"I can't understand it, Reuben," said Arthur, without turning away from his bedroom window. He kept his eyes fixed on the girl below, who had been so focused on getting to the castle that she'd almost allowed herself to be trampled by a horse and cart. She raised her hands in what Arthur assumed was an apology before racing through the castle gate.
Reuben set down Arthur's breakfast and moved to the window beside his master. "Can't understand what, sire?"
"That girl…"
"Emrys?"
Arthur nodded and turned around as Emrys disappeared into the castle. "I can't stop thinking about it."
"Thinking, sire?"
"I've trained dozens of knights, defeated the tallest of enemies, conquered the largest of armies, and yet" —he stopped to swirl the contents in his goblet— "I was beaten in combat by a girl."
Arthur frowned as Reuben tried to hide a smile. "It's not funny, Reuben. I'm sure the knights are laughing as well."
"I'm sure they aren't, sire."
"Why wouldn't they? I'm supposed to be leading them. Do you know what that means, Reuben? They should be inspired by me to fight for me, to defend Camelot."
"Who says they aren't inspired? We don't even know if they're laughing."
Arthur took a large bite out of his sausage. "They're laughing," he said acidly. "You laughed. And if you don't fear me enough not to laugh, they won't."
"I apologize for laughing, sire. I didn't mean any harm by it. I'm sure the knights aren't laughing, though. They respect you too much to do that."
Arthur shook his head, saying, "They must fear me too much to do that. Respect is a familiarity that I can't afford. If I want to rule this kingdom as my father does one day, I must be feared just as he's feared. I can't allow my position to be undermined by some girl."
"It's really not that serious, sire. I'm sure this entire situation will be seen as a testament to your good-heartedness."
"Oh? Go on, then." He finished the contents in his goblet.
"Nobody could expect you to grant her request. But you saw that she obviously had something to prove and humored her anyway. And as if that wasn't already enough, you went easy on her so that she'd win. The law calls for the death of anyone who'd lay a harmful hand on a member of the royal family, but despite the fact that she threw a sword at you, you didn't exact such a punishment."
"You're right," cried Arthur suddenly, smiling. "It's as you say, Reuben! I should've called for her head, or at least her arrest, but I didn't do such a thing. How could I when she obviously felt as if she had something to prove to me?"
"Prove to you, sire?"
"It all makes sense now—why she challenged me, why she saved my life, why she makes such an effort to show her contempt for me. The poor girl obviously has feelings for me."
Reuben almost dropped the goblet to the floor. "Feelings for you?"
"That poor girl," said Arthur, smiling and shaking his head. "I understand why she'd feel this way. Who wouldn't? I'll have to let Emrys know, of course, that her fantasy can never come to be. As a serving girl, she could never hope that something might actually happen between us." Arthur stood up and began to walk to his door.
Reuben hurried to block his master. "Forgive me, sire, but is there really a need to discuss this with her? I don't think you're considering the girl's feelings."
Arthur narrowed his eyes at his manservant. "You seem to have quite an interest in this girl, Reuben."
"I can assure you that I'm only concerned for your best interests. I don't see how it'd benefit you to acknowledge her in any way."
Arthur took a step back from the door, smiling suddenly. "I see your point, Reuben, but I must disagree with you."
"Sire?"
"Everything is absolutely perfect."
Arthur was beginning to think that everything was a little less than perfect, especially when the other knights began to shush themselves as he walked over to them. "What's so funny?"
Gwaine smiled. "It wasn't really that funny, sire."
"Oh, nonsense, Gwaine." He stuck his sword into the ground and looked around at the knights. "I'll determine how funny it was."
"Sire," said Reuben warily.
Arthur ignored him with a wave of his hand. "Well, don't leave me out of the joke. Come on, Gwaine, you know I love a good laugh."
Some of the knights focused on their swords; others looked at the sky; no one answered Arthur. Arthur shrugged and pulled his sword out of the ground. "Well, then, if no one is going to tell me a joke, I'm going to assume this means you're all ready to train. Some of you," he said, glancing at Gwaine, "need it more than others."
