Ealdor
June, 504 AD
"Merlin! Gather the villagers, I need to talk to them," Arthur ordered the sorcerer, who had moved to talk to his a*hole friend Will.
Merlin huffed and sent me an annoyed look. "I mean, you never did quit your job. You just said you were leaving," I pointed out with a shrug, earning a glare before he walked away.
Will shuffled closer to me as I began to untack Dallas, making me tense up slightly. "It is nice to see you still have your head, Princess," he stated. I turned to face him, scowling at the smug smile he had on his face as his blueish green eyes examined me up and down.
"Wish I could say the same thing, Ass-butt," I responded, wishing that I had a molotov cocktail I could fling at him.
I walked away from the boy and led my horse to the paddock where he'd lived during our time in Ealdor. Ella, Bronze and the horses that Merlin, Gwen and Hunith had brought followed us instinctively. I untacked all of them and made sure they had enough hay and water, then I moved to kiss Dallas's forehead. "You did awesome, Dal. Get some rest," I whispered to him. After that, I returned to the town square.
A crowd had started to form around Arthur, so I weaved through the people and moved to stand near him as a way to hopefully show my support, knowing how challenging being an outsider can be. He grinned down at me when he saw me, making my heart beat a little bit faster as I returned the gesture.
"I know Kanen's kind," the Prince spoke firmly as he addressed the villagers. "He will be back. And when he is, you must be ready for him." I watched as the people shared confused glances. "First of all, we have to prepare for–"
I clenched my jaw as Will cut him off, "Am I the only one wondering who the hell this is?!"
"I am Prince Arthur of Camelot," Arthur replied.
"Ha, yeah," Will scoffed. "And I am Prince William of Ealdor."
"No, you're the crap stuck at the bottom of Ealdor's shoe," I growled at him in defence of Arthur – he's my friend, after all, I guess.
"Keep quiet, he is here to help us," Hunith scolded the brunet boy, but he wouldn't back down.
"He has made things worse!" he claimed. "Kanen will be back, and when he is, he will be looking for revenge! You have just signed our death warrants!"
"We'll turn you in as a peace offering," I threatened while aiming my unloaded bow at the guy.
"Calm down, it is all right," Arthur whispered as his hand reached out to gently lower my arm, and I allowed it with a shaky sigh. Then he turned to Will, "What would you have us do?"
"We cannot fight against Kanen, he has too many men," the boy replied, suddenly appearing nervous under the blond's piercing stare.
"So what is the alternative?" Arthur questioned.
Will averted his gaze and lowered his voice as he responded, "G-give him what he wants."
A chorus of disagreeing noises could be heard going around and I smiled a little, feeling pleased that the villagers weren't listening to Will.
"Then what? Those of you who do not starve to death will face him again next harvest. And the harvest after that!" Arthur pointed out.
"We will manage. We will survive," Will responded, his voice getting loud once again.
"How?" a man from the crowd – I believe his name is Edric – asked, sounding slightly annoyed.
"The only way Kanen can be stopped is if you stand up to him," the Prince stated confidently.
"No. You just want the honour and glory of battle! That is what drives men like you!" Will yelled at him this time as spit flew out of his mouth, and it made my blood boil.
"Shut up!" I tried lunging at him, wishing to punch him, but Arthur held me back by grabbing my arm and pulling me closer to his side.
"Astra, calm down," he whispered in a tone that was stern, yet soft. "Arguing with him will not solve a thing." I nodded and took a deep breath, knowing that he was right. He gave my arm a gentle squeeze before releasing it.
"Look, if you want to fight, then go home and risk the lives of your own people, not ours!" Will added before storming off like a pissy toddler. Merlin sighed sadly and went after him.
I glanced up to find Arthur staring after them with a troubled expression and I gently nudged his side, wishing to reassure him that he wasn't doing anything wrong.
"I will follow you," Hunith spoke up. "If I am to die, then I want to go out fighting."
