A/N: Sorry this has taken so long, I've had it written for a while but just keep forget g to post it. Enjoy!
It had been rather early still when we had made our way out of the house we were staying in and over to the training ground. I had made breakfast, but Arthur was reluctant to eat it, because of how nervous he was, which I totally understood. He was worried about the whole thing, not just how William was going to handle being a knight, but leaving me on my own. I think that was the thing that was on his mind the most, judging by the way he was latched onto my hand and refusing to let go of it.
"Now, remember the plan." Arthur said, looking at the man pretending to be a knight in his place. "I'm competing in the tournament, but no one will know that it's me. All you have to do is acknowledge the crowd at the end of the match. Act like you belong there and people will believe that you do."
William silently nodded at him, before getting into his horse and joining the rest of the knights. Soon enough he was part of the procession that were heading out to where King Uther was waiting to welcome them all.
A sudden wave of nausea washed over me, and I lightly put my hand up to my mouth. "Oh, I'm going to be sick. I can't do this, Arthur, I'm sorry, just can't do it." My own nerves were starting to get the better of me now, and my stomach was doing summersaults. Maybe Arthur had the right idea by not eating breakfast, because I was really starting to regret that bowl of porridge that I had made myself.
The Prince stopped putting his armour on and gently placed both of his hands on my shoulders. "Isabella, everything is going to be fine. Just stay with Merlin, and stay where I can see you. If anything should happen, Gwen and Morgana will notice and alert my father. Isn't that what you planned, the reason why you told them both in the first place?" I wasn't exactly sure about the tone that he was using, I didn't know if he was still upset that I had told someone else our plan, or whether he was just trying to calm me by reminding me that I had made sure there was a backup plan.
"Doesn't stop me from feeling so nervous, Arthur. I just have this terrible feeling that something is going to happen, that something is going to go wrong at some point." I had to admit it to him, because it was really starting to bug me. There was a feeling in the pit of my stomach, tell me that things were not right, that something was coming, something bad. The only problem was, I had no idea what this something bad was. It could have been my uncle, it could have been another attack on Camelot, it could have been Merlin almost being caught with his magic, or me being caught.
"Nothing is going to go wrong, Isabella, I promise you. Everything is going to be perfectly fine, okay?" I nodded at him, not fully believe his words, but agreeing with him nonetheless. "Just stay calm, all right? If anything happens, Merlin will raise the alarm." Arthur was doing his utmost best to reassure me that all would be well, but that feeling just would not go away.
After that, he quickly finished with his armour, and I did help a little, since it was me that had caused the delay in him getting it all on. We had it all ready just in time, as the clapping came from outside in the arena and William walked into the tent. "They're ready for you, sire." He announced to Arthur, ready to swap places and let the Prince go out there and joust.
Before he left the tent, Arthur turned back to me. "Remember, do not stray from Merlin, and do not leave my sight." I nodded at him, even though I knew it was going to be impossible to stay in his line of sight the entire time. He had to concentrate on the joust, not on me.
"Good luck, Arthur. Not that you really need it, do you?" I told him, doing my best to smile at him. "I mean, you're Prince Arthur of Camelot, the realms mightiest warrior."
"Exactly, so you keep out of trouble." He told me, before turning to face Merlin. "Keep her out of trouble, and keep her safe." Merlin nodded at him, and we watched him walk away from the tent, his helmet on and covering up his face, making sure no one could see his true identity.
Once he was on his horse, he glanced over, making sure that I was still standing there by the tent, that he could still see me. With a piece of cloth tied around my head like a bandana, trying to make myself look more like a normal person than a royal, I stepped outside of the tent and closer to the arena. I had to walk slowly, not rush and draw attention to myself, and Merlin followed behind me.
The pair of us stood to the side with the rest of the crowd, but on the end so that Arthur could spot us easily. Even though he had his helmet on, I could still tell when Arthur was looking at me, which seemed to be rather a lot. I swear, my heart was in my throat when he started to charge at his opponent, and I wanted to close my eyes, but I forced them to stay open. I was glad that I did, as I watched him win the match.
After that, Arthur continued to win his matches. Over and over and over, he smashed the other knights. It was a rather impressive sight, I had to admit that, and I was sort of proud of him. I knew that he was doing his best, that he was giving it his all, even though he was constantly having to keep a check on me, he was doing pretty well.
