The night of the ball

It was a moonless night but millions of stars shone brightly in the sky. Looking out of a window of Camelot’s castle a lone figure stood with a cup in his hand.
Lancelot took a sip of the wine on his cup while staring sightlessly into the night sky, on his bed Elaine and their infant son, Galahad, soundly slept after the exhaustive great ball that had just finished. They had come back to their quarters earlier but Lancelot had to stay due to his status as the right hand of the king. It was mainly a boring ball, like always, except…

Why won’t she leave my mind? Why is her smile, her smell, her voice burned into my head and why does my heart beat so? The way we danced together that one song, it was like time had stopped and everyone else ceased to exist. No! I cannot! I should not have these thoughts. Morgaine is my king's wife and I am a married man. And yet... I can’t get her off my head, curse this feeling. What is wrong with me?

Lancelot threw the cup into the empty sky through the window and just watched it fall into the training grounds.

I have to get out of here, I feel like I’m being smothered. I have to do something, anything, to get her off my mind.

So without making a sound to not disturb his family, he left the room and walked into the dark night outside.

 

Lancelot went into the training grounds, training always seemed to focus his mind so he decided to grab a training sword and started whacking at the dummies. But this just made it worse, the images burned ever brightly in his head, the same thoughts looped in his mind continually and ever so more present. He came back to his senses when the training sword shattered in his hands after not being able to endure the onslaught of blows the knight was dishing out. Out from the dark, someone clapped and a figure stepped next to him.

'What are you up to Lancelot? I’m guessing you couldn’t sleep either?' Arthur walked next to him and rested a hand on his shoulder. He was also still wearing the same fancy clothing he did for the ball.

'Indeed I could not, sire.'

'We are all alone, brother, no need for formalities. What is wrong? Wanna talk about it?'

'Nothing. I  just had too much to drink and my head won’t stop spinning.'

'Is it now? And yet you just broke a training sword by swinging it into a dummy? That’s curious.'

'It is what it is, brother.' Lancelot removed the king’s hand from his shoulder and started moving back into the castle.

'Wait up Lance!' Arthur ran to his side and grabbed Lancelot’s arm 'Let’s train for a bit, we’re both unable to sleep so maybe all we need is some good old sparring to tire our body. What do you say?' and he handed Lancelot a new training sword and proceeded to grab another one for himself.

Lancelot grinned to Arthur, maybe this was actually the answer, all he needed was a good old match against Arthur to put his mind back in place. 'You’re on. Are you prepared to have your ass kicked as always?'

'I’ll make you eat your own words.' Arthur replied while grinning.

They took their places and only then did Lancelot realise that the king’s eyes were not their usual bright blue but instead they shone emerald green in the dark night. Arthur started moving unnaturally fast and Lance barely had the time to brace himself and parry the blow aimed at his head.

Something’s wrong, he’s not playing around, I need to defend myself. Lancelot’s eyes turned yellow then and the movements of the king seemed to slow down while the night became brighter. Yet, he did not move to attack, he just stood there parrying the impossibly fast attacks from Arthur.

'I saw it you know?' Arthur spoke amidst an attack. 'I saw the way you looked at her.' Another slash came down and Lancelot evaded 'I saw the way she looked at you.' the king brought his sword down in force in a vertical swing that Lancelot had to kneel to absorb the full impact 'She’s my wife and you have yours, she sleeps with your son back in your quarters. You have no right to look at her like that Lance, not Morgaine.' the king swung his sword again and this time it hit home, Lance had made no move to parry or dodge the blow this time. It hit him hard in the chest and took the breath out of his lungs and yet he stood silently, head lowered staring into the grass.

'I… did not mean to Arthur. Trust me I do not, I don’t know what happened but I can’t get her off my head. I’m sorry brother, I’m sorry…'

Arthur punched Lancelot in the face 'No you’re not, you’re just showing yourself for what you are. You filthy mongrel.' and then something snapped inside Lancelot’s head, his eyes turned red and without thought nor reason his hand lunged at the king’s throat, threw him off his feet and landed on top of him while still firmly grasping his throat.

'You have no right… I have done nothing but serve you and worship you and this is how you pay me? I’ve thrown my life away to protect you more times than I can count and this is what you truly think of me, is it brother?' the last word came out in a mocking tone without him meaning to.

'That will be quite enough boys or I’ll have you whipped like the little children you two still seem to be.' a voice pierced the night, calmly but firmly and in a commanding tone. Both knights looked to the side and there stood Merlin looking at them, fury and disappointment flared in his eyes.

The knights stood almost instantly, knelt and spoke in tandem 'I’m sorry, Master, I do not know what came unto me.'

'Unfortunately I do and it saddens me to see you two quarrel like pathetic humans. Go back, in silence, to your quarters and rest, we have a lot of work to do tomorrow.' saying this he turned his back on the knights and they followed him without uttering another word.