YOU CAN'T ESCAPE DESTINY | ARTHUR PENDRAGON [2]

Just a Commoner?

*Annabelle's P.O.V.*

        "No," I protested, shaking my head. "Absolutely not,"
        "Why not?" my brother whined, making me look at him with eyes full of disbelief, "Oh, come on, Anna. I need your help," he pleaded.
        "Are you out of your mind?" I hissed, and he just looked at me pleadingly.
        "Look, I need your help, and so does Arthur," he said, and I just gave him a look, silently telling him that I won't give in so easily.
        "Why?" I questioned, placing my hands on my hips. "What does he hope to achieve by doing this?"
        "Well, from what he told me, it turns out that he hates how people treat him differently, and he wants to prove that he can still win the tournament even if others don't know who he is; even if he gets no special treatment,"
        "But he will always receive special treatment," I said slowly as if talking to a child. "He's the Prince of Camelot, for God's sake!"
        "I know, but..." Merlin trailed off, obviously not knowing what to say in order to get me to help him. "Look, I need your help. Gwen already agreed to let you and Arthur stay at her house, since she can sleep in the chambers next to Morgana's. And you have the week off either way, so... what's stopping you?"
        "'What's stopping me'?" I questioned incredulously, and Merlin simply nodded, still not understanding my point, "What's stopping me is the fact that the King will most definitely not be pleased when he finds out that his son lied to him, and I helped him!" I hissed.
        "Well, then, he won't find out," Merlin shrugged, and I gave him an incredulous look, "Oh, come on. We're experts at keeping secrets," he said, walking over to me and nudging my chin with his knuckles playfully, making me smile even though I didn't want to. But, after all, I can never stay mad at him for too long. "Please?"
        "Alright, fine," I sighed in defeat after a moment of silence. My brother grinned hugely, making me point a warning finger at him. "Don't look so pleased. What am I supposed to tell Gaius?"
        "Just... tell him that Gwen wants you to stay at her house in order to make sure that no one robs her while she stays in the castle," he shrugged, before walking out of Morgana's chambers. I turned around and sighed, pinching the bridge of my nose lightly. This is going to be a long week...

*The Next Day*

        I sighed and stood up from the bench I was sitting on in Gwen's house, walking over to the door as I heard a knock. As soon as I opened it, my brother stepped in, followed by the cloaked Prince. As soon as he entered, he pulled off his hood, and I closed the door before facing him and curtsying.
        "My Lord," I greeted, and Arthur turned around, giving me a smile.
        "Annabelle," he greeted, and I gave a small, strained smile. "It's good of you to help me with this,"
        "I'm glad I can help," I said in a tight voice, giving a strained smile once again. I glanced over at Merlin, who was standing beside me, and he gave me a pointed look.
        "Food," he whispered to me lowly, and I turned my attention back to Arthur.
        "I'll prepare some food for you," I said with a strained smile, and he gave me a small smile in return before turning around in order to look around Gwen's house. As soon as he did so, I turned to my brother. "I can't believe you talked me into this," I hissed, before walking over to the cabinets and taking out some bread.
        "You can't really expect me to stay here," I heard Arthur whisper to Merlin, making me turn my head slightly so that I could hear better and yet not let them know that I did.
        "We need to keep you out of sight," my brother replied. "We can trust Anna and Gwen not to tell anyone you're here,"
        "Yes, I know," Arthur replied, his voice tinted with annoyance, "Although I doubt anyone would believe it," he muttered, making me sigh quietly. Why did I, out of all people, have to get involved in this?!
        "What, you really can't cope without you big bed and your soft pillows?"
        "This will be fine," Arthur said a bit louder after a moment, his voice tight with annoyance, before walking back to the other side of the house, "How are the preparations coming alone? Have you found someone to play our knight for the tournament?" he asked, opening one of Gwen's cupboards.
        "Absolutely," Merlin grinned. "He's a farmer from one of the outlying villages, and no one will recognize him,"
        "But does he look the part?" Arthur questioned, and the grin on Merlin's face faltered.