"Yes," Gwaine chuckled. "Some of us definitely need it more than others."
Arthur spun on his heels. "What was that?"
"Nothing, nothing, sire," said Gwaine, still laughing. "Will our wench be joining us as well?"
"Our wench?"
Gwaine nodded, saying, "Emrys."
Arthur's back stiffened.
"Gwaine," said Lancelot in a hushed tone.
"No, Lancelot, it's good that we can talk about this so soon. I'm sure many of you are not sure what to think about yesterday's events. Some of you have decided to treat this as a joke. I think you're just trying to find a way to relieve tension after yesterday's sorcery attack.
"Regardless, I think I need to explain the meaning behind what happened during yesterday's training session. It seems that my simple intentions of behaving as a good sport have been perverted by the less than mature minds of the group. Let me lay any rumors to rest by saying that, no matter what it seemed like, I did not lose to Emrys. I was afraid I would hurt her and saw no other way to get out of it than to play along and let her think she won."
"I see," said Gwaine. "And will you show the same tactics on the enemies we face in the future, or is Emrys the only one who will receive this kind of treatment?"
"Obviously, Emrys understood my kindness, as she did repay her debt yesterday."
"Well, if that is the case, I think I should see how she chooses to repay me if I let her win." Many of the knights hooted and hollered with laughter.
Arthur's eyes narrowed and anger erupted in his chest. "I would advise you, Sir Gwaine, to watch how you speak of Emrys. She is now Morgana's handmaiden, and a respected member of the castle. I will not tolerate any form of harassment or disrespect toward her."
"Wow," said Emrys as she made her way to the knights' circle. "That was quite a lovely speech on my behalf."
Arthur spun around, ignoring the stifled laughter of the knights as he faced the small serving girl. "Emrys?"
"I thought you said she wouldn't be joining us, Arthur," said Gwaine with another laugh.
"You spoke of me earlier?" she asked with a raised eyebrow. "I didn't know you were so fond of me, Arthur Pendragon."
Arthur scoffed. "Don't be ridiculous. It is my duty as a noble knight of Camelot to defend the honor of women when less than noble knights tarnish it. However, Emrys," he said, turning back to face her with a mischievous smile, "I had no idea you were so keen to die for me."
"What makes you think I would risk my life for a prat like you?" She ignored the glare that Reuben was directing her way.
"Say what you like, Emrys, but the fact is you took a dagger for me."
"That wasn't risking my life," she insisted. "I'd hoped that you would've learned how to dodge such attacks from yesterday's little...training session. I suppose I shouldn't have expected much from you. You do seem to be rather dense."
"And you seem to be rather brash, don't you, Emrys?"
"On the contrary, sire," said Reuben suddenly, turning to glare at Emrys again. "Only when she's bored. I'm sure you'll find her to be an entirely different person otherwise."
"Hmm," Arthur mused. "If my memory serves me correctly, this is the third time you have spoken on Emrys' behalf, Reuben."
Reuben bent at the waist. "I promise not to make a habit of it."
Arthur waved away his apology with his hand. "But what are you doing here, Emrys? This seems a rather long way from my sister's chambers."
Emrys held up a basket of cloth and said, "Guinevere would like me to launder some of Princess Morgana's clothing, but she neglected to mention where I am to do that. I came here to find Reuben."
"Yes," said Reuben, stepping forward quickly. "Follow me and—"
"No need," Arthur stammered, blocking the path of his manservant. "I'll take you myself, Emrys. Reuben, you stay and see to it that our usual party is prepared to leave when I return. As for the rest of you," he said, addressing the other knights, "you may continue to train."
"Sire, are you sure? You never run errands."
"This is hardly an errand, Reuben. Besides, I have need to see my sister anyway." He grabbed Emrys' basket and hurried away before anyone else could ask him any more questions.
When they had completely left the field, and he was sure that Emrys was following by herself, he shoved the load back into Emrys' hands. He slowed his pace and let out a sigh.
"Did you want to be alone with me so badly?" Emrys asked as she shifted the basket in her arms.
"You assume the strangest things, Emrys. I needed an excuse to leave."
