Following the Form [Elyan]

[Deleted]

Sir Iwan had arrived at the training ground earlier than necessary but he would rather be waiting than be late. Besides, how would he know of punctual Sir Elyan was if he wasn't there before him? It was a firmly held belief of his that you could tell the measure of a man by his punctuality. Iwan was never late and prided himself on that fact. It was especially important today as today was a rather important day and one that should have happened a while ago, but following Morgana's reign - if it could be called that - Camelot was having to rebuild itself.

One of the more important changes - or at least important in Iwan's eyes - was the addition of more knights. Iwan wasn't particularly in favour of the new knights, but he'd kept his mouth shut because it wasn't his place to say. Arthur thought they would improve Camelot so while Iwan was going to accept them and be civil, he didn't have to go out of his way.

Today was all about keeping the form - all new knights had to be taught the ins and outs of Camelot and what was expected of them now they were in a position of responsibility. Iwan took it upon himself to do this, as he was probably the only one that cared about keeping with the routine. He didn't mind though, in fact he rather enjoyed it. Traditions were meant to be upkept, well, some traditions were. Evidentally the rule about commoners not becoming knights had conviniently been ignored.

Elyan hadn't turned up yet - he wasn't late, he just wasn't early. Iwan ran a hand through his hair, trying to push his fringe out of his eyes. It was always getting in the way. As he waited, he brushed down his shirt - making sure he looked presentable. Just because this wasn't "official" knight business didn't mean he was going to go around looking like a peasant. He'd leave that to his companion.


Tagged: Elyan
Location: Training grounds, but will move around Camelot city
Timeline: Shortly after the series three finale

[cherryblossom131]

Elyan or rather Sir Elyan was still wrapping his head around being a knight. He hadn't been traditionally knighted but what was traditional about a commoner becoming a knight? He hadn't had the chance to really get used to it since Morgana had taken over Camelot, but now that they had taken it back he had the chance to really let it hit him. It was every boy's dream to become a knight, commoner or not, and even though it hadn't necessarily always been Elyan's; it was still a huge honour. The knights of Camelot were known across all of the kingdoms to be the best and most noble army in all the land, Elyan knew this because he'd travelled to most of them. He decided he was going to keep up to that image. He wouldn't be the weak link in the chain.

Which was why he was headed to the training grounds now. One of the knights that were already part of the knighthood before, Sir Iwan his name was, had sent a squire to tell him to come to the training grounds at noon...precisely. The other knight was apparently going to show him all the aspects of being a knight and give him some sort of tour of knighthood. He had made an effort to not be late, and donned chainmail and his new cape with the Pendragon crest on it. He wanted to appear presentable now. Elyan was never usually the type to care about such a thing but he knew he really needed to try to make a good impression today. It hadn't slipped his attention that many of the older, traditional and more experienced knights didn't really approve of Arthur's decision to recruit commoners as knights. Elyan wanted to prove that he was just as competent as any noble, maybe even more so, despite his different upbringing.

Bang on time Elyan arrived at the training grounds. He saw who he expected was Sir Iwan and approached him. "Sir Iwan? I'm Sir Elyan it's a pleasure to meet you," he said with a warm smile while holding out his hand for the other knight to take. He was trying to be particularly nice, and hoped he pulled it off. This man was going to be his brother in arms after all, the would work better as knights if they were at least on good terms.

[Deleted]

Iwan was rather pleasantly surprised when Elyan arrived exactly on time. He was expecting the young knight to turn up late and say that he'd become lost or had to help some damsel in distress, in which case, Iwan already had a rather good speech in mind. But it was not needed and Iwan was a tiny bit put out. It was simply not to be, however, and there were much more pressing matters to attend to. He hadn't had the oppurtunity of meeting Elyan propelry - he'd only seen him around during the few feasts they'd had since the throne had been restored so he was taking the oppurtunity to size him up now. Elyan was a well-turned out man, he supposed, and well built for a knight. So far there was nothing wrong with him, apart from the obvious but Iwan was having to overlook that.

Elyan held out his hand. Iwan looked at it. Luckily, he was always prepared for occassions like this. From his pocket he produced a small piece of cloth and placed it safely in the palm of his hand before accepting Elyan's hand. Nobility didn't take the hands of peasantry, knighthood or no. "We will soon find out if the feeling is mutual." He replied with a forced smile before removing his hand and returning the cloth to his pocket.

