Bittersweet Coffee and Sour Candy, March 10th

The bright morning sun shone brightly through the uncovered window and onto my face as I tried my hardest not to look into the blazing rays of sunlight. The light green, apple shaped alarm clock ticked away in a even beat. Groaning in mere annoyance, I got up and hugged my fluffy white pillow, I'm not really in the mood for an early wake up call.

"Damn that sun!" I cursed, blocking the sunlight with my hands and got off the bed, closing the curtains quickly.

I crawled onto the soft sheets of the bed and tried to fall back to sleep. After all, it was Saturday. Unfortunately, I was already wide awake and had no choice but to do something, otherwise my brain won't be able to handle the pressure of continuous thinking, which I tend to do too often.

Knock, knock, knock.

It appears that someone was knocking on my door in the melody of Jingle bells and it wasn't even Christmas yet. Sighing, I trudged towards the door and tugged it open and replied to the person with a loud, annoyed mumble.

"What do you want?"

"Jeez, that's a great way to start off the morning," Arthur remarked, raising an eyebrow in sheer amusement.

I opened my eyes wider, but shut them quickly right afterwards, for that Arthur's blond hair seemed to be twice as bright as the bloody sun. He must have washed his hair this morning, blow dried it and everything...

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. It's bloody Saturday! I want to have a nice rest for once!" I grumbled, rubbing my eyes, "Without the sound of an annoying blond prat knocking on my door as if it was an instrument, and why on earth choose the song Jingle bells? It's not even Christmas yet"

"Oh come on, Mer-"

Before Arthur could reply or respond, I shut the door in his face and let out a low sigh. What's wrong with Arthur? Coming to my door so early on a Saturday morning, playing a Christmas song on my door and now he didn't even retort back at me for insulting him, nor did he punch the door to get my attention.

I found this a bit weird. Very odd. As much as I despise Arthur and like him at the same time, I found it weird how he changes personalities within seconds. First day, teddy bear. Second day, romantic. Third day, giant prat...

Behind the door, I could hear Arthur's muffled whines and complaints for him to enter or for me to let him enter.

"Merlin! Let me in!" Arthur's muffled voice cried out.

"What's the magic word?" I decided to tease him and chuckled, I could image Arthur thinking about the childish question, "Come on Arthur, you can do it"

"Pumpkin?"

I burst out laughing, who knew, Arthur Pendragon the greatest and feared amongst our school was acting adorable and kiddish. Arthur went silent, I guess he was embarrassed and decided to go silent so I could get the hint that he ain't trying in this stupid game anymore.

Unfortunately for him, the game only just started.

"No," I replied, suppressing an urge to laugh again, "Try again"

I heard a faint whine from the other side as I tip toed to the door and pressed my ear against the smooth, wooden door. I could hear Arthur's feet tapping on the floor and his head lightly hitting the door as if to say 'think brain, think!'

"Is this some long word which I have no idea about? Or is it some word that isn't in the dictionary yet?"

"Che, I'm not that smart," I chuckled, adding a pinch of arrogance in my tone of voice, "Seriously Arthur, this is a child's question"
"Shut up! I'm not as smart as a nerd like you" he retorted, "Besides, I'm sick of this game already. Now... Let. Me. In"

"Yeah, as if!" I remarked, "I still haven't changed yet!"

"You want some help?"

That one question sent a flaming blush in my cheeks. Dirty images poured into my mind like a landslide. I cursed inwardly and sensed Arthur's smug smirk from the other side of the door.

"In your dreams!" I yelled out, hugging myself in embarrassment.

"Funny, cause I do have dreams like that," Arthur confessed quietly, he probably thought I didn't hear him, and god he was wrong...

There was an awkward silence afterwards, and I could hear Arthur mumble something about an 'idiot' and then footsteps faded away. I guess he gave up already and decided he wouldn't be bothered to annoy me anymore.

