Chapter 19: A Question

Lancelot swallowed and stared at the mighty sword. What have I done wrong? He ran over all the words in his head and tried to discover what it was that he said that caused this reaction.

"You come to me with news of my coup. With an offer to betray your master and come into my employ. I do not believe I need a man as shifty as you are. Therefore, give me one reason why I should let you walk out of this room with your head attached."

Lancelot was about to open his mouth and probably further damn himself when a knock sounded on the door of the study.

“Your Highness, it is I, Guinevere.”

The reaction of the two men to that announcement was not completely different. Lancelot tensed, his heart picking up a staccato rhythm. Arthur also tensed, lowering the large sword slightly.

The door opened and Guinevere stepped in. She closed the door behind her and took in the scene in the study.

“Your Highness…” she started but stopped as her eyes settled on Lancelot’s back and lit up with recognition. She walked to stand beside Arthur, in front of the kneeling knight.

Despite the immediate threat to his life, Lancelot was very interested in gazing at his saviour. He raised his head but Arthur reacted, Excalibur’s end rising once more.

“Lower your eyes or I will gouge them out.”

Lancelot hurriedly dropped his eyes to the patterned rug and tried to focus on how he was getting out of the study alive. He could hear the duo having a hushed conversation above him and waited with bated breath for his sentence to be revealed.

“Knight, you say you can help us?” Guinevere said, her voice tender.

Deciding not to try his luck, Lancelot kept his head lowered. “Yes, I can help you keep the first princess’s army at bay.”

“You do realize you will be putting your life at risk with this?”

Lancelot nodded. “I understand the risk. But I have seen the senseless cruelty of the princess and it is a risk I am very willing to take.”

There was a brief silence and then, Guinevere said, “I understand. I also want to make it clear that if you betray us, and we will know if you do, I will make you wish you were never born.”

Lancelot swallowed. “I will not betray you, lady.”

"Stand," Arthur said and Lancelot rose from his kneel and stood in front of the most powerful people in Camelot.

"I will serve you well my life. Please never doubt my loyalty," Lancelot said with a deep bow. He straightened himself and tried but failed not to look at the prince's tutor. She looked positively dazzling in a riding habit and with her hair tied in a braid behind her.

Lancelot also noticed a sword hanging around her waist but… it was not his.

Figures. Why would the tutor of the crown prince use the sword of an ordinary knight? It would simply be embarrassing. Feeling a tad disappointed, Lancelot averted his eyes.

“Teacher, you should return. I will bring the knight up to date with some of our plans. I will call for you when I am done here.”

Guinevere bowed and left the room but not before she cast Lancelot an undecipherable look.

Arthur returned to his side of the table and settled down. He gestured to one of the chairs. “Sit.”

Lancelot obeyed, pulling out one of the chairs and sitting. "Thank you, Your Highness.”

“How did you hear of the coup?”

Lancelot bit his lip. Should he tell the truth, putting his parents in jeopardy or lie and lose the trust of his king?

“My parents are members of the resistance and felt that I would be able to assist you in your quest, Your Highness.”

“Is that so? Where do your parents live?”

Lancelot swallowed and the prince caught his hesitation.

“Do not lie to me, knight.”

Lancelot coughed up the truth and Arthur hummed.

“That is fine. Follow me,” Arthur said, rising from his chair and walking to the door. Lancelot fell into step behind him as he left the room.

As Arthur strolled down the carpeted hallway, hands behind his back, Lancelot could not help but wonder if the prince would truly be a better king than Uther. There was something about him. An elegance, a charisma, a refined intelligence lurking in those grey eyes.

It soothed Lancelot and assured him that Camelot was in good hands.

But there was something else. Cruelty, ruthlessness and wildness to the prince. It was dreadfully fearsome to Lancelot because it made him feel as if Prince Arthur was truly without control. What would happen if that anger was triggered? What would happen to Camelot?

“Knight,” Arthur said and Lancelot snapped back to reality, coming to a stop beside Arthur.

“Yes, Your Highness.”

"Look." Arthur raised his hand to point at the palace in the window in front of them. "That will be my castle from next week." Lowering his hand, Arthur glanced at the knight. "I will be the most powerful man in Camelot. In name and actuality."

Lancelot nodded. He understood what Arthur was saying. The crown prince was already the most powerful man in the kingdom. All he needed was the title and he was not waiting to get it.

"The coup is in a week," Lancelot said. That was not what his parents thought. They were working under the assumption that the coup was in a month.

"Your parents do not have the complete information. I spread different information along different lines. No one has the complete information except me and Lady Carmelide.”

“About the lady… the coming week is her birthday, is it not?”

Arthur raised a brow and Lancelot flushed, hurriedly looking away. Arthur returned his gaze to the window.

“Yes, it is her birthday. This coup will be a gift from me to her. You should then understand that this plan must go flawlessly.”

Lancelot bowed. “I understand, Your Highness. I will not do anything to jeopardize this.”

Arthur glanced at him with a dark look in his eyes before resuming his walk down the hallway. Lancelot followed suit and as they walked, the prince filled him in on the details concerning the breach of Morgause’s palace.

“That was the original plan but it will be modified now that we have inside help. How many men can you gather for us, Sir Lancelot?”

