A Different Game of Hide and Seek
"Of all the nights the warning bell has to go off, it is tonight!" Gwaine grumbled loudly as he, Leon, Percival, Mordred, Merlin, Ganieda and the three new Knights of Camelot hurried back towards the citadel at almost a run. Guards from all over the city were rushing back, also trying to pull themselves together. Quite a number of them looked like they had been dragged out of bed, which was likely indeed the case. "I did not even get to finish that tankard and that damn innkeeper still charged me!"
"Oh, come on, Gwaine! We have plenty of nights where you can womanise in peace," Percival commented with a grin. "I'm sure the girls at the tavern are grateful from a night off escaping you!"
"Oh, ha, ha, ha, very funny," Gwaine shot back with a mock scowl as his friends took great pleasure in laughing at his expense. "As much as they are beautiful, Maela and Jura were not my focus for tonight. Merlin is – was."
Mordred, surprisingly, could not supress an amused snort at this point. "I see now why Princess Caelia thought you were trying to court Merlin," he could not help tease a little, while Merlin turned rather red in the face while Gwaine cuffed Mordred playfully around the head.
Before Merlin could utter a protest of any kind, Arthur hurried up to them. The King was barely dressed, still in his white cotton night shirt and his breeches, sword in hand and looking rather grave, which made every Knight shape up and Merlin forget his embarrassment in about five seconds.
"Arthur, what is going on?" Merlin asked, brow furrowed. "Has someone escaped from the dungeons again? Is it some kind of intruder?"
I really cannot deal with some kind of assassin right now, was a stray thought that ran through the warlock's head.
"An intruder of some kind," the King replied, still looking a little bit in disbelief. "It's Queen Accolon. She claims that a wolf has broken into the castle and attacked King Gorlagon. Both he and the creature are missing, and she is now currently in hysterics about her children going missing. Guinevere is with her at the moment; our task is to find that wolf, the children and the King."
Merlin's eyes automatically turned to look at Ganieda, whose gaze met his in an instant.
Something smells like fish, his cousin commented wryly.
Indeed, Merlin could only concur heavily.
Arthur continued. "I have already promised Queen Accolon that I will take responsibility for finding her husband. Leon, Gwaine, Percival – you will join me if the three of you are not too tipsy."
Gwaine spluttered in mock offense. "Excuse me, princess, but there are some of us who can actually hold our mead! We are not all like Percival."
"Hey!" Percival nigh on pouted at that.
Arthur chuckled and then turned to look at Merlin with a grin. "Would you like a little lie-down, Merlin, or are you up for making yourself useful?" he teased lightly.
Merlin scoffed and shook his head. "I really did not have that much to drink, Arthur. I will be fine."
"We kept him away from the barmaid's apron. He didn't get a whiff," Leon grinned a little.
"Good! Then you can help find the wolf," the King stated brightly, before Merlin could protest. "Sir Mordred, Sir Marrok, Sir Biclarel, Sir Melion, look after him, would you? Hunting and tracking are not his forté."
Merlin looked set to call the King every name under the Sun while the Knights bowed in acquiescence; Ganieda piped up, "I will go with them, Your Highness. I am rather good with animals."
Arthur looked momentarily surprised; he had clearly not expected Ganieda to volunteer herself for such a dangerous task. For a moment, the warlock feared the King would try to stop her so she decided to put some extra incentive on top.
"Furthermore, if the Queen's children are missing, it is my duty to find them. After all, I have been looking after her for the duration of her stay."
Merlin smirked a little as he watched the gears in Arthur's head whirr. The King eventually nodded despondently. "You're right, of course. Merlin, you will help find the wolf. Ganieda, find the princes and the princess. As quickly as you can. Leon, Gwaine, Percival – with me. We have little time to lose!"
Gwaine, Leon and Percival followed their King, but not without giving Merlin a look that promised a raincheck on tonight. Very soon, the warlocks, the Druid Knight and the Werewolf Knights were left alone in each other's company and it was safe to say that a blanket of uneasy tension arose between the group, with Merlin, Ganieda and Mordred facing the three Knights with steely expressions.
"Well, it seems we finally have a moment alone," Sir Marrok commented as he looked between his fellow Knight and the two warlocks. "How fortuitous."
"You think so?" Merlin shot back while keeping his unblinking gaze on all three suspected werewolves.
"Well, how else are we supposed to explain ourselves?" Biclarel joined in. He took a fortifying sigh; he really was not used to having to explain himself to anyone, let alone a servant.
A servant, he had to remind himself, with a powerful secret.
"Let's not beat about the bush much longer. You know what we are, do you not?" Biclarel decided to throw caution to the wind while Marrok and Melion kept their eyes fixed intently on the faces of Merlin and Ganieda, choosing to ignore Mordred for the time being.
"We suspect," Merlin decided to answer carefully.
"And what is it, that you suspect?" Melion pushed silkily. "You're the first to suspect anything in decades, so please, enlighten us."
"Melion," Biclarel chided coldly. He did not wish to risk losing potential new allies because of his friend's lack of manners or inability to control his tone of voice.
It was Ganieda who spoke next. "Werewolves," she replied simply; Mordred's eyes bugged out of his sockets at hearing this. The Druid Knight swallowed. He too had suspected that there was something untoward about the three new Knights, but even he had never imagined that they were ... what they were.
Melion grinned rather toothily at the answer. Biclarel spoke up before his friend could bring them into any more trouble. "Yes," he confirmed simply. "We were not newly cursed, however. Each of us is born what we are."
"Your fathers were loyal to Uther," Merlin commented, remembering Gaius's short story rather clearly.
"They were, and now we are loyal to Arthur. As our family oaths dictate," Marrok confirmed. "Our nature demands we are loyal to someone. In our case, our liege lord. So, now that you know what we are ... are you going to hand us over to Arthur?"
Merlin almost wanted to chuckle at that. "If you were a threat to Arthur, I would have dealt with you myself a long time ago," he answered easily and truthfully. "So no, none of you have anything to fear of us."
