⚔︎ Plans and Chessboards ⚔︎
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Renly's first-ever mission with the rebels had been a complete accident.
She hadn't meant to stumble upon Goosefat Bill and Dorian as they tried to pick the lock of one of the main food storage supplies, made for the rich and fortunate.
She had been skimming off the top of that food store for weeks without being caught so when she found Goosefat struggling to pick the rather tricky lock she couldn't help herself from telling him he was doing it wrong.
The two rebels had whirled around in horror, not having heard the girl approach. While Dorian debated killing the girl, Goosefat had been smart enough to ask her how she would do it. She had told him to step aside and then proceeded to unlock the door he had been struggling with for ten minutes.
Afterward, she had given him instructions on how she'd done it, walked in, filled her bag with supplies, and walked away not sparing the two men another glance, only two weeks would pass before fourteen-year-old Renly came face to face with the infamous Goosefat Bill again.
"What is it that Vortigern cares about most in the world?"
Arthur asked as he hobbled around the room.
"Killing you."
Everyone answered in unison.
"Apart from that."
Arthur said, eating a piece of bread.
"Getting the sword."
Everyone answered again.
Renly didn't hide her chuckle at Arthur's exasperated look.
"Could someone help me out here, please?"
He asked looking towards Renly but she kept quiet grinning as she watched him lead the crew.
"Finishing his tower."
Rubio answered.
"So what do we do about it?"
"Sink his barges carrying his supply of stone, block up the river."
Renly answered quickly. It had been a plan she'd had been working on before the sword was pulled out of the stone, meant to cause some chaos in Vortigerns plans, but now it had a real purpose.
Arthur shot her a wink, making her immediately roll her eyes.
The plan was set and Renly's work began.
As the others trickled out of the room, the girl stayed behind eyes locked on the ceiling.
Her mind ran over the plan, over and over again, tweaking and correcting things along the way.
Bedevere had been right when he imagined that Renly had a giant chessboard in her head.
Renly was so focused on her own planning she had not noticed how Arthur had stayed behind, watching her think with a fascinated expression.
When her mind finally started to go numb, and she was satisfied that the plan was sufficiently corrected Renly brought her gaze back down from the ceiling immediately meeting Arthur's amused eyes.
"You truly need to get a hobby, your grace, the whole watching me thing is getting concerning."
"It is fascinating, watching your mind work, are you painting the ceiling in your mind or something?"
He asked raising his gaze to look up at the rocky ceiling finding nothing of note.
"I just work out problems in my head."
Renly said with an amused smile.
Arthur shook his head laughing lightly.
"Yeah, well whatever it is, it sure is fascinating to look at."
Renly just shook her head and laughed.
"Whatever you say, your grace."
She said with a teasing smile.
Arthur sighed, running his hand over his face.
"Why do you keep calling me that?"
He asked tiredly.
Renly grinned.
"Maybe I'm just trying to help you get used to it?"
She answered teasingly.
He shot her an unimpressed look, urging her for a real answer.
Renly sighed.
Her gaze went back up to the ceiling and she shrugged.
"I don't know."
She admitted.
"I said it that first time we met and it sort of just stuck. It has a nice ring to it, don't you think?"
She asked glancing back at him a genuine grin on her face.
Only when you say it.
Arthur kept himself from speaking the words out loud.
The following days were spent preparing for the 'big boat bash' as Renly had begun calling it, she spent most of her time in what they now called the war room with Goosefat, Bedivere, and Arthur planning out the mission to every minuscule detail.
In the evenings she would stay behind to stare up at the ceiling and Arthur would always join her, sometimes they talked out the problems, but Arthur sat mostly silent, content to watch Renly work out the problems she'd found in her head.
Despite the fact that everything was falling into place with Arthur finally stepping up and taking charge of the rebels, Renly's nightmares kept getting worse.
She couldn't understand it, wasn't she doing exactly what she was supposed to?
Wasn't she helping Arthur on his journey to finally take back the throne that was rightfully his?
Apparently, she was missing something because despite her very best efforts she could not make the memories go away.
Renly was in the water again, she'd fallen into the river that ran beneath Londinium.
Her mind and body giving up welcoming death but her soul fighting against the water desperate to stay alive.
She fought her way to the surface, gasping for breath as she finally reached it, now she needed to get to shore.
Then a hand, reaching out to grab hers.
Renly awoke with a start.
That was new.
She swallowed thickly her chest heaving.
She was laying in her bed, body coated in sweat that had only a second ago felt like water.
She slowly sat up.
A hand?
She tried to think back on the memory again.
Why hadn't she remembered the hand reaching out for her before?
And what had changed to make her see it now?
This wasn't a problem she could solve by playing chess on the ceiling, this was a 'you need to go for a middle of the night walk' type of problem.
Renly took in a deep breath before rising to her feet and grabbing her cloak so that she could go out for a walk in the chilly caves.
When she had seen the firepit burning in the clearing, Renly had expected Goosefat, or perhaps Margot, to be sitting there staring into the flames.
Instead, she came face to face with the battered and bruised king.
"Isn't it a little late for you to be sitting out here all alone contemplating life?"
Renly asked looking over the grim look on Arthur's face.
Arthur didn't react to her presence, the only clue that he had heard her at all was the tiny grin that pulled on the corner of his lips.
"I'm not the one who is going on a mission tomorrow night."
Arthur shot back making the girl smirk.
Her smile faded however when she saw the bitter look in Arthur's eyes as he stared into the fire.
She sighed, rolling her shoulders slightly, gearing up, before sitting down next to the true-born king.
She sat there silently waiting for him to speak.
"I should be going out there with you."
He grumbled.
Renly had to bite her lip to keep from smiling, she recognized that look, that was her look.
"Yeah, maybe we could find you a nice wheelchair, so you can help us sink Vortigerns boats."
Arthur shot Renly an unamused glare that only had her smile brighter.
Why did she have to look so beautiful when she smiled, it made it infinitely harder for him to be annoyed with her.
"So, you'll miss out on one job, big deal."
Renly said encouragingly shoving his shoulder with hers and ducking her head to try and meet his eyes that had gone back to staring into the fire.
"So if it had been you, you would have been happy to sit out and wait while everybody else went out and risked their lives."
Renly couldn't keep the disgusted frown away from her face at the mere thought.
"Exactly."
Arthur said with a victorious nod before going back to glaring at the fire again.
"But, I'm not the future king of Camelot."
Renly argued.
"Neither am I."
Arthur shot back through gritted teeth.
Renly just smiled at him.
"Whatever you say, your grace."
Arthur let out a deep breath before turning back to her, eyes suddenly eying her curiously.
"So now that we have established that I am out here staring into the fire cursing my own uselessness, why are you out here?"
He asked.
Renly chuckled.
"Nothing out of the ordinary, nightmares."
She said pretending to be unbothered.
Arthur nodded.
"They didn't go away when you went into the Darklands did they?"
He asked solemnly.
"Did yours?"
Renly asked hopefully.
Arthur just shook his head.
What a pair they were.