Arthur shut his book and looked back at the pile next to him, "Two down, 48 to go…" He sighed. It was in the middle of the day and he had been asking Merlin millions of questions about the history he had been reading. As tiring as it was, his questions were answered and it encouraged him to read some more.

It was entertaining to watch merlin teach Maree how to use certain spells to heal, to attack and elemental spells. Maree even took Merlin back to her place, coming back with the books she found and a little chest that contained certain rocks and crystals. She seemed to be quite fond of them, but they're just rocks.

But Merlin was interested in them too, especially the ones that she collected when she grew up in Australia. Merlin asked if she had any from Ayers Rock in Uluru from Northern Territory but she didn't because whenever people did take rocks, they became cursed with bad luck.

"Good thing that you didn't take anything then"

"Yeah, I went to an agricultural centre nearby and there was a pile of rocks next to a stand of letters. Those letters were from people that took a rock from the place and told about the bad luck that they received and they sent them back. So those pile of rocks showed the amount of people that stole rocks from the place, it freaked me out so I told myself to not bring any souvenirs back home because I will get cursed"

"It is a very spiritual place. Also a place of magic"

"Yes, that reminds me, I always feel something when I go to those spiritual places such as Uluru"

"Yes, it's magic. It gives you a warm feeling in your chest doesn't it?"

"Yes it does"

"Did you ever study modern magic?"

"Modern magic? It's boring, all in English and it takes more than little words. It takes candles, talismans and drawn circles. The magic of the old religion is a lot more interesting"

Merlin laughed, "Yeah"

Arthur let out a very bored sigh, "Can we get to training already?"

Merlin turned to him, "Want to take a break from all that reading Arthur?"

Arthur nodded, "Ready my armor will you please? And have my sword sharpened too"

Before Merlin could leave the chambers, Arthur stopped him, "Hold on, grab two sets Merlin. One for Maree, find the best to fit her, if you can't find one, make one later after practice"

"For Maree?" Merlin thought he was joking, but hoping that at the same time he can actually evade being Arthur's practicing dummy this time.

"Yes, we had a deal"

"Ok" Merlin heads off to get some armor.

"Follow me" Arthur gets up and takes Maree to the training grounds where they meet Merlin with their swords armor and chainmail. Merlin swiftly put their armor on, and once Maree put on her helmet, she had to tie her hair back lower because it was irritating the way it was tied up higher.

"How can you possibly see through this?" She asked once she adjusted her helmet and put on her chainmail.

"That's the first question I asked myself" Merlin mumbled to himself.

"You get used it, your eyes adjust and then you don't even see the helmet at all" Arthur said, putting on his own armor.

"Oh yeah, I can see now"

Once they fitted themselves up they grabbed a sword, "Gee, this is light….I thought that it would be heavy"

"It depends on what sword you choose, they are all different"

"I thought so, I was trained to use a bow, and they're made of bamboo, not metal"

"Good luck" Merlin whispered to her, "He's really good"

Maree smiled at him as she was also given a shield and there was twice the weight on her. She adjusted the weight to her body and got ready.

"No magic allowed in this dual?" Maree asked.

"No" Arthur agreed. "It would be cheating"

"Good point"

Then Merlin called for the match to start, and they went head on with each other.

With the shield on Maree's left side, she used it to block Arthur's attacks whilst her right side would attack for an open spot meanwhile her sword would clash against Arthur's.

She knew that Arthur was bigger and broader than her, and heavier so she used her speed and agility to push him back and hopefully he would be trapped into a circle of attacks.

Arthur noticed that she hid her body well with that shield, not only her eyes were fixed on his own, but also on his body. So he had to get to her blind spot somewhere but her eyes were better than his to be able to see his body without even having to look at it. He waited for her stamina to run out but it didn't, no matter how hard she breathed, she kept going and he had to do something, one of his tricks to make an open blow before he runs out of breath. So he moved forward, his sword pushing her shield away from her body and his shield slams into her stomach, using his entire weight on her to make the blow.

Maree chuckled as she fell to the ground, "Smart Arthur, I knew you would have to use your weight, you're bigger than me. It's an advantage you have"

"That never came to mind, you're smart"

"So her weakness must be something to do with weight….but where? She's fast but is there a weakness in that? Hold on…..she has good footing but she doesn't use her wrists as much" Arthur thought.