Melion scoffed at the idea of Merlin being able to do anything to them. "You sound very confident of yourself," he sneered. "What makes you think that you could do anything to harm us? You're puny-"
Before the Werewolf Knight could even finish his insult, it was Ganieda who frankly had enough of his insolence. Risking exposure, the warlock allowed her eyes to bleed fully golden and in seconds she had sent Melion flying backwards because of a powerful Stunning spell. Melion was soon spluttering and coughing on his back.
"My cousin's magic is more potent than mine. That was just a taste of what he could do to you," Ganieda stated crisply.
"He is Emrys. The most powerful sorcerer to ever have lived," Mordred was all too happy to join in, causing Merlin to turn rather beetroot at the praise. "You should show him more respect, Sir Melion."
The werewolf did not answer as he fished himself off the floor, glaring at the warlocks and the Druid as he did so. Marrok and Biclarel, on the other hand, looked suitably impressed. Marrok was soon more amused than anything else while Biclarel stared at Merlin in near reverence.
"So, it's true. You both have magic ... I must say that I did not see Sir Mordred factoring into this," he confessed softly.
"I was born a Druid. Magic is part of who I am," the Druid Knight stated simply.
"And we too were born with our magic," Merlin added, finding his ability to speak. "Mine were given to protect Camelot, to protect Arthur, who will one day unite the land of Albion and see a return of a day when all of our kinds will be able to live openly again and be respected."
Neither of the three Werewolf Knights knew precisely what to answer to that. It was Marrok who managed to regain his ability to speak.
"You're truly content to be Arthur's servant despite ... all of it? The power you wield?"
"Not despite of it. Because of it," Merlin responded easily.
The Knights nodded in understanding. Marrok suddenly grinned. "Well then, all of your secrets are safe with us," he reassured. "In the mean time, we have a wolf to find – and three Royal children. Fortunately, our noses are rather sharp when it comes to scents. We will find them."
"Where do we start?" Mordred questioned.
"Well, first we need their scents. So, we need to take a quick detour to the children's chambers and where the wolf was last seen," Biclarel answered as they set off to do as Arthur asked of them.
Ganieda pulled a bit of a face. "Your big plan is to sniff the children's beds?" she asked incredulously.
"No!" Melion looked a little affronted at that. "The room is enough. Or an item of clothing."
"That is going to be fun to explain," Ganieda commented wryly. "'Don't worry, Your Highness, there is a perfectly reasonable explanation for sniffing your children's clothes'-"
"Oh shut up," Melion growled. "As if you have better excuses!"
"I have some good ones, but I did not need them until now. Merlin has better ones," Ganieda answered brightly.
"Had plenty of practise making them up," Merlin replied modestly, while leading the way back to the children's bedchambers. He had a suspicion that was the last place they were seen; it had been long past their bed time and George was with them. His friend was after all a stickler for punctuality, even when it came to the bed time of young Royals.
Plus, Merlin could not shake this funny feeling that was precisely where they should start their search.
"I just have one question," Mordred spoke up. "How did a wolf take King Gorlagon without anyone seeing a whole lot of blood?"
No one answered him, mainly because they had finally arrived at the rooms where the Royal family of Rheged had been staying. As Merlin had already suspected, there were now at least three guards on every door – those belonging to the children certainly – and there was a whole lot of bawling coming from the King's chambers. The group exchanged a look between them before they carefully approached, making sure to stay right outside the door.
Inside Gorlagon's chambers, was Queen Accolon, face buried in her hands while Queen Guinevere was passively rubbing Accolon's back. They saw Gaius bent over the lifeless body of Ettare, which made Merlin and Ganieda's eyes widen in seconds when they recognised the boots sticking out over the blanket.
Did the wolf get Ettare?
If so, where was the King? His body was not there. Did it also get George and the children?
"-it c-c-came out of nowhere ... m-m-my husband ... m-m-my c-c-children ... f-f-find them ... p-p-please ..."
"The King will do what he can, Your Highness. I swear it..."
Merlin and Ganieda exchanged a look between them and then with Mordred. They silently agreed that there was something very odd going on and they were going to find out precisely what. Then, they looked at the three Werewolf Knights and were surprised to see a rather ugly sneer almost too overtly on the faces of Biclarel, Marrok and Melion.
Merlin felt his brow furrow and he wanted to question them about why they had such a sour face between them, but this was neither the place nor the time. He decided to distract them by turning and heading to the children's chambers. The guards did not so much as attempt to stop him, which surprised the Knights only a little. Marrok, Biclarel and Melion forgot their contempt for the treasonous Queens for a moment and turned their minds on finding the children's scents. The werewolves went about the chambers in a manner that appeared to be more investigative to the naked eye but when they were certain no unwanted witnesses walked by the chambers, they pressed a doll, a pillow or a cloak to their noses and registered the princes' and princess's scent.
"It's odd ... if the wolf attacked the children, one would expect more of a mess and blood," Ganieda mused out loud. "How did it even get in the castle without being seen?"
"Something is not right here," Mordred stated simply, shaking his head. "I just can't put my finger on what exactly."
"Well, we know one thing. The wolf didn't attack them," Melion stood up after he had been studying the younger prince's cot. "There is no blood – at all, not even a whiff. In fact, there is no other scent in here except for Their Highnesses, and George. There is also Ettare in here, and Merlin."
"Indeed," Marrok confirmed after he had taken another deep whiff of the surrounding area. "There is no foreign scent, nor any evidence of blood."
Merlin frowned at that. "Things just get curiouser and curiouser," he grumbled.
His head then turned with quite a bit of determination back to Gorlagon's rooms.
We need the scents from inside that goddamn room...
Throwing all caution and good sense to the wind, Merlin beckoned Melion to follow him and, much to everyone's surprise, the werewolf followed him without a single complaint. It seemed that being knocked on his derrière by Ganieda might have inadvertently knocked some respect for the hidden warlocks into the prideful Knight. Quietly, Merlin was glad Melion had followed him because the moment he had stepped into the chambers, Guinevere rounded on him.
