Chapter Text
Her second night in Camelot, a knock startled Lynette awake, her eyes snapping open.
Darkness greeted her and no matter how she squinted, she could not make out anything more than an arm’s length away from her. Which meant it was way too early to be awake.
Unfortunately, the person knocking didn’t seem to think so, as they knocked again, only louder this time.
She groaned. It was probably important. Lynette rubbed her eyes with the sleeve of her tunic as she swung her legs over the side of the bed and sat up. Shivering, Lynette fought back the urge to curse at whoever was making her leave the warmth of her bed when it was this cold outside.
Next to her, Leon mumbled in his sleep, eyes fluttering and hand reaching for her in the sheets. She brushed some curls out of his eyes as he dozed back off.
Not bothering to light a candle yet, Lynette stumbled her way to the door, stopping only briefly to tug on her robe.
She cracked the door open and peered out. The torches lining the hallway made for an eerie sight, and she almost flinched when she saw the knight standing in the door.
He was rather short, but clad in the entirety of his armor, cape draped over his shoulders and gloved hand resting on his sword. Lynette wondered why he was here; perhaps something had happened on his patrol around the castle and he needed the First Knight.
“How may I help you?” she asked. The knight looked startled to see her, his mouth opening and closing a few times.
“I’m sorry, I thought these were Sir Leon’s quarters,” he said after an uncomfortable length of silence. “I think I’m in the wrong place.”
“No,” Lynette replied. “These are his quarters. Shall I fetch him for you?”
A look of confusion flashed across his face before he shook his head. “Yes, please.”
“One moment please,” she said, closing the door in his face. He seemed sort of surprised, but it was an unholy hour in the morning and neither her nor Leon were fit to receive visitors at the moment.
Lynette lit a candle now; it would likely be quite a while before she would be able to return to bed. She set it down on Leon’s nightstand and it cast golden shadows across his face. He looked so lovely that she had to pause for a moment to admire.
But the knight still waited outside.
“Leon,” she called softly, shaking his shoulder. “Darling, I need you to wake up.”
He mumbled in his sleep again, screwing his eyes shut, turning his face away from her and burrowing deeper into the covers. “Darling,” she tried again, a little louder, shaking him a little harder. When he still didn’t stir, she ripped off his covers. “Leon! Wake up!”
At the sudden rush of cold air and her loud voice, Leon jolted awake with a loud gasp, arms flailing for a moment as he looked around in panic. As he registered his surroundings, he calmed and looked at Lynette in confusion. “What is it?”
“I’m sorry to wake you,” she said. “But there is a knight waiting for you outside. It seems urgent.”
Leon sighed and rubbed a hand down his face. “I better see what he needs.” He climbed out of the bed and dressed quickly in a long tunic and baggy trousers before answering the door.
“Ah, Elyan, what can I do for you?” It seemed he knew this man and Lynette hoped that meant this was just a friendly, if ill-timed, visit and not a sign that something was going wrong in the castle.
But something was going terribly wrong in the castle. “Um, would it be alright if I came in? There is something I need to discuss with you.” Lynette took a moment to grieve a good night’s rest.
Leon glanced back at Lynette to ask for permission. She was the one currently unsuited for visitors, with her nightgown and all. But this seemed important, and she and Leon had always agreed that Camelot must come first. So she drew her robe tighter around her and nodded.
“Certainly.” Leon stepped aside to allow Elyan in.
Elyan glanced nervously at Lynette, now moving around the dark room and lighting more candles. He seemed confused, and almost a little bit upset at her presence. She couldn’t imagine why.
“Have a seat,” Leon sat down at his desk and gestured for Elyan to sit down across from him at Lynette’s desk. “What is the matter?”
Elyan looked even more confused at the presence of the two desks, but sat down all the same. “There is some sort of beast wreaking havoc in the lower levels. It is breaking through walls and killing livestock.”
Candles lit and the room much brighter now, Lynette came to stand behind Leon, resting her hands on his shoulders and leaning forward with thinly veiled interest. Why hadn’t the alarm bells rung if such a beast was loose?
She felt a swell of pride fill her chest when Leon asked that exact thing. The pride shriveled just a tad when she noticed the state of Leon’s hair– sticking up in every which angle and the curls all knotted together. As subtle as she could manage, Lynette tried to straighten them out. Leon had always said a knight’s appearance was one of his greatest weapons.
