Call Me Arthur

[Arthur Pendragon]

"We've been found! They're almost upon us!"

These were the words that had sent everyone into a panic, though not an unexpected one. What had been unexpected was bumping into Guinevère and Sir Leon, but that had of course been a pleasant surprise. A wonderful one! Arthur had been in mourning for the past week, unsure what to do, unable to emotionally handle Morgana's betrayal . . . but Merlin's wise words had snapped Arthur out of his pit of despair, for he spoke the truth. And now, Arthur had a plan. A very vague plan but none the less a plan. He had a destination in mind, and an idea to go back to Camelot to save the true king: his father. With this hope, he had put aside his pain and knew it was time to act. Things had been getting better though for the first person he had seen when exiting the cave was Guinevère. Words could not explain how relieved he had been in that moment for he feared for her life ever since leaving Camelot. She had given him that subtle sign that she was alright, but who knows what was going on in Morgana's head. She had turned on everyone else, and Arthur had worried that this included her best friend, and that she would be killed by it. But no. Guinevère had found her way to him, as did Sir Leon and now with so many friends building, Arthur was having a semblance of hope.

But now, with the immortal army having them in their sights, they had to move quickly. They were no match for them, as the army would not die by their blade but each of them were vulnerable to theirs. They could not run from them forever; no matter where they went, they would follow and eventually they would tire. Never the less, the group of them continued to run, as they entered a narrow clearing between two hills . . . and they were going to get trapped. For the immortal men were coming right towards them. Arthur stopped for a brief moment when he suddenly heard someone yell, and before he knew it, a mountain of rocks . . . no, boulders came crashing down, preventing their enemies from charging at them. Arthur was utterly confused. "Who's that?" Arthur questioned, referring to the man who yelled out, warning them to watch out, as the pile of massive rocks continued to fall, and he began to back up a bit.

"Don't know, but I'm liking him already." Leave it to Gwaine to give such an answer. But curiosity got the better of him, and Arthur looked up at where the boulders had come from, seeing Lancelot standing there. The prince's eyes widened with surprise. Lancelot?! "Lancelot!" He heard Guinevère say, vocalizing everyone's surprise upon seeing him. He had not even thought of the past between them, only about the shock of his presence. How had he come? Where had he come from? There was no way he'd been the one to push those boulders! He knew he was a skilled combatant, but no one possessed that sort of strength! Well, that was what Arthur thought until he saw the man standing behind him. The . . . rather large, giant of a man. But there was once again no time to question who he was. "We need to hurry." Lancelot was entirely right about this, and with those words, Arthur turned to run the opposite way they had initially been running towards, as now they had just been bought some time.


_{Setting: Starts in the Darkling Woods, eventually will go to the Castle of Ancient Kings
Time of Day: Mid Day
Timeline: During The Coming of Arthur II
Tag: Sir Percival}

[thecheater]

They were in Camelot! Percival could not help but the feel his blood pumping with the excitement of being here and knowing what was coming: A Fight. Lancelot apparently knew the Pprriinnccee of Camelot and they were going to join up with him because Cenred's army had taken control of the capital. Percival held no love for Cenred nor his men after their attack on his village, for sport and training it seemed more then any need to control or dominate. It was rare he grew angry, and showed it but when that 'king's' name was tossed about he felt the heavy weight in his heart and the bitterness rise in his throat.

They were camping in the woods when sounds of trouble reached them. chasing down the yells and voices they found a gully full of men and a girl being chased by others. Knowing that these men were the ones that served the trader queen, he decided that while he could not kill an immortal man he could block their path. With so many rocks lose on the edge, he ran up to some of them and gave a yell "LOOK OUT!" Before putting his back against them and pushing.-------HARD.

Percival felt himself bounce with both excitement and pride as he watched them block the path and part the two parties blow! Yeah! He turned and hurried over behind Lancelot but before he could get a good look at everyone below they were running again. It was a long walk until the gully and the cliff's edge flattened out to one level and they could join the group. Was that the prince? Which one was the prince? The one in the armor, surely. He wanted to ask Lancelot but knew it was better not to look like he was twelve when about to meet the prince. Instead he just walked up to the edge of the group and waited while the one in armor walked over to him.

[Arthur Pendragon]

When they finally were able to catch up to them, Arthur looked at Lancelot, still unable to overcome the shock that had taken over at his unexpected -- but clearly much needed -- presence. And it was not only him, but he had brought someone. Someone who had pushed boulders to save them. Someone who . . . up close, looked even larger than he did at a distance. Arthur looked at him, he was huge! Someone that Arthur actually had to look up a bit more to see. It was no wonder he possessed the strength to do what he did. For it would have taken maybe all of them to push those rocks and even then, there was no guarantee they would have succeeded. But he had done it single handedly, and Arthur was impressed, to say the very least.

"I take it that rock fall wasn't an accident," he said to them as he approached the two men. Lancelot was the first to speak, as Arthur went up to him, first. "This is Percival. It was his strength that brought them down." Arthur had no doubts about that. He walked up to the man who now had a name, and extended his hand for him to shake. Arthur still could not get over his size. Hell, he was even larger than Leon!

