King Arthur and Her Knights: Enthroned #1, Enchanted #2, Embittered #3 (36 page)

Sir Kay bowed and swept out of the room.

Moments later the handsome, dark haired, clean shaven knight entered the hall.

His entrance raised some notice from Britt’s knights. Several of the men clustered closest to Britt’s throne fell silent as they watched the young knight approach Britt.

“Welcome to Camelot,” Britt said as she stood and glided down the stairs of the dais her throne was perched upon.

“Thank you, My Lord,” the knight said, bending over in a perfectly executed bow.

“What brings you here today?” Britt asked.

“I approach you to ask for living quarters for myself and my two cousins. We grow weary of making our beds under the stars and would like to rest for a time before setting off in search of more adventures.”

“There are just three of you? I don’t think that will be a problem,” Britt said, glancing to Merlin, who was crouched over an abacus and parchment.

The wizard flapped his hand without looking up. “Go ahead.  Adopt any number of vagabond knights. We have enough room,” Merlin said.

Britt nodded in satisfaction. “There you have it. You and your cousins may seek refuge in Camelot as long as you like. We can speak to Sir Kay, who will make the proper arrangements.”

The young knight smiled. “I thank you for your generosity, My Lord.”

“Name,” Merlin said.

Britt winced. “I must beg you to forgive my poor manners, for I do not know your name,”

“It is I who must beg your pardon, My Lord, for I never thought to introduce myself. My cousins are Lionel and Bors, the sons of King Bors. I am Lancelot du Lac, the son of King Ban.”

All of Britt’s good cheer left her. She forced her lips into the shape of a smile that held no warmth. “Lancelot?”

Merlin looked up in alarm, hearing the frigid edge to Britt’s inquiry.

“Yes, My Lord,” Lancelot said, bowing again.

“If your name is indeed Lancelot you can go—,” Britt was cut off when Merlin hustled to her side.

“Lancelot, welcome to Camelot. You know who Kay is, yes? He’s the man with the unfortunate face and the intimidating mustache who showed you in. Talk to him and he will show you and your cousins to your rooms. If you will excuse us,” Merlin said, yanking Britt out of the throne room.

They stumbled past Sir Kay and a squad of guards and nearly ran into a gaggle of servants before Merlin hauled Britt into an unused bedroom.

“I want him
OUT
of Camelot, right now,” Britt snarled.

Merlin folded his arms across his chest and stood in front of the door, barring the way. “Why?”

“Because he’s a back-stabbing, spineless worm who destroys Camelot and ruins Arthur.”

“Is that in the Arthur legends from the future?” Merlin asked.

“Yes.”

“What happens?”

“He worms his way into the position of Arthur’s best friend and has an affair with Arthur’s wife, Guinevere,” Britt spat. “The two rip Arthur’s kingdom to shreds.”

Merlin didn’t even blink. “I see. You fail to realize one thing.”

“What?”

“That is a legend from the future, Britt, but right now
you
are the legend,” Merlin said.

“What do you mean?”

“It is your decision to marry.  You decide who your closest knight is. You are in control. It is your decision whether or not you wish to put Lancelot in a position of power.”

“Exactly, which is why I’m kicking him out of Camelot,” Britt said.

“You can’t.”

“Why not?”

“Did you hear anything he said after he gave his name?”

“No.”

Merlin sighed. “I thought as much. He said his father is King Ban.”

“So?”

“King Ban is your ally, and his cousins’ father, King Bors, is as well. They were the pair who rode to your rescue when King Lot and his allies attacked you. Don’t you remember?”

“I do. So what?”

“We cannot kick out the sons of our closest allies.”

Britt groaned and pinched the bridge of her nose. “This is why I didn’t want to know his name. Now we have to be afraid about offending all of his relatives. Bother feudalism!”

“It’s worse than that, I’m afraid,” Merlin said.

“How? How can it possibly be worse?”

“As long as he stays he and his cousins will have to be seated in positions of honor.”

“
What?
”

“They are princes and the offspring of your closest allies. Naturally they will sup with you at your table,” Merlin said.

“You mean I’ll have to interact with Lancelot?”

“I do.”

“Being a king sucks. You can’t do anything you want,” Britt sighed.

“Well done. Now you’re starting to get it.”

Chapter 2

A Quest

Britt tipped back the remaining wine in her goblet before letting a page refill it.

Merlin, seated at her side, leaned in and whispered, “I do hope you’re not going to tolerate the young princes’ presence by consuming as much alcohol as you did during Queen Morgause’s stay?”

Britt spoke through clenched teeth as she smiled at Lancelot when the handsome knight glanced at her from further down her dinner table. “If my methods work I see no need to correct them.”

Normally Merlin invading her personal space made her squirrely. Today she was too angry to notice.

Merlin patted her shoulder. “Cheer up, at least these three won’t be here long, and they’re not trying to kill you.”

“Fantastic,” Britt said, stabbing a radish with her knife.

Britt’s attention was redirected by a dust covered courier who hurried up the steps. “This is for you, Milord. A correspondence from King Leodegrance,” he said, passing over an envelope sealed with wax.

Britt carelessly passed the letter to Merlin—she couldn’t read old English writing—and took another slug of her wine as the wizard opened the letter and read it.

“What is it?” Britt asked.

