Camelot
August, 507 AD
Kilgharrah let out a joyous laugh as soon as I spilled the news. His happiness was contagious and it caused my own smile to grow as I looked up at his aeroplane-sized figure. I was about to say something else when a strong force collided against my body and pushed the oxygen out of my lungs. I fell sideways onto the ground without a chance to break the impact.
A groan escaped me and I opened my eyes as a squeaky giggle sounded above me, finding Phoenix looking down at me, his amber-coloured eyes filled with mischief. Now the size of a Golden Retriever, the once little baby is turning into a playful menace! Still cute, though.
I heard Merlin cackling in the distance.
"Finny, you're gonna kill me one of these days!" I scolded the dragon with a playful scowl as I sat up. A slight pain shot up my back. Phoenix seemed to grin at me. "You should learn from your sister and behave more gallantly," I said while pointing a stern finger at him as I nodded towards Aithusa, who lay peacefully beside my brother with her head on his lap while he worked through my copy of Elizabeth Kostova's 'The Historian'.
"Play!" Phoenix squeaked out.
I couldn't fight the smile that filled my lips and I booped his scaly pinkish-white nose. "Fine, get your frisbee," I told him with a playful eye-roll. He squealed happily and dashed off towards the cave, struggling to take off for a few seconds before he was airborne.
My eyes followed him as he went, my chest filling with pride from the fact that the babies can now fly. "They grow up too quickly," I said while wiping away a pretend tear as I turned to look at Merlin once more.
Kilgharrah chuckled behind me. "Not when you are the one raising them, I am afraid."
"I'd happily take 'em off your hands, but I don't think that my future husband," I grinned like an idiot, "would let me."
The great dragon chuckled again, this time a bit louder. "No, I do not suppose he would."
Phoenix returned with the frisbee and Aithusa perked up at the sight, then she promptly rushed towards me as her brother handed me the toy.
"All right, ready?" I asked. The two baby dragons squeaked and smiled as I drew the item backwards. "Set?... Go!"
I tossed it as high in the air as my spaghetti arms would let me and they both clumsily took off flying while chasing after the dark blue object – which fell to the ground before either could reach it. Aithusa got to it first and quickly wrapped her arms around it, shielding it from a stubborn Phoenix who wouldn't give up the fight so easily.
"Give!" he commanded as he tried to tackle his sister, who swiftly dodged the attack and flapped her wings again.
A gust of wind blew through the field, causing Aithusa to falter and give Phoenix the upper hand as he flew towards her. He managed to get a webbed hand on the frisbee, but his sister had a surprising new trick up her sleeve – a natural flamethrower that operates out of her mouth!
My jaw dropped as the amber-eyed dragon dropped to the ground in an effort to escape being scorched, and Aithusa rushed to give me the frisbee.
Kilgharrah didn't seem too fond of the twins playing dirty and was quick to reprimand the female dragon. She dropped her head, giving a dragon version of 'puppy eyes' as the great dragon commanded her to apologise to her brother, who was now shuffling towards us on his feet, a small trail of ash covering his forehead and nose.
I fought an amused smile as I skipped over to him and I used the sleeve of my bomber jacket to clean him up.
Aithusa slowly walked over to her brother and nudged his shoulder with her head. "Sowry," she squeaked.
"Fowgive," Phoenix squeaked in reply and rested his head on top of hers.
Merlin came to stand beside me and I clutched his arm. "This is the cutest thing ever," I whispered. He snorted and nodded in agreement.
Suddenly, my phone buzzed in the pocket of my riding leggings. I frowned and pulled it out. My eyes widened when I noticed the reason behind the interruption: an alert from my calendar telling me that Arthur and I's scheduled meeting with a fancy chef from France will be starting in thirty minutes! And it usually takes us two hours to get to the dragons' cave!
"Oh, shirt!" I exclaimed as I showed the device to Merlin and tightened my grip on his arm. "He's gonna kill me!"
"Astraea," Arthur greeted with a stoic expression as I stumbled into the council chamber. He sat at the head of the table, and to his right sat a lanky, blond, middle-aged man whose light blue eyes scanned me with curiosity. "You are thirty minutes late."
