Kidnapping The King

[Alistair]

::alistair::

For the record, Alistair was aware this was by far the dumbest thing he had done as of yet. Unlike all the other dumb things, Vaughn was not to blame for talking him into this one. Just encouraging the plan. For today they were after no princess (as Alistair had a new founded rule ageist kidnapping them), nor a maid. Nope, today they were after the KING of CAMELOT, himself!

Dressed a knight of Camelot, Alistair rode along with a small group of men who were escorting the king, to where ever he was wanting to go this time. Vaughn would sent in some hired bandits to attack them, and in the mist of the chaos, the king would conveniently disappear. The plan was not the best, nor most thought out of all the plans they had, had but Alistair had learned that the less you plan the more you could improvise.

Alistair looked up, at the top of a hill they were riding by and noticed that the bandits were there, and about to attack. He gave a shout of warning, so the knights would look up there. Now it was Vaughn's turn to draw their attention.

[Vaughn Adeney]

::vaughn::

Vaughn had been watching extremely carefully to wait for the perfect opportune moment to channel the attack. Like before, he had found idiotic bandits who would believe that they were really part of this plan and would therefore, be receiving a decent amount of the ransom. They could not be more wrong. Vaughn planned to cut their involvement as soon as they had proved their usefulness, and flee with Alistair and King Uther of Camelot. It was a risky plan, but what fun would it be if it was not. The money was not the only thing that Vaughn was after; it was having that control over someone. Being able to put them in a position where they could do nothing to ensure their safety. Everyone reacted to such things differently, and seeing the diversity of these reactions greatly amused the nomadic knight.

He saw Alistair come into view, along with a few other men. It was manageable. Not impossible to divert the king's attention. Vaughn had not been standing with the bandits however, he was hiding closer to the king and where all the action would be. Once Alistair called their attention towards the bandits, that had been the signal for them to attack. Thankfully they reacted as according to plan. The bandits, like fools, rode towards the knights. They were reckless, and would most likely get themselves killed, which was absolutely perfect. Once the swords started clanging, Vaughn watched very carefully from his hiding spot to see the kings reaction, and where he would position himself so that they could proceed with their next plan of attack and the purpose of this entire mission: to capture the king.

[kinguthersqueen]

Uther was only midly surprised by the attack. It was not uncommon for some of the more bold or foolish rebel groups to attempt to attack or harm him. The majority of the time, his men were well able to handle it, but this one was a rather large group. The battle was chaotic and frantic, with men on both sides falling injured or dead. He watched, but naturally kept his horse back, out of the fray of swinging metal and flying blood. It would do no good for the king himself to be injured or killed, and he had confidence in his knights.

He began to have his own problems, unfortunately. His horse spooked and started to rear and cry out, and Uther was struggling just trying to keep from falling backward and out of the saddle. With his men engaged in the fight, he was alone for the moment trying to bring the animal under control.

[Alistair]

::alistair::

Everything was going to plan. The men were fighting, and some were dying. Alistair fell back in the battle, and watched it happen for a long moment. This was something he wished he could avoid. The death of men. Pointless bloodshed. Still, they were going after the king, and they knew it would take effort.

He looked over at the king, who was having trouble with his horse. Alistair kicked his own animal into a run, and went over to grab the reins, calming the beast. Holding the reins, he spoke. "We must get you away from the battle! Come!" He said as he pulled on the reins not giving the king a chance to respond. Alistair glanced up at the hill, to make sure Vaughn would see them part from the group and know to meet up with him. Leave the other men wondering where they went.

[kinguthersqueen]

Uther had no reason to doubt the knight, or to suspect that he was being led into a trap. He was relieved that the man had gotten his horse calmed and that he wasn't near to falling off anymore. He began to wonder what was happening, though, as they moved a bit further from the group. He understood the need for protection, but didn't want to go too far. Any commands he had to give wouldn't be heard clearly.

"This seems a bit far. I must inquire as to what your plan is." he said finally.

[Alistair]

::Alistair::

"There is a great evil in the woods, and we must get you away before it finds us." Of course Vaughn was the great evil, Alistair spoke of (the man was dark in ways that Alistair could not understand), but the goal was to LET Vaughn find them. Vaughn WAS his partner in crime.

With all the kidnappings they had done in the past month, you would think that the king would be more already. Then again, they had only kidnapped women so far so many the king thought they was safe. Unlike the other kidnapping, Alistair would not be holding the hostage alone. This time Vaughn would be there.

To help make sure Alistair did not kill the man.

