Wings

Chapter 13

It didn't take very long to walk to the clearing. Lancelot limped the whole way, which worried everyone, but most of them still weren't sure how to react. Lancelot was the 'dangerous winged sorceror' Serkad had told them about.

'That's why Serkad and Gedmin tried to take him,' Arthur realised.

Once they arrived in the clearing, Gwaine and Merlin helped Lancelot ease off the chainmail and shirt underneath, careful to avoid the cuts in the wings. Merlin tried to inspect the injuries again, but Lancelot flinched and the wings pulled away every time he did. Gwaine had to hold onto a wing to keep it still while Merlin cleaned the gashes. Soon all the wounds were clean. Lancelot refused to have bandages on them; it reminded him too much of the broken rope that laid on the ground next to him along with his shirt and chainmail.

Arthur, Leon, Percival and Elyan were talking. Lancelot could only hear snippets of their conversation, like, "Lied," and, "Trusted." He managed to resist the urge to wrap the wings around his body; it would be too painful if he did. Gwaine walked over to the group, hoping to make them see sense. Merlin crouched beside Lancelot. He looked troubled.

"Why didn't you tell me?" The warlock finally asked. "You already know my secret. You know I wouldn't betray you."

Lancelot hung his head as he heard the harsh words of the other knights and found he couldn't bring himself to answer Merlin. He shook his head and buried his face in his hands. Merlin tried to be reassuring by putting a hand on Lancelot shoulder, but even that contact made Lancelot recoil.

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"Why did he not tell us!?" Arthur hissed, trying to keep Lancelot from hearing the argument.
"Why should he have!?" Gwaine responded, his anger obvious, even while he kept his voice low.
"He should trust us!"
"A man with wings should trust a king who would kill a sorceror when they did nothing wrong?"
"Sorcery is evil," Leon cut in, though he sounded unsure.
"Is it? How would you know? Have you met every sorceror out there? Have you ever had a proper conversation with a sorceror before you put them to death?"
"Those who practice magic choose their fate," Arthur replied. He didn't really believe that, but the betrayal and hurt he felt at that moment clouded his thoughts.
"If he's done nothing wrong, he shouldn't have to hide something like this from us," Elyan said.
"If he's going to trust us, we need to trust him," Percival pointed out.
"We did trust him and he lied to us," Arthur retorted.
"You don't need to whisper," Lancelot's shaky voice sounded from where he sat on the grass. "I can hear you."

The group turned and for most of them it was the first time they'd seen him look so lost. Though being lied to stung, they all felt sympathy for their friend.

"If it would be better... I can leave," Lancelot offered, as tears pricked his eyes.
"No!" Gwaine and Merlin shouted immediately.

Lancelot glanced up and saw Percival shake his head.

"Stay," Elyan said.

Leon and Arthur looked conflicted, after all, they had been taught that all magic was evil for a long time.

Gwaine was by Lancelot's side in an instant, sitting next to him and slipping an arm around his shoulders in the hopes of comforting him. The wing on the side Gwaine sat on, wrapped around the knight and kept the two close together while the others tried desperately to collect their thoughts and make sense of everything that had just happened.

"I didn't tell you," Lancelot started, "because every time someone finds out they... it doesn't end well..."
"What do they do?" Merlin asked.

Lancelot shook his head again. He wasn't ready to explain that part of his life yet.