Let Justice Be Done Ch. 66

"Alright, boy. Now remember, King Leodegrance is one of the few that knew your father, so when he meets you, the nature of his request might change from wanting the help of a rising knight, to a potential future king." Sir Ector told Arthur. 

They had arrived to the Kingdom of Cameliard, following Arthur's fame, a request was sent by King Leodegrance to Sir Ector and his charge Sir Arthur to come and aid him in a manner besieging his lands. 

Sir Kay had come as well, but he stayed behind with the training knights, having duels and manly bonding, as he wasn't needed for this meeting. 

After the Battle of Orkney, King Lot had knighted Arthur in acknowledgment of his bravery and efforts in the battle against the forces of hell, and aiding the angels of Heaven. Thus Arthur's legend began with a bang, and only grew as it circled around, even with the full depth of his contributions being downplayed. 

"Alright, Uncle. I won't give anything away, but listen and discuss things ambiguously enough so the understanding will pass through." Arthur said, holding back a sigh. While he understood the need for building alliances, he would rather be on his horse, Llamrei, finding evil and fighting it, thus dealing with the problem directly, rather than play at politics while the people suffered. 

Or worse, needing to play politics as the price to being able to help people. Maybe he's just annoyed that in three month he has yet to find any helpful information on how to get to the Summer Festival Auction, in the Summer Court, as any fairy he talked to, upon recognizing him, even with him giving a fake name, would immediately leave, and not give him any information or trade with him. 

Honestly, it's almost like someone was sabotaging his efforts to reach the fae auction and rescuing Merlin. 

"Alright," Sir Ector nodded. "I will be going in first, and then you'll be called, and when you do, do not give away who you are, even if he recognize you." 

"Yes, uncle, I know." Arthur placating smiled, touched by his guardian's worry. "It's going to be okay. This is the first king to call on us directly, it won't be the last. We can't be jumping at shadows in every one of these meetings."

Sir Ector stopped, as he stepped back smiling. "Look at you acting all grown up." He ruffled Arty's hair. 

"I'm sixteen, I had my first real battle. I'm a man already." Arthur huffed, then smile. 

"Alright," Ector said as he half turned to walk away. "You're not Kay, but my advice still stands. Don't wonder off and get into trouble." 

Arthur chuckled, as Ector smiled and left to meet the king. 

Finding nothing to do, and not wanting to get into trouble like his uncle wanted, Arthur leaned against the stone railing, watching the palace garden. The only sound audible being the distant clashing of sword from the knights barracks. 

Suddenly Arthur heard a beautiful humming voice. 

"Huh?" He wasn't sure where it came from, it sounded muffled. 

Then the humming turned to a song, the singer having a beautiful voice filling him with warmth and drawing him to them. 

He wondered who was the person singing was, his curiosity ignited, yet he was told to stay in place. 

The voice had gentle yet sad quality to it, making the listener feel compassion and pity for the singer. Then oddly enough the voice became echoic as though others were singing with her, even music entered the song. Arthur could sense a tinge of magic, a skill he picked up after the Orkney battle. 

Arthur bounced on his feet for a few moment, then began searching for the origin of the singing. 

Just a quick peek, shouldn't take long. If they live in the king's castle then surely they are not a threat.  

Arthur walked through the garden, trying to follow the voice, but it didn't seem to come from anywhere specific. 

Just as he passed by an area of a wall of bushes, he felt the singing grow more clear, before dimming again. He took a step back, it became clear again. 

Looked around to see if anyone can see him, he starts poking the bush fence, before finding a hollow part behind the leaves. Arthur pokes a hand and it goes through. One last look around, then he steps in. 

Arthur stepped into an area unseen from anywhere in the castle. It was vibrant with flowers and plant life, trimmed showing someone was taking care of the place, yet it still held a mysterious vibe. 

Arthur had found the secret wing of the castle, and he found the singing maiden. The girl had small green lights around her. Wind spirits singing with her. 

The song stopped abruptly as the girl saw him, the wind spirits disappearing. 