"Is something wrong?"
"It's a matter that only involves knights. Besides, you wouldn't understand even if I explained it to you."
Emrys was silent for a moment before she said, "It'd seem that I am not the only one who assumes strange things. You often seem to make the terrible mistake of judging someone's ability based on their appearance. As a current knight and future king, I would advise you to be wary of that."
"If I recall correctly, my father made you handmaiden, not consul. I don't need your help, Emrys."
The wind kicked up suddenly, sending a chill down his spine, and the door that they had entered through slammed shut. Emrys set her eyes on him with a look so fierce he found himself wanting to take a step back. "On the contrary, Arthur Pendragon. You need my help more than you know; it is I who doesn't need you." She turned around and found the nearest staircase to climb.
Arthur hurried after her. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"Exactly what you think it does."
He could see that he wasn't going to get a straight answer from her on the matter. "Where do you even think you're going? Back to Morgana's chambers?" Still she did not answer him. "You're going the wrong way, then. The Solar section of the castle is in the opposite direction."
"How do you know I'm not just trying to find it on my own?"
"That's exactly what I fear you're doing. You'll get lost that way." She was quite fast for such a small girl! In a quick burst of energy, Arthur caught up to Emrys and kept in step with her, despite her attempts to lose him. "I don't know if this thought had ever occurred to you, but I grew up in this castle."
"Your point being?"
"I can show you the quickest way to get to the laundry room and back to Morgana if you'll only let me."
"I already told you I'm not in need of your assistance, especially if you're only going to be rude to me. I understand you're upset, but there's no need for you to act so childish and take it out on me."
There it was again. He'd felt it before, that power that this simple serving girl exuded, when she'd held the sword over his head. It was not the same type of feeling he had when he was in the presence of his father. That was a brutal force, a violent declaration, an involuntary submission. If he had fought Uther yesterday, Arthur would've continued to struggle until his life had been taken. He wouldn't have allowed that kind of power to decide his fate.
Emrys' power wasn't that of the nobility, which Arthur felt always desired to prove itself and justify its reign. He thought that, even if he or other nobles were to try, they would never obtain this kind of force. Her power was absolute. It demanded to be felt simply because it was present, and somewhere along the mix, Arthur felt obligated to give her power his respect as well.
Arthur stopped walking. He simply didn't understand it—this gentle wind, this compliant surrender, this silent strength. It seemed to be a part of her, something she carried wherever she went. He felt that, at any moment, Emrys could become terribly frightening with power. Arthur didn't know if Emrys was aware of this power, but he was determined to discover what it was and how to use it.
Arthur knew that this was the power that would either make him king or drive him to madness.
He realized then that she was staring at him with her large, honey-golden eyes, waiting for some kind of answer. He wanted to apologize, but instead he crossed his arms and said, "You're right. Let's both agree to be more civil towards each other.
Her jaw tightened ever so slightly before she opened her mouth to say, "If you think you can manage, then please show me the way, sire."
"Arthur," Morgana exclaimed as her brother entered her chambers behind her handmaiden. "Whatever are you doing here? I hope you haven't been bothering Emrys."
It was obvious that whatever power Emrys possessed had already worked its way over Morgana. His sister was naturally caring, but she had never been so fiercely protective over a servant before. "Relax, dearest sister. You'll be happy to know that I've promised to be civil toward your handmaiden while she's employed here."
Emrys shoved the basket into Guinevere's arms, a subtle glare hidden under her lashes. She bowed at the waist and said, "Forgive my tardiness, princess. I realized only after I left that I was unaware of where I should go next. Luckily, the prince was willing to offer his help with my chores."
Arthur couldn't help looking at Emrys in shock. The fiery girl he'd just run around the castle with had been tamed and hidden away in the presence of Morgana. The serving girl standing in front of him was definitely a different version of Emrys he hadn't yet seen. He couldn't determine if this was the effect of Morgana being her direct superior, or if this was Emrys' way of exuding her power over Morgana.
Morgana raised an eyebrow and turned toward Arthur. "Really? You truly are amazing, Emrys. However did you manage that?"
