Gwaine and the Black Knight Pt.2
A story from the Round Table.
Having bathed and refreshed himself and his clothing, Gwaine had a brief opportunity to reflect on his situation and the requirements of the challenge he had accepted. It completely filled his mind, excluding all of his duties and the many responsibilities he held.
He had impulsively taken up this cause without considering anything beyond his own self-respect, like a teenager in a brawl and now he was honour bound. He must put everything aside to discharge this commitment. If he failed, he would betray the reputation of the court as upholders of the chivalric code of honour, truth and justice and irrevocably diminish his own special renown as a warrior and as a man.
Who was to know? His man-servant was the only person besides the challenger and himself who knew of the commitment but it was morally irrevocable and that was enough.
During the spring feasting that night Gwaine fulfilled his obligations to his friends, his allies, his fellow courtiers and his majesty, the king. However, he ate and drank thoughtfully, most modestly as those around him revelled and gorged themselves, the way the powerful usually would at such an event.
There were plenty of surprised expressions at witnessing this uncharacteristic prudence and Gwaine was required to reassure each in turn that he was in his full health and strength. Only his page fully understood the consequences of what had occurred. The servant attended his master with great care and when his lord saw an opportunity to slip away, the night wore on and the merriment could be relied upon to sustain itself without missing his company, Gwaine returned to his private chamber.
A fire was crackling and candles lit the simply furnished room with a reassuring glow as the chill spring night insinuated it's icy fingers into the castle precincts. Even the mightiest of men sometimes needed the sanctuary and reassurance of home.
He would seek counsel. He needed the help of someone who could fully comprehend his predicament with whom he could discuss the possible courses of action he might take but he knew, in the privacy of his thoughts it could only be himself. This matter was so far beyond the range of experience of his contemporaries. Even the elders, retired knights who had fought great battles, overcome magical creatures, made dangerous quests to foreign lands, could not advise in this most delicate of situations.
There was, however, one other person to whom he could turn.
"Will you be in need of anything more, my lord?" Asked the page, half guessing that his master had much on his mind and anticipating that there was no one else with whom he could speak of the encounter with the Black Knight.
"Indeed, Arthur." Responded the Knight with a haste and energy that belied the lateness of the hour. "I am much in need of reflection on the day, of learning as much as I can about those things I do not currently understand." This statement alone was placing a great strain on the conventions of relationships between knight and vassal but he knew that this was by no means a conventional courtly situation and he must go on. Summoning all his courage, he said "I would like to question you about what I may have missed and how I might build a response to these things, and what I must learn." He continued "For in battle we must know our enemy as well as we may, in order to arm ourselves appropriately, to formulate tactics and to train with those arms."
Then he said "You serve me well, Arthur, often in ways other knights do not require and I trust you to execute your duties and keep what passes between us beyond the hearing of others for the sake of my stature in this court." Although the young man was a servant, Gwaine knew that Arthur held his reputation proudly and with great care. For all his lack of physical strength and stature he was Gwaine's loyal protector and far more stealthy than any armed guard.
The young man glowed slightly at the knight's open expression of esteem for him but as was customary, kept silent and waited for his lord's command.
"By my impetuosity, I have exceeded the boundaries of my experience." Continued Gwaine, with unaccustomed humility. "I was drawn into this situation by a hasty response to provocation, which a wiser knight would have simply laughed away or treated with disdain." Gwaine allowed his thoughts to escape as words. "A diplomat would have honoured the Black Knight for his prowess, flattered his virility."
"There must have been other opportunities to placate the passions and I should not have accepted the Black Knight's challenge so hastily." Hypothesised Gwaine, as much to himself as to his page, who watched and listened intently while his master expressed his feelings with a new freedom.
"Perhaps," Proposed the knight "This is a test of some kind." Said Gwaine, pensively. "A test I am in danger of failing if I cannot control my temper."
"Perhaps this Black Knight is not a man at all but a demon or, if a man, a man under an enchantment." Postulated Gwaine. "How am I to know?"
This question to the ether, or to the room, perhaps to the crackling fire, gave Arthur an etiquette opportunity to speak.
"Though I have not your experience of such things, my lord, what I saw was a man. Not just a man, but such a man as yourself. Strong in body, great in stature, respected for his prowess as a warrior and gifted with a great and potent virility. A rarity, my lord."
Wrong footed by this answer to what had been a rhetorical question, Gwaine with unsuspecting and instinctive frankness asked "Is this why the Black Knight felt compelled to challenge me? A rivalry of manhood? A test of virility? Who has the biggest cock? Who the most cum?"
Thinking very carefully for a moment but responding as quickly as he could in order to not forfeit his opportunity to speak, Arthur answered "My lord, if you were school rivals or journeymen knights with something to prove, then perhaps such a simple explanation would fit but you are a knight of great renown and a knight of the round table. There is something more to this challenge."
"This is surely true." Admitted Gwaine, allowing his racing thoughts to accept Arthur's suggestion. "Speak on."
Arthur trod carefully. "As a witness to these events, I see great similarities between yourself and the Black Knight which might suggest a simple rivalry but he came to you expressing himself in the most lewd and sexual way imaginable. So much so that until the moment when he insulted you, you thought his behaviour a comedy."
"Might I suggest, my lord, that a man more given, shall we say, to a playful attitude to the pleasures of the flesh, could have enjoyed the comedy more fully."