I gave my King a sheepish smile as my cheeks warmed up slightly. "Sorry, we lost track of time."
He rolled his eyes, though the slight upright curve of his lips betrayed his attempt to appear annoyed, and he reached to pull out the chair to his left without standing up. I darted over to it and quickly kissed his cheek before plopping down, feeling exhausted from all the physical exertion I put myself (and my horse) through in order to make it to the meeting not-so-late.
Then my gaze landed on the man sitting across from me. "This is Arsène," Arthur introduced us, not sounding so annoyed anymore. "Arsène – this is my future wife, Astraea."
I couldn't help the fireworks that exploded through my veins at the sound of the label. I still can't believe that I'm really gonna marry Arthur after so long! It seems unreal! But I won't allow my thoughts to linger on that too much – I want to enjoy the whole experience without getting trapped in my head, no matter how annoying the planning aspect of the wedding is proving to be.
"Nice to meet ya'," I told the chef and offered a friendly grin.
"The pleasure is all my," he replied in an endearing broken English that made me wonder if that's kinda what I sound like to everyone around me, given my accent and constant use of modern slang.
Arthur reached for my hand and gave it a gentle squeeze as he laced our fingers together. "Arsène and I were just discussing the cake," he stated, his glistening eyes landing on mine. "Do you have any preferences, my darling?"
"Strawberry!" I instantly blurted out with a smile. Arsène grinned and nodded. "No, wait! Chocolate!" I changed my answer just as quickly. The chef frowned. "No, no, no! Wait! Strawberry covered in chocolate!"
"I sorry, what is this choc-lay?" Arsène inquired as he turned to Arthur with a confused expression.
The King chuckled and gave my hand another gentle squeeze before explaining, "It is a sweet derived from the cacao seed, which is native to Astraea's place of origin, but we have begun to grow it as well."
I smiled, feeling proud that he remembers the slightly tweaked explanation I gave once.
"Oh, magnifique!" Arsène exclaimed while clapping. "I will try this choc-lay and make sample, yes?"
A rush of excitement shook my body as I nodded, my cheeks starting to hurt from the big smile that grew on my lips.
"Yes. Thank you, Arsène," Arthur responded with a grin as he squeezed my hand once more, then he gestured towards the door with his free arm.
I turned to find Gwen standing there and a certain playfulness crossed her eyes when I waved at her. Much like Kilgharrah, she was elated when I told her the big news and she assured me that I can count on her for anything I might need. Asking her to make my dress was a no-brainer.
"Guinevere will show you to the royal kitchens," Arthur told the chef.
Arsène promptly left his seat and bowed for a moment before going towards Gwen and following her out of the room.
I jumped to my feet as soon as they were out of sight and stretched my back for a second or two before turning to Arthur. "I need a shower," I stated, then I placed a quick kiss on his soft lips and rushed out of the room, heading towards my own.
"So – what's next?" I asked as I hopped to sit on Arthur's desk a couple of hours later, feeling much fresher after having had a warm bath, a snack, and a nice cup of coffee. "Table centrepieces? Seating arrangements?" I paused to gasp dramatically. "Music?!"
He looked up from the document he was perusing, a small smile forming upon his soft pink lips as he eyed me with amusement. "State business, I am afraid," he replied. I puffed. "Not everything can be about us."
"Perks of ruling a kingdom, aye?" I noted with a wink.
Arthur smiled as he slid his chair closer to me and he rested one of his hands on my knee, rubbing gentle circles on it with his thumb. I reached over to run a hand over his soft hair and grinned down at him as I began to gently undo some knots that have formed during the day. I certainly enjoyed being the taller person for once as our eyes locked.
"Our kingdom," he stated.
"Nuh-uh. Not yet. I still get a couple more months of freedom," I retorted playfully.
He chuckled and gently removed my hand from his hair. Then he kissed the inside of my wrist and pushed the sleeve of my hoodie slightly upwards before placing another kiss on the newly exposed skin, then another, and another, never breaking eye-contact as his lips ran over the scars while he spread an electrifying sensation through my body. I'm sure my face turned bright red.
