#under a readmore for length and also the...blood bhjdsfbhm

[ofglories]

REFLECT - althur :)

|| Send Reflect for a traumatic event in my muse's life ; accepting!

The valley had once been a place of peace.

Long ago there had been a river that ran through it, though time and human hands had eventually changed its course across the land. In its place it left behind fertile soil, drawing in farmers from across the land to take advantage of the perfect conditions for their crops and livestock. The verdant fields and orchards, dotted with herds of cattle and flocks of sheep had been the pride of his kingdom.

A place more beautiful than any to be found in the other parts of Britain.

Not even Rheged had been able to boast such a place.

But now...

The green fields were trampled into the mud, watered with rain and blood. What remained of the orchards would never return to the acres they had once spanned, a practical forest of fruit trees now lost to war. A small relief had been the farmers taking their herds and families to safety before either army had arrived, given forewarning by messengers both on foot and by air. But it didn't make the sight of the torched remnants of the houses, barns, and villages any easier to stomach. Something he'd quietly confided in Bedivere earlier before the day's battle had truly begun.

Arthur sidestepped, dodging a blow aimed for his side.

Armor or no, it wouldn't do to be careless when battling Romans. That was something he had learned from experience. Dodge, swing, block, parry, thrust. It almost felt like a dance, were it not for the way his lungs and shoulders ached. The strain of this battle that had gone now for several days all over a valley that the Romans had already rendered a waste. There was no strategic importance to it. No major roads went through the farmlands and to even reach it one would have to take several detours to get to it.

It was just something to crush to draw Arthur out.

This was something he knew already.

Still the battle raged on, even as Arthur pressed through the enemy ranks. He'd lost sight of Kay and Bedivere somewhere in the mess, the two promising to be careful.

And then...

"Kay! No!"

The sound of Bedivere's cry cut Arthur to the core. The icy spike of dread he'd been feeling all day becoming akin to a blade in his heart. There was no time. He snarled at the soldiers blocking his path, magic channeling through him into Excalibur. A blast of wind, enhanced by the holy sword's own natural magic, carved a way through by force, flinging enemy soldiers to either side.

Another shout from Bedivere was all he could hear over his heart pounding in his ears, the pain evident in the pitch.

What awaited him was the thing of nightmares.

'No no nonono please please don't let this be true,' he begged in his mind, eyes wide with horror at the sight of his older brother slumped on the ground, blood staining the front of his armor and the grass beneath him. Kay was still, far too still. Arthur knew with only a glance that it was too late.

Something was cracking inside of him.

Choking back tears, he turned, casting his eyes around for- there!

"Bedi!!" Arthur screamed, sprinting to the site where his best oldest, dearest, most beloved, friend lay on the grass. The tall, redhaired man standing over him didn't even register in the king's mind as he dropped to his knees, hauling the older man into his arms.

There was no denying that the wound Bedivere had sustained was mortal.

With a strangled sob he cupped the other man's face, blinking away tears to properly meet those emerald eyes he adored so much. Hazy with pain and bloodloss as they were, Bedivere still forced a smile even as tears stained his own face. It wasn't fair. It wasn't fair. Arthur was supposed to keep him safe, to keep both of them safe. He shouldn't have allowed either Kay or Bedi to join him on the battlefield, he decided.

"I-I'm sorry, Arthur... I-I didn't..." Bedi mumbled, blood spilling over his chin as he gasped.

It was a nightmare.

One Arthur desperately wished he could wake from.

"Don't apologize, you're going to be fine!" A lie. A desperate, pleading lie to any god that would listen to make it come true. For the horrific gaping wound in the other man's chest to miraculously heal before his eyes.

The cracks were getting worse, almost audible like ice shattering beneath a boot as the owner of his heart struggled to keep breathing.

"I thought...th-there would be more time f-for us," the whispered confession made Arthur's heart break, the tears falling freely now as Bedi forced himself to speak his last words. "A-Arthur, I... I..."

It wasn't enough.

"...Bedi...?"

Bedivere was gone.

Kay was gone.

Arthur felt the edges of his vision going dark, Lucius Tiberius was saying something. But his enemy's voice sounded muted, like trying to listen underwater. His breathing grew strained, hands shaking as he gripped Bedivere's body tightly against his chest.

Something had broken and there was only anger and hate and despair.

Slowly he laid his beloved down, gripping Excalibur in his hand as he stood. The ever-present glow around the blade shifted, though he took little notice of it. All he cared about was destroying the person who had ripped away two of the people most important to his life. His brother who had always been there. And his dearest friend who he had loved his entire life. Arthur raised his head, baring his teeth at Lucius Tiberius.

He would kill him. Destroy him so nothing remained. Wipe his presence off the world like the stain he was.

He didn't know then that that was the moment he became more dragon than human.