Lady of Camelot

XIII

Mordred tightens his saddle, preparing to go on his first trip. He had convinced Arthur to take him along. Merlin is trying to convince Arthur that the boy is still too young to be going on a mission while Ava watches the knights pick on the younger member.

"I think you forgot something," Leon teases. "Maybe water?"

The boy checks to see it secure to the saddle.

"No," Elyan laughs. "It's the straps to the saddle."

Mordred checks that.

"He forgot the dagger," Ava jokingly corrects. 

"Or is it his saddle?" Percival smirks. Arthur tells them to stop and the group goes off towards the forest. As they ride, Ava turns her head to see Mordred riding the horse backwards. Gwaine is trying hard to hold back a laugh and Leon is smirking as they ride ahead of the boy. The redhead nudges her brother and he turns towards the knights.

"What are you doing Mordred?"

"Melding," he mutters, unsure of himself.

"It is his first patrol," Gwaine manages without chuckling.

"Ah yes," Arthur responds, smirking. "The ancient tradition of melding."

Ava ends up letting out a laugh as they continue down the path. The young knight realizes it is a prank and readjusts his seating. The group rides through the woods around where the attack happened. Everyone keeps their eyes open in order to make sure they don't miss anything. 

"Look over here," Elyan calls. He lifts up a piece of cloth that was on a branch. 

"He's getting sloppy," Arthur concludes.

"Or leading us into a trap," Ava corrects. A figure runs past them.

"There he is," Arthur states. "Split up but be careful."

The group divide and go to various directions to corner the sorcerer. Ava stays near Arthur just in case, afraid of an unplanned attack. Osgar comes stumbling towards them with a giant gash on his stomach. He falls to his knees.

"I am Osgar and I have been tasked to give you this, Arthur Pendragon."

The injured sorcerer hands over a coin to the king before dying of his wounds. Gwaine and Elyan limp over, a gash is on Gwaine's shoulder.

"What happened to you?" Ava asks as he sits down.

"Him," he responds, pointing at the dead body. Merlin goes and Gwaine takes off his top so Ava can look at the gash. She goes to pull the basic healing kit from her saddle bag before start working on it.

"You're lucky it's not too deep," she tells him. Once finished, she slaps him upside the head. "And don't go mess with a sorcerer on your own. Did you antagonize him since all he tried to do was bring Arthur some coin?"

"We may have," Elyan admits. Gwaine looks at him. "What? She can be quite intimidating when her mother side comes out."

Arthur chuckles, rolling his eyes. Ava notices that Mordred is returning with Merlin. Maybe he went to help him bury the deceased. Arthur puts the coin in his saddle bag.

"Let's head back," he orders. The group goes back to the kingdom, having more questions than when they got here. Though the knights try to mess with each other to lighten the spirit, it was a more quiet ride back home than going there. Once back, everyone splits off to do what they need to. Ava goes straight to the royal chambers, knocking on a door. Gwen opens it, smiling. It starts to falter.

"Is Arthur okay?" she asks. 

"He is just fine. I just came to see my daughter and friend."

The smile returns as Gwen opens the door wider. Helen is sitting on the floor, paying with a doll. She is a new dress and her hair is braided back.

"I hope you don't mind," Gwen states. "But we just spent the day playing dress up."

"Why would I?"

Gwen loves to take care of her niece and to spoil that child at times.

"So when will you start training her to fight?" the young queen teases.

"Maybe when she is a little bit older. My parents started around five, so maybe then."

"She probably will be one of the toughest warriors with all the knights looking after her.

"I fear their going try to scare off any guy she may fall in love with later on."

The two laugh knowing it's true. The idea of Merlin also afraid of his daughter dating is also funny. The two women say bye and the red head grabs her daughter's hand. The two leave and head home. On the table is a couple bowls of food and a note with a small fire started. The parchment states that the food is from Gaius and that Merlin went to talk to Kilgharrah. She throws the parchment into the flames before getting Helen to eat some food. 

~~~

Ava curls closer to Merlin for some extra warmth. He wraps his arms, pulling her closer. There is a knock on the door, causing them to get up. Merlin stretches before opening it while Ava pulls the blanket up to cover her some. Standing there is Gwaine and Leon. 

"Arthur wants to go and meet the Disir," Leon states. Disir is apparently those that are to judge Arthur according to Kilgharrah. "So he sent us to see if you will join us."

"And Ava?"

"Is to watch the queen."

Merlin looks at his wife, who nods her head. He tells them he will meet them before shutting the door. He pulls his shirt on and she throws his jacket at him. He gives her a kiss. The young sorcerer goes into their daughter's  room to kiss her bye. He leaves the two females alone in the small house. Ava gets out of bed to get ready for a day of work.