Aftermarth [Arthur | Elenora]

[Lady Elenora]

"Oww!" Nora tried to not wince so loudly, but the wound in her left arm was killing her. She had gotten it when she had tried to help evacuate people into the dinning hall, but unfortunately the dragon had sensed where she was going and dived in and attacked her. Luckily, one of the knights -- she could not remember his name but hoped that Prince Arthur may know it so she could thank him later -- managed to help her get to the ground. But the dragon still manged to scratch her arm deep with his claws. Though her injury wasn't nearly has bad as some of the other victims of the dragon's attacks, she still needed attending to. She was just grateful that Morgana's maid, Guinevère was attending to her, for not only was she good at stitches but she was very kind, warm and gentle. Someone who was very good at comforting patients as she tended to them so they did not feel so scared.

Finally Gwen finished the last stitch, before she applied some lotion on to her wound to help heal it. Grateful, Nora nodded her head kindly to Gwen, "Thank you so much, Gwen. That feels much better!"

Gwen returned her smile before she curtsied and turned to leave, at which point Nora noticed that the Prince was walking her way -- no doubt to check on her and many others. For that was the kind of man Arthur was, though he tried to hide it behind his arrogance and pride. While Arthur was making his way towards her, she could not miss the looks that Arthur and Gwen exchanged before Arthur finally came up to her. But she did not think much of it. Arthur was most likely being polite to her, especially after losing her mistress, who was also like a sister to him.

"Sire," Nora greeted warmly, bobbing her head a little -- since she was not able to curtsy at the moment being on the bed.


Timeline: During 2x13 The Last Dragon-Lord
Time of day/Setting: Night time in Nora's chambers. Will move around the place most likely!
Tag: Arthur Pendragon

[Arthur Pendragon]

It was just shortly after the vicious dragon attacks and the kingdom was still in chaos. There was a great deal of reparations that still needed to be done in both the city and the castle. At least they were starting to put the fires out . . . that was some progress. But it seemed that with every completed task, there were ten more than needed to be done. They had managed to gather all the bodies, and have an official count of how many had died during the vicious attack on the city. There were far too many. Civilians, and knights both. Arthur heart mourned for each and every life they lost, knowing it was his fault. The people turned to him as the leader of knights to protect them; trusting him with their safety and security . . . and he had failed them. Just as he had failed in protecting Morgana. He kidnapping was no matter to be taken lightly, and his father wasted no time. They were already so short on resources, yet there was still that urgent need to find her. It was where Arthur knew he would be spending most of his future time; riding throughout the kingdom, searching for any clues as to where she might be. He would not rest until she was found. Even though he had not slept for what must have been at least two days.

From the attacks and all that had been happening in the kingdom. Though the dragon was dead, it still wasn't good enough. It was not going to bring back those who had died, or bring Morgana home. Killing the dragon when he did had not been good enough; she should have done it sooner . . . before anyone had gotten hurt. He had just come from the grand hall, which had become a makeshift clinic to treat the injured. It was filled with people, some more severely wounded than others. Arthur had made it a point to be updated on every single one . . . as many as he could, to hear of their progress. It was such a devastating scene to see. The cries of those in pain, the tears that fell for those who mourned their losses or feared for the lives of others. So much pain all around, and Arthur's heart went out to every single one of them. Once he had gotten a detailed report, he inquired as to the condition of the nobles, for he had heard some had also been injured during the attacks.To save space for those who's homes were inadequate resting areas to be treated, the nobles had been moved to their guest chambers -- unless of course they were in critical condition -- where they were to rest and recover.

Arthur got a list of names from all of them, and decided to pay them a visit. He had to check on them, just as he did the commoners and others. Some were dear friends of his, such as the one he was about to visit: Lady Elenora. He knew he must not look presentable at all. He was still clad in his chain mail and armor -- not having taken it off for quite some time -- and his hair was slightly dampened with sweat from the endless and non stop activities over the past few days. All he had managed to do was wash his face, removing the dirt stains from his cheeks. His eyes were probably worn with fatigue and sadness over losing so many lives. He looked like a man returning from battle: which was exactly what he was. Arriving at her chambers, he noticed Guinevère getting ready to step out as he was stepping in. He paused, looking at her, a soft expression on his face. His mind flashed back to when he had seen her in the square, the dragon about to attack her and . . . he could have sworn that in that moment, his heart had stopped beating. But she was safe now. She looked so tired, from having been a nurse to all those who were injured no doubt.

He would make sure she got adequate rest later, but for now . . . he was here to check on Elenora. He'd heard that she was injured and all he could think of was how thankful he was that she was alive; that she had survived the attacks. Arthur looked at her, not flinching from the evident wounds she was forced to endure. But that did not mean he didn't feel sympathetic. He did. He hated seeing her like this . . . knowing that he should have stopped the dragon, better protected the people . . . before it had come to this. As she was resting in the bed, Arthur did not want to cause her any trouble by forcing her to get up, so began to take a few steps towards her. When he eventually stood a few steps from her bedside, he finally spoke. "Lady Elenora," he stated, returning the greeting as his eyes went to her injury before returning to meet her gaze. "I hope I am not disturbing you," he said. "I just, wanted to make sure you were alright," he explained, his eyes returning to trail over her to see the extent of her injuries first hand.

[Lady Elenora]

As Arthur continued walking slowly towards her bed she could tell that he was exhausted. Not only because he was still clad his chain mail and armor, but rather from his serious and sober facial expressions. She could also tell that he was not only exhausted, but something else as well. Guilt, maybe or grieve (or both), for Nora knew that Arthur tended to put the fate of every single citizen of Camelot on his shoulders. So for something as terrible and heart wrenching as the Dragon's attacks to have happened to his kingdom and his people, Nora knew what a burden it must be for Arthur to be carrying around with him. The fate of the whole kingdom!

