Camelot
August, 507 AD
Arthur rolled off me and then he sat up while keeping his narrowed gaze on me. His face was a bit flushed as sweat trickled down his forehead. I remained still, focusing on trying to catch my breath. I let my eyes stray up towards the light blue expanse above me and they squinted under the proud shining of the summer sun above the mighty castle of Camelot.
The King has been doubling down on hand-to-hand combat training with me ever since the nightmare-inducing incident with not-Lancelot. And he has every reason to. If I were a better fighter, I could've saved myself. Instead, I stood helplessly as I was slobbered all over by a mindless puppet that had to be ripped off me by more capable forces. But no matter how many times we go at it, I just can't beat Arthur.
"This is stupid, I'm never gonna get it right," I grumbled as I turned my head slightly so that I could make eye-contact with him.
He gently removed a lock of hair from my face. "We have got to keep trying until you do, my love." He stood up and offered me a hand. I let out a defeated sigh and grabbed it. He easily pulled me to my feet as if I weighed nothing and he kissed my cheek before taking a couple of steps back. "Ready?"
"No," I said softly.
"Astra, come on, you cannot give up."
"Fine," I breathed out. "Bring it on, Karate Kid."
Before I could even blink, he was charging at me. I raised my arms and did my best to defend myself against the calculated punches he threw my way, but his hulking strength made me stumble every time our bodies made contact. Suddenly, he grabbed my forearm and turned me around, then he pressed my back against his chest and wrapped an arm over my abdomen, holding me firmly in place. With a huff, I kicked his knee and managed to make him stumble backwards as he groaned. I repeated the action, only a little harder, and he loosened his grip as he stumbled again. I elbowed him in the stomach and was finally able to get away from him.
I heard the knights cheering. That must mean I'm doing something right!
A small smirk formed on my lips and I braced myself for another charge from Arthur. This time he came at me like an angry rhinoceros on drugs, and the forty-something kilograms that my body packs were nowhere near enough to keep me from falling backwards with a yelp.
I hissed as a sharp pain shot through my lower back and ribs when the King landed on top of me.
"What does Merlin feed you?" I muttered.
Arthur scoffed and rolled off me once more, then he offered to help me up again, but I declined the help this time and squeezed my eyes shut, wondering if I should just give up my knighthood. It's more than clear now – I'm not Black Widow and I never will be, so why bother?
"Allow me to give it a try, Sire," I heard the sound of Gwaine's voice, much closer than it would be if he were still standing on the sidelines. I opened my eyes and found him standing near Arthur, who stood above me with his gaze fixed on my face.
"No. I do not want her to get hurt," the King replied gruffly with a shake of his head.
"You're about five falls too late, Peaches," I mumbled as I sat up. I winced when my spine whined again. I'll consider myself lucky if I'm able to walk tomorrow...
"I would never let my little friend get hurt," Gwaine protested and he sent me a wink. I couldn't help but grin a bit.
Arthur turned to look at me with a wary expression. I finally scrambled to my feet, suddenly feeling eager to spar with Gwaine. "I wanna do it," I said.
"All right," the King grumbled and he backed away to give us some space.
Gwaine turned to face me with a grin and walked closer. I got ready to defend myself, then I tilted my head in confusion when he raised his hands in surrender. I lowered my arms, but kept my eyes fixed on him, my brain ready to block any surprise attacks.
"Part of your problem is that you are too focused on defending yourself and forget to attack until it is too late," he commented. "What would you do if you had a sword?"
"'Piñata' the crap out of you," I responded with a smirk. It was his turn to look confused, so I tried a different wording, "Swing at you until you drop to the ground defeated."
"All right. So try that with your fists," he replied and got into a defensive stance. I bit my bottom lip and eyed him up and down, wondering how to go about this. "Come on, Trae. You can do this," he encouraged gently.
I nodded and took a deep breath, then I leaped at him, throwing punches and kicks every chance I got, and I felt a sense of triumph growing as he actually began to back up a little. Then I accidentally punched him in the face and froze, instantly dropping my arms to my side. My eyes widened when he began laughing.
