#latest thing that merlin's 'ruined beyond definition'

[unhingedmess]

I appreciate your tags greatly, every time lmao ❤️

when one is presented with the holy truth, what can a faithful servant do but submit?

[aprettyaveragestudent]

#6-A passing Good Lady

This is a little piece of fanfiction featuring two women named Eleanor and Lillith, titled ‘A passing good lady’. The story opens up a little while after the incident with Gawain, Sir Pelleas, Lady Ettard, and the Lady of the lake. 

(It’s not my best work)

“I never thought it would come to this, I mean I guess I always knew someone would get hurt, but not quite like this.”

“But if it had to happen, it had to happen, we can’t control destiny”

“I blame that fool Pelleas, he ruined everything with his doldrums. What was the need to get Gawain involved in his problems I ask? Him and his passing fits of fancy. And ultimately Pelleas ended up happy, but what about me? The entire plan failed, we’ll have to follow Gawain for longer now, what a pain. I hope he doesn’t suspect anything.”

Ten days ago

“Alas”, said Sir Gawain, “It is great pity of him! And after this night I will seek him tomorrow in this forest, to do him all the help I can.”

Eleanor sighed and smacked her head. “Of course he would want to help this buffoon”, she muttered under my breath. 

“What”? asked Lillith, looking up from the bag she was rifling through.

“Did you hear that? That idiot Gawain just agreed to help that other idiot, Pelleas”

“He’s a pretty good knight isn’t he?” Lillith asked distractedly, still rooting through her bag.

“Yeah, but this has RUINED the plan, he’s going to spend another ten days dealing with this, then we won’t be able to lay our trap!”

“Oh, stop whining, Ellie, we’ll figure it out. Plus traveling is quite pleasant isn’t it? We get to leave the castle on our own so infrequently”.

“I guess”, I admitted grudgingly. “But I’m not helping his idiotic posterior when he lands in even more trouble”.

“Ah, I’m sure he’ll be able to get himself out of this one, he’s managed before”

“Barely...Quick! He’s looking here, hide!”

Lilly quickly muttered a charm and touched the bark of the tree behind her, as Eleanor did the same. Both women turned the color of the tree and waited silently while Gawain passed by.

“Okay, I guess we’ll wait and see how he goes about this”, said Eleanor sighing again.

Ten days later

“Well, that was a disaster”, blinked Eleanor

“At least I got a chance to perfect the age advancement potion, it just needed a pinch of frog’s leg”, said Lillith, writing in her potions book.

“Wonderful”

“You don’t have to be rude, you never know when it could help!”

“I know, I know, you’re right, I’m just trying to figure out how we can fix this”

“What if we call Nynyve? She’s usually good with this sort of thing. Much better with broken hearts than us”

“Hmm, not a bad idea, said Eleanor, fiddling with a lock of brown, curly hair that had fallen out of the circlet on her forehead. 

“Should I?” asked Lillith eagerly, “I miss her”.

“Yes yes, go ahead”, waved Eleanor before looking down at the small tattered diary in her hands.

“Greetings, children”, Nynyve emerged from behind a tree, almost gliding along the forest floor.

“Oh! You scared me”, said Lillith, who had jumped almost two feet into the air. She spoke while slowly floating back to earth.

“We’re only two years younger than you, calm down”, grumbled Eleanor.

“I missed you too, sister”

“Thanks for coming”, interjected Lillith, before her two sisters began to bicker like always.

“So what seems to be the problem?” asked Nynyve.

“Well, we seem to have gotten ourselves into a little bit of a mess on our latest assignment”

“Did father send just the two of you? No knights? Squires? Nothing?”

“No, we convinced him to let us come alone”, grinned Eleanor.

“Risky decision”

“Nyn...”

“Anyway”, Lillith cleared her throat, “The problem was our task concerned Sir Gawain, but he’s gotten himself involved in an affair with Sir Pelleas and Lady Ettard...”

“The idiot”, added Eleanor.

“So we need a way to get him out of this situation so he can continue on his questing”, finished Lillith.

