3 Chapter 3

Godrick.

As Godrick pushed the doors open, he looked down the great hall. It was about two hundred feet long and about one hundred wide from Godricks estimate. Large marble pillars held up the vaulted ceiling that was beautifully decorated with gold and silver.

The nobles were seated in their respective sections that were built in between the pillars.

Most of them looked at him in disdain because of his upbringing. Godrick had been born a slave, and when Artoria and Morgan had found him, he had been chained to a flogging post and left for dead. His back had been whipped bloody and branded with the dragon crest of Camelot for some unknown offense and left for the crows. He was only about three years old from what Morgana could tell.

However, this was not the only reason the nobility despised him. He outright refused to go along with what they wanted, he refused to call Artoria father or King. He refused to take slaves when a battle had finished, he even refused to plunder villages and homesteads. He had a moral compass, and most of the nobility hated him for it.

Their stares didn't bother Godrick one bit as he slowly walked to the raised white marble dais that his mother sat on. Everything had gone silent as he walked in, snatching the attention of everyone in the room. His heavy footsteps echoed through the great hall.

Artoria, in her shock, had almost stood when she had seen him, but Morgan, who had appeared from nowhere, had stopped her. So she just leaned forward from the shadows to reveal her face.

Godrick, seeing the shock on her face, smiled up at her. He finally reached the dais and knelt to show his respect.

"Rise." Artoria commanded.

With permission given, Godrick rose and walked up the stairs to take his standing position at her left side. He looked out into the hall, seeing many looking at him in disgust. But there were many that were not as well, Lancelot being one. He looked at Godrick as if he had seen a miracle. Seeing him walk also made him a little jealous as well, though he would never tell that to anyone.

With Godrick by her side, Artoria once again continued

"I've heard enough of your bickering. As I've said before, Lord Lancelot has been given all authority in this war. He is the leader of the war council and will remain as such, " She said, looking at Lancelot, using his "official" title.

"And Earl Grasso, I have noticed that you have been keeping a majority of your troops from the war effort. You know this can be detrimental to our kingdom. You are making me start to think you want us to lose this war?"

She said to the fat noble, ending her statement in a question.

He quickly shook his head, the fat jiggling around.

"Not at all, your majesty!" He said frantically, "My territory is close to the edge of the kingdom, so I withhold some troops to keep my people safe!" He finished.

Godrick narrowed his eyes at the fat man. He knew that wasn't true. He had seen how this Earl had treated his people. He knew that if anyone made him angry, they were killed shortly after, and if they were a young woman who was beautiful… well, they usually went missing.

Artoria gave a snort of derision as she thought the same thing Godrick had.

"I assure you that your people are safe enough. I am ordering you to send at least twenty-five hundred men to Lord Lancelot. Do you understand?" She said.

Earl Grasso was doing everything he could to keep his anger in check, but all he could do was nod in response.

'That bitch, I'll have her head once the Warlord takes over. I'll humiliate her in every way possible!' He thought to himself as the court was then dismissed.

A while later

"What are you doing?" Artoria shouted in an angry tone.

"You need to be resting! Not walking around!" She said in exasperation

"I told him the same thing." Morgana chimed in.

"But he never listens to me, does he?" She continued.

Godrick, who had been dragged to an empty sitting room near the throne room, was sitting in a chair. He had a bored look on his face as his mother chastised him for being up and about as Lancelot watched from his wheelchair.

"You think this is boring do you?" Artoria said.

"Fine, you will NOT be participating in the war until your wound is fully closed then." She said.

Godrick gave her a look that said "Oh really?"

"Yes Really!" She said gripping the table as she leaned over to look into his eyes.

'Shit, she's being serious!' Godrick thought to himself as he sat up straighter with a panicked look.

"HA!" She exclaimed pointing at him.

"You think I'm bluffing? Not this time you little shit!"

Godrick held his hands up in a placating manner as if to say "let's talk this out"

"You need to rest! I won't let you go back out until you can prove to me that you are ok." She said.

"Godrick." She said in a more serious tone "We almost lost you, do you understand that?"

He nodded solemnly. 'It's true.' He thought to himself.

He held up one finger as he looked at his mother. She looked at him in confusion.

"What? One what?"

He shook his finger at her as he mouthed the word "one month."

"One month!" She said, becoming animated again

"One month!" She repeated

"One month isn't enough!" She said, collapsing back into her chair.

"I'll make you a deal." She said, looking at him.

"If you give me three months of rest, I'll give you three months to train and get back to your peak. Then, you can participate in the raid of Earl Grasso." She said

"How does that sound?"

Godrick looked at her in shock. She had just mentioned raiding one of the nobility as if it were no big deal!

"What?" She asked."We know he is working for the Warlord. And I've wanted to kill him and replace him with someone more trustworthy even since I was a little girl." She said matter of factly.

"We just need to get everything ready, move troops and things like that," Lancelot chimed in.

"We also need to replace him with someone more trustworthy, but those things take time to set up. We are giving you six months Godrick, you ok with that?" He said

Godrick looked at Lancelot and gave a sharp nod.

'Three months can't be that bad… can it?' He thought to himself

Three months later

Godrick.

'Three months. It's been three months of absolute hell.' He thought to himself.

Today marked three months exactly. And not a moment too soon. He felt himself beginning to go crazy.

"At least you get to go back into battle, ya big bastard!" Lancelot shouted as Godrick fled from the old warrior's wrath.