Guinevere frowned, saying, "Is Arthur incapable of doing a good deed of his own accord?"
"If he'd ever done such a thing before, I'd be willing to believe that. Whatever the cause, though, I should thank you, Arthur, for your service to Emrys."
"In the future, though, Emrys," said Guinevere as she set the basket down, "you're to seek out help from Reuben and not distract Arthur from his duties."
There was a flash of discord that rippled through Emrys' face before it disappeared. Again, Arthur saw her power settle over her. "I went to the grounds looking for Reuben. It was the prince who decided that Reuben had other matters to attend to."
"Like what, Arthur," said Guinevere, turning to the prince with her hands on her hips.
Arthur suddenly felt that between these two girls was not a place that he wanted to be. He cleared his throat and said, "Reuben is helping my men prepare for a hunt."
Morgana groaned. "Seriously, Arthur? You were just attacked yesterday, and you're going back outside the castle already?"
"I was attacked inside the castle," he reminded her. "And I can't be stopped from going on a hunt."
"Arthur, I implore you to reconsider. It's dangerous in those woods and I'm not sure the knights will be able to protect you. They act more as your friends than your guards." She paused for a moment and then added, "And after yesterday's events, I'm beginning to question the competence of your knights."
"Excuse me?"
"Why weren't they able to see through Noren's disguise?"
"It was a disguise, Morgana. No one saw through that."
"Emrys did. Gwaine said that out of all the knights, Lancelot is the only one who has truly come close to beating you in a fight."
"What does that have to do with anything?"
"Emrys," said Morgana, addressing her as she turned around. "How much training have you had with melee weapons?"
Emrys' eyes darted around the room. "My mother is our village blacksmith. At thirteen, she thought I was old enough to learn how to use some of the weapons she forged." Noticing the look Arthur was giving her, she quickly added, "But I'm really only good with a sword, and I don't think my training could compare to what the knights learn."
"On the contrary, Emrys. From what I saw yesterday, I'd argue that your knife throwing is just as skilled as some of our knights."
"I'm sorry, Morgana," said Arthur, "but I fail to see the point you're trying to make. What does your handmaiden being skilled in sword have to do with my hunt?"
Turning back to Arthur, Morgana said, "I think I have the perfect solution. Emrys has proved to me that she is more than capable of protecting you. If you wish to go on a hunt, you will take Emrys. From now on, Emrys will also be part of the Royal Guard."
"Morgana," Guinevere gasped.
Arthur sputtered, "You can't just do that, Morgana! Father would never allow a servant, much less a girl to be a part of the Royal Guard."
Morgana stood up and crossed her arms. "I think you underestimate the influence I have on our Father. I see no reason why Emrys shouldn't be allowed to protect you."
"She's not a knight."
"The Royal Guard isn't made of knights anyway."
"She's still a girl."
"I think it's time Camelot caught up with the times. Women have proved themselves capable of occupying any job—blacksmith, bower, artisan. It's about time we show that Camelot is a modern civilization. What better way to do that than to break tradition and install Emrys as a member of the Royal Guard?"
"No," Arthur growled. "I won't allow it."
Morgana's eyes narrowed. "You will, or I will see to it that Father bans your hunting trips entirely. I was never fond of them anyway."
"You wouldn't dare."
"You'd like to think so, wouldn't you?"
Arthur was silent for the longest time. He shared a look with Emrys, who looked just as shocked and against the idea as he was. He couldn't imagine having to share a hunting trip with her. It would change the dynamic of the entire outing. These hunts were supposed to be his time of relief from his palace duties. Bringing a girl around would only slow the party down and detract from their success.
But he knew that if he refused, Morgana would hold true to her word and force their father to end his outings altogether. It was the cruelest of fates either way.
"Fine," Arthur spat out bitterly. "I will take Emrys. But if she proves to be incapable of 'protecting' me, I'm sending her straight back to you and I don't ever want to discuss this nonsense again. Do we have a deal, Morgana?"
Emrys stepped forward and locked eyes with Arthur. "We have a deal."
"Good. We leave now."
