CHAPTER TWELVE,
episode nine, excalibur.
IT WAS a very exciting day for the people of camelot. almost everyone had wide smiles and danced around the villages as they awaited for the evening. tonight, arthur and isabella would officially be crowned prince and princess of camelot.
arthur was twenty one, and that meant it was officially time for him to be crowned. it was the law that as well as arthur, isabella had to be crowned too, no matter her age, despite being nineteen, to make her and arthur's engagement and crowing of the king and queen official.
isabella had spent most of her day with morgana, gwen and estella dancing with the people of camelot and joining in with the celebrations. she adored her tiara that she had kept from devlin and wore occasionally, but she was excited to have her very own official tiara for camelot.
she spent time with estella getting ready, and ended up wearing a cream colour dress with flowers across the sleeves and neckline, and left her hair down.
"do you