Soon enough, we were all back in the tent, and Arthur strode in, passing the helmet over to William. "You must go and acknowledge the crowd." He told the farmer turned knight. Someone had to go out there and be the knight, to please the crowd.
But William wasn't certain on what he had to do, that was clear by the look on his face. "How do you do that?"
Arthur normally would have let out a sigh, but he didn't. "You wave, they cheer, it's not difficult." He told the man, beginning to undo his armour. I was quickly standing up and moving towards the Prince, planning on helping him to get it all taken off while William wandered out of the tent. "You do all the work, someone else gets all the praise." Arthur complained, taking a sip of water from the goblet he had picked up.
"I know the feeling." I heard Merlin say, tidying up some things around the tent.
That was when Arthur turned around to face Merlin, one of his arms now placed lightly around my shoulders, causing me to turn as well. "When I win this tournament, I'll reveal my true identity, get the credit I deserve." I wasn't impressed with that, not after all the conversations we had the night before, all the talks about him and his pride.
It seemed like Merlin wasn't that impressed either. "Of course you will."
Those words were exactly the kind of thing that he shouldn't have said, as it lead to Arthur giving him a list of things to do. "Well don't just stand there, help me off with my armour. And remember to polish it before tomorrow." The Prince told him, seriously pulling rank on Merlin. I hated it when he done that, and he knew it, but although he had won all of his battles, I knew he was still in a bit of a bad mood. "The horse needs grooming, and don't forget to repair the broken lances."
Merlin didn't say a word as he began to get the metal plates off of Arthur, doing his best to hold his tongue and not say anything that would upset the Prince any more. Knowing that Arthur was still in a bit of a mood meant that I was most likely going to be hearing all about it when we got back to the tiny house we were living in, and I was certainly not looking forward to that. I wanted to go back, have something to eat, and then go to bed. I was exhausted, because the whole time Arthur had been jousting, I had been worrying. I was worrying about my uncle, about Arthur and him getting hurt, and about a man in the crowd who seemed to just send shivers down my spine.
"Isabella, it's time to go." Arthur suddenly said to me, breaking my little bubble and sending my hurtling back to the real world.
I noticed that he was back in his more normal clothes, not his knight or princely garb. He looked just like any other person living in the lower town of Camelot. "Good, because I'm hungry and I want to go to bed." I told him, grabbing my cloak and throwing it over myself in one swift movement. "It's been a long day and tomorrow is going to be another." I really couldn't wait for us to get out of the tournament area, away from all those people, the people who could recognise either of us in an instant.
Before I even knew it, we were back in our little home. Arthur quickly locked the door before taking off his hooded cloak. "Well, it didn't go as bad as I expected." He admitted, while I wandered around the kitchen area, getting a few things together so that I could make us both some dinner.
"What did you expect to go wrong?" I asked him, grabbing one of the pots that I had prepared when I had woken up. I was ready for us to get home and for me to be able to put the dinner on straight away, no peeling vegetables or anything like that, just put it over the fire and cook it. That was my plan.
"I was worried about several things going wrong, such as you not doing as I asked, William making a complete fool of himself, and myself as well. I worried that your uncle was going to show up, or that someone was going to recognise you." I was actually surprised by how much he had been worrying, and how much of it had been because of me.
After hanging the pot of stew I had prepared for dinner over the open fire, I sat down at the table opposite from the Prince. "Arthur, I really wasn't going to run off or do anything stupid. I know there are times when I act like a child, but I know how serious this whole situation with my uncle is. I was worried as well, you know. I was as nervous as hell standing out there, thinking that everyone was looking at me, and whispering about me behind my back. And it felt like I was being watched as well. But I was just being paranoid." I could see that Arthur understood exactly what I was saying. "Listen, William isn't a knight, he may not be perfect, but that man is giving it everything he has got."
He looked at me and nodded. "I know, I know."
"Actually, I don't think you do." I said to him, causing him to look at me with a frown. "Do you know how many of these people wish that they had the chance to be a knight? To serve and protect their kingdom and the people they love? William is getting a chance to see what that feels like, and yet he is a farmer. If you ask me, he is doing a pretty damn good job at it after only doing it for two days." That was definitely true. Sure, there was a lot that William could do to improve, but that was the point, he had been thrown in as a knight, with no previous experience, a common farmer turned into a noble man, a knight. "You've got to give him some credit, he had everyone there today fooled."
