A/N: Next chapter, as promised! I now have 129 people following this, and that's awesome, so thanks! Enjoy the chapter!

Chapter 10: The Court Convened

The court was convened quickly, and Valiant was escorted in by three guards. Merlynn stood by her father, next to the dais where Uther and Arthur stood. She was determined to keep her mouth shut and to let Arthur handle this. Her father's grip on her arms was enough to make sure of that.

Arthur seemed confident while he accused Valiant, even when Merlynn's hands were shaking. If Uther didn't believe there was sufficient evidence…

"Do you have proof?" Uther asked of his son.

Arthur handed over the snakehead and let Uther examine it. But then Uther looked at the shield, and for all intents and purposes, it seemed like a regular shield. Gaius came in through a servant's entrance and walked over to Merlynn.

While Arthur was explaining about Ewan, he told her that the knight in question had died.

"He should be here," Arthur said, and looked in their direction.

There was no way around it now. Merlynn stepped forward and bowed to the King. "Sire, I regret to inform you that Sir Ewan died of his injuries a little while ago."

Uther glared, but not at Merlynn. His gaze was trained on his son. "So you have no proof to support your accusation."

How could the King look his own son in the eye and embarrass him in front of the court like that? In front of his guests? Anger surged to the surface and before she knew what she was doing, Merlynn had drawn the King's attention back to her. "No proof but my word."

The hall was silent, and she knew her father was fuming behind her.

Valiant scoffed. "With all due respect, the princess is just a girl, what does she know of weaponry? Perhaps it was a trick of the light, and she was mistaken?"

Why, that filthy, little–

"How was that in any way with due respect?" she snapped. "Sir Valiant," she added, emphasizing the knight's lower rank.

He bowed. "I meant no harm, my lady."

"Be that as it may, Valiant has a point," Uther said, glaring at the raven-haired princess.

Her father was about to insert himself in the conversation, Merlynn saw from the corner of her eye, but she motioned for him to stay out of it. "In Galdara women are allowed to learn how to fight, for those without swords may still die upon them." She felt bolstered by that old saying from her country. If the women of the old legends could fend off dire wolves with simple blades, than she could stand her ground in the court of King Uther. "I saw the snakes come out of the shield myself."

There was something else in Uther's eyes now, something calculated. "Your own laws state that if a visiting dignitary offers a complaint you are required to investigate the matter to my satisfaction," she continued. "And I do believe the rules of the tournament include that any participant under investigation of the use of magic is to be disqualified."

Morgana was struggling to hide a grin and Gwen was looking on with raised eyebrows. But it was the King's reaction that mattered. Uther regarded her thoughtfully, but obviously Valiant wasn't that smart. "If Arthur needs a girl to defend him, perhaps he is just frightened. If he doesn't want to compete in the final, I'll gladly accept his surrender."

The pompous bastard didn't even realize how misplaced his arrogance was. Uther held up his hand to indicate silence. "My lord, if I may," Merlynn interrupted.

"What?" His reply was a little more rude than was proper, but she supposed that was understandable in the circumstances.

"If you do not want to cancel the tournament, let Valiant compete with a different shield. That should determine the winner of the fight easily enough. Afterwards you can have the shield examined by whomever you please and the matter can be put to rest."

Her heart was beating in her throat. What if Uther refused? He didn't have to listen to her, he didn't even have to abide by the laws, since they stated that he must investigate if a male dignitary complains. She left that out, hoping Uther wasn't that familiar with that old law.

"Very well," he said, and it was as if the entire hall let out a breath they'd been collectively holding. "The final will proceed as planned tomorrow. Valiant, you shall choose a different shield from our armoury. A guard will be stationed at your door and will escort you to the arena come morning. The court is dismissed."

/*/

Before the fight the next morning, Merlynn stopped by Arthur's room. His door was wide open and Morris was helping Arthur into his armour. It was almost like the first day of the tournament, except that teasing wasn't on Merlynn's mind. As she walked in, Morris bowed and left without a word. She'd have to thank him for his discretion later.

Arthur was facing the window, and thus didn't see her. He did notice when she tightened the cords. "Let me help," she whispered, putting her hands on his shoulders to keep him from moving.

Even without the shield, Valiant was a formidable opponent, and Arthur would have to work hard to defeat him. "Valiant was injured in one of his first fights. He favours his left leg ever so slightly, and his guard is less strong on an upward swipe, that's how Ewan got him," she said in a low voice, keeping her eyes on his armour.

"Is that concern I hear?" he asked. His words were mocking, but his tone was soft. Much softer than she'd ever heard before.

"Caution," she corrected. She had nothing left to do, but she was unwilling to step away just yet, so she busied herself with checking the fastenings again.

"Sprinkled with concern," Arthur tried again.

"You flatter yourself." She stood in front of him now, facing his chest plate. She didn't want to look at him, because then she might actually have to admit that she was concerned. It was her destiny to protect him, after all, it wouldn't do if he died on her watch.

"I'll see you at the feast," Arthur said, stepped away and left.

"Arthur!" she called out before he could leave. "I… be careful."

Arthur nodded, and turned back around. Merlynn could have hit herself over the head. What, by the goddess, was she doing? She shook her head and left the room, trying to lose the foreboding feeling she had.

/*/

Merlynn never let go of Morgana's had during the fight. Not that she could have even if she wanted to, the other noblewoman had quite a grip.