"Now," he clapped his hands together, "let us begin. This, as I'm sure even you are aware is the training ground. On days where we are all training as a group you will arrive promptly, preferably early." He started pacing as he talked, it made him feel more authorative. "You are welcome to train on your own here, providing every thing you use is returned to the exact place it came from." He paused and gestured to where all the weapons were lined up in racks against the wall. "There is a system." He emphasised the word with his hand - he had spent a lot of time organising the weaponry. He stopped pacing, standing a few steps in front of Elyan, his hands behind his back. "Any questions so far?"

[cherryblossom131]

As he watched Iwan take out a piece of cloth, an actual piece of cloth, to shake Elyan's hand his eyebrows raised and his mouth fell open slightly. This wasn't actually happening. It couldn't be. He was half expecting him to shout 'Only joking.' When he didn't, Elyan could have laughed if it wasn't so ridiculous. It seemed Sir Iwan was one of the knights that weren't very accepting of Elyan's new position. It made making a good impression more of a challenge but no doubt a challenge Elyan would rise up to. At his words Elyan felt himself smile. It was really going to be a challenge, for this man was a piece of work. Just go along with it, he told himself. He'd soon change Sir Iwan's mind.

Elyan listened intently as the knight in front of him spoke. He tried so very hard to overlook the extremely condescending tone being directed at him, although it was very difficult. Instead he tried to listen to the actual words being said. Elyan watched him pace and resisted the urge to wipe his hand over his face. As he spoke of the system he couldn't help but think, by the gods, this man couldn't be real. He seemed to really follow the rules. Elyan wouldn't be surprised if he followed them letter by letter. No wonder it seemed he didn't very much like Elyan. Elyan's entire predicament was one huge broken rule. It must have been hard for this man to overlook it. The thought caused Elyan to smirk a little, despite his intentions to try and be extra nice to the noble. He'd never known a knight to be so thorough in following each and every rule, granted he hadn't known very many knights but still, this was a whole new level of crazy.

"Any questions so far?" He wanted to say yes, is there a chance Elyan could give him a good old fashioned kick up the backside, but decided against it. He wanted to get into this knight's good books, and prove he deserved the knighthood bestowed upon him. It seemed someone somewhere hated him, because he had to be shown the ropes by a man who probably strongly disliked him before he even met him. "Yes just one, how severe are the consequences should any rules of the system be broken?" He emphasised system in the same way Sir Iwan did, just for added effect. It was a valid question though, and something Elyan knew he ought to have in his mind.

[Deleted]

Elyan seemed to be an attentive fellow; despite the obvious, Iwan was finding it difficult to find any fault in the man, but then Arthur had made him a knight so there must be something about Elyan. Arthur chose his loyalties carefully, he wouldn't just throw knighthoods at people who wouldn't be able to cope. It didn't mean that Iwan was going to overlook the fact of Elyan's birth, however. It was a well-known and well-practiced rule that no man could be a knight without noble heritage. Arthur had just been completely ignoring that lately, and Iwan was completely helpless to do anything about it. Did Arthur not see that the kingdom had been built on rules? It's foundations had been set with traditions and this crass disregard would only lead to chaos? The once proud and revered Knights of Camelot would soon be little better than a handful of farmers with one sword between them. He shuddered slightly at the thought before quickly composing himself because he was supposed to be teaching Elyan the ways of a knight, not imagining Camelot's inevitable descent into chaos.

Iwan thought he saw the flicker of a smirk on the man's lips, and it didn't surprise him. He knew exactly what the other knights thought about him, so why should Elyan be any different? They thought he was too neat, too tidy, too obsessed with following the rules. He didn't care though, if he did he'd never get anything done. As far as he was concerned being a knight came before everything else, his life revolved around his duties and all this - the meetings with other knights, the weaponry organisation, the endless lists and attention to detail - was all part of it. While the other knights were relaxing in taverns he was polishing his armour (he didn't trust anyone else to do it properly). He'd spent eighteen years training for this, he wasn't going to let any of that go to waste, or risk his father's disapproval.

"Yes just one, how severe are the consequences should any rules of the system be broken?"