As their gaze met, everything else was swept away. Just for a moment, there was only a knight and a maiden, captivated by each other in a garden. 

The girl blinked as she caught herself, her eyes widening with surprise and fear. 

"W-Who are you?" She said her heart racing from the shock of this sudden meeting." She then noticed the cloak held by an insignia with a simple dragon upon it.  A sign of a knight of the land unbound yet to a lord. 

"I mean you no harm my lady. I was just taken by your voice and wanted to see who possessed such beautiful voice, so I may hear it in person." Arthur said, finding the words coming to him easier than her remembered his lessons on manners toward ladies being. 

"I'm...I'm Genievre." She said, her cheeks turning red, as she found herself smiling. Then her eyes widened as she realized her mistake. "I mean, I'm Nobody. No one important." She quickly turned away so her face wasn't visible even thought such action was too late. 

"I'm Arthur, a wandering knight." It was the title of a knight, bestowed with knighthood yet one who has yet to swear fealty to a lord. 

A tradition from Uther's age, from when knights venture through Britain to protect the weak while following the knight's code of chivalry, till they swore themselves to the most virtuous king they could find.  

"You shouldn't be here, sir knight." Genievre said to him. 

"Have I done something to offend you, milady?" Arthur stepped forward. Seeing her not move away, he walked a bit closer, while leaving Genievre her distance. A row of bushes knee-high separated them. 

"No, it's..." she turned to him, using her long red hair to cover her face. "I'm, I'm not suppose to meet anyone. I don't wish to cause trouble for...his majesty." 

"I'm not troubled by you." Arthur said back, causing her to smile a bit. "I simply wanted to know who you are."

Genievre took a peek at him, her curiosity getting the better of her. 

"You said your name is 'Arthur'. Are you...perhaps the Knight of Orkney that went through the Sundering?" Genievre asked. 

"Well," Arthur scratched his cheek looking away in slight embarrassment. "That title really isn't correct. I was not alone that day, nor did manage to fight in that battle without a lot of help."

"So...you didn't singlehandedly fight armies of devils with God's blessing all on your own?" Genievre asked about that one rumor. 

Arthur laughed. "No, no, God no." He took a moment to gather his breath. "There is no knight that can just fight alone without anyone by their side. Such a knight will find themselves in an early grave, forgotten and unremembered." 

"So, you fight with your companions, like a band of heroes against injustice." She said with some excitement entering her voice. 

"Well, I don't think any true hero calls themselves that, but if our deeds labels us with that title, then I guess we are." He found himself slightly boasting, unlike his usual self, but seeing the lady's smile and the light in her eyes, justified the act for him. 

"So do you travel with your companions a lot. Have you seen many lands, Sir Arthur?" Genievre said, turning to Arthur, forgetting to hide her face. 

Her quiet cheerfulness, had him smiling and wanting to expound his tale for her. 

Then she noticed that he was looking straight at her, and quickly sat down on the grass to hide from him. 

"Ah, I'm sorry sir knight, but I'm not suppose to be seen. Please forget about me and leave." Genievre said hastily. 

"Well..." Arthur frown at whoever was forcing his maiden to stay hidden like this, but he didn't want to leave her sad. An idea came to him. He said down, with his back to the bushes, thus they were both hidden from each other. "How about this then?" 

"Eh?" Genievre looked at the bushes, not seeing Arthur, but could still hear his voice from the other side. She found herself smile as she understood what he did. 

"This way you remain unseen, and we can still talk. If you want, I will leave, but gosh, I just have so many of these stories that I want to tell. Guess they will just remain hidden in my heart." Arthur said with a cheeky tone. 

Genievre laughed, finding the knight's silly antics heartwarming. 

"I...I would like to heart those stories. Please don't let them stay caged in your heart, Sir Arthur." Genievre said smiling. 

"Well, let me first tell you about when my cousin Kay and I fought an Ice Giant that one winter..." Arthur began his tale.

And so for that evening till a guard came searching and calling on Arthur, he and Genievre talked, obscured by a small bush fence between them.