I lifted my free hand up to his cheek and moved the other away from his mouth so that I could kiss him instead. He hummed as our lips brushed softly against each other. Without separating, he rose up from his chair and wrapped his arms around my waist while I rounded his neck with mine. He pulled me closer to him, our chests pressing together as he deepened the kiss.
After about a minute or so, he pulled away and rested his forehead against mine, a cute grin appearing on his face. "I should get back to work," he whispered as our eyes met again. I pouted and tightened my hold on him. "Do not look at me like that!" he scolded playfully and gave me a much softer kiss. I grinned a little. "Much better," he said before kissing me again, this time lingering for a bit longer. I started to run my fingers through his hair again when he pulled away. He let out a long exhale, the expelled carbon dioxide gently blowing over my face, and he softly brushed his nose against mine. "How am I ever going to get anything done with you around?"
"I dunno. Maybe we can outsource the job and have someone else do the hard work," I joked as my eyes moved down to his lips, really wishing that he would kiss me again.
And he did.
"I fear that is not possible, my love," he told me with a pointed look.
I giggled and finally let my arms drop, allowing him to sit back down and return to the document he was inspecting when I came in.
"Lemme help," I said as I grabbed another document that was lying around and I started to read through it. Only, it was boring – a report on the union of a Lord and a Lady that would've been ninety-percent shorter had the writer not included a boatload of unnecessary detail (such as the recipe for each dish that was served at the reception, and the weather conditions reported by the hour); so I started to sing 'Magic' by The Cars under my breath as I scanned the paper for any relevant bits.
I trailed off when I noticed Arthur's suddenly bewildered gaze on me and I raised an eyebrow. "What?"
"Why are you singing about magic?!"
Ah, right. I didn't think about that.
I couldn't hold back the big laugh that escaped me. "It's metaphorical, Peaches!" He narrowed his eyes at me and pouted a little. "You know what that means, don't ya'?"
He huffed and shook his head before returning his attention to the document in his hands.
I made a mental note to tell him to write a congratulatory note to the newly-wedded Lord and Lady later, and then I flung the report aside before reaching for an envelope that sat next atop the pile of papers.
"Hey! This is from Elena!" I chirped when I saw the seal that held it closed. I hurried to open it, eager to know what news there are from Gawant. I haven't heard from my friend in almost three months, after I gushed at her news of how her father would be taking my advice and start breeding Arabian horses to select royal horses in hopes of creating something similar to the Thoroughbred. I really want to do the same in Camelot, but Arthur says that importing Arabians is too expensive.
My first motion as queen will be cutting the budgets for barbaric hunting parties and dumb wine exports, and aim that money at getting cool horses.
Just kidding.
(But not really.)
My eyes would've flown out of their sockets were they not so deeply connected to my skull through... whatever it is that connects eyes to the skull. I don't know. I hardly passed Anatomy in high school. Whatever, the point is that in my hands was a wedding invitation – Elena will be marrying a Saxon prince by the name of 'Cynebald' in a month's time!
"No way! She's gettin' married!" I informed Arthur as I looked up at him with a grin. "Everyone's suddenly getting married, huh? It's like we're trend-setters or something," I joked. He snorted in amusement. Then I gasped, "We're like influencers!"
"We have not sent out invitations yet, my love," he reminded me with a soft chuckle. "They are mere coincidences."
"Right," I mumbled and looked back down at the envelope in my hands.
Along with the invitation was a letter from the Princess addressed to me. In it, she apologised for not having written in a while, stating that she has been incredibly busy ever since her father brought the Saxon prince into Gawant. She assured me that she is marrying him out of love, for she quickly fell for him shortly after meeting him, and that she is very happy with the arrangement that their kingdoms landed on. She also writes that she hopes I will be able to attend her wedding – 'cause apparently she can't wait to race Dallas and I again, this time on her new Arabian stallion.
I giggled at that last part, which caused Arthur to send me a small grin. Then he gently took the wedding invitation from me and looked it over. His face turned disappointed once he was done, which caused the joy I was feeling to fade away along with his smile.
"What? What's wrong?" I asked.
He let out a sigh and pursed his lips. "We will be entertaining the guests from Nemeth during those days."