“Hmm, I see, I think I can take care of this” muttered Nynyve.

“What do you mean you’re going to marry him”? asked Eleanor, flabbergasted.

“I love him!” vehemently proclaimed Nynyve.

“This is ridiculous Nyn”, added Lillith.

“It’s my life, I’m old enough”

“You’re not that much older than us!” Eleanor said exasperatedly.

“I’m old enough to know what I want”

“And it’s this? asked Lillith.

“Yes, he completes me”.

“Makes sense for two idiots to be together” whispered Eleanor

“I heard that!

“You were meant to”

“Can’t you just be happy for me? I know it seems like a hasty decision, and that I’ve rushed into things but this is something I really want. Especially after that horrible ordeal with Merlin”, shuddered Nynyve.

“I mean, we are, we want you to be happy. But what are we supposed to tell father?” asked Lillith.

“The truth”

“I still think this is a mistake”, Eleanor crossed her arms and leaned against the rickety table in their small hut.

“Look, I don’t expect you to understand, you haven’t felt love like this, and I know I sound a little crazy and romantic, but somehow he makes me feel like that”, said Nynyve, coming closer to Eleanor.

“What about work?” asked her younger sister.

“I’ll keep going on assignments of course. no one would find it suspicious for the wife of a highborn Knight to travel if she wants to see marvels, or whatever it is that those ladies travel for”

“I guess...”

“I’ll still always be there for you, you know that right?” Nynyve took her sister's hands in hers and held them for a minute, blinking back tears.

“I know”, whispered Eleanor, “I guess I just didn’t expect this day to come so fast”.

“Before you know it, you’ll be here as well”.

“Unlikely. Have you met her?” scoffed Lillith.

“So are we invited for the big wedding?”

“I can’t believe we’re a full month behind schedule”, moaned Eleanor

“I still can’t believe we just attended Nynyve’s wedding”

“Yes, father was surprisingly happy about it. Do you think he knew this would happen?”

“It’s possible, it’s hard to tell with him. He was also quite understanding about the time lost, so you never know”

“I guess, I wish he would stop giving us such half-finished pieces of information. Even with this assignment, all we know is Gawain is going to meet somebody in the green fields of York who’s going to test him, and we’re supposed to protect him when that happens. That’s so vague! And do things change now that his questing has been delayed?”

“We’ll just have to wait and find out”

Thirty days later

“Why is he traveling so slowly?!” moaned Eleanor.

“I know, does he really need to stop and help every random shepherd and lost maiden? It’s a little ridiculous.

“He’s such a flirt, too. And not quite as good looking as all these lost maidens are making him out to be”.

“Ah, I think he’s okay, perhaps a bit cocky”.

“A bit? Try extremely”

“You’re quite annoyed with him, Ellie”

“I’m just bored”

“Quick! There’s someone up ahead, look!”

An old man on a horse trotted up to Gawain and bowed down to him before leaning conspiratorially towards him.

“Are you a Great Knight?”

“I’ve heard that I’m passing good”, responded Gawain.

“Of who’s court?”

“I’m Sir Gawain, of King Arthur’s round table”, answered Gawain, drawing himself upwards haughtily. 

“Showoff”, muttered Eleanor.

“Well then, good Sir, you’ll definitely be interested in this curious tale!” exclaimed the old man.

“I’m interested in all tales of adventure and curiosity, do tell me”

“Well, it involves a Knight with only an upper body and the ghost of a horse”

“How strange! Show me!”

The old man and Gawain rode off, with the two women close behind.

“This is where you’ll draw your final breath,” said the nameless Knight with just a torso. “How dare you try and face me?”. He moved his sword for the final blow, as Gawain lay panting. The Knight’s magic had made Gawain unable to retaliate to his crushing blows. 

Although everything about the situation, and everything the old man had told him, had made Gawain think this task was beyond him, his pride won out. It always did. He had faced the Knight alone and woefully underprepared, and if this is how he was going to die, then so be it.

“I am a better and more just Knight than you’ll ever be!” Gawain bit back, wanting to know his last words would be worth something.

