Chapter 9: Tournament Begins
Authors Note: Sorry, I'm still getting the hang of writing combat scenes...so apologies if I get something wrong :)
Disclaimer: Merlin and its characters do not belong to me
The sun was shining, the crowds were cheering and chattering excitedly, the combatants were warming up, and Merlin was struggling with Arthur's vambrace.
"You do know the tournament starts today?" the prince asked irritably.
"Yes, Sire," Merlin smiled nervously, finally getting the clasp sorted, before making sure everything else was correct. "You nervous?" he tried, hoping to distract the prince.
Arthur sighed heavily.
"I don't get nervous."
"Really? I thought everyone got nervous?" Merlin queried.
"Will you shut up?!" the prince yelled, clearly near the end of his tether.
Startled, Merlin hurried off to the bench, before returning with the prince's Camelot-Red cape. Despite now living in the city, he still had to stop himself from flinching. How many tales had he heard when he was younger about the Red Capes, and what happened to those captured by them? Once again, he struggled with the ties, much to the prince's obvious frustration, before finally handing over the helmet.
"There," he stepped back, mentally checking all the various pieces of armour off. "I think you're all set." He nodded to himself.
"Aren't you forgetting something?" the prince asked slowly. "My sword?" he continued at Merlin's blank look.
"Oh, yeah!" Merlin hurried back to the bench to retrieve it. "Sorry. Yes, uh, you, you'll be needing that." he stammered, flustered.
The prince narrowed his eyes into a glare, before snatching the proffered sword and storming off to the arena.
"That went well," Merlin muttered, before quickly following.
The arena was decked out in Camelot's colours, with red and gold banners hanging above the packed stands. As the combatants entered for the opening ceremony, they were greeted by trumpet calls and drums, further adding to the crowd's excitement, which they showed with cheers and the clapping and stamping of feet.
After lining up in front of the King, eyeing each other silently, they waited for the crowd to calm down, and the King to join them.
"Knights of the Realm," the King began, his own Red cape sweeping elegantly behind him, causing the crowd to fall silent. "It's a great honour to welcome you to the tournament here at Camelot. Over the next three days, you will come to put your Bravery to the test, your Skills as warriors. And, of course, Challenge the reigning Champion, My Son, Prince Arthur." the gathered knights all turned to look at said Champion, before focussing back on the King. "Only one can have the honour of being crowned Champion. And, he will receive a prize of one thousand gold pieces." As the King declared this, the Lady Morgana opened the wooden chest in front of her, displaying the prize for all to see. "For it is in combat, that we learn a knight's True Nature. Whether he is indeed a warrior, or a coward." the King paused, before thrusting his left arm into the air. "The tournament begins!"
At the declaration, the crowd erupted into cheers and applause, as the gathered knights bowed to the King, before leaving the arena, the first two combatants staying behind, preparing to face off.
Before he also left, the King moved to his son.
"I trust you'll make me proud." he clasped Arthur's shoulder before heading for his seat.
As the King left, a pair of attendants brought out the knights' shields, their emblems clearly on display for the crowd. Removing their cloaks, the knights exchanged them with the attendants, before putting on their helmets; the crowd watching eagerly.
It wasn't until the King was seated, however, that swords were drawn. Watching eagerly from the side, Merlin grinned at Arthur's, now painfully familiar, sword-flourish as he loosened his wrist in preparation. His opponent merely drew his blade, balancing on the balls of his feet, watching.
The first move was Arthur's – a quick step forwards followed by a heavy downward blow. Deflecting, his opponent wasted no time in exchanging blows, causing Arthur to raise his shield and back away.
Taking advantage of the extra seconds, Arthur quickly entered a training sequence he often used, parrying the next blow, and simply following his sword round instead of halting or changing direction. His sword came up again for a strike, the green knight barely succeeding to deflect. The shield-thrust also appeared to be unexpected, as the poor knight tried to gain distance, before crossing swords to the crowd's excitement.
Finding his feet, the green knight started swiping his sword, causing Arthur to jump back. As he raised his shield, it looked like the green knight was ready to take the battle, only for Arthur to duck under the swinging sword, putting the green knight off-balance. Sadly, he backed off before the prince could take advantage, returning to their circling and sizing each other up.
The crowd's anticipation grew the longer they circled, until, once again, Arthur made the first move, his sword clanging against the green shield, before moving into a cross-blow forcing the green knight back.
Realising he was losing ground, the green knight spun, attempting a similar move to earlier, only to be blocked by Arthur's sword. The prince easily twisted, his sword holding his opponent's, and with a well-placed elbow, the green knight fell.
Instantly, the crowd erupted, cheering their reigning Champion. Beginning to calm from the battle, Arthur removed his helmet, gaze turning to his father, before he left the arena. As he walked back to his tent, wanting out of his armour, the attendant keeping track of the matches tossed the green knight's colours into the discarded pile, for collection later after the day's matches.
The matches continued, with the crowd cheering on their favourites, and the discard pile steadily grew. One knight, a new-comer to the tournament with a yellow background and green snakes, seemed to be making a name for himself, along with a dual-wielder from across the seas – but he, too, fell to the Knight of the Snakes.
"Knight Valiant looks pretty handy with a sword." Merlin commented, as they watched the latest victory.
Sauntering back to his tent, Valiant paused, spotting the Prince.
"May I offer my congratulations on your victories today?" he enquired, walking over.
"Likewise." Arthur nodded.
"I hope to see you at the reception this evening," Valiant hesitated, before returning to his tent.
"Creep." Merlin muttered as he watched Valiant leave, his eyes narrowing.
Arthur snorted, a small grin appearing, before getting back to business.
"Er, for tomorrow, you need to repair my shield, wash my tunic, clean my boots, sharpen my sword, and polish my chainmail." Arthur called over his shoulder as he headed back to the Castle, leaving Merlin staring after him in horror.