The Ghost of a Prince

Chapter 26

Valerie moved Excalibur up and down, crashing it against Arthur's own sword. As her first class with real swords, Arthur had limited his lessons to have them make their swords hit one another as they took turns walking forward and back. She found such lesson boring but didn't dare complain figuring he could be capable to demote her back to wooden swords if she voiced such opinion.

"I have a question about Uther." she rose her voice slightly, so she could be heard above the clashing steel. She had no intention to press if he didn't want to answer, but she was bored enough to not care much about what she said.

Arthur pressed his eyebrows together, probably perplexed at the topic Valerie suggested. "Go ahead."

"Did you ever meet him before he died? Or did you ever wish you had?" She tried. Her sword hit Arthur's. She got ready to step back, but he lowered his sword. It was enough for her to get the hint. Oddly enough, she couldn't say she was happy about it, there was something bizarre about seeing Arthur get serious that she couldn't get used to.

"What brings the question?" he questioned, head tilted.

"I'm just curious." she mumbled, playing with the sword on her hand and avoiding the former king's eyes that had turned inquisitive. "From what little I've gathered, the guy was an ass, but he died with no explanations and basically just gave you a kingdom, weren't you mad at him or something?"

Arthur paused, thinking over his answer for a second. "Were you mad at me when you found Excalibur?"

Valerie stared at the sword on her hand for a second before shrugging. "I'm still deciding." she made a vague movement with her free hand.

"Of course." He chuckled in an exhale. "And to answer your question, no, I only ever saw him from afar, I was supposed to be knighted at eighteen, and Uther died months before that."

Valerie's eyes opened wide, staring at him as if he had insulted her. "You mean all that talk about being a knight was fake?"

There was a slight smile on his face. "Not quite, I did all the jobs of a knight, I just wasn't an appointed one, I didn't get the pay or benefits that came with the title."

"You were an intern, then." Valerie nodded. She thought it was sad, to have to go and fight battles and risking dying of an infection in the slightest cut without getting the pay or the credit.

Arthur tilted his head, eyebrows pressed in a single line. "What is that?"

"That's... nevermind." she made a vague movement with her hand. Arthur nodded, making that face he always did when he knew that the reason he couldn't understand something was because it was a modern thing. "You still haven't answered my other questions."

"If you must know." he began, exhaling softly. "I was curious about what he was like, people lived at ease in Camelot, so I assumed he was a good king, and then I learned what he had been like, so I decided I was better not having met him."

He shrugged as if he didn't care much about it, but there was a severity in his tone that nearly took Valerie by surprise. "Sir Ector was my father in accounts that mattered, I grew up in his castle, ran around with Kyle and it was Lady Royse who stood by my bed when I was sick."

"I admit," he continued. "I've always been a bit more curious about Lady Igraine, people only had good things to say about her, so it would have been nice to meet her."

Valerie nodded humming lightly. "That makes sense, I suppose."

"I'm glad you think so," Arthur said, ruffling the girl's hair and smiling when she scorned at him. "Do you mind if I return the question?"