Iwan couldn't be sure if Elyan was emphasising "system" because he too believed in its importance, or because he was mocking Iwan. He chose to ignore it though, there would be no point saying anything. He and Elyan were going to have to learn to trust each other completely, and that wouldn't be helped if Iwan was constantly offended. "Well it depends what the rule is...and what sort of mood Arthur is in." He paused and furrowed his eyebrows, "Why? Have you already done something?"

[cherryblossom131]

Elyan stared at the man who was about his height and wondered what in god's name could have made him like this. Maybe it was a traumatic incident in his childhood, although Elyan wasn't very experienced in the matters of the mind. He'd never given that type of thing much thought in the past. But looking at the man in front of him who had probably memorised each and every rule that a knight should live by, and there were a lot of rules, he couldn't help but think what might have made him care so much about these things. Maybe it was his father, which always seemed to be the case. Pressure from your father to be the best that you can be, just so you never have to see that dreaded look of disappointment in their eyes. Elyan knew, for he had seen it many times, but he guessed after so many times of getting the look it didn't affect him so much. Maybe it affected this man much more.

Elyan decided maybe he should cut the knight some slack, he expected that since Elyan had almost taken an immediate dislike towards the knight he may not have many friends. He shouldn't judge the knight so quickly, or that would make him a hypocrite. All he asked was for people to overlook his less than noble birth and see the heart of him. Maybe he should overlook this knight's obsession with rules and attempt to befriend him. Sir Iwan, had after all taken the time to show Elyan around the kinght hood and everything. Although the way he would look at Elyan sometimes, and his irritatingly condescending tone was making that extremely difficult. Despite not being educated in the same way this knight probably had been, Elyan wasn't an idiot.

As Sir Iwan answered his question, he nodded. Elyan wasn't perfect, he knew he was prone to getting into trouble quite a lot, although it was never usually his fault. So, somewhere along the lines he might break a rule or two. He'd merely thought he should know the severity and consequences should he 'accidently' do something wrong. He guessed he should hope Arthur would be in a good mood when it inevitably happened, although Elyan was very rarely lucky like that. "Why? Have you already done something?" Elyan's eyebrows creased in confusion. Did the knight really think he'd already broken a rule? He'd only really just got here, not even he could work that quickly. "No, no, nothing. I just thought I should know, for when I eventually do," because he knew it was bound to happen sometime. "We all break one of these rules once or twice, eh?" He said grinning. He was just trying to lighten the mood and joke with Iwan. He hoped he might have succeded.

[Deleted]

Iwan wasn't entirely convinced Elyan was serious about his duties, or at least not as serious as Iwan was. It would be been mightily impressive if he was was serious as Iwan. To the more experienced knight the duties and responsibilities of the occupation were far more important than anything else. But, he suppossed he should probably try not to be quite so judgemental towards Elyan for his seeming lack of enthusiasm. Unlike himself, Elyan had not spent his life dreaming of becoming a knight - not to Iwan's knowledge anyway - and he had a life outside the city and responsibilities other than those to the people.

While this understanding probably should have endeared the young man to him it instead had the opposite effect. Here he was: a young man who had spent his life dreaming and training to become a knight and forced to accept Elyan who, as far as Iwan was concerned, just happened to be at the right place at the right time to impress Arthur. It was a rather frustrating situation. Iwan couldn't argue against Arthur's judgement and had nothing against Elyan personally, but he was a living symbol of Camelot's seemingly dying traditions.

He pressed his lips together, trying to surpress such thoughts. At the moment they had no place and would only distract him from his duties. That would never do. Elyan's question gave him a welcomed distraction and made him focus on the task at hand, rather than mentally writing a rather severe letter to Arthur explaining exactly why they had a Knights' Code in the first place.

"No, no, nothing. I just thought I should know, for when I eventually do."

Iwan eyed him suspiciously. He wasn't entirely convinced that the man was telling the truth about not having broken any rules but he wasn't going to call him on that. There was something much more worrying about his speech. "Eventually?" Eventually was rather...certain. Why was Elyan already so sure that he would be breaking the rules? They were not hard to follow, any fool could do it. "That's rather...definite."

"We all break one of these rules once or twice, eh?"