"Oh, crap! I'm so sorry!" I quickly blurted out and stepped closer so that I could make sure he wasn't really hurt. My heart churned when I noticed a red spot forming on his cheekbone. I seriously suck at this!
"It is all right, Trae. You did great," he assured me and reached over to gently squeeze my shoulder. "Now, you are small and agile–"
"Agile?! You did see me fall on my face half-an-hour ago when I tried to get over the paddock fence, right?"
He chuckled and offered, "Fine. You are small and light." I nodded. That sounds more accurate. "So use that to your advantage. Never stay in one spot for too long and aim for the legs and lower torso."
"Right. Not the face," I noted with a sheepish grin.
He winked at me before getting into a defensive stance once more. I darted his way again and followed his advice, ducking his blows and throwing punches at his stomach. Then I quickly circled around him and threw all my weight against his lower back, making him stumble forwards and fall.
I gasped in surprise and quickly scrambled to get off him. That wasn't too hard!
He rolled onto his back and bursted out laughing again as I stood over him. "You did it!"
A big smile formed on my lips and I was soon joining his laughter. "I did!"
The knights cheered again and I turned to look at them, feeling a warmth spread through my chest. Arthur, however, didn't look too happy... Perhaps he's offended that Gwaine's a much better teacher than he is...
Whatever – who cares?! I did it!
My gaze was intently focused on the little booklet before me, my brain's gears working hard as they processed the empty squares on the page while my fingers twirled my pencil. Merlin's soft exhales fanned my shoulder as he looked over it while also trying to figure out what move to make next.
"Oh, look–" he suddenly snatched the pencil out of my hand and wrote down a '5' in one of the squares, then he shot me a small smirk.
"Nice catch," I praised and gave him a gentle nudge as I began to scan the paper again. "So that means that the only remaining five goes here," I noted and took back my pencil so that I could place said number in the only reasonable spot.
"And a nine here," he said and stole the pencil once more to write a '9' next to the previous '5'.
We fell silent again as we contemplated the puzzle for our next move.
"All right, who drank all my water?" Elyan suddenly asked in a louder tone than is usual with him, attracting Merlin and I's attention. He was holding his canteen upside down over the forest ground, with nothing coming out of it, as an upset frown formed on his face.
My eyes widened when Gwaine burped.
"Dude! Gross!" I scolded and threw a small pebble his way.
"I believe you have your answer," Arthur noted from beside me, a small amused grin forming on his soft pink lips.
"You said I could have some," Gwaine defended.
"I said you could have some," Elyan emphasised. "I did not say you could drink every last drop." He tossed the canteen at the brunet, who caught it smoothly and smirked.
"I was thirsty."
"Here," Leon said as he grabbed his own canteen off the ground, "have some of mine." He went to toss it to Elyan, but he instead sent it flying towards Percival, who quickly caught it with a snort. The knights laughed.
Fighting a smirk that was threatening to form on my lips at their playfulness, I closed the sudoku booklet and put it inside my backpack, fearing that the space around me would soon become a splash zone that could potentially mess up the fun piece of entertainment that Leo Hargrove had so graciously time-shipped my way.
Elyan gave a momentous fake smile before turning serious again. "That is very funny."
Percival sighed and moved towards him with Leon's canteen still in hand. "Here," he reached forwards, "unlike these ignorant fools, I share with my friends." Elyan went to take the item with a grateful smile, but just as his fingers brushed it, the tall blond threw the canteen towards Merlin, who scrambled to catch it.
More laughter ensued as Elyan grunted.
The canteen kept being passed around and trouble settled within my stomach as I debated whether to let the knights keep teasing Elyan, or put a stop to it by offering to refill his canteen with water from my thermos.
Before I could do anything, Arthur quieted us down with a sharp 'shh!'. I looked up at him and noticed that his eyes were fixed on something past the trees. I followed his gaze and found a bunch of clothes hanging from a line.
