The Shadow of the Moon

Chapter 1

~ONE YEAR LATER~

Arthur sat slumped in his chair in the council chamber with his hand over his mouth in thought, the sleeves of his white linen shirt rolled up and the laces lose at the neck. This meeting had gone on for hours and despite the urgency they were no closer to a solution.

The candles burning low in their holders as his privvy council waited on tender hooks for his answer. Their situation had grown ever more grim over the past few minths, attacks from Mercian knights coming every week, it seemed, until their king Barghest's loaming invasion had reached its pinnacle. The other king had issued a formal decree of war. There was to be a trail by champions, and it had taken weeks for the council to convince Arthur he should not fight for himself against Barghest's creature, the Beast of Dean.

"There has to be another way." he said finally sitting up in his chair.

"There isn't! We can't defeat the beast any other way. A supernatural enemy needs a supernatural solution." Gwaine enforced, rolling his eyes.

"We defeated plenty of magical beasts before!" Arthur insited raising his hand in a gesture.

"Yes, WITH MERLIN!" Gwaine countered swiftly throwing his hands up in exacerbation.

"Sire he king of Mercia's creature is....like nothing we've ever seen." Leon broke in tactically, accustomed to breaking up the two men's arguments.

"And you are a bit out of practice." Gwaine jabs at the king again with a smirk.

"Oi!"Arthur barked in indignation.

"i just mean that we've been seeing less magical attacks in the last year!" Gwaine answered hands up in mock surrender.

"Sire with all due respect Sir Gwaine is right, as relucant and surprised as I am to agreee with him" said Gaius wryly, deflecting the attention of everbody in the room away from the hot headed knight.

"What do you think, Morgana?" Arthur turned to his sister resignedly, still hoping for a morsel of support even though he could see the truth in what his councillors were saying, he didn't want to accept it.

"I can't see any other way we can win. Without his help you will die." she pointed out, gentle but with no nonsense in her tone.

"Fine. We'll find Merlin." Arthur huffed petetulantly as a child as he slumped back in his throne.

"If he'll even agree to help us." He muttered under his royal breath. Gaius smiled and raised a paternal eyebrow knowingly.

"We'll set off at dawn," Arthur said, rising from the table and striding to the door decisively leather boots sounding across the wooden floor. With a backwards glance he called over his shoulder.

"Geoffrey, bring me everything you have in the library on werewolves, I want to be prepared!" He said and Geoffrey smiled lightly.

"With all due respect, your majesty, you've already got it all" the records keeper pointed out. Arthur caught his eye and let off a barely perceptible grimace as he swept from the room, bowed headed servant following in his wake.

----

The next day dawned bright and clear in Camelot, the smell of hay and the sound of spring bees drifted in the air filled with the song of the morning chorus of birds. The sun beat down from the cloudless sky, hotter and full of promise for the year.

Arthur and his nights left early, leaving the stables of the city on their horses, packed with supplies, as the sun was still slung low in the sky. Having spent all night reading the papers Geoffrey had send and pouring over maps and using his skills as a tracker Arthur knew where too search.