Tales From Camelot Series 1: PENDRAGON

by Paul Green

  Bors looked at Arthur in surprise.

  "Yes, Bors; I know the village was destroyed. But my question to you is this: were there lakes or rivers near that village?"

  "Yes. There was a river which fed into a nearby lake. That was where he once encamped near the village. You think that is where he goes?"

  "Like I said, it is only a guess. But I would like you to take me there."

  Bors looked at Arthur for a long time. Finally... "Very well. But only if you command me."

  Arthur rolled his eyes. "You cannot be serious."

  "You are twelve years of age, as of this day. You are now a man, and it is well beyond time for you to learn to issue commands. I shall take you, my Prince. But only if you command me."

  Arthur sighed. "Fine. Consider it ... you know ... a command."

  Bors smiled and clapped his fist to his chest. "I shall obey the command of my High Prince."

  "Don't overdo it, Bors."

  Bors chuckled and the men toasted each other and Arthur, in honor of Arthur's first official command as High Prince.

  "When do we leave, my Prince?" Bors grinned.

  "My name is Arthur!"

  Bors laughed and repeated his question. "When do we leave, my Prince?"

  Arthur groaned. "We leave tomorrow at first light. I shall go and tell Luella we shall be gone for a time."

  "What about us?" asked Accolon. "Should we also not join along?"

  "Yes." Arthur replied. "It is a week's journey; and we may see trouble. The four of us should go."

  Accolon and Sagremor clapped their fists to their chests and bowed their heads in respect. "Wherever our High Prince commands us, we shall go." they said in unison.

  "Oh, not you, too!"

  Chapter 49

  One week later

  The river by the lake was easily found. But Uther was not so easily found. It took two days to finally locate him.

  Bors and the other two Knights remained a short distance behind with Arthur's horse, as Arthur made his way down towards the river's shore, where Uther was sitting against a tree ... fishing.

  Surrounding Uther was an encampment that looked like it had been there for years. Sitting besides Uther on the ground was a sword, while Uther himself was wearing only a dirty tunic and long undergarments. He also looked like he had been wearing those things for a very long time.

  Uther did not look healthy. He was pale and bone thin. And though there was a large pile of fish next to him, it looked like the fish had also been there a long time. Uther didn't seem to be interested in fishing for reasons of eating.

  As Arthur approached him from behind, Uther greeted him without turning his head. "Hello, son."

  "Father? You knew I was coming?"

  "The raven spoke to me of your coming."

  "You have seen the raven!?"

  "You are not the only one to have seen him, son."

  Arthur had seen the mysterious black raven several times during his lifetime. But he was always afraid to mention it to anyone, as no one else seemed to see it. Bors had always looked at Arthur oddly when he mentioned seeing the raven as a young boy - that only he could see - and so Arthur had ceased mentioning it years ago.

  Of course, the fact that his 'mad' father had also seen the raven just now made it all the worse. Arthur was even more worried that one day, he might end up mad, like his father.

  "How are you feeling, Father? You do not look well."

  "I have known better days. Sit with me, son. I have words I wish to say to you."

  Arthur sat down next to his father, and was surprised when Uther lowered his fishing pole and put his arm around Arthur's shoulders. "I am sorry, son. I try to fight this, but I cannot. My mind is ... wrong. I am losing this battle, son. I can no longer think clearly. Except ... once in awhile when I am fishing."

  "Is that the only time when your mind ... works?"

  Uther nodded. "Although in recent days, even here I am unable to focus for long. I fear the day shall soon come when I cannot awake from this fog at all."

  Arthur nodded, seeing that his father's days indeed seem to be nearing the end.

  "It had not been easy for me, son, to have you see me like this. When the raven first spoke of your coming, my first thoughts were to flee."

  "Why then, did you stay?"

  "I do not think I shall be provided another chance to tell you that I love you, son. And that of all my regrets, my greatest is that I was not there for you."

