A new chapter for you. I hope you enjoy it! Please leave a review or send me a PM with your thoughts or ideas! I already had a couple PM's that I've been excited to reply to.
"Arthur," Amara greeted as she found him stalking through the halls.
"My servant is an idiot," he groaned making Amara laugh.
"What happened?"
"I was trying to practise for the tournament, he's useless."
"It is only his first day," Amara smiled as she walked alongside her brother. "He may yet improve."
"Well, it better happen quick. I can't believe father stuck me with him," Arthur grumbled.
"He did save your life. I hope you at least said thank you," she said and Arthur remained silent. "You didn't say thank you did you?" she smiled.
"I don't think we're meant to thank servants Amara."
"I think you do when they save your life."
"Where are you off to?" Arthur asked.
"Nowhere," Amara grumbled. "I wanted to go riding but father wouldn't allow it."
"He's just being cautious."
"The woman who tried to kill you is dead, I don't know what he's worried about."
"With knights coming in, I suppose he's worried about an increase in bandits," Arthur shrugged. "Ask again after the tournaments finished. He'll probably say yes then."
"I never get to have any fun."
"You're the princess of Camelot, of course not," Arthur smirked before walking off.
"Good luck for tomorrow," she called out after him.
Amara sat next to the seat soon to be filled by her father as she watched all the knights walk in. As she saw her brother she smiled, he already looked irritated and the day hadn't even begun yet. Uther walked in to address them, "Knights of the realm. It's a great honour to welcome you to the tournament at Camelot. Over the coming days, you will come to put your bravery to the test, your skills as warriors, and of course, to challenge the reigning champion, my son, Prince Arthur. Only one can have the honour of being crowned champion, and he will receive a prize of 1,000 gold pieces. It is in combat that we learn a knight's true nature, whether he is indeed a warrior or a coward. The tournament begins," he announced as the crowd began cheering.
Morgana leant over from her seat in the stands to whisper to Amara, "is it just me or does Arthur already look bored?" she laughed.
"He was grumbling about his new servant yesterday, maybe he struggled with the armour this morning?"
"I helped Merlin learn how to put the armour on," Gwen said leaning forward. "He didn't catch on quickly," she giggled making the other girls giggle as well.
"Amara," Uther greeted as he came and sat in his seat.
"Father," Amara replied, sitting back in her seat. "He'll make you proud," Amara said as she watched Uther smile at Arthur.
"I know he will," he said, patting his daughter's hand as Arthur prepared to open the tournament. Amara clapped loudly as she watched her brother put on his helmet and raise his sword, "careful Amara, you can't be too obvious in showing favourites."
"Oh but I do have a favourite," she giggled.
"As do I," Uther smiled as the fight began and he leant forward eagerly in his chair as Arthur made quick work of his opponent, getting an elbow into his face and knocking him to the ground as the crowd cheered loudly for their prince. "That's my boy," Uther said quietly.
The fights continued on all day, it was easy to see who the front runners were. Arthur and a knight named Valiant. Amara leant over to her father and asked "who is this Valiant? He's very good with a sword."
"I've never heard of him before, he's doing well. Arthur can beat him though," he smiled.
"Of course he can. But a final between Arthur and Valiant, that will be entertaining."
Amara stood beside her father in the throne room as all the knights in the tournament came forward in a line to introduce themselves.
"Knight Valiant of the Western Isles, my Lord," Valiant said as he stepped up for his turn.
"I saw you fighting today, you have a very aggressive style," Uther complimented.
"As my Lord said, to lose is to be disgraced."
"I couldn't agree more," Uther smirked before turning to Amara, "knight Valiant, may I present my daughter, Princess Amara."
"Your highness," Valiant greeted, taking her hand and kissing it.
"Your fighting style is very entertaining to watch knight Valiant. I hope to see you in the final," Amara said with a polite smile.
"I hope to be there," he replied diplomatically.
"And the Lady Morgana, my ward," Uther said, introducing Morgana.
Valiant then repeated the action of taking Morgana's hand and kissing it. "My lady."
"I saw you competing today," Morgana flirted.
"I saw you watching," he replied. Amara's eyes went wide and she caught Gwen's eye and smirked."I understand the tournament champion has the honour of escorting my lady to the feast."