I didn't know if Arthur got what I was telling him or not, because he didn't answer me, he just nodded his head slightly. We ended up sitting in utter silence until dinner was ready. Arthur had sat there drinking from his tin goblet, while I kept an eye on the food. I wasn't even hungry anymore, all I wanted to do was go to sleep.
Even the meal was passed in silence, and it was starting to get a little unsettling. Usually one of us would be talking, trying to get on the other's nerves or something, but it was just all too quiet. "Is this really all about your pride, Arthur?" I asked him as I tidied away the last of the dishes. "This whole disguising thing for the tournament, is it about your pride?" I just wanted to know the truth, if it really was just his pride that he was worried about.
"I fear that people respect me just because of my title." The tone of his voice told me that he was being completely honest with me. "When I'm competing as William, my title doesn't matter, nobody gives me any special treatment. So when I win this tournament…" He stopped, and looked down at his hands for a moment. "If I win this tournament, it will be because I deserve it. Not because I am Prince Arthur."
All of that, I understood perfectly. However, it still sounded to me like it was about his pride a little. "Well, you can always come to me if you want to hear the truth. Do not expect me to make an exception just because you are Prince Arthur the Arrogant of Camelot. Or should that be Prince Rude and Arrogant?" I asked him, trying to break away at the sombre mood that seemed to have fallen upon us. "I don't care if you're a Prince or a pig, actually sometimes it is hard to tell the difference between you and a pig."
"Yes, well you are the only one in the whole of Camelot who is honest enough and brave enough to tell me something like that." I had expected him to be a little annoyed with what I had said, but instead, he seemed happy. "I just want other people to see me like you do, Isabella, I want them to see me for me."
Now I really did understand why he had entered the tournament as someone else, why he was pretending to be Sir William, and why we were living in a little wooden house. I had honestly thought that it was all about his pride, about him showing the world just how great he really was. But I was wrong, all he wanted was to be treated like any other person, like a normal human being, and not a royal. "If you want to be treated fairly, Arthur, then there are a few changes you need to make." I told him, wondering how he was going to react to my suggestions.
There was a hint of interest on his face, but also a hint of confusion. "And what would those changes be?"
I leaned forward on the table a little with my elbows. "Stop being so bossy to Merlin. I keep telling you, he is a person with feelings as well, and you really do overwork him some times. You do realise that Gaius thinks that he has no work as you are not in Camelot and has been giving Merlin plenty of chores. But you have given him work, so he has to do whatever you tell him, and what Gaius tells him as well."
He let out a sigh, this was a conversations we had had a few times now. "Isabella, he is a servant, it is his job to do whatever I tell him to."
"Yes, that may be, but he is still only human, Arthur, he needs time to rest every now and again. I mean, you are capable of doing things for yourself, aren't you? You're here, in this house, and still alive after eating my cooking." I had found it rather amusing that he seemed to really enjoy my cooking. Usually I was only cooking for myself, and even then it was just with the scraps of food that I had managed to get a hold of.
Suddenly a grin spread across Prince Arthur's face. "You know, you are absolutely right. So, from now on, Merlin will be doing much less of the cooking, and you can do it instead." Well, I really had just set myself up for that really. It was my own fault for cooking and Arthur actually liking it. "You seem to enjoy cooking, and it is much better than Merlin's."
I couldn't help but roll my eyes at him. "Okay, fine, I'll do some of the cooking, the evening meals and such, but he can still do breakfast. I refuse to get up just to make you some breakfast." I thought that was fair, plus I really did hate getting up in the mornings. I was definitely not a morning person, and I would much rather sleep than deal with Arthur's breakfast. Plus, there was the fact that I wasn't allowed out of his sight. For dinner, it was easy enough for Merlin to bring the supplies in and I wouldn't even have to leave the room.
He chuckled at me a little, before holding out his hand. "Care to make it a deal, then? I'll go a little easier on Merlin, if you do some of the cooking."
Yeah, I had really landed myself in it there, but what could I do apart from agree to it. "Okay, fine. But I am going to be keeping a check on how much work you give him, and I reserve the right to refuse to cook if I think you are over working him." I quickly shook his hand, our little deal now having been made, I just hoped that he was going to remember it and stick to it. I gave him a smile before getting up and heading back over to the side where I had been doing the dishes, knowing that it was time for me to put them all away and make sure everything was ready for the morning.
"Leave that, Isabella." Arthur's voice told me, sound a lot closer than it should have been. "Go get ready for bed, and I'll finish putting everything away." I turned around and found that the Prince was standing right behind me, and it actually made me jump a little.
