“No, no, no, no.” Arthur said to himself as he began to pace and rub his chin. Morgana could tell he was under a lot of stress and now he had another problem to deal with. Had word of this gotten out then even if he wanted to Marry the Welsh princess it wouldn’t be allowed. Arthur stopped pacing after a minute and walked over to the desk. The wine bottle as well as the tray and two cups were still there from the night before. However, the bottle was only half empty. He looked at it and took a sip of it directly from the bottle. Having tasted it with no bad effects he looked at Morgana.

“What did you put in my drink?” he asked.

“What do you mean?” she asked with a falsely innocent concerned look.

“I’m not a dunce. You put something in my drink didn’t you! That’s why only you know what happened last night.” he said assertively.

“I couldn’t let you marry someone else, okay. I had to do it!” she exclaimed.

“Do you have any idea what the consequences of this could be? We need the Welsh armies on our side and sadly I have to make sacrifices. I love you but I have a responsibility to this kingdom and everyone inside of it.”

“Arthur…”

“Please… just leave and I’ll talk to you about this later.” he said sternly.

“... As you wish, your highness.” she said as she lowered her head and covered herself with the blanket before walking out of his chambers. As soon as she left Arthur sighed and punched the wall as hard as he could. Blood coursed from his knuckles as one would expect and without doing anything else he finished getting dressed and brandished Excalibur before walking out of his chambers towards the throne room.

Merlin was waiting in the hallway for him. Arthur’s gaze seemed determined so Merlin didn’t bother to bring up what he had just walked in on. Rather he looked at Arthur’s bloody knuckle with concern.

“You didn’t strike her did you?” Merlin asked.

“No, I took my aggression on the wall. You know I would never strike a woman.” Arthur said with an annoyed tone.

“I also know you would never sleep with a woman before marriage.” Merlin said in what should have been a sarcastic tone but instead it came out like a personal attack. Arthur drew Excalibur and held it to Merlin’s neck.

“I don’t want you to ever speak of that again unless we are behind closed doors. I will deal with it later.” Arthur said before lowering the blade and sliding it back into its scabbard.

“Understood. Now that you have calmed down I suggest we discuss what your plans are. I met with the ambassador and although I asked the Lady of the Lake to scare him into doing something different, it seems that he still wants a union between you and the princess guinevere.” Merlin said.

“So you did try and help me out after all?” Arthur asked.

“Yes, although I serve this kingdom I have only given my loyalty to you and your father. Your best interests are what I care about.” Merlin stated.

“Thank you. I will tell the ambassador I will accept the marriage proposal. Please have someone prepare some gifts for the ambassador to take back with him.” Arthur said as he continued walking.

Walking out into the throne room several of his knights stood around discussing several different topics. Upon seeing Arthur enter they all turned to face him as if they were waiting for him to say something. Some of them even seemed concerned since he looked like he was pissed. Rather than saying anything Arthur walked right up to the wooden throne and sat down in a reclined position. Having seen that he wasn’t in the mood to talk the knights went back to their conversations except for a few who walked up to Arthur.

“Arthur, you seem a bit aggravated at the moment. Is something wrong?” Sir Kay asked. He was an incredibly muscular knight that wore a very loose set of hide armor with metal plates sewn onto the shoulders and chest. He also wore a roman style pteruge and sandals that matched his red-ish hair.

“I am fine, I just happened to wake up with a conundrum.” Arthur replied.

“Is it the new knight, Sir Marrock?” he asked.

“No, I am actually quite happy that Sir Marrock has joined us as both a representative of the Lycanthropes and the neighbors.” Arthur said.

“I see, I just have a hard time accepting a monster among our ranks.” Sir Kay said.

“Do know that the neighbors are our allies and I intend to create a kingdom where we can all live together in peace. He may be a monster to you but in here and on the battlefield he will be your brother.” Arthur said.

“I understand and i will do my best to accept him as my brother.” Sir Kay said before walking off.

“I feel like I will need to address that later.” Arthur said to Merlin with a somewhat hushed tone.