The Prince nodded, giving her a small grin. Her statement was followed by multiple villagers joining in her words and I smiled widely as the people grew confident. "For Ealdor!" I cheered, getting the crowd to join in.
Arthur suddenly threw an arm over my shoulders and drew me even closer to him. I looked up in surprise and he gave me a smile that caused my heart to try to shatter my ribs for a second before he turned to gaze at the hyped-up people. A small grin formed on my lips and I slowly returned the half-embrace by placing an arm around his waist while I also turned to look at the crowd.
Don't blush. Don't blush. Don't blush.
Too late.
"So, what is the story between you and Will?" Morgana asked, her jade-green eyes glinting with curiosity as she sat down on her sleeping-bag.
She and Gwen would be sharing 'my' old room with me during our stay in Ealdor, while Arthur and Merlin would be sharing the sorcerer's room, and Hunith was left alone.
I grimaced at the memory that flashed through my mind. "We've always been at each other's throats," I explained with a shrug. "I'm crazy, he's an ass, we both have short tempers… It's bound to become an issue."
"But it is more than that on his end. Almost like… resentment," Gwen added, her eyes examining me carefully as I rolled out my own sleeping-bag on the floor.
A sigh escaped me before I sheepishly revealed the main reason why I don't like the boy, "Well, he tried to kiss me once and I punched 'em in the eye."
The girls dropped their jaws at the same time, making me look away awkwardly. "He did what?!" Morgana questioned.
"Yeah," I mumbled as I sat down and wrapped myself in my Avengers blanket, looking for comfort; and I began to play with my spare hair-tie. "It was awful 'cause he caught me by surprise and I barely had time to react."
They likely noticed that the subject was making me uncomfortable, for they dropped it after that and we stayed silent for a minute or so. Then Gwen spoke again, "I am so relieved that Arthur decided to come. We would not stand a chance otherwise."
"We would've managed," I stated while fighting the rebellious smile that tugged at my lips. "But yeah, it's great to have 'em."
"Would you punch him in the eye?" Morgana asked, shooting me a smirk when I glanced up.
My eyes widened at what she was implying, but I played dumb, really only half-joking as I replied, "Oh, yeah. I've had to hold back many times. You've seen how he treats Merls, sometimes. He's a jerk."
The two girls shared a look I couldn't decipher, so I just shrugged it off and looked back down at my fiddling hands.
"Oh, well. G'night, friends," I said rapidly before laying down with my back to them, curling up with my special blanket.
"So, what's the plan for today?" I asked no one in particular as I helped Hunith serve breakfast while crying internally because coffee won't be discovered by Europeans for another five-hundred years. I miss it so much. Especially in frappés – not the artificially-flavoured ones like at Starbucks, mind you, but genuine coffee frappés with oat milk, a dash of brown sugar, and two drops of vanilla…
"Arthur will start teaching the villagers how to fight while we," Merlin motioned towards himself, Gwen, and I, "craft swords for them."
My mind instantly went to my favourite video-game, making me smirk. "What makes you think I know how to craft a sword outside of Minecraft?" I whispered so that only the sorcerer could hear when I passed by him to grab a spoon that Hunith had asked for, earning an eye-roll.
I have the pocket version on my tablet, so he knows about the game. Kinda. He'd watched me play once for like half-a-minute before his head had started to ache, allegedly.
We all hurried to eat our oatmeal, knowing that there was a lot to get done. If I'm honest, the food was horrible. It was dry, plain, and tasted like cardboard. But it's what we had, and I knew we were lucky that we could eat at all.
I frowned as I watched Arthur discreetly cast his bowl aside with a grimace. "Aren't ya' hungry, Art-Attack?" I asked, purposely putting him on the spot so that he wouldn't waste the food. It worked as all eyes turned to him.
"Oh. Yes. I forgot where I had left that," he very clearly lied while grabbing the bowl again with a fake smile painted on his pretty face.
Stupid brain, shut up.