I let my gaze and my shoulders fall and puffed, a certain sadness spreading within me. I really wanted to see my friend again and be there for her on her big day…
Arthur reached for my hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. I could feel his calculating eyes on me and I looked up at him again, smiling just a little as our gazes connected. He ran his thumb over my knuckles and lifted my hand to his lips, placing a soft kiss on the back of it. Then he smiled.
"You should go," he said.
I glanced at the door to his bedroom for a second and tilted my head at him.
He chuckled and kissed my hand again. "No. I mean that you should go to Elena's wedding."
My eyes widened and I smiled once more. Then it dropped again. "But you said you wanted me by your side to deal with the Nemeth Princess," I reminded him.
He and Camelot are my priority, and I want to help reach whatever agreement can be reached, since the two royals will be boarding the delicate subject of a part of land that the two kingdoms have been fighting over for decades.
"Of course I want you by my side. All the time. But I can manage without you for a week or two. You should go to Gawant and celebrate with Elena," he told me, sincerity dripping from his lips. But I still wasn't too sure. "I want you to go. As a representative of Camelot," he added with a sweet smile.
I let out a shaky breath and allowed a grin to show on my lips again. "Okay, fine." He kissed my hand again. "It won't be the same without you, though," I added, then I bit down on my bottom lip. The simple thought of being without him for… what, a week? is kinda dreadful. He reached up to run his thumb over my lip, forcing me to stop the action that often ends up drawing blood.
"You will be all right," he told me softly.
"Can I take Merls?" I asked, now getting excited at the prospect of going on a holiday with my brother.
Arthur narrowed his eyes at me and shook his head.
"Aw, come on!" I protested.
"No! He already misses out on enough work with how often the two of you disappear for hours!" he shot back. I bit my lip again to stop myself from laughing. He has a point. We've been really drilling the excuse of collecting herbs for Gaius, lately, so that we can visit the dragons.
"Well, you know how Pops is about his magic plants," I responded with a shrug. His eyes widened in horror. Oops. "Metaphors, Peaches!" I raised my voice slightly as I grabbed his hand and shook it awkwardly, as if to wake him up. "Besides, you can get George to do his job. He'd be thrilled!"
He huffed and shook his head, "George is boring." I narrowed my eyes at him. I actually find the guy's behaviour to be quite entertaining. "You can take Gwaine."
I recoiled in surprise. I mean, I'm thrilled that he's allowing me to take whom I've grown to consider my greatest friend behind Merlin. I just wasn't expecting Arthur to be willing to send crazy and crazier on an adventure together without supervision.
"He is crazy, but I know I can trust him, above the rest, to protect you with his life," he explained, seemingly reading my mind.
"You forget I'm a knight, too!" I said.
"Believe me, I do not, but we all need someone to watch our backs, darling," he responded pointedly. "Especially my future wife."
I was rendered speechless, for a moment, by the giddiness that rose up in me at the sound of those final three words. I'm really gonna marry him! I leaned down to kiss him. Then I giggled. "Sounds great. I'll take Gwainester."
"And Leon," Arthur added. "Someone needs to keep the two of you in line."
"Hey! Rude! We're perfectly capable of behaving like the adults we are!" I argued.
"You spent the entirety of etiquette training last week competing for who could catch more candy in your mouths," he reminded me with a stern look.
"That was just some harmless fun!" I retorted with a scoff, then I laughed at the memory.
"You both missed training the day after because of stomach aches."
I blinked rapidly for a few seconds, disliking that he made a really good point. Then I glared at him and crossed my arms over my chest. "Yeah? Well – ya' borin'."
Arthur rolled his eyes at me and stood up, then he moved to stand in front of me and wrapped his arms around my waist, drawing me closer. I tried to keep my pretend-angry look as I stared up at him, but I quickly gave in as he started to trail kisses along my jaw and I wrapped my arms around his neck as our lips finally found each other.
I smiled when he pulled away and he kissed my forehead before moving back to his chair.
"Take Guinevere as well," he commanded.
"Sounds good," I replied with a grin. That should be fun.
Then we got back to dealing with boring documents.