My beta has not had a chance to go over this yet. Also, this is only the first half of this chapter. I"m working on Arthur's/perspective now. It will be placed under this section and not on a new page. Thanks for reading and for your paitence.

MERLIN

Arthur may not be nerves, well he said he wasn't but I still don't believe him, but I'm nerves enough for the both of us. I heard last year a person died. How can I protect Arthur out in the open like this, without anyone noticing, if the need arouse?

"Knights of the realm, it's a great honor to welcome you to a tournament at Camelot." Uthur states, "Over the next three 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 honor 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!" Uther concludes.

The crowd breaks cheers and I politely applaud. The knights exit the arena. I quickly spot Arthur among them. From here he looks the picture of confident and calm. As he heads toward the sidelines Uther stops him for a moment. Arthur nods his head in understanding

What did he say to Arthur? He doesn't seem the type of father to give a pep talk. Uther slaps Arthur on his back and heads towards the stands. Arthur quickly joins the rest of the knights. The crowd is cheering even louder than before.

Arthur and an older knight are the first chosen to fight. My heart is staring to beat faster. Calm down Merlin. Arthur will be fine. There's no reason to act like a girl, as Arthur would call it. The other knight is the first to make a move. Arthur easily blocks the attack and goes on the offense.

"Yeah, come on!" I encourage even though he can't hear me.

Arthur continues to block each attack with ease. From what I can tell the other knight is skilled. His moments are swift and assured. However, he is no match for Arthur. Arthur suddenly goes on offense. With a few impressive attacks, Arthur brings the other kinght to the ground and knocks the sword out of the knight's hand. The knight tries to go for his sword but Arthur quickly places his sword by the man's neck. " The man raises his hand in surrender and the crowd goes crazy. Heading over to meet Arthur, I can't help but feel silly for being concerned earlier.

"Congratulations," I smile.

"What? Did you doubt me?" He tone is light and mocking but his eyes are serious.

I don't hesitate. "Never" I look directly into his eyes.

He's eyes show his surprise to my response. Arthur's face become thoughtful and is now staring at me. I've never felt so many odd emotions before at the same time. I feel like I could spend a life time looking into those clear blue eyes. I feel exposed as if he can see me. Not Merlin the clumsy fool but the real me. My magic is rushing through my body stronger than it ever has before. Like it's recognizes it's reason for existing. I'm not sure how long we have been standing here but the sound of the crown cheering breaks the spell. Well not spell, but whatever that was.

"The next to compete is Knight Valiant and Knight Tolk."The announcer proclaims.

"Sometime Merlin you surprise me." Arthur admits

"Haven't figured me out yet?"

"Not yet but I will." Arthur turns around and watches the fight.

Valiant is very good. The other knight is having a time keeping up with him. He suddenly knocks the sword from Tolk's hand and wins.

"Knight Valiant looks pretty handy with a sword." I comment.

Valiant walks up to Arthur.

"May I offer my congratulations on your victories today?" His voice makes my skin crawl.

"Likewise," Arthur politely responses

"I hope to see you at the reception this evening." Valiant purrs before leaving with his servant behind him.

"Creep," I mutter.

Arthur snorts in agreement.