"Finally!" Arthur called the moment he noticed Myrddin. He was the first one to recover from the shock and ran towards the old wizard, nearly upsetting the table with the map, while the other men still stared at him mutely. "How is she? Is she safe? Where..." he asked quickly, not giving the wizard time to take in his surroundings nor to reply.
King Leodegrance, seeing Myrddin's confusion, walked over to his soon-to-be son-in-law, and, placing his hands on the young man's shoulders in a fatherly fashion, said, "You know Lord Myrddin as well as we all do, Arthur. He would not leave Guinevere if she wasn't safe."
Myrddin bowed to the king and the prince standing in front of him, then greeted the other men present in the spacious tent, sighing with relief when he spotted his Garreth standing close to the young Lancelot of the Lake on the other side of the low table buried under the huge map they had been consulting.
"Princess Guinevere was safe and well when I left her with her aunt at Warwick, under the protection of my magic," Myrddin hedged.
"Which was... a few moments ago, right?" Arthur asked, his blue eyes piercing through the old wizard, sensing the incompleteness of his answer.
"I... had to stop in Avalon before coming here," he admitted.
The time in Avalon passes in its own rhythm... The old tales came rushing to the forefront of Arthur's mind even as he asked, "How long, then...?"
"A few weeks, a month at the most. But if you give me fire, I'll tell you if she's all right immediately," Myrddin replied, his hand closed around the pouch of dried herbs hanging from his belt.
"Let us go outside!" Arthur urged, walking towards the flap that served as the entrance but was overpowered by the others.
"I'm sure your lady is safe, son. Let Lord Myrddin help us here first. God knows how much we need his advice..." King Uther spoke, in a voice which left no space for discussion. He approached the wizard, took him by the arm, and led him towards the map.
Arthur, seeing that there was no reasoning with his own father, looked at King Leodegrance pleadingly. But the man only shrugged, his trust in Myrddin and his charms, unlike in his daughter's common sense, unlimited.
At least an hour passed while Myrddin listened to the men and advised them with the strategy, promising to stay in the camp and help them fight.
The instant he was finally free, Arthur led him into the freezing night reigning outside, followed by Garreth and Lancelot.
In no time, a small fire burned brightly in front of the tent, offering Myrddin a glimpse of the army camp spreading around the main tent. The flames danced and whispered as they devoured the handful of herbs the wizard threw into them, sending flowery scent towards the dark, overcast sky, reminding Arthur of the perfume of the roses of Tintagel in Gwe... Guinevere's hair.
When the wizard's look became unfocused as he read the flames, Arthur let himself get lost in his memories and fantasies about his Lady Guinevere. If only she had told him who she really was... But he had nothing to reproach her for; it served him right for the charade he had played with Lancelot...
Interminable minutes passed in silence, only disturbed by the crackling of the fire and the flames' hissing at the snowflakes that had started to fall from the heavy clouds. The men hardly allowed themselves to breathe lest they should disturb the wizard's Sight. Then, finally, he returned to them.
Myrddin shook his head as if to clear it, and his eyes found Garreth. "Your mother is well," he said, sounding confused. "I saw... men carrying King Gwynedd's banner, camped outside Windsor Castle... but I didn't see them attacking. They are... waiting..."
"What about Ginny?" Garreth asked, beating Arthur to it.
"I... can't see her anywhere. It's very strange... I'll try again tomorrow; there is nothing more I can do right now unless I go back, and the kings won't let me leave until this battle is over..."
Sighing with concern, Garreth let Lancelot wrap his arm over his shoulders and lead him back towards the tent, leaving Arthur to follow them with Myrddin.
The wizard, lost in thought, took his time putting the fire out so its light would not lead the enemy soldiers to them, and Arthur waited for him patiently.
"Is there any reason why you can't see her?" he asked when the wizard was ready to return inside.
"It might... be the ancient magic of the Excalibur. The enchanted blade might work as a protective shield to its owner, making her invisible to seers and wizards, untouchable to charms..."
Arthur nodded, feeling somewhat reassured. If no magic could neither find nor harm her, then she must be safe, he thought, deciding not to think too deeply about this theory lest he would find a chink in its logic. The sooner they won this battle the faster he would be with her, that's what he had to think about now. He would try to persuade his father to dispatch a small batallion to Warwick to help her aunt's men to protect her in the meantime.
"What did they tell you in Avalon?" he asked, the name of the legendary isle sounding strange as it left his lips.
It was the place where his own half-sister was supposed to live, and Lancelot's mother, yet like so many other inexplicable things and places he had never seen personally, it was easy to believe that it did not exist, not really, the prince mused, his eyes trained on the wizard as the two of them entered the tent poorly illuminated by a few candles again. The tiny flames flickered, threatening to go out and leave the men in complete darkness, as a gust of cold wind followed them within.
"They said that if we really want to drive the Saxons out forever, the Excalibur and its owner will have to lead our army against them..."
"Nonsense," Arthur said firmly. "This place is too dangerous for her, I'd never bring her to a battlefield..."
The wizard simply nodded in answer. He felt too old to argue with a man in love, a young and apparently overprotective man at that. He smiled to himself, Arthur had a lot to learn about life, women, and the ways of Avalon-- if the High Priestess decided that Guinevere would lead their army into the final battle, then it would be so if Arthur liked it or not.
"The entire isles seem to know that Princess Guinevere pulled the Sword from the stone," Myrddin said in an attempt to change the subject.
Arthur ran his hand through his black hair and sighed in exasperation before he said, "I know. All the people coming to join our army from Albion keep telling us that they are only doing it for her..." He smiled at the wizard. "She is such an awesome girl."
"That she is," the old man agreed, smiling back at him. "Now let us win this battle so you can go back and find her, my lord."
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