Swords & Spells (Book One):The Magic of Emrys

The Aftermath (Arthur)

To Arthur's surprise, Uther did not sentence his son to the stocks, which Arthur had willingly volunteered to be placed in for a month in exchange for Uther allowing him and Morgana to bring the rest of the flower to Emrys.

And Arthur had been good on his promise, forcing himself away from Emrys' side not long after confirming her survival to face what he thought would be his punishment from Uther. But when he stood in front of Uther, all his father had to say was, "The woman the sorcerer mentioned, did you see her?"

"Nimueh," Arthur asked, flustered. "No. It was strange, though."

"In what way?"

Arthur took a deep breath to steady himself. "If she was there, Morgana and I would've been at her mercy. I was distracted by Faolán and Morgana was somewhere else in the fortress. She could have finished us off, but she chose not to."

Uther nodded and paced the floor in front of his throne. "You must've been scared," he said in a quiet voice.

"Had its moments." Arthur didn't dare tell his father that it wasn't Faolán he'd been afraid of.

"But you rose above it and killed the sorcerer."

Arthur winced. He had forgotten about this change in the story. It hadn't been hard to convince Uther that the poison had been a part of a sorcerer's plan, but he still hadn't been moved to let them save Emrys. In a moment of panic, Morgana had told Uther that Arthur had been the one to kill Faolán. Arthur had killed many people in his time—more than he was comfortable with—but this was his first time accepting responsibility for a death he hadn't caused.

"I had hoped to reason with him," Arthur started, trying to find a way to tell his father the truth.

Uther turned sharply and shook his head at his son. "Those who practice magic know only evil. They despise and seek to destroy goodness wherever they find it. Which is why Nimueh wanted you dead. She is evil."

Arthur's eyes widened at the harshness in his father's voice. "Sounds as if you know her."

Uther looked away from Arthur and gave a curt nod. "I do. To know the heart of one sorcerer is to know them all. You did the right thing, killing that sorcerer. And even though you were disobeying me, I admit it was a good decision to save the life of this particular serving girl. I may have overlooked her significance in this matter."

Arthur swallowed, uncomfortable with the way his father was talking about Emrys, as if it'd only been a mistake to overlook her because of her power. And the lie was still itching at him: "Father, I would hate to disappoint you, especially now, but—"

Uther shushed Arthur and clapped his son on both shoulders. "I know we have had our differences in the past about how to handle sorcery in Camelot, but your actions tonight proved that you have matured far greater than I would've expected. I'm proud of you, Arthur. Never forget that."

There was a knock on the other side of the throne room's doors and Lord Bayard strode in. The little Lord had been more than willing to accept Uther's half-hearted apology, which Arthur had not been surprised to hear.

"Lord Bayard," said Uther with a smile. "Perfect timing! We have some plans to finalize, Arthur, but you're more than welcome to stay and join in on our conversation."

"Actually," said Arthur quickly, "I think it would be better if I rested, Father."

Uther nodded and approved Arthur's dismissal with a wave.

Arthur hurried from the throne room, hoping that he hadn't been too obvious. He was certain anyone could've realized that he had no intention of going back to his own chambers. He raced through the castle with little regard for anyone unfortunate enough to end up in his path as he entered the part of the servants' sector where Silas lived.