The Knight's Code (and how to break it): Weapons Training
Title: Weapons Training
Rating: G
Word Count: 904
Genre: Humour
Summary: Arthur is busy, so he delegates responsibility for training to Sir Leon for the day. Leon feels honoured... until everything goes to pot.
A knight is able to use all forms of weaponry with the highest skill. His renowned proficiency makes him a feared opponent in battle.
Arthur was just heading out to the training field, when a shout of "Sire!" came from behind him. Turning, he saw a young servant running after him. Bowing, the young man told him that his father requested his presence in the council chambers immediately. Arthur suppressed a groan - after a week of working with his new knights on their swordsmanship, he had determined that they were all extremely talented with a blade. However, he'd been meaning to start teaching them to use some other forms of weaponry today - apparently it was not to be.
However, just at that moment, Sir Leon walked past, also on his way to the training field, and inclined his head in greeting. Arthur had an idea - it didn't necessarily have to be him that taught them, after all. "Ah, Sir Leon," he said, "just the man. My father has just summoned me, so I cannot attend training today. Could you start instructing the others in the use of other weapons, as we discussed yesterday?"
"My Lord," Sir Leon began, "I would be honoured, but-" He was cut short.
"That's great! Thank you, I won't forget this," Arthur replied brusquely, clapping Sir Leon on the shoulder as he hurried past. For a moment, Leon remained standing there, wondering exactly what he'd just got himself into, before continuing on his way outside.
-
Before they started, Leon asked them if any of them had used weapons other than swords before; he was completely astonished to learn that while Percival could use a crossbow fairly well, the rest of them were completely clueless. (He was choosing to overlook the fact that Gwaine could fight perfectly well with daggers, knives, and most objects that could be smashed over an opponent's head - those kinds of weapons did NOT count.)
So, he told them to choose a weapon they'd never used before, and start practising while he offered advice.
This was a bad plan, as he was about to discover.
Ten minutes later, he found himself standing in front of Lancelot, who was listening attentively while Leon explained how if he continued using a crossbow like that, he would end up shooting himself or an innocent bystander by mistake. (Lancelot had aimed for the target and hit the wall behind him; Leon had yet to figure out how he had done that.)
However, he was interrupted by an almighty crash as Percival swung his club at the practice dummy, broke it off its base, and sent it flying into one of the equipment tents. Leon broke off mid-sentence; Elyan started in surprise and tripped; Lancelot continued looking at Leon attentively; Percival looked at his feet guiltily, and Gwaine burst out laughing. There was a prolonged silence.
"Um..." Percival eventually muttered, "I'll just clean this up..."
Things were looking up, two minutes later - Lancelot had shot the crossbow in the vague direction of the actual target this time, and Percival had somehow restored the tent to a vertical state. Leon was instructing Lancelot on how to hold the crossbow properly, when he suddenly heard shrieking from behind him.
He turned. The first thing he noticed was that several women were running away, obviously frightened. This was not good.
The second thing he noticed was that Elyan had dropped his axe and was also running away from whatever had scared the women. This was very bad.
The third thing he noticed was Gwaine. With a mace. Spinning around. And cackling.
This was a catastrophe.
And sure enough, the next moment, the mace Gwaine had been holding as he whirled around (Really, Leon thought, it's almost child-like) flew out of his hand and into the tent that Percival had just managed to reassemble - which, of course, toppled over once again.
Percival glared. Lancelot continued looking at Leon expectantly, waiting for him to resume his lecture like the good student he was. Elyan disappeared round the corner of the wall with the women, and poked his head back out warily. Gwaine stopped spinning, and laughed, before catching Leon's eye and falling silent. Leon just sighed, fixing Gwaine with an accusatory stare.
Gwaine grinned - Leon couldn't be sure if it was apologetic or not. "Accidents happen, right?" said Gwaine. "I'll just fix that tent up again, and Percy can go back to training."
Leon almost let him go, but couldn't stop himself from asking sarcastically, "What made you think that playing with a dangerous weapon was a good idea in the first place?"
Shrugging lazily, Gwaine replied, "I figured any opponent who saw me would be intimidated. Just trying out a new fighting style, you know? It kinda worked, too, it frightened Elyan."
There was a shout of "Did not!" from behind the wall. Pinching the bridge of his nose, Leon exhaled heavily. This was going to be a long afternoon.
(Of course, when he told Arthur about it later that day, he just laughed and told Leon that next time, he'd be sure and send Merlin down so he could fix up the tent any time it got destroyed, to prevent such menial tasks as cleaning from cutting into the precious time when the knights could be training. Or causing more destruction.
Leon had never come so close to calling the Prince a prat.)