"That's correct," Morgana nodded with a smile.
"Then I will give everything to win the tournament," he said before turning back to Amara, "your highness, my lady," he said farewelling the two girls before walking away.
Next up was Arthur, he came and bowed to their father quickly, clearly eager to talk to the girls, "Arthur," Uther nodded.
"Father," he replied before moving to the girls.
Amara stepped away from her father's side slightly so she could talk easier with Arthur and Morgana, "did you see?" she giggled to Arthur.
"I did, it was pretty hard to miss," he smirked as they came up to Morgana.
"They all seem rather impressed by knight Valiant," Morgana said with a wide smile.
"They're not the only ones," Arthur said, referring to Morgana's obvious flirting.
"You're not jealous are you?" Morgana asked, hoping to get a rise out of Arthur.
"I don't see there's anything to be jealous of," he retorted, making Morgana's smile drop quickly.
"Bit rude," Amara whispered to Arthur as he shrugged and walked off.
"Could Arthur be any more annoying?" Morgana scowled. "I do hope knight Valiant wins the tournament."
"You don't really mean that," Gwen smiled.
"Yes, I do."
"No you don't," Amara smiled. "Trust me, no one will enjoy the feast if Arthur loses."
"Amara," Uther called, summoning his daughter over to meet the next knight.
Arthur came up to Amara's seat after he won his next fight the following morning. He bowed in front of her and father and Amara remarked, "you seem in a much better mood this morning."
"Yes, well my servant was actually able to get me into my armour this morning without forgetting my sword," he said rolling his eyes.
"I told you he'd improve," Amara smiled and Arthur rolled his eyes. "I believe that eye roll actually means, yes you were right Amara, I should always listen to you, Amara."
"Don't read too much into it," he smirked before walking off.
Knight Valiant's fight was next, and they watched as he beat his opponent with ease, knocking him to the ground. He then leant over his opponent before slashing him with a sword, leaving the man unconscious on the ground. He looked badly hurt, Amara noted as she clapped with a frown on her face. The man looked as though he'd submitted, there was no need to continue, aggressive fighting style or not. Amara looked over to see Morgana clapping, clearly eager to see Valiant win.
"I think he's really hurt," Amara said quietly. Not wanting to applaud when a man was injured.
"That's the nature of the tournament, Amara," Uther replied as they watched Gaius come over to check on the injured knight Ewan.
Amara took her seat at the tournament for the third day in a row. She was nervous about today's round. The knight Arthur was facing was double his size. As the two men walked into the arena, Lilia gasped from behind Amara. Amara turned to look at her maid, she'd barely said a word during the whole tournament. "Are you alright?" she asked.
"He's so big," Lilia said, her eyes wide. "How will Prince Arthur beat him?"
Amara sighed, she was worried about her brother fighting such a brute of a man, but she knew his strengths. "Arthur is fast," she said quietly, not wanting Uther to hear too much, he didn't approve of bonding with servants too much. "The other knight is as strong as a bear, but he is slow. Arthur can't beat him in strength, but he can attack faster."
"Are you worried?" Lilia asked.
"About Arthur? Always. But he'll be fine," Amara said before turning to watch the fight begin. Amara turned away slightly, she couldn't watch her brother fight such a man.
"Amara," Uther said, "watch. He'll win," he said beaming.
Amara turned back to watch Arthur getting the upper hand on his opponent, "yes!" she cheered as he knocked him to the ground. Uther stood to applaud his son, as did the whole crowd.
After another round, it was determined that Valiant would fight Arthur in the final. Now Amara was worried. This man was a threat, he was strong, he was aggressive and he clearly didn't come to lose. He wouldn't go easy on Arthur because he was the prince.
"Do you think Valiant might win?" Amara asked as she and her father walked back to the castle.
Uther sighed, "I hope not. For Arthur's sake. But Valiant looks like a good knight to keep around, maybe I will ask him to stay."
"Arthur won't like that," she laughed.
"No, he probably won't. But the newest recruits we've had tryout for knighthood have been disappointing from the reports I've been getting."
"Yes, Sir Leon said something about that to me the other day. They're inexperienced, they'll get there, it just might take a while."
