บท 16: Testing the waters

"That's exactly the reason. She's a witch, and I'm not well versed in magic and rituals, while she is. She's talented too. She wouldn't have been able to remain by King Arthur's side if she hadn't honed her skills." Artie sighed as they got to the stairs. "If she didn't hate me, I would like to be her friend. But as it stands, she sees me as an obstacle standing in the way of Sir Mordred being King." Sir Percy rolled his eyes, offering his arm to Artie to help her up the stairs. Artie ignored him, and clung to the railing instead. Sir Lancelot shrugged when he met Percy's gaze.

"Yes, but Sir Mordred doesn't want to be King, so you're safe Sire. As much as Lady Morgan desires more, Sir Mordred is more than capable at handling his own Mother." Artie glanced back at him, and noticed there was a strange tension among them. Artie thought back to what he had said. Sir Mordred was good at managing his Mother…did that imply…? Artie paused on the stairs and turned to face the three knights below her.

"Is Sir Mordred not good at his job?" She asked, and Sir Percy paled before laughing.

"He's a knight of the round table, Your Highness, how could he not be good at his job?" Well, she was pretty sure nepotism wasn't a word that they knew. Artie gave Sir Percival a rather serious look and he seemed startled.

"There are plenty of good men that I knew that were perfectly capable, but were not suited to the professions that they chose. They should have moved to something else, but because of their stubbornness, they got others killed. There are also others who get jobs because of their family connections." Sir Percy seemed continuously surprised by the words coming out of Artie' mouth. "I'll have to assess everything later, when I have a better grasp on what exactly my job is, and I will go over everyone in the round table to make sure they are doing exactly what they should be doing." Artie turned and finished going up the stairs. She turned and watched the other knights follow up behind her, clearly walking slower so that she didn't feel bad about herself. They didn't have to, she wasn't weak-willed in that sense. As they got to the top of the stairs, she noticed that Sir Percy had colour high on his cheeks. She stared at him, surprised by his reaction. What had he done that had made his face so red? Sir Percy noticed that Artie was staring at him, and he smiled at her. She raised her eyebrow at him and he fanned his face with his hand.

"Oo, Sire, please, don't look at me that way. I am getting chills." He stepped closer towards her, into her personal bubble and Artie tilted her head back to look up at him. "Do you need a lover? I would gladly be of assistance." He stared down at her, his brown eyes dancing as the other three knights shifted awkwardly behind them. Sir Lancelot cleared his throat and Artie darted her gaze towards him. He motioned for them to keep moving, and Artie agreed with him. As much as it was amusing to watch Sir Percy, she had other things she needed to do. Artie met Sir Percy's gaze again, and he winked, before stepping back and gesturing for her to move. He was making it clear that he wanted to watch her from behind, and Artie could feel her lips tilt up slightly.

"While I appreciate the offer, I do not think we are compatible." Artie told him with a smile, following Sir Lancelot with ease. Sir Percy stepped quickly, catching up with her. He seemed confused.

"What do you mean, Sire?" He asked and Artie chuckled. She was sure others hadn't noticed, but Sir Percy had some rope marks around his wrists. They were light enough that most probably wouldn't notice, but Artie's job had been to notice minor changes in others. He had probably wanted them tighter, but also had to work with people who would have asked questions about rope burns and in peace times. She was also fairly certain he was just trying to get a rise out of her, but he was barking up the wrong tree. Artie wasn't interested in that kind of thing.

"Sir Percy, one, I know you don't actually mean your offer, and two," she reached out and tapped his wrist, getting pleasure out of watching his face go pale. "I have no interest in the kind of play you appear into." She tossed his arm away, and Sir Percy stuttered in his steps before he burst into laughter. He had to hunch over because he was laughing so hard he was having difficulty breathing.

"Your Highness, I have never heard someone say it as plainly as you. I am honoured you even thought of it for a second." He bounced back quickly, his words sincere as he caught up with her again. The two brothers carrying up the rear, who were watching this interaction with confusion. Sir Lancelot was no better, but he was doing his job, and keeping his head down. His ear was open in case Artie called for him. Sir Percy pretended to bow to Artie, who rolled her eyes at his antics. "Now, put into my place, I will refrain from doing anything that would cause you to discipline me again." Artie gave him the side eye and he burst into laughter again. "You don't trust me? Your Highness, I am wounded." He placed his slender, scarred fingers against his heart and she snorted.

"That's just simply not true, so of course I am not going to believe you. Now knowing what I know, you, Sir Percy, are going to go out of your way to get scolded, and I already know it. You mischievous little knight." His eyes glinted from deep within and Artie sighed heavily, as if she was extremely bothered. "Oh, what will the ladies do when I tell them the truth about Sir Percival? The tears that shall be wept." It was her turn to place her hand over her heart, and Sir Percy laughed, before wrapping his arm around her shoulders in companionship.

"You are set to ruin me, Sire, and here I thought we'd easily come to an agreement." Artie shook her head, smiling, as they continued down the hallway. Artie could feel the other knights casting glances at them, and sighed.

