Alexandra's point of view
I woke to find my hands tied above my head, stringing me to a fellow tree. I blinked the odd sedative from my eyes and looked over at Mary, who was in the same position. "Mary?" I whispered, and she turned bloodshot eyes to me. I felt horrible, looking at her tear stained face. It was my fault.
"Oh, Alex! You're awake. I thought you were never going to—," Mary was cut off by a deep, gravely voice.
"Well, well, well. Sleeping Beauty's finally awake." The words sounded slurred making it obvious the man had been drinking. My eyes flicked over to him and then behind him to the other men, who sat around a camp fire.
I lifted my chin in a look of defiance, and tried to ignore the fact that all the blood had rushed from my arms, making it nearly impossible to move them. The men at the fire all broke out in laughter. I glanced up at the sky to see the sun rising in the distance.
"Release us, or else." I spoke confidently, feeling the tree spark as I reached out to it with my magic. It was willing to loose a limb for me. I looked over at Mary, who looked as white as a sheet, her eyes wide with fear. Would she hate me when she found out I had magic? Would she fear me? I turned back to our kidnapper.
"Or else what? The Prince is going to come save you?" The man laughed, and I tried to keep my calm demeanor, but that was exactly what I was hoping for. Right now, I'd give anything to be wrapped up in his arms. And that was a horrible realization. "Did you think we missed that you were riding the Prince's horses? You aren't the Lady Morgana, but I'd bet you're some kind of Lady, though you aren't dressed as one. You must at least be the Prince's lady." The men around the camp fire laughed before passing around another bottle of whiskey.
"If you do not release us, I will cut you down where you stand." All the men laughed at me, and I sighed. I tried to remember what Merlin had taught me, and I focused on the rope, trying to remember the words that would snap it in two.
"We're not letting you go anywhere… We haven't had our fun yet… If the Prince is getting some of this, then so am I." The man laughed and advanced on me, his arms going out as if he planned on embracing me, but I knew what that glint in his eye was.
I gripped the rope and pulled my feet off the ground, kicking the advancing bandit square in the chest. He fell back onto the ground. "Why you little…" He jumped to his feet, his friends laughing at him, and he came at me again.
I kicked him, this time in the face, and he fell back. "Tie her feet down! Get over here!" Another man came at me from the side, and tied my feet together, holding them down with a rock. The one I'd knocked down came walking up to me, his nose bleeding.
He pulled his hand back and slapped me across the face. The force of it surprised me and I fought back the tears that threatened to fill my eyes. "Don't you ever lay your hand on me again." My voice was quivering with rage. A fierce wind blew around us, and the tree Mary and I were tied to started to shake. I needed to pull myself together before my magic exposed me.
"You don't seem to understand. I'm the boss of you. I'm in charge and what I say goes." He sneered, and rested his hands on my hips. I spit in his face. He started to shake with rage. "You little bitch! You're going to pay for that." He pulled his hand back again and smacked me across the face.
Arthur's point of view
We waited just outside the tree line, and I signaled my men to surround the camp. A few more of my Knights followed after us, and we had about a group of ten. We outnumbered our enemies about two to one.
"You don't seem to understand…" The bandit's voice filtered over to us as he approached Alexandra. Her feet were weighted down with a rock, and while her friend looked frightened, she looked angry. He rested his hands on her hips, and I almost shot forward. Leon put his hand on my shoulder, holding me in place until we were ready to attack.
Suddenly the man stumbled back away from her, wiping something off his face. She must've spit on him. I couldn't help but feel proud.
"That's my girl, Alex." Merlin whispered, obviously feeling the same way.
"You little bitch!" The bandit roared. "You're going to pay for that!" He pulled his hand back and slapped her on the face. I didn't care if we were ready then or not. I shot up and forward, crying out. The rest of my Knights charged as well, but I kept my rage filled gaze locked on the man who dared to touch my Alexandra.
… Wait a second… My?
Alexandra's point of view
Before the sting had even left my face, I heard the most beautiful sound in the world. Arthur let out a powerful war cry, to which his Knights responded as they charged the bandit's camp. I could distinguish Merlin's cry too, for it made me almost laugh.
I moved back quickly as Arthur rushed the man who'd hit me and knocked him to the ground. He fell on top the man, fighting instead with his fists, his sword falling to the ground beside him. I used the distraction to snap the rope holding my hands above my head.
My arms fell to my sides, aching and almost numb. I moved to free my feet when a man hit me from the side and sent me sprawling into the dirt. I turned quickly but he pinned me to the ground. My arms weren't strong enough to fend him off, and just as panic set in and the earth moved to defend me, a blade drove through the man's chest.
Blood poured out onto me as the body was shoved off me. Arthur stood over me, his face covered in dirt and sweat. He dropped to his knees and broke the rope that tied my feet together. He reached his arm around my waist and pulled me up and against him.
"Are you alright?" He panted out. I nodded, my hand going up automatically to the cut on his forehead.
"I'm fine, but this should be cleaned." He reached up and pulled my hand away from his face, interlacing our fingers.