Was the man joking? He must be. Surely anyone who met Iwan would know that he'd never broken a rule in his entire life. The mere implication that anything else was the case was rather...well, insulting. Iwan was still staring at the man, his brain almost too shocked to think of anything to say. "I don't." He said firmly, "Rules are to be adhered to, otherwise there would be chaos."

[cherryblossom131]

Elyan couldn't exactly say it was bad that the knight followed the rules so thoroughly. But he couldn't help but wonder how that must have affected his social life, or how it might have completely destroyed it. But then again maybe he was completely wrong, maybe Sir Iwan had an excellent and extremely active social life and Elyan just didn't know about it. He knew none of the other knights were like this but maybe it was a good thing to have at least one knight who really followed every regulation. The rules are there for a reason and Elyan was not going to judge a knight for following them...even if he followed them to a tee. They were just different, that's all...very very different. Elyan had never liked rules, ever since he was a child, he'd gone with the thought that rules were only there to be broken. Obviously, Sir Iwan had been brought up with very different ideas in his head.

"Eventually?" Elyan didn't fail to hear the slight disdain and confusion in his voice when he questioned Elyan's answer. Quite frankly he wasn't very sure what there was to be confused about. "That's rather...definite." Ah. It seemed Elyan probably should have worded his previous answer better, but at the time he hadn't thought much of his wording. But was it not definite? No knight was perfect, well apparently apart from Sir Iwan. But for mere mortals and especially Elyan, a rule, at least a little unimportant one was bound to be broken. It was almost impossible to believe that this knight had never broken a rule. He must have...at least once, by accident maybe. He made a note to ask the knight after they'd gotten to know each other a little better, maybe when the knight actually began to like, or at least tolerate him.

When Elyan continued to try and lighten the mood, he knew as the words had come out of his mouth that this man was not the type to laugh when it came to breaking rules. The smile that had been on Elyan's face completely fell, when a smile failed to appear on Sir Iwan's. At his very firm and confidant answer Elyan's eyebrows raised. "Rules are to be adhered to, otherwise there would be chaos." Elyan snorted. "Oh come on, even you must have broken at least one tiny little rule at some point since you were knighted." He had planned to wait before saying something like that, but it had just blurted out. "Nobody's perfect," he added.

[Deleted]

Iwan could, with rather a lot of confidence, relate to Elyan every single time he had broken a rule. What's more, he could also relate to Elyan just why it wasn't his fault and exactly how the situation had been remedied. His companion probably wouldn't care that much though, so he refrained from doing so. It was rather difficult to fight the temptation though, especially after Elyan's reaction to Iwan's previous words. Elyan was clearly of the view that going through life enjoying the moment and not really minding if a few rules were broken - as long as everything was alright in the end - was a good way to live. Iwan was not.

But, he supposed he ought to give Elyan some credit for being honest. He wouldn't be the first knight to break the rules but he seemed to be the sort to own up to it and Iwan couldn't fault him for that - he could fault him for breaking said rule in the first place though. Iwan didn't much care for the man's tone though, no matter how honest he was being. He'd have to do something about that, a thought that was confirmed by Elyan's next words.

He was right of course, nobody was perfect, but he seemed to be confusing being perfect with following the rules. Iwan himself was by no means perfect but he still understood the importance or order and regulations. Elyan seemed to be suggesting that it was impossible to live this way. Iwan had been doing quite well so far. "If that were the case we wouldn't need rules in the first place, would we?" He asked, the smallest hint of a smile on his lips.

[cherryblossom131]

Elyan was beginning to think that the possibility of actually becoming friends with this knight might be getting smaller and smaller with every disapproving looking he was shooting Elyan's way. He'd already considered this tutorial to be a bit of a chore, but he had of course been grateful. But his patience was wearing thin every time Sir Iwan spoke in a condescending tone, or patronised him. In any case, Elyan was generally not an extremely patient person which had gotten him into trouble in the past and he had no doubt it would continue to get him into trouble in the future. However he had to try and make an effort, it’s what Gwen would probably tell him.