[kinguthersqueen]

"What manner of evil? What do you know about it?" Uther asked. "Is it what has led to the fight?" The words sent a lot of questions through his mind. If there was a threat to Camelot, he needed to know what it was and how to stop it.

Uther understood the need to get him to a safe place if there was an evil, but part of him also felt as though he were running, fleeing from the battle as a coward. He wished he could have remained to fight alongside his men. Still, discretion was the better part of valor.

"We should ensure everyone gets to safety if we can. Obviously my safety is the greatest concern, but after I am taken to safety, search for any other survivors back there." he ordered.

[Vaughn Adeney]

::vaughn::

Vaughn quickly began to head to the meeting stop where Alistair was expected to lure the King of Camelot. If this plan worked, they would have a great deal of power in their hands. They could ask for anything and everything, and the royal family would have to grant it to them for the King would be at their mercy. Having this kind of control was more valuable to Vaughn than the actual money itself. Money was money. It came, and was spent. This kind of power, would last for quite sometime and would not doubt remain in the kings memory.

He rode on his horse, getting to the designated area. It was a very narrow path, only wide enough for one horse to get through. Since Alistair was in front of the king, leading him, Vaughn rode up behind Uther so that he was trapped. "The King of Camelot, nearly alone and vulnerable." Vaughn smirked, looking at the king, waiting for him to turn around. He was dressed in knightly attire but not the same kind as Alistair. Not the kind that would be easily recognized. Little did he know just how deceived he was by the very man who led him away from danger, only to knowingly lead him into a greater one.

[kinguthersqueen]

Uther made a move to pull his horse back, but the path was narrow, and difficult to maneuver him. He drew his sword, knowing that he was too far away for the men to hear his cries, even if the battle had been ended by now. Strategically, Uther deduced that his best chance was to use his feet instead of his horse. It was risky, decidedly. They could run him down if he ran foward or back, but if he moved to the side, he could make his way through the brush, where the horses could not follow.

He jumped from the saddle, facing the two riders with his sword ready, backing slowly to one side, determined to fight, but not leaving himself without a way to attempt escape if they knocked his weapon from his hands.

"You will both be executed for treason for this! I will not be captured so easily." He was in a fighting stance, waiting for their next move.

[Alistair]

::alistair::

"Do you hear that, Vaughn. He is going to have us executed for treason against a king we never swore loyalty too." Alistair spoke sounding more like Vaughn for a moment, rather then him self. His was the man who's men had killed his mother. His father. Alistair thought about killing the man were he stood but knew that would not help the druids, and besides she would hear of this.

He wanted his actions to carry more then the word murder in them. He wanted them to speak to both druids and Camelotians. "Your royal high-and-mightly-ness; I am Alistair the Druid. I'm already hunted from just being who I was born as. You can not kill me twice, though your welcome to try." He was damned if he did, and damned if he didn't. . . .

[Vaughn Adeney]

::vaughn::

Vaughn watched the king dismount from his horse and prepare to defend himself while throwing out threats and promises that they would not get away with this. And that was when Alistair commented, making Vaughn chuckle at his words. This was wasting time though, and they had to get moving to a less public location. Soon, whatever knights survived, and Vaughn knew that the knights would be the ones who won in the small ambush since he had hired morons and amateurs, they would be frantically looking for their king.

"Calm down," Vaughn said to Uther, in an low, yet highly amused voice and he moved closer to him, pointing the tip of his sword towards him. "If we wanted to kill you, you would be dead by now. But we are not planning to. Right now, you are outnumbered and we have the upperhand here." He would over play Alistair's magical abilities if need be. The King hated magic, and he had already identified himself as a druid. "Now, remove your clothing." Yes, Vaughn had a reason for asking this and it was not for perverted intentions.

[kinguthersqueen]

Uther knew that he was outnumbered, but he'd rather fight back than surrender, even if he died trying. He still had his sword pointed back, and was not about to drop it at this moment. He stepped back, scanning for openings in the heavy brush. A horse wouldn' fit, but hopefully his body could. He knew that there was always a chance of magic being used, which would leave him at a disadvantage, but they hadn't used it yet. He glared at them with anger in his eyes, a firm defiance that said he wasn't playing games.

"You must be daft. I will take no orders from anyone! Anything that is done to me will have to be done with force, or by reason of my death. If you are not cowards, get down off of your mounts and fight me. That is my answer."

[Alistair]

::Alistair::

Alistair was not a coward, and he dismounted his horse, grabbed his bow and took a few steps closer to the idiot king. He then pulled an arrow from it's holder and took aim. "Drop your sword, or your son will officially become king of this kingdom." His voice was deep, calm and deadly serious. He was not joking, he would shoot the king if he had to. In the leg, or thigh or somewhere to make sure he could not run away!

