A Forgotten Destiny (Merlin)

Chapter Thirty-One: Enemy Colours

"Alert the Queen, the King is back!"

~~~

The doors burst open into the royal chambers, shocking the physician and Queen who were sat at the dinning table.

"Your majesty, King Arthur has returned." A guard spoke with great urgency as he entered the room.

Gwen stood from her seat,
"Already? Surely they can't have won the battle so soon." The Queen turned to look to Gaius who had also risen from his seat, "something must be wrong."

"I fear you are right Milady." The physician agreed.

"What of Arthur? Is he hurt?" Guinevere questioned.

"The king is in fine health but is waiting for you in the throne room, he says it is of the utmost importance that you meet him there."

"Then we mustn't wait a second longer." Gwen returned before hurrying out of her chambers.

The doors into the throne room were opened by the guards and the Queen strode in at a fast pace straight towards her husband who stood with Elyan and Leon.
"Arthur? what is it? is everything alright? When I heard of your return I feared something awful had happened."

The pair quickly embraced in a hug as a sense of relief washed over Gwen as she saw her friends and family alive and well.

"We're fine, something came up and we had to come back." Arthur spoke solemnly.

It was now that Gaius had caught up to the Queen and entered the throne room.
"Milord, is everything okay?"

"Ahh Gaius I'm glad you are here, what I'm about to tell you may come as a bit of shock." The king warned.

"Arthur what is it?." Gwen spoke softly as she looked up to her husband with concern.

Taking his Queen's hands in his own Arthur nodded to Leon,
"Please... just try to keep... calm."

"Arthur, I..." Gwen trailed off but halted as she watched Leon open the door to the side entrance of the throne room. Percival and Gwaine entered holding onto the arms of a Raven haired man whose face the Queen and physician could not yet see.

As Percival and Gwaine moved closer to Arthur the face of the man they were practically pushing forward came clear. The gasp of the Queen and slight choke which escaped Gaius' throat filled the room.

There stood, back from the dead, a best friend and a son.

Caden was less than pleased to be dragged about by these knights, he would have gladly just followed them if they had asked nicely, don't these men have any manners? Prats. All of them.

The Raven haired boy yanked his arms free from the knights he now knew as Gwaine and Percival, giving them looks of annoyance as he did. It was only when a woman spoke that he turned his attention to the new people in front of him.

Tears already began forming in Gwen's eyes, "Merlin?" The Queen wore her heart on her sleeve as she spoke those words, her face overwhelmed but a smile bore upon it with the notion of Merlin being alive.

Unsettled by this woman's sadness? No happiness? Well whatever she was feeling, Caden looked anywhere but into her eyes, he looked to the old man behind her, short with white hair and a eyebrow which could reach the sky. He looked... sad too but more of shocked kind of sad, like he had heard some life changing news. Caden spared an extra glance back to the woman in red but quickly averted his gaze, he felt like an animal on display, was he meant to do a trick? Roll over and receive a reward? The Malkos Knight looked awkwardly and expectantly to Arthur.