For The Love Of A Pendragon.

Chapter Twenty-Six...An Oblong Table

The following day Arthur brought the discussion to the council chamber, and as I secretly suspected we faced much greater opposition than we had planned for.

His short speech about the need for an heir and the suggestion that it be Eleanor, was met with shouts of fury and exclamations of disgust and ridicule, 'Why should we accept a woman?' declared Bedivere, the first and the loudest to protest. The rest spoke over him in continued complaint, only Cei, Tor and his brothers remained silent, to them I knew, Eleanor was the perfect choice.

'Silence,' boomed Arthur over the commotion, the hall came to a ringing quiet but the anger was still red in their faces and the violent criticisms were only words away. 'We need an heir for this kingdom,' Arthur stated with far more calm than had been displayed thus far.

'By traditional rights, I, as king of Camelot, must choose an heir, I intend to pass the throne onto Lady Eleanor as my only younger relative. This of course is not the desired circumstance, a son of my own would have been preferable but as we all know my wife has failed to birth me any children.' A quiet chatter rose, a few nodded in agreement.

'Perhaps she wouldn't have failed if you sought to please her,' snarled Bedivere, jumping to his feet and pointing an accusing finger at the sons of King Pellinore, 'you put him up to this!' he spat venomously, 'we all know why, you hope to gain control over her! It is no secret that Nerys was the bastard of your father.' Bedivere barely concluded before Cei leapt across the oblong table and tackled his fellow knight to the ground landing a heavy first on the man's face.

'Do. Not. Speak. About. My. Wife. Like. That. Again.' He growled landing a blow between each word. Geraint and Gawain, who had been sat closest to Bedivere, wrestled Cei off of him, not without difficulty. Tor pulled Bedivere to his feet and Lamorak jumped between the fighting pair, his hands pushing against their thundering chests.

'I do not expect this kind of behaviour!' exclaimed Arthur striding around the table, holding an authority in his figure that he would never have managed when we first met. 'Sir Bedivere, Sir Cei's wife was a Lady of this court, there was never a gentler or kinder soul. It does not matter her parentage, my own wife was the daughter of a farmer and yet she saved this city! Lineage does not dictate ones worthiness and you would do well to remember that.' Bedivere did not reply, nor did his heavy breathing abate.

'As for you brother,' Arthur continued turning around to survey Cei who had given up struggling against the arms of his fellows. 'I expected more from you, yes this man insulted you but Lady Nerys taught you how to control your temper and when to seek forgiveness, do not forget that.'

Cei avoided Arthur's eyes, 'yes sire,' he murmured quietly.

'Shake hands the pair of you and let us discuss this calmly and as men,' Arthur commanded, some of the other knights made for their seats again.

Cei shook off Geraint and Gawain and stiffly held out his hand, Tor released Bedivere but he did not return Cei's gesture. He sneered at the hand and replied, 'you should be ashamed Sir Cei, first you let them convince you into marrying that bastard and then when you fight for her honour you will not even stand by your scruples,' he spat at Cei's feet, 'let your daughter be queen for all we care, just know it won't last long.' Cei was too stunned to launch himself again at Bedivere until it was too late. Bedivere withdrew his sword from his belt with lighting speed and scarred Cei across his left check, it was only a thin line but the cut was deep and his crimson blood stained Bedivere's rarely used weapon. We all leapt forward in defence, but before we could stop him the attacker was gone. I had Tor and Percival support Cei to his chambers where I attended to the wound and remained with him for the rest of the day should Bedivere return for further revenge.

'I should not have done that Nimue,' he stated ashamed after a long time of silence, 'I should not have stooped to his level, I as good as confirmed Nerys parentage by my anger.'

I sighed and shrugged, 'there's nothing to be done about it now Cei. As Arthur said, Nerys was the best of women, and those who try to discredit Eleanor due to Nerys parentage will be proven wrong.'

'For once you are incorrect Nimue,' he replied quietly after a moment of contemplation. I raised my eyebrow and he continued, 'my wife was good and kindly, godly and a devoted mother, but she was not the best of women; that title, and she would have agreed with me, belongs to you.'

'How did you work that out?' I laughed trying to brush off his perfect compliment, 'I don't even look like a woman to ninety nine out of a hundred people!'

Looking across at me Cei tried to smile, it pained his face but he continued regardless, 'that is exactly my point sister. You must hide yourself, and with it you hide your love, your friendships, your marriage, your grief...' I swallowed and blinked rapidly determined not to find myself overcome with emotion, he reached over and patted my hand gently, 'and to that you add even more. Since that terrible day you have cared for my daughter as if she were your own, I could not manage, not with Nerys gone, for years I neglected my daughter, I wallowed in self-pity thinking that the whole world was lost to me without her – but I was wrong. You showed me that Nimue. We both lost a son that day but you gained a daughter and now you have reminded me that I too have claim over that dear, sweet, intelligent girl.

I should not have distanced myself from her, but Nimue she looks so like her mother, every time I look in her eyes I see Nerys and every time she speaks I hear her mother's voice planning the birth of our third child which was never to come,' Cei's voice cracked and he dashed a tear away from his eye.

'I have never been so ashamed of what I tried to do to you all those years ago and for what I had done to girls before that,' I stiffened slightly, we had never discussed Cei's less than desirable past, his eyes were now downcast as if he could not bear to look at me, 'I was a spoilt, jealous, spiteful boy, I had never known the love of any beyond my family, Arthur was the intelligent son and I was the boy who could use brute force to get whatever he wanted. Father tried to curb my behaviour, but he's never known everything...' he left the sentence hanging there in silence for a long time before finally continuing. 'I am glad Troilus caught me that night,' his voice was now barely above a whisper, 'father kept a closer eye on me after that and then he met Nerys. He knew she was the one who could mould me into the man he had always wanted me to be, the man I should have been from the start had I not been so infected with an ill temper and bitter resentment.

I regret that my improvement came at such a high price, when I think of what I would do now if a man tried to touch my daughter as I attempted to touch you,' his head snapped up and his eyes, fierce with revenge locked on mine, 'I would not let that man see another sunrise.'

'It will never happen to Eleanor,' I replied with equal strength and determination.