He watched the king closely, waiting for some sign of a fight or flight reaction. He was not going to chase him down, he would just shoot him and let him go down tired. "Now, drop your sword, and give Vaughn your armor, and tunic."

[kinguthersqueen]

Uther was still too defiant to consider listening to their requests. He did not want to die, but he refused to entertain the idea of submission either. He would fight until the end, and would rather die with honor than give in. It was true that it was common for nobles to be taken and held for ransom, but Uther knew that his enemies did not have such plans in mind. They would likely kill him, seeking revenge for past actions against a friend or relative. He watched, studying for a moment, then curled his lips back in a snarl.

"If I die, I die with honor" he growled. "I will not submit and be seen a coward, knowing I will likely die as one at your hands. I will fight to my last breath."

Uther did not make an immediate move. He watched the archer for his move instead, hoping he could have a chance at dodging the arrow, or at least any fatal wound. If he charged blindly, he would die without question.

[Vaughn Adeney]

::vaughn::

This was a complete waste of time; time they did not have. Vaughn found himself chuckling at the king's words. "We are not going to kill you. What value would you be to us if you are dead?" That did not mean that they did not plan to give him hell for the next little while. He knew Alistair's reasons were a bit more revenge based, where as Vaughn's were more about the thrill and fun of it all. Never the less, it was going to happen.

He took advantage of the fact that Uther was keeping an eye on Alistair as both men had armed themselves, as if they were preparing for combat. Vaughn did not want it to go for that, not because he was concerned about the life of either one. But because all of their efforts and planning would go to waste if they were to get caught, and frankly, that would just be embarrassing to have their first unsuccessful kidnapping. Vaugh picked up a small rock and lightly hit it on Uther's head. It was not hard enough to cause serious injury but it was enough to either knock him unconscious, or make him very disoriented so that they could relocate themselves. Or at least, those were the effects Vaughn had been anticipating when hitting him on the head with it.

[kinguthersqueen]

"I am not naive"Uther replied.I am well aware of how many would be quite pleased to see me dead. I do only what is necessary to protect Camelot, but there are many who fail to see that. Who would readily exact their revenge given the change."

Uther had been glancing between the two men, but it was impossible to keep track of the actions of both of them at once, and it did not take much thought to see that Uther was at a disadvantage. He had concerned himself with the bowman, and was caught by the rock when his eyes were off of the other man. He wasn't able to dodge the throw in time, and the stone hit home.

The impact of the projectile was softened by his chain mail, always present when he went out anywhere. But the impact was still enough to knock him to his knees and leave him temporarily stunned by the blow. Still, one hand held tightly to his sword, even though he was not going to be quick to raise it if it were needed.

[Alistair]

::Alistair::

When Vaughn downed the king, Alistair hurried over to put his foot on the blade of the sword, making it to heavy for the king to hold up. He used his other foot to kick the king backwards so he was not close to the blade. Alistair picked up the king's sword and looked down at the man. This was the king who had ordered the death of hundreds of druids. Children, mothers, daughters. This was the king who's own men had dragged his mother out of their home to be killed.

He lifted the blade thinking of how easy it would be to kill a king. To end the reign of the mass murder. "I don't care if you believe me, as long as you're obeying me." He told the man, and his mind flash back to the princess for he'd said the same line to her. Damn her! She would come to his mind now?! Alistair stepped closer and pulled the crown from Uther's head before he backed away slowly, not being able to kill the 'man' with her so near in his mind. "How would like to become king of Camelot, Vaughn?" He said, tossing the crown at him; knowing Vaughn was going to change clothing with the man anyway.

[kinguthersqueen]

Uther was down, but he was still fighting like an angry wolverine, not giving up. He struggled with the sword, but he was kicked backward and then it was pulled away from him as the man picked it up. He braced, certain that he was now to die here. He thought of Arthur and hoped he would be the king he had the potential to be.

But there was no pain, no slice of steel through his flesh. He saw one of the men reach toward him and take his crown. kicked and punched, rolling and struggling against the hands pulling at his head, but the man stepped clear after pulling the crown from his head. Uther got to his feet, crouching in a fighting stance, but he did not immediately lunge, that would be foolish.

His head still throbbed, and it only made him more annoyed as he studied Alistair's movements. He knew that he was quickly running out of options, that it was not going to be easy. He drew his secondary weapon, his dagger, knowing that it would be difficult to use against a sword blade, but still watching, looking for any chance to strike either man with it. At the same time, he knew that the moment he struck at one man, he would likely be struck by the other. Still, better to die fighting than a coward, on his knees.