I turned the cold doorknob slowly and took a peek outside my room. No-one so far. Cautiously I took a step outside and turned my head behind the door, making sure Arthur wasn't hiding behind the door ready to scare the shit out of me. Fortunately, he didn't pop out of nowhere. Heaving a relieved sigh, I made my way to the bathroom.

As I happily strolled down the hallway towards the bathroom, I hummed a cheerful tune of Sunshine on a rainy day, and to make things weird, it was literally raining outside and the sun was shining at the same time, but you gotta say, it was a beautiful scene to behold.

"Merlin, you're up earlier than usual"

I turned around and smiled. My mother was standing by the staircase, by the smooth black handrail. Rubbing her eyes tiredly and took a sip of her steaming coffee from the expensive flowery mug.

"Yeah, Arthur woke me up and I couldn't fall back to sleep," I replied sincerely, suddenly feeling rather hungry, "Do you think the kitchen maid can make me some breakfast while I'm doing my business?"

Hunith nodded; "Of course, that's her job isn't it?" she smiled warmly, retreating back down the stairs.

"Thanks momma!" I called out, while Hunith just gave me another bright smile and disappeared from my view.

In the Kitchen...

When I finished dressing and brushing my teeth and everything, I entered the sparkling kitchen where my mother was having a conversation with the kitchen maid. I scanned the room for the blond but he didn't appear anywhere. Where had he gone after that game of finding the magic word 'please'?

"Ah, Merlin my boy," the kitchen maid greeted cheerfully, "I assume you wanted an interesting breakfast today?"

"Morning Rosette," I greeted with the same jolly manner, "Yes, as always you assume correct"

Rosette was a rather chubby, red cheeked woman, with thick, short, brownish red hair; her eyes were the same Central Australia dirt colour as her hair and were usually sparkling with good thoughts. Today she wore a cherry blossom pink dress and light bamboo green T-shirt, which actually looked quite good on her.

"You rather nice today, are you going out somewhere soon?"

Rosette blushed, making her already red cheeks twice as red. "Why thank you. Yes, I'm going to meet up with my fiancé, Robert. I want to make a good impression"

"Well, I reckon he'll be falling' for you in like seconds"

"Now, now. No need to flatter an old woman like me"

"Merlin, you shouldn't flirt with elder women, that's gross"

I shifted my eyes and noticed Arthur leaning against the wall with an empty plate with only crumbs visible. He took a glance at me and then back to his plate, rolling his eyes in the progess.

"If your that hungry, ask Rosette to make you something," he stated, walking up to me and placed the plate on the table gently, "Call me when you're done, I need to show you around town. By the way, it was father's idea, so don't go thinking weird things"

"Yeah, yeah. Whatever you say"

I felt bubbling anger and frustration rise in my veins. The last sentence was completely unneeded and not to mention insensitive! I watched Rosette place my plate of peanut butter and jam on toast in front of me, along with a mug of warm coffee coming right afterwards.

"Thank you"

"You're welcome"

As I scoffed down my breakfast along with my raging anger, my mother rose an eyebrow and looked at me funny. I tried to ignore the stare but failed miserable. Lifting my head hesitantly, I knew what she was gonna ask.

"What's wrong?"

I knew it. She sensed it like she always does. Ever since I was little my mother's intuition was strong and was never fooled by my reassuring smiles that masked my hurt and pain. Even now, I never thought of it as annoying, I was simply happy that I could tell someone my true feelings, and my mother was a good example.

"I-It's Arthur..." I admitted quietly, dropping my head, "We don't seem to get along"

"Arthur? When we first arrived here you two seemed like a newly wedded couple. Not saying that you two are one that is"

"Can we not talk about this right now... Just in case he might barge in"

"I understand, but don't think you can run away from me about this as I am the type of mother who will track you down until you tell me your problems"

I laughed, "Yes momma"

She smiled gently and ruffled my hair like I was a 6 year old. "Momma! I'm 15 already!" I told her, laughing at the same time.

