Give her a while to regain her strength and she will be.”
Arthur finds himself smiling too; suddenly ecstatic. “Thank you,” he says to his friend. Arthur realises then that he’s spent so long worrying about Gwen that he hadn’t thought about the welfare of Merlin. This is the first time he’s seen him in so long, and up until now, this thought hadn’t even occurred to him. “It’s good to see you, my friend,” he says.
Merlin continues grinning and hits Arthur in the shoulder. “It’s good to see you too, Sir Arthur.”
***
A few hours after the break of dawn, they arrive back at the castle.
Arthur carries Gwen to a guest room nearest to his, and slowly lowers her to the bed. His hand feels something cold at the back of her neck, and gently lifting the item from where it is tucked into her tunic, he sees that it is the necklace he gave her so long ago.
For some reason, seeing her with his necklace strikes a chord deep within him. It’s almost as if he expected her to forget him. But how foolish he was to think so.
Daylight pours through the window and Arthur finally gets the chance to truly examine her. She’s covered in dirt, from the mud in her messed up hair to the grime and blood on her tunic. Despite the dirt, he can tell that she’s lost a lot of weight since he last saw her and that she’s become painfully thin. Worry lines are etched deep within her face and she seems to have aged a great deal.
“Oh Gwen,” he says to her. “What troubles have you endured since I’ve been away?”
He clasps her hand and is relieved to find it warm, and slowly, he watches as a smile etches on her face.
He knows that he wouldn’t have been able to prevent a famine, or her father falling ill had he remained in Camelot. But knight or not, he would have made sure that Lancelot didn’t cause her an ounce of misery.
Gwen lets out a quiet sigh, and smiling, Arthur leans towards her and places a kiss against her lips.
“Sweet dreams, Gwen,” he says softly to her, before getting up and leaving.
He gives her a final look, in hope that she wakes up soon.
***
Chapter Eleven