"Well the threat to Camelot is ever-present," Uther reminded her. "We must ensure our men are always at the standard where they can defend Camelot from her enemies. I believe Valiant will add greatly to the knights."
"I agree, father."
"I am to have dinner with all the knights tonight. Perhaps you should like to have dinner with Morgana."
"I was hoping to go check on Ewan, the knight injured fighting Valiant yesterday. He looked in a bad way."
"That is why you make such a good princess," he smiled, "always caring about the people."
"Gaius?" Amara asked, knocking on the door to his room.
"Come in," he called and she opened the door and stepped through. "Ah, your highness," he greeted bowing.
"Gaius please, we're old friends you know you don't have to do that."
"I'm a stickler for tradition my lady," he said with a smile.
"I came to check on Sir Ewan, see if his condition was improved from yesterday."
Gaius hesitated, "no, it appears it has not improved. In fact, he's getting worse."
"How could he be getting worse?" Amara asked, stepping up to the cot Sir Ewan was lying on. "He got hit hard, but not that hard. I would have thought we'd see improvement by now. He's so pale."
"He's very unwell."
"I've got it, I've got it," Merlin yelled running through the door to Gaius' room.
"Merlin!" Gaius chastised.
"Hmm?" he asked before noticing Amara. "Your highness," he said quickly, bowing to her.
"Is that a snakes head?" Amara asked shocked as she saw him hide something behind his back.
"What? No? I mean, yes," he said nodding his head.
"Merlin, what on earth do you do in your spare time? Where did you find that?" she asked. "There are no snakes in the castle."
Merlin hesitated, looking over at Gaius who nodded at him. "Valiant is using magic," he explained.
"What?" Amara asked shocked.
"The snakes in his shield, they come alive. This is the head of one of the snakes," he said passing it to Gaius. "He used them to beat Sir Ewan, he's not injured, he's been poisoned by the snakes."
"And from this snake, we can derive an antidote," Gaius told her. "We can save him and he can explain to Uther that Valiant is using magic. Otherwise…"
"Otherwise Valiant will fight Arthur in the final," Amara realised. "If he's using magic it'll be for evil, he'll try and kill Arthur."
"I've extracted the venom," Gaius said to them. "I'll get started preparing the antidote."
"I'm going to tell Arthur," Merlin said.
"You'll need this," Gaius nodded, handing over the snakes head. "And, Merlin, what you did was very brave."
"I'm coming with you," Amara said, following Merlin out of the room.
"You don't have to.."
"I am," she said firmly. "My family has worked for two decades to eradicate magic. I won't let it be used to kill my brother. You seem to be getting better at your job as Arthur's servant," Amara said, changing the subject as they walked. "Are you enjoying it?"
"It's not as deplorable as I thought it would be," he shrugged.
"Arthur can be a bit obtuse at times, but he means well. He just has an interesting way of expressing that sometimes," Amara smiled as they reached Arthur's chambers.
Merlin reached out and knocked once before barging into the room. "Merlin, you're meant to wait for me to tell you to come in," Arthur snapped. "Amara," he said standing up as he noticed his sister follow his servant in. "What are you doing here?"
"She came with me," Merlin explained and Arthur raised his eyebrows. "She was with Gaius, checking on Ewan. I have something to tell you."
"Well, what is it?" Arthur asked as he reached over and pulled out a chair for Amara to sit down on.
"Valiant's using magic. I have proof."
"You better, Merlin! You can't accuse a knight of sorcery."
Merlin nodded and threw the snake's head down on the table. "I cut its head off. It came out of Valiant's shield."
"You?" Arthur snorted. "You chopped its head off?"
"Ewan was bitten by a snake from the shield when he was fighting Valiant. You can talk to Gaius you can see the puncture wounds on Ewan's neck where the snake bit him. Ewan was beating him. He had to cheat."
"I saw the wounds myself, Arthur. There are two puncture wounds on his neck. There are no other injuries significant enough to cause him to be so unwell. It's poison from the bite," Amara said, supporting Merlin's claim.
"Valiant wouldn't dare to use magic in Camelot," Arthur said, not fully believing the claim.
Amara nodded, agreeing with his point, "somebody should have seen it happen."
