Here's the next chapter, enjoy!
:] Hope you like it.
Chapter Twelve: An Intricate, Well Planned Lie
"Does anyone else feel as if we have betrayed the crown?" Sir Alier wiped blood from his sword under the cover of night.
"We did what the Prince told us to." Sir Caveron defended Vaughn with a quick tongue. "Get some rest, we'll be entering Camelot tomorrow at dawn to meet with the Lady Claudia." Caveron threw the hand written letter from the King into the crackling flames, watching as it curled into a ball and finally disappeared. Tomorrow was going to be a long day.
According to Vaughn's later instructions, Caveron would have to wait in the out skirts of the lower town while Lady Claudia tricked her elder sister into walking right into their ambush. The knights would then bring Sophia back to an undisclosed village where they would meet with the Prince, making sure to leave Claudia behind so as to not bring suspicion on her.
Vaughn's most trusted knight sank down to the earth, positioning himself with his back leaning up against the trunk of a large tree. There Caveron sat in silence, with Sir Alier's words gnawing at the back of his mind. If he brought Sophia to the Prince she would surely be killed, however, he could not return empty handed.
"Come for a walk with me." Claudia linked her arm with Sophia's.
"I don't really feel up for it." Sophia muttered, shrugging out of her sister's loose grip.
Claudia sighed and placed her hands on her hips defiantly. "You can't possibly mope any longer. What else is there for you to do? Gwen and Morgana are off to visit her father's resting place and Arthur is hunting with Merlin. When was the last time we spent some time together?"
"Is this some kind of trick?" Sophia joked, half serious.
"Have I ever steered you wrong before?" Claudia persisted, linking her arm once more, half dragging Sophia down the stone steps. Vaughn couldn't have picked a better time to send her a letter outlining their next plan of action. Prince Arthur and his meddling servant were out and about along with Gwen, leaving no one who would notice their absence for some time.
Sophia laughed loudly. "Well, there was that one time when we were little. You convinced me that we should runaway and go on a adventure like the knights. We didn't even get outside the castle, they kept a watchful eye on us for years after that." Sophia sighed at the pleasant memory, when things were easier.
"I do believe that was your idea." Claudia smiled faintly. "However, I will take the credit for it."
"We did have quite the amount of fun in our younger days." Sophia mused, elevated the bottom of the dress to keep it from dragging in the dirt.
It's as if she is trying to make me feel bad; Claudia groaned to herself. "Have you heard from Vaughn yet. It's not like him to not write. He always has so much to say."
Sophia shook her head. It didn't surprise her that she hadn't received a letter from him, they hadn't left each other on the best of terms. "Honestly, things of that matter couldn't be farther from my mind since we arrived in Camelot."
"Not enough room in that head of yours for Mercia and Arthur?" Claudia hinted in slight disgust. Of course Sophia would capture the Prince's attention, she did tend to get everything she wanted while everyone else got the short end of the stick. That would end after today.
"Let's talk about something else, shall we?" Sophia suggested, not in the mood to talk about Arthur. She hadn't spoken more then a few words here and there since the incident in the woods.
"Fair enough." Claudia agreed quickly. Sophia slowed her pace to acknowledge the fact that they were moving outside the safety of Camelot. Claudia noticed the elder's hesitance easily. "Oh come on Sophia, there is a unique stone formation just outside we won't stray too far."
Sophia caved and continued forward at her former pace. "Very well."
"You're far too trusting sister." Claudia whispered under her breath. But once to the stone structure, a nasty ensemble waited patiently for the guests.
"That must have been our least successful hunt in some time." Arthur pouted. The hunting party left at dawn and arrived back at the castle just as the sun began to set yet, they returned home empty handed. Arthur was convinced that someone mus have been disturbing the peace in the woods, scattering the animals about.
"Try again tomorrow Sire." Merlin suggested as he picked up the Prince's discarding clothing that was flung about the room, piling it into a basket.
Arthur shook his head. "We've been hunting almost every single day this week, only able to get small game at best. No thank you, I shall pass for tomorrow." Arthur sank down on to the edge of his bed, preparing himself to retire for the night.
"Perhaps your mind has been preoccupied with other matters and you haven't been able to focus." Merlin hinted lightly, watching Arthur's reaction from the corner of his eye.
A soft knock echoed in the quiet room, immediately drawing all attention. Gwen's small form appeared in the stone door frame an unsettled look on her face caused a sense of anxiety to wash over the men. "Lady Sophia, no one has seen her since this morning, have you seen her or Lady Claudia?"