"I feel I'm actually going mad from being in this damned chair." Lancelot said to himself in a whisper. He was beginning to get feeling in his legs again, and knew it would only be a while longer till he could stand once more.

As Godrick stood in front of Artoria, she could practically feel his excitement. It had been 3 months to the day, maybe even the hour.

But he had kept his side of the deal, so she would keep hers.

"Alright." She said, letting out a sigh.

"You can begin training again. But just take it easy for the first few weeks, ok?" She asked.

He gave her a dead pan look as he turned around to leave.

'Yeah, right!' He thought to himself.

Finding himself at the training grounds, he started off with some stretches, just to make sure he has all his range of motion. His chest felt a little tight when he raised his arms, but he didn't think it would bother him much.

After a couple of days, he began to do more physical exercises. Push-ups, sit-ups, squats, the whole lot. He began to lift weights and run more.

'I've lost a lot of my strength, but I'm positive I'll get it back in the coming weeks.

Three months later

Godrick.

Having worked hard these months, he had finally felt like he was back at ninty percent of his original strength. Having done much training under Lancelot, he knew just what he needed to do to see what else he could improve on. He needed a fight.

Luckily, he knew exactly where to get one. Titus had implemented a new system for criminals and prisoners of war. Usually, the big-time offenders would be put to death, and the prisoners of war would be released after the war was over. But Lancelot gave them a chance at freedom. He had thought that if someone be accused of a crime, they could choose a trial by combat.

"Let the gods decide!" He had yelled."If they be innocent, then the gods will stand with them! If not, the gods will stand against them!" He had reasoned. Godrick though it a touch barbaric, but if the criminal would rather choose that over a normal trial, who was he to mock them?

He found Lancelot in the war room making plans for the raid on Earl Grasso, planning how best to take the city.

As Godrick walked in, Lancelot looked up from his map.

"Ah, Godrick. Good to see you, the plans are all done. We are ready to take the city. We will have a distraction to draw most of the guards away from the main castle. Then, we will send in a small team to go and capture the Earl while the majority of his guards are away." He said.

"Since you are able to participate in the raid, which part would you rather participate in?" He asked

Godrick gave him a withering look and set a parchment down on the table in front of Lancelot. He had written his request down, and as Lancelot grabbed the paper, he looked it over while saying, "Of course, I shouldn't have asked such a question. I already know your answer." He paused before looking back at his apprentice.

"You know your mother will never agree to this, right?" 

Godrick just rolled his eyes as he leaned forward and tapped the parchment several times again, drawing Lancelots attention back to it.

Lancelot let go of the parchment and held his face in his hands as he peered at Godrick through the gaps in his fingers.

"You know your mother will have my head for this, right?"

Godrick just shrugged as Lancelot lowered his hands, pointed his finger at him, and said

"Fine, I could use some entertainment anyway. But we need to keep this from your mother, do you understand me?"

Godrick just smiled and ran his thumb and pointer finger across his lips to indicate he wouldn't tell a soul. Lancelot laughed at the gesture, backing away from the table with his chair.

"Well, I actually have the perfect opponent for you. He's about your size and half as stupid as you are. Should be a perfect match!" He said with a grin.

Later that night

Godrick.

As Godrick stretched, Lancelot came rolling up to him in his wheelchair. They had been able to put the trial together rather quickly and informed all the right people about it. The only thing that wasn't mentioned was the champion who would face the accused, as they were afraid it would get back to either Artoria or Morgan. 'If they knew, they'd kill me!' Godrick thought to himself. He hadn't done anything like this before, and he would be lying if he said he wasn't nervous. Not of the fight, but of the two women finding out.

"Are you ready?" Lancelot asked is a cheerful tone.

Godrick nodded as he removed his shirt, revealing his large muscular physique that was covered in scars, both large and small. The scars on his back stood out, a reminder to when he was a slave as a child. He put his long golden hair that reached his mid back into a ponytail, so it would stay out of his face, then turned to Lancelot with a firm nod.

The man Godrick was facing had been accused of murder. The details of the crime were not disclosed to the public, but apparently, the deaths were gruesome. The husband and father of the dead family had come home and found the man sitting at his table covered in blood. He was having dinner… I'm sure you can figure out the rest.

Godrick entered the arena that was slick with rain, and as he looked around, he noticed that the crowd was larger than usual.

'Did it get out that I was fighting?' He thought to himself, as the fear of his mother's wrath came to his mind.

The ring was made of stone and had a stone fence that came up to Godrick's waist. It was half surrounded by stone seats and finally had a stone throne where the judge or monarch sat.

As he entered the arena, he saw his opponent for the first time. He was large, larger than he was. He stood at least a couple inches above Godrick. He had long brown hair that he let flow freely and had tattoos all over his face and body. Long teeth were sharpened to jagged points, making him look like a beast.

Finally, the trial began.

"You stand accused of committing the most gruesome of murders. You are accused of killing a family, then eating them. How do you plead?" The judge asked the man.

"Guilty!" The man said in his rasping voice, surprising everyone

"Guilty?" The judge asked

"Then I see no need to hold this trial." He continued

"Guards seize him!"

"Wait!" Lancelot said from his place on the dais.

"Godrick will be his executioner." He said.

With a predatory grin on their faces, the two combatants turn to each other. One smiled because of the chance to test his strength, the other because of the meal that he might be able to have before the guards got to him

"Very well. Are the combatants ready?" The judge asked

Godrick and the man both nodded, and thus, the fight began.