I slid to the floor holding my head.
"Idiot!"
I think over and over in my head. I sigh taking in a deep breath to calm myself. "I thought he was River. That was all. It's fine. It was just a kiss." I say reassuringly. "What was just a kiss?" The voice startled me and I turn around to see the guy that was making me have an entire panic attack. "Hey~Arthur. What-What are you doing here?" I say nervously and stand up brushing my clothes off. "Umm just walking around in MY castle." He states looking at me quizzically. I internally groan at my choice of words. "Well then I'll be going!" I rush myself away from Arthur and turn the corner. I hold my heart feeling it racing. What the hell? I think running out and away, towards my cottage.
I slam the door shut looking at Lancelot. "Never ever let me drink again." I say slumping on the seat beside him. He looks at me mischievously. "What did you do this time? Did you get the lady across the market? She's a real pain." I shake my head aggressively at him. I pout. "I- I- I kissed..." my lip began to quiver and his eyes widened. "Did you kiss Merlin?! No! You didn't right!" I shake my head again. "It's worse...I kissed ARTHUR." I say and burst out crying and whining. He begins laughing. "And why is that so bad you kissed the king!" He says and I snuggle up on his chest embracing his warmth. "But it's not just a king. It's ARTHUR. Why him!" I say tugging on his shirt. He chuckles patting my head. "Don't worry too much. You were drunk, you'll get over it." He says and I sniffle closing my eyes and falling asleep.
"Hello? Anika?" Echoes through the cottage and my heavy eyes open slightly. I saw a figure in front of me and thought it was Lancelot. "Lancelot?" I say snuggling deeper into my pillow. But then I heard the heartbeat against my ear, a heartbeat that wasn't mine. I look up to see Lancelot in under me asleep. I look back at the figure and see it coming closer. I stand up immediately. "Get out. What are you doing here." I say sternly looking at the figure. "I just wanted to talk with you." They say and my eyebrows furrow. I look around for a lantern. I find one and go to light it, keeping my eye on the figure. I turn it on my eyes turquoise. The fire lights up the entire room revealing the figure. It was Arthur. I sigh in relief.
"What are you doing here?" I whisper getting the blanket and covering Lancelot. "I wanted to ask if you could join the knights again." I think about Lancelot a finger on my lips and decide to put him in the bedroom. "We are facing a new threat and I was thinking if you would want to go and hurt people that are bad and not the innocent. As you have a habit of it." He mocks following me as I carry Lancelot to the bed. I place him down. "What time what day how long." I reply simply, fixing the blanket on Lancelot. "Well we leave tomorrow and we don't have a definite time of how long we'll be." I look at him my arms crossed, in thought. "Only if he can come too." I say pointing behind me where Lancelot lay, sleeping. He cocks an eyebrow at him. "How good is he? Is he even nobility?" Arthur says crossing his arms as well looking at me. "He's good enough to beat your knights. I don't think nobility matters when it comes to him." I say and begin to walk out of the room, not wanting to wake Lancelot.
Arthur sighs begging me as we enter the main room once more. "But the rules state they must be nobility-" I'm not asking for him to be a knight. I'm asking for him to come. If Merlin can so can he." I say glaring at Arthur. "Or you know, you can always just go without me or Lancelot. There's that too." I shrug going to our kitchen where we had the water. I open the cupboard and see beer next to the water. I shiver at the thought of kissing him. Arthur groans from behind me. "Fine. But he better be good or were leaving him on the trip." He says sitting down at the table. "If you leave him there you can explain to your father how you broke all your bones." I say grabbing the water. "Drink?" I turn to him and he visibly gulps. "Y-Yes." I chuckle at him getting two cups from our cupboards. "Don't worry, you won't have to do that." I say giving him his cup as I remain standing leaning against the counters and bringing the cup to my lips. "You won't be able to make it to your father to explain." I say taking a drink and I hear Arthur choke on his drink. I giggle at him.
"You are so vulnerable, do you know that?" I tease removing the cup from my mouth. He cleans himself looking at me. "I am not vulnerable. You have proven to have the capability of doing so, I am just paranoid." He says dignantly. I raise an eyebrow at him. "Wow, the crowned king is paranoid of a woman. I've seen everything now." I say taking another drink from my cup. Arthur looks at me sincerely. "What does you being a woman have anything to do with it?" He asks sounding...kind. "Most men find women to be elegant and dressed their finest. Fitting into the smallest corsets and having the most beautiful of faces. They aren't the first thing to come up when someone asks you what your scared of. Even you have said that it would be embarrassing to be saved by a woman on multiple occasions." I say a small chuckle escaping my mouth. He looks at me, an indescribably him seat look on his face. "But you aren't like other women."