[thecheater]

Percival was standing there as Lancelot introduced the Prince to who he was! The prince had walked over to them and even went as far as to offer Percival his hand in greeting. Percival felt his shoulder square off a bit before extended his own hand in a greeting. He wanted to give the Prince an firm shake of the hand to show that he was a strong minded person. He father had always said that was important.

He paused for a moment to calm his excitement so he would not seem too much like the little boy meeting a real knight. He gave the Prince the strong handshake that he had been aiming for and had to spoke in a nervous tone when he finally got some words out. "Your Highness." He greeted, trying to show formality and respect tot he man who would be one day a King of the realm.

[Arthur Pendragon]

Percival seemed almost, nervous. Is that what it was? It only made Arthur give him a friendly look, in the hopes of easing his apparent nerves some. Perhaps it was excitement too . . . maybe? Arthur did not want to be too presumptuous in how he defined the man's emotions. Either way, he was a friend and this was something Arthur was certain of. He saved their lives, and that automatically won him Arthur's eternal gratitude. He was here to join them in their dangerous mission, and that too made Arthur feel far more appreciative towards him than he could merely express in words. His group of loyal friends was increasing, and Percival seemed to be the perfect newest addition to it.

When Percival returned his hand shake, Arthur looked down at it with a bit of surprise. It was a firm, strong shake! Well, the man was huge so it came as no surprise. Even he had known that he'd pushed boulders, he was feeling part of his strength in something as simple as a handshake and even then it was powerful. Arthur almost said something but refrained, his expression said enough. "Your Highness." It was these words that Arthur could not allow. He was no prince here; everyone here whether they been a peasant, a servant, a knight, or a prince . . . they were all equals. They were all here for the same purpose and no man took precedence over the other. None held a formality towards him now, or if they did Arthur would be quick to discourage them from doing such a thing. Even though this was the first time he was meeting Percival, he wanted him to regard him as a friend, not as a sovereign. "Arthur," he corrected, keeping a friendly and casual tone.

[thecheater]

Arthur! The prince wanted to him call him Arthur! Percival watched him a moment to make sure it wasn't a joke or tease before he smiled like the little kid he felt like and repeated the name, "Arthur." It was in agreement in to not call him your highness, for it seemed for some reason he didn't want his titled used out here. Percival was almost bouncing with the excitement of getting the honor of a first name with a prince!

They all seem to know that they needed to keep moving. so soon they were on their feet, and heading deeper into the woods to wherever the prince--Arthur decided they needed to go. Percival stayed near the old man, Gaius and the girl, Gwen while they were all walking. Gaius seemed too old to be on an adventure such as this, and Percival wanted to make sure he was alright. The rest were younger, and sued to rough tails. At lest the men were. When they camped for the night, Percival offered to take the watches so some of the others could sleep.

[Arthur Pendragon]

It was official: Arthur liked Percival. He had not spoken to him extensively throughout the beginning of their journey. He had spent most of the time with Sir Leon, being filled in on details of what was happening in Camelot, from a knights point of view. For he would be able to give him updates on the other men, let him know of their conditions, and tell him the difficult truths that Arthur knew he had to hear. Of course, his time was also divided for he was trying to talk to Guinevère a bit more as well, but it was difficult to have a proper conversation with her, saying what he really wanted to say to her, in front of everyone else. He would probably wait until later, perhaps when they made camp or when they arrived at the castle for they would probably get there in a couple days time. When they did set up camp and got settled, the night took a very different turn from what Arthur had expected, more so on an emotional level. For that would be the first night that he and Guinevère had ever fought.

Arthur did not sleep that night.

He had been far too upset and hurt to find the peace of sleep. He had thought that this would be on night where he could rest a bit more than he had during the week, for he was surrounded by friends and for the first time in a week, he felt hope. And of course because the woman that he loved had been reunited with him which instantly gave him unimaginable comfort. But things had taken a more dramatic turn when he learned of a lie he could not ignore. He had not spoken to anyone else that night, and when dismissed from his watch by another, urging him to get some rest, Arthur just walked around the woods, finding a more isolated location so that he would not be disturbed. The night dragged on and before he knew it, it was morning. Thank goodness. He could once again use the journey as a way to distract his mind, though he doubted these thoughts would ever be fully vacant from it. When they were all set and ready to go, Arthur walked silently, onwards.

He needed a distraction. He also needed to talk to someone who would not insist on asking him what was wrong; someone who did not know him well enough to know that he was upset, or well, more upset than he had been the day before. That ruled Merlin out. And Gaius. And . . . well, it ruled out practically everyone. He had not spoken a word to Guinevère nor most others so far. But Arthur finally had an idea. He knew exactly who he could talk to: Percival. His reasons for doing this was not only for selfish purposes, but also because he wanted to get to know him. And properly thank him for having saved them. He had been in the front of everyone, as he was leading them to their destination and slowed his pace a bit so that he could walk alongside Percival who was in front of most others. "Percival," he greeted in a casual tone, keeping all the pained emotions from his voice. "I wanted to properly thank you, for your actions yesterday which saved us." He had generally thanked him and Lancelot, saying that they owed them their lives . . . but he wanted to personalize the gratitude more, and now was the perfect opportunity to do so.