lanselos_du_lac

Lancelot is silent for a few moments as he unloads things from the bags he has carried and arrays them on the table for Laertes to put away. Eventually, he says, "There was a time, when I had not been at Camelot for very long, that Guinever was away for a brief while to visit her family. She and I had not yet... well. Let us say I had not touched her. Things were easier, I think, with Arthur then, before we had erred. I suggested to him that we two should go hunting, just us. He so rarely got time away from court to enjoy himself, and things were quiet."

Once he has the bag emptied, he comes to lean against the counter to watch Laertes work. "At first, he said he could not do it. Neither Merlin nor Kay -- especially Kay, I think -- wanted him away from court, even for just a day or two. They always insisted it was dangerous. Arthur was ever inclined to defer to them. I kept at him, though, and made preparations, and eventually he felt a bit bad that I did so much work and he at last told them that we would be going."