England

THE RIDE TO the palace was an uneventful one. The coachman did not stop during the journey, and we arrived at the castle overnight.

I had never been so grateful to see the tall, obnoxious towers of my home.

Merlin had fallen asleep some hours before, but he somehow seemed to know we arrived at our destination, waking up right on time.

When we exited the carriage, my limbs popped and groaned, and my muscles were so stiff I forgot how to walk.

I would be avoiding carriage rides for a while.

Excalibur was safely in its sheath, protected in one of the better trunks we had packed. I was still dressed in a man's clothes, but I couldn't help thinking about what Nimue had said.

"Why is it you hide your power in the constraints of a man's clothes?"

The words had impacted me deeply. I had paraded around all my life as a boy. Would my childhood have been better if I had been able to live as a girl? 

Would it have been worse?

The stony courtyard had been cleaned since yesterday, and just like the first time I arrived, all of the staff were lined up. I tried to smile or wave at all of them, but there were a lot, and it was hard to get around to everybody with Alfred waiting impatiently at the end of the line.

"Majesty," he whispered into my ear when I got to him, "there has been a development."

Alfred's tone was dark, and his face was somber.

"Who died, Alfred?" I asked, bracing for the impact.

"Several people, Majesty. We are at war, what do you expect? But that is not the news. I shall debrief you once we are in a secure location once more."

Alfred hurried down the hall, and my apprehension grew.

Merlin was right behind me as we followed Alfred through hallways, around twists, and through meeting rooms.

I was beginning to wonder where in the palace there was left to take us when Alfred stopped in front of a candelabra.

"Have you ever wondered why this one never burns?" Alfred asked, looking at Merlin and I in turn. Alfred pulled the candle stick down and suddenly the wall was spinning, moving, opening a tunnel lit by torches.

"After you!" Merlin shouted gleefully, mirth written all over his face.

I walked hesitantly into the tunnel, feeling relieved when Alfred scooted past me to lead the way. 

The information he was about to bestow upon us must be super important and spectacularly sensitive.

The tunnel was damp, dark, and eerie. Condensation gathered on the walls, and patches of moss grew every so often between the stones. The tunnel was at a slope, and I had a suspicion to where we were going, or at least what we would be near.

The infamous dungeons of Camelot Castle.

Alfred's pace didn't slow, and he was a surprisingly fast walker when there were developments. Merlin and I were jogging to keep up.

Well, I was jogging. He was doing some sort of weird floating thing that I was completely envious of, but I couldn't let him know that.

When Alfred slowed his pace, I let out a relieved puff of breath. The temperature of the passage had gone steadily towards frosty, and I was thankful to have arrived at the destination.

Alfred pulled on a torch, and this time the wall opened into a room. The hearth was lit with a fire and there were fresh blankets strewn about. Obviously Alfred had known Merlin and I would need a warm place to recover from our travels, even if we were learning about mysterious developments.

Merlin pushed past both Alfred and me to get into the room, promptly landing in a cushioned arm chair near the fire. He sank into the voluminous cushions before looking up at Alfred expectantly.

I sat on the sofa, one ankle hooked behind the other. 

By Alfred's tone earlier, this was an important matter.

"Well, I'll get right to it, then. We should be safe here," Alfred said, standing in front of the fire. The old man never looked like he was unsure of himself, but tonight was different. It seemed he was oddly self conscious, like I would try to throw him out on the streets after he delivered the news we needed to be in a secure location for. That alone was suspicious.

"And what is it then? I need to rest," Merlin said. "All this beauty doesn't happen on accident, you know."

Alfred didn't laugh. I didn't, either, but mainly because the tension in the room was so thick, I would have to cut it with a steak knife, and even then that might not be sharp enough.

"The leader of the Saxons has finally revealed herself," Alfred said. "Princess Camille wishes to meet with you to negotiate your surrender to her army of Saxons, and what will happen upon your refusal."

The words didn't sink in until Alfred had been quiet for a couple seconds. Then it hit me.

Camille had lied.

Did that mean Arthur had lied, too? They said they knew each other from school, but was Arthur lying? Was all the sweet talk and grand gestures fake?

I felt like the wind was knocked out of my lungs. I forgot how to breathe, how to think.

Camille's handwriting covered the plans for my coronation next week. She had laughed in one of the parlors the other day.

She was lying.

I hardened my face.

"When does she wish to meet?"

"Tomorrow, Majesty."

"Well I suppose I have a meeting with a Saxon princess tomorrow. Did she state a location?" I asked, feeling numb.

This isn't real. This isn't real. This isn't real.

"We are to meet her near the border. It won't be a very far ride by horse, if you ride. Camelot is rather close to where the Saxons have advanced." Alfred explained, and Merlin nodded along with him, looking caught between sleep and being wide awake.

That's kind of how I felt, which was why I was partially convinced I was dreaming.

Camille? A Saxon princess? 

I had never suspected her for anything other than being a welcoming fellow princess with more than a few tips on how to survive.

Turns out she didn't even plan to allow me to be crowned.

I stood and walked to the door, my muscles achy, my emotions hard.