  "I have known you loved me, father. Truly, I have always known. Bors ... has been good to me. Thank you for asking him to watch over me. That is all the proof that I need."

  Uther smiled and looked at Arthur. "You have grown. You are becoming a man."

  Arthur grinned back. "I am now twelve. I am already a man!"

  Uther chuckled. "Indeed you are, my son. Indeed you are. And Morgan? How is she?"

  "You remember Morgan!?"

  Uther nodded. "Morgan le Fay. It is the name I had once thought to name you, before I learned I had a son."

  "You had thought you were having a daughter?"

  Uther nodded.

  "Is ... Morgan ... your daughter?"

  Uther shrugged. "That, I know not. Only that I see Regan in her face. Regan must have named her as such as she knew I had once chosen that name."

  "Is ... 'Regan' what you always called my mother?"

  "Others knew her name to be Igraine. To me, she shall always be Regan."

  "Are you certain, father, that the body you had found ... was that of my mother?"

  Uther reached into a pocket and pulled out an old worn white ribbon. "Yes. I am certain."

  "Did that belong to my mother?"

  Uther nodded. "It was once a part of her wedding dress. She wore it as a ribbon in her hair."

  "You found this near her body?"

  "Yes." Uther sighed. Then he handed the ribbon to Arthur. "You should have it, now."

  "Father!" Arthur exclaimed. "I could not take this from you!"

  "It is all I have had to remember her by. Now it is all you have to remember your mother by. Take it son; it now belongs to you."

  Arthur remained quiet for a time, as he sat beside the peaceful lake, enjoying having his father's arm around him, while he held the precious white ribbon in his hand.

  "I am going to see her again, soon." Uther smiled.

  That's when the tears came to Arthur's eyes. "I do not want you to leave me, father."

  "Do not weep for me, son. Things change. Times change. And rules change. So has the raven spoken to me. Soon you shall be the High King. You shall bring important changes to this land. And I know you shall make me proud."

  "I ... have no idea how to be king."

  "You think I do?" Uther smiled. "Follow your heart, son. Stay true and faithful to what your heart tells you. If you do that, you shall make for a great king."

  "Has the raven told you this, as well?" Arthur asked, partly teasing.

  Uther looked Arthur directly in the eye. "Yes."

  Arthur gulped. "Oh."

  "I love you, son. Tell Morgan that I love her."

  "I will, father. I promise."

  "And your mother loves you both, too."

  *** *** ***

  It was the longest conversation Arthur had ever had with his father. And his father spoke the words as if they were to be his last. And Arthur would never forget the final words of his father; for they were indeed the last words spoken by High King Uther Pendragon.

  Arthur continued sitting with his father until dark. For though Uther had once more disappeared into his haze, hours earlier, he never removed his arm from his son's shoulder.

  *** *** ***

  "He still exists, Bors. He is still in there, somewhere."

  Arthur was talking with Bors and Accolon and Sagremor as they were mounting their horses, just as the sun was setting.

  "Young pup, your father has done things..."

  "I know, Bors. I know all about the people he
killed. Innocent men ... women ... servants ... and some say, even children; though I believe they greatly exaggerate. These things he did, were on that day in which he went mad."

  "It was not the first time, young pup. Upon the day his brother Ambrosius was murdered, your father ordered the execution of 120 Concubines. I still hear their screams in my sleep."

  Sagremor objected, in defense of Uther. "But it was one of those very same Concubines who murdered Ambrosius! He had no way of knowing who was loyal and who was not."

  "Still, I do not believed they all needed to die." Bors argued.

  Arthur smiled at Bors. "I recall you once telling me you had thought that compared to Ambrosius, you had thought my father to be soft. Do you think I am soft?"

  "I do."

  "Yet, I have never heard you complain that I am soft."