"Merlin," she spoke through that faux sweet smile that Merlin truly despised. "What are you doing here?"
"Arthur sent me," Merlin answered in his best civil tone, the one he used with Morgana after he discovered her treason but could never reveal it. "He wants me to find the wolf and Ganieda to find Queen Accolon's children. I thought it best to start where it happened."
Guinevere looked set to question him further but it was Accolon who put a stopper to it. She looked up from her sob fest gratefully; Merlin found himself feeling a little uncomfortable at how tear-stained the Queen's face was but he kept himself composed.
"Oh, thank you! Thank you! Oh, Guinevere, you and Arthur are truly blessed to have such brave and loyal servants," the Queen of Rheged sniffled. "Please be careful, though, Merlin. The beast attacked Ettare ... Poor girl ... She came in to check on us and this was her reward. To be brutally mauled!"
Gaius's head turned to look at the Queen with an unreadable expression; Merlin noted it and made sure to remind himself to question the physician about that look. Meanwhile, Melion started his rounds about the room, this time being a whole lot more subtle about taking the scents in. Merlin decided to keep the Queens occupied a little while longer while the Knight did his thing.
"How did it get in, my Lady?" Merlin questioned carefully. "Where were your guards?"
The Queen sniffed. "My husband had sent them away. He does that every time he wishes to lavish affection onto his beloved plant. I came to bid him good night and we ... argued. I had been jealous of his precious plant and it turned into a bit of a tiff. We did not see it ... until it was too late ... Ettare heard the noise ... She came in and when it saw her, it attacked her ..."
Even as Queen Accolon spoke, Merlin felt his funny feeling begin singing at the top of its lungs. Quite loudly. The wolf would have needed to get past at least twelve guards patrolling at any time on the ground floor of the citadel alone. The first and second floors had even more guards at any given moment. Someone would have seen and intercepted the creature before it could pose any kind of threat to Arthur, Guinevere or their Royal guests. Hell, even he, Ganieda and Gaius would have been safe since the physician's tower had four guards, two at each entrance!
The Queen of Rheged was lying to his face, and Merlin wanted to know why.
Melion cleared his throat. Merlin's eyes went to the Werewolf Knight and saw Melion shake his head a little.
No wolf scent. Interesting.
Merlin kept his countenance and bowed low to Accolon. "Thank you, my Lady. Did you happen to see which way the creature went?"
"No, I didn't ... I'm so sorry ..."
"It is not your fault, my Lady," Merlin lied smoothly. He gave her a bright smile. "We will find him, don't worry."
Queen Accolon made a good show of nodding gratefully, while Merlin turned and headed for the door. He exchanged a look with Gaius, who kept his own countenance neutral, and together with Melion, rejoined Ganieda, Mordred, Marrok and Biclarel outside. Biclarel and Marrok already set off down the left-hand corridor, clearly following the scent of the children. As soon as they were fairly certain they were out of earshot of any eavesdroppers, Melion dropped the curveball.
"There is no wolf," he stated.
"What?" Mordred paled within seconds.
"Are you certain?" Marrok frowned.
"I was in that room, you were not, and my nose is as good as yours!" Melion frowned. "The scent in that room is perfumed by magic because of the plant but the rest of the scents are clearly human. Ettare's was in there, Ganieda's as well – obviously, since they are servants – but there are only two others. Queen Accolon and King Gorlagon himself. No one else."
"Plus, the story Queen Accolon just told me does not make a lick of sense at all," Merlin added. "Apparently, they were arguing so much about that plant of the King's that they didn't notice a wolf enter? I mean, how is that possible? You can barely go anywhere in the castle without bumping into Knights and guards. Someone would have seen it."
"I believe you. I mean, the manner of the so-called attacks feels weird," Ganieda felt confident to confess. "Wolves don't attack in this kind of manner. They hunt in packs with a strategy planned out. Even how they eat is orderly and precise. Plus, there is the fact that ... the Queen has magic ..."
"You must be joking!" Biclarel exclaimed.
"Is that why she felt strange?" Melion paled.
He, Marrok and Melion looked panicked. They held their tongues as groups of guards suddenly rushed by, shouting orders at each other as they went.
"So," Mordred was the first to speak once they were in the clear, "are we really going with the theory that the Queen may be involved in this so-called wolf attack?"
"King Gorlagon is missing, the children are missing but unharmed, there is no wolf and we know that plant is magical," Ganieda started to list. "I am fairly certain I am not involved, unless I have been sleep-spelling again; Merlin would not do this and I am certain you would not either. Plus, I doubt Morgana has the guts to come here without a disguise so yes, Sir Mordred, I think it's safe to say the Queen is involved."
Mordred flushed a little with embarrassment. Merlin found his jaw clenching in irritation.
"I think we need to split up," he stated. "That way we can find them all much quicker."
"I have King Gorlagon's scent. I will come with you and lead you," Melion stated firmly.
"I will come with you too," Biclarel added. "Just in case an extra sword is needed. I do not wish to countenance it, but if the King is one of us and he is not in his human mind, an extra sword will be needed."
Merlin nodded at him gratefully and shot them both a winning smile. "I am not used to having this much help," he admitted. "But we need to find Gorlagon before Arthur does. Lead the way."
"Good luck!" Ganieda called after the three of them as they hurried away and she, Mordred and Marrok continued to follow the children's scents.
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Gaius had seen quite a lot in his very long life – even more so ever since Merlin entered his life – but he could say with quite a high degree of certainty that the body of Ettare was a unique case that the physician was very unlikely to forget any time soon. Once he finally managed to get the poor girl's cadaver back to his chambers for her autopsy, he realised just how odd and confusing this case really was.