Arthur and Valiant fought aggressively, each trying to take the upper hand. A swipe from Valiant nearly slashed open Arthur's abdomen, but he jumped backwards just in time. They went back and forth like that for a while, until Valiant managed to stamp on Arthur's foot and knock him on the chin with his shield. Arthur flew backwards, and landed on his back, winded. Valiant wasted no time and strode over, intent on stabbing his opponent in the chest, but Arthur let go of his shield and rolled out of the way. He'd lost his helmet, and now he had no shield.

Almost to mock him, Valiant took off his helmet as well. Merlynn held on to Morgana with a vice grip, and vice versa. They were both worried.

The fight continued, even though Arthur was now at a disadvantage. He used his speed and agility to compensate, and managed to get some good hits in. Eventually, he saw his opening and disarmed Valiant, who now had to defend himself with his shield alone. Arthur finally took charge of the battle.

He slammed his sword into Valiant's shield, who was forced to back up with every step. A quick turn of his blade wrenched the shield from the other knight's hand, and then he levelled it against the other man's throat… it was over. Arthur had won the fight.

The audience burst into applause and cheers for their new champion. Arthur was obviously winded, and Merlynn had a feeling his shield arm was heavily bruised underneath his tunic, but he still raised his sword to accept the people's acclaim.

All Merlynn could do was let out a relieved sigh and sink down in her chair. She'd been on edge during the whole last fight, but now she would finally relax.

Valiant was escorted out of the arena by two guards, glaring hatefully at… her. She smirked. He'd lost. And even if his use of magic was never proven, he was humiliated, and no one would trust him now.

When all ceremonial engagements were over – Arthur getting crowned, and receiving the prize money – Merlynn hurried to get back to her chambers. She longed for a hot bath before the festivities began that night.

She was so distracted by those thoughts that she was caught completely by surprise when an arm went around her waist and a hand clamped over her mouth. She kicked out, but hit only air, her fingers clawed at the face that was behind her, but she couldn't be sure if she'd hurt him. Her assailant dragged her into one of the unused guest chambers. Merlynn tried to scream, but the man's hand was still firmly placed over her mouth, and panic was threatening to overcome her.

"Not so smug now, are you, you little bitch." She knew that voice. Valiant.

Fear clawed its way up her throat and threatened to smother her. Valiant hated her. He would not hesitate to kill her, most likely in the most painful way he could imagine.

In sheer desperation, Merlynn bit his hand until she could taste blood. "You filthy–" he started to say, but she didn't let him finish. The second his hand was no longer covering her mouth, she screamed, louder than she'd ever screamed before.

Valiant let her go, but slapped her in the face to shut her up. It was effective in its crudeness. Merlynn was on the ground, but now her panic was receding, replaced by anger. She was about to let her magic loose, to let him feel what it was to be faced with a terrible force like that – but then the door burst open.

Arthur, followed by two guards rushed in, swords drawn. He immediately levelled his blade at Valiant, who wisely backed up slowly. He was bleeding; three parallel scratches ran down his left cheek. Good. She hoped it would scar. She hoped she'd left a permanent reminder that he hadn't beaten her.

Arthur looked livid. "Valiant, you are under arrest for the assault of Princess Merlynn. Guards, take him to the throne room and alert the King. We'll deal with this right away.

As the guards grabbed hold of Valiant, he glared at her. "I'll get you for this, you whore! You'll die at my hand, I promise you that!" A shiver ran down her spine as she watched him being dragged off. There was no magic in his words, but the oath shook her nonetheless.

"Merlynn," Arthur said gently, crouching down beside her. "Are you alright, did he hurt you?" he asked, examining her face. She hoped it didn't look as bad as it felt right now.

She looked up at him. He looked so concerned, so kind. So very different from what she was used to from him. "I'm alright," she managed to say as he helped her up. "My jaw's going to take a little while to heal, but nothing serious."

"I know you probably want to return to your rooms, but Valiant needs to be tried as soon as possible. Do you think you could stand in court and tell my father what he did?" he asked, not unkindly.

Merlynn studied his face for a moment. "He's not going to get executed is he?" It was more a statement than a question, but it needed to be said out loud anyway.

Arthur pressed his lips in a thin line. "Probably not."

"If he was anyone else, there'd be no question."

"Most likely." Arthur clearly wasn't happy about this either.

Merlynn studied her hands. There was blood under her fingernails from where she'd scratched Valiant. The sight sickened her. "I'll talk to the court," she whispered eventually. Her cheek was throbbing in time with her heartbeat, and starting to feel uncomfortably warm. She was definitely going to bruise.

Arthur nodded and opened the door, gesturing for her to follow. On the way to the throne room, Merlynn couldn't help but glance at every door they passed, jump at every servant who scurried by. She hated feeling this way, she hadn't even gotten that badly hurt!

Luckily, Arthur stayed by her side, quietly walking with her, and for once not teasing her about being jumpy. Whenever she glanced at his face, his eyes looked stormy, and his thoughts far away, but then she'd almost stumble, or jump just a little too high, and his hand was on her arm, guiding her, letting her know he was there. Perhaps Arthur wasn't that big of a prat after all.

A/N: I have to say, I loved writing Arthur and Merlynn's interaction in this chapter.

I know it seems like this chapter finishes off the story arch, and it does, mostly. There are still a couple of unfinished things that need sorting out, which you'll find out in the next chapter, which will be posted Tuesday.

I have to admit, though, I'm a bit stuck on episode 3, because I've never really liked that one, and I don't want to go too canon on this. Any suggestions are welcome.

Next chapter: Merlynn has some strange conversations, and a decision is made.