"What is it?" Merlin inquired, not quietly at all.
Arthur stood up, grabbed his sword, and began cautiously moving towards the clothes. "I saw something in the trees," he responded.
With a sigh, I grabbed my bow and quiver and followed the King. The knights and my brother were right behind.
My eyes widened at the sight of seemingly endless rows of hanging multicoloured cloths attached to trees. Not clothes – cloths. There were also some witchy-looking ornaments made of sticks and rope, and something that looked a lot like a voodoo doll hanging from a tree.
"What is this place?" Percival asked in a low tone.
I shuffled closer to Arthur as the elements around began to make me feel uneasy and I slipped my hand into his.
"This is a shrine," Merlin replied, sounding slightly concerned. "In the time of the Old Religion, they built shrines like this to appease restless spirits. We should not be here."
I turned to look at him and saw that he was dead serious, which put off all the jokes about ghosts that I wanted to make.
A gust of wind blew past, causing the cloths to dance in the air for a few moments, an eerie whistling sound accompanying them.
I watched with a small frown as Gwaine snuck up behind Merlin and then he suddenly placed his hands on his shoulders, effectively startling him with a "Boo!" The knights laughed and I couldn't help but smile a little.
"It is not funny!" Merlin scolded. "Gaius told me about places like this and they are cursed!"
I let out a sigh. We really shouldn't be dismissing his concerns.
"Yeah, maybe we should get back to the horses," I backed him up. I frowned when Arthur remained unmoving and I looked up at him. He was so still that I would've thought Medusa was lurking in the shadows were it not for his heavier-than-usual breathing. I squeezed his hand, trying to get his attention, but his eyes remained fixed on a particularly disturbing witchy thingy that hung from a tree. "Artie?" I said softly.
"Do not tell me you are scared of spirits, Astraea Aphelion," Elyan teased.
I scoffed. "Of course not. I know how to deal with ghosts, thank you very much."
More wind came, only stronger this time, and a crow unexpectedly rose up from the ground with a screech, startling everyone for a second. Arthur finally moved as he followed the flying bird with his gaze.
"There is your spirit, Merlin," Leon jested. I sent him a quick glare.
"There is nothing here for us!" Arthur called out as he suddenly composed himself. "Move out." He walked away without a second look, dragging me with him as he gripped my hand firmly.
It's so out-of-character for him to be scared of something like this and the thought caused my stomach to turn upside down.
"So how do you deal with ghosts, Trae?" Gwaine questioned and he shot me a smirk when I glanced up at him.
I was hanging out with the team in the armoury while the knights and Arthur removed their uncomfortable metal body parts. I still refuse to wear any of it no matter how many times I'm told to. I'd rather risk getting stabbed, or something, than have to walk around with hindered movement. That is more likely to get me hurt.
"Ya' gotta salt n' burn their bones," I replied and mirrored his smirk. "Or anything that they might be tethered to, like special objects and stuff."
"How do you know?" Elyan inquired.
"The same way I knew about vampires," I responded while shooting him a wink.
"Anything else?" Percival asked with a faint chuckle.
I puffed as I quickly recapped the lore from 'Supernatural' in my mind. "You can ward 'em off by surrounding yourself with salt. Or by hitting them with iron. But that only sends them away for a minute."
"Not very effective, then," Gwaine noted.
"Better than nothing," I countered.
The room fell silent for a couple of moments and my eyes travelled to Arthur, who stood beside where I sat atop a table. He seemed lost worlds away as he stared straight at a wall, his hands frozen mid-way through removing his arm thingies.
"Are you all right?" Merlin asked him.
That seemed to snap him back to reality and he raised an eyebrow as his head turned towards my brother. "What do you mean?"
"You're actin' strange," I pointed out in a soft tone.
"You're very quiet. You did not say a word on the way home..." Merlin added.
Arthur rolled his eyes and shot back, "It is called thinking, Merlin. You should try it sometime," before promptly walking out of the room.