"Mer—," Arthur cut off, looking up as he shouted for Merlin. His gaze stuck on something, and I followed it to find Merlin cradling Mary in his hands. He was gently wiping away her tears and brushing the hair out of her eyes. She was fine, relatively speaking. But she was shaking as she cried into Merlin's shoulder. My heart broke at the sight.
"It's all my fault… I never should've brought her along." I whispered, looking down at Arthur's hand around mine.
"You never should have come at all. What were you thinking, Alex?" It was the first time I'd heard him use my nickname, and I looked up at him. He looked angry.
I didn't say anything, but he stepped away from me and let go of my hand. "Leon!" He instructed. "Get my horses. We're heading back to the camp." I looked away from him as he passed by me, and noticed all the dead bodies strewn about.
I should've come on my own. If Mary hadn't been here, I could've used my magic and spared all these lives. At least none of the Knights were dead. My eyes caught on Leon then as he got the horses I'd borrowed.
I walked up to him and grabbed the stallion's reins. "Are you alright?" I asked him, noticing his bleeding arm. He tossed me a smile, moving his strawberry blonde hair out of his eyes.
"Shouldn't I be asking you that question? I'm fine. It's just a scratch. How's your face?" I laughed at the absurdity of it.
"It's fine. I'm fine. I just feel a little stupid." My eyes flickered back up to Arthur, who was standing atop the hill, looking down at us and waiting. Sir Leon followed my gaze.
"Yeah, he has a way of doing that." I looked over at the knight and he smiled. "Don't worry; he cares for you. He won't stay mad long." I made a face.
"He doesn't care for me. I have no idea where you got that idea." Leon laughed.
"You two are so oblivious. The tension around the two of you is magnetic. The love you obvi—," I cut him off.
"I don't love him." I blushed profusely when he raised an eyebrow. Even I wasn't convinced of my lie. I didn't think I truly loved Arthur, but I hadn't been able to stop thinking about him. And I could barely get the idea of us having a child out of my mind. It seemed so…right. And I wanted it. I had never thought about children before. But now I… I wanted it. To be with him. If only he weren't a Prince. Then we could actually be together.
"It'll get better." Leon clapped me on the back, and I shook my head at him. When we tied the horses up, I tended to Leon's wounds and a few of the other Knights as well.
I walked up to Arthur, who'd been watching me take care of the wounded, and raised the damp cloth. "May I?" I gestured to his cut brow. He responded by sitting on a near by log.
I wiped the sweat and dirt from his forehead gently, brushing his hair off his face. I hooked my finger under his chin and tilted his face up. The proximity was overwhelming, and I tried in vain to keep my heart rate in check.
"Thank you." I said at last, the words feeling weighted.
"What were you thinking?" His voice sounded tired. I sighed and wrung the cloth out before dipping it back in the water.
"I heard about the unicorn you murdered." I said as a starting explanation. His eyebrows furrowed.
"That was an accident—and I wouldn't call it murder." I made a face and made eye contact with him for the first time.
"It was murder. You shouldn't go around killing innocent creatures like that. I understand the circle of life and that we need meat, but just because it's said to be magical doesn't mean its evil." I pulled the cloth away from his face and stepped back.
"This monster as killed at least three people." He retorted. I put my hands on my hips.
"And you've killed more—that doesn't make you evil." He stood up, getting really angry now. I noticed we were gaining an audience as Leon, Merlin, and Mary all looked over at us.
"I've only ever killed men in defense."
"And that's all this creature is doing! It's defending itself! It can't speak and tell people to leave it alone, and it doesn't understand us to know we aren't a threat!"
"It's a blood thirsty beast—and worse yet, it's magical." I tried not to take offense. He didn't know I had magic, and I was starting to see that if he did, he'd kill me.
"I'll believe that when I see it." I turned away from him and stomped off into the woods. He called after me, and so did Leon. Merlin was the one who came trotting up after me.
"Now you see why I haven't told him." I didn't respond and Merlin sighed. "It's not his fault, really. It was the way he was raised. He doesn't know that magic has the potential to be good."
"Merlin, I can't do this." I stopped walking, looking back to see the faint glow of the fire through the trees. "I can't be around him. It's uncomfortable. All I can see and feel is—," I sighed. "I need to be alone. You know I'll be fine. This is my element, after all."
"I'll look after Mary. She was really scared… I guess that man was planning on doing… ungentlemanlike things to you?" I nodded and Merlin's hands balled into fists. I was touched by his anger.
"Tell her I'm sorry." I turned away from him and he agreed to say so. I looked up to the night sky and the stars that shone through the tree tops. A slight breeze kicked up, and I followed where the wind blew, away from the camp.
I was going to find this 'beast' and save it. It couldn't understand them, but it could understand me.
Author's note Sorry it took so long to post! I've been writing, but I haven't been uploading. I'm not sure if I like the direction this is going. Please tell me what you think, and I might just decide to throw a big change into the story to pick it up a bit. Thanks for reading!