I wouldn't allow this to effect me, to get in my head.

"May God have mercy on my enemies," I said, looking both Merlin and Alfred in the eye before continuing. "Because I won't."

I turned on my heel and walked out of the room, following the passage back to the main castle. Once I returned and snuck out the fireplace, I wandered the halls until I found one that looked familiar. From there, I navigated to my room.

When I arrived, I collapsed on the bed and cried.

Big, hot tears rolled down my face in ugly waterfalls. My brows furrowed and my chest heaved. I clutched the sheets to feel something, but even that didn't help.

I had never felt so... helpless. 

I had trusted Camille. I had leaned on her, told her things that she could use as leverage against me.

When my tears finally subsided, I fell into a dreamless but fitful sleep, full of dark space and empty edges.

WHEN I WOKE up, I saw the situation in a whole new light.

What did it matter that Camille had betrayed me? I would face her, discuss her surrender- no way I was going to give up on England so easily- and then everything would be smooth sailing from there. 

If everything went as I planned.

Remembering Nimue's words, I picked a fitted blue dress out of my closet to wear to the meeting, using one of the larger tiaras in my selection as my crown for the day. I pinned matching diamonds in my ears, and stepped back to look at my reflection.

I had avoided calling on Rose because this was what I needed. Not to be overdone and over the top, but to be respectable and still identified as the king.

To let Camille know that I would never give this kingdom- this great country- up without a fight.

She may have been my friend for a little bit, but she didn't know all of my tricks.

The stable hands had the horses we would be riding to the border ready when the group coming with me arrived.

Arthur sat atop a white horse, I sat on a brown mare, Merlin chose an auburn mare, and Alfred decided on a black horse that looked evil, but I didn't say anything.

This was a somber affair, after all.

The group set out, the horses never slowing unless told to do so. 

Arthur rode beside me, silent. When my horse would lag or threaten to slow, Arthur helped pull it along. I didn't know if I could trust him, but I appreciated the gesture nonetheless.

When the guards at the front of our escort slowed, I knew we were drawing near.

The guards had lead us to a small field in the country. It looked like it would have been beautiful, once upon a time.

But instead it had been used as a battlefield.

The ground was coated with fallen soldiers' blood. Swords, arrows, and bows were scattered around the clearing randomly.

The worst sight, however, was the bodies.

Though the clearing was small, there had to have been at least a hundred dead men.

A hundred men who bore my flag and coat of arms.

A hundred brave men who had died because I had ordered them to meet the Saxons, ordered them to fight.

A sob escaped my throat, but everyone was too polite to look at me. 

Arthur reached out and grabbed my hand, drawing circles on the back with his thumb.

"Is she evil?" I asked, but no one answered.

"Are you evil?" I asked Arthur, not aware of what I was saying. The world was spinning, spinning, and there was so much blood.

Arthur looked offended, but covered it up quickly. "I would never lie to you. I did go to school with Camille. All I knew was that she was a princess. Lyra, I promise I didn't know what she was planning. I would never do that to the girl I love."

I nodded along, my eyes glassy, until his words caught up with me.

"Love?" 

"I love you, Lyra Pendragon," Arthur said, smiling at me tenderly.

"I love you too, Arthur," I replied, the blush growing on my cheeks dissolving the shock. "Wait. I don't know your last name!"

"I don't either," Arthur admitted sheepishly.

I smiled.

We were in love!

I didn't say anything else, but I managed not to vomit as we moved to the other side of the clearing, something I counted as a huge achievement. 

Arthur was by my side the entire time, a strong force helping me stay up.

We passed into the forest, and then the front stopped. I dismounted my mare and walked up to Merlin, feeling weird about leaving Arthur back with our horses.

"Does this strike you as odd?" I asked, sneaking up on the wizard.

He turned. "I do find it odd that people slaughter other people. Is that what you were asking?"

I sighed, not wanting to deal with his answers right now. "No, I mean the staging of this meeting. Camille is dramatic, but I don't understand the point of riding through a... a bloodbath."

I swallowed hard, trying to keep the tears threatening to spill at bay. There was no greater show of weakness than to cry in front of people who weren't even sure that you could lead them.

"I have no idea. It could have been a power move. It could have been accidental. It could have been a distraction," Merlin listed, his eyes glinting. He took off his star-speckled hat and held it out to me.

"What is this for?" I asked, not taking the hat.

"Reach in, my dear. The thing you most need will present itself to you," Merlin smiled serenely, shaking the hat a little bit.

I stuck my arm in, and I never felt the top of the hat. When I looked at Merlin questionably, he merely shook his head and gestured for me to grab my item.

When I pulled my arm out, it was the crown I had designed with the jewelers back at the palace, priceless rubies and all.

"It seems you need to take your crown for a test run," Merlin smiled, placing the hat back on his head. 

Word Count: 2085

Total Word Count: 27206

Sorry for taking so long to post this one! What do you think of Camille being a bad guy-girl-princess? Did you predict it?

Do you trust Arthur? How about their declarations of love?

Thank you so much for reading, Happy Easter!

CJ