I fell back against the wooden countertop, and grasped onto it tightly. "Do not sneak up on me like that ever a…" I didn't get to finish my sentence, as the next thing I knew, Arthur's lips were pressed firmly against mine. So I didn't mind him kissing me when we weren't in public, but he did have a tendency to take me completely by surprise, but I certainly wasn't going to complain.
My hands let go of the counter and my arms reached around his neck instead. I could feel my heart pounding in my chest, and it felt like time had slowed down, or maybe even come to a halt completely. But eventually, both of us needed to breathe, and that rather long and passionate kiss had to come to an end.
I was pretty sure that my face looked like a tomato, I knew that I was blushing, I could feel the hotness of my cheeks, and I just knew that Arthur could see it as well. "I… I, uh…" My head was in such as daze that I didn't even know what to say. "I should… I…" All Arthur could do was smile at me, not smugly, but softly.
He took a hold of my hand and led me to the back of the house where the bed was. "I believe you were going to get ready for bed while I finished clearing everything up. I'll be back in a few minutes." I nodded at him like a dumb stuck idiot and sat on the edge of the bed while he disappeared back to the front of the house.
The next day went much like the first, Arthur winning all of his matches, and he was now in the final. "Congratulations. You're in the final." Merlin told him, waiting in the tent with me and William.
Arthur simply looked at William, the man pretending to be a knight. "Go on then. Your people await you." Arthur told him, waiting for the man to leave. "No one can say Sir Leon let me win this time." It was obvious that Arthur was pleased with himself, pleased that he had beat Leon without the man knowing who he was really up against.
Outside of the tent, much cheering and clapping could be heard. It wasn't just me that had noticed it, Merlin had heard it as well. "Sounds like the crowd have really taken to William." He said, speaking exactly what I was thinking.
"That will change when I reveal my identity." Although Arthur had said it, there was something inside of me that doubted it. I couldn't explain why, but I wasn't so sure that he was going to tell them all it had really been him the whole time when… if he won the tournament.
"You really miss getting all the attention, don't you?" It seemed like Merlin was starting to question it as well, but he put it another way, a way that was more likely to get a rise out of the Prince.
"Just go and water the horse, will you." Arthur told him, drinking some water from a goblet.
Once Merlin had left, I turned all my attention to Arthur. "You were absolutely amazing out there today, Arthur. I don't care what anyone says, you are Camelot's mightiest warrior, a noble man, and a fine Prince. One day, you shall become the mightiest King ever. And I will be so proud of you." I meant every single word. I understood the reason for why he was pretending, why he was hiding who he was when he was competing. What I also understood was that he had the need to prove he was as good as his knights, or better even, no matter who he was. He could take on anyone and use his skill and knowledge to defeat them. It also made me feel more confident, because he was teaching me, he was protecting me, and I had every faith in him.
Arthur turned to look at me, a rather shocked expression on his face. "Do you really mean that, Isabella?"
I nodded my head at him. "Of course I do, Arthur, I wouldn't have said it if I didn't. I can see how determined you are to prove that you are more than just a Prince, and in my eyes, that makes you an even better man than you were before." I adored the way that he just wanted to prove he was good, that he wanted to be respected for who he was, not what he was. I hated being a Princess, and he knew it, which was why I never acted like a Princess around him. With him, I could be myself, and I wanted him to be able to do the same.
He put down the goblet of water and looked at me. "You have no idea how much those words mean to mean to me, Isabella." The look in his eyes told me that they actually meant a lot. The fact that I believed in him, along with the fact that I trust him with me life, it was rather a lot to go on. "You seem to be the only person who understands."
"Well, of course I understand, Arthur, I'm a Princess, and most of the time I really wish I wasn't. Also, over half the time I act as if I were just a normal person. Like I said to you before, I know that I can just be who I am with you, I can just be Isabella, not Princess Isabella. You know who I truly am, and that is all I care about." I really didn't care what others thought of me now, of what the people in the royal court thought or the gossip that was spread by the servants in the castle said. All the mattered to me was what Arthur thought of me, and he just thought I was strange and completely impossible. I didn't mind that, because he knew the real me, well, almost the real me.
"I wish I had your courage." Arthur told me, shocking me slightly. "You are brave enough to be who you really are all of the time, and yet I am not."
