Chapter Text
Disclaimer: The KA lads never were mine, still aren't mine and never will be. Everything you recognize, belongs to Jerry Bruckheimer & Touchstone Pictures - godsdamnit ! No copyright infringement is intended.
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By The Lion's Mane
Part One: A "Hair-Raising" Proposition
Dagonet strode up the corridor to the hall where the Round Table was situated. He had no idea why Arthur had summoned him there and although his expression was impassive, his mind was in complete turmoil.
"Psst, Dag !"
The tall Healer gazed mildly and found his fellow Roxolani and kinsman, standing in front of him, leaning against the door frame which led into the great hall.
"Bors," he silently acknowledged, eyeing his cousin with baffled silver eyes. He approached the older man with silent grace and silently noted how restless the other knight appeared.
"Any idea why we've been summoned ?" Bors asked anxiously as he fiddled uneasily with a dagger. "What the hell have you done ?"
"Hey ! What do you mean ? I could easily be asking you that. You're always up to something, dear cousin," Dagonet growled in reply. Bors appeared as if he were about to reply, when the great hall's doors opened and Lancelot beckoned them inside.
The darkly handsome knight looked at them gravely, then moved aside so both Roxolani could enter the hall. He closed the large, heavy wooden doors behind them with an ominous thud.
Bringing up the rear, Dagonet watched his stocky cousin hurry after Lancelot, his arms gesticulating wildly as he tried to draw the other Sarmatian's attention.
"Oi ! Lance ! Any idea what this is about ?" Bors demanded furiously. Lancelot continued to walk silently towards the large, ornate, circular table in the middle of the room, where Arthur already sat along with Galahad. "For mercy's sake ... PONCELOT ! I'm talking to you ... What the bloody hell's going on ?"
The black, leather-clad knight silently turned to look at the burly, vociferous Roxolani. There was a deadly calm expression on his face - one that Dagonet knew and recognized only too well. It was the one Lancelot had before he usually lost his temper and to be on the receiving end of it, well ... it was never a good thing. Then, unusually, he sighed and flickered his obsidian eyes coolly over Bors, who was struggling to keep his own increasing fury under control.
Shrugging his broad shoulders, Lancelot drawled sweetly, "You'll just have to wait and see like the rest of us. IF you have a problem with that, Bors, I suggest you take it up with Arthur ..." And with that final remark the tall, Iazyges took his seat at his commander's left hand side.
Still smarting, Bors took his seat beside Dagonet and struggled to come up with a suitable comeback - unfortunately, he was not as quick-witted as their Scout and failed miserably. He ended up glaring at Lancelot, who by now, was feeling pretty bored with their exchange of words and was pointedly ignoring him.
Suddenly, Bors felt a sharp elbow dig him in the ribs. He turned to gaze at Dagonet, his demeanour both hurt and offended.
"What was that for ?" he demanded petulantly, rubbing his left flank gingerly .
Dagonet leaned across to his right and hissed, "For crying out loud, Bors, pay attention ... Arthur's waiting. You're holding things up, you fool, so stop pissing about !"
Arthur rose to his feet with great dignity and nodded his acknowledgement to Dagonet. "Thank you, Dagonet," he murmured quietly. "Right, now that we're all here, I shall begin. I have called you al- "
"Uh ... hold on a moment," Bors interrupted, clambering to his feet. "Dunno if you've noticed, but some of us are actually missing ... Shouldn't the Scout and Gawain be here as we- "
Sighing heavily, Arthur gave Bors a reproachful look which had the Roxolani instantly dropping like a stone back onto his seat. Dagonet shook his head slowly, rolled his eyes and muttered softly, "Idiot !"
"As I was saying ..." Arthur paused to check if any further interruptions were forthcoming from a certain belligerant individual at the table and when there were none, continued briskly, "I've called you all here this afternoon for an emergency meeting ..." He paused deliberately. "A matter of grave importance has recently come to my attention and must be resolved with immediate effect. There's no time to lose ..."
By now, at least three of the seated knights were leaning forwards in their chairs and were watching him with avid interest. Good, thought Arthur, at least I've managed to get their attention - now for the difficult bit ... getting them to agree to it.
He knew Galahad would volunteer to help, after all he'd been the one to bring the matter to his attention in the first place. He glanced over at the young knight who was lounging in his chair, with an innocent expression on his angelic face. Arthur fought against the urge to laugh. After almost fourteen years in Gawain's company, Arthur knew where the dark-haired Halani was concerned, that appearances were deceptive. Gawain's love of mischief and playing pranks on his fellow knights had definitely rubbed off on the youngster and the pair of them were as thick as thieves.
