Coincidence or Fate? (Arthur Pendragon love-story)

Ch 35: Plans and Fights (part I)

Gwen POV:
The next day, it took us three hours to reach Ealdore, and the sight that greeted us wasn't pleasant. Kanen and his men were already there, ransacking away.
Arthur threw his dagger on a board next to Kanen's face as to gain his attention.
Kanen's face held anger as he saw us "kill them!" He yelled to his men.
His men charged as we dismounted and armed ourselves.
The men didn't hold back at all which i have to admit made me quite happy. Blows were being swung left and right but thankfully my Leoness training hasn't faded one bit.
Seeing that we held our own, Kanen retreated quickly yelling "you'll pay for this. With your lives, all of you!"
Once Kanen was gone the villagers began to murmur about our arrival. Merlin was talking with a young man who seemed to be his friend. But he wasn't given the chance to finish his talk as Arthur shouted "Merlin! Gather the villagers i need to talk to them"
Merlin: "yeah, in a minute. I'm just talking-"
Arthur: "Now Merlin! We don't have much time"
Merlin: "yes sire" he sighs and walks around talking to the people.
The villagers gathered round to hear what Arthur had to say "there's nothing to fear. I know Kanen's kind. He will be back but we will be ready for him. First we must-"
"Am i the only one wondering who the hell this is?" A voice from the crowd emerged. I looked closely and saw that it was the same young man that Merlin was first talking to.
Arthur: "i am Prince Arthur Pendragon of Camelot"
"Right and I'm Prince William of Ealdore" he said smugly
Hunith: "keep quiet Will, he's here to help us"
Will: "no, he's made things worse. Kanen will come back and he'll want revenge. You've just signed our death warrants."
Hunith: "he saved Mathew's life!" She says as she gestures to a man to her right
Arthur: "it's alright Hunith, it's his village. What would you have us do?" He addresses Will
Will: "we can't fight against Kanen, he has too many men"
Arthur: "so what's the alternative ?"
Will: "we give him what he wants" the villagers mutter with each other at this statement
Arthur: "then what? those of you who don't starve will face him in the next harvest and the one after that"
Will: "we'll manage"
The villagers exclaimed at Will shouting "How?"
Arthur: "the only way to stop him is to stand up to him"
Will kept shaking his head "no, you just want the honor and glory of battle. That's what drives people like you" he talked with venom dripping with every word "if you want to fight then risk the life of your own people, not ours!" He ended his statement and stomped off to the other side
Merlin: "Will!" He shouted after his friend but when he got no answer he went after him.
Hunith: "I'll follow you. If i am to die, i want to do it fighting"
Mathew: "that goes for me too" soon the whole village was shouting in excitement and agreement.
.........
The next morning we woke up early to get a head start on the day. Morgana and gathered the villagers in the square while Arthur got ready.
We went back to Hunith's house to check on Merlin and Arthur
Morgana: "you still haven't learned how to dress yourself?"
Arthur: "you don't have a dog, you fetch the stick yourself...no offense Merlin"
Merlin: "non taken"
Morgana and i shared a look before rolling our eyes.
Hunith walks to us holding a bowl "Prince Arthur you didn't finish your breakfast"
Arthur: "didn't I?"
Morgana: "come one, eat up"
Arthur smiles at Hunith and she turns back just as Arthur raises his spoon. I shake my head as he says "mmmm" pretending to love the food. As i was in front of him he shoves the bowl to me and turns to Merlin "right we better get going. We need wood and lots of it" he runs out of the house in a hurry as Merlin yells back "of course"
Morgana leaves after him and i finish up Arthur's bowl of porridge before giving it back to Hunith saying "Arthur said it was lovely. Thank you Hunith"
Hunith: "my pleasure dear"
I give Merlin a pat on the shoulder and follow Morgana out to the square.
Arthur: "now, I won't be able to teach you everything there is to know about fighting with a sword. But you'll learn the basics. Starts; how to block a blow and how to land your own."
As the men train with Arthur, Morgana and i work on weapons and armor.
Morgana: "there's no way they'll be able to hold Kanen off"
Gwen: "men aren't the only ones that can fight" i say with a smirk.
Morgana: "right, if the women don't fight we won't stand a chance"
Gwen: "Arthur won't see that"
Morgana: "why do you think he came here?"
Gwen: "same reason we did...Merlin. He might act like he doesn't care but...you and i know different."
During their break we take the time to talk to Arthur
Morgana: "looks like the battle is already fought and lost"
Arthur: "they'll toughen up"
Gwen: "they'll need to"
Arthur: "how are we doing for weapons?"
Morgana: "there isn't much but we'll be able to scrape together what you need"
Gwen: "it's not the weapons that worry us, it's having enough people to use them. We think the women should be allowed to fight"
Morgana: "you haven't enough men. If they were trained soldiers, maybe you'd stand a chance but they are not."
Arthur looks at Morgana then at me and shakes his head. "It's too dangerous" without another word he walks away.
Morgana: "how many bows can you make on short notice?"
Gwen: "there's plenty of wood...shouldn't take a long time for a reasonable amount. Why? What are you thinking?"
Morgana: "if Arthur refuses to train the women, then we will."
Gwen: "that way they can stay safe and still fight" i smile
Morgana: "exactly"
We spend the rest of the day training the women on the basics of archery. We made enough bows and arrows for nearly half the village, making sure there were enough for some of the men as well.
Hunith: "we cannot thank you enough."
Gwen: "its our pleasure."
Morgana: "now all we have to do is convince Arthur"
Gwen: "we'll worry about that tomorrow."