On the face of it, Ettare had indeed been clawed and attack by a wolf. Gaius had seen enough bodies of people who had indeed come across a wolf in a very bad mood and had lost their lives to it to know what a wolf's claw mark or bite mark looked like. But, once the physician truly started the autopsy, he quickly noted that the marks were not embedded into her body.
The marks looked like they went through every layer of the epidermis but they didn't; they simply seemed to sit shallowly on the top of her skin. Gaius had blinked a couple of times when he noted this before sighing and shaking his head despondently.
Ettare's body had been staged, very effectively for those who did not look closely enough. More importantly, Gaius quickly suspected that magic had been used to do this to the girl's body. It was the only explanation for the evidence of the wolf marks. Soon, he found the actual cause of death.
A broken neck.
Gaius shook his head in disbelief. For a moment, he had feared one of the Werewolf Knights had lost control of themselves. Now, it was clear that a sorcerer did a half-baked job of trying to frame a wolf. He really hoped that Merlin had read his look correctly and would come to see him soon,
The sound of the door to his chambers opening knocked Gaius out of his thoughts and he turned around to see Sir Galahad stick his head around the door. "Gaius, can I get you anything? It is shift change soon but I do not feel comfortable leaving you entirely undefended with that wolf in the castle."
The physician smiled kindly. "No thank you, Galahad, but that is very kind of you."
"You're welcome. Oh, and the King would like to come in and ask if the girl was killed by the wolf."
Gaius chuckled at that. He could already see Arthur's rather indignant look at being made to wait outside, but Galahad always did take guard duty extremely seriously. Whether it was guarding the Royal family or guarding the physician and his family. True to Gaius's hypothesis, Arthur came striding in after being given permission by his own Knight to enter the physician's chambers, looking quite miffed. Leon, Percival and Gwaine all looked like they were trying not to laugh at the expense of their King.
"Gaius, I am assuming that Ettare was the wolf victim I have been hearing about," Arthur stated rather imperiously and impatiently.
"Indeed, Sire, though I fear the case is actually more complex than a simple wolf attack," Gaius confessed grimly with ease.
"What do you mean?" Arthur's brow furrowed and his arms crossed, an expectant look on his countenance.
Already, Leon, Percival and Gwaine looked just as grim, exchanging a fearful, knowing look between them.
"Have a look at the marks," Gaius donned his grandfatherly, teacher voice, gesturing to Ettare's lifeless body. Arthur's frown did not fade but he did as he was told. "On the surface, it appears to be a simple case of a wolf attack, does it not?"
"Get to the point, Gaius," the King huffed impatiently.
"Look closely at the wounds, Sire. They are barely surface level. Definitely not enough to kill the girl. Furthermore, there was no blood at the scene and wolves do not usually kill by breaking their prey's neck. They prefer to win out using exhaustion and blood loss."
Arthur pinched the bridge of his nose at this point. "Are you saying ... that something else killed Ettare, attacked King Gorlagon, attacked the children and made it look like a wolf attack?" he grumbled.
"Something, or someone," Gaius confirmed.
"With magic?" Arthur pressed further, looking rather regretful as soon as he did.
"I do not like to jump to conclusions, Sire, but I suspect so," Gaius replied diplomatically.
It was at this point that Leon stepped forward, despite Percival and Gwaine looking as though they wanted to restrain him. "Sire, there is something you need to know," the First Knight of Camelot confessed with a nervous swallow as his King turned his unamused cerulean stare onto him.
"What is it, Sir Leon?" he demanded.
Percival and Gwaine looked as though they were praying internally to the gods to have mercy on them all as Leon cleared his throat. "This morning, on patrol, we discovered the carcass of a dead boar. Normally, it would not have been a cause for concern but ... Sire, it was killed by a wolf."
"A wolf? Are you certain?" Arthur pressed.
"Yes, one that was bigger than normal. Since there have been no wolf packs living so close to Camelot in years, theories started to rise amongst the men. That perhaps these wolves are not normal ones."
"In what way?" Arthur demanded.
"Magical ones, Sire. Ones like ... Morgana uses," Gwaine spoke up, not wanting Leon to bear the brunt of Arthur's inevitable anger alone. "But if what Gaius says is true then-"
"You suspected that my sister had sent her wolves here and you did not think to tell me?" Arthur really was not in the mood to let his men off so easily. His eyes had darkened considerably, causing Leon, Percival and Gwaine to brace themselves. The King shook his head at them in anger. "You should have told me."
"Sire, we did not want to worry you unnecessarily," Percival tried to explain.
"Oh, really, Sir Percival? Tell me, since you appear to believe you know what is best for me, what would I rather have? My men being honest with me, or my men leaving me in the dark until something bad happens within these very walls?!"
All three Knights winced at his tone while Gaius wisely kept his mouth shut.
The King glared between the three of them. "I will think of your punishments later. For now, we find the King, the children and the sorcerer who did this." That made Arthur pause and think; soon the King was turning whiter than snow. "Merlin ..." he whispered, fear embedded in his tone. "He thinks he's looking for a wolf ..."
Before the physician or the Knights could stop him, Arthur had legged it out of the physician's chambers, Leon, Percival and Gwaine scrambling to keep up with him. Gaius watched them hurry out, looking ever so slightly amused.
Young people, he commented to himself internally before turning back to the young life that had been snuffed out and was now lying on the table in front of him. Gaius sighed to himself and whispered, "who did this to you, Ettare ...?"
Of course, no answer came from the girl. Nor would it. Gaius abhorred necromancy and after what Morgana had done to Lancelot, even more so. No, he would trust that Merlin together with Ganieda and their friends would figure this out.
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Ganieda had never been afraid of the dark, or darkened rooms, but she had now decided that she really despised the torch-lit corridors leading down towards the palace kitchens, which was where Marrok was leading her and Mordred towards. According to their new werewolf friend, the children's scents plus George's were leading them straight towards the kitchens.
