The Ghost of a Prince

Chapter 14

Arthur had his eyebrows knit together a finger over his mouth. "Remind me again, Audrey is..."

"My friend," Valerie explained almost amused, with a movement of the hand, swinging her wooden sword against the air. "She's the one that does ballet and I've known her since she was eight."

Arthur nodded. "Ballet, yes, the thing where they dance of course, and Jonathan is..."

"The one with magical powers." Valerie smiled.

"Right" Arthur nodded, his face relaxing slightly. Although it was understandable, Valerie found certain amusement on the fact that for the former king, the idea of people being able to conjure things was more plausible than someone spinning on their place while sober for their own amusement.

Valerie wasn't entirely sure how exactly they had gotten to that point. Her aunt opened the portal and went to attend some business and left her to find Arthur. Once she had found him, he mentioned how he simply wasn't in the mood for training and begun to question her on things she had mentioned in passing. She wanted to think that he might another perspective on the changes that the world had taken over the years. However, he didn't seem as interested on how computers worked, or people could see a message in seconds as he was on her friends. It reminded her a bit of her mother.

"Is Jonathan similar to Emrys, then?" he questioned. Valerie tensed her lips in her best attempt to stop herself from laughing.

"I wouldn't say so, no." she shook her head, thinking of the heart-attack Jonathan would have had at being compared to Merlin. "He's a lot less stuck up and lazier and doesn't have as much control on his magic, but he's working on it, and..."

Valerie stopped; a faint heat rose to her cheeks. Arthur was looking at her in a mix of curiosity and amusement.

"You've known these people for a while haven't you?" Arthur smiled. Valerie nodded, tucking one hair behind her ear.

"Jonathan is the one I have known for the longest, and Philip is the most recent one." Valerie said "Why?"

"Would you let me give you a word of advice?" The previous friendliness vanished from his face for a second. Valerie rose an eyebrow.

"I suppose." she mumbled, unsure of the origin of the shift in tone in his words.

"Be wary of them." he spoke. Hearing him say something like that resonated more like a sentence than advice.

"What?" Valerie replied.

"I do not wish to insult you by saying this, of course." Arthur shook his head, Valerie crossed her arms, waiting for him to continue. "I knew a few of my knights for years, and they turned their backs on me when I needed them, who I assumed was my bravest and most loyal knight was having an affair with my wife under my very nose, what I intend to say is that, you need to keep an eye open, you can never be sure of who will turn their backs on you."

"Alright." Valerie nodded, hesitant, an uncomfortable feeling had settled upon her shoulders.

"This doesn't mean all your friends are plotting against you, of course, but it's easier for the enemy to get you if you invite it to your home."

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Jonathan wasn't entirely sure when the uncomfortable sensation crawled to the pit of his stomach. It couldn't have been when one of the teachers pointed at him to answer a question. Most of the time, he kept both hands in his desk and did his best to avoid any kind of situation where the teacher could single him out. Although the answer he had given was the right one, the teacher stared at him with a risen eyebrow. It couldn't have been due to what he had for lunch, so he tried to focus his attention on finishing the homework for the next class.