"Ewan was pinned under Valiant's shield. No one could see the snake bite him," Merlin tried to explain.
"I don't like the guy, but that doesn't mean he's cheating," Arthur argued.
"You don't like Valiant?" Amara asked. "Morgana does."
"Yes, she made that quite clear," Arthur smirked.
"Gaius is preparing an antidote to the snake venom. When Ewan's conscious, he'll tell you what happened. If you fight Valiant in the final, he'll use the shield. It's the only way he can beat you."
"Arthur, if this is true and he is using magic, maybe his whole plan was to fight you in the final? Magic users despise our family, we've seen it so many times, just the other night…"
"Yes, I know," Arthur sighed, he didn't know whether to believe it or not.
"Look at it," Merlin said lifting the snakes head. "Have you ever seen any snakes like this in Camelot?" Arthur sighed and walked over to him and took the snake's head and looked at it. "I know I'm just a servant and my word doesn't count for anything. I wouldn't lie to you."
Arthur looked at Amara and she nodded. "I want you to swear to me, that what you're telling me is true," Arthur asked Merlin.
"I swear it's true."
"Arthur, I didn't see it, but I believe him," Amara added. "Father won't listen to him, but if Ewan can testify that's all the proof he will need."
Arthur nodded and looked at Merlin, "then I believe you. I'll request an audience with the king tomorrow. You should go to your chambers Amara, father won't like you walking around the castle at this hour."
Amara nodded and stood up, "if Ewan can't speak, don't go for it, Arthur. Without Ewan there's no case, I don't believe a servants word counts for nothing, but father does, and he's the one you need to prove it to."
"Why have you summoned the court?" Uther asked as he walked into the courtroom the next morning.
Arthur took a breath and stepped forward after their father took a seat, "I believe knight Valiant is using a magic shield to cheat in the tournament."
Morgana looked at Amara, "how could that be?" she whispered.
"I believe it to be true," Amara whispered back. "Merlin saw it, but my father won't take his word alone as the truth. The snakes come alive in his shield, I saw the snake's head myself, it's not a Camelot snake. We need Sir Ewan to arrive to substantiate Arthur's claim in order for father to be satisfied with the evidence," she explained and Morgana's eyes widened in shock.
"Valiant what do you have to say to this?" the king demanded springing up from his chair, immediately on edge at the mention of magic.
"My lord, this is ridiculous," Valiant denied. "I have never used magic. Does your son have any evidence to support this outrageous accusation?"
"Do you have evidence?"
"I do," Arthur nodded, gesturing Merlin to come forward with the decapitated snakes head. He handed it to Uther, who turned around to examine it.
"Let me see the shield," Uther asked Valiant.
"What if he?" Morgana went to ask in concern.
"He couldn't attack the king in court," Amara shook her head. "That would be stupid. He'll be fine," she said nervously.
"Be careful, my Lord," Arthur warned their father, drawing his sword in case he had to defend the king.
Amara noticed Gaius arrive into the court and Merlin quickly moved towards him, but Amara kept her eyes on her father, she didn't trust Valiant. "That doesn't look good," Morgana whispered.
"What doesn't?" Amara asked.
"Look at Merlin," she pointed out. "It doesn't look like Gaius gave him good news." Amara turned to look and noticed the anxious look on their faces. Something must have happened to Ewan. The whole case was about to fall apart.
"As you can see my Lord, it's just an ordinary shield," Valiant tried to explain.
"He's not going to let everyone see the snakes come alive," Arthur said, defending his accusations to the court.
"Then how am I to know that what you say is true?" Uther asked of his son.
"I have a witness. Knight Ewan was bitten by one of the snakes from the shield. The venom made him grievously ill. However, he has received an antidote. He will confirm that knight Valiant is using magic," Arthur explained. Amara couldn't get his attention to tell him to stop, he hadn't looked her way.
"Where is this witness?"
"He should be here," Arthur stuttered, turning around to look for Merlin. When he saw Merlin and Gaius talking he quickly made his way over to them.
"I'm waiting!" Uther snapped.
Arthur turned around to look at Amara, she shook her head. She couldn't help, she hadn't seen the snakes, she only believed the story. Arthur nodded and began slowly walking back towards their father, "I'm afraid the witness is dead."
