The Truth Untold》Merlin

Eight

Calysta ran her hands through her hair as she recalls what she had just witnessed with Valiant. The snakes coming alive from his shield and ate their...dinner. Her heart kept racing in her chest in fear.

"He's using magic," she mumbled to herself. She ran her hand down her face as continued to pace back and forth in her room. "Sir Valiant is cheating." Her mouth dropped as her eyes widened in realization. "He's going to face Arthur in the final round, I'm sure of it. Oh, Heavens, he's targeting my brother." She stopped. "But I shouldn't have to worry. I'm positive Arthur will win, even though Sir Valiant is a cheater." Then gasped. "But what if Sir Valiant somehow cheats again and poisons Arthur? I have to cancel the tournament. But I can't do that, even though I'm a princess, accusing a knight of using magic is a serious accusation. I'm sure Arthur will believe me but my father?" Calysta began biting her nails. "Accusing a knight without proof? I'm sure father would be very displeased and humiliated."

Calysta jumped in fright when she heard her chamber doors knocking. The princess feared that it was Valiant, coming to use his shield to get rid of her as he did of Ewan. Someone was knocking on the door but more rapidly this time. Looking around the room, Calysta found a candleholder and grabbed it. She tried to control her breathing before slowly opening the door and raised the candleholder to whack the intruder. Except it wasn't an intruder

"We have to stop that tournament somehow," Merlin said as soon as he enters the princess's chambers. "We have to tell Uther that Valiant is cheating and -" Calysta didn't have enough time to process who entered her chambers and whacked Merlin on the back of his head. "Ow!"

Calysta's mouth widened as she dropped the candleholder. "Merlin, I'm so sorry!" she apologized. "I thought you were Sir Valiant and -"

Merlin glanced at the floor to see the candleholder. "Decided to whack me in the head instead," he interrupted.

This time when Merlin looked at the princess, the world seemed to hold still. Just like their first encounter, Merlin found his eyes flashing gold for a second. When he stared at Calysta - who was still rushing out her apology - there was this golden aura surrounding her. His breath got caught in his throat when he sensed the princess's distress. He wasn't sure how or why but he could feel Calysta's fear. Merlin began inspecting her for any injuries.

The thought occurred that he did leave the princess alone with the cheating knight. What if Valiant has done something to the princess? He could have killed the princess because she knew his dirty secret. And that thought alone was enough to make Merlin's chest tighten.

The young warlock grabbed Calysta's wrist and pulled her closer to him. He lets go of her wrist to wrap his arm around her while the other cradled the back of her head.

"Are you all right, Callie?" he asked.

"Me?" the girl asked incredibly, "You're the one who got it on the head and you're worried about me?"

"I shouldn't have left you with him. He could have done something to you."

Calysta appreciated the concern, but in her mind, she thought Merlin was worried because she's royalty. "I really appreciate your concern, Merlin. But I wouldn't be able to live with myself if anything happened to you." She held onto him. "As long as I'm in Camelot, I'll always be worried about you."

Merlin felt his cheeks heat up.

I just wish it stays like this before Callie leaves, he remembers Gwen saying. She is a princess. Her father expects her to marry someone of royal to create a stronger bond for Camelot.

The thought really upsets Merlin. He really likes having Calysta around. From day one, she didn't look at him like some kind of commoner. Neither making fun of him nor making him do the most ridiculous tasks she could think of. No doubt, the girl is doing this to make her father proud but is that what she wants.