I grinned to myself in triumph, returning my attention to my own food, and I watched out of the corner of my eye as the Prince pretended to eat the oatmeal for a few moments until Hunith turned away. Then he carelessly handed the bowl over to Gwen and stood up from his seat. I glared at his head as he put his chainmail over his shirt, feeling upset at the way he was behaving.
He takes one step forward… then he goes back to being an arrogant jerk.
"See? I would totally punch him in the eye right now, but I'm deciding to remain civil for the time being," I whispered to Gwen, who I noticed was also eyeing the blond with disapproval. She snorted and shook her head a little.
"Right. We shall get going. We need wood, and lots of it," Arthur announced in an authoritative tone as his eyes darted around the room expectantly.
"Sir, yes sir," I gave a mock salute, which he obviously did not understand as he titled his head in confusion.
Morgana and Gwen reluctantly got up and followed the Prince outside while Merlin and I hung back to help his mom clean up.
"He must care for you two a great deal," the woman told us with a sweet smile – obviously referring to Arthur.
"Arthur would do the same for any village," Merlin replied. "That is just the way he is."
"Yeah," I agreed in a mumble as I dried off a plate.
"It is more than that. He is here for you," Hunith argued while looking between us.
"Well, we all know that he would do anything for Astra," the boy stated as he smirked at me.
I scoffed, "Please. He barely tolerates me on a good day… On the other hand, he cares about you more than he'd be willing to admit, Merls."
The boys are great friends, beneath all the bickering that goes on. Obviously, the dumb social hierarchy here means that they'll never be like, let's say, Scott and Stiles; but they still clearly have a bond that runs deeper than that of a Prince and his servant.
"That is because he does not know me," the sorcerer mumbled. "And if he did, I would probably be dead by now."
I gave him a sympathetic look and patted his arm in reassurance.
My only two options for helping with what I've dubbed 'Operation Avenge Ealdor' were to either craft weapons with the girls – which I soon proved to be terrible at when I accidentally cut my hand with a knife while sharpening a stake – or head off with Merlin to get more wood. So I chose the latter, not wanting to leave my best friend alone in the forest, and definitely not wanting to add to my collection of scars.
A villager lent us a wooden wagon that is used to collect crops, as well as his horse – who resembled a modern Percheron – so that we'd have an easier time carrying all the wood back, considering that neither of us is exactly muscle-y.
We led the gentle giant to the forest, where we began the therapeutic task of chopping down wood.
I was having the time of my life beating down fallen logs with an axe while Merlin did the same, just more carefully while continuously eyeing me with wariness in his expression. "You are enjoying this a little too much," he noted with a snort.
"I'm just imagining Arthur's ugly, stupid face. It's therapeutic," I joked.
He scoffed, "I know you like him. The only person you are fooling is yourself."
My eyes widened and the axe suddenly dropped out of my hand. I jumped when it nearly chopped off my left foot. I gulped and picked it up before turning to face Merlin again. "Well, now I'm gonna imagine your face," I stated as I brought down the tool upon a log… barely making a dent.
"You would never dare hurt me," Merlin claimed.
I sighed, "Nah. I'd get very bored if I didn't have you as my best friend." Then I froze as I thought over how quickly the words had left my mouth. Does he even consider me a friend, or just a… flea he's stuck with?
He paused his chopping and gave me a little grin, "You are my best friend, too."
My eyes widened and my heart must've warmed to a thousand degrees. I responded with a beaming smile before returning my attention to the log.
Our cute little bonding moment was ruined by Will, who appeared out of nowhere while accusing Merlin of not needing an axe to bring down a tree.
"Okay, fleabag, how about you do something useful and jump off a cliff?" I told the aggravating boy as I pointed my axe at him.
Merlin promptly snatched the tool away from me.
"How about you sit back and keep your snout out of Ealdor's business?" Will retorted with a glare as he moved closer to me in what seemed like a pitiful attempt to intimidate me.
"If I did that, your stupid butt would get everyone killed!" I shoved him backwards.
"The only one who is going to get people killed is your blood-thirsty Prince!" he shoved me, too.