Ganieda really hoped to the gods that Cook had long gone to bed, because she really did not fancy having to explain as to why she and two Knights were skulking about in her domain. The warlock had neither the energy nor the will to do any kind of battle with that formidable battleaxe at present.
Maybe I could knock her out with a spell, if necessary? Ganieda found herself plotting quietly.
Now, now, Ganieda, that is a bit much. Just leave Cook to me and my charms.
Ah, Mordred had overheard her. The warlock felt her cheeks warm up while the Druid Knight chuckled softly.
"What are you laughing about, Sir Mordred?" Marrok questioned, shooting the pair a grin.
"Oh nothing. Just had an amusing thought," Mordred attempted to dismiss to save what was left of Ganieda's dignity.
Marrok looked like he was about to press to be let in on the joke when suddenly Sir Trsitan stepped in their path, causing Mordred to jump and Ganieda was soon mentally kicking herself because she ended up five feet in the air and screaming while Marrok gave his fellow Knight a pointed look.
"Evening," Tristan commented, looking rather pleased with himself that he had managed to catch two out of the three off-guard. "There is quite the kerfuffle going on – something about a wolf loose in the castle and here I find the three of you going for a midnight snack. Care to explain why you're all going to the kitchens? Surely it is not to hide."
Mordred and Marrok both looked more than a little affronted at the insinuation that they were being cowardly. Ganieda decided to step in before someone started a fist fight over pride. "King Arthur tasked us to find King Gorlagon and Queen Accolon's children. They have gone missing. We are going to search the kitchens for them," she replied smoothly.
Tristan raised an eyebrow. "Really? Why the kitchens first?"
"Because that is what Merlin and I used to do when we got scared of storms when we were little," the words had left Ganieda's mouth before she stopped herself. None of the Knights had expected that answer, but their expressions told her that they were going to archive that piece of information.
It got Tristan to hold his tongue and simply follow the group; no one protested to his presence. It would have made him even more suspicious, which was not what anyone needed at present and all three magical creatures agreed to have an extra sword and body on hand was never a bad thing.
When the party of four got to the kitchens, Marrok cautiously and carefully opened the door, doing a quick scan before entering the room, canvasing around for any path of the scents belonging to George and the children. Mordred followed, going left towards the washing bay and the stoves. Ganieda and Tristian followed at a sedated pace, carefully scanning the area. Tristan eventually turned around to keep an eye on the door.
Mordred spent most of his time on his knees, checking under the stoves, cookers and bays for any sign of the children or George while Marrok went around the room erratically, looking increasingly frustrated.
Must be the myriads of scents left in the room, Ganieda realised. The amount of people that had been in this place, embedding their scents in it plus the food, was likely playing havoc with Marrok's nose.
Useful in the case of hiding from a werewolf attack, but not when it came to tracking down important people.
Then, just as Ganieda herself was starting to despair a little, she heard a noise coming from the left and her head swivelled immediately towards the door that led to the pantry. She frowned and looked towards Marrok, Mordred and Tristan, all of whom were also looking in the direction of the pantry.
Marrok and Mordred quickly made their way to join her, Tristan also closely behind.
"George!" Ganieda called out experimentally. "George, are you in there?"
For a moment there was no sound or further movement. Marrok inched closer towards the door, clearly intent on investigating it for any trace of George or the children's scents. Tristan and Mordred started to draw their swords. Ganieda felt her heart race as she too edged towards the door, her magic starting to hum under her skin, ready to strike a threat.
"George?" she tried again.
"... Ganieda?" came the weak answer that was definitely George's voice. Tristan and Mordred relaxed in an instant, putting their swords away. Ganieda herself let out a sigh of relief.
"Yes! Are you all right in there? Where are the princes? The Princess Caelia?"
"We are all in here. We are perfectly fine."
Now that was an answer that none of them had expected. The Knights and the warlock exchanged a look between them.
"You're perfectly fine?" Ganieda repeated. "You weren't attacked by a wolf?"
"No! There was a wolf but it ran away. The Queen of Rheged ordered me to get her children to safety. Said she did not want to see them mauled in their beds," George responded dutifully.
Of course ... the Queen, Ganieda sighed to herself. How her Sight did not See this coming she had no idea. The Fates must be having a lot of laughs at her expense at present.
So your hunch was correct about Queen Accolon, Mordred commented grimly.
I really wish I wasn't.
"George, tis Tristan here. Did you barricade the door in any way?" Tristan asked loudly.
"No, but one of Cook's heavy supply crates fell onto my legs. I can't move," came the rather sheepish answer.
Tristan smirked and looked at Ganieda. "Which way does the door open?" he asked.
Oh boy.
Ganieda already did not like whatever plan the Knight was coming up with but she knew that he would not be dissuaded from it. "It goes inward," was all she stated with a resigned sigh.
As she had predicted, Tristan proceeded to try and break the door down by throwing his body against the door. The Knight did so about four times before the door decided to give way. Tristan gave a triumphant cry but soon he was screaming for help as – much to the amusement of everyone except George – Prince Clarion had jumped out of his hiding spot with one of Cook's smaller pans and had proceeded to hit Sir Tristan quite forcefully over his body.
One good gut whack and Sir Tristan crumpled to floor with George shouting, "Prince Clarion, enough! That is Sir Tristan! He is not a threat! Your Highness!"
Princess Caelia came rushing out, carrying her younger brother as best as she could. Ganieda rushed forth and took the young prince from the girl. "Ganieda! I am sorry about Sir Tristan! Clarion is a little zealous! George told him to hit anything and anyone that comes through that door."
"It is quite all right, Your Highness. Sir Tristan will live," Ganieda reassured with a beaming smile.
"Tell that to my ribs!" came the weak answer from inside the pantry.
"Sir Tristan, quit your whining and get up," Marrok answered brightly as he went into the pantry to get the crate off George's leg; the werewolf used only one hand to lift it right off, allowing George to shuffle out from under it, straining a little with the pain.
Prince Clarion himself looked extremely contrite. "I am sorry, sir. I thought you were a big, bad wolf."