"So you have no proof to support these allegations," Uther said irritated. "Have you seen Valiant using magic?"
"No. But my servant fought the snakes…" as soon as he said that Amara cringed. She knew exactly how Uther would take that, he didn't care for the word of a servant.
"Your servant?" he sneered. "You make these outrageous accusations against a knight, on the word of your servant?"
"I believe he's telling the truth," Arthur defended.
"My Lord, am I really to be judged on some hearsay from a boy?" knight Valiant queried, as he came to stand next to the king making Amara almost gasp, that was a bold move.
Merlin stormed forward to defend himself, "I've seen those snakes come alive."
Uther's face turned to rage and he yelled, "how dare you interrupt!? Guards!" he ordered, and they grabbed Merlin's arms to escort him from the room.
Arthur made no move to defend his servant when knight Valiant spoke up, "my Lord."
"Wait!" Uther ordered the guards.
"I'm sure he was merely mistaken. I wouldn't want him punished on my account," Valiant said, garnering back the goodwill of the court.
"You see?" the king asked Arthur. "This is how a true knight behaves. With gallantry and honour."
"My Lord, if you son made these accusations because he's afraid to fight me, then I will graciously accept his withdrawal," Valiant offered.
"Can you believe this?" Amara whispered to Morgana.
"Arthur will have no choice but to fight him now," Morgana replied.
"I told him to wait for knight Ewan. He should have waited," Amara sighed.
"Is this true?" Uther asked Arthur, thinking his son was a coward. "Do you wish to withdraw from the tournament?"
"No," Arthur replied firmly.
"Then what am I to make of these allegations?"
Arthur looked around the court, he had no choice but to revoke the accusation. "Obviously, there has been a misunderstanding. I withdraw the allegation against knight Valiant," he said regretfully. "Please accept my apology."
"Accepted," Valiant smirked.
Arthur turned and stormed out of court, Morgana went to try to say something to him, but Amara held her back, "you need to let him calm down first."
"Court dismissed," Uther yelled. He was in a mood, "Amara!" he said, ordering his daughter forward as the court began clearing.
"I'll wait outside," Morgana whispered before exiting.
"Father," Amara said as she walked towards him.
"I saw Arthur look at you, did you have a hand in this as well?"
"I told Arthur to wait for knight Ewan. I told him not to bring the accusation forward without knight Ewan," she defended.
"So you encouraged this?"
"I believe the boy," Amara tried to explain.
"A servant!"
"A servant that saved Arthur's life only a few days ago. You appointed him to the royal household because he saved your son. What if he's just doing it again?" Amara asked.
"I take the crime of magic seriously…"
"I know."
"Don't interrupt!" he yelled. "I take it seriously, but I will not have the good name of any knight or noble besmirched in my court without the proper evidence, do you hear me?"
"I do," Amara grumbled.
"Go," Uther said dismissing his daughter with a wave. Amara curtsied to her father before turning around and marching out of the room.
"I heard," Morgana said as Amara exited.
"He was yelling, I'm sure everyone heard," she grumbled. "Has anyone seen Lilia?" she snapped. "What's the point in a maid if they're never around?" she said as she stormed away from Morgana and towards her chambers. She threw open the doors to her chambers to see her breakfast plates still sitting at her table and her room untidy. "Lilia!" she yelled. She was in no mood to deal with laziness. She turned to the guards that were stationed in the corridor leading to her room. "Have you seen my maid?"
"No your highness," they replied.
Amara glared before she slammed the doors behind her and stormed over to her window seat and throwing herself down on it. There was a very good chance Arthur may die facing knight Valiant, and she just wasn't ready for that.
Amara sat at the table in Arthur's room, both of them picking at their dinner in silence, not knowing what their next dinner would look like. "I'm going to practise," he said standing up. "Stay and eat, I'll be back soon."
"Fine," she grumbled as he left the room.
Half an hour later he came back, "you haven't touched your dinner," he noted as he stood in front of the fire.
"Neither have you," she argued.
"Don't snap at me, Amara," he groaned.