My cup stops halfway to my mouth and I look at him startled at his comment. I regain my composure giving him a small laugh. "I don't know if to be offended or grateful." I say a small smile spreading on my lips. "Not to offend you, never. You are the best fighter, the bravest, and the cockiest girl I've ever met." He says putting his cup down on the table. I smile nervously at him. My heart was racing and I felt my cheeks warm. "You wouldn't want your wife hearing that would you?" I say and he looks at me confused. "Didn't you know? Guinevere canceled the marriage." He says his tone lowering ever so slightly. "No I know. But I also know Guinevere loves you too much. Just give her some time. It was probably the thought of becoming queen that overwhelmed her. Love is a hard thing to get rid of. I would know that best." Suddenly the craving of the bitterness of the beer hit me. I bit my lip trying to hold back the temptation, but it was too late. I found my hands opening the cupboard and grabbing a bottle. I sigh opening it and taking a swig.
Arthur clears his throat. "Anika, speaking of love. Can I know who River is?" I choke on the beer that was going down my throat. I look at him wide eyed. He shrugs his shoulders. "What I think I should know the guy whom you mistake me for, shouldn't I?" He says and my face flushes red at the thought. "Bad memories are never good to reflect on." I say trying to skip the subject like a rock on the lake. He raises an eyebrow. "It didn't seem to be all bad memories if you wanted to kiss him." He says and I glare at him. I sigh taking another bottle and sitting across from him. He reaches out for the bottle but I pull it away looking at him confused. "No this is for me. I need it." I say and his lips form a line. "You can get one from there. There's plenty." I say and he stands up getting two and sitting down again. He looks at me expectantly and I take another swig.
"Lancelot and I met three years ago, right after I left the castle. We're like brother and sister. We went a year living in the woods camping out. We had decided to live in a village for a while so we stopped at Drensle. I met River when I was taking a walk. He had crazy and messy blond hair all hours of the day. His eyes were a bright ocean green and he was as bright as a sunflower. He was training in the woods and his form was amazing, I got mesmerized." I was staring at a spot in the wooden table and took another long gulp before continuing.
"We spent a lot of time together after that. If it was training, at bars, battling monsters and people that threatened the village, or just being together. 6 months ago, there was a different type of attack on the village. A type from the royal knights of Camelot." By the time I had gotten to this part I had finished the bottle and opened another one bitterly looking at Arthur.
"Long story short they killed him." I say tears welling up in my eyes. I chugged down the bottle, wanting rid of all the emotions running through my heart that made it feel like it was getting squeezed by Hercules. But all the alcohol did was make them worse and more visible. "Your people." I say glaring at Arthur. "Killed two people I loved. For what? For fun?" I chuckle bitterly getting another beer. "I-I'm sorry for what they did." Arthur says and I look at him sadly. "Hey it's not your fault your fathers an asshole. At least we have that in common." I say taking a gulp and gently putting it back down on the table.
We stayed silent for a while but with the amount of bottles I drank I couldn't feel the awkwardness filling the room. "But." He says and I look at him my head wobbling. "I don't think my father was wrong for killing all those who use magic." Arthur says and I groan in frustration. I hold a finger up.
"Arthur do you think I've done good things?" I ask Arthur looking at him my elbows on the table, looking at Arthur curiously. "I'm sure you have, and saved many lives including my own many times." He says looking at me. "Well, I have something to confess." I say dramatically looking at Arthur with wide eyes. "I have magic." I Simply said it took Arthur a minute to understand. "You what?" He says dumbfounded. "I am magical. You know unicorns, warlocks.." I say counting on my fingers.
"No..." anika sighs and aims her hand at the cup in Arthur's hand. Wordlessly, her eyes turned a bright turquoise and all the water in the cup began to float out, forming shapes in the air. After a few seconds the water spelled the words:
Believe me now?
"Now do I have to worry about you reporting me to your daddy?" I say looking at him."All magic isn't bad. It can save lives. And by killing innocents your father isn't solving anything, just angering the innocent ones and making them bad ones. What if your father would have found out I had magic too?" Arthur looks at me suspiciously.
"No matter how many good things I've done, no matter who's daughter I am... your father would have me killed by dawn."
"Your father puts pride before anything else. He doesn't want to be wrong even though he is. And I know you see it too. So yes, I do and am sure that what your father has been doing is wrong. Why don't you?" I say my words getting even more slurred and I felt my consciousness leaving me then returning.
"I... my mother was killed by sorcery. And all those I have met have done nothing but give me more and more proof that magic is to not be trusted." I clicked my tongue.
"Then am I not to be trusted by the grand prince Arthur?" Arthur hesitated. "You don't have to answer. I already know." I sighed before drinking what was left in her bottle.
"Emry's. Said to be the greatest sorcerer to ever walk the land. Let me say this now. My priorities, stay with him. Not you, not Camelot and not Lancelot. With Emry's. That is because he is what will bring Albion. Albion, the new Camelot where people of all classes, of all backgrounds, of all beings... are accepted and welcomed not banished and executed for who they are. Now, I know you believe that sorcery is a bad thing that it killed your mother, but do you think what Emey's is working for is good or bad?" Arthur stayed silent.
"Follow your fathers footsteps for as long as you want, Arthur. But if you do, I'll hate you as much as I already hate Uther." I clunked the beer on the table.
"Do me a favor and lock the door on your way out will ya?" I say before blackness engulfed me.