❝ when she looks into his eyes, she feels the gripping temptation to tell him all her darkest secrets; the names of the men she has killed, but she learned a long time ago that the only people who can keep secrets are resting in overgrown graveyards...
CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR THE CURSE OF CORNELIUS SIGAN ( i. )
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When the cold months fade and summer finally returns, Calliope can barely keep track of her busy days. She wakes, throwing on her clothes quickly before sprinting to the palace kitchens and snatching a few pieces of food from the breakfast tray that would likely be on the way to Prince Arthur's chambers. Then, like clockwork, Sir Leon is waiting for her in the courtyard with their horses ready for a morning patrol. The past weeks have been filled with scouting the borders near Cenred's kingdom while other knights and guards keep an eye on any activities near Odin's lands.
Most days after patrol, she catches up with Arthur on the training grounds for a few hours, and by the time the sun begins drifting low in the late afternoon sky, she is completely and utterly exhausted, but sleeping has been a difficult task because Uther has instructed constant work under the palace near the burial vaults. Day and night, she can hear the hammering and clanging, and even if she didn't struggle with nightmares, Calliope would find it impossible to receive a good night's rest.
She has grown accustomed to the bags underneath her blue eyes and the constant headache that drones on in her skull from sleep deprivation. The blonde is not alone in her ailments. The knights move slower during their training and constant yawns echo through the wind. How much longer would the King order this construction? Any longer and everyone may drop dead from the combination of a heat stroke and exhaustion because the burning sun growing hotter and hotter with each day doesn't help the situation. Calliope definitely hates the cold and her body never does fully adjust to winter, but here in this miserable weather, she almost longs for a chilly breeze.
Currently, she is dismounting her horse, sweat drenching every inch of her body and causing her shirt to stick to ger dewy skin. The blonde wipes her forehead with her arm, thankful her sleeveless, navy tunic allows for at least some form of relief. From beside her, she can see Sir Leon struggling underneath all his chainmail and the red cloak adorned with a golden lion that all the knights must wear. She gives him a side-eyed look, her lips turning up as he breathes heavily.
Quickly, a servant hurries up to them, offering up a fresh canister of cold water. Leon takes a few huge gulps before handing the container to Calliope, their own supply being completely drained from the long ride that took up their entire day.
Water has never tasted so good. The cool liquid quenches her desperate thirst, "I thought you were going to pass out for a second there."
Leon looks over to her as they lead their horses towards the stables together, "I think this is the hottest summer Camelot has ever had."
"I spent one summer on a Southern Island. Luckily, I was near the ocean so I could always go for a swim every day when it would get this hot," Calliope leads her horse into its stall. "Here it's just muggy and gross and everything smells like shit."
