England 

I NODDED, too afraid of my voice to speak. 

Arthur smiled, and I wondered if he had any idea of the effect he had on me. 

What was I doing? I had just met the man, and who had ever heard of someone developing feelings immediately? It must be a head cold.

Arthur began to move around the room, waving his hands and muttering under his breath, while Merlin nodded approvingly, almost as though he could hear was Arthur was saying.

I sat up in my throne, my clip glistening in the light. Arthur's eyes snagged on mine for a second, and my pulse sped up.

Lord have mercy on my soul.

Suddenly, the candles blew out simultaneously. 

The room, blanketed in darkness, began to close in on me. I had never suffered from fear of the darkness, but it seemed I had a new phobia.

The darkness was closing in.

I couldn't breathe, couldn't think.

The room swirled in front of me, and my dessert attempted to make a reappearance. 

The floor moved under my feet, knocking me onto my knees. I began crawling wildly in the general direction of the door. I needed out, and I needed out now.

I couldn't talk, and it didn't feel like I was moving. The darkness was petrifying.

Suddenly, as though God himself had decided to rescue me from the blind purgatory, a single flame appeared in the middle of the room. The most curious thing about this light, however, was that it was not burning on top of a candle wick. It was simply... floating.

I nearly cried out in relief, but I didn't. I simply laid on my back and watched as Arthur duplicated the flame, and duplicated those two flames, on and on until the room was back to its original lighting. I could have fainted out of relief.

"Are you okay, Majesty?" Alfred asked, looking alarmed at my position laying underneath the table. I supposed it was a bit odd for a future monarch to be laying down underneath the table, but considering that I could now breathe normally, I decided that the pain in my lungs would recede faster if I stayed in the same area.

"I seem to have suffered from some sort of fear," I said, still short on breath. "I'm sure I'll be perfectly normal in a couple minutes. Please, carry on without me."

Alfred threw me a worried glance, but said nothing further. The sound of silverware on cutlery began again, and I laid my head back on the ground, willing feeling back into my fingers and toes. 

My back sank into the velvet carpet, and I stayed on the ground a little longer than I needed to.

What on Earth was that?

I eventually got up and resumed my seat, Arthur throwing questioning glances my way every couple minutes. I waited until everyone had finished their treat before retiring to my room.

But I didn't go to sleep upon my arrival.

I bolted into my study, unexplainable adrenaline coursing through my veins. It was as though I was afraid of being caught entering my own office.

How odd. 

I slipped into my chair and began to read the war strategy book from where I had left off previously.

While reading through the tactics and the advantages of which terrain and the disadvantages of which strategy, I couldn't help but wonder what would happen if I suggested a meeting with the Saxon's leader. It would certainly lead to less bloodshed, but in order to orchestrate such a meeting, I would have to not only be king, but be recognized as female to the general public.

Why must matters of diplomacy be so difficult?

My eyelids grew heavier and heavier the later it grew, until I caught myself laying on the pages of the dusty book.

I yawned, stretching my arms above my head, before stiffly standing and hobbling into my bedchamber.

I quickly undressed and slid the nightgown that was set out over my head. 

Before I could process what was happening, I fell into my bed and drifted off to sleep, all thoughts of my peculiar fear of the dark forgotten.

I AWOKE the next morning with the sun.

Beautiful shades of pink and orange and blue bled together to create one gorgeous masterpiece in the sky. The colors blended together perfectly, lighting up the world with their otherworldly radiance. If I had been blessed with any sort of artistic talent, I would have painted that sky and immortalized it on canvas with paint.

Alas, God, in his great being, had not gifted me with the ability to paint, and so I settled for watching the colors slowly become one brilliantly bright blue.

It must have been a sign that the day was going to be superb.

I rose from the chair I had sat in to watch the dusk bloom across the sky, and dressed myself in a simple blue dress, not bothering to do more than pin my hair back on my head.

With any luck, I would complete the list of duties on the list, and be able to take my first ever walk through the expansive grounds surrounding my new home. Perhaps I would write Grummore to invite him to officially live at the palace.

I would have to ask Alfred if that would be acceptable, because I did not want to offend or create any indecent rumors with a simple invitation.

I left my room without ringing the bell for the second day in a row, thrilling at the idea of walking around the ancient halls without a guide to lead me through them.

For once, I wanted to lose myself among the paintings of my alleged ancestors and statues by famous artists long forgotten by the pages of textbooks.

Truly, the castle I now called home was a work of art in itself.

I peeked into music rooms filled with expensive pianos and walked through breezeways suspended over the gardens. I danced to the music of birdsong and laughter in the parlor, and when I had finally checked the time on an old grandfather clock, I hitched my skirts up and ran to the study Alfred most frequented, feeling guilty that my gallivanting had set us behind schedule.

"Ah, there you are, Your Majesty," a voice that was certainly not Alfred's washed over me, prompting my shoes to stay put where they were. I slowly turned around to meet Arthur's icy blue eyes.

"Hello, Arthur," I greeted, bowing my head in recognition. The head nod allowed me to gain composure, and attempt to tame my flaming cheeks.

"I wanted to apologize for scaring you with that spell last night. It was truly unintended, and I could not live with myself if I did not earn your forgiveness."

Arthur, in that moment, looked as though he was a puppy. Lost, confused, and hopeful. I allowed a brief smile to dance across my face before nodding gracefully at him.

All this nodding would certainly come in handy, especially if it was a polite response to most things asked of me.

"And how are you planning on earning it?" I dared to ask, feeling so bold as to raise an eyebrow in question.

In that moment, I felt every bit the little girl everyone seemed to be treating me as. I was seventeen, for God's sake. That is far from a little girl, and most women I knew were married at fourteen.

I was considered lucky, but I was also dressed as a man for most of my life, so the other women could not complain.

"Well," he started, rocking back onto his heels. "I was thinking about requesting a walk in the garden, if you would desire, at four o'clock tonight."

I stared at Arthur in shock, not at all expecting him to suggest such a thing.

"Unless you deem it inappropriate. Of course, I would understand if you would rather me write all of the things I am sorry for, and give you the parchment. Perhaps that is the sensible idea, and I will do just that."

"No, no," I replied quickly, a grin lighting up my lips. "I will walk with you. I do need to get to know Merlin's apprentice, anyway."

Arthur's cheeks colored red, and he smiled at me. "See you then."

It wasn't until he turned the corner down the hallway that I realized his cheeks were the exact color of the sunset that morning, and that I quite liked that comparison.

I skipped down the carpeted hallway gleefully, humming an upbeat tune underneath my breath. I had not only been asked to the gardens, but Arthur had requested my presence.

I was looking forward to finishing the list of the day and seeing the intriguing wizard's apprentice again.

Word Count: 1500

Total Word Count: 12814

This chapter was on the shorter side, but it felt appropriate for the things that occurred. What do you think of Arthur asking Lyra to the gardens? Is their new crush on each other good or bad? Let me know what you think about this chapter!

CJ