Chapter 12: - A Royal Invitation

Belle had been allowed to rest for the rest of the evening so that she may regain her strength and she woke with a smile feeling refreshed and she got ready to go down and take dinner with her family. She couldn't wait to see her beloved children again. When she was advised to rest by the royal medic Rumple had insisted that he stay by her side but she simply smiled and pressed a kiss to his forehead and told him that he could last a few more hours without her and he eventually agreed.

Belle exited the royal bed chamber when she found Merlin keeping his balance against the corridor wall because he had dropped his staff and she quickly went to his side and smiled softly, placing a hand on his shoulder before kneeling down and picking up his staff for him and placed it back in his hand,

"Here you are" she said softly,

"Are you alright?" she asked gently and the old man smiled appreciatively and nodded as she assisted him,

"Yes. Thank you young lady" he said and Belle smiled brightly,

"If my assumption is correct then it should be me thanking you. You allowed me to return to my family and I am truly grateful" she said gently and the old man chuckled as he allowed Belle to link her arm through his as they walked towards the dining room,

"My dear. There are many things in this world that is deemed precious. Magic, Love, Family but a heart such as yours that is filled with kindness was definitely worth saving" he assured her and Belle smiled gently with a gentle blush,

"Thank you sir. You're too kind" she said gently and Merlin chuckled as they walked down the stairs,

"You brought both love, laughter and light to this kingdom. The words of your kind and caring nature has even reached the ears of my king in Camelot." He explained before continuing,

"King Uther heard of how you won the affections of young prince Bae and became like a mother to him in very early days. He also heard of how you schooled the young prince yourself" he pointed out and Belle smiled softly and nodded,

"Yes. I love Bae the way any mother would love her child" she said softly and Merlin smiled and patted her hand gently,

"….. And that my dear is why my king sent me to save you but….. He also sent me to make a request of you" he explained gently and Belle looked curious as he continued,

"King Uther only has one son. Arthur. He is the same age as your own son. Tragically Uther lost his wife Igrain when she gave birth to Arthur" he explained sadly and Belle looked at him sympathetically,

"That's terrible. That poor boy" she said sadly and Merlin nodded,

"Young Arthur is quiet and shy and Uther fears that unless he is schooled in the right way then he will never be ready to take the throne. Arthur has so far avoided every lesson offered to him. He either hides somewhere we can't find him or he runs away from his tutor" he explains as they reached the bottom of the stairs and he turned fully towards her,

"…. And that your highness is what I have come to request of you. King Uther sees you as his only hope now. Uther is growing old and fears that Arthur will become king by the time he becomes 18 and although that is deemed the age a boy becomes a man. Arthur will still be young indeed so my king is begging you to travel to Camelot in hopes that you may be able to help his son" he said gently and Belle looked down as she thought to herself before looking back at the old sorcerer and smiled softly,

"If it were not for you and your king's generosity then I would still be trapped within that spell so I cannot ignore the fact that I am indebted to you both. So my answer is yes. I shall travel with you to Camelot but I cannot guarantee that Arthur will accept me as a tutor" she explained gently and Merlin nodded gratefully with a bright smile,

"I understand. King Uther has extended the invitation towards yourself, your husband and your children and you shall be accommodated within the castle until Arthur's training is complete" he explained and Belle smiled and nodded,

"I shall discuss this with my husband after dinner" she said gently as they both entered the dining room.

I hope you all enjoyed Chapter 12. Please review and let me know what you think in order to unlock the next chapter.

We'll meet little Arthur and King Uther in the next chapter but you'll have to review in order to unlock it quickly.

Kind Regards,

TheAuthor1996