“You’re never going to guess,” Merlin said, shaking his head in disgust. “King Leodegrance’s lands are about to be invaded.”

“
Again
?”

“Again.”

“By whom?”

“Duke Maleagant.”

“Who’s that?”

“One of King Ryence’s allies.”

“We should attack Ryence’s lands and be done with it. I thought Lot was annoying, but Ryence is proving to have more perseverance,” Britt said, slumping in her chair.

“I’m not much inclined to help him,” Merlin said, folding the letter. “We’ve already bailed him out once. If we lose him as an ally I suppose it is not the worst thing in the world. You have prince Gawain and prince Ywain in your halls. If they had to, King Lot and King Urien would ride to your aid so you are not in any danger.”

“Yeah,” Britt said. She stared out at her dining knights and watched them eat, drink, and roar in laughter. “Wait a second,” Britt said. “If Maleagant and Leodegrance do make an alliance my chances of getting the Round Table are ruined, aren’t they?”

“Undoubtedly.”

Britt thought for a moment before she stood and declared, “It is not right to let an ally face an enemy alone. We must help King Leodegrance, my honor is staked on it,” Britt said.

“Bravo,” Lancelot clapped.

Merlin rolled his eyes at the foreign knight’s antics and muttered, “You just want to save your precious table.”

Britt ignored the observation and slowly turned to face Lancelot, a stiff smile molded on her face. “Were you listening in on our private conversation, Lancelot?”

“Only a bit. I admire the stoutness of your loyalty, My Lord. You are truly worthy of being the King of England,” Lancelot said, rubbing his chin.

On either side of him his hulking cousins shoved food in their mouths like it was their last meal for the week.

“Hmm,” Britt said before forcibly turning her body back to Merlin. “It doesn’t matter what my motives are. What is clear is that we must ride to King Leodegrance’s aid.”

Merlin sighed. “It’s not that easy. If you save him he’s going to insist you marry his daughter.”

“So we help him without his knowledge,” Britt said.

“Go on, I am intrigued,” Merlin said.

“A small party of our best knights could easily enter King Leodegrance’s borders. They could pillage and plunder Maleagant’s forces,” Britt said.

“Pillage and plunder? What happened to honor and chivalry?” Merlin asked.

“They flee the moment I sense my table is in danger,” Britt said.

“There is some intelligence in what you say. Maleagant will not be able to amass the army Ryence did. At the very least the knights could scout the land as we prepare the army.”

“We. We could scout the land.”

Merlin shook his head. “You are not going with them.”

“Yes I am. I want to see the Round Table,” Britt said, folding her arms across her belly.

“You cannot. Not only would it be asinine to send a
king
on a scouting trip, but looking at the round table would mean getting into
Camelgrance,
King Leodegrance’s castle.”

Britt leaned into Merlin and whispered. “You just made me welcome the man I hate most on Earth in
any
century
and
his cousins into my castle. I. Am. Going.”

Britt sank back into her chair as Merlin raised an eyebrow. “Very well, I suppose I should let you win occasionally. Besides, I doubt there’s much danger if we head out immediately.”

“We’ll call a meeting after dinner?”

“Yes, of course.”

“My Lord,” Lancelot said, making Britt stiffen. “My compliments on your bountiful table.”

“Yes, it’s certainly a good thing that it is bountiful,” Britt said. Her gaze did not waver from Lancelot, and his cousins continued to eat with great enthusiasm.

Lancelot laughed. “I must say, My Lord, I find your kingdom both unusual and beautiful. I have never met folk half as clean nor well fed as the subjects of Camelot. ‘Tis a charming kingdom, and all can see that you have the blessing of your faerie neighbors. They guard your forests and do mischief on your enemies, leading them astray in the woods and such.”

“Perhaps, but I think lately they have failed in that area,” Britt said.

Merlin choked on his wine and gave Britt a dirty look, but Lancelot did not catch the implied slight and laughed.

“Careful with your words,” Merlin growled.

Britt smiled triumphantly. “Always.”

“Ywain and Gawain should come. Gawain has become quite adept in combat, and Ywain will never allow us to bring his cousin and not him,” Merlin said, tucking his hands into the sleeves of his robe.

“The younger Orkney princes will remain behind,” Sir Kay said.

“Naturally. This isn’t an outing, it’s a scouting party,” Merlin said.

“You will be the one to tell them they are remaining behind,” Sir Kay said.

Merlin grimaced. “Fine,” he said.

“When we split into two groups Gawain and Ywain should travel with My Lord,” Sir Bodwain said. “My Lord will be able to keep them safe.”

Britt snorted. “I fear you over estimate my abilities, Sir Bodwain.”

Sir Bodwain shook his head. “You are the best swordsman in all of Camelot, and your jousting has much improved since last year. You do not give yourself enough credit, My Lord.”

Next to Sir Bodwain, Sir Bedivere nodded in agreement.

Britt gave the pair a pained smile before looking to Merlin in a plea for help.

The wizard avoided Britt’s gaze.

“If you say so,” Britt finally said.

When Britt first came to England Sir Bodwain, one of Merlin’s star Minions, tolerated Britt. He had no belief in her combat skills or her intelligence. His opinion of her changed greatly during the war with Lot. Now, however, Britt couldn’t help but wish he retained some of his disbelief.