Until forever comes

Who on earth is Arthur?

I sprinted through the trees, dodging a fallen branch here and a prickly bush there. The pounding of fifteen of Cenred’s men’s footsteps echoed in my ears, suddenly the forest stopped dead and I found myself emerging into a lush green field. Then I saw it…Ealdor, the village that marked the boundaries between Cenred’s kingdom and the kingdom of Camelot. Hope filled my heart and my legs found new energy to carry on running. If I could just make it to Ealdor, Cenred’s men wouldn’t dare follow me into Camelot. The distance between myself and Ealdor shortened painfully slowly, but my followers were slowing. I glanced behind me and saw they had come to a complete stop as I was now mere meters from Ealdor. I slowed to a jog, then a walk and finally to a stop. As they turned and walked away,  I waved cheerfully after them. Then, breathing heavily, I leant against the wall of the nearest house and closed my eyes. A few seconds later, I sensed a presence walking towards me, I opened my eyes and looked to my left… A young boy, with dark hair and blue eyes, that looked just older than me, was walking towards me.

‘’Had some trouble?’’, he asked inclining his head towards where Cenred’s men were disappearing into the forest.I nodded, still struggling to breath, ‘’That’s the last time I comment on a king’s lousy ruling in earshot of his men’’, I said. The boy laughed and I let a smile spread over my face."You're lying, no way is that the reason!'', he said disbelievingly. I just shrugged mysteriously. He held out a hand, ‘’I’m Merlin’’, he said. I took his hand, shook it and replied, ‘’Inwë ( pronounced In - way)’’. Just then a voice shouted from somewhere behind us in the village, ‘’Merlin! Get over here!’’. ‘’Coming!’’, Merlin shouted back. He turned back to me, ‘’I have to go’’, he said apologetically. I nodded, ‘’It was nice meeting you Merlin!’’, I called after him as he turned and jogged away. He turned and waved a hand at me. ‘’Take your time Merlin!’’, said the voice in the village. I peered round the corner of the house and followed Merlin with my eyes until he stopped in front of someone and my eyes fell on a knight of Camelot with blonde hair and blue eyes…What was a knight of Camelot doing in a village so close to the border with Cenred’s kingdom? Me being me, I decided to investigate further.

I walked cautiously towards the pair. ‘’Can I help you?’’, asked the knight when he caught sight of me. Merlin turned and saw me, but as I opened my mouth to answer, I was cut off by a loud roar followed by the clanging of metal and shouting. The knight took off running towards the commotion, followed by Merlin and I. As we skidded round the corner, I saw several more knights of Camelot, engaged in battle with Cenred’s men…..It was the ones that had chased me into Ealdor! And they had brought some friends. I stared open mouthed. Cenred’s men outnumbered the Camelot knights five to one. I instinctively drew my sword. It was old and rusted, but it did the job. As the blonde knight threw himself at the nearest enemy, I turned to look at Merlin. He grabbed my shoulders and pushed me behind a stack of hay. ‘’Stay hidden!’’, he told me. I shook my head in disbelief. There was no way I could stand back and watch when I was the one who had led Cenred’s men here in the first place. ‘’Not a chance!’’, I shouted as I leapt forward into the thick of the fight. I heard Merlin call after me but I was too involved in cutting down the enemy to hear him properly.

I finished off my latest attacker and looked over the battle. Incredibly, the Camelot knights were winning. Suddenly something caught the corner of my eye and I looked over to my right. Crouched on a rooftop nearby was a man with a crossbow…aimed at the blonde knight. I took off running and sprinted towards him, intending to push him out the way. As I reached him and gave him a shove on his shoulder, he fell heavily sideways and I cried out as a crossbow bolt lodged itself in my right shoulder and I felt a searing pain rip through my arm. My sword fell from my hand and split in two as it hit the floor. The blonde knight looked up at me in disbelief.  I staggered backwards and nearly fell but Merlin had come up behind me and caught me. Then the noise of the fight faded, I felt my eyelids close and darkness consumed me.