In any case, this man was going to be helping him today, so it would do nobody any good if they started off on the wrong foot. However after his little outburst there were slim chances of that even happening. He guessed if they really couldn't be friends the least he could do is be a civilised adult. He chuckled inwardly at the thought. He was sure even his humble and sensible sister would laugh at that proposal. As much as Elyan had tried to be responsible and civilised over the years, it never worked out so for a long time he had just stopped trying. Now he was still trying to get to grips with the prospect of the amount of responsibility being a knight holds. Something he would most definitely not tell Sir Iwan.

"If that were the case we wouldn't need rules in the first place, would we?" The smile he caught on Iwan's lips made Elyan think the other knight probably thought he was being smart with his question. He rolled his eyes slightly while thinking of an appropriate response. He was fairly certain saying 'I think you're a bit of a prat' as Merlin would say, was a less than appropriate response. "Not every rule is that important, surely," he began. There must be a few ridiculous ones that found their way in, but nobody actually follows them. "I'm sure you don't follow each and every one," he said with a disbelieving chuckle.

[Deleted]

Iwan could tell he wasn't making the best of impressions on Elyan. Perhaps if he was a more...emotional person he would care more. But Iwan had always been more interested in order than what people thought of him. It didn't matter that he didn't have the same banter with the other knights or he didn't have a woman to come home to every night. He had the satisfaction of knowing that everything he did was for the good of the city, and that was worth more than a few jokes. It was therefore no surprise that Iwan didn't care if Elyan was bored, or annoyed, or wondering what the hell was wrong with him and why he was so obsessed with the rules. He knew he was right - that rules and regulations and order were the only things keeping the city from chaos. Any argument to suggest otherwise was simply irrelevant.

He did, however, want to make Elyan understand this importance. A knight without a regard for the rules was a knight that broke them, and that would never do. He therefore took a moment to consider his reply carefully. "It is not the rule that matters in some cases, but merely the nature of it - the very fact that it is a rule. There is an order, a...a way. Rules no matter how...unimportant you think they are, keep that order."

Unsurprisingly, Iwan wasn't very impressed by Elyan's laughter. He seemed to be trying to make light of a very important situation and frankly, Iwan didn't much care for it. "Yes, I do." He answered, with an eyebrow raised, "Does that surprise you?" He would be surprised if it did.

[cherryblossom131]

Elyan listened intently to the other knights' justification about how rules keep everything in order. He sighed and merely nodded choosing not to say anything. There was really no point of them continuing to argue about it. They just had very different views on this particular subject. It isn't like they're the first people in history to ever disagree over something. They just had to be civilised about it and act like the adults they were supposed to be. He decided the best thing was to just agree to disagree; otherwise they could stand there quarrelling for the rest of the day without Elyan actually learning anything from the experienced knight. That was the reason he was even here after all and by the gods he was not going to have woken up early and come all the way out here to just be chastised by some knight who followed all of the rules.

"Yes, I do." Judging by the raised eyebrow directed at him and the very unamused face, he came to the conclusion that he probably shouldn't have laughed lightly before. It had been another failed attempt at lightening up the situation. It was also probably a sign that this knight was more of the serious kind than the joking kind; something a smarter man would have realised the first time Elyan attempted to joke with the knight unsuccessfully. "Does that surprise you?" Thinking back on the entirety of the conversation a truthful answer would have to be no, it didn't surprise him. "Well I guess in all honesty, not anymore," he replied truthfully.

"Look, we could bicker about this all day or you could continue with why you brought me out here in the first place." He decided to be forward about it; it was after all more direct. He stood there expectantly, awaiting Iwan's response to his forwardness. That wasn't breaking the rules after all, was it? He had intended to make a good impression on this knight; that had been his plan. But apparently it wasn't going well. Hardly any of Elyan's plans ever went well; it was like he was a trouble magnet. He decided there was no use thinking so negatively. After all they still had the day ahead of them; maybe Elyan could change his mind...hopefully.

[Deleted]

Iwan clearly wasn't going to get through to Elyan. Well, he would just have to learn the consequences of breaking the rules by himself, and then Iwan would be there - not to say "I told you so", but certainly to imply it. He couldn't quite tell if Elyan was trying to be clever with his answer or not. Similarly, he couldn't tell whether he liked the man or not. Of course his liking of the man was not terribly important, and in actual fact Iwan didn't particularly like many people. The majority of people he knew were just tolerated because that was what people did. But Elyan was a knight of Camelot, so although he didn't have to like the man he did have to trust him with his life. As this was the case, he decided against making a comment. It probably wouldn't help team morale.