Lynette had laughed at him at first, surely a sword or a shield were greater weapons than the state of a knight’s hair or beard, but Leon was adamant. Knights represented their kingdom, and were a symbol to the citizens they protected. They must always look their best.
She would be remiss if the First Knight of Camelot looked unkempt or unfit for duty in any capacity.
“We don’t think it is a big deal yet, and don't want to disturb the rest of the city. I am sorry for waking you, but we wanted your opinion and insight.” Elyan glanced between her and Leon, eyebrows furrowing ever so slightly.
Leon paused, thinking deeply on the matter.
“I think you should go,” Lynette said softly, tracing her fingers down the crook of his neck. Leon leaned slightly into her touch as he considered her words. “It deserves investigation, and perhaps the matter can be resolved without disturbing the King and the rest of the city.”
“It does not seem to be as big or destructive as the other beasts that have found their way into the city,” Elyan agreed. He was still giving Lynette a strange look, and she could not figure out why. Perhaps she wasn’t behaving Lady-like enough? It wasn’t really her place to tell a knight what to do about a magical beast, but Leon had always valued her input. “I believe it is within our capabilities to defeat it, if we had a patrol or two’s worth of men join us. And if we knew what exactly it was we were dealing with.”
Without another word, Lynette left Leon’s side to dig between folders in a chest next to the wardrobe. She pulled out the parchment with the lists of patrol groups and handed it to Leon. He thanked her as he accepted it.
Elyan stared at Lynette, eyes widened and mouth slightly ajar as Leon told him which patrols to wake.
“Is there a problem, Elyan?” Leon asked, seeing his confused expression.
He blinked, looking back at Leon. “No, not at all. I’ll go wake the men.”
“Can you describe the creature, Sir Elyan?” Lynette asked, curiosity getting the better of her.
“It would help us to know what we are dealing with,” Leon agreed.
“We think there is just one or two, but it flies. We’ve received reports of glowing red eyes, scales, and horns,” Elyan said.
“That is quite a beast,” Leon murmured. “We should attempt some long range attacks, if it flies.”
Lynette moved to sort through the pile of parchment on the edge of Leon’s desk. She knew he kept a list of all the beasts Camelot had faced since he became a knight. Perhaps a beast matching that description was somewhere in here.
“Darling, what are you doing?” Leon asked her. Elyan started coughing, but stopped once Leon glanced at him.
“Ah,” she pulled out one in particular. “I do hope this is the beast. A wyvern.”
“Lynette, I hope the beast is not one of those.They are dreadful.”
“I think knowing the identity of the beast is much better than not having a clue, my dear Leon.” Lynette patted his head. “Sir Elyan, do you think this is it?”
“It might be.” Elyan accepted the parchment and looked it over.
“Then I don’t suppose you have a Dragonlord laying about, do you? They can control the beasts.”
Leon snorted. “A Dragonlord in Camelot? They would have to be a masochist to stay here. Will normal, non-magical weapons work?”
“Unless your report is incomplete-” Lynette poked at Leon’s side, an action that did not go unseen by Sir Elyan, especially not as Leon winced and fought off a smile. “- then there is nothing here to say they shouldn’t.”
“Then it is settled, normal weapons and two more patrols should do it.” Leon and Elyan both stood. “I will see you shortly, Elyan.”
As Elyan left the room, Lynette asked Leon, “Do you need help with your armor?”
“Thank you, my love, I would greatly appreciate it.”
Just then Elyan tripped over nothing before he quickly fled from the room.
“He was rather odd, don’t you think?” Lynette opened the wardrobe to pull out the armor pieces.
“He certainly was just then, but he normally isn’t like that at all.” Leon pulled on his boots. “It must be the beast that is getting to him.”
“Well it is a good thing that Sir Leon is now on the case, he’ll vanquish it in no time.” Lynette stood on the tips of her toes to tap him on the nose.
Leon let out a chuckle and looked away. “You should go back to sleep. The beast isn’t anything for you to worry about.”
“Let us get you into your armor and on your horse before we entertain any thoughts of me resting once more. Camelot is waiting for its First Knight to save her.”