His gaze flickered to Lancelot who sat beside him. The Iazyges gave him a lazy smile, which warmed his obsidian eyes. No, Lance would not be a problem either, Arthur mused fondly. I can always rely on my deputy for support at all times and this time ... well, he's going to be salivating at the chance to tackle this "little" problem ...
He finally turned his attention to the two cousins. These were the men the mission solely depended upon for success. They would either make or break it.
Arthur frowned, his eyes narrowed in appraisal as they fell upon the taller of the pair. Hmmm ... Dagonet ... IF I can get Dagonet to agree to this, Bors won't be a problem - he'll follow him like a sheep, to hell and back. Dag's got experience of this kind of thing ... He's done something along the same lines before and it sort of went well. I just hope he doesn't remember how difficult that was. Arthur watched the Roxolani Healer with hooded eyes and felt the younger man return it with mild curiosity. Hmmm, I'll have to be careful how I go about this, Dag's no fool ... He doesn't say much, but he has a brain and unlike some of them, he's not afraid to use it ...
Sitting back in his chair, Dagonet couldn't help but wonder what had their C.O. so deep in thought. That was unusual in itself, he mused, as Arthur wasn't used to mental exercise. He just hoped the man didn't strain himself ... Anxious to move things along and get back to cleaning his weapons, Dagonet sighed and raised an eyebrow enquiringly.
"Arthur ?" he prompted quietly.
Arthur immediately shook himself out of his reverie. Damn ! Dagonet's far too sharp. I really have to be careful how I go about this. Pulling the wool over Bors' eyes is one thing, but Dag's an entirely different matter ... Then again, I don't see why there should be a problem. He's one of my most loyal, trustworthy and reliable men and hasn't let me down before. No, Dag will be fine with this ... Uh, won't he ?
Starting to feel a migraine coming on, Arthur pinched the bridge of his nose and took a few deep breaths. Stress always affected him this way and considering this latest problem they faced, it looked like this was going to be a bugger of a headache ...
"Arthur ? Are you feeling alright ?" Dagonet watched him gravely, a concerned expression on his ruggedly attractive face. "You're not worried about this, are you ? I mean, you know we'll all be here to help with this problem ... that you don't have to ask us, don't you ? We'll help, won't we, lads ?" Dagonet turned to look at the other three knights. It was a look they were all well acquainted with and they knew it would be futile to argue with the gentle giant once he'd made up their minds for them. They'd only end up losing.
All of a sudden, Arthur felt his migraine begin to fade and he exhaled slowly in relief. He could have kissed the tall Roxolani. Without realizing what he'd just said, Dagonet had made Arthur's job so much easier. Arthur smiled at him weakly and waved his hand dismissively, "Nothing for you to worry about, Dagonet ... Just a bit of a headache that's all. It'll soon go ..." And it's nothing compared to the headache you will soon be facing, he thought with a slight twinge of guilt, which he quickly suppressed.
"Well, seeing as you've all willingly volunteered for this mission, I will reveal to you what it entails. As Dagonet has had prior experience with a case of a similar nature - which he handled extremely well by all accounts, considering the circumstances - I shall be placing him in sole charge of this mission," Arthur announced calmly, then reached for a flagon and poured its contents into a goblet which was placed in front of him. "Wine, anyone ?"
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A soon as Dagonet heard his name singled out, alarm bells began to ring in his head.
This can't be good, he thought, his brow furrowing as he tried to recall what Arthur referred to as a "case of a similar nature" had been. Suddenly, a memory of an event in the dim and distant past struck him. An occurance which had left him pretty traumatized for weeks afterwards ... Oh, shit ! Surely Arthur doesn't mean for me to go through that again ... No way ... There's no way in hell I'm ever doing that again ! Life's too short ... I happen to like breathing and having my limbs intact ! Gods ! I was lucky to come out of it alive last time ...
Blindly, he pushed against the edge of the round table, his chair scraping back abruptly upon the marble floor, drawing the other knights attention to him. The look of sheer terror and panic on his face left the other men stunned into silence. The tall knight - who never shied away in battle and was known for his courage - looked deathly pale and his powerful frame was racked by violent tremors.
" N-no ! N-no way, Arthur ... Absolutely n-not ! " Dagonet stammered, much to Bors' horror. " T-there's n-no way I'm d-doing s-something like t-that again - EVER ! I'd rather face a b-band of m-marauding b-bloody S-saxons on m-my own, t-than go t-through t-that again ... "
T. B. C.