"All of them," the knight answered immediately. "There is no one loyal to the first princess in her palace. We are all searching for a way out."

“Regardless, select only the men you can trust with your life and be ready to fall into position on the day of the coup.”

“I will do all that you have asked of me, Your Highness.”

“I expect you to, Lancelot,” Arthur said, turning a corner. “I also expect you to stay away from the Lady Carmelide. The Lady Carmelide feels pity for you. She regards you as a lost sheep because of your association with my sister. I will ask you not to approach her in any manner or take advantage of her kindness.”

Lancelot tried to keep his face as plain as he could but he failed. He was thankful that the prince still had his back turned to him. He did not want anyone to see the expression on his face.

He underestimated his attachment to Guinevere and now, being told that she simply pitied him was as painful as could be.

Clearing his clogged throat, Lancelot croaked, “I understand perfectly, Your Highness. I will stay away from the lady.”

Arthur stopped walking and turned around with a smile on his face.

“That is good. Understand this also, Lancelot. If I decide that you are not doing as I have told you, I will kill you and your lovely family.”

***

Apart from dispersing information to his allies all around the kingdom, the rumours of the coup served another purpose. They made Uther nervous.

Uther Pendragon was a man who knew he did not have the favour of the populace. He knew the people hated him and had always squashed rebellions with a heavy hand. When he heard of the scheming of Lucius with the Saxons to overthrow him, it had deepened the paranoia he always felt.

Anxious for some sort of reassurance, Uther called a meeting of all the military chiefs in the kingdom. It was a problem Arthur and his tutor were always trying to solve. How do you gather the military chiefs that supported Uther and disarm them in one fell swoop?

They had no idea Uther was going to deliver the chiefs as a gift. All wrapped and tied.

“I will be inside the castle with the first battalion at the time of the meeting. I am still unsure whether Morgause will attend but if she does, we will all be in the main hall.” Arthur tapped the map. “Here.”

Night had fallen on the kingdom of Camelot but the lanterns in the crown prince’s study burned bright, illuminating the map that lay on the table between Arthur and his tutor.

Guinevere nodded. “We will take care of the guards outside and barricade the doors. I will leave the interior to your men. The king will be moved away at the first sign of trouble." She raised her head from the map to look at him. "But so will you."

Arthur smiled. “Yes, he will be moved away to the secret chamber below the main hall. Where I will be waiting for him.”

Guinevere returned the smile before gazing at the map again. “I will be stationed with the second battalion at the third prince’s palace. Once I get the signal, I will move in and take the palace. It will be tough but we will breach the palace.”

Arthur sighed and shook his head. “It can be easier if you allow Agravain to assist you with his armies.” This was a discussion they had had several times over the past few months but Guinevere was adamant about having Agravain stationed at his palace.

Arthur had never asked her directly but he knew she did not trust his senior brother. She felt that he was the only other person that could gain from the coup.

“The third prince’s army will be useful in deterring any attack from that area. Moving his army from his palace will leave us vulnerable to an attack from the west,” Guinevere said, tracing a circle around the king’s castle grounds.

“And what of the east? Do you trust the knight to keep his end of the bargain? Even though you do not trust Agravain?”

Guinevere met his statement with silence. Then she said, “Your Highness agreed to accept his help. We have contingencies in place in case the knight fails. The third battalion can be summoned at a moment’s notice. And if push comes to shove, we will ask the third prince to assist. We have discussed this before.”

In reality, they had discussed this for the past one month, several hours in the day. Going over the plan, checking for any cracks and faults in their hostile takeover. Lancelot was a last-minute addition and could frankly be overlooked.

Guinevere, however, felt Arthur was bringing the knight up for another reason.

“Does Your Highness have a problem with him?”

Arthur straightened and folded his arms. “Do you not?”

“No, I do not,” Guinevere said simply. Even if she did not know him from her previous life, Lancelot radiated an aura of trust and loyalty. It would be difficult to distrust him based on his words or actions.

The crown prince gazed intently at her from across the table. “I want to kill him. After the coup, I want to make him a scapegoat and have him executed. Would that be fine with you, teacher?”

Guinevere's chest tightened. She had always felt in control whenever she and Arthur interacted, but now, she could feel the control slip and slide over to his side.

“Why would you want to do that, Your Highness?”

“I think he is too much of a liability. We can simply make him disappear,” Arthur said, shrugging.

Guinevere’s throat burned, and she finally understood what Arthur was doing. All those times she pretended not to react in Lancelot's presence, all those times she faked a normal expression, hoping to fool the prince. He was clearly aware of her reaction to Lancelot and was now testing her.

Arthur had never disobeyed her, and she was certain that if she pushed, he would drop the issue, but…Lancelot’s life was at stake and Guinevere found herself unable to make a rational decision.

She swallowed and gave in. “If Your Highness will grant me one wish for my birthday, I ask that you spare the knight.”

Arthur’s eyes widened, and the air in the room thickened and cooled. For the first time since they met, Guinevere had handed Arthur a weakness of hers: Lancelot.

He had always known. From the moment he'd walked in at Agravain's wedding to when she'd saved him at the Battle of Swords, Arthur had always known, but to have it thrust in his face like this…

“Do you…love him, teacher?”