Arthur Pendragon

Britanica,
Pendragon Castle,
Arthur’s chambers,

Arthur was sleeping in his bed, even though it was already 12:00 PM, Arthur was no slacker, he usually got up before 7:00, but, after the great ball in his honor as he just turned 18 years old was last night, he barely got any sleep in, as the traditions dictate that the celebrated must be the last one to leave the room.

Knock! Knock! Knock!

???? “Prince Arthur! The king requires your presence! Prince Arthuuuuuur!”

Arthur gets up from the bed, stumbles for a few times and finally reaches the door.

Arthur opens the door.

???? “Ughmm! Ughmm,” she clears her throat.

???? “Prince Arthur, King Uther Pendragon expects your presence in the throne room,” she says, bowing down to him.

Arthur : “Ok, sure, tell him, I’ll be there in a few minutes,” Arthur replies, scratching his eyes.

She bows down again and leaves.

Arthur closes the door, sits down on his bed and starts looking around the room.

Arthur(thinking) “What the fuck even happened last night? God my fucking head hurts, why did he even let me drink that much ….he usually stops me before my third glass of wine….God, I hope I didn’t make a fool of myself and now he wants to scold me….I probably should dress up, all royalty and shit, last thing I want is for him to yell at me about how I run around in "commoner clothes."” Arthur thought as he attempted to mimic his father's voice in his head.

Arthur “There, all done, God, I’m fucking handsome,” Arthur says, watching himself in the mirror.

Arthur starts walking half across the castle to the throne room.

After 15 minutes he finally reaches the throne room.

The two guards that stood in place at the giant hall door, strike their lances two times on the ground as Arthur approaches.

???? “All Hail Prince Arthur!” They both shout.

Arthur “Yeah, yeah, all hail to you too, random guards,” Arthur replies, putting both his hands at each side of the door.

Arthur opens the 50 meters long door by pushing both sides with his hands.

The guards usually open the door for the royalties, but not for Arthur, Arthur never liked having someone else do something for him, something that he can do himself, it’s not like he didn’t like taking advantage of people, in fact he did that pretty often, but when it came down to the maids helping him dress, or his shield bearer helping him put his armor on, he disliked it, the guards knowing full well Arthur’s nature, they never helped him with anything unless he asked, it was the way Arthur wanted it.

Arthur enters the large hall and starts walking towards the throne.

He sees his mother, Igraine, sitting on his father’s throne.

His father, Uther, walking around in circles, clearly irritated by his son’s late arrival.

Arthur “All Hail, The great magus, King, Uther Pendragon,” Arthur said, kneeling down in front of the throne.

Uther “God damn it boy, how much longer must I wait for you?”

Arthur “I’m sorry father, I’m still tired from the ball last night.”

Igraine “Leave him alone Uther, you’re the one who let him drink like that last night anyway, you should take part of the blame too,” Igraine said, while getting up from the throne.

Uther “I had to let him…. what can I do? Tell him not to drink a glass with every noble in the kingdom, they would’ve taken offense to that,” Uther replies.

Igraine goes to Arthur and lifts him up. She kisses him on the cheeks and hugs him.

Igraine “How are you? All good?” She asked.

Arthur “All good mom, just a bit of headache.”

Uther “Stop pampering him, he’s a man now, and he should act like one,” Uther remarked.

The joyful look on Igraine’s face changes into a troubled, saddened one.

Arthur “What? What happened? Mom, are you okay?” He asked.

Igraine “It’s…I’m sorry baby,” Igraine said, sitting back on the throne, putting her hands on her face.

Arthur looks at his father.

Arthur “What happened?”

Uther “Not what happened, my dear boy…but…what will happen,” Uther replies.

Arthur “I don’t understand….”

Uther “You are 18 now, do you understand what that means?”

Arthur “Not really? Why does my age matter? I’m first in line, my sister is barely 16, and as a man I’m to be the next ruler of Britanica, you told me that countless times, you’ve prepared me ever since I was a kid, ever since my grandfather was alive, I don’t understand why now must something change,” Arthur replied, confused.

Uther “What makes a good king?” Uther asked in a stern voice.

Arthur “Wisdom, you’ve always told me that,” Arthur replied.

Uther is silent for a few seconds.

Uther “What can make a man better himself?”

Arthur “Well….a lot of things, goals for instance….”

Uther “Yes, my son….but not only that, you’re a prince, do you understand what that means?”

Arthur “Dad…just tell me what you want to tell me, stop avoiding it.”

Uther “Did you know who else was at last night’s banquet?”

Arthur “You mean the envoy from Frankia?”

Uther “Yes, do you know why they were here?”