"What seems to be the concern you three?" She finally asked, and the two brothers shared a look. Artie took a second to look them over as well, since they were taking a second to come to terms with what they were going to say. The brothers weren't the same height, with only a few inches in difference between them. They both had similar face shapes, but it was the blue eyes set in their dark skinned faces that really set them out in her mind. The one on the right seemed to have a sterner expression, was slightly shorter, and also kept his hair shorter and cropped to his head as well. The one on the left had a softer expression, with slightly longer hair, and the taller height. Both were dressed similarly as well, with the one of the left wearing more red, while the one on the right was wearing lighter shades, like creams or off white shades. The one who spoke was the shorter of the two.

"So, we're a little confused. Is Sir Percy now the King's lover?" He asked, clearly confused, while Percy laughed.

"Sir Geraint, Sire has not only shut that down, but she also made it very clear I wasn't her type in the slightest. Now we shall only be good friends." Artie nodded in agreement.

"That is exactly what happened, and I also plan to make his life harder by telling the other women his preferences, so that I scare away the ones who couldn't handle it." Sir Percy's face heated, but he still grinned at Sir Geraint.

"See? Like a true friend." Sir Geraint seemed surprised.

"I didn't realise that the knights could hit on Your Highness." Everyone stopped at that. His words seemed to shock everyone. Artie turned to meet his gaze.

"What do you mean?" She asked, and he shrugged.

"I didn't think we were in the running to become Your Highness' partner. I don't know why I thought that. It isn't as if we knights of the round table are of low standing, and even then, we still hold quite a bit of power and land from climbing to the top of the ranks." A grin crossed his face, and the face of his brother as Artie's eyes went wide. "I had no idea that having a female King was going to be this much fun." Suddenly, Artie was worried. Sir Lancelot moved himself so that he stood in between Artie and the two brothers. Sir Percy kept his arm around Artie, as if he was also ready to protect her.

"Sir Geraint, Sir Gaheris, how dare you look at the King with lustful eyes. Not only are they your liege, they are injured and recovering from a life or death wound. There are many more important things before we even consider her marriage, like her safely getting crowned. A new Queen is far down that list, especially since Lady Guinevere is quite healthy. Her position as King needs to be secure before we begin to worry about heirs." Artie's jaw dropped. She had thought Sir Lancelot was going to defend her, and he was doing well in the first half. After that, he'd just turned them down because of their timing. Artie was in shock. The no nonsense, rule following Sir Lancelot saw no problem with the knights pursuing her, as long as they followed along the itinerary. Sir Lancelot glanced behind him at Artie, clearly pleased with himself at his defense only to freeze at the expression on her face. "Sire? What appears to be the problem?" Sir Percy burst into laughter at his confused expression. Sir Percy tightened his arm around her shoulders.

"It appears she's in shock. I think she thought you were going to shut them down." Artie swallowed as Sir Lancelot's face heated in embarrassment.

"Does the Sire not wish to pursue any of the knights? I didn't want to crush their hopes so publicly, or so quickly even if that was the case, but if that is what you want, I can do so." Artie sighed, running her hands over her face before swearing, remembering that she had makeup on.

"Fuck. Moira's going to be mad at me for messing up my makeup." She muttered to herself, and she felt Sir Percy's shoulder's shake. She turned her gaze towards the three knights before her, ignoring Percy. "Sir Lancelot is correct. Now is not the time to be thinking about lover, marriage, heirs, any of that. I have way more important things to handle right now besides a bunch of horny knights who want to climb the last step of power." Sir Percy laughed, while the three knights blinked, stunned. Sir Lancelot turned, giving her a strange look and she shrugged. "What? All I have to offer is power at this point." Sir Percy laughed harder.

"Sire, please, I'm going to get a stitch in my side. Have pity on me. I need you to stop being hilarious. All you have to offer? Are you fishing for compliments?" When Artie seemed serious, and gave him a strange look, he snorted. "Sire, you're a beautiful, mysterious woman. That alone is enough for some men to fall at your feet begging to be a crumb you'd entertain at your table." Artie continued to stare at him in confusion, blinking her wide, blue eyes at him and he fell over in a fit of giggles, releasing her. "Sire doesn't even know, does she? Oh, I am going to LOVE watching this unfold. Sire, you also shouldn't trust that Sir Lancelot isn't out for your hand either. You bear a striking resemblance-" Sir Lancelot's hand shot out and covered Sir Percy's mouth, while Sir Gaheris and Sir Gerant stared at her in confusion.

"Your Highness, are we not to your liking? Admittedly, we haven't had the discussion yet about your preferences, that usually comes after you are crowned, but my brother and I have never been called unattractive in such a way before." Oh. Oh fuck. She'd hurt their pride. Artie wanted to duck down and bury her head in her hands, but she didn't want to risk hurting her healing wound. Instead, she closed her eyes and took a deep breath in while she felt her face heat in embarrassment. This was going to be a lot as she tried to fix whatever messed up situation this was.