"But King Arthur! You need a queen!" Calibur said to Sonic "We've already discussed this, Calibur. I'm not interested in getting a queen right now."
Sonic was tired of hearing his trusted sword nag him about the matter, but Calibur was not ready to give up just yet. "but sir-" Sonic cut him off "No! I'm not interested!"
Sonic was getting angry and Calibur could tell.
"But my Lord, you need to show interest in a queen sooner or later. We can't have you going around alone forever."
"I want to be free! Not stuck in a castle my entire life!"
"But you are the King, my Lord. Your royal duties require you to make public appearances. You need to appear in events of great ceremony, like the choosing of the queen. The people expect the king to take the role seriously and make an effort to look for a suitable bride." Sonic rolled his eyes "what if I don't want one?"
"Then you risk being seen as a careless and irresponsible ruler. The people may even start to question your leadership and wonder if you're fit to rule."
Calibur was getting more concerned by the minute. Not having a queen was bad enough, but a king who cared so little about the role he was given was even worse. A knock was heard from the door, he shifted and said whoever was at the door was told to come in, it was Sir Percival
Sir Percival entered the room, bowing his head politely to King Arthur.
"My Lord," he said, "the knights of the round table are ready to begin the choosing of the queen. We await your word." He didn't answer, he was just in an argument with Calibur. He didn't feel like causing another one. Sir Percival saw the tension between his king and his sword.
She understood the gravity of the situation, and did not want to interfere further.
She stood silently and waited for King Arthur to speak. "I'm not ready for one yet" he said to her "Of course, my Lord," Sir Percival replied. "The ceremony can be delayed for as long as you wish."
Sir Percival was understanding and respectful of King Arthur's wishes. She knew that it was important to allow the king to make his decisions in his own time, and to not pressure him into anything he was not comfortable with.
When Sir Percival left the room, King Arthur was left facing his own thoughts.
He was torn between his desire for freedom and his responsibility as a king.
He didn't want to let down his duties, but he didn't want to be chained to a castle either.
He hoped that he could find a balance between the two. "King Arthur, you must make a decision soon," Calibur finally spoke. "The knights of the round table will not wait forever before naming someone else as queen." Sonic looked at the sword and sighed "I know it's a difficult choice," Calibur continued, "but you need to think about what is best for the kingdom. You have a responsibility to the people and the land, and refusing to name a queen is not living up to that responsibility."
The door opened again "King Arthur, forgive me for interrupting but it's time for bed" Sir Percival said "forgive me for the other knights" Sonic was surprised to see Sir Percival enter the room again, but he was thankful for the interruption. He was tired after all the argument with Calibur and was ready to go to bed.
"It's fine," Sonic said to Sir Percival, "I understand that you need to take care of your duties as a knight of the round table. I will attend the ceremony when I am ready."
Sonic heads to his room, the other members of the round table were outside of his room guarding "goodnight my king" she said then shut the door Sonic was grateful to Sir Percival for her respect and understanding.
He went into his room and closed the door behind him, relieved to have some time to himself.
He lay in bed and thought about what Calibur had said to him earlier about needing a queen. He worried that he was letting the kingdom down and making a mistake by delaying the ceremony any longer
****
The knights of the round table were discussing the situation with each other.
Sir Gawain was perplexed and baffled by Sir Galahad's unexpected confession.
"You mean you've actually fallen in love with the king?" Sir Gawain asked. "How could you fall in love with him? He doesn't even want a queen?" He questioned "there's something about him... You must understand-"Sir Percival was cut off by Sir Lancelot slamming his fist on a table "A KNIGHT CANNOT BE WITH A KING!" Sir Lancelot's outburst surprised Sir Gawain and the other knights. He was known for being calm and cool-headed, so to hear him shout so ferociously was concerning.
Sir Gawain looked at Sir Percival with sympathy, realizing that her feelings for the king were a big deal. Sir Lancelot made it clear that the round table would not accept her being with the king. "Forgive me if I sound rude, but-" Sir Lancelot interrupted once more, his voice seething with anger and disdain.
"You must be out of your mind, Sir Percival! How dare you think you can be with the king! He has no interest in queens or love or romance. He is only focused on his duties as a king. You need to forget him and move on." Sir Percival blurred out "but I love him!", everyone was quiet. Sir Percival's words stunned the knights.
They realized just how deeply she was in love with the king to the point where she was willing to disregard everybody else and ignore their warnings.
Sir Lancelot tried to regain some semblance of control over the situation.
"This is ridiculous," he said, "You must be mad! He is the king, and you can't be with him! He doesn't want you, he could never love you!" Sir Lancelot's comments provoked an angry reaction from Sir Percival.
"You don't know anything!" she shouted back. "You don't know what's in his heart, or what he's thinking. You're all only thinking about yourselves, trying to keep me away from him. I love him, and I'm going to make him see that he loves me too-" "SIR PERCIVAL WE ARE ONLY HERE TO SERVE KING ARTHUR! AND THAT IS IT!" Sir Lancelot was shouting now, furious that Sir Percival was not only willing to ignore the warnings of her fellow knights, but also that she saw nothing wrong with her feelings toward King Arthur.
"WE DO NOTHING EXCEPT OUR DUTY!" He added, slamming another fist on the table.
Sir Gawain looked at Sir Percival with pity, realizing that in Sir Lancelot's eyes she was being selfish and not taking their position seriously. "But he saved me-" she got cut off again "because that's what knights do!" Sir Lancelot was not having any of her arguments and was shutting down any points she was trying to make.
He wanted to get it through to her that her feelings for the king were not justified.
"He saved you because that's his job! That doesn't mean anything. You cannot fall in love with the king, it's not right."