My eyes widened as I watched him go and I felt my heart being squeezed by concern for him. My body itched to run after him, but I don't want him to snap at me… I guess I'll give him some time to cool off and then I'll go find him.
"Merlin!" Gwaine suddenly called out with a mischievous grin.
My brother turned around just in time to catch a small leather bag that was flown his way. "What is that?" he asked as he looked it over.
"Salt," Gwaine responded. "To protect you from evil spirits," he added and sent a wink my way. I couldn't help but chuckle and I decided to ignore the glare that Merlin gave us. "And if it does not work, Gaius can always put it on his supper."
At that, I bursted out laughing.
"Very funny," Merlin said in a completely humourless tone before walking out of the room without another word.
"Damn, what's up with everyone today?" I wondered in a mumble.
At about 21:00, I finally gathered the courage to find Arthur again and I went to his bedroom while mentally praying that he wouldn't shut me out – neither physically or emotionally. He's been a huge grounding presence for me so many times and, if something is wrong, I wanna return the favour in any way I can.
I found him sitting at his desk, a full plate of food in front of him as he twirled a spoon around. His eyes were fixed on a wall as a slight frown contorted his handsome features. I noticed that Salem was sleeping atop the desk, which means that Arthur must really be in another dimension if he hasn't shooed him away yet.
"Artie? You okay?" I asked as softly as I could while I took cautious steps his way.
He started and let his spoon drop, a little bit of broth splashing onto his red shirt. I froze in my spot and warily watched for further reaction from him. All I got was a second of eye-contact before he dropped his gaze to the plate. "Yes, I am fine," he claimed in a deflated voice.
I took a deep breath as I debated whether to push him on the subject or leave it be. Eventually, the former option won out. I know it's a bit hypocritical, considering that if it was me in his place, I wouldn't want people to push. But I'm too worried to simply sweep it under the rug and hope it doesn't come back to haunt me (or Merlin).
"No, you're not. You've been spaced out ever since we came across that creepy stuff in the woods," I argued as I moved to sit on his table, facing him. I searched his face for any indicators of how he was feeling, but he was entirely stoic.
He looked up at me after a few moments and I registered a sea of emotions behind his stare. "I do not want to talk about it right now, Astra," he responded.
I sighed. Well, at least I got him to admit that something is wrong. I know that I won't get anything else from him – at least not at the moment. So I dropped my head, along with the subject. He went back to playing with his spoon, never taking out a bite from whatever my brother got him.
"I'll… leave you to eat, then," I said slowly, my voice almost a whisper, and I was about to hop off the table when his free hand suddenly shot out to grab mine, gripping it a bit too tightly as his eyes found mine again.
"No, please stay."
I felt my lips curve upwards a little and a bit of relief filled my veins.
"All right," I replied, then I leaned slightly forwards and placed a tentative kiss on his forehead. He sighed and I saw his body release some tension. He dropped the spoon again and wrapped his arms around my waist, sliding me closer to him as he moved to lie his head on my lap. I lifted a hand to his hair and started to gently run my fingers through it. I rested my other hand on his upper back and rubbed gentle circles in an attempt at a massage. Dallas likes it, so maybe he might, too…
Eventually he pulled away, one hand moving to rest on my knee, and he glanced down at his food. "I should probably finish this," he mumbled.
"Go ahead. I'm sure your stomach would appreciate it," I responded and leaned down to kiss his cheek. "I'm gonna put my PJs on and I'll be right back."
Seemingly reluctantly, he removed his hand, and I leaped off the table and sprinted to my room, wishing to make this as quick as possible so that he wouldn't be left alone for long. He asked me to stay, after all. I scrambled to put on my baby blue and white polka dot fleece PJs; brushed my teeth; and grabbed my special blanket, my Iron Man pillow, my normal pillow, my thermos, and my copy of Stephen King's 'It'. I closed the door with my hip, and I huffed when I realised that my overloaded hands wouldn't be able to put the lock on.