My heart-rate quickened and my breath became uneven as I raised my arm, ready to punch him again. Fortunately for Will, Merlin stopped me and pulled me forcefully to the side. "Get the wood to the girls, I will catch up," he said sternly.
"Whatever," I grumbled as I moved towards the horse and began to led him away, though not without sending Will another deadly glare first.
"Here's your dump, ladies," I announced as I parked the horse in front of Morgana and Gwen, who sat on a couple of barrels as they sharpened some more stakes.
"Woah, that is a lot of wood!" Gwen exclaimed as her dark eyes inspected the wagon in wonder. "Possibly enough to make all this work!"
"Good," I replied with a satisfied grin.
I removed the horse's harness and took him back to his owner, then I returned to Gwen and Morgana and plopped down near them on the ground, letting out a tired sigh.
"Where is Merlin?" the dark-skinned girl asked as she glanced around for the boy.
I smirked a little as my mind cheered 'Merwen!' and then I rolled my eyes as I responded in a huff, "With Will."
Two days later, Arthur called for another meeting with the villagers at the town hall – a little stone and straw building in the town square. We don't know when Kanen will come back, so we need to come up with a plan to defend Ealdor and have everything ready for whenever the tyrant decides to show up.
Unfortunately, the Prince didn't even get to speak before a woman began screaming and crying hysterically outside. We all scrambled to exit the building and my stomach dropped when I spotted a frightened horse galloping towards us with a body dangling from its back.
I instantly jumped to stand in front of the equine and raised my arms to get it to stop. Its hooves skidded to a halt and I grabbed its reins. "Hey, buddy, it's okay, you're safe," I spoke softly while gently rubbing its forehead.
Two men got the body off the animal's back and my heart dropped when I saw that it was Matthew, a kind and resourceful man who had been scouting the perimeter. He had an arrow buried in his stomach.
"Oh, fork," I whispered to myself in shock as I looked away from the corpse, my body suddenly trembling.
I watched from my peripheral as Arthur crouched down beside the corpse on the ground and he seemed to examine something.
"What does it say?" Merlin asked in a strained voice.
I forced myself to look fully at the scene and found that the Prince was holding a piece of paper in his hands. "Make the most of this day, it will be your last," he read aloud in a grave tone.
I could see some doubt crossing his eyes as he looked down at the dead man, so I hesitantly moved to place a hand on his shoulder. "That's poetic," I mumbled as I eyed the note.
Matthew's wife ran down the street, crying for her dead husband. We stepped back as she kneeled down next to his body. My hand dropped from Arthur's shoulder to cling to his sleeve as I felt the woman's grief strike at my heart and I averted my gaze again.
"You did this! Look what you have done! You have killed him!" a roaring Will appeared from among the crowd that had gathered and he swerved through the people to point an accusatory finger at the Prince.
My sadness was instantly replaced by rage. "Okay, you know what–" I started moving towards the brunet, but the Prince stopped me by putting an arm in front of me and gently moving me back to his side. I huffed.
"It was not his fault," Merlin defended Arthur and I nodded in agreement.
"Had he not been strutting around, treating us like his own personal army, this would never have happened!" Will argued.
"These men are brave enough to fight for what they believe in, even if you are not!" Arthur countered. It wasn't difficult to spot the shaken emotion in his voice as he spoke and I concluded that Will's words had gotten to him, which only made me angrier.
"You are sending them to their graves!" Will cried. The Prince panted heavily beside me as he glanced down at Matthew and I could see the guilt in his eyes. I got a strong urge to hug him, but that would be weird. "You killed one man! How many more need to die before you realise this is a battle that cannot be won?!" the cowardly boy continued and I saw red as I lunged at him again.
Pain shot through my hand as soon as my fist collided with the side of Will's face, but that didn't stop me from throwing another punch as he stumbled backwards. Then I went to kick him in the nether-regions, but Merlin wrapped his arms around my torso and pulled me back, "Astra, stop!"
I fought his grip, but he didn't budge.