*10 Minutes Later*

        No. He does not look the part at all. He looks nothing like a knight. In fact, he would be a perfect example in order to show someone what a knight does not look like. He is thin and scrawny, with tangled, curly, brown hair (which had a few leaves in it) and a scruffy beard. There is completely no muscle on him whatsoever. I bit my lip in order to fight off a laugh that was threatening to escape my lips when I saw the look on Arthur's face as he stared at the man.
        "Great," he muttered.
        I quickly went to the other part of the house in order to fetch the shirt I prepared yesterday, while Merlin started washing the farmer's upper body... which was the other reason for why I left.
        After the man was cleaned up and dried out, Merlin and I held the white shirt in front of him, looking at Arthur, who was looking like he was ready to stab himself. Merlin quickly helped the farmed put the shirt on, and I grabbed the purple jacket that I prepared yesterday as well. Merlin quickly helped him put it on, and I tied the clasps around his neck, while my brother grabbed the chain mail tunic. As soon as I was done with the jacket, I helped Merlin put the chain mail tunic on the farmer, who nearly buckled underneath the weight of it if we hadn't caught him. I then grabbed the tunic with the farmer's 'crest', and helped him put it on, while Merlin grabbed the last piece of chain mail and threw it around his shoulder. I then handed him the shield Gwen had prepared earlier on, while Merlin tied the sword in the scabbard around his waist.
        "From now on, you're Sir William of Daira," Merlin said as he unrolled the farmer's, undoubtedly fake, noble seal. We then all turned to look at Arthur, who closed his eyes and sighed, looking, once again, like he was ready to kill himself. Merlin then walked over to sit on the other side of the table, while I walked over to stand behind him and Arthur, as we all watched William pace back and forth, "Imagine you're really... arrogant," my brother said. "Knights like to think they're so much better than everyone else,"
        "It's not arrogance," Arthur told him with a glare, before looking at William and giving him a small, almost innocent, smile, "Ignore him. He's an idiot," I chuckled, and I thought I saw Arthur smile a bit when he heard me, "A knight must behave with honor, and nobility," Arthur instructed, making William stop abruptly and straighten his back, standing taller and walking slower, making me chuckle quietly, "That's... better," Arthur looked at him oddly. "You must convince everyone that you were born into a noble family,"
        Suddenly, William stopped pacing and slowly turned to look at my brother.
        "Polish my armor, boy," he said in a lower, deeper voice, making my brother look up abruptly and me cover my mouth so that I wouldn't laugh out loud.
        "Now you're getting the hang of it," Arthur pointed at him, laughter clear in his voice, making William snicker, and at that moment his face really reminded me of a mouse; his teeth out, his nose scrunched up, "That's a good point, you do need to polish our armor," Arthur said seriously, turning to Merlin.
        "Yeah," William added, making us all look at him, which made him snicker once again. I just simply shook my head and looked down, putting a hand to my forehead as I tried not to laugh. Oh, dear...

*Late Evening, Third Person's P.O.V.*

        "It's been a long day," Prince Arthur spoke up from where he was sitting at the table in Guinevere's house, eating the dinner Annabelle made him while she swap the floor. "I think I'll... turn in for the night. Is this my bed?" he asked, sitting down on Guinevere's bed, in which Annabelle was supposed sleep. She turned around and looked at him, noticing where he was sitting, and sighed quietly, knowing that Arthur was used to always being put first. He looked up at her, obviously expecting the answer to be 'yes', and completely oblivious to the fact that this was the bed she was supposed to sleep in.
        "Of course," she lied, and Arthur nodded with a small smile. "I hope you'll be comfortable,"
        "I'm sure I will be," Arthur replied, and Annabelle nodded with a strained smile, forcing herself not to say anything. She then gave him a quick nod, before turning around and rolling her eyes as she put the broom away in the corner of the kitchen and walked over to the other side of the house, pulling the curtains separating the rooms. She then grabbed a spare blanket Guinevere had left for Arthur before walking over to the storage 'room' and lying down on the floor, placing her head on the big sacks of rice and covering herself with the blanket, not bothering to change into her nightgown. Besides, she didn't even take it with her because she didn't want Arthur to, God forbid, accidentally see her in it.
        As the Prince made himself comfortable in Guinevere's bed, Annabelle wriggled on the floor a bit, not being able to get into a comfortable position.
        "Goodnight, Annabelle," Arthur called, and Annabelle sighed.
        "Goodnight, Arthur,"

Here we are! Starting 2x02, which is one of my favorite episodes of this season! I hope you like it! I'm really excited for this one!