"Oh, I am," Sir Tristan replied weakly as he slowly picked himself off the floor. "But I am on your side, Your Highness."
"Does that mean the wolf is gone now? We can go back to our own chambers?" the Prince asked excitedly.
"The wolf has not been found yet. Until then, we need to get you to somewhere safer and let the King know we have found you," Marrok stated as he helped George up.
"King Arthur? He's worried about us?" Princess Caelia looked more than a little confused. "But it was Lady Mother who told us to hide ... Did she not tell him?"
The adults exchanged a look between them.
"No, Your Highness, she did not," it was Ganieda who decided to tell the princess the truth. "But I am sure she had a very good reason for not telling him."
Yes, incriminating oneself in a crime is never a good idea.
"So, where will we hide now?" Prince Clarion asked, putting his pan back on a nearby stove as best as he could manage.
The Knights exchanged a comical look of panic that nearly made Ganieda laugh. She kept her countenance and looked at the young Royals with her best reassuring smile.
"Wolves do not climb towers easily. So how about we hide you in Merlin's room for now?"
The children lit up at this but then looked concerned.
"Won't Merlin get angry? Father says it's rude to enter someone else's chambers without permission," Princess Caelia stated primly.
"When I tell him the reason, he will not, Your Highness. He would rather have you safe," Ganieda responded kindly.
The Prince and Princess nodded, still looking a little nervous. Ganieda turned to the Knights, Tristan still clutching his side, Marrok finishing George's check-up and Mordred looking like he could use an early night already.
"I think someone should tell the King that Their Highnesses have been found."
And also tell the King that Queen Accolon lied to his face ...
"Agreed. I will do it," Tristan volunteered while wincing a little. "Pretty certain His Highness is in a bad mood right now so maybe my current state might cheer him up."
Marrok and Mordred chuckled; Ganieda snorted while Clarion turned bright red in embarrassment.
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"Why does my life always involve dark, scary and creepy crypts?" Merlin grumbled out loud as he lit his and Melion's torches before heading down into the catacombs beneath the castle. He, Biclarel and Melion had followed Gorlagon's scent all over the palace and eventually, the scent led them to the broken entrance to the crypts and catacombs.
"Are you scared of the dark?" Melion could not help but tease a little. "Don't worry, Merlin. We will protect you from the shadows and ghosts."
Biclarel gave his friend a pointed look but Merlin only chuckled. After all, Arthur dished out much worse.
"Let's just say nothing good has ever come out of these crypts," Merlin confessed. "We have had to deal with a wraith and an entire army of the dead that came out of these graves."
That made the two Werewolf Knights very nearly stumble over their own feet in shock.
"A wraith?" Melion repeated.
"A tormented soul called back into this life by a sorcerer. They can't die until they accomplish the thing that they most desire to accomplish," Merlin explained slowly. "The only way to kill them is with a sword, forged in a dragon's breath."
Gods, this feels weird... Telling someone the truth ...
"Do I want to know how you know that?" Biclarel found himself grinning.
Merlin gave the Werewolf Knight a knowing look but did not confirm verbally. Suddenly, he heard some loud shuffling from bones in one of the graves, which turned out to be a family of rats, which made him grumble internally at himself.
I really hate this place, the warlock sighed.
"Breathe, Merlin. We need you alive," Biclarel tried to keep his own amusement out of his voice.
"Yes, I need to know who managed to summon an entire army of the dead," Melion added with a smirk.
Merlin nearly rolled his eyes. "It was Morgana. She allied herself with her sister Morgause and King Cenred to launch a siege on Camelot to try and topple Uther from the throne. Morgana used a special staff to raise skeleton soldiers. I was forced to stop her ..."
The memory sent a wave of sadness through Merlin, one that he did not allow himself feel all too often. The guilt of not being there for Morgana more, for not being more honest with her about not being alone when it comes to hiding magic under Uther's nose ... Merlin often wondered what would have happened if he had truly trusted her.
It was one of the major things Merlin still disagreed on with Kilgharrah.
"You took on Morgana?" Merlin nearly laughed at the disbelief in Melion's voice. "You're powerful enough to take on a High Priestess? That's insane!"
"She was not a High Priestess back then. Morgana fought me with her sword and almost won. I had to use my magic against her," Merlin explained, feeling ever so slightly uncomfortable and embarrassed.
Biclarel chuckled softly. "You really are too modest for your own good, aren't you?" he commented.
"I do not do what I do for credit," Merlin answered simply. "I do what I have to in order to protect Camelot. That is it."
Neither Biclarel nor Melion answered him. They simply stared at him again, as they once more had their world-view shaken to its core and needed to recalibrate a little. True, they had already learned how dutiful Merlin was but now, the Werewolf Knights realised that Merlin was completely selfless. He had such power and yet every part of the young man with them was good and pure.
Little wonder so many people loved the warlock.
Both Biclarel and Melion looked like they wanted to say something, but they were silenced when the sounds of heavy padding reached their ears. In seconds, the Knights drew their swords and tensed, their heightened hearing becoming more alert. Merlin took in his new allies' stances and coiled too, his magic starting to hum underneath his skin.
His eyes started to look about the crypt far more carefully.
"Hello? Is someone there?" Merlin called out experimentally. "If you're a rat again, please just stay away."
The padding continued and was soon joined by a noise that all three of the magical creatures recognised as growling. Merlin cursed to himself internally. Suddenly, his forehead felt ever so slightly clammy.
"It's him," Melion whispered to Merlin. "The King ... His scent is closer ..."
Merlin put two and two together in an instant and closed his eyes. Gorlagon ... was a werewolf. Of course he was! Camelot never really had one normal guest, did she? Merlin sighed before steeling himself.
"Your Highness, we mean you no harm," he called out experimentally. "I am Merlin, King Arthur's man servant. I have been serving your family on occasion during your stay."