  "Perhaps ... I have grown soft, myself." Bors mused. "I have changed in many ways over the years, young pup; and you are largely to blame. You are much like your father, Arthur Pendragon; in some ways. Yet at the same time, you have grown to be very different. It is the areas which are different that I see to be your greatest strengths."

  "The point is, I know he has done things. But I know my father, the man and friend you once knew, is still in there, somewhere."

  "How can you know this? You say you can no longer see his heart. You say his heart is no longer there. Though he awake, it is as if he is asleep. I am sorry, Arthur; but your father is no longer there."

  "Sometimes he still weeps, Bors."

  "Perhaps, but for what reason?"

  "I know his health is fading. I have sat beside him this day for hours, watching him; though he no longer knew I was there. But something is still happening inside his mind. I can no longer see his heart, but I can still see his tears. And I can sometimes feel what my father is feeling."

  "His wife..."

  "No, Bors. This is different. I touch him when I see the tears. I can sense only one feeling of emotion."

  "What?"

  "Remorse."

  Bors looked at Arthur in surprise. "Truly?"

  "He remembers the things he has done, Bors. Though my father can no longer communicate, his mind is still there, somewhere, deep inside. When his tears flow now, it is due to remorse for the things he has done. This is why I say that the man you once knew, still exists in there, somewhere. For it is only that man, who could feel such deep remorse as I have felt."

  After a long time of silence, Bors looked back towards the river. "Perhaps ... I might go and ... spend some time with him, before we leave. Do you think he can hear my words?"

  "I do not know, Bors. I do not think so. But I talk to him anyway, just in case he can hear my words. And I tell him that I love him; just in case he can hear."

  "Thank you, young pup. If what you say is true, then there is a good friend in there I have not talked to ... in a very long time. I, uh ... I might be awhile."

  Arthur smiled as Bors turned and walked towards the evening lake.

  "Should we leave him, Arthur?" Accolon asked. "It does not seem right to leave the High King behind when he cannot care for himself."

  Arthur shook his head. "My father said he did not like me seeing him this way. I think ... that this is what he wants. It seems ... right, somehow. We shall leave him in peace, where he knows the most peace."

  Chapter 50

  One year later

  During the initial few weeks and months following Morgan's first arrival at Camelot, Morgan spent the vast majority of her time with Luella. But after Luella and Arthur had their talk about the importance of Morgan bonding with Arthur, Morgan gradually began to transition to spending more and more time with her brother.

  At first, Arthur wouldn't venture too far from Luella out in the back gardens, so that Morgan could always look and see her; and sometimes run over to 'check in' for a quick hug of confirmation. But over time, Arthur was able to pull Morgan farther and farther away.

  While it was certainly a little frightening for Morgan, she was also extremely curious about every little thing. Ants, for example, always seemed to hold Morgan's fascination for a very long time. Soon, Arthur would be able to take Morgan to other 'far away' places such as the royal stables, so that she could spend time with the horses. They always tended to frighten Morgan, because of their overwhelming size. But at the same time she liked them and eventually gave all of them names; something which ordinarily wasn't done in those days.

  Only women were usually given names; who were generally considered to be just one step above horses. Except at Camelot, of course.

  And so it was, that over time Morgan really began to enjoy spending time with her brother, as he was always taking her new places to show her new things. And each morning she would awaken with a sense of excitement and anticipation, greatly looking forward to what new wonders Arthur would show her that day.

  And in time, Morgan's true personality began to bubble forth, and Arthur was finally able to witness firsthand Morgan's 'excitability' as Luella had called it.

  And they would play games. All sorts of games. And Arthur finally got to see Morgan actually giggle for the first time. And laugh. And it gave him extra incentive to see such things more often.

  Arthur would also sometimes take Morgan to watch the Knights in training. While she never particularly cared for the fighting aspects, especially the blood, it didn't escape Arthur's notice that Morgan's eyes always seemed to follow Accolon the majority of the time. And of course, the rare times when Accolon would fall or get nicked by someone else's sword, Morgan would hold her breath until she finally saw that Accolon was okay.

