‘It does not behoove a queen to apologise for her king,’ said Queen Melody as she led us down the stairs after her husband, ‘but I am sure you are aware that Mark is a most proud man, who feels all insults keenly. It makes him great, but also unbending.’ She was very nimble on her feet for woman of her age, and we had already reached the landing that led to her chamber. ‘Back to your duties, Petal,’ she said, motioning the servant away. Melody hadn’t shown any sign that she had noticed Petal until then, nor expressed curiosity as to how the girl had returned to her. ‘Tell the stupid girl currently occupying your place to go back to... well, wherever it is she came from.’

‘Yes, m’ lady,’ said Petal, and dashed away.

‘Interesting servants are so hard to find, don’t you agree Damosel Saunce Pité? It is still Saunce Pité, yes?’

‘Yes, Queen Melody, I agree. And my name is the same.’

The queen tutted, stopped us, and looked Bellina up and down. ‘You look surprisingly well in those breeches, certainly much better than I believed to you to be, crushed to a bloody pulp below the weight of Spar-Longius’ red rocks. But you must marry quickly, before your face wrinkles and your thighs fatten.’ The queen turned sharply and continued down the stairs. ‘You should marry her, Prince Agravaine. A king’s second son needs a wife with money behind her. We know Sir Breuse is very rich, and hear his wealth is only likely to increase.’

‘Er –’ said Agravaine.

‘Tush, boy, tush,’ said the queen, dismissing the objections Agravaine hadn’t had time to voice.

She led us to a pair of huge tin-plated doors, guarded by two thin soldiers. ‘When did you last eat, you two?’ she asked them.

‘Our last ration was yesterday morning, your highness,’ said the first man.

The queen tapped her foot on the floor. She nodded. ‘You’re doing well. The king thanks you for your service.’

Both soldiers nodded their thanks.

‘Amant, back to... whatever it is you do, boy.’

‘Yes, your majesty,’ said the red-haired knight. He bowed to her, his eyes fixed on Bellina, and marched away.

‘Now: you three. The king is behind these doors. You, Prince Agravaine, you’re to do the talking. Speak not of gifts, support, aid, or help. Those words will prick my husband’s pride. Speak of war, alliances and treaties. My husband is convinced he can defeat this siege with the seven hundred men now starving in Tintagel. It is your task to show him that things will be more pleasant with new allies.’ Her eyes turned to me. ‘This water you offer is yours, Lord of the Lake?’

‘Y-Y-Y-Y-Yes, m-madam.’

She shuddered. ‘Do not tell King Mark that. Say you’ve flooded Queen Melody’s Wit with fresh water or somesuch.’ Her eyebrow arched knowingly. ‘That girl is wicked, but I do enjoy her.’ Melody clasped Bellina’s hand, and led her off. ‘Now, my dear, let us leave these men to their business, and talk of more important matters. Tell me how your wedding to Prince Agravaine shall be.’

The wise old woman left Agravaine, Mordred and me breathless, though we’d said hardly a word between us.

‘She’s got your whole life planned, mate,’ said Mordred.

‘Aye,’ said Agravaine, shaking his head. ‘Aye... Anyway.’ He nodded at the guards. The metal doors opened.

* * *

Our second audience with King Mark began much more pleasantly than the first. In fact, the man pretended to have no recollection of our first meeting on the tower balcony. We entered his audience chamber, which was completely covered in metals of various kinds – not just tin, but gold, silver and bronze too – many of the pieces encrusted in sparkling jewels. We knelt before him again, and this time Agravaine spoke for us from the first, avoiding all the words and notions Queen Melody had warned him against. This pleased Mark, who invited us to sit with him on cushioned chairs. He called for wine, which was brought to us in shining cups by Hebes.

‘Tell me of King Lot’s war against Arthur, Prince Agravaine,’ said Mark. ‘What are your father’s plans?’

‘We have it on good authority that the usurper has over-reached, your majesty. His forces are highly concentrated, leaving Camelot hardly defended.’

‘Lot means to capture Camelot, eh? And what will he do from there?’

‘In the first instance he means to disrupt the supply-lines to Arthur’s besieging force, in the hope that the greatest mass will be forced to disband in search of food.’

‘An unmanly form of war, that,’ said Mark. ‘Attacking men’s stomachs before their faces. As bad as stabbing them from behind, in my opinion.’

I could see that Agravaine was offended by the king’s jab against his father – especially as he himself had been careful not to point out that the mass of Arthur’s army was camped directly outside Tintagel – but he sipped his wine and managed to control his tongue. ‘It is an unfortunate fact that Arthur’s force outnumbers my father’s by thirty to one.’

‘Ha! It is not the number of men, but their bravery, Prince Agravaine.’

‘Yes, my king.’ Agravaine looked away from the man for a moment.

‘Take my stout yeomen of Tintagel. I have but seven hundred here, but with the right supreme commander – I mean, myself – they can, and have, destroyed armies nine or ten times their number.’

I sipped some wine and glanced at Mordred. His black eyes were searching the signs of King Mark’s face. I was under the impression that the King of Cornwall was unsteady in mind, and wondered if Mordred suspected the same.

‘Your feats in the field are unparalleled, King Mark,’ said Agravaine.

‘And I assure you I will come to your father’s assistance – when the time is right.’ The king drained his wine and stood, indicating that our audience was over.