END
Note: I added a slight structural change - from now on, there will be an ironic little snippet of the Knight's Code at the start of each drabble - I added one to the previous chapter as well. Reviews are always much appreciated, and a very merry Christmas to all my lovely readers! ^_^
Masterlist
Rating: G
Word Count: 904
Genre: Humour
Summary: Arthur is busy, so he delegates responsibility for training to Sir Leon for the day. Leon feels honoured... until everything goes to pot.
A knight is able to use all forms of weaponry with the highest skill. His renowned proficiency makes him a feared opponent in battle.
Arthur was just heading out to the training field, when a shout of "Sire!" came from behind him. Turning, he saw a young servant running after him. Bowing, the young man told him that his father requested his presence in the council chambers immediately. Arthur suppressed a groan - after a week of working with his new knights on their swordsmanship, he had determined that they were all extremely talented with a blade. However, he'd been meaning to start teaching them to use some other forms of weaponry today - apparently it was not to be.
However, just at that moment, Sir Leon walked past, also on his way to the training field, and inclined his head in greeting. Arthur had an idea - it didn't necessarily have to be him that taught them, after all. "Ah, Sir Leon," he said, "just the man. My father has just summoned me, so I cannot attend training today. Could you start instructing the others in the use of other weapons, as we discussed yesterday?"
"My Lord," Sir Leon began, "I would be honoured, but-" He was cut short.
"That's great! Thank you, I won't forget this," Arthur replied brusquely, clapping Sir Leon on the shoulder as he hurried past. For a moment, Leon remained standing there, wondering exactly what he'd just got himself into, before continuing on his way outside.
-
Before they started, Leon asked them if any of them had used weapons other than swords before; he was completely astonished to learn that while Percival could use a crossbow fairly well, the rest of them were completely clueless. (He was choosing to overlook the fact that Gwaine could fight perfectly well with daggers, knives, and most objects that could be smashed over an opponent's head - those kinds of weapons did NOT count.)
So, he told them to choose a weapon they'd never used before, and start practising while he offered advice.
This was a bad plan, as he was about to discover.
Ten minutes later, he found himself standing in front of Lancelot, who was listening attentively while Leon explained how if he continued using a crossbow like that, he would end up shooting himself or an innocent bystander by mistake. (Lancelot had aimed for the target and hit the wall behind him; Leon had yet to figure out how he had done that.)
However, he was interrupted by an almighty crash as Percival swung his club at the practice dummy, broke it off its base, and sent it flying into one of the equipment tents. Leon broke off mid-sentence; Elyan started in surprise and tripped; Lancelot continued looking at Leon attentively; Percival looked at his feet guiltily, and Gwaine burst out laughing. There was a prolonged silence.
"Um..." Percival eventually muttered, "I'll just clean this up..."
Things were looking up, two minutes later - Lancelot had shot the crossbow in the vague direction of the actual target this time, and Percival had somehow restored the tent to a vertical state. Leon was instructing Lancelot on how to hold the crossbow properly, when he suddenly heard shrieking from behind him.
He turned. The first thing he noticed was that several women were running away, obviously frightened. This was not good.
The second thing he noticed was that Elyan had dropped his axe and was also running away from whatever had scared the women. This was very bad.
The third thing he noticed was Gwaine. With a mace. Spinning around. And cackling.
This was a catastrophe.
And sure enough, the next moment, the mace Gwaine had been holding as he whirled around (Really, Leon thought, it's almost child-like) flew out of his hand and into the tent that Percival had just managed to reassemble - which, of course, toppled over once again.
Percival glared. Lancelot continued looking at Leon expectantly, waiting for him to resume his lecture like the good student he was. Elyan disappeared round the corner of the wall with the women, and poked his head back out warily. Gwaine stopped spinning, and laughed, before catching Leon's eye and falling silent. Leon just sighed, fixing Gwaine with an accusatory stare.
Gwaine grinned - Leon couldn't be sure if it was apologetic or not. "Accidents happen, right?" said Gwaine. "I'll just fix that tent up again, and Percy can go back to training."
Leon almost let him go, but couldn't stop himself from asking sarcastically, "What made you think that playing with a dangerous weapon was a good idea in the first place?"
Shrugging lazily, Gwaine replied, "I figured any opponent who saw me would be intimidated. Just trying out a new fighting style, you know? It kinda worked, too, it frightened Elyan."
There was a shout of "Did not!" from behind the wall. Pinching the bridge of his nose, Leon exhaled heavily. This was going to be a long afternoon.
(Of course, when he told Arthur about it later that day, he just laughed and told Leon that next time, he'd be sure and send Merlin down so he could fix up the tent any time it got destroyed, to prevent such menial tasks as cleaning from cutting into the precious time when the knights could be training. Or causing more destruction.
Leon had never come so close to calling the Prince a prat.)
END
Note: I added a slight structural change - from now on, there will be an ironic little snippet of the Knight's Code at the start of each drabble - I added one to the previous chapter as well. Reviews are always much appreciated, and a very merry Christmas to all my lovely readers! ^_^
Masterlist