Merlin shared a quick look with Arthur. "I haven't."
"Nor have I." Arthur abruptly arose from his bed. Merlin got a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach that Sophia was in grave danger especially if Claudia was missing as well. Arthur hurried across the room, pushing past Merlin and his basket of laundry. "I need to meet with my father."
"You are not the knights of Mercia." Sophia spat, glaring down at Caveron who walked next to her while she rode atop a horse. "Yet you wear the crest. I know all of our knights, but I do not recognize any of you. I have not been away for very long."
"Your majesty, you have been gone long enough to be missed by your father." Caveron responded truthfully, he in fact missed her from the first day he was informed of her disappearance. "I think that contests as being gone long enough."
Sophia clenched her teeth together. "You know nothing of Bayard."
"Neither do you my lady." Alier chimed in, his words earned him a sharp glare from Caveron, signaling that he had either said too much or something wrong. But this didn't keep him from speaking once more. "Especially if you truly believed that the king would want you of all people dead."
"Hold your tongue." Caveron snapped. "Or you won't have it much longer."
Sophia looked to her left, where Claudia silently sat on the back of a horse she shared with a young knight, not saying one word since they were both taken against their will, or so Sophia thought. Claudia laughed darkly, meeting her sister's gaze. "He's right though. You were daft enough to believe everything Vaughn told you without question."
"What are you talking about?" Sophia demanded roughly.
"Father doesn't want to kill you." Claudia had a sinister glint in her green eyes. "On the contrary, he absolutely adores you, that was our problem. Instead of his first born son inheriting the throne; father was going to hand it down to you. Everyone in Mercia knew that but you."
Sophia was silent for a minute while everything processed. Everything she thought she knew was a complete and utter lie. An intricate, well planned lie. "So Merlin was right wasn't he? You tried to poison me, and now you're leading me to my death. Why?"
"You always get everything you want, and now, I'm going to get something I want for a change." Claudia selfishly announced. "With you out of the way my life will be so much better. Even more so after father is taken out of the picture. Mercia will be led into a new age under Vaughn, too bad you won't be alive long enough to witness it."
"It's possible that she just decided to return home." Uther responded coolly to Arthur's demand for a party to be assembled to go looking for Sophia. "After all, the guards did remember seeing Sophia leave the gates of Camelot with her sister."
"She wouldn't go back." Arthur groaned in protest, that didn't make sense in the slightest. "And even if they had left, they wouldn't have gone on foot."
Uther waved his son off. "Perhaps you're right. Maybe she is just off sulking somewhere, she had seemed a little withdrawn as of late. Maybe Sophia needed some time for herself. She will make her presence shown in due time. I wouldn't lose sleep over the issue my son."
Arthur's fists tightened at his sides but he didn't object, not verbally. Arthur nodded and reluctantly left the council chambers at a brisk pace, knowing that there was nothing he could say nor do to changed his father's mind.
"Just like that?" Merlin had been eavesdropping outside the chamber in conspicuously, overhearing the breif confrontation that ended in a negative response. "Not one knight to even search outside the lower town? And you're not going to do anything about it are you?" Merlin accused.
"Merlin," Arthur growled the name in annoyance. "Maybe my father is right, she'll come back."
"Sire." Merlin protested before revealing what he knew about Claudia. "I'm sure something has happened to her. I found a letter lady Claudia meant to send to her brother. She tried to poison Sophia, just like I tried to tell everyone."
Arthur's eyes flashed in anger. "How long have you known about this Merlin?"
Merlin shifted his gaze to the floor just outside Arthur's quarters, knowing that he should have told someone sooner even thought it would have put his own life in jeopardy. "Awhile." Merlin grumbled under his breath.
"And you never thought to tell anyone?" Arthur shouted, bursting into his room, eyes searching for a sack to begin filling.
"I was waiting for the right moment." Merlin covered, trying his best to stay out of Arthur's way as he rampaged around his room collecting necessities. "I suppose the right moment would have been a week or two ago. . . ."
"I'm holding you personally responsible for any harm that comes to her." Arthur furrowed his brows, unwilling to think about what could actually happen to Sophia. "Go get our horses, I'll meet you down at the stables."
I do hope that it wasn't confusing in any way.
Review? Questions? Comments? Concerns? Thanks for reading.