Finally he was close enough to her and greeted her sincerely, "Lady Elenora." His eyes then began to wander over to where she was injured on her arm before he returned Nora's gaze again, "I hope I am not disturbing you," he began. "I just, wanted to make sure you were alright," he explained, before returning his glaze on to looking over her body to see what other injuries she might have also sustained from the attack.

Nora shook her head, "Of course you are not disturbing me, My Lord," she said warmly. "Gwen has already taken care of my injuries and I'm lucky unlike so many others," she added a little soberly. She had seen many seriously injured people in the grand hall, crying, yelling out in pain, as well as family members grieving over their lost love ones. It broke her heart to see such suffering and pain happening to innocent people. Yet she knew to be appreciative and count her blessings for she was alive as well as her father, sister and everyone who was special to her. Unlike so many others.

"I'm just so grateful to the knight that saved me from receiving any more serious injuries," Nora began to explain, "I owe him my life." Nora hoped that maybe Arthur might know who this knight was so she could thank him properly. Not only that, but she wanted to reassure the Prince that he was doing a fine job being a leader to the knights, which will no doubt make him a great future King of Camelot.

"I know that the dragon's attacks left so much chaos and destruction in its wake," Nora spoke from the heart, hoping that Arthur did not take it the wrong way or reject her efforts at reassuring him. "But I wanted you to know that if it wasn't for that knight and many others who risked their lives to save as many people as they could, then myself and many others would not be here today." Nora took a deep breath before adding, "We are fortunate to have you as a leader." Nora then gave him a warm, grateful smile, hoping that maybe her small words would ease a little of his guilt, a little of his burden.

She just hoped that it was not unwelcome. Yes, her and Arthur were friends, but Arthur was still a man. But better yet a Prince and Future King of Camelot and she knew that this title held so much responsibilities and expectations ever since his birth. Which meant that he had to bottle up any negative emotions so he can appear the strong and brave Prince all the time.

[Arthur Pendragon]

¸

Arthur felt a small wave of relief when she assured him that he was not disturbing her. Though he was also not oblivious to the fact that many would never tell a royal that they were unwelcome, especially someone as polite and kind as Elenora. Still. The strong genuine tone she spoke in convinced him that his visit was not too much of an inconvenience. So with that in mind, he sat in the chair near the bed, so that it would not be such a strain for her to look up at him. Besides, he felt rude standing, towering over her. He suppressed a smile when she brought up Guinevère's name. His heart ached for many things, one of them being that he had caused her to lose her best friend: Morgana. He knew they were close, and he knew that Guinevère missed her, even if they had not had the conversation of Morgana's disappearance at length.

"You are indeed," he agreed in a quiet voice, thinking of all those who had passed . . . all those that he would never forgive himself for losing. "Though I wish you too could be spared from the pain of your injury." Though she was still lucky that it was not more serious, he wouldn't wish pain upon anyone. And wished that some how, by some miracle, he could take everyone's pain onto himself. She spoke of a knight who saved her life, and while he knew not how her injury was caused, he was not surprised to hear that a knight had saved her life. So many had saved others . . . so many brother's lost. Men that Arthur had trained with, grown up with . . . men he would never see again. "Do you know who it was?" He asked, though if she referred to him in a general way, then Arthur assumed not.

"There are no braver men, than the knights of Camelot." He could say this with the utmost confidence. There was a reason that Camelot's army had the best reputation in all the kingdoms. There was a reason they were unbeatable. "I could not agree more," Arthur continued to say, when she spoke of how if it weren't for that knight, and many others . . . then more lives would have been lost. Many, many, many more. "Those who passed, will be honored and remembered." Mourned and cherished. Be it citizen, noble or knight. Her next words caused him to pause, as she said that they were fortunate to have him as a leader. He could not disagree more. No. They were not fortunate to have him as a leader.

For a true leader would not have let this happen. A true leader would not have let the dragon escape. A true leader would not have let the dragonlord die. And a true leader . . . would not have let so many others fall. He couldn't agree to her words, but nor did he want to remain silent and thus appear rude. He was not about to unburden his heart to her, as she had more than enough to cope with. "What is fortunate is that we have knights like the one who saved you. And citizens who are willing to help each other as much as they are. Camelot is fortunate, to consist of such incredible people." The kingdom. Not its prince or general . . . but it was the people they were fortunate for. It was the people that should be praised, not him.

[Lady Elenora]

"You are indeed," he agreed in a quiet voice, and Nora knew that the Prince was thinking about all of those who were not so lucky. "Though I wish you too could be spared from the pain of your injury." Nora shook her head, "It is not so bad, my lord. Indeed, I'm more lucky than others."

She watched his face and saw a lot of pain in it, like he was holding the whole weight of the world on his shoulders. But she was distracted when he asked her who had saved her. "I feel bad that I can not remember his name, but he was tall, with sort of long dark blonde/brown curly hair." Nora hoped that the prince knew of whom she was talking about because she really wanted to thank the knight who had saved her life.

Nora then watched Arthur describe the knights with the utmost confidence and pride, but did not miss how he dismissed his part is protecting the kingdom. "Indeed, I agree my lord. But I know that the knights would not be as competent or incredible were it not for your leadership of them." Nora paused as she remembered that unfortunately not everyone could be sparred. "Unfortunately, my lord its a sad reality in life that not everyone can be saved." Nora knew that well, for her own mother had perished after giving life to her sister. It was a hard reality of life and one that no one could ever understand. "All we can do is our utmost to protect all those around us," she told him sincerely, before adding softly, "And remember those that have died helping others."