England

THE PLANNING BEGAN the next day in earnest. There was always someone I needed to meet; somewhere I had to be.

I debated the merits of simply disappearing and letting Alfred plan the whole thing, but decided that would be terribly selfish and completely inconsiderate.

So I stayed.

There seemed to be an army of people buzzing around the palace: seamstresses, florists, wood workers, gardeners, jewelers, forgers, chefs, and bakers.

Every time you turned a corner, you couldn't be sure whether or not you would quite literally run into someone and send whatever they were carrying with them tumbling onto the ground in a glorious, expensive heap.

At this point, it had only been a couple hours and I was loath to leave my secluded study.

"Lyra!" Alfred wheezed, jogging down the hallway. It was one of the rare moments I left my wing backed chair, and I was beginning to regret it. I didn't understand the difference between hunter green and forest green because they were both green, but according to the seamstress there was a huge difference, and depending on how I wanted the shading on my face during the coronation, I would need to pick one or the other.

And that was one appointment with one seamstress.

Plus, Alfred had failed to mention until everyone arrived that mail could no longer arrive and depart from the palace, and everyone who became privy to my gender while staying at the palace would be kept in their rooms until the coronation began.

Needless to say, a headache the size of my country was brewing behind my eyelids.

What I really needed was a glass of water, a book, and some quiet time.

"I approved the design for the stage, so everything should begin moving ahead. The jeweler wants to meet with you one more time to make sure the plans are correct, and the seamstress you chose needs to retake your waist measurement, because she cannot seem to find it anywhere. Also, the gardener needs to know if you'd prefer the hedges to be trimmed into animals or not, and if so, which ones."

The poor man was working so hard. Hopefully he was getting paid for all of the work he was doing.

Perhaps a raise was in store for Alfred in the future, once I was in charge of the palace's finances.

"And have you heard from Merlin? I need to know who I'm knighting after I'm crowned, and he's supposed to put on a display."

"He informed me that he had a nonnegotiable lesson with Arthur in the gardens, but after that he should be here for the evening planning session with all of the people you picked to help out. I know we have a ton of extra people wandering around, so I figured they could help execute everything when you signed off on an official plan of action."

At the mention of Arthur, my face flushed, but either Alfred didn't notice or he was too polite to say anything. 

"Anyway, all of the people I told you need something are in the blue parlor, drinking spiked tea. I assume you'd like to get everything done before it gets too crazy. In the meantime, I'll send for Merlin." Alfred winked and spun around, huffing all the way down the corridor.

I sighed, thinking about the freedom of fresh air and wings. Maybe someday I could get Merlin to teach me how to turn into a bird, and I could take a day just to fly and feel the wind in my face.

For now, however, I walked to the parlor as a human to get the designs ready. Because Silas had insisted it was best to move the coronation up, everything had to be arranged at ten times the speed. 

I wonder who made him so powerful.

I walked into the blue parlor, taking in all of the blue it was named for before sitting down in one of the chairs lining the walls. The seamstress came first, measuring my waist while I chose the hunter green. Hopefully the color was a smart choice, as it seemed it had been Uther's favorite. Though I had never met him, he had seemingly been my father, and it was nice to feel close to someone so much larger than life.

Next came the gardener, who helped me decide to trim the hedges into lions, an ode to an old children's tale that was close to everyone's hearts in Camelot. 

"It would help with their approval if they realize you are exactly like them," the gardener explained, taking notes. 

It amazed me how many people knew how to write in the palace versus in the villages I had visited. When I was a peasant, writing was uncommon. Here, it was odd if you couldn't place a quill on parchment and make words from the ink dotting the quill's tip. 

Finally, I was in the last meeting that I would need to have in the tiny parlor. Someone had started a fire in the fireplace, causing smoke to fill the air.

Everyone else in the room was at least three cups into the spiked tea, though, so I figured I was the only one who noticed.

The jeweler lumbered over to where I was sitting, his eyes hooded. I was a little concerned about what would actually come out of the meeting, but he seemed to become aware again and pulled out a sheet of parchment to begin verifying the plan.

We had decided on a tiara of gold and rubies, to look feminine with the nice touch of red. Not only would it look good with the dress I had picked for the ceremony, but I loved the way the jeweler described the rubies. 

I had always wanted to see one in person, and it would be a major bonus if I got to wear them on my head every day.

I got up, relieved of my duties, and nearly ran out of the blue parlor. I was sure the people weren't aware enough to notice me running, but I could take no chances this close to being crowned king.

Or queen. Whatever the priest decided was my official title.

Camille had disappeared, true to her word about leaving with her father and being unable to return. I missed her presence, and wished she was here to help make some of the decisions, but it did feel nice to make choices on my own. 

There was something so gratifying in choosing something that was for me. 

I took the quiet moment I had finally found and sat down in a bay window overlooking the gardens. Merlin and Arthur were sparring with fire in one of the courtyards, and despite his age, Merlin was winning.

It was mesmerizing to watch Arthur parry and thrust, and with every move I could see the beads of sweat forming on both of their faces.

