A/N: Here is the first actual chapter of my story. I hope you guys like it and, if you do, please leave me a little review.
Chapter One
A girl sits in front of her mirror, a large frown on her face. She tilts her head slightly and watches as her brown hair cascades down one shoulder. She then moves her head in the other direction, causing her hair to fall down the other shoulder. The girl lets out an annoyed sigh and she straightens out again. Her brown eyes sparkle with light reflected from the candle that sits atop the dresser. She can hear the sound of feet stomping down the corridor outside of her chambers, but she pays it no attention as she continues to inspect her appearance in the mirror.
She jumps slightly as the main door is thrown open with a loud bang. She stands quickly, the hem of her red dress swaying around her feet and revealing a pair of brown boots, as opposed to the usual slipper-like shoes that the women of the court might wear. The girl flashes the person a small smile as she takes notice that it was, in fact, her brother.
"What are you wearing on your feet?" His incredulous expression makes her laugh aloud and she shoots him a small grin. "Forget it. Just come down to the feast. Father is angry at your delay."
"They are called boots, Arthur." She points out, an annoyed frown appearing on her face as she continues. "Alright, I will come down to the feast. Celebrating a man's death is my favorite type of celebration."
Arthur glares at his sister as he walks up to her, looping her arm through his. He shakes his head as he sees the boots again, but he says nothing as he leads his sister towards the Main Hall. She purposely drags her feet as they walk down the corridor and she can feel Arthur's angry gaze burning into the side of her head. This causes an amused smile to pull at the corner of her mouth, but she quickly wipes it off of her face as they enter through the grand doors of the Main Hall.
"Betony? Are you alright?" Arthur turns and looks at his sister who had faltered as they entered the hall. She is now looking around with a slightly confused expression. "Betony."
"Yes, I am fine." She stutters as Arthur leads her to the table. He pulls her chair out for her and then takes a seat next to her. Betony smiles slightly as she looks over at Arthur. "So chivalrous."
"I try my best." Arthur mutters under his breath as he sees Lady Helen enter the center of the hall. "Now, be quiet before father gets angry at us for interrupting the performance."
Betony laughs softly, but she quickly stops as she sees something out of the corner of her eye. She turns her head slightly and then shakes her head as she sees it's only what appears to be a serving boy. She could have sworn she felt something over there, but it's only a servant.
She doesn't even realize that she's staring at him until a set of blue eyes turn in her direction. Her face flushes in embarrassment and she looks away again. She watches as Lady Helen begins to sing, but she's interrupted when she suddenly feels a strong wave of panic coming from somewhere to her right. She sees that it's only the serving boy and she's about to look away when she suddenly sees him slap his hands over his ears.
Betony doesn't know why, but she too covers her ears, eyes darting around the hall. Her eyes widen in a panic as she sees the rest of the hall beginning to nod off. As cobwebs begin to form over their prone forms, she stumbles away from the table and into the strange serving boy. He lifts an eyebrow but his attention is drawn away from the princess as he sees Lady Helen drawing a dagger from her sleeve.
Merlin glances up at the chandelier and suddenly the chain holding it up snaps. It comes crashing down on top of Lady Helen and Betony lets out a panicked squeak. She leans against one of the stone pillars, her eyes shut tightly to block out the sight before her.
Arthur begins to stir, pulling cobwebs off of himself and looking around the hall in confusion. The rest of the hall soon follows suit, beginning to wake and removing the cobwebs. Betony can see Arthur looking around in a panic as he sees her empty chair, but she doesn't have a chance to go over to him as she turns and sees that Mary Collins is now lying where Lady Helen had been.
The old woman lifts herself up and throws the dagger. Time seems to slow down and Betony sees the serving boy rushing towards Arthur. He grabs Arthur's sleeve and pulls him out of the chair just as the dagger is stabbing into the back of his chair. Arthur and the serving boy both stand and look at each other.
"You saved my boy's life. A debt must be repaid." Uther stands and faces the serving boy
"Oh, well…" The serving boy stutters a response, rubbing the back of bus neck.
"Don't be so modest. You shall be rewarded." The king's booming voice rings around the hall.
"No, honestly, you don't have to, Your Highness." The dark haired boy attempts to convince the king again, a small frown in his face.
"No, absolutely. This merits something quite special. You shall be rewarded a position in the royal household." The king places a hand on Arthur's shoulder. "You shall be Prince Arthur's manservant."
The court applauds loudly and cheering can be heard ringing around the hall. Arthur's shout of "Father!" is drowned out in the applause and he turns towards the boy, an angry expression on his face.
Betony shakes her head as she watches Arthur walking towards her. She flashes him an amused smirk as he leans against the pillar next to her. He stands a good head taller than her and he tilts his head so that he can look her in the eye.
"I am sure that you are finding this extremely amusing." He reaches a hand out, straightening out the golden tiara resting atop her head. "I, however, am not."
Betony grins, lightly punching Arthur in the shoulder. She stays silent and the two of them stay at the pillar as the court begins to file out of the hall. Her good mood is suddenly interrupted as one thought flashes through her mind. Arthur's got himself a wizard for a servant.
