Somewhere In Time

Chapter I: Of Spoken Words.

Even though the peaceful green colour of the forest was always comforting on a normal day in a person's life, it turned into something extremely boring after six days of travelling with nothing but trees and bushes decorating the landscape. Fortunately, they hadn't suffered any attacks since the departure from Caerleon, so Elise knew she ought to be thankful for the safe journey. She travelled with her brother, King Branor, his servant, her maid and twenty-three guards and knights and they were still two days away from reaching Camelot. Apart from a few members of Branor's court and the royal family of Camelot, nobody knew their itinerary and destination for safety reasons. Nevertheless, danger often awaited its victims on the outskirts of the cities, so the group would be met by knights of Camelot near the White Mountains that night and escorted by them to their destination.

Elise did not want to go to Camelot and her brother wasn't happy about it either, but there was not much he could do; in this particular matter, his duty as king overpowered his love for his sister. She knew ruling a kingdom was also about making difficult decisions and she did not blame him for what was going to happen in Camelot after their arrival. Elise just wished she could erase the spoken words of the past.

[Four months earlier]

Arthur walked fast to reach his father's council room and Merlin had to run to keep up with him. Uther had summoned his son just a few minutes earlier; the only thing the guard had told him was that it was a matter of extreme urgency and it could not wait, so the prince was worried about what it could be. The only thing he could think of was the safety of Camelot: was it compromised? He found it hard to believe, since he already had some experience in reading the signs of an imminent attack.

"What do you think it is?", he heard Merlin suddenly ask, noticing worry in his voice as well.

"I don't know, Merlin", Arthur answered with little patience. Unlike what he would usually do, the prince's servant did not speak another word until they finally reached the council room.

"Wait here", were the only words Arthur said to Merlin before the guards opened the heavy double wooden door so the prince could enter the room. Seconds later, the young servant watched him disappear behind that door.

Uther was sitting on his chair at the head of the long empty table reading a small piece of paper in his hand and he was frowning, concentrated on the contents of the document. The sound of the door being open and closed pulled him away from his thoughts and he looked up to see his son standing a few feet away from him.

"You summoned me, sire", Arthur stated, waiting for his father to tell him what the reason of such urgency was and never forgetting he owed the king respect in matters of state.

"A messenger from Caerleon just arrived", Uther replied as he stood up and gave Arthur the letter. At first sight, the crown prince could see it was a short message and then read it carefully:

"Your majesty, King Uther Pendragon from Camelot,

It is with great grief that I, Prince Branor, and my sister, Princess Elise, inform you that King Cador of Caerleon, our father, has succumbed to the illness that had been tormenting him since last Winter.

Certain that our friends in Camelot share our grief in this dark hour,

Prince Branor"

As he finished reading the letter, Arthur looked at his father and did not know what to say. It was a tragic event, the death of a friend of his father's and Camelot, and he knew it could ruin all the hard work Uther and Cador had done in the last twenty years.

"I will send Branor a message with our condolences right away", Uther stated. "But I have to make sure not all is lost".

"Maybe we should give Branor time to grieve before starting any negotiations", was Arthur's reply. Even though he felt it was cruel to speak of matters of state to a man who was mourning the recent loss of his father, he knew his part in strengthening the alliance of the two kingdoms was crucial, but he was not willing to play it.

"Of course he will have time, but I have to be sure he won't go back on his father's word. Branor is now a young king and his lack of experience can betray him. With Cador's death, Caerleon is a vulnerable kingdom and will need a strong ally like Camelot", the king said, apparently concentrated in his own thoughts. –You must marry Princess Elise as soon as possible.

Arthur had feared that moment would come for the last three years and now his father spoke the words that made it real.

"Father, I cannot marry the princess", he protested. "I don't even know her!"

"Please, Arthur, that is not important", Uther replied as if depreciating the fantasies of a small child. "An alliance through marriage is the best thing for Camelot".

"I will not do it", Arthur stated firmly, although he took no pleasure in defying his father. "I'm sorry, but that is something I cannot do, not even for Camelot..."

"Silence!", the father ordered angrily. "I will hear no more. My decision is final".

Arthur was powerless as the look in his father's eyes told him it was a fight he could not win. His only reply was a bow to his king before turning around and leaving the room. He barely saw Merlin standing by the door, waiting for him, as he walked out of the council room and turned to his left. Once again, his servant had to run after him.

"What happened?", Merlin asked, concerned.

"Please, Merlin, not now", the prince answered as he tried to remain calm, although his fast pace showed he was failing miserably. Finally entering his chamber, Arthur let out a scream of frustration.

"Well, it wasn't a good thing, that's for sure", Merlin remarked, knowing his master would eventually tell him what was happening.

"Can you believe my father wants me to marry someone I haven't even met?", Arthur asked rhetorically, making it sound absurd even though he knew it was usually how royal marriages came about.

"Oh, I thought it was something bad", the young servant stated, relieved, but soon regretted it as the prince looked at him in disbelief. "I'm sorry. It's bad. It's very bad", he corrected, trying not to laugh.

"This is serious, Merlin", Arthur said, walking nervously around the room.

"But did your father decide that out of nowhere?", was Merlin's curious question.

"No, it isn't out of nowhere", the crown prince answered, sighing in defeat. "Three years ago, my father and King Cador of Caerleon agreed that Princess Elise and I should be... united in matrimony to strengthen the bond between the two kingdoms. Now Cador has died, his son will be king and his daughter will probably become of age soon, so my father wants to hasten the wedding".

"I see... And it's not a good thing, I suppose?", Merlin asked.

"Have you been listening?", Arthur asked back impatiently. "I never met her! I don't even know what she looks like!"

"Ah, so that's what's troubling you", the servant stated with a smile, satisfied that he had figured everything out. "You're afraid she might be ugly".

"Among other things...", the prince admitted. "Get out of here, Merlin!", he then ordered. Once he found himself alone, Arthur started to think deeper about his father's decision.

The crown prince of Camelot had never thought about marriage. In fact, he considered himself too young to get married and, although he had known about Uther's plans for his future from the beginning, Arthur had hoped that day would never come. But now there was a need to consolidate the friendship with Caerleon and it depended on him and Princess Elise, a girl he had never seen. He could only wonder what her thoughts on their marriage would be.