It seemed that Merlin's words were indeed having some effect, because seconds later, from behind one of the grand tombs, stepped out a giant black wolf with impressive, angry grey eyes and a sneer carved across its maw. Merlin tried not to show any fear as he bowed experimentally and respectfully towards the giant creature.
If I die, at least the story will entertain Arthur for the rest of his days, Merlin found himself dryly commenting to himself.
But the giant wolf, he barely moved. Indeed, he cocked his head at Merlin for a moment, looking more amused than anything else before his intelligent eyes took in Biclarel and Melion. The wolf carefully padded closer to take in their scents a little better, stopping in shock when he smelled something heavier in the two Knights. Even the manservant – Merlin – smelled odd.
Lighter and fruitier than any other human scent.
"Your Majesty," Merlin stated in greeting.
Gorlagon's sneer turned more into a smile and he barked in affirmation. Merlin sighed in relief and frowned in confusion. "Wait ... You can understand me?"
Gorlagon's expression turned into something akin to clearly-I-do-you-stupid-boy and he nodded.
OK, this is definitely one of the most unique things I have ever seen, and I have a dragon as a friend, Merlin could not help but comment to himself.
The warlock swallowed a little. "Who did this to you, Sire?"
The wolf immediately started barking quite vehemently and quite loudly; clearly, King Gorlagon was absolutely furious and had dived into a rant. A rant, that unfortunately Merlin could not understand a single word of and it made him wish that he had brought Ganieda along for translating. However, it was at this point that the warlock learned something new about werewolves.
"He says that this is all his wife's fault," Biclarel translated. "Apparently, the Queen came to see him and chided him for negligent behaviour. The King got angry and then got thrown back by the Queen's magic. She used the magical plant that binds his curse to his blood line to turn him into a wolf, but forgot to curse his mind. He still has his human faculties – Sire, I am not translating that! You can look at me angrily all you wish – anyway, Ettare had heard the noises, came to check on them and then the Queen killed her, attempting to frame the King for the girl's death. After that, he fled."
Merlin blinked in surprise and looked between the Werewolf King and the Werewolf Knight. "Wait ... You can still understand everything he says?" he asked in disbelief. "How?"
Melion looked like he wanted to stop Biclarel from giving away one of their kind's most closely guarded secrets but Biclarel ignored his friend. According to the latter, Merlin had trusted them with his family's closely guarded secret; it was only honourable to return the favour.
"I can hear his mind," Biclarel explained. "It's something our kind can do whether in human form or wolf form. It makes communicating much easier than simple barks and howls. I mean, howling is efficient but it doesn't effectively communicate everything. It is more of a signal that someone is in trouble."
So, werewolves had a Link too. Merlin definitely took note of that immediately. Gorlagon was looking between the Knights and the servant in sheer bewilderment. Of all the things the King of Rheged expected to find out during his trip to Camelot, it certainly wasn't the discovery that King Arthur had at least two of his own kind as his Knights and that his servant was eerily calm around magical creatures.
It seemed that the stories he had heard held some truth to them. Nothing normal ever happened in Camelot!
Merlin turned back to the King. "How do we turn you back?"
Gorlagon barked twice; Biclarel was more than happy to translate. "We need a twig from the plant and strike him three times, telling him to return to human form."
The very same room that Accolon and Guinevere are in ... Great ... Merlin grumbled internally. And if the Queen really is behind it, she might be trying to get rid of that plant!
The warlock pinched the bridge of his nose for a moment before looking from King Gorlagon to Biclarel to Melion. "Leave the plant to me," he stated. "First, we can't leave His Highness down here. Arthur will eventually search down here and we can't risk him finding the King."
"What if we just tell him what happened?" Melion suggested with a frown.
"And how do you propose you explain how we know what happened?" Merlin immediately pointed out. "There is no logical explanation without making up an excuse that is too fantastical. No – we need to hide the King somewhere else before anyone finds him. Especially the Queens."
Biclarel and Melion caught on to the last bit immediately and exchanged a look within milliseconds. Merlin caught the look between them and kicked himself internally, but decided to pretend that nothing untoward happened.
"So, where do we hide the King?" Biclarel decided to also side-step the subject for now.
"We need to put him in a place no one would ever think to look," Merlin stated simply, regarding the giant Werewolf King thoughtfully. "Somewhere that neither Arthur nor any of the other Knights would search ..."
"One of our chambers?" Melion immediately suggested. "I mean, the last place anyone would look is the bedchamber of a Knight. Or maybe yours? How many guards would be searching the chamber of the physician and his family?"
A face-splitting grin carved itself onto Merlin's countenance in about five seconds after Melion's suggestion. "Sir Melion, you are a genius ... except for the fact we have four guards at both entrances to the physician tower," the warlock's excitement was muted in less than two seconds when he remembered that ever since all the nonsense of witch hunters, false accusations, kidnappings and illnesses centred around the tower, both Uther and Arthur had put extra guard detail on the physician tower.
"Leave the guards to us," Biclarel reassured with a grin.
"You will also have to hope that Gaius isn't up there, because I really do not fancy being put onto leech tank duty again!" Merlin added, shuddering.
"Leech tank duty?" Melion repeated incredulously.
"Gaius makes me clean his revolting leech tank whenever he is really disappointed in me," Merlin explained. "It's always vile and I always end with leeches all over my face-"
"All right, we will distract Gaius too, if necessary," Biclarel shuddered at that particularly gnarly image.
King Gorlagon watched them debate with a look of disbelief and discombobulation. Even he had no idea how they were going to pull this insane plan off. There was a high likelihood of failure; surely the guards and the Knights would not be so stupid?
"All right, Your Highness," Merlin turned back to the Werewolf King, looking a bit too bright and mischievous for the King's liking. "Let's go!"
Gorlagon was tempted to protest, but there was something in the servant's eyes that he did not want to disappoint. He could only bark in affirmation, and pad after Merlin, Sir Biclarel and Sir Melion as they led the way back to the back entrance of the catacombs.
