EPISODE 80
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LAMORAK :
He was about twenty-two in this one, I think?
Aglovale must’ve been born not too long before that.
Here, look at this one!
That’s you!
You only ever let Father hold you.
Else, you were always tottering after me.
And over there…
That’s me.
And Aglovale, but heh, I’m the star here.
PERCIVAL :
Oh!
There’s Mother!
She really hasn’t changed much!
She had such a pretty smile…
[ lamorak stares at him. ]
…Oh, right…
Sorry, I⎯
LAMORAK :
…
How…
…is she, these days?
PERCIVAL :
…
She’s a little strict, perhaps.
But everything she does, she does out of love.
She taught me to braid her hair,
and to sew, a little.
I had a lot of pretty clothes she made for me.
She wanted to share a lot of her pastimes with me, I think.
LAMORAK :
…Let’s go train.
PERCIVAL :
( It’s the first time he’s ever asked me anything about Mother.
Maybe coming back here
has struck a chord in him.
Since we arrived in Cardiff,
the atmosphere has been tense.
The seneschal and the staff seem quite cold to me, especially with Aglovale.
He glanced at the throne room, but did not go in.
I think he was paralyzed.
The castle’s archives were a problem, too. )
SERVANT :
I’m confused, my lord.
Two years ago, a storm damaged this wing.
We made the necessary repairs as you instructed us to in your letters, but…
…since it has been years since anyone visited the archives, we didn’t think to⎯
AGLOVALE :
To put the proper amount of care into the preservation of official documents?
SERVANT :
…
My apologies, my lord.
AGLOVALE :
Bring me people who know their letters.
We’re going to have to sort through all this.
[ sighs ]
LAMORAK :
There’s so much of it…
How’s Percival going to learn his boyfriend’s birthday if we don’t find the right books?
PERCIVAL :
It’s May 1st! ( I know that one! )
AGLOVALE :
Ugh.
Very well, let’s begin.
PERCIVAL :
( The search is taking pretty long.
The pages are all scattered, and the books are dense.
And Lamorak’s not very patient.
So from time to time, Aglovale orders us out,
or shuts himself in Father’s desk. )
LAMORAK :
He’s stressed.
PERCIVAL :
Hm?
LAMORAK :
Aglovale, I mean.
We haven’t come back here in years.
Most of the staff hasn’t ever seen him, let alone our subjects.
He tries his best to hide it, but…
…he’s tense as a bowstring all the time.
With some luck, we won’t be staying long.
PERCIVAL :
With some luck?
Are you not happy to be back?
LAMORAK :
It’s complicated.
PERCIVAL :
( It must be complicated for Aglovale too.
All these memories resurfacing…
…is horribly melancholic. )
[ cut back to the inn ]
ISEULT :
I had a bad feeling for a few weeks before this.
I could see Mark was on edge.
I think Arthur’s visit put him under a lot of stress.
BORS :
But why turn on Tristan like that?
He’s never shown any resentment towards him, has he?
DINADAN :
Because Mark’s a cunt, Bors.
What? It’s true.
ISEULT :
I’m afraid of what he might do.
He’s scolded Tristan before, but he’s never gone this far, or been this serious about it.
He forbade me from leaving Tintagel, of course.
I pretended to obey, but I eavesdropped where I could.
I’ve always kept an eye on his advisors.
Local nobles, former Irish settlers…
I believe they all have a vested interest in making an ally out of Mark and keeping Tristan away.
They must have influenced him.
So I took matters into my own hands.
GUARD :
My queen?!
I can’t let you through, my orders⎯
ISEULT :
I know where you live, Jory.
TRISTAN :
Iseult!
ISEULT :
Tristan…
What kind of state are you in now?
[ she strokes his face ]
TRISTAN :
Nothing I can’t bear, don’t worry.
ISEULT :
…We must get you out of here at all cost, Tristan.
Mark has gone mad, I…
I know this isn’t going to end well.
TRISTAN :
…
ISEULT :
( To my great surprise, he didn’t deny it. )
TRISTAN :
Can you get out of Tintagel?
On your own?
ISEULT :
Not officially, but I can find a way.
And no one needs to know. Isn’t that right, Jory?
TRISTAN :
I had plans to meet Dinadan at the inn in Exeter next week.
It’s on the border between Logres and Cornwall.
Take my horse, he knows the way there.
( Heh. ) It does seem…
…like I need a bit of help.
DINADAN :
Very well.
Tristan asking for help means this is serious.
Do you have enough supplies to reach Tintagel?
PALAMEDES :
Wait, are you saying we should just up and go?
We might as well walk through the front gate and demand Mark free Tristan, while we’re at it!
And we’re obviously not going to bring the queen back there!
BORS :
I can take her to Viviane’s home. She’ll be safe there, and it’s on our way.
DINADAN :
Are you sure she’ll be home?
BORS :
Certain.
ISEULT :
No, wait, I want to help you.
DINADAN :
Begging your pardon, my dear, the fewer of us there are, the higher our chance of making it out will be.
Approaching this head-on will get us nowhere.
…We’ll have to get tricky.
[ Mark is in his study when he hears this song : ]
DINADAN :
Ooh…
Looking at him through a poet’s eye,
his prophet's brow could have hinted at
a powerful flow of thoughts
Our good king Marc’h!
Now bless his soul, hark! hark!
the flow was just a trickle, hark! hark!
And ye good people shall fall, hark! hark!
Before you make him king o’ Cornwall, hark! hark!
MARK :
Bring me this peasant.
ROUND TABLE TRIVIA
Bards were originally a druidic cast, whose role was to perpetuate oral tradition through poetry and songs.
They specialized in history and ancestry, and their songs were also used as satire. They were associated with the color blue.
Dinadan :
Our good king Mark~
Bards have become a staple of daily life among commonfolk, and many have tried their hand at the job…or at least, at lyrical satire.
( Thank you to Sombreuil for their help with Pellinore’s portrait! )
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