⚔︎ Kings and Heights⚔︎
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Renly moved noiselessly through the crowd. Her hood was up, eyes narrowed and calculating and her face made of stone. Thousands of people had turned up to watch the rightful king meet his maker at the hands of the usurper Vortigern. It made her slightly sick, even standing there in the yard watching everyone prepare for the spectacle.
Percy and Rubio stood a few paces away from her, John and William stood with Margot on the edge of the cliff that was to be their escape route, everyone tense and ready for the battle to come.
She stopped when she saw the doors to the castle open and the false king Vortigen Pendragon stepped out onto the stage.
He walked out head held high, face a mask of superiority and arrogance.
"Hail king Vortigern!"
Mercia yelled out.
"King Vortigan!"
The blacklegs that lined the stage echoed.
Vortigern raised his arm, hand stretched out towards the people, he moved it along them, and as his hand passed, they were meant to kneel.
Renly hated getting down on one knee at his command, but she could not very well stay standing.
Her eyes began to scan the stage, while she knelt. Taking in every face, every weapon, every variable. She had faith in her mage friend who would be carrying most of the rescue on her shoulders but there would be no avoiding a fight. Even if everything went according to plan there was no getting around it.
Her stomach turned as she thought of her friends.
Would all of them survive?
She pushed the thoughts down and went back to her counting.
Renly watched as Vortigen once again turned back to his people throwing up his arm.
"King Vortigern! King Vortigern! King Vortigern!"
It echoed all around her, his name inescapable as the people began to put their hands to their chests and then throw their arms out, over and over again in celebration of a king they all despised.
He stood there arms held out, receiving the praise as if he thought himself a god to be worshipped.
Renly repeated the action with everyone else and she smiled as she did it, for she knew that today would change everything.
The outcries continued as the doors opened once again and a man was led out. His hands and feet were tied by rope and he looked calm and solemn as he walked towards the chopping block.
Renly's heartbeat quickened.
That was him.
The man they were placing all of their hopes on, all of their lives on.
She hoped to god he was worth it.
Everyone became silent as the true king walked toward his death.
"Behold, your born king!"
Mercia mocked holding out his hand and gesturing to Arthur.
"Behold the man who pulled the sword from the stone."
"You wanted a prophecy. This is your prophecy."
Arthur came to a stop before the chopping block, he stood tall and unafraid, eyes going back to the women who had raised him before he once again turned back to face the people of Camelot.
Renly could not help but wonder what was going through his mind.
She knew what it felt like to walk toward death, but she at least had the luxury of not knowing when it would come to pass.
Arthur was walking with his head held high toward his own execution.
He did not know that there were people in the crowd waiting for the right time to rescue him, he did not know that there was a chance that he would not be dying today.
All he knew was what he saw, and that was an executioner with a giant axe and people calling for his head.
"Now tell us, king, what do you have to say?"
Mercia spit out and when Arthur said nothing, he smiled.
"Here are your people, if you're the king declare yourself."
Arthur did not make a sound.
"If you are lost for words, then let the sword speak for you."
Mercia said as they brought out the sword.
Idiots.
Despite the solemn atmosphere, Renly could not help the smile that pulled on her lips.
They were using Excalibur as a freaking prop to humiliate Arthur and intimidate the people.
Idiots.
"Take it!"
Mercia ordered.
"Show the people the power of Excalibur."
Arthur once again did nothing.
Renly began to gear up, her heartbeat quickened and her mind raced but she took a deep breath and silenced both her heart and mind like she had done so many times before.
Her hand ghosted over the hilt of her sword, her eyes narrowing as they zeroed in on the true king
Excalibur was Rubio's responsibility, Arthur was hers.
"I said take it king."
Mercia goaded.
"Raise that sword!"
Arthur turned his head away from his father's sword.
"I thought not."
"This man cannot be allowed to bring discord to our flourishing nation."
Does he ever shut up?
They pulled the true-born king by the rope around his neck laying his neck against the chopping block.
This was it.
Renly blew out a deep breath, ignoring the sounds around her focusing on the beat of her own heart, the sound of her own breathing, and the animals that would start going mad at any moment.
As the executioner began to approach his axe the eagle Renly had come to know as Fjader flew onto the stage.
It put itself between him and Arthur, keeping him away.
Then the horses began to throw the Blacklegs off their backs.
Now.
Renly pushed through the crowd, her heart hammering, her hand on her sword and her eyes locked on Arthur Pendragon.
She ignored the hounds that turned on their masters and began attacking the soldiers, she even ignored the false king because despite how large a part of her wanted to throw a blade into the man's neck this was not the time.
She was the first of them to reach the stairs, Rubio and Percy following closely behind her.
"Protect the king!"
She heard Mercia cry out.
She drew her sword pushing it into the stomach of an approaching Blackleg, she moved swiftly out of the way of another turning and cutting his back.
She watched as the blackleg who had held Excalibur was attacked by a hound, dropping the priceless weapon.
She grabbed Rubio's arm and gestured towards it, she did not wait for confirmation that he had heard her before running over to the man tied to the wooden stump.
"Your grace."
She breathed out slightly sarcastically as she began to cut his bindings.
The blonde man looked up at her in confusion, his piercing blue eyes meeting her brown ones.
She gave him a tight smile before cutting the bindings at his feet and pulling him up.
"Let's go!"
She yelled at him shoving him towards Percy who began pushing him down the stairs and towards the cliff.
She ran after them, killing anyone in her path and anyone who made a move toward Arthur, counting the bodies in her head.
When they finally reached the scaffolding they needed to climb to get to the cliff's edge. Will and John began shooting arrows at the blacklegs that came for them.
Renly who was last in their line turned swiftly cutting a man who had gotten too close to her back over the chest causing him to cry out and fall to his knees. She turned back and began to run again jumping over bodies left behind by her friends.
Four.
When they finally reached the top, Margot who had been controlling the animals from there let go of her hold over them and was the first to jump down into the water below.
Percy followed after her.
Arthur however hesitated as he stood at the precipice.
Rubio looked over his shoulder panicked, when Renly saw two Blacklegs cut down John and Will, her heart screamed for them, but there was no going back.
"We don't have time for this."
She grumbled before grabbing Arthur's arm and pulling him away from where he had hidden and onto the edge.
"Sorry bout this."
She said tilting her head to the side in a gesture that said 'not really' before she stepped back and kicked him over the edge.
Rubio was next to jump, and then Renly.
As she fell through the air, her body screaming and mind racing, she took a deep breath preparing herself for the ice-cold water before she hit the surface.