I didn't like to hear him say that, because it was utter rubbish. "Do not say that, Arthur. I act like I do in front of you and Merlin, because I trust you both. You can see who I really am, you get to see Isabella, not Princess Isabella, because I trust you both. Unfortunately, different things are expected from us both. You were born to be King, I was born to be married off to some noble man." I wasn't even thinking about what I was saying, it was just coming straight out of my mouth. "One day, you shall rule Camelot, you will be the protector of a magnificent kingdom, while I shall just be the wife of some man, never allowed to speak my mind, never allowed to do anything, or be who I am."
Suddenly, Arthur reached out and placed a hand on my cheek. "Things do not have to be that way, Isabella." He told me softly. "You may find a man who accepts you for who you are, strangeness and all."
I couldn't help but scoff at him. Seriously, who in their right mind would want to be lumbered with me for the rest of their life? No one would want me, unless it was of some benefit to them. "Oh yeah, of course, like that is ever going to happen. I am as likely to find a man who accepts me for who I am as you are to finding a knight who will not see you as their Prince." I told him, before realising what I said. "No, wait, I don't mean it like that. What I mean is, no one will accept me for who I am, no one." After I said that, I noticed the sad look on Arthur's face.
"Isabella, there are already people who have accepted you for who you are, strangeness included." I knew who he was talking about, he was talking about himself, but I had to avoid that, at all costs.
"Only because you are stuck with me every hour of every day." I told him, trying to laugh a little but completely failing at it. "You have no choice but to hear me snoring and listen to me crying and rambling on." It wasn't the first time I had landed myself in that kind of situation, and I'm sure it wouldn't be my last. I needed to remember, Arthur was destined to be with Gwen, she was the one who would change him, who would help bring about the rise of Albion, not me.
There was something that Arthur wanted to say, I could see it written all over his face, but for some reason he was holding it back. "Come, we should prepare to head back." He told me, beginning to take off his armour. "Tomorrow if the final day, we shall return to the castle in the evening."
I nodded at him, before reaching over and starting to help with the armour. I was actually getting pretty good at it now, at working out where everything goes and how it all fixes together. The first time I tried to help, I just got it all into a mess and Merlin had to come and help undo everything I had done, it was an utter nightmare. But now I knew what I was doing, and the armour was off in a matter of minutes. "I bet you can't wait to get your own bed back." I joked, knowing that he did find that bed we were currently sleeping on rather uncomfortable.
"I still don't understand how people can call the comfort." Arthur commented, just as I took the final piece of plate armour off. He looked at me in surprise, and then looked at his armour. "You know, you really do keep surprising me. You seem to be able to take this off quicker than Merlin can."
I shrugged my shoulders at him. "I was just getting on with it. It's not that hard to understand and figure out after doing it a few times. I was useless at first, remember?" He just had to take off his chainmail and we would be ready to go. "Anyway, I'll let Merlin know we're almost ready to leave." I told him, before heading over to the opening of the tent.
I saw him talking to a man, the same man I had seen the day before, the same man that was freaking me. And more importantly, he was the same man that I had seen in my dreams recently. I watched, and I waited, and soon enough the man had left Merlin alone with the horse. I wanted to go over there, to tell him that there was something about that man that I didn't like, but I felt a hand on my shoulder which stopped me. "Isabella, what's wrong?" It was Arthur, and he sounded a little concerned.
"Nothing." I told him quickly, trying to shake everything from my head. "I just… I just thought I recognised someone, that's all." There was no way that I could tell him that I had seen a man that just freaked me out, that made me feel uncomfortable.
"Are you sure?" The Prince asked me, the hint of worry still there in his eyes. My head nodded at him, and I forced a smile onto my face. "Okay. Come on, let's get out of here." He told me, draping my cloak over my shoulders and doing the clasp up for me. He pulled up my hood before pulling up his own and taking my hand tightly in his. After that, we were heading out of the tournament grounds, and back to our little home from home.
A/N: Well there you go. I've got the poll still open on my profile, and there really isn't that much between what you guys want, which makes this even more difficult for me.
I can tell you now that somethings is coming in the next few chapters, I have it all planned out and ready to go. Unfortunately, it doesn't involve what you read in the little sneak peek just yet. That is a long way off, and I actually started writing that 2 years ago, on New Years Eve, when I was bored at the pub.
Anyway, let me get back on track. Big thank you to everyone who always takes the time to leave a review, you guys are totally awesome and I keep this story going for you (even if my updates are a little irregular these days).
So, until the next time...
Pippa.