"He has her chained to the floor in his throne room, she looked awful."
Blue who did not have any of the same reservations as Bedevere to keep the information secret informed the rest of the crew.
"Forced me to leave."
The boy mumbled as if ashamed.
Arthur looked over at Bedevere in question but the older man would not meet his eyes, the king let out a bitter chuckle.
He took a deep breath calming whatever storm had started up again within his chest.
"You did right Blue."
He said down to the boy beside him before patting him on the head and walking away from the rest of the group.
That night when the sun had set and the rest of the crew had either taken up their posts as lookouts or fallen asleep Arthur sat by the fire, watching the flames dance trying not to think too much about everything that would happen the next day, and everything at stake.
He was trying not to think about war and fates, he was trying not to think about Ren.
What would he do if she died?
"Renly said you saved her life once."
Blues voice startled him, he had thought the young boy was long since asleep but when he glanced over to him he found the kid's eyes open and staring back at him.
Arthur frowned as he thought about it.
The time they had been running through the city from the blacklegs after the failed attempt at Vortigern's life came to mind.
He was about to tell Blue that the girl had saved his life far more times than he had ever saved hers when Blue spoke again.
"When you were kids."
That had Arthur's head snapping up.
What?
"When you were kids, she said you saved her from the Blacklegs that killed her parents."
Arthur was speechless for a moment, he was just about to dispute it when a long-forgotten memory resurfaced.
A brown-haired girl watching her father hang and her mother's throat being slit.
She had not moved nor had she made a sound, she had just stood there watching.
Arthur had watched as the Blacklegs had started to move towards her and for some reason he could not explain he had run forward, grabbed her hand, and dragged her away and into the crowds.
He had lost her there, dropped her hand for one moment and the next she was gone.
Renly.
"She's always saving everyone else, it's sort of hard to imagine her ever needing help."
Blue spoke softly.
Arthur nodded in agreement.
"We'll save her again, won't we?"
Blue asked hopefully.
Arthur felt his throat close up.
"Yes."
He promised.
Not just Blue but himself as well.
There was no hesitation in his voice, no confusion.
"We'll save her."
Fate be damned.
The next morning the crew woke up early, this was it, the final mission.
Arthur stood leaning against a boulder watching as Margot worked on a potion he was supposed to ingest before his journey back to Camelot.
She had not spoken a word to anyone since they had left the caves and although the mage's silence was nothing new, Arthur knew her sudden determination to keep away from the rest of them had far more to do with Renly than anything.
He heard Bedevere approach but did not look away from Margot as she worked.
They stayed in silence for a long moment.
Neither of them was particularly eager to speak.
Bedevere let out a huff.
He looked away taking a deep breath before speaking.
"A little over a year ago, Renly was told she was meant to die to make you king."
There was a hint of bitterness in his voice.
An underlying sort of pain that he had never let himself linger on.
Arthur flinched, not at the tone of Bedevere's voice but at the words he spoke so bluntly.
"She was silent for hours afterward, didn't speak to a soul. She just sat there, staring up at the ceiling."
Bedevere looked like he was in pain at the memory.
"When she finally spoke, do you know what she said?"
He asked rhetorically, a breathy chuckle filled with despair escaping him.
"She said it made sense. That it was just like fate to make the only way to win the war she had dedicated her life to would be her death."
Bedevere sighed.
"Since she isn't here to tell you this, that honor falls to me. Whatever guilt you carry, quell it. It isn't yours to bear."
Arthur's head snapped up, he looked over at Bedevere in confusion.
Bedevere looked like he wanted nothing more than to throw something, potentially at Arthur.
"She was ready to die for this cause long before she ever knew you, Arthur."
Arthur eyed him, raising an eyebrow.
"And what about you? Are you ready to let her die for this cause?"
Now Bedevere really looked like he wanted to throw something at the true-born king.
"No."
The older man gritted out.
"Good, then we have that in common."
Arthur spoke firmly.
He straightened up preparing to leave but Bedevere's voice stopped him.
"I raised her, I love her, she is as much of a daughter I will ever have. I have spent this past year trying to find a way to save her. Trying to keep her alive."
He spoke firmly, emotions coating his voice.
"I have spent the past year watching my daughter prepare herself to die-"
"She's not going to die."
Arthur cut him off.
"I'm not gonna let that happen."
Bedevere nodded.
"Good."
He said, before turning around and walking away.
YOU ARE READING
Sticks & Stones.
Fanfiction✧･ﾟ:*When the sword is drawn from the stone, hope blooms within the rebellion. But fates and destinies are fickle things and with the legend of the sword being fulfilled, another prophecy becomes set into motion. Renly has been a part of the rebel...