"Awww... You children grow up so quickly..." Hunith pouted, pulling her hand out of my hair, "Now, didn't Arthur say he was going to show you around town?"

I was about to take a sip of my coffee but my mother's words nearly made me drop the mug. I nearly forgot about Arthur's offer to show me around. I stood up, placed the mug on the table and went upstairs towards Arthur's room.

I knocked on the door, then waited for Arthur to reply in a whining voice, but there was no reply.

"Arthur?" I shouted from the other side, "Are you in there?"

Arthur's muffled voice faded in, "Are you ready? Cause if I come out and find you not ready I'm gonna kill you"

"Jeez, thanks for the reassuring words," I mumbled sarcastically, watching as the door open slowly.

Arthur was in a loose white Polo shirt and a long pair of blue jeans. His hair was messy and was sticking out in all directions and his eyes seemed tired. I looked down at myself; I was in a simple violet shirt with the words Join the World in full print on the front of my shirt and black skinny jeans that wrapped it around my legs firmly. My hair was combed forward, which made me look a bit like an Emo.

"Are you seriously going out like that?" I asked in disbelief.

"I can't be bothered to change alright. I was takin' a nap while you were having your breakfast," he replied in boredom and pushed past me, "You comin' or not?"

I shrugged and followed Arthur outside.

As we strolled down through the town, Arthur pointed to all the monuments that was considered 'important' or historical. For example, the tall brick church that stood in the middle of a large oval full of lush grass and flowers, they call the church Saint Margaret Catholic Church, and was a popular place to visit for prayers.

"You seem to be enjoying yourself," I said, staring at the large castle that was in front of us, "Are we allowed entering the castle?"

"No. The only people allowed inside are my father and the church leaders," Arthur replied, "They say anyone besides them will be cursed by the long lost magic"

"Magic? I thought magic wasn't real" I faced him with an expression of shock.

"Yeah, there use to be a powerful sorcerer that lived here, under the King's orders"

I returned my gaze to the castle. We lived on the very top of the forest, where we could see the our magnificent surroundings. Healthy green pine trees covered the ground around us, all the way towards the snowy mountains, the castle (Camelot Castle) stood in the centre, also on a large hill and meadows were dotted in certain areas. You could hardly see the ground to be honest.

"The view is amazing"

"I gotta say, I agree with you"

I smiled inwardly and suddenly sneezed.

"Whoa, you alright there? You must be cold, being in such a high place"

Arthur's soft concerned words almost warmed me up, but unfortunately a chilly wind just had to blow across my face, making me clatter my teeth. So, I responded his question by a simple nod on the head.

"You want a coffee? I noticed you didn't finish yours before," he offered generously, standing up ready to go.

"T-Thanks"

"No problem"

As I watched Arthur go do his heroic deed, I wondered what it was like if we lived inside Camelot castle, maybe it would be cold like right now. Staring out into the horizon, my eyes travelled with two sparrows that were twisting and turning in the air, riding the wind. I wished I was a bird.

Hot steam patted my cheek; I looked up and saw Arthur's panting face. I thanked him for getting the coffee for me and took a small glance at him as he sat down and popped some small yellow candy into his mouth.

I sensed his boredom and tension, as he continuously popped more candy into his mouth. I took a small sip of the coffee. Bittersweet. Kinda reminds me of Arthur. I glanced at him again, until he responded and pulled out his hand and gave me some yellow candy.

It was sour. Very sour. The taste in my mouth nearly made me cry.

Arthur just laughed, pulled me down next to him and drank some of my coffee without my permission. I glared at him, then I realized... An indirect kiss...

As if he read my mind, he quickly stood up and left and didn't even wait for me to catch up. So, I trudged back home feeling depressed and lonely, like I always would when he leaves me behind.

Arthur is the bittersweet coffee against my tastebuds and the sour candy that makes me cry...