(Lizzie's pov)
Once we had all finished everyone else stood up, and the guards came and removed the tables, so that there was space to dance. Alexander leaned closer to me. "We have to have the first dance." He said, and I nodded slightly. The two of us stood and moved to the centre of the room. I was still avoiding looking at Arthur, because I didn't want to see him angry with me.
The music started and we started dancing with each other. I just let my feet do all the work, because I didn't want to focus too much on it, otherwise I would overthink it and do something wrong. "This reminds me of the first time we danced together." Alex said, trying to break the silence. I smiled slightly at the memory from my fifteenth birthday ball. "I was so nervous that I couldn't talk at all during the dance." I said, and Alex chuckled lightly.
"I was wondering why you didn't say anything." He said, and I smiled at him. "Well, now you know." I said. We finished the dance as the music stopped. I curtsied and Alex bowed, before the whole room clapped. Then another song started and other dancers came onto the floor. "Let's go sit down." Alex said, and I thanked him silently for that. We went to the side of the room and sat down.
Throughout the night people came over to us and kept congratulating us, and striking up conversations. I didn't pay them much attention, and was only half invested in the conversations. I was constantly glancing over to the royal table, as Arthur hadn't moved all night, and was still sitting there with a drink in hand. I really wanted to talk to him, but kept deciding against it, figuring that he hated me.
I saw that the person Alex was talking to had just disappeared, so I leaned closer to him. "I think I might turn in for tonight." I whispered and he nodded his head. I stood up and went over to father, telling him that I was going to retire for the night, and I got a hug out of him, before I motioned Alice over and we walked out the Hall together. As the doors were closed behind us I took a deep breath, before we walked to my room.
We stood in silence as she got me out of my gown and into my night dress. I smiled at her when she was done. "Alice, you can go home, I'm going to read for a bit, I can close the curtains and snuff the candles out." I said, and she nodded, before leaving the room. I then closed all my curtains and grabbed one of my favourite books from my small shelf. I sat on my bed and opened it, getting lost in a wonderful tale, forgetting my horrible reality for a few hours.
I don't know how long I was reading for, but I was brought out of my thoughts by a light knock on the door. I took note of the page I was on before closing my book. I placed it on the table, then I went over to my door and opened it slightly. My breath caught in my throat as I realised that it was Arthur. "C-can I come in?" He asked, his voice barely a whisper. I nodded soundlessly and opened the door so he could come in.
I held my breath as he sat down at my table. I had a desire to go over and sit next to him, but decided against it, not wanting to make him uncomfortable, so I went over and sat down on my bed. We sat in an uncomfortable silence for what felt like hours. I just kept shifting in my seat, my eyes occasionally flicking up to look at the man I love. I had no idea what to say to him.
"Did you know?" I heard him say, breaking the silence with his whispered question. I lifted my head gently and saw he was looking at me. His eyes were glossed over, and I knew he was holding back tears. He wasn't even trying to hide the fact that he was deeply upset by this. I shook my head slowly.
"No, father told me the day you left." I said, my voice also coming out as a whisper. I kept my eyes on Arthur, waiting for his reaction, which was just a slow nod, before he went back to looking at his hands in his lap. I took a shaky breath and a tear fell down my cheek.
"Arthur... I-I-I'm so sorry." I said, my voice slightly louder than before. I let a few tears fall down my cheeks, and I looked over to the man in the room. He lifted his head and looked at me. He took a deep breath, before doing something really unexpected. He got up and walked over to me. I felt the bed dip as he sat next to me. "Do you love him?" He asked, and I could barely hear him. I shook my head. "No, and I never will." I said, confident that that was true.
Arthur gave me a weak smile and I cautiously placed my hand on top of his. Our eyes met, and I noticed that a few of his own tears had fallen. I moved closer to him and placed my head on his shoulder. "I love you." I whispered, letting the tears fall freely down my face. "I love you too." Arthur choked out, before also breaking down into tears.
We just sat there, clinging onto each other, letting all our emotions out. We stayed in silence the entire time, not needing to speak, as our actions said everything. Soon enough I felt the events of the day catch up to me, and exhaustion overtook my body, and I closed my eyes, letting everything fall into darkness.
I woke to sunlight streaming through my windows. My eyes fluttered open and I immediately realised the awkward position I was in. My legs were curled up into me, and there was an arm wrapped around my waist. I groaned lightly as my eyes adjusted to the light. I looked beside me and saw that Arthur was lying next to me and was fast asleep. I smiled, before hearing a giggle from behind me. I turned and saw that Alice was standing by my window. I glared at her lightly, but that just made her laugh more.
I shuffled my way out of Arthur's grip, somehow not waking him up, and I went over to Alice. "I'll get ready for the day, but be quiet, I don't want to wake him up." I whispered and she nodded. I got dressed for the day, before quietly leaving the room and the two of us made our way down to breakfast. "So, care to explain why I found you asleep with Arthur this morning?" Alice asked in a hushed voice, and I blushed heavily.