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"Well, you certainly know how to rid yourself of a problem, my Lady," Queen Guinevere commented in cold amusement as she watched guards and Knights rush about on the square below the window she was staring out of, indistinctly shouting orders and information at each other. "I must say, even I could not have imagined the solution you came up with. One that is rather elegant."
"Save your compliments; I have no need of them, nor do I wish to have them," Queen Accolon replied coldly, her eyes boring into the plant that had refused to die to her cutting spells and to her burning spells that she had flung at it in order to try and rid herself of this offensive fauna once and for all.
"And yet, you are still deserving of them," Queen Guinevere continued serenely, ignoring the Queen of Rheged's icy tone. "The Knights of Rheged and Camelot are hunting a King without knowing it, and will be responsible for putting his son onto his throne, without knowing it! Morgana will be pleased."
The plant went up into flames again quite quickly as Accolon's eyes flashed golden in anger. Her jaw clenched as she watched the fire attempt to consume her great nemesis once more but once again failed.
"I assure you, Guinevere, I did this for no one save myself," the Queen stated through clenched teeth.
The flames on the plant once more petered out pathetically, just as the door to Gorlagon's chambers burst open and King Arthur hurried in with Leon, Percival and Gwaine right behind him. Immediately, Accolon whirled around, making sure to shield the view of her husband's darling away from the intruders. Immediately, Guinevere's faux smile returned.
"Arthur! Has the creature been found?" she asked with almost believable concern.
"No, not yet. Guinevere, have you seen Merlin?" Arthur asked urgently.
"He was here about an hour ago," Guinevere replied with a dark frown. "He wanted to know what had happened. He said you had ordered him and Ganieda to find the wolf and Accolon's children."
"Indeed, I did," Arthur confirmed, looking extremely regretful. "And I might have been responsible for luring him into a trap."
That made both Queens frown in genuine confusion.
"A trap?" Queen Accolon repeated incredulously. "Whatever do you mean?"
"I have no time to explain at present, my Lady. The both of you will just have to trust me, but I need to find Merlin and quickly," the King answered rather urgently. "Where did he go after he was here?"
"Well, he was in the presence of Sir Melion," Guinevere responded simply. "After that, they left. I do not know where."
Arthur did not like that answer one bit. Worry flashed across his countenance once more as he nodded. "Thank you, Guinevere. If either of you see Merlin or Melion-"
"We will send word immediately," Accolon promised easily.
"Thank you, my Lady," Arthur bowed his head to the Queen of Rheged before hurrying out, his three most loyal Knights hot on his heels. Accolon watched them with slight disbelief. She had seen for herself that the King of Camelot had an odd relationship with his manservant but this ... went beyond anything she had ever seen before.
"Extraordinary," she whispered. "The King truly cares about Merlin and his well being."
"Arthur has always cared more about the life of his people and his men more than his own," Guinevere commented coldly. "It's what makes him so blind and stupid. His heart makes him weak."
Though the Queen was fairly certain that Guinevere's words were not her own and simply those of Morgana, they still irked Accolon greatly. The Queen of Rheged pursed her lips and turned her own steely gaze upon the Queen of Camelot. "I have seen the example of Kings who care not for their people or their men, and see them as nothing more than a nuisance. Their selfishness and greed made them blind and stupid also. Your husband may be a lot of things, my Lady, but he is most certainly not weak."
Guinevere sneered a little. "You give him far too much credit," she stated dismissively. "Also, you had better hope that your husband does find Merlin before Arthur does. Otherwise, your Regency will be killed in its infancy."
Accolon frowned. "Whatever do you mean? How could a simple serving boy pose a problem to me? His word does not hold power over mine."
"It does with Arthur," Guinevere scoffed as she started pacing. "Moreover, he has a habit of meddling in affairs that do not concern him. I myself tried to rid this world of both my darling husband and that interfering gnat of his, but in both cases my plan was foiled. How and by whom, I still have no idea." She stopped in her tracks and looked at Accolon. "If I were you, I would not underestimate Merlin in any sort of way. The boy has more lives than a damn cat!"
Guinevere's words ran through Accolon's head. She hated that they were having any kind of effect on her, but the Queen of Rheged knew that the enchanted Queen spoke the truth. More to the point, Ganieda herself said that Merlin was the honourable sort. He only ever betrayed a guest if something illegal was done.
How many of Camelot's guests had plotted within her walls and their plans had somehow been foiled? Accolon had heard from Gorlagon about King Alined's plans to cause war throughout the Isle of the Mighty had failed. No one knew precisely what happened, but now Accolon was willing to bet that Merlin had something to do with it.
Judging from Guinevere's words, even Morgana herself had issues with Merlin! How could one serving boy be so troublesome? Well, Accolon was not intent on finding out.
First, she needed to get rid of the dread plant before anyone could perhaps put two and two together and figure out what had happened.
"Send word to Morgana," the words had left Accolon's mouth before she could stop herself. "Tell her I need help with some evidence disposal."
"Consider it done," Guinevere could not keep the glee out of her voice.
Accolon closed her eyes, delivering a silent prayer to the gods; hoping that all would be well in the end. Her husband would remain gone in wolf form, her son would rule in his place and she in his name until his sixteenth birthday, when he would be off-age.
It was her right, after all she had endured.
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Poor Tristan ... I had considered Marrok as the fall guy but Clarion would not have caught him by surprise XD. How well do you think they have managed to hide Gorlagon? Will Accolon manage to get rid of the plant that has caused her so much grief? You will have to stay tuned to find out!
I hope you have enjoyed this chapter; I had a lot of fun writing this chapter. It has been brewing over the Yule holidays and over the week I have been ill so I had an insane burst of inspiration!
Also, I am currently in the process of backing up all of my work onto Wattpad and AO3. Wattpad is first since my AO3 code has not arrived yet. I am doing the back up story by story. So keep an eye out for that; on both sites, I will always remain Kingmaker'sUmbreon.
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