Having been supplied with at least fifty kilograms of cheese and flour, Arthur gave the merchant the medicines and headed home. It was about a four hour walk back to the cottage so he didn’t want to stay for too much longer. The forret wasn’t exactly the safest place after dark so he would rather not have to deal with that if he could.

Despite the fact that he had lied in this forest his whole life it always scared him. Not because it was thick and dark but because he knew what lay within its thicket. The ones called neighbors, monsters, and creatures of the night. They stayed here out of safety and necessity as humans hunted them elsewhere or because others that were stronger than it were here.

Despite Arthur living with witches he could not be seen as anything but a normal human by these creatures. They dared not anger the witches, let alone attack them so Arthur was more likely to be attacked than anything else in this forest. Despite this, he had no weapon. He dared not hurt the neighbors because many of them had no quarrels with him. Though that didn’t mean that he wasn’t still afraid of them.

A snapping came from behind him as he walked that made him stop in his tracks. Looking behind him he saw a neighbor standing there with an innocent look on its face. It was a Monocerus. A creature that looked similar to a giant rabbit with a single curved horn on its head.

“Are you Arthur?” It asked.

“... Yes?” Arthur replied questionably.

“Then take my blessing and make a promise to me.” it asked.

“What kind of promise?” Arthur asked.

“That when you are King you strive to make peace between humans and our kind, just as your father tried to do.” the Monocerus said.

“I don’t see any reason to not want peace with you.” Arthur said.

“Then I will serve you.” it said before bowing its head and running off.

“What was that about?” Arthur asked himself as the creature ran off. Continuing on for a while he ended up being stopped an hour later by hundreds of creatures from the forest. They each bowed to him as they would a King worthy of respect. Arthur was in shock from seeing all of them acting like he was superior to them.

“What do you all expect from me?” he asked even though he heard it less than an hour before.

“Make peace between us and humans and we will serve you till your death.” one of them said.

“I will do my best, but I am no King yet.” Arthur said as he continued walking. The creatures nodded and ran off into the woods.

Finally arriving back at the cottage after being harrassed by freaks of nature most of the day like some kind of fairy tail princess Arthur was both tired and annoyed. He unloaded the supplies he received and was given a portion of dinner. He ate all that he could before going to sleep early.

* * *

Merlin arrived back at Camelot several hours later to the sound of a woman screaming for him. It was a woman in her fifties dressed in fine purple clothing and with a mildly overweight body type. Her voice sounded more like a shrill than human speech as she ran up to Merlin. Oh, not this hag was Merlin’s first thought as he approached.

“My Queen, what may I do for you?” Merlin asked in a voice that sounded like it was desperately not trying to sound sarcastic.

“The Court has notified me that you have decided to let a sword choose the next heir! Is this true?” she asked in a very condescending manner.

“At your husband, the King’s wishes. The Court knows this and also knows as to why he chose to do that. If you have any questions as to why then ask them. I am very busy.” Merlin said as he tried to walk away. She grabbed his cloak in response with a gasp of indignation.

“Merlin, I am your Queen. My husband is not in the right mind at the moment so I command you to name the King’s son, my son, as heir.” she demanded. Turning around and getting within a few centimeters of her face he looked at her in the yes. They seemed afraid.

“The King’s son will be named as his heir but I assure you it will not be your son you adulterous hag. Also, you are no queen of mine. I chose to serve the King as my greatest friend not anyone else. Now I choose to serve his true son as he has wished.” Merlin said threateningly. She froze out of fear of what he might do but stood her ground.