Disappointed (Arthur)

[tomb01]

Uther was extremely pissed of this morning he had found out that a creature attacked Camelot in the middle of the night, while he was sleeping and Arthur didn’t wake him or even mentioned it. It was early morning the sun wasn’t even up yet but for Uther he was always up before the dawn. Uther was sitting in the dining room waiting for his breakfast, he wanted to see his son as soon as possible but so far his men couldn’t find the prince and this is what made Uther angry the most. Looking outside he could see the damage that the creature did, it could breathe fire but it wasn’t a dragon he whipped them all out, well all but one.

A maid walked into the dining room carrying a large tray of food. Placing it down Uther grabbed hold of the knife and fork and began eating the bacon from his plate. The maid left and a knight entered the room with the report. Uther sighed twelve were killed in the attack last night, if they don’t slay the beast then nothing will stop it from killing them all in one swift move. Uther was halfway through his breakfast when it was announced that his son Arthur was found. “Bring him to the dining room immediately.” Uther explained as he returned to his eggs.

[Arthur Pendragon]

Arthur had been off chasing a unicorn. . . quite literally in fact. It had been but a few days since the curse had been lifted and Arthur was ensuring that the crops were in perfect condition and that the water was not dry. This involved going outside the city into the countrysides and small outlying villages. Maybe his father would see this as a waste of time, but Arthur had to be sure that not a single citizen of Camelot was starving because of him, because of his pride. And so, he spent quite a significant amount of time, practically the whole night, out riding, ensuring the well being of the kingdom.

Well, thats how Arthur regarded it. When he returned, things were not as well as they seemed. Though he was tired, he was told that his father immediately requested his presence. Arthur knew what that meant . . . nothing good. He took off his gloves, wishing he could wash up first and look a little more presentable . . . but no such luck. Maybe this was about the creature that had been attacking the village. Arthur had known about it, but what he had not known was how frequent of vicious the attacks were. He was about to find out.

He entered the hall, and dismissed the servant near the door. "Father," he greeted. Since they were in private, he addressed him more loosely and less formally. Though he was nervous on the inside, he did not show it. He had to act more proper than that, and whatever his father was about to say -- or yell at him for, since he knew that look all too well -- we would take it, and if it was worth it, argue back. "I was told you wanted to see me right away."

[tomb01]

Uther had wondered where Arthur had been all night though he better have a good story to explain his whereabouts to Uther when he returned. Uther looked up when he heard footsteps, his frown grew when he noticed that it was his son Arthur. Uther didn’t speak to his son at first he returned to his breakfast. It didn’t take Uther long before he finished his breakfast, he stood up and walked a little bit away from the table. Uther was reading the parchment that had the report on the creature attack. Twelve dead many wounded and this was the first he was hearing about it, Uther was very disappointed indeed.

Finally Uther turned towards his son, he took a few steps towards him and shoved the parchment into Arthur’s hands. “So tell me Arthur. Where were you when the creature attacked Camelot last night? Tell me Arthur you want to be king some day but you go disappearing in the night and left Camelot defenseless, what could possibly have made you leave Camelot?” Uther yelled. “I had to find out about this from a Knight. A Knight and not from my son where I put my trust in. You’ve disappointed me Arthur.” Uther added in. Uther looked out into the city as he waited for Arthur to respond to him.

[Arthur Pendragon]

His father was not only angry, he was furious. He was giving him the silent treatment, too infuriated to speak no doubt. Arthur tried to remember the last time his father was this angry. Perhaps when he went after the morteaous flower? Still. Arthur hated it when the king was this angry. The Prince remained though, knowing that he would have to deal with this sooner or later and the sooner the better. And finally . . . he spoke. His words were hard to hear, and quite a bit for Arthur to absorb. Attack? Again? Wait . . . he was disappointed? He lacked trust in him? Arthur felt absolutely terrible. He always feared he was a disappointment to his father, but to hear him actually say the words . . . it was the hardest thing to hear from a father.

He stayed silent for a few moments, wondering where to begin. He slowly walked closer to his father, but stayed behind him, maintaining a slight distance. He continued to stay silent, until he found the courage to speak following his father's harsh words. It only increased Arthur's insecurities of whether he was going to be a good king or not. "Sire," he began, really speechless. He had no justification for his actions. No way to respond. No argument. And an apology was too little, for it may mean nothing to his father. "How bad was the attack?" He needed to know . . . where there a lot of deaths? Would this now be put on the Prince's conscience, just like all other things he knew he had to take blame for. He had to deal with one thing at a time, and right now, the most important to him was to know how badly the city was hit.