"I'm sorry," she said, throwing down her fork. "I'm scared and I'm angry, I don't know what's going to happen to you tomorrow and that terrifies me, I don't know where my maid is, I haven't seen her since this morning and after the court cleared earlier today I got yelled at by father for supporting the accusations against Valiant, so sorry I don't really feel in the mood to eat."
Arthur sighed, "I heard about father yelling at you, I'm sorry. I didn't mean for him to know you were involved. That was my fault."
"It's not your fault, it's Valiants," she said before they heard footsteps in the hall. They looked over to see Merlin coming into Arthur's chambers.
"I thought I told you to get out of my sight," Arthur scowled.
"Don't fight Valiant in the final tomorrow," Merlin pleaded. "He'll use the shield against you."
"I know," Arthur agreed.
"Then withdraw. You have to withdraw."
"Don't you understand?" Arthur asked. "I can't withdraw. The people expect their prince to fight, how can I lead men into battle if they think I'm a coward?"
"Valiant will kill you. If you fight, you die."
"Then I die," Arthur agreed.
Amara jumped up from her seat in anger, "make sure Gaius has more of the antidote on hand Merlin," she scowled. "He'll need it," she said as she stormed from his chambers and down the hall, around the corner and into her own rooms. As she walked in the door she noticed Lilia still missing and yelled out, "Lilia!"
"Amara," Uther chastised as he came into her rooms. "Don't shout, it's not proper behaviour."
"My maid has been gone all day," she snapped. "My room is a mess, I had to go have dinner in Arthur's chambers as I didn't have anyone to go get mine and I have no one to help me prepare for bed," she said as she sat down at her table.
Uther nodded before quickly leaving the room. Amara relaxed thinking her father had left, only for him to come back into the room a moment later. "I have sent for a new maid to take the place of yours, she will be here shortly."
"I like Lilia."
"Well this new one will do until Lilia can be found," he replied, sitting down opposite her at the table. "I came to apologise. I yelled at you today, I shouldn't have done that," he said calmly. "I was angry, but it wasn't fair of me to lose my temper at you."
"I forgive you," Amara replied quietly, it was very unlike Uther to come and apologise.
Uther nodded before standing up, "I will see you at the tournament tomorrow then, goodnight Amara."
"Goodnight father," Amara said, standing up and giving her father a nod before he left the room.
"Your highness," a small voice came from the doorway.
"Come in," Amara replied as her substitute maid came in. "What is your name?"
"Juliana," she said with a curtsey.
"It's nice to meet you, Juliana," Amara said with a smile, feeling more comfortable now that she had some company.
Amara took her seat at the tournament and sat in silence as Arthur arrived. She was barely able to clap, she was too worried. She looked over and saw Morgana in the exact same state. It didn't seem like she wanted Valiant to win any longer. Both Arthur and Valiant put on their helmets and touched swords, showing they were ready to begin, "he'll be alright Amara," Uther said, he could feel the anxiety rolling off the girl.
"I hope so," she breathed.
"He always wins."
Both men raised their swords, Valiant yelled, and the fight began. All Amara could hear was the sound of swords clanging, she could barely watch, but she knew her father wouldn't let her look away. It appeared as though Arthur was beating Valiant. No one was as skilled as Arthur, but that also put him at the bigger risk of Valiant using his shield. Valiant fought back, knocking Arthur back a few feet with the shove of his shield. Uther leaned forward, enjoying watching such a competitive fight. Arthur hadn't had an even match in years. Valiant's aggressive style started to get the better of Arthur as he used his sword to hit fast.
Arthur spun out of the attack against him and got a hit on Valiant's shield, "yes!" Uther cheered.
Arthur attacked Valiant's armour, knocking the helmet off the man's head. Arthur took a step back and removed his own helmet in an act of sportsmanship, evoking loud cheers from the crowd. "What's he doing?" Amara asked frantically.
"Giving the people what they want," Uther smiled. Valiant then pulled off the chainmail protecting his head. Arthur having to follow suit and do the same in order to not appear the coward. Even this move slowed Uther's clapping, he was the heir to the throne, he couldn't be reckless with his life.
