The Thief

15

"Ah, Myrddin," I heard someone call out to me. I turned to find the king walking up to me. "I thought I might find you here." He smiled down at me. I looked down at the flower garden in front of me. The garden has always been my safe haven. I watched as two birds flew into the air, singing with one another. They seemed to be chasing each other as if it was a game. I turned back to the king and bowed my head.

"My lord, what is it that you need?" I asked him kindly. He placed his hand on my shoulder.

"Let's take a walk, shall we?" He guided me into the gardens path. "I've heard rumors going around this kingdom."

"Rumors?" I looked up at him. He stood tall with his hands behind his back as he looked forward.

"About you and my daughter," my face begins to heat up, "you would tell me the truth, wouldn't you?"

"Of course, my lord," I demanded like he didn't already know. He was like a father to me, and I couldn't lie to him.

"Are you sneaking around with Princess Aetheria?" He asked finally looking down at me. I stopped and looked down at the ground. I sighed and looked him in the eyes.

"Yes," I confessed, "I apologize, but I love her."

Caerleon smiled, "Excellent," he began walking again leaving me confused. I ran up to catch up with him.

"You aren't mad?" I questioned. He chuckled and looked down at me.

"No, I'm not. It's good news to hear," he replied, "there is something that you must know. Something about your heritage," I stared at him confused, "you see, your father was one of my best knights. He was an excellent friend as well. When he met your mother, he instantly fell in love. They were wed here in this very garden as it was your mothers favorite place as it is yours. Soon they were to have a child. My wife and I as well. Then, you were born and my daughter a few week after. You two were betrothed before you were even born."

"Betrothed?" I looked at him surprised. He smiled and nodded his head.

"But your father was scared for you. He didn't want you to live in a world of riches. Instead, he packed you and your mother and took you far away from us. When I heard of their deaths six years ago," I looked down thinking of mama and papa. It was my fault they were killed. "I'm sorry, Myrddin."

"It's all right," I managed a small smile at him.

"Follow me," he said as he quickly walked to the edge of the garden. I looked over the edge and down to the city. I watched as the people worked and children played with each other. "Someday, this kingdom will be yours and Aetheria's. I hope you will make me proud." He patted my shoulder before walking away. I stared at the city. Aetheria and me ruling a kingdom? Will I be able to do it? Do I even want to rule a kingdom? I'm perfectly happy where I am as a knight.

"Myrddin!" I turned around to the call of my name. Aetheria was running towards me with a bright smile. Her blue dress danced in the wind as she drew closer. She engulfed me in a hug causing me to automatically hug back.

"Hello, m'lady," I said bowing to her after our hug.

"Hello, my Thief," she bowed with a smile. She took my hands in hers and looked into my eyes. "So, I saw my father talking with you. What did he say?"

"He told me a story," I said. She looked at me with one of her silly smiles urging me to go on, "He said he knew my father, said he was a knight here. He knew my mother as well. He told my that they were married in this garden."

"Really? That's amazing, Myrddin!" She exclaimed.

"That's not all," I said making her raise her eyebrow, "your father told me that we're betrothed." She looked at me shocked.

"Betrothed? How come he never mentioned this before?" She asked more herself than me.

"Maybe because he wanted us to be friends before he told us. Really good friends I mean," I tried to explain, but really, I was just as curious. Why did he wait this long? It's been two years since I became a knight in his court.

"It doesn't matter. I'm just glad that it's you who I'm going to marry instead of someone I don't know," she put her arms around my neck, "you are my best friend, Myrddin, and I love you very much," I smiled as I pulled her close to me. I pecked her lips.

"And I love you," I told her before she pecked my lips with even more passion.

I jolted out of bed. I took deep breaths as I tried to compose my thoughts. I tried so hard not to wake Gaius. I didn't need another reason for staying in bed all day. The spell was eased just as Morgana said. I wasn't sweating as much, and I didn't shed a tear, but that didn't mean it didn't break my heart. It's true that my nobility and my fathers friendship with the king had made me betrothed to the princess. I would have never thought I was worth anything to be with her until she kissed my lips that day in the garden. It was a surprise to learn that I would be married into royalty, but I soon warmed up to the idea.

We were never married. We were meant to be married when Aetheria became queen, but that day never came, and it was all my fault. Within the next two years, I began realizing things that I didn't want to believe. Of course it all started when I had my first battle at the age of ten, but that day was forgotten to me, along with other battles I can't remember. King Caerleon was like a father to me and it hurt to think that he could have done wrong. I was just too naive, too brainwashed.

As I paced around my room, my mind kept traveling to Aetheria. My heart ached for her to be at my side right now. What would have happened if we were married? What if we ruled together and changed certain laws? Would things be better? Would we still be happy? I may never know.

This time, I did shed a tear. It wasn't because of the spell, but because of my broken heart. I miss my old life, even if it was all one big, painful lie. I couldn't go back now. The king wants my head on a spike. I wonder what Arthur would say if he knew. I don't even know if he would still be my friend.

All this thinking was giving me a headache. I needed to release some stress. I changed into a usual outfit and quietly, ran out of the physicians chambers, careful not to wake up Gaius. I ran out of the castle and sneakingly, went into the woods. I found my training gear and set up. No one knows I do this every week. I'd rather have no one know. It's kind of sad to know that I train alone without anyone's knowledge. Anyways, I pick up a set of daggers first. They were daggers of Caerleon; the royal seal imprinted on the handle. If anyone found out, I would be a dead man, but these were the only daggers I had. It's not like I could steal a set of daggers. Probably could, but I wouldn't do that. Hidden in the ground, as well, was my old sword. It still balanced perfectly in my hands. A beautiful blade it is. It looked almost like any other Camelot sword, but it had some special qualities. The blade had the engraving of a dragon, a popular symbol of mine. The hilt was a copper color. Engraved into the cross-guard in small writing read 'To my Thief, Aetheria'. It was a gift for my fifteenth birthday. Aetheria had it made especially for me. It was my most prized possession, but I could never show it off. It would be too risky to even try.

I set down the sword and placed my jacket next to it. I set up the targets and grabbed the daggers once again. Taking a breath, I raised a dagger. I swung at the target. Again and again, I swung. After I hit all the targets in the X, I set up for my sword training. I hid the targets and daggers in the ground under the tree. I took my sword and trained for about an hour. I stopped when I saw the rising sun. Quickly, I hid all my training equipment in the ground. I used my magic to cover and protect them. I ran back to the castle as fast as I could run.

It was going to be a long day.