IP: 144.124.137.48
Posted on February 6, 2011 at 10:37:25 PM by arthur & pendragon
When news had first reached Arthur that Lilith had gone into labour he had made straight for the castle, stopping in his study to pour himself a glass of wine before heading up the stairs to the landing upon which Lil’s room was situated. It never crossed his mind to enter the room itself, even at the sound of painful cries coming from within. Birth was a woman’s business; he had no place to interfere. It was an old fashioned conviction, but Arthur, being who he was, did, after all, rather personify a lot of things of such a sort. What he was able to do however was pace. He had spent a good few hours pacing up and down outside the doorway. By the third hour he had been unable to take it anymore and had returned to his study where he sat at his desk drinking wine and concentrating on reading one of the Latin books he had asked to have brought back from earth. As the day turned into evening, Arthur hat lit a fire in the grate and had moved from his desk to the chair which was positioned nearby. It was due to a combination of the heat of the flames and the amount of wine he had drunk which made him feel rather flushed, a sensation which continued even after he had heard Seth’s knock on the door. Boy or girl? That was the first thought which crossed his mind as his grey eyes fell upon the sefert. He knew that he was expected to love one just as much as the other and he believed that he really could love a daughter (though he had no experience of it) but a part of him still yearned for a son. Seth did not tell him either way, though the young King did find himself unable to phrase the question and simply followed the familiar up the stairs in silence. He saw Pendragon fly past one of the windows on the way, and was sure that the merlin was heading for the same room as himself. In fact, he was convinced that his familiar would get there first. He was just as sure that the bird would make no effort to inform Arthur of the gender of his child. He rapped on the wood of the door with his fist before pushing it open with a creak of hinges, before peering into the room. It was fairly dark, the curtains being closed so that only candlelight illuminated the furniture. Arthur hurriedly averted his gaze as Lilith stopped feeding the child, allowing her the chance to adjust her night dress before making any further forward movements. His boots caused the floorboards to creek as he crossed the room to kneel beside the bed, a smile upon his face, reaching out to take Lilith’s hand and squeeze it in thanks. Son. The word echoed through his head, almost succeeding in bringing a tear to his eyes. Oh, how he had waited for this day! A son he could love and raise, a chance to have a boy of his own who would make it into adulthood. He would rather die than see this jewel before him cut down in the flower of youth. There would be no more teenage Pendragon blood spilled fatally on battlefields. “Hello little one,” Arthur said, his deep voice smooth and comforting, resting his hand on the crown of the baby’s head. He looked to Lilith, “will you please let me name him?” he asked of her, his expression almost pleading, “after a most dear nephew, and a great man? Please, may be call him Gawain?” king, leader, general, lover and father image by Creativity+ Timothy K Hamilton at flickr.com |
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