I wanted desperately to join them.

The fear of failure I had been experiencing the past couple of days was back, and I wanted to be free to do whatever I pleased to keep the dark thoughts away.

Sometimes the worst place to be was my own head.

I shook off my worries and decided to live in the moment. I stood up and jogged through the hallways, keeping my head down and only murmuring incoherently whenever I ran into someone. Freedom was tangible when I saw Alfred in the entryway.

Luckily, the unnecessary stone pillars in the hall did have some use, and I ducked behind one right as the small man turned to face my direction.

"Yes, I understand he's busy, but by order of the king-"

"I don't give a fart about what the king wants. Merlin pays me, Merlin decides who's allowed in the garden," I admired the guard's loyalty to Merlin, but it was disturbing that he wouldn't allow someone on business with me to see Merlin.

"How dare you!" Alfred said. "You cannot use such obscene language in the palace! It is against protocol!"

"God's bones, would you just come back later after the master is finished? He's teaching the young lad how to fire fence, which is the most difficult of practices in magic."

Alfred huffed and turned away, not even seeing me as he walked straight up the stairs towards the blue parlor.

With any luck, he would completely forget about me and lose himself in the spiked tea. The poor man could use a drink.

The guard resumed his position at the door, and I ducked my head, making some stupid excuse up about being a gardener under my breath. Surprisingly, he let me out and I bee lined straight to the sounds of fighting.

This would be beyond fun, sneaking up on the two mages like this.

Hopefully they wouldn't burn my face off, but I would cross that bridge when I came to it.

Merlin tried to zap Arthur with a short burst of purple flames, but Arthur shot back and rolled beneath the stream.

"Never go underneath the fire, my boy. Sparks go down, you should go up." Merlin wasn't even close to out of breath, and while fighting a panting Arthur, the older wizard was talking normally, as if they were having the conversation over dinner, and not in the middle of a fire death match.

Neither man had caught sight of me.

The next time Merlin sent a bolt of yellow fire Arthur's way, Arthur had the good sense to tuck his knees to his chest as he jumped, because yellow fire seemed to be very sparky.

"Ah, Lyra, my dear. Join us! You could use some lessons as well, though you are not fit to be both a king and a witch."

I laughed, stepping out from beyond the hedge I had been hiding behind.

"Lyra!" Arthur seemed surprised to see me, but the dominant emotion on his face was happiness.

My pride glowed under the attention.

"Stop flirting! There is a time and place for a young man and a young woman to show affection for each other, but in the middle of my lesson is hardly here nor there. Either you continue to learn, or you continue to gaze deeply into each other's eyes and pretend like you can see the other person's soul."

If Arthur's face was any indication, my cheeks were certainly flushed red with embarrassment.

Merlin could be so insufferable sometimes.

Arthur turned away from me, stepped in front of Merlin, and they began their odd fire ritual once more.

I sat and watched, smiling as Merlin chastised Arthur for ducking the wrong way or not recovering fast enough.

I could tell why Merlin was famed for his wisdom and skill.

After Arthur's lesson concluded, Merlin stole me away while Arthur cleaned up.

We had walked a ways into the gardens before Merlin spoke up.

"You will need to visit Nimue in the coming days," Merlin said. "It is customary for all future kings to go to her and receive a gift of great power. Sometimes she even gives you an idea of what is to come. I think she'll like you, which is good. You do not want to fall out of her favor."

I took his words in before my brain caught up. "Nimue? The Lady of the Lake? She's actually real?"

"Of course she is, dear. Who could have possibly made the stories about her up?"

I secretly thought that it could be possible that a rather creative bard could have thought her up and set a story to song, but I didn't dare voice that idea out loud.

Obviously I was wrong.

"And I have a list of knights Uther picked for you. He, however, left the slot of the leader open. He chose seven out of eight, and left you to choose the knight you will work closest with, who will grow to be your best friend."

"That's a big decision, especially considering I don't have anyone I trust that could possibly be a knight."

"I'm sure there's someone, dear. Now, I don't want to steal you away from Arthur from too long, but heed my word of warning: love is nothing but sugar painted words and stolen kisses. Love is sweet, but it is still poison." 

Merlin gave a cryptic smile and left me standing there, alone, in the middle of the hedge maze. I found my way out, contemplating his words.

Perhaps he was right, but a life without love was no life at all.

Word Count: 2038

Total Word Count: 20845

There's 20k words! It's been one heck of a ride, and this story is almost over! (Not really, but it's getting close)

I'm sorry there was no one-on-one with Arthur and Lyra, especially considering that last chapter (insert smirk here) but I wanted some more of that mentor-mentee vibe from Merlin and Lyra, plus some planning, because there's been mention but I've never shown the process.

Who's excited to meet Nimue? I'm personally nervous because of the whole Merlin-Nimue love thing and I don't want to mess it up!

Thank you so much for reading! All of the comments and votes I've been getting really boost my confidence, so thank you to everyone who's been reading! 

Please consider voting or leaving a comment if you enjoyed it! I always respond :D

Stay safe, and have a wonderful night/day!

CJ