He was slightly taken aback by Elyan's forwardness. It certainly wasn't expected. The young knight didn't strike Iwan as a man who would be quite so enthusiastic about continuing this meeting. Maybe he was just trying to get it over and done with. His reasoning didn't matter, Iwan was just too busy being impressed by Elyan's assertiveness. A small smile was trying to make an appearance across his features but he was managing to suppress it. Instead he just looked at Elyan and gave a small nod. "Very well."

He took a moment to go through his plan for the day in his head and deciding which item on the itineraray would be the best next choice. He'd been over the itinerary several times already, but it didn't hurt to go through it again - there was nothing wrong with being prepared. "Is there anything else you wish to ask before we move on?"

[cherryblossom131]

Elyan was relieved that Iwan hadn't taken his forwardness too badly. He certainly hadn't intended to be quite so blunt; it had just come out that way. He had been slightly frustrated with the mini debate that had gone on between the two of them and he expected that was probably what came out in his previous assertive words. Elyan had seen the slight surprise on the other man's face when he had spoken, but thankfully nothing more to show any sort of distress. Quite frankly he had been pretty surprised too; he wasn't usually so brash. But he was usually impatient, which was a trait the new knight wasn't particularly proud of, and knew he probably needed to work on.

He watched the other knight thinking, and waited patiently. He was probably thinking of all the places he was going to show Elyan, which had something to do with knights. Elyan secretly hoped there weren't too many knightly places in Camelot; he had hoped to get back to the castle, at least before sunset. He had some work related to the forge to finish off. Just some paperwork, but he had hoped to be at least a little awake so he could easily calculate the inventory. But he would not to show any distress of course, that would just be impolite. This was all for his benefit after all, and Elyan may be many things but he wasn't outwardly rude. At least not all the time, or he hoped not...

"Is there anything else you wish to ask before we move on?" He knew he probably shouldn't say anything and just move this little tour along. He was the one that wanted to get back early after all. But his curiosity got the better of him, which it usually did, despite all the problems it would land him in. Also, judging by the chance that their relationship would only deteriorate, then this could be his only chance to comfortably ask. "I was wondering, how long have you been a knight?" He didn't mean it offensively or as a way to see how much experience or qualifications he had. He was just genuinely curious.

[Deleted]

Iwan wasn't expecting a question from Elyan at all, least of all something about him personally. He was almost suspicious. Was Elyan just trying to delay them? But surely the young knight would want to finish as quickly as possible? Hmm. Iwan didn't question him though, he decided to just give him the benefit of the doubt and believe he was asking purely out of curiosity, rather than to waste time. He could quite easily tell Elyan exactly how long he'd been a knight right down to the day, but he suspected that his companion wasn't looking for that much detail in his answer. Iwan had spent the majority of his life training to be a knight, as soon as he was able to walk he'd been given wooden swords to practice with. It was the one thing he had wanted, so it was unsurprising that he had acheived it at rather a young age.

When he thought about it, it didn't seem like all that long ago. He certainly didn't feel like he'd changed much. He was still trying to live up to expectation, still running around after Ciaran and Rowan, having to pick up after each and every mess they made, trying to restore order after their chaos. All the while having his elder Kay breathing down his neck because he was too busy trying to be the perfect knight before the perfect d'Auber. Kay had always taken after their father in that respect. It was only with bitterness that he thought about his father. Lord Ector d'Auber had always been a lord before a father, and Iwan had always been the spare before a son. He'd died when Iwan was sixteen, just four months before he came Sir Iwan.

"Seven years." Iwan answered and gave a small sigh. Seven years he'd been a knight of Camelot, he'd protected the people and served the kingdom. At times like these it all seemed worthless without his father to know about it. He'd been the reason why Iwan had always been so adament about becoming one. He'd needed some way of proving himself, some way of being more than the second son. There was no point being self-pitying about it though, he told himself firmly. He was supposed to be helping Elyan and all he'd managed to do was have an argument with the man and started to feel sorry for himself, neither events had been on the itnerary. "Seven years," he repeated, "Quite a long time."