Maree smiled as she was enjoying it as Arthur was and they clash again, but this time Arthur puts more strength and weight on his sword and slams against her sword making a loud clang. Her sword dropped out of her hand almost immediately and she dropped to the ground with Arthur's sword pointing at her, winning the duel.

Merlin clapped at Arthur's win, "You really haven't lost your skill Arthur. But she was very good"

"She was" Arthur relaxed and took off his helmet before lending a hand to Maree.

"Arthur, I can't feel my wrist…." She almost whined at the pain. Merlin rushed over to her, taking her helmet off and then inspects her wrist, carefully taking the gloves off and takes a look.

"You can't feel this?" He holds her wrist and Maree shook her head. "No"

"You okay?" Arthur asked, squatting down to her.

"My wrists have always been my weak point, I fell over bad when I was very young so they are always sprained"

"That explains the leather gloves that you wear all the time, they support your wrists" Merlin figured.

"Yes, they help put off some weight so when I carry something heavy, they don't affect my wrists as much"

"Here" Merlin holds her wrist with both hands "Þurhhæle dolgbenn" He said and Maree flinched a bit, her fingers starting to move a little bit.

"I can feel it again…." Maree gasped. "Don't move it too much, leave it to rest" Merlin advised her, "I'll get that armor off for you"

Maree got up and used her left hand, also with Merlin's help, they got off the armor and chainmail. "That was a good duel Maree, you are strong with your stamina, speed and agility, though you don't have strength, you do have a brain"

"Thanks Arthur, it was fun. I'd be honored to dual you again sometime" She gives Arthur a handshake with her left hand. "I'll train with you anytime"

As Merlin takes her back to Gaius chambers, Arthur continued on with his training.

"Well, at least that he didn't get beat by another girl" Merlin chuckled. "For a moment there, I thought he was going to get beaten"

"He was beaten by another girl before?" Maree was surprised.

"Yes, by someone named Morgause. He was humiliated! It's quite funny when you think about it" He gets some ice and puts it on Maree's wrist. She winced but then sighed of relief a little bit.

"Does your other wrist get strained too?" Merlin asked, taking his attention to the other wrist and Maree nodded. "I would stretch or massage them whenever they hurt"

"I can see that" He feels her other wrist, "There are a lot of bones in human wrists, and they can get damaged easily. You see, they are a bit out of place, no wonder why they are sore" Merlin starts massaging her left wrist and Maree yells in pain as she feels something click. "Ow! That hurts!"

"Just ease along with it, It'll feel better after"

After some torture in her left wrist, Merlin finally stopped and let her rest and go and make some lunch before Arthur comes back when he finishes training with an empty stomach. And he did, he saw Maree resting and looked around.
"Where's Merlin?" He asked.

"He's at the kitchen"

"Great, I almost thought he was at the tavern"

"If you think he's at the tavern, he isn't"

"Huh? How did you know that?"

"Because he told me so before he left, he is anywhere but the tavern. Besides, we don't have taverns in this century, we have café's where you eat coffee and cake. No ale"

"That sounds posh"

"Well, I'll just wait for him then" Arthur removes his armor on the spot. "What about mead? Do you still have mead?"

Maree furrowed her brows in confusion, "What is that?"

"I'll take that as a no"

Then Merlin came into the room with huge plates full of food. Sandwiches one plate and some fruit on another. A good choice of healthy food after training.

"Arthur! You're back! I bought lunch" He smiled at the sight of his friend, after setting down the plates of food, he sits next to him before they all start eating.

"Where did you get all the fruit Merlin?"

"Oh, I had made a garden long ago at the back of Camelot. There is plenty of freshly grown fruit and vegetables there"

"Explains the fresh taste it has" Arthur appreciated the sweet soothing taste the fruit have, they satisfied the Kings taste buds while Maree used magic to feed herself.

"Still sore?" Arthur asked and she nodded, "They are both sore, thanks to Merlin's massage earlier but they are starting to feel better. Best to leave them rest"

"I will remember your wrists the next time we train" Arthur said.

"I'll get some water" Merlin goes out.

Arthur and Maree then looked at each other in glee and decided to eat the rest of the food before Merlin came back, and when he did he looked at the empty plates in disbelief. "You ate everything!"

"Oh sorry Merlin, you wanted some too?"

Merlin sighed, "Yes…."

"Oh we didn't forget you too" Maree chuckled and raised a plate of food from under the table and Merlin laughed, looking at Arthur. "You got her plotting against me! You really haven't changed"

"You haven't changed either Merlin"