Will looked disoriented for a moment as we glared at one another, then he spit out a bit of blood on the ground and turned to the people, "When Kanen comes, you have not got a chance! You are all going to be slaughtered!" And with that, he stormed off the scene once more.
The Prince also left, going in the opposite direction, and my heart must've shrunk half its size at the sight of his slumped shoulders and stiff body.
"I cannot believe you did that," Gwen commented as she gently wrapped my hand in a bandage after she'd applied some ointment that Hunith had given us.
I snorted, "Well, I think he got off easy, but yeah."
Morgana chuckled from beside me, "It must have felt good."
"Like a dream!" I responded as I looked up at her, giving an exaggerated smile. Then I flinched when Gwen suddenly tightened the bandage a bit too much.
"Sorry," she said with a sheepish look, quickly loosening it. "Does it hurt much?"
"Doesn't matter as long as it hurts worse for Will," I grumbled.
Once Gwen deemed my hand good to go, I thanked her and promptly left the house again so that I could find Merlin, wanting to assess how mad he was at me for punching his friend… again. To be fair, he'd been on my side the first time.
"Heeey, old buddy," I greeted him meekly when I found him walking towards the house.
"I am not angry," he instantly said, which made me sigh in relief and my demeanour returned to normal as I linked my arm with his. "Have you seen Arthur?" he questioned.
My stomach churned as I replied, "Nope… He seemed pretty upset."
"I know," my best friend responded with a sigh. "Let us find him and make sure he is all right."
A small grin formed on my lips at that and I nodded in agreement.
After walking around for some minutes, we finally spotted the Prince sitting on a barrel outside a barn while he sharpened his sword with a rock. Merlin sat on another barrel that stood on one side of him, and I sat on the ground to his other side, my brain instantly finding some entertainment in fiddling with some long flakes of grass that stuck out from the dirt.
"William's father was killed while fighting for King Cenred," Merlin explained, "so he does not trust anyone of nobility."
I frowned. By that logic, I shouldn't trust anyone with a black vehicle; but it's unreasonable to blame a whole class of people for a single person's actions. It's like cutting down a whole tree just 'cause one apple is rotten.
"Do you think the villagers believed him?" Arthur asked softly, his gaze still fixed on the weapon in his hands.
"No," Merlin replied, shaking his head as he smiled a little. "He has always been a troublemaker. They are used to ignoring him."
"And if he is right?" the Prince questioned, his tone stoic.
"No, he's not!" I immediately protested. "He's just a coward. Like you said. And he'll be forgotten by history while you'll become a legend."
I froze as I went over my potentially dooming words in my head again and I slowly glanced up at Arthur to see his reaction. He met my gaze with a little grin on his lips (do not fixate on his lips, dumb brain!) and he snorted, then he looked down at the ground again.
"I am treating these men like soldiers," he continued, "but they are not. You have seen them fight. They have not got a clue!"
"Well, they're better than they were a week ago," I offered.
The Prince shook his head and he turned to Merlin, "You need to tell them all to leave the village before Kanen returns."
"No, we are going to stay. We are going to fight. And we are going to win," the sorcerer stated.
"Merlin, it cannot be done," Arthur argued. "The odds are too great."
"Well, it's a good thing I have a soft spot for underdogs, then," I said and gave a little grin, which Merlin mirrored. The Prince sighed and he looked down at me again, his hand reaching over to squeeze my shoulder. I felt myself blush and returned my attention to the flakes of grass.
"It can work," Merlin affirmed, speaking passionately. "We are going to make Kanen rue the day he ever came to this village. All you need to do is get the men ready for battle, and the rest will take care of itself."
"How?" Arthur asked, raising his voice a little.
"You simply have got to believe in them. Because if you do not, they will sense it, and the battle will be lost before it has even begun," Merlin responded wisely.
Arthur nodded and straightened up as determination flashed through his captivating blue eyes. My best friend and I shared a smile, knowing that we had succeeded in easing his doubts. We should start a motivational podcast… Or, rather, Merlin should. I'm not sure how much I contributed to the cause. Words aren't my thing.