Arthur “No, I assumed they wanted gold… again…. or to deliver a message from aunt Morgues, as she is stationed there to better our relations and perhaps create an alliance further down the line.”

Uther “Yes, all of those things, but…there’s something else, we finally reached an agreement between the kingdoms and we got our answer last night.”

Arthur “And what is this agreement? And I assume it involves me.”

Igraine “Yes….it does,” she replied with a sadness behind her voice.

Igraine gets up from the throne and wipes a tear from her cheek and with a stern tone she speaks.

Igraine “You are to marry Princess Guinevere of Frankia, in order to create a better alliance for the two kingdoms, and hopefully put and end to this war and it's senseless bloodshed.”

Arthur ponders for a few seconds on this, afterwards he kneels down and puts his right hand on his chest.

Arthur “If that is your wish mother, it shall be so, everything for you,” Arthur responds.

Uther “Really? REALLLY? I fucking prepared a speech to convince you that took me three hours to make! And you just agree like that!” Uther shouts, as he gives an almost childish tantrum.

Arthur “Hehe, I am no fool father, I knew that it will eventually come to this sooner or later, however I have a request if I may,” Arthur said, while getting up.

Uther “A request? Yes, name what you want,” Uther replied, slightly intrigued.

Arthur “I wish to do this on my own terms, and if I deem Princess Guinevere unworthy, I shall refuse.”

Igraine “Baby….people in our position cannot marry whomever they want, we all have to sacrifice something for the people we rule, arranged marriages are not all bad, look at me and your father,” Igraine tells him.

Arthur “Do not mistaken my intentions mother, I do intend to marry Guinevere, however I should like to see her, see her behavior whilst I’m not around, see how she truly is, before I make a decision, as you both know, Frankia deals with demons and beasts on a daily basis, that can change a human, that’s why you even send auntie there in the first place, to keep an eye on them, see if their intentions are pure, I simply wish for you to allow me to make that decision on my own.”

Uther and Igraine move slightly towards the throne and start whispering amongst themselves for a few minutes, Arthur waits for their response.

Uther “And how exactly do you want to do this?” Uther asked, still intrigued.

Arthur “Simple, I’ll have you change my appearance slightly, using your magic, as far as I know father, Infinity, your magic lasts forever as long as you don’t cancel it yourself, 90 days that’s all I ask for. For 90 days I will join the adventurer’s guild, create my own guild, make a name for myself and go to Frankia, you will arrange a royal visit in 90 days, where I will first meet princess Guinevere, however I will already be there, posing as an adventurer that will guard the castle during the royal visit. I have no doubt that they will outsource to the guild for protection during the royal visit as they don’t want to risk anything happening while you are there, father. That will give me plenty of time to make my decision.”

Uther “Simple…he says….there are too many ifs and buts with your plan….”

Arthur “I have no doubt in my mind that I can pull this off. Father, allow me this one opportunity as your son to make my own decision.”

Uther “There are still many in this kingdom who call me usurper, many who want to do us harm, if they find out that you’re on your own out there, they will come for you, I cannot risk your safety…..”

Igraine “But he won’t be alone,” Igraine responded, with a smile on her face.

Uther&Arthur “What?”

Igraine “You heard me, I will come with you, and I’m not taking no for an answer,” Igraine replied.

Uther “My love….you cannot be serious….”

Igraine “Don’t make me go back on my word Uther, it took a lot of convincing from you and Morgues to make me say yes to this, to take my boy away from me, I want to spend 90 days with him until I probably won’t see him at least only once a year, that’s my bargain, take it or leave it, I’m more than happy to cancel this deal right here and now,” Igraine replies, looking at her husband.

Uther “If that’s what you want my love, how can I ever refuse you,” Uther replies, kissing her on the forehead.

A scout rushes in, stopping them from continuing their discussion.

???? “All Hail! King Uther Pendragon!” He shouts, kneeling and facing down.

Uther “What’s this? I told the guards that we are not to be interrupted!” Uther shouts.

???? “They finally caught them, my King, I was told this information was urgent, so I rushed in.”

Arthur “The orcs?”

???? “Yes, my prince, the ones who used to ravage our southern border, they’re moving them to the cells as we speak,” the guard replied.

Uther “Don’t bother, send them all to the mines,” Uther replied with a disgusted tone.

???? “As you wish m ki….”

Arthur “Wait!”

Arthur “I want to meet them before you do so,” Arthur said.

The scout lifts his head up and looks at Uther.

Uther “Fine, lead the prince to the orcs to have a look at them,” Uther replies and with a small gesture of his hand, shoos the scout away.

Uther “We’ll talk about the details later, go now,” Uther whispered to his son.

Arthur bows to his father and starts following the scout.