The Knight She Fell For

chapter 6

Lancelot

It was time for dinner. After fifteen minutes of overthinking and changing my mind I walked out of my room and to the kitchen. I picked up Melina’s dinner and made my way to her room. In front of her room I stopped. My heart was hammering against my chest. I nervously ran a hand through my hair and took a deep breath. When I had calmed myself down a bit I knocked on the door. No one answered. I knocked again.

Still nothing.

Maybe she is asleep. I pushed the door open and looked around the corner. It was dark inside but I could see that she wasn’t there. I walked inside and put the tray on the table. It was cold in the room. If that was anything to go off she must have left her room hours ago. What if something happened to her?I need to find her.

Again I forced myself to calm down. The probability that something happened to her was very small so why was I so worried? Still I wanted to find her, otherwise her food would get cold. I walked out of her room. I asked every servant  and guard I passed Inside the castle. Every one of them either shook their head or said that it was hours ago that they saw her. I searched the whole castle and then made my  way outside. I walked through the streets of Camelot but she wasn’t there. I walked further and could hear the voices of the guard at the gate. I tried to remember when the guards changed. If I was correct they were changed a little over three hours ago. It was worth a shot. I walked up to them and asked the same question I had asked a hundred times by now.

“Excuse me, has one of you seen the girl that was brought here two days ago. Her name is Melina.” The guards looked at each other before the oldest of them answered.

“A young girl left the castle about two hours ago. It might be the girl you are looking for,” he said. His younger companion nodded. I looked through the gate to the edge of the forest. The sun was already setting and clouds covered the sky.

“Thank you for your time,” I said politely before walking off. An uneasy feeling settled in my stomach. Again I was worrying about her. I couldn’t get the image of her when we first found her out of my mind. She had been so scared and in pain that it broke my heart. I didn’t want anything like that to happen to her ever again. I wanted to go after her but there was training tomorrow and the other knights would notice if I didn’t show up. My duty was to protect Camelot, so I couldn’t just leave. Isn’t she part of Camelot? Does protecting Camelot not also mean all its people. I still decided against it. It was a choice that would give me a sleepless night and  guilty feeling for the rest of this day and the next.

*****

Merlin rode through the forest until he reached a cliff. Far beneath him he could see the houses of a village, smoke curling in the air above it. He turned his horse and made his way down. Once he reached the village he went straight to the tavern. Noises of shattering plates and breaking furniture came through the door. Merlin carefully put his head around the door to look inside. Just as he did, a cup hit the door next to his head and fell on the ground in little pieces. When he looked back inside Gwaine was being thrown over a table. Merlin walked inside.

“Hello Gwaine,” he said with a big smile.

“Oooh, Merlin,” Gwain sounded surprised but he too had a big smile on his face. He rolled off the table and walked to Merlin. A big man approached them demanding that Gwaine give him his money. Gwaine and Merlin looked at the man then to each other and then ran out of the tavern. Outside they tried not to run into one of the villagers while getting away as fast as possible. They hid behind a table that was piled with bread. When they looked at the tavern they could see the big man and two of his friends. The three of them looked around before they caught sight of Merlin and Gwaine. They started to walk towards the table Merlin and Gwaine were hiding behind.

“Gwaine,” Merlin said as he looked to the big and strong men coming their way. “Run.” And they did, as fast as they could. They ran up a flight of stairs and ended up on a stone wall. When they looked down one of the men was pointing at them and they charged at the stairs. Merlin and Gwain quickly ran further over the wall while Merlin explained why he was there in the first place.

“Arthur is in trouble,” he said as they ran over the wall until they reached a point where the wall ended. Both of them looked around. They wanted to walk back to the stairs but the men just arrived at the top. There was only one other option. Beneath them was a big pile of hay.

“We jump and make our way to the horses,” Gwaine said. Merlin was reluctant. The thought of jumping off a wall wasn’t very pleasant. Gwaine rolled his eyes and pushed Merlin off the wall. He landed soft on top of the hay. Gwaine waited for Merlin to get out of the way before he jumped himself. When Gwaine looked up he could see three angry faces hanging over the edge of the wall. He grinned at them. They ran to where their horses were tied up and mounted the animals. Both of them were laughing. Together they raced through the forest.

“How did you find me?” Gwaine asked. Merlin looked at him and smiled.

“It wasn’t easy. I’ve been to almost every tavern in Engard.”

“So have I,” Gwaine answered and they both started laughing again. They continued their way to the perilous lands. They reached it not long after.

“This is it,” Gwaine said as he stopped his horse to look down at the dead land beneath them. “At the other side of this forest lie the perilous lands.”

“Doesn’t look too friendly,” Merlin said. The tension in his voice was clear.

“That’s because it’s not. Believe me that place is wretched,” Gwaine said.

“How do you know? You’ve never been there.”

“I've travelled to many places, Merlin.”

“Not the perilous lands. I know that,” Merlin said with a smile.

“Why?” Gwaine asked, a little confused.

“There aren't any taverns,” Merlin answered.

“I told you it was wretched.” They continued their way until they finally reached the bridge that led to their destination.