"He came into my room after you'd left, I presume it was after the ball was over. We talked, and sort of made up, then we fell asleep." I said back, and Alice grinned at me, winking at the same time. "Not a word to anyone!" I exclaimed as we reached the Hall. She nodded and I pushed the doors open. I smiled as I saw that father, King David and Morgana were already in there. I went over and sat beside Morgana, saying good morning to father.
"Do you know if Arthur will be joining us this morning Elizabeth." Father asked me as we started eating. "I'm not sure father." I said, not looking up from my bowl. We ate in silence, until I decided that it was too much for me. "I wanted to thank you King David, Alexander told me that you were the one who had the ring made. It's very beautiful." I said, and the King smiled at me. "You're very welcome my dear." He said, and then we fell back into silence.
I finished eating, before standing up. "Thank you for breakfast." I said, before starting to leave. "Elizabeth, do not forget the Tournament starts today." Father said, and I turned slightly, nodding, before walking out. I walked back through the castle, before meeting Alice in the corridor. "Alice! Do you know if Arthur is awake yet?" I asked her and she looked at me.
"Yeah, he said he was going back to his room to eat breakfast and then get ready for the tournament." She said. I smiled at her and thanked her, before turning around and instead walking to Arthur's chambers. I knocked lightly on the door and Arthur's manservant opened the door. When he saw who it was he immediately opened the door fully and let me in. I smiled and thanked him, before looking to where Arthur stood.
I covered my mouth to try and hide my chuckle when I got a good look at the Prince. He was wearing the normal clothes that he wore under his armour, but they were crinkled and I'm pretty sure his shirt was on backwards. However, the most hilarious thing was his hair. It was sticking up in all sorts of directions, and looked like he just woke up a few seconds ago, which was slightly true.
He looked up at me when he heard me chuckling, and groaned when he saw who it was. He looked up at his manservant who was standing behind me. "You can go down to my tent, I won't need you until I get there." He said, and the boy nodded, before leaving the room. "You sure you don't need his help, your hair looks a little..." I said, before trailing off, leaving Arthur glaring at me.
"Well, I wasn't expecting to wake up in a bed that wasn't mine and be told that I had to get ready for a tournament that started today, and be there in an hour." He said, sighed, but he came over to me. I giggled and the prince shook his head.
"Are we alright?" I asked in a small voice, having been wondering it all morning. Arthur took a moment to think before nodding. "I know we can't stop this marriage, but I don't want to spend this time away from you, especially if I won't see you again for a period of time afterwards." He said, and I smiled gratefully at him. I moved closer and wrapped my arms around his torso, pulling him into a tight hug.
His own arms wrapped around me as well, and he placed a light kiss on my forehead. I looked up at him and leaned up, pressing a small kiss to his lips. I was about to pull away, but Arthur pulled me closer and deepened our kiss. I was really going to miss doing this. Neither of us pulled away, and I could tell that Arthur didn't want to.
However, we were both shocked by someone clearing their throat from behind us. We jumped apart and I turned around. My eyes widened as I realised that it was Alex standing in the doorway. I was slightly relieved that it wasn't father, and that Alex at least knew about my feelings for Arthur. But I was also scared about what he would think about catching his future wife kissing another man.
I bit my lip and tried to read his expression, but it was impossible. He, like Arthur, had perfected what I liked to call the 'royal' face, which meant that no matter who was looking at you, they wouldn't be able to decipher what they were thinking.
I was about to take a step closer to Alex, but I saw a small smile on his face and a chuckle escaped his lips. "You know, that wasn't exactly what I expected to see this morning." He said, and my lips tugged into a smile. "What? I-I don't understand. How are you not furious?" Arthur asked, and I saw he looked completely confused. "I told him about us. I thought it was only fair." I said, walking over to the visiting prince.
"I have to escort Elizabeth to the tournament, you should get down there too Arthur. And don't worry I won't tell anyone about what I just saw." He said. He winked, and I took his arm. I turned around slightly as we left and I smiled at the confused and shocked look Arthur had on his face. Alex and I walked down to the arena together, and I escorted him to his tent. "Good luck." I said, before pressing a light kiss to his cheek.
He smiled and went inside the tent. So I walked towards the stand. I went into the royal area and saw that there were three seats in there. Two larger ones with a smaller one in the middle. I placed myself in the middle seat, already knowing it was mine. I looked around and saw that there was a decent amount of people here. Morgana, Gwen, and Alice were sitting right next to the royal area, where the four of us usually sat together.
I smiled at them, and they waved at me. Soon enough the horns were blown all the contestants were announced. They were mostly knights of Camelot, and some from Alex's kingdom. Then Arthur and Alex were announced. I clapped the loudest for them, and smiled as Alex came over and passed me a rose. I took it and sat back down. All the knights stood in a line, and then the two kings were announced. They came out, and King David smiled before coming over and sitting on my right.
Father stood in front of the knights, and addressed everyone. "Thank you all for coming to this, a very special Tournament, being held in honour of my ward, Lady Elizabeth, and her marriage to Prince Alexander." He said, and the entire audience cheered. I smiled weakly, I was still really nervous about the idea of marriage. Father came over and sat on his throne and the Tournament began.