Chapter Four: Decisions and Riddles

            We did wait but not as long as I was expecting too. Later that very same day, a small party of men made their way over to us. It was not many but they told us that there were many ready to fight to protect their homes. It put a smile on my face for the time being and I informed them that we shall be leaving the next day just as I had told my knights we would be. Only Delrand seemed to remain somewhat uncertain about all of this. Even when we had passed through several towns and amassed nearly sixty men, he still would not smile. When I asked him what was wrong, he said very little in return. One day we were camped outside a slightly larger town, when I decided to show him something. I took him into the nearest woods and tried to determine what made him so solemn.

            ‘So, what did you want to show me?’

            ‘It’s not something to show you exactly, more to make you try to understand. I know you don’t like this idea but I am not just doing this for me.’

            ‘Then what else are you doing it for?’ he asked with a little scepticism running in his voice.

            ‘This is an old land and there is no way, while I am still alive, that I am letting any outsiders take it from us. And even if there are a lot of people who do not think like me, there is one thing that should remind them of their ancestry.’ I took my father’s sword and sliced it through the air. ‘This is not just a sword of legend, Delrand. It was made of this land and pretty much in the heart of the magical world too.’

            ‘That did not stop Cheldric from shunning you out.’

            I smiled and ran the tip along the surface of a rock. The metallic scraping made my whole body shiver though not just because it hurt my ears. ‘He did not know I had it then. If he had, he might have tried to take it for himself.’

            ‘And what if he had tried?’

            ‘I do not know. Other than I would have fought him then and there.’

            ‘And no doubt you would have won?’

            For a short while I looked up into the branches and followed a squirrel as it made its way back to its nest. ‘No one can know that for certain. All this travelling is very tiring and yet I know I should be used to it.’ As I stood there, my head felt light and dizzy and I used my sword to lean on for a moment.

            ‘You need some water and something to eat I think.’

            I followed him back to the camp although there were no pitched tents. The men could not carry provisions such as tents; they only had strength enough to carry weapons and food and maybe a blanket or two. We could not afford to bring extra bulk and there were very few men that had brought a horse to ride upon. Even fewer would dare to walk so close to me or my knights. Delrand made his own presence more and more often and he became a bigger mystery to the towns and villages than I did. The more magic he performed, the more and more the people began to realise what he was although I doubted anyone suspected what he was to me. In one particular town, a group of children bombarded him with requests to which he became a little uncertain about.

            I had just finished persuading some more men to join us when I decided to stand nearby and watch. It is alright, Delrand. You do not need to be afraid of children. I chuckled silently with delight in my head and wandered over. With a wink, I let my eyes flash with blue so one little girl could see. She did not cower away but opened her mouth with delight. ‘Haha, see. All children love magic though I hear Merlin was rather good at performing for them.’

            After a moment’s thought, he crackled the air with colourful sparks before crafting thin discs of bronze metal seemingly from nowhere but secretly, I knew how he had done it. However, the little girl would not stop staring at me so much so that I had to come up with some plan to stop her gazing. I soon fashioned a blossoming glass flower which filled my whole palm and handed it to her. It appeared straight away that this was more precious to her than the coin Delrand had given her; she cupped it delicately in both hands and held her hands close to her chest. She ran to her home where her mother was washing some clothes in a large bucket of water and showed the caring woman her gift.

            ‘I thought you would be more subtle than that?’ Delrand asked, taking my hand in his.

            ‘I was but I decided it should not matter since I am no threat to anyone. Besides, it is about time everyone knew of my talents.’ Without another word, I took him back towards the field that had been taken over by my new men. There was one thing that caught my eye and also my hearing, Tristan and Gawain had come up with a brilliant idea to try and train as many men as they could with at least a few fighting techniques. ‘Are you sure you don’t want to try again?’ I asked him.

            He dropped his head with a smile and then gave a small chuckle. ‘I am sure. I have no need to know anymore. Should you not be practicing along with them?’

            ‘It isn’t really practicing and I would rather not humiliate a load of men by beating them at something considered very manly.’

            ‘Is that you trying to tell me something?’ Although his question might have sounded as though he felt insulted, I could tell he knew I only meant it as an observational comment. ‘Would you not like to practice your magic instead then?’

            ‘You know I will beat you so why do you ask?’ I asked him with a smile and a glance.

            ‘It is not about whether you beat me or not. That I do not mind. I just like to see you use your magic, it makes me happy.’

            Looking around as I thought about it, I realised there were far too many people here to begin using my sorcery around. ‘Very well, but not here.’ We returned back to the woods, only this time we went deeper in just to be on the safer side of things. Neither he nor I asked any questions or exchanged any other words; instead, Delrand immediately began to attack me. I should have expected it really since both he and I knew each other’s tactics rather well. All I did was let him bombard me with many spells, charms and enchantments whilst I stood still with my shield in force. It was a patience test that I was giving myself as well as seeing how long it would take him to eventually give up and try something new. He did give up at some point and we both just stood still among the trees.