“Bah!” The Knight brought his sword down towards Gawain’s throat.

“Enough!” Eleanor burst out of the woods with Lillith close on her heels.

She drew a sword from a scabbard at her side and deflected the blow that would have ended Gawain.

“This is not a fair fight, and you are not a true Knight!” she shouted while muttering incantations under her breath.

“And who are you? A rhyming Witch?” Laughed the Knight while parrying Eleanor. “I don’t usually fight women, but for you, I’ll make an exception”.

Lillith went over to the wounded Gawain and began helping him up to his horse, all the while muttering healing incantations of her own.

“I’m no lady”, Eleanor spoke softly.

“Who...who” Gawain whispered before fainting. Lilith snapped her fingers and floated him onto his horse. 

Eleanor parried with the Knight, shouting unladylike curses (both magical and ordinary).

“You have a tongue on you, for a lady”.

“I told you” Eleanor gritted her teeth. “I’m no lady!”, she pushed back, causing the Knight’s horse to stumble and the Knight to loosen his grip on his sword. 

“The spell won’t last long, we must hurry out”, shouted Lillith, holding the reins of hers and Gawain’s horses.

“I’m...almost...done” panted Eleanor, still parrying. She finally pushed his hilt out of his hand and pointed her sword straight into his heart.

“Surrender or be killed”

“Never”

“Then you leave me no choice”, Eleanor pushed the sword into his heart and twisted it. “He won’t die so easily though, I need time to set the spell”.

“We don’t have time”, urged Lillith. “Look, there are more coming along the horizon”.

Eleanor turned to see where she pointed and saw a horde of Knights, all missing legs and all on ghostly horses.

“I just...need...a minute” Eleanor grimaced, still twisting.

“Hurry!”

“Done!” Eleanor sealed the spell with a flash of light and a shower of ice.

“Let’s go!” She clicked her fingers, and she, Gawain, and Lillith all disappeared from the field, just when the horde of Knights reached them.

“Has he woken up yet?” asked Eleanor, standing outside the tent they had set up in the clearing.

“Not yet, can you go and check on him? I have to let father know what happened. This is what he was talking about, right?”

“Probably. But this is much worse than I thought it was, I didn't realize the Nameless Wind’s were back or involved”.

“Neither did I, I think father will want to call the Council”.

“Do you think this is a Council issue?”

“Seems like it might be, this is above even our capabilities”.

“Hmm, you’re probably right. Anyway, I’ll go check on our ‘noble warrior’“.

“Try not to be too rude to him”.

“I make no promises, sister”.

Eleanor walked into the tent as Lillith began muttering a summoning incantation.

“Who is this lovely vision who approaches?” A heavy voice filled the tent.

“My name is Eleanor, daughter of Tritan”.

“Oh, now I recognize you! You’re the one who got involved in my fight, and you’re also one of the three witches! I’ve heard of you sisters, stay away from me!” muttered Gawain, sitting up and wincing as he did.

“Oh, calm down. I saved your life”

“I was faring fine before you showed up, I would have managed”

“He would have killed you!”

“I don’t need help from the daughter’s of Tritan. I’ve heard about his deeds”. Gawain attempted to get up but collapsed back onto the makeshift bed after failing to stand.

“He’s a much better and nobler wizard than your precious Merlin”

“Merlin was a good and noble Warlock, God rest his soul”

“Do you want to know what that “noble” wizard did to my sister?”

“I’m sure she deserved whatever it was”

“You men, you’re all the same, you only trust other men!”

“Women are inherently untrustworthy, my good lady”

“Oh, please don’t call me Good Lady, we all know that’s not what I am”

"Either way, I never needed your help, please let me leave”

“I want nothing more than for you to leave, but unfortunately our lives are going to be entangled for a while”, sighed Eleanor. “Plus, your wounds aren’t yet fully healed”.

“Oh, what have I got myself involved with?” Gawain moaned and lay down on the bed.

“Something greater than both of us”, Eleanor whispered before sweeping out.