[cherryblossom131]

Elyan had only become a knight very recently. So when he heard Iwan utter the words seven years as an answer to his previous question, he couldn't help but raise his eyebrows. Seven years. That sounded like an awfully long time. Elyan was still getting to grips with being a knight. It had all happened rather suddenly, and at the time he had expected death to follow on the next day. But against all odds they had prevailed, which had begged the question would Arthur renounce their titles since his father would not approve? The answer had been surprisingly no. Well, it had surprised Elyan, despite the fact that Arthurs father was...unfit. But Elyan hadn't been ignorant to the fact that many nobles; important nobles hadn't approved of Arthur's decision. Yet he stuck with it, which greatly increased Elyan's already high respect for the man.

Elyan could hardly believe that after seven years Sir Iwan still followed all the rules the way he did. He would have thought after that long he wouldn't care that much. It was probably that, which had shocked him most. He might have expected Iwan's behaiviour, the not quite as...thorough, from a new knight who would be wishing to seek aproval and prove himself. But from a knight with the years of experience that Iwan had, well a shock was bound to happen. Despite everything and their less than hopeful start, Elyan's did have to admit he had respect for the man. Seven years and he still acted like a newly recruited knight trying to prove himself. As if, after serving for so long he still had to. Elyan decided he probably shouldn't have given him such a hard time. He did not know him after all, therefore he could not judge him

Iwan repeated his words and Elyan didn't fail to notice the way he had said them. "Quite a long time." He creased his eyebrows and wondered if Iwan regretted being a knight for so long. Maybe it had always been his dream, judging by the way he was so thorough in his job. It hadn't always been Elyan's dream though. He had been a commoner, he could begin to wish for such a thing even if he wanted to. He had been honoured with the knighthood though, and decided to cut the other knight some slack. It would do neither of them any good to have a relatively bad relationship. "Wow." Not the most elequent thing to say. "Do you regret it?" Another question that was probably none of his business, but again he was curious.

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Iwan was still suspicous of Elyan's questioning. Why did the man care so much? When he'd asked if the man had any questions he'd meant questions to do with the training ground or rules, not about Iwan and his knightood. It was making him rather uneasy. Iwan eyed him suspiciously, frowning slightly. Elyan seemed rather surprised at how long Iwan had been a knight for. Yet again Iwan was reminded of the fact that unlike him, Elyan had not spent his entire life training to be a knight. He'd just fallen into it. Iwan, on the other hand, had trained for years and become a knight the proper, traditional, correct way. He interlocked his fingers, leaving his index fingers free and pressing the tips together. It helped him focus his thoughts when he was getting off topic. Elyan had asked him a direct question, one that he was yet to answer.

It was a rather bizarre question. Did he regret becoming a knight? Being a knight was the only thing he could imagine himself doing. While his brothers and Rowan had been causing trouble and annoying their father to no end, he'd been sneaking around the castle trying to get a glimpse of the famous Knights of Camelot. He'd begged his father to let him train. The possibility of him doing anything else had never even been considered...and yet, as soon as Elyan mentioned it...did he regret it? He'd certainly made several sacrifices over the years for it. He'd adopted a new way of thinking, of acting, of carrying himself, all the while being told by his father he would never acheive this. But he'd never questioned whether this what he wanted. He didn't particularly care for questioning it now. "Of course I don't regret it." Iwan said firmly, dispelling any thoughts that would prove otherwise. "Do you?" Elyan may not have made the sacrifices that Iwan did to become a knight, or been one for very long, but even so. Iwan was now interested to see what his companion thought of their position, if only to quiet his own feelings of doubt.

[cherryblossom131]

Elyan’s eyebrows rose at the other man’s slight hesitancy and frown. He realised it was quite a personal question, however whenever a question or a thought popped into Elyan’s head he generally had the tendency to just blurt it out. Being a knight was a huge responsibility and Iwan took it so seriously, that Elyan couldn’t help but think that maybe it was a burden. Which had led him to ask the question. At the time it was taking Sir Iwan to answer the question, Elyan almost thought he might answer yes. He was sure being a knight must have its sacrifices. With responsibility always comes sacrifice, which was part of the reason Elyan had ran from it so much. He wasn’t sure he was quite prepared to make such sacrifices, but decided he’d deal with that when he got there. That was his general way of dealing with things.