            I reached out with my mind instead. For some reason I closed my eyes; it helped me focus without any distractions for my eyes. I could sense his mind so easily yet it was no longer open to me as I had become so accustomed to over the years. I had to remember a lot of things while I was trying to get past his defences; the most important of which was to keep my own walls up and try to find a gap in his. It was hard to think of every way in which I could try to seep in through a crack or a hole. And all the while he was doing exactly the same to me. His method was not so straight forward and brutal. He had not gotten in but with us both using our magic in exactly the same way that we were able to see each other’s thoughts. I did not know or understand how that was possible although there could be many reasons why, I did not ask.

            In any case, I might just be thinking that was the reason why I could see his memories. I soon realised it was completely by choice that I was seeing them. Delrand was purposefully letting me see all the memories he had of us; it was an emotional thing and although I knew that, I still could not help but smile to myself. They were all there and they connected to the same moments of time I had in my head and yet I hardly knew I still had them. Every hug, every kiss, every hold of my hand, every glance into my eyes. With a quick shake of the head, I was back to what I was meant to be doing. Focusing on one particular memory, I let him in. At first he was cautious to do so but I simply smiled and let him in.

            You do realise I know this is a trick, he told me.

            Of course. After all this time, I am pretty sure you would know me that well by now. Though... how could you tell exactly? I wondered what he knew of me the best.

            I felt his smile softly against the edge of my laughter as he spoke. ‘Because I know you are too subtle to simply just let me in.’

            With one eye open, I looked at him and pouted my lips in my slight annoyance. ‘Now that is not fair.’

            ‘Seems you need to get to know my tricks a lot better.’ With one swift movement, he pulled me close and caught me by the lips. For once I simply kissed him back; no thinking, no worrying, no one else. There was so much more to this kiss than any other we had shared before. It was different though it was not a strange different. This kiss meant more now than it would ever have done at any other time. There was a short pause and it ended.

            There was no need in me for any more. I leant into his chest while my arms wrapped around his waist. ‘Will you stay with me?’

            He touched his cheek to mine. ‘You do not need to ask me that.’

            ‘If we could only stay here and not move or go anywhere else.’ I pulled away and placed my hand on a tree. ‘Of course though, that cannot be. When all this is over, I would like nothing better than to just hide away.’

            ‘You know you cannot do that.’ We slowly walked to the edge of the woods yet remained out of sight to everyone else.

            ‘And you would not let me either I suppose?’ I glanced at him with certainty of his answer.

            His eyes were already looking at me. ‘Do you really think I would let you put all of this to waste? Besides, I know one person who would never tell you to give up or run away.’

            ‘Who?’ He smiled more cunningly and then walked away. I shook my head and let it be, not quite knowing if I knew who he meant. For once I decided to use my new status and power to try and get some answer out of him. ‘Delrand, stop.’ He did so and turned his head looking rather enthusiastic with me. ‘Who? Who do you mean?’

            ‘The closest person to you.’

            ‘And that would be you.’

            He gave a short chuckle. ‘No, closer than me.’ By now, he had stepped over to me again and had taken both my hands.

            ‘Must you talk in riddles?’ I asked, with a slight smirk and a glance over his shoulder.

            ‘Perhaps but you do not really need an answer from me.’

            Just then, our attention seemed to have been drawn to the clanging and shouting around us. I watched for a moment once more at the men supposedly practicing on each other on how to fight. It was one thing to defend one’s self from harm but an entirely different matter when it came to killing someone; although it was for a reason, it was never easy to forgive taking a life. I had never looked into my friend’s minds but I knew they had nightmares and bad days when they remembered the battles they had seen. Still, none of them would come close to the one we were about to face. ‘This will not be like any other battle they have known,’ I whispered to myself.

            ‘How do you mean?’

            I took his hand and pulled him over to our horses. ‘You will see. I do not want to say too much and risk being overheard.’

            ‘How much of a plan have you come up with so far?’

            ‘Not much, yet. They all seem to be simple ideas roaming inside my head. I am sure Tristan and Lancelot have their own as well.’

            Fastening up the buckles for our horses’ tacks, he looked over Volareus’ back and furrowed his eyebrows slightly. ‘And what about Bors and Gawain?’

            ‘Possibly but they are more likely to just go along with plans and orders than come up with some themselves.’ I giggled slightly. ‘They are simpler in that sense yet just as rugged and tough as the rest of us.’ I was going to say more but fell silent remembering of my two brothers I had lost at Camlan. ‘Before you came along, I had my own council, in a way.’ I was thinking of Dagonet; he might have been the quietest of my friends but he no less had his own talents. I could talk to him for hours and all he would do was listen and help me if I asked. He was also rather good at patrolling, especially on his own if he had to.

            ‘It seems all the men in your life have some sort of talent.’