Valiant then lunged at Arthur. He got close enough to knock Arthur's exposed head back with his shield, making Amara gasp and grab her fathers arm. Arthur stumbled backwards and fell onto the ground, yet Valiant still charged towards him. Even this made Uther jerk forward, on the verge of getting the guards to intervene. Valiant stood on Arthur's shield, trapping him to the ground and went to stab his sword into him. In the knick of time, Arthur slid his arm out of the shield and rolled away from the attack before quickly getting to his feet. "He has no shield!" Amara said in a panic as Valiant continued attacking.
Valiant managed to fling Arthur's sword away from him, leaving Arthur no choice but to tackle a man possessing both his sword and his shield. Valiant shoved Arthur into a wall, luckily before he could strike Arthur down, Arthur managed to knee him in the stomach and shove him off him. Arthur managed to move back into the middle of the arena when Amara let out a scream.
"What is it?" Uther asked panicked.
"Magic!" she yelled and pointing towards Valiant. There were two snakes that had just come alive from Valiant's shield. Everyone else in the crowd quickly noticed and everyone stood up in fright.
"What are you doing?" they heard Valiant speak to the snakes. "I didn't summon you."
"He is using magic," Uther growled.
"He has no sword," Amara stuttered.
"And now they all see you for what you really are," Arthur sneered.
Valiant chuckled and the snakes then slithered from the shield, to the ground. "Kill him!" Valiant ordered his snakes. They started lunging forward for Arthur as he quickly backed up towards the royal box.
"Arthur!" Morgana yelled, making him turn around as she threw him a sword she'd just stolen off a guard. Arthur swung the sword and quickly decapitated the snakes, killing them. He then quickly repositioned to defend himself from Valiant as Valiant kept attacking him. Valiants actions were panicked and Arthur was quickly able to disarm him before running him through with the sword. He released his hold on Valiant and he quickly tumbled to the ground dead. Amara released a breath she wasn't aware she was holding as the crowd began cheering their champion and prince.
Uther turned to face Amara, "Arthur was right," he sighed. "You were right to support your brother Amara," he said remorsefully.
"He's ok," Amara smiled. "Like you said. Arthur always wins."
Amara was beside her father at the feast, having already been escorted in by him as he turned to the people. "My honourable guests, I give you Prince Arthur, your champion," he said before starting a round of applause.
Morgana waited at the entrance for Arthur to escort her in. They seemed to be having a pleasant conversation before they clearly started arguing, which followed their usual pattern of conversation. Morgana turned away from Arthur and stormed over to Amara, "what was that about?"
"Arthur won't accept that I saved him," she scowled.
"You did save him," Amara smiled as Gwen walked up to them.
"Yes, well he's too proud to admit that," she scowled before smiling.
"He may not admit it, but he knows it," Amara smirked before leaving and walking over to her brother.
"Don't listen to a word Morgana says," he said immediately.
"Oh I don't need to," she smiled, "I was there. I saw it all."
"Exactly," he agreed.
"I saw Morgana save you."
"No," he argued. "That is not what happened."
"It what I saw from where I was sitting."
"Well, then your view was obstructed."
"I was in the royal box, you can't get better seats," she said with an eye roll. "Did you at least say thank you?" Arthur didn't answer, "did father apologise to you?" she asked.
"You know he won't," Arthur said, resigned to the fact. "He doesn't apologise to me. He'll only ever apologise to you and Morgana."
"Yes, well we are his favourites," she chuckled.
"There's no point in even denying that."
"Princess Amara," Leon greeted coming up to the pair.
"Sir Leon," Amara smiled.
"I'm afraid I have some bad news."
"What is it?" Arthur asked.
"I was supervising the clearing of Valiant's chambers, in case there were magical artefacts hidden, and I'm afraid to say I made a grim discovery."
"Which was?" Amara asked as he hesitated.
"Your maid, Lilia. It appears she may have stumbled upon Valiant using the shield. We found her dead with snake bites on her neck," he said quietly making Amara freeze.
"Valiant killed my maid?"
"It appears so, I'm sorry to be the bearer of bad news my lady," Leon said, bowing before he walked away.
"Amara, I'm sorry," Arthur sympathised.
"I'm glad you killed him," she said taking a deep breath. She'd never managed to maintain a consistent maid as Morgana had, Amara and Arthur always ran through a number of servants, but Lilia had been kind and sweet. She didn't deserve her fate.