“Of course I don’t regret it.” Elyan creased his eyebrows slightly when Iwan finally answered his question. It was almost like he was attempting to convince himself rather than Elyan. “Do you?” He thought for a moment. He hadn’t really been a knight long enough to think whether he regretted it or not, at least not like Iwan has. But he was not hesitant in his answer. “No, not as far as I can tell so far,” he began, smiling to once again attempt to lighten the mood. “Although it holds great responsibility, being a knight is one of the greatest honours one can have bestowed on oneself,” he said sincerely. He did not take being a knight for granted despite what the other knight may think. “I love Camelot and am loyal to her like no other land on this Earth. It is therefore my duty to serve her, like she has served me.” Even though he left, Camelot had always been and always will be his home. “It’s only fair that way, right?” He finished off, matter-of-factly.

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Iwan noticed Elyan's eyebrows creasing as he answered. It was an odd expression, one that Iwan couldn't quite work out. Had the man been expecting Iwan to say that he did regret becoming a knight? Well, that just made Iwan even more determined to regret it one bit. Being a knight of Camelot was one of the highest honours a man could acheive. It was certainly the only thing of import he'd ever acheived or would be likely to. It was not something one regretted lightly. But, he told himself, that didn't matter because he didn't regret it. He was just slightly confused by Elyan's expression, another thing that didn't matter.

Elyan was smiling again, something Iwan noticed he did a lot. Over all, he seemed like a happy and friendly sort of man, and, at the moment seemed keen to make a good impression on Iwan. He would have acheived that, had the matter of his inferior status and Arthur's rule breaking not remained at the forefront of Iwan's mind. The man might be the greatest knight Camelot had ever seen, but the fact remained that Arthur had broken one of Camelot's oldest traditions by allowing Elyan to do so. He answered Iwan's question well though, so that was something.

As Elyan spoke of the resposibilities and honours that came with knighthood, Iwan nodded and found a small smile creeping across his features. Elyan certainly spoke well, Iwan had to give him that. "Well if you protect her as well as you speak of her, Camelot will be in safe hands." Iwan replied, he still didn't like the idea of Elyan, but he was beginning to warm to him as a person. Besides, there was no place for animosity between the knights. One day Elyan might be needed to save Iwan's life, so he'd rather be on good terms with the man.

[cherryblossom131]

He meant his words with all his heart. He hadn't even given them a second thought; it was just how he felt. He was extremely loyal to Camelot, and he didn't just give out loyalty like that lightly, it had to be earned. After everything that happened with Morgana and her reign, he had no doubt that his loyalty had most definitely been earned by Camelot. After all, he had been willing to lay down his life for both Camelot and Arthur. He had also become a knight, so loyalty was a given. He was honoured to be a knight, and he was determined to prove that to Sir Iwan. Just because he was not exactly a noble, he had the right to be a knight just like everyone else; just like Iwan. Being a knight should not be based on one's blood, but on one's heart, even if that broke the rules. He'd make Iwan see that...eventually.

"Well if you protect her as well as you speak of her, Camelot will be in safe hands." He grinned at Iwan's words. It seemed there was hope for him yet. "That is a gracious thing to say, thank you." Maybe he could make a good impression after all since Sir Iwan was actually giving him a compliment. "I'm sure all the knights feel that way though." Well not all the knights, but he knew many of them had lain down their lived for the sake of Camelot's survival and many of them had lost them in the process. He sighed inwardly when he thought of all of those lost in the recent battle against Morgana. What an unexpected betrayal that had been. He knew he was lucky to be alive and would forever be grateful for that. It was no secret that many weren't quite as lucky.

"Shall we?" He motioned in front of him. Now was as good a time as any to continue on their little tour. Elyan didn't have any other questions...yet. At least none about the technicalities of how to be a knight which is why he was here in the first place. It was also probably what Iwan had meant when he'd previously asked if Elyan had any more questions; but he'd let his curiosity take over. They might as well get a move on though, so they wouldn't take all day. Honestly how many other places pertaining to knights could there be. Elyan could only really think of the training grounds. Isn't that basically all he was going to do all day as a knight, train for battle? At least they were no longer arguing which was always a plus. There was still hope for them yet.