In the Stars Ch. 2 (Camelot)
Gias poked and prodded Celeste gently, first on her back and then her chest.
"I know you said you have had this cough for about six months. But how long have you been coughing up your own blood?" he asked her. "It can't be that long."
"No, I know that. It was only two nights ago," she answered tiredly.
"Hm," he mumbled.
"What?" she asked.
Gias stood up straight and gazed down at her.
"After all of your travels, you haven't found any cures?"
"No," Celeste answered. "Oshiba made sure of it."
Gias went over to a cabinet and produced a tan liquid. She handed it to her.
"None of the cough potions have worked. Trust me, I've tried all of them."
"Humor me," Gias said.
She took the bottle and then stood up. Celeste uncorked the bottle and took a few swigs of the potion. The taste was bitter, but she had far worse tasting potions before. She put the bottle in a pocket of her purple dress.
Celeste went over to him and kissed him on the cheek, "I'll be back for supper," she promised him before leaving, closing the door behind her with a snap.
Celeste walked the many halls of the castle. When she passed Arthurs door, she stopped abruptly. She would run into him and be forced to speak with him at some point during her last handful of weeks here. Id better get it over with and out of the way as soon as I can, Celeste thought. Knowing her bad timing, he wouldnt even be inside.
Celeste walked backward, carefully. She knocked loudly on the door. There wasn't much of a long wait before a muffled voice told her to enter. She obeyed.
"Celeste," Arthur's reaction was exactly what she has suspected. The Prince wore a frown on his face the moment he saw her.
"Hello, Arthur," she responded, giving a slight bow.
Arthur went over and poured two cups of wine.
"You don't need to bow to me. You never did anyways," he reminded her, passing her a cup.
"I thought I'd try it out," she told him, taking it.
"And?"
"Felt sort of weird," Celeste answered.
There was a snort of laughter that came from the bed. They both turned to look over at Merlin. She could tell that he was having trouble forcing himself not to chuckle. Celeste smiled at him.
"Sorry," Merlin said, finishing making the bed. He saw Celestes smile and grinned back at her brightly.
"You work for Arthur as well?" Celeste inquired.
"Merlin is my Manservant," Arthur confirmed. He eyeballed the other man. Merlin was still wearing a grin. Who will be cleaning out the stocks for a week unless he gets that ridiculous grin off of his face, he punctuated that remark with a glaring look over at him.
"For smiling?" Celeste asked, raising a weary eyebrow.
"Yes," Arthur said. Which he wish he hadnt.
She put her cup down angrily and her eyebrow flew up even more.
"And don't you start again!" The Prince warned quickly. "I'm not in the mood to be bored to sleep."
She went on with her rant anyways, "A servant is a job, not a title. Merlin deserves just as much respect as you do. Even more so because hes forced to put up with you."
Celeste stopped. Another coughing fit was coming. She took out her rag just as she began to cough. When she stopped, she retreated the cloth away from her face. There was no blood there. Okay, so Gias potion helped somewhat.
"You haven't changed, I see?" Celeste asked Arthur, sitting down at the table. "You're still a prat."
"And youre just as opinionated as ever," Arthur commented. He looked her over. "You look ill."
"How very observant of you Arthur Pendragon," she mumbled, slightly annoyed. "I'm fine."
She was tired again. Her energy drained by the coughing fit, like it always did.
"This was a bad idea, coming to see you," Celeste told him, standing up. "I don't even know why I did." she passed him to leave.
Arthur stopped her, wrapping his hand gently around her arm.
He whispered in her ear, "You're more beautiful than I remember."
She yanked out of his hold easily and turned to Merlin.
"I will see you tonight at supper, Merlin," Celeste informed him before she left.
To be continued . . .
(A/N: Thanks for the reviews! I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Dont know when the next chapter will be. Hopefully you wont have to wait long!)