            Mounting into Rose’s saddle, I eyed him with a grin. ‘And why should I have anything different around me?’ Rose trotted off and we headed around the town to see which way we should head next. It was an easy choice to head north to south yet there was much weaving to do in between. There was no chance of visiting every town; Tristan suggested sending messages to those we could not personally visit. I took his advice and did as he had said. I did not know how many would answer to a message or when I could expect recruits to join us by yet I had some hope about it.

            ‘How well do you know this land?’ Delrand asked as we made our way around the town.

            ‘Where do you mean? There are two places I know well. Camelot and your home,’ I told him.

            ‘And what about the rest?’

            I bowed my head. ‘Sadly, not as much as I would like. Even though my father let me do as I wanted, he was still protective enough to not let me visit too many places. And when I did, it was never ever alone.’

            ‘And now you can do as you wish and whenever you want.’

            ‘Not quite yet. First we need to win this war and unfortunately, winter is coming. And I do not think it will be a short one.’ I could feel the coldness in the air and, gazing up at the sky, I saw how the high clouds were being blown southwards over the marshes. ‘The next place is rather dreary, so I hear. Marshes come with flies and mud and other horrible things.’

            ‘Are we not going around?’ he asked confused.

            ‘Of course but that does not mean it will be easy. Come on, we had best get some order sorted in this pack of men or else we might be worse off.’ I wheeled Rose around and urged her into a canter back to the camp. ‘Lancelot, you can make some order now and remember to be nice,’ I said to him as I slowly rode past. ‘I will be along shortly.’ I set Rose with the other horses before taking my armour and sword from the saddle.

            ‘What are you doing?’

            ‘Huh!’ I gasped. ‘Delrand, you know I hate it when you do that.’ He swiftly leant closer and kissed my cheek. ‘Hmm. And to answer your question, I am just making sure these men understand my purpose.’

            ‘How assertive of you.’ I eyed him strongly and tensed my shoulders. ‘You have changed a lot since Camlan... and I am not sure if it is a good change or not.’

            I snapped my head to face away from him and walked off. ‘There might be a reason for that, Delrand!’ I shouted to him, tying my hair back with a string of ribbon. ‘Right, all of you, listen up. I want you to split into two groups. One of all the men that have ever yielded a weapon before I recruited you; swords, axes, bows. The rest in the other.’ I pointed left and right as I spoke. The men did not move at first, not until Lancelot shouted out and they all jumped to life and split into two halves. One group was exceptionally larger than the other. ‘Good. Those who are skilled with axes and hammers you may go with Bors. Blacksmiths too.’ They quickly marched off, separating from the smaller group and following Bors somewhere beyond my hearing. ‘Tristan, you shall take the archers and train them. I am sure the woods would be a good place. The rest of you may go with Gawain,’ I said to the group that had now grown considerably thinner. After they had all departed, all that was left were those who had never held a weapon or had very little experience with one.

            As the men stood there, Lancelot approached me. ‘And how are we going to train them exactly?’

            ‘I have thought about that but I am afraid all we have are the weapons they brought with them, if they did at all.’

            ‘There is one way we can be sure we have enough.’ With raised eyebrows, he stared at me long enough until I realised what he was asking me. ‘Delrand can help you,’ he added, sounding so sure of that fact.

            ‘Using that amount magic is dangerous. It will only draw attention to us.’

            ‘Ah well, I suppose we shall have to do without then.’ Starting without me, Lancelot took the remaining group of men and set them into two rows, one facing the other. I pondered over what he had said and although I so wanted to use my magic to bring us some better weaponry. It would be very difficult and there were many ways in which I could do it. I owed it to my men to do so but I was afraid I would be risking too much. I would leave it for another day although leaving it too long would be worse than not doing anything at all. I watched Lancelot begin with steps and positions when I realised how much of a task I had undertaken with this plan and I was beginning to deeply doubt my decisions.

            Do not doubt, Delrand whispered to me as I let him in. You cannot give up on yourself. If you doubt yourself then your people will pick up on it.

            How would you know that?

            Flashes of his distant memories were shown to me as he replied softly. Because I used to be a common man and in most eyes I still am. I understand how they think.

            I looked around trying to find him when a familiar raven landed on my shoulder. ‘Oh, hello. So I suppose I should be grateful that at least one of my closest friends understands these men. Hmm. Tell me then, what should I do?’

            What you have been doing. I narrowed my eyes and looked at him. Think of a pack of wolves. The weakest are pushed down to the lowest ranks or killed off.

            What are you getting at? I asked.

            It is worse for the leaders. If they show any sign of weakness, those below them can... will fight them off. There is truth behind nature’s examples, stories and lessons.

            Brushing my fingertips against his feathers, I gave an irritated sigh. ‘You know, Delrand, if I did not know any better, I would say you have been spending too much time with druids. Speaking in riddles and stories.’ He crowed out right against my ear before flapping off to sit in a tree. Soon after, I came out of my thoughts and joined Lancelot in his training.

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