Agravaine shook his head. ‘My father would appreciate your assistance now, King Mark. He proposes an alliance. I have been authorised to treat with you.’

‘Oh no, no, no,’ said Mark lightly. ‘Quite the wrong alliance for my kingdom at this time. I wish King Lot the best of fortune in all his endeavours, but my help would be quite wasted in supporting such an idiotic strategy.’

That was enough to shatter Agravaine’s temper. The Prince of Orkney launched himself at Mark. Mordred’s chair clattered to the floor as he leapt at Agravaine. He pinned the bigger lad’s arms to his sides before he could strike the king.

Mark regarded Agravaine’s anger blithely, as if he had never thought for a moment that the young man could hurt him. ‘And they say I have difficulty controlling my temper. Thank you for your embassy, Prince Agravaine, but this is my final decision at this time. Away you go.’ He waved us towards the door as if we were pet cats.

‘Come on, Agravaine,’ grunted Mordred, as he struggled to keep hold of the other boy. He managed to get Agravaine off his feet and swing him towards the door.

‘I’m going to bloody –’ grunted Agravaine.

‘No you’re not, mate, no you’re not. Come on.’ Mordred put his arm around Agravaine’s shoulders, and pushed him towards the door.

I sat in my chair, looking at King Mark’s weirdly twisted face. He was triumphant, but I couldn’t tell if that was because he believed he was in no danger, because he was certain of his own death, or because he truly believed his Cornishmen would win out. His face seemed to infect the whole room, which was warped at the edges. Something dragged at the back of my head, heavy and disturbing.

‘M-M-M-Mordred!’ I looked over the back of my chair. The metal doors were open, and Mordred was pushing Agravaine across the threshold. ‘M-Mordred, c-c-come back.’

The king frowned as I stood. I heard the door close, and a single set of footsteps cross the floor until Mordred stood by my side. ‘What is it, Drift?’

‘M-M-Merlin h-h-h-has arrived. H-H-He’s with the army.’

‘Ha!’ laughed King Mark. ‘Let him bide his time outside my walls. Magic is forbidden in Tintagel, he knows that. It’s not my way to build my foundations on magical spears, as did King Pellam. I understand that’s the way to see one’s house come crashing down, even if my foolish brother-king did not.’

He went on and on in that vein, hardly pausing to draw breath. Mordred placed his hand on my shoulder and guided me out of King Mark’s glittering chamber. When the doors closed behind us the King of Cornwall was ranting still.

* * *

Agravaine’s knuckles were bloody from punching the wall. ‘I should have told him about Ma,’ he said. ‘He couldn’t have refused his help if he knew about Ma, could he?’ A huge amount of rage lingered in his face and voice. ‘He’s going to kill you all, you know that?’ He said to one of the door guards. ‘He’s just going to sit here until you all starve and Arthur pushes your gates open with his little finger.’

The guard to whom Queen Melody had spoken said: ‘As his majesty commands.’ It was the response of a good soldier, but there was fear and confusion in his eyes, as well as the hunger that was plain from his thin body.

‘Come on, Agravaine,’ said Mordred, looking around the dim stone hall. ‘We should find the others. Are our friends still in the great hall, do you know?’ he asked the guard.

There was the sound of soft shoes running on flat stone, and Petal’s friend Hebes raced around the corner. ‘I’ll take you to them,’ he said breathlessly. ‘The queen had them moved into the tower.’

Hebes led us back up the tower stairs. ‘Y-Y-Y-You’re k-k-k-kitchen skivvy, and c-cup bearer, and g-g-g-guide?’

He nodded. ‘There are only a few of us still strong enough to work, lord Drift, and it’s mostly those who visit the queen’s chambers. She gives us from her own plate, does good Queen Melody, and that means we can pass some on. But not enough.’

‘I don’t understand how your supplies could be so low,’ said Mordred. ‘You haven’t been under siege that long. What is it, two weeks?’

Hebes looked away. ‘Aye, that’s politics way above my head.’

‘B-B-B-B-B-But you know w-w-why, don’t you?’

‘I can’t say; it’s treason to talk about the king behind his back.’

‘Who’s going to hear?’ said Mordred gently.

Hebes sighed, and turned his really remarkably large nose back towards us. He lowered his deep voice, as much as he could. ‘Rumour is – and I’m not saying who this is from – that he made an agreement with the Sessites a few years back to provide our food, after the years they’d been raiding our coast. First two years it was fine, but this year – that is, end of last year – they let us down. Only the king didn’t believe they’d let us down, he thought they were just late, right up until ten thousand of the treacherous barbarians started pitching their tents on the plain. He’s an honourable man, our king, but he expects everyone else to be as honourable as he, you know? Result is: Mark sells all the best Cornish beef and grain to Camelot for a good price, but our larders never get restocked with the Sessite stuff.’

‘So Arthur’s army know that you’ll starve in Tintagel pretty quickly, and probably without much of a fight at the end of it,’ said Agravaine.

‘Looks like it,’ agreed Hebes sadly.

‘Gods, they knew their man didn’t they? No other king in the world would be so foolish.’

‘No other king in the world would be as virtuous,’ replied our guide, with a new hardness in his voice. ‘Anyway, here we are.’ With that, he opened the door to a large chamber where we found the others.