I ran back to Arthur's room, let all my stuff drop on his bed, then ran back to put the lock on my door, and ran back to his room one final time, panting a bit as I closed the door behind me.
I halted and froze for a moment when I noticed Arthur's slightly amused gaze on me. Then I gave him a goofy grin as I chirped, "Fun workout!" He snorted and returned his attention to his plate... which was still pretty much untouched, but I decided not to comment on that. Or on his lack of an appetite. Instead I swallowed my worries and settled onto the bed with my blanket, pillows, and book; occasionally stealing glances at the incredibly handsome guy across the room while I let my mind take a break from life and travel to Derry, Maine.
I jolted up at the sound of the door creaking and my eyes instantly travelled to see what was going on. To my relief, it wasn't Pennywise or not-Lancelot. Just Merlin. I gave him an awkward wave in greeting and I glanced around me for a moment, realising that I fell asleep half-sitting while reading. The book still lay open on my chest – I prayed that the pages didn't shuffle around – and Salem was sleeping peacefully on Arthur's pillow.
I pouted when I saw that the King wasn't beside me and I looked around, quickly finding him still at his dining table, with his head resting beside the half-eaten plate of stew, and his arms sprawled out over the table as soft snores left him.
I returned my attention to Merlin and watched as he silently but decidedly walked up to Arthur with a mischievous grin playing on his lips. He's about to do something funny! I sat up and crossed my legs, then I leaned one elbow on my knee and rested my head atop my hand while my other hand reached over to pet Salem.
I was not disappointed when Merlin slammed his hands on the desk, causing Arthur to shoot upright with a disoriented expression. The broth from his food dripped down the side of his face and a bit of carrot? stuck out of his hair. I down on bit my lip to restrain myself from laughing, and I could tell that my brother was holding back, too, as he looked at the King with an expression reminiscent of a puzzled aunt who caught her niece asleep with her head on her laptop after she spent way too many hours browsing 'Avengers cast funny moments' videos on YouTube...
"Oh, I am sorry, I did not mean to scare you," Merlin innocently told Arthur.
"You did not scare me, I was asleep," he claimed in a clearly tired voice. He seemed oblivious to the food that covered half of his pretty face.
Merlin glanced at me as he very clearly fought a bout of laughter and I slapped a hand over my mouth as a giggle left me. Arthur followed his servant's gaze and he smiled slightly when our eyes connected, then he frowned and turned back to my brother with narrowed eyes as he inquired, "What are you two smiling about?"
Merlin and I shared a smirk.
"We're happy people, Artie," I responded in the sweetest tone I could put on.
"Why were you sleeping with your head on the table?" Merlin questioned.
Arthur froze for a moment before responding, "I fell asleep while I was reading."
I frowned and tilted my head, knowing very well that that isn't true. Last I remember before falling asleep, he'd still been absentmindedly playing with his food. And there aren't any readable things atop his desk.
"What were you reading?" Merlin interrogated.
Arthur's eyes moved to the table and they scanned it for a few seconds before he returned his attention to the sorcerer, obviously realising his mistake. "I am the King of Camelot, I do not have to answer to the likes of you."
My brother and I shared another amused glance. "Oh, you're in a good mood. You obviously got out of the wrong side of the table," he quipped as his gaze fell on Arthur again. I stifled a laugh while Merlin chuckled. The King remained stoic. "The wrong side of the bed… but you slept on the table..."
"That is extremely clever and funny, Merlin, there really are no limits to your wit," Arthur stated in a monotonous voice. "Now, will you please just get me and Astraea some breakfast?"
"I can get my own breakfast," I protested and I moved off the bed, earning a protesting 'meow' from Salem. I grinned at the cat and rubbed his head for a few seconds, then I darted to my brother's side and linked my arm with his. Arthur narrowed his eyes at me, but he said nothing.
Shortly after leaving the room, my brother and I heard a loud, annoyed "Merlin!" echo through the corridor, which caused us to take off running while giggling like toddlers.