[tomb01]

Uther looked back at Arthur for a moment as he waited to see what kind of response he would get from his son. Uther still remembered the time Arthur ran off to get some stupid flower, he would have expected that the boy would’ve learned his lesson from last time but now he had gone and done it again. Arthur finally spoke up he listened to the words his son spoke to him but it wasn’t the words Uther were looking for at all though at least Arthur was concerned about Camelot. Uther just starred out into the city as the first glimpse of daybreak was upon them soon the sunrise would hit the walls of Camelot to a bran new day.

Uther turned away from the window and looked back to Arthur, no matter how much he failed or what Arthur did Uther however still loved his son and would do anything for him. “Twelve dead four of them were knights the others were civilians. At least twenty more knights were wounded they remain in the infirmary with burn marks all over their body.” Uther explained to Arthur. “I want you to deal with this Arthur. I want the creature’s head by sundown tomorrow. I will not allow this creature that was conjured by magic to be allowed to roam freely unchecked.” Uther explained to Arthur.

[Arthur Pendragon]

Arthur felt more pangs of guilt as he heard the list of those wounded and those injured. It was absolutely horrible! He had lost so many men, so many innocent citizens. He should have been here. He had no justification for his absence, and so this would be one of the times where Arthur could not argue with his father. He would have to accept his massive mistake, deal with it, and do whatever he could to fix this situation, even though it was impossible. Nothing was going to bring back the dead. He looked at his father with determination as he spoke his next words. "I swear to you, that I will find this beast. I will leave soon, and not rest until he is found." Arthur did feel pressure, but not only from his father. He always felt it, constantly, as he was supposed to lead this kingdom one day and he would have to make difficult decisions. It was why he respected his father so much. He built Camelot to what it is today.

"I have no excuse for my absence. But I thought it would at least please you to know that all the crops are growing one again, and the water is no longer dry throughout the kingdom." At least that was one small piece of good news. "What can you tell me of the creature?" What did it look like so that he would be able to find it. Arthur still felt like he needed to do something more for those who died in trying to defeat it. What kind of leader was he, when he was not even here to lead his own army? "We should have a memorial service, for all those who lost their lives." It was a honorable death, for they died protecting Camelot. It was often a knight's dream to die such a way . . . though it was never truly wanted. No one asked for death.

[tomb01]

Arthur had failed him, though Uther still had not heard the reason why. The attack was indeed horrible but the creature was still out there causing havoc to his people, he would be angry with Arthur for a while at least until he could deal with the creature. Uther of course didn’t see the creature he only knew what it half looked like from what his knights had told him. Uther was going to pay a visit to the infirmary after his discussion with Arthur. “See to it that you do Arthur. From what I’ve been told about this creature it’s powerful able to take on a few knights and live to tell the tale.” Uther replied back to Arthur.

“I’m glad that the crops and water are going back to normal but you still haven’t told me the reason why you left this city last night and allowed the creature to attack Camelot. You’ve left the city defenseless Arthur that’s no excuse.” Uther replied back raising his voice a little bit he wanted to know why Arthur had left Camelot and wouldn’t rest till he knew the answer. “From what I’ve heard about the creature it can fly and breath fire but it’s not a dragon. I’ve been informed that the creature has been born from the magic element fire that’s all I know for now.” Uther replied back. “I was thinking along the same lines. I’m going to visit the infirmary you should come to.” Uther explained as he made his way towards the door.

[Arthur Pendragon]

Arthur was not going to let this creature survive for another day. He would avenge all those who lost their lives because of it. "It will not live to take the life of even one more person." Arthur told him confidently. Arthur knew that his absence was no excuse; and he would not try to justify himself. But at the same time, he wanted to explain for it were moments like these that he believed his father doubted his son's capabilities as a future king. They would often get in arguments about certain judgment calls, and his father would always bring up the fact that as a king, he would have to learn to make sacrifices. All Arthur wanted was to be a king, loved and respected by his people, and one that his father would be proud of. He was failing though; he was continuing to be a disappointment.

"I know Sire," he said, embarrassed and horribly guilty. "I just wanted to make sure that all the crops in the kingdom were growing, and that the people would have food and water." The curse had been his fault, and while that problem had been solved, his absence had created another. "I did not . . . I should not have left." Would his father disapprove that the Prince personally did such things? Perhaps that was a job for other knights or servants? But now. As Arthur reminded himself before, the curse had been his fault. His own concern forced him to be the one to check up on things . . . maybe his father would disagree with that though. Especially after the attack.

"It will never happen again. I apologize." Apologies to compensate for the loss of life were meaningless, but Arthur had nothing else to say to express his remorse over what had happened. "Do you think Gaius would know any more about it? He seems to have a vast knowledge of creatures conjured by magic." Arthur wanted to know as much information as possible before he went on a full fledged attack against the beast. "I will accompany you." As painful as it would be to see the damage Arthur had allowed to happen, he had to. He could not be a coward; that would only further prove his weakness. He began to follow his father, without needing to be told twice.