  When Accolon and Sagremor would offer her greeting, as they always did, she would always politely respond back; usually with only a nod. But sometimes, Accolon would be rewarded with a shy smile, which would always result in Accolon's very wide smile. And after they would leave, Arthur would notice that Morgan would walk away with the same smile, one which would usually remain with her for some time.

  And then there was the matter of school. For early that year, Morgan had become Alfred's newest pupil; increasing the size of his class to a whopping 'two'. Luella had done her best to teach Morgan to speak during her early years in the pit; but a speech teacher, Luella was not. While Morgan was reluctant, Luella and Arthur both managed to convince Morgan to at least give it a try. And, as it turned out, Morgan loved it! And she quickly grew fond of her tutor, Alfred.

  Morgan turned out to be a very quick learner and she greatly loved learning new things. Her mind was like a sponge and Alfred quickly grew very fond of his new pupil.

  Especially ... as while Arthur would oftentimes drift into one of his endless daydreams, Morgan would sit up straight, riveted to every single word Alfred had to say. And in almost no time, Morgan had quite obviously become the 'Teacher's Pet'. Morgan also seemed to enjoy watching Arthur getting scolded for his daydreaming, and such scoldings would quite often lead to a giggle. Because it happened quite often.

  And every night at bedtime, Morgan would chatter on endlessly about the 'wondrous' things she had learned that day. Arthur actually learned more from Morgan's excited daily reviews than he had learned in class.

  Then there was the day when Arthur first took Morgan to the Marketplace. That first trip cost them both two entire nights of sleep.

  The night before they went, because Morgan was so terrified about the fact that she would be around so many people and so many strangers.

  And the reason they lost sleep the night they returned, was because it had been the most wondrous and exciting day of Morgan's life. Like a small fair, there were hundreds of merchant tents and tables lining the streets, filled with artwork and jewelry and clothing and shoes and food and sweets and games and all sorts of wonderful and beautiful things. Morgan especially loved the games. And Arthur especially like buying her sweets. And Morgan gasped at every single turn and at every single table and at every new thing that she saw.

  And because everythi
ng was new and every new thing was so exciting, Morgan would often have to stop to catch her breath. Arthur had never seen anyone be so incredibly excited and so appreciative of every tiny little thing. Even the signs on the shops she thought were wondrous. And Morgan had never seen so many wondrous and pretty things. She never wanted any of those things, of course; just seeing them was more than she could handle.

  So, for their first visit to the Marketplace, they weren't able to stay for more than an hour. For Morgan had begun trembling from so much excitement that Arthur had to bring her home early; else he thought she might actually explode.

  Bors would always accompany the two of them, whenever they would leave the immediate vicinity of the castle. As their constant protector and guardian, Morgan even began to warm up to Bors; even though he was ten times her size. But Bors had also became quite fond of Morgan and it very clearly showed. And Morgan soon began to feel very secure having Bors around, watching over her and her beloved brother.

  Arthur spent nearly every spare moment he had with his new sister; playing games and showing her new things and always leading her by the hand.

  And so it was, that by the time of Arthur's thirteenth Birth Celebration, Morgan had begun coming out of her shell. And the brother and sister had indeed bonded, just as Luella had hoped and prayed that they would.

  Chapter 51

  Thirteen year Birth Celebration

  It was a very special time, and for a great many reasons. Frederick's memory had improved to where he could sometimes remember for almost an hour! Although those times were very rare. But it was an improvement and when it happened, it gave Katelyn even greater hope that someday, Frederick would get better.

  It was also special because of the recent birth of Bors and Deorwynn's first son, Bray. Bors was as proud a father as a father could be, and had even once changed a diaper!

  But only once.

  Bors loved his new son and he loved his wife, and was already talking about making their second.

  Morgan, of course, had also turned twelve; being that they celebrated her passing of age on the same day as Arthur.