Emery stared sharply at the prince, annoyed that the golden knight still had the audacity to say those words.
"How do you plan to stop us?" Emery said, showing he was ready to fight.
"Merlin, I might not be able to defeat you. However, you are currently in the heart of the Logress Kingdom. Even if you are able to pass us, you will not get out of here easily."
"We shall see," Emery provoked.
The prince fell silent upon hearing Emery's confident answer. He could see the wizard still had more power hidden on his sleeve.
Emery grasps Morgana's hand, pulls her closer "Stay close," he said before summoned the pitch black dagger and taking a fighting stance against the knights. Slowly but surely, everyone could feel the atmosphere becoming suffocating as the fight was about to break out.
Realizing things were not going as planned, the prince decided to return to his words instead.
"Wait!" Arthur called out. "Hear me out first! Merlin… If you go past me by force, you will take the only clue we have and I worried this investigation would only blow up and lead to another disaster for the fey Chrutin, just like 20 years ago!"
The sentence made Emery stop and it dawned on him his current rash actions might bring even more trouble to the forest people. The mention of the disaster 20 years ago also attracted his attention. He never came across any information related to it and he wished to know.
"What happened 20 years ago?" Emery asked.
"I… we... the Order itself only knows a part of the story. It is my wish to have a discussion with the fey to uncover the truth behind the tragedy."
The answer only made Emery became more suspicious about the prince. Even though his intentions sounded noble, the answer only made Emery believe the prince's kindness towards Morgana and all that's happening right now was only in the hopes of getting access to the forest people.
Seeing that Emery was silent, the prince continued his words.
"Merlin, I know you were part of the battle against the Crimson fang marauder. That means you were one of the last people who were seen with Sir Bagdemagus before his death. My investigation and from the corpses, I believe the death of Bagdemagus and his knights was caused by the Fey… creature. But, I really can't believe Morgana was the one who killed him."
Hearing these words, it could be concluded the prince knew about the fey transformation as well. The grip Emery had on his dagger became tighter, he would definitely attack the moment he had to.
"I know you know more about this, tell me what happened, so I can see this investigation through and find out the reason for the knight's death."
Emery finally decided to speak out.
"It wasn't her. Morgana didn't kill Sir Badgemagus. She is innocent." Emery said succinctly.
"Then, who was it? If you know anything, tell me. Trust me, I really hope… the enmity between us and the forest people will end."
Emery was silent for a moment. To end the hate towards the fey was definitely something that he wanted as well.
But then, he remembered the death of his father, the burning of the Ambrose estate, the hatred of the Lioness king and Sir Bagdemagus against the fey. He was reminded of the old knight's attempts to slaughter Morgana.
Emery let out a long sigh. he believe the prince's goal would have to stay as a pipe dream, as it was impossible to fulfill.
In addition, Emery did not trust the prince enough yet to exchange notes. He had thought about telling him directly he was responsible for the death of the golden knight and not the forest people, but what good would come from damning himself right here, before he could ascertain his and the prince's current position in the grand scheme of things?
The circumstances of his birth aside, although he was born a noble, he was still a part of the fey family, after all. Confessing his crime of killing the golden knight would only complicate a lot of things in the future.
After giving the Prince words some thought, Emery finally came up with an answer
"Whoever the culprit was, whether they are fey or human… Does it even matter in the long run? You have seen for yourself, how deep the enmity is between fey and humans, I believe? Now, with this in mind, tell me, prince. In what way will you end this enmity? What steps have you thought about to reach this noble, yet lofty goal of yours?
"I…" The prince tried to reach the words, but he couldn't as he eventually turned silent.
"If you find the answer and then, we can talk again. Meanwhile the peace you long for and the truth you seek… They are not things that can be attained with just words!"
Emery had nothing else to say to this prince. It appeared, even if everything that the prince just told was the truth and his intention was true, the young prince has no real power to make any change.
Prince Arthur realized he was out of options. There was no other way to convince the wizard. In the end, he resorted to pleading once more.
"Please, Merlin, stay here a while and help me find a way to resolve this matter."
Emery turned back and was about to leave without answering, but right afterwards, his enhanced senses picked up the sound of horses getting closer towards them. Alarmed, Emery glanced at the prince and shouted.
"Is this what you were doing, prince? Just making talks to stall for reinforcements?!"
"No, I did not. Everyone here is my trusted knight and they would not do it." Arthur quickly answered, with panic visible on his face.
Emery decided to wait when he saw the genuine flustered look. Moreover, there were only three riders coming. Such a small amount of reinforcement wouldn't matter much against him and he was interested to know whether the prince was telling the truth.
The sounds of clopping slowed to a halt and three knights emerged from the cluster of trees. It was Sir Gawain, the golden knight who always stood near the prince, along with two silver knights working for him.
The golden knight looked at the situation and noticed the strangeness. Therefore, he asked. "My prince, what is going on here?"
The prince shook his head and answered.
"There is no need to worry, Sir Gawain. Tell me why did you come late at night like this?"
The golden knight seemed confused as to what was going. Wordlessly, he glanced at Emery and stared at the golden prince, unsure if he should continue with the mysterious enemy's presence.
"If it is important, just say it now. If not, you can come back tomorrow!"
"No, my prince." Sir Gawain gave a small bow. "It's about a marauder group. Dozens of them were spotted gathering along the borders."
Hearing this Arthur frowned,
"Sir Gawain, there are always marauders and reports of their sightings almost every week. is this really urgent? We can deal with them later. There are more urgent matters I must tend to right now."
Apparently, si Gawain was not finished
"Prince Arthur, it was because… You told me to pay special attention to the Lioness princess"
The sudden mention of the Lioness princess made Arthur's expression turn serious, and surely also Emery. He was just about to leave the place, but now he was drawn to their conversation. Emery glanced at Sir Gawain, interested in what news the golden knight bears about the princess.
Unconsciously for them both, all the conversation regarding the forest people almost instantly forgotten.
"What is it, Gawain?" Arthur asked.
"We have reason to believe the marauders are heading towards the Lioness convoy scheduled to pass through the border today, there is a sheer amount of them, I am afraid something bad is at plan my prince, Should we dispatch knights to go and check it out?"
The prince's face swiftly turned pale, asking in a panicked voice. No matter what his father told him about the princess, Arthur had his own feelings to consider and he even told his personal knight to track her movements for her own safety. He didn't expect this thing could have happened.
"Of course, Gawain! In fact, why didn't you do it already?"
"I sincerely apologize, my prince." Gawain shook his head. "Beyond that border, lies the Lioness territory, so-"
"Dammit, Gawain! How long ago was this?!"
"The last bird message came just after nightfall, my prince."
Arthur took a deep breath, sighed and turned to look at Emery. "Merlin, I hope we can continue our conversation after I take care of this. I request you not to go anywhere. We will talk after this is over."
To the prince's surprise, the wizard nodded and agreed without much resistance.