“Because Vortigern married a Saxon – Hengist’s daughter, Rowenna. Vortimer didn’t believe that his father could be trusted any longer.”
“Who was the second man, Merlin?” Arthur asked.
“High King Ambrosius,” Merlin replied. “When he was young, Saxon raiders overran his lands and murdered his parents. He organized the survivors and led an attack against the Saxons. He drove them out of his lands and back behind their borders.”
“So what?” Cai asked. “Who cares that two men attacked the Saxons? What does that have to do with leading my people?”
Merlin smiled at the Prince of Gwent’s impetuosity. “The Saxons are great at attacking, but they don’t defend themselves well. Every time they’ve been attacked, they’ve lost ground. Rather than try to defend ourselves against them, we should be attacking them and pushing them into the sea. A great leader would have a plan to drive off the Saxons and their allies, and he’d know what he wants to do with his kingdom once the fighting is over. Does that answer your question?”
“What about the Romans, Merlin?” Arthur interrupted.
“For more than four hundred years, the Romans occupied Britain and enslaved us. Once Mascen Wledig withdrew the Roman Legions from Britain to launch his war with the emperor, we were finally able to throw the Roman administrators out. We no longer pay tribute to the empire. But if the Legions had never left, we’d still be under Roman rule. Their military is one of the finest in the world.”
“High King Ambrosius has organized his armies like the Legions,” Galerius added. “And they’re a fighting force at least as good as the Romans ever had. The Saxons have a hard time fighting Roman tactics.”
“This is why we study our enemies,” Merlin said. “To understand how to defeat them, and to understand what makes them successful and adapt that into our armies so we can be successful. As kings, you’ll need to do this if you want to protect your people from your enemies.”
Arthur, Bedwyr, and Cai nodded.
Galerius outlined the military training that he would be providing. When he mentioned knife fighting, Cai interrupted.
“Why do we need to learn how to fight with knives?”
“Because there may come a time when you’re facing an enemy and you won’t have any other weapon with you,” Galerius replied.
“What about my guards?” Cai asked.
“They may be dead.”
“How could that happen?”
Galerius looked at the three princes. “When Vortimer had deposed his father, he grew jealous of Ambrosius. The southern kingdoms were loyal to Ambrosius, not Vortimer or Vortigern. So Vortimer sent three assassins to kill Ambrosius. They entered his fortress, killed the guards, and caught up to him in the hallway outside of his chamber. They each had swords, but Ambrosius had only a dagger.”
Galerius took the dagger in his belt out of its sheath and held it up. “This dagger, to be exact. He gave it to me when he appointed me to be one of his generals.”
He laid it on the table and continued. “So Ambrosius was trapped in the hallway with three assassins. But swords don’t work very well in tight spaces. You don’t have room to swing the blade, and it’s easy for your opponent to step out of the way if you’re trying to stab him. Ambrosius drew his dagger and attacked the assassins. Their swords were useless, and he moved too quickly for them to drop their swords and draw their own daggers. By the time the fight was over, Ambrosius was the only one left alive, and he didn’t have a scratch on him. That’s why it’s important to learn how to fight with knives. As a prince or a king, there’s always the danger of assassination. On the battlefield, there’s always the chance that you’ll lose your sword. You have to be able to defend yourself.”
Later that afternoon, Arthur showed Cai and Bedwyr around the hillfort. They watched the soldiers drill for a while, and then Arthur led them to the stables to check on their horses.
“There’s a secret door in the back of the stables,” Arthur said as the passed the engineers’ workshop. “It leads to a space between the stables and the north wall.”
“Why?” Bedwyr asked.
“It’s a hiding place in case the hillfort’s ever attacked. There’s also a door in the north wall that leads through the earthworks to the cliff. Someone carved steps in the cliff so we can escape from the hillfort if we’re overrun or if someone sets it on fire.”
“Wow,” Cai said. “Where do the steps go?”
“Down to the village,” Arthur replied as they approached the stables. “I haven’t been able to find out where yet. Merlin posted guards to keep me away from the doors. He’s worried that I might injure myself or that someone might see me and discover that there are steps leading to the hillfort that would allow an enemy to enter unseen.”
“We have to follow those steps!” Cai said excitedly.
Arthur pointed to the groom working in the empty stall. “That’s where one of the doors is. The other one’s on the back wall of the smithy. That groom is there to keep me away from the door, and the blacksmith never lets me go near the back wall anymore.”
“What about at night?” Bedwyr asked.
“The guards keep me away,” Arthur replied.
“A challenge!” Bedwyr exclaimed, beginning to sound excited like Cai.
“Oh I’m sure the three of us can figure something out,” Arthur stated. Looking at the sky, he added, “But not tonight. It’ll be dark soon, and I’m not climbing down a cliff at night.”
The other boys nodded. They checked on their horses, and then Arthur finished showing them around the hillfort before leading them back to the great house.
Merlin, Niniane, and Anna joined the boys for supper that night. After they finished eating, Niniane took Anna back to her chamber, and Merlin left to check on the escorts from Gwent and Bryneich.
Arthur led Bedwyr and Cai to the great hall, where a large fire had been built to ward off the cool summer night air. The boys sat close to it, talking for hours.
Merlin discovered them still sitting by the fire well after midnight. Uther’s standard – the gold boar on the field of dark blue – waved above them as the heat from the fire rose toward the ceiling.
Merlin suggested that they get some sleep, and the princes agreed. Arthur escorted his new friends to their chambers.
As he walked down the corridor leading to his own chamber, Arthur was happier than he’d ever been.
Bedwyr and Cai are great! We’re going to be the best of friends.
He climbed into bed, pulling the fur covers up around his face to fight off the night chill. And I’ll finally have help getting past the guards and down those steps.
Chapter 10
A week after Cai and Bedwyr arrived at Din Eidyn, Merlin invited Arthur to follow him to the stables. “I have a surprise for you, my Prince.”
Arthur followed Merlin, plying questions the entire way. Merlin just smiled and said nothing. When they arrived at the stables, a groom led a horse out of its stall. It was dark brown with a black tail and mane. Arthur stared wide-eyed at the horse and back at Merlin with a curious expression on his face.
“It’s yours, my Prince,” Merlin said as he handed Arthur the reins of his new horse.
Arthur hugged Merlin. “Thank you, Merlin! I love it! What’s he called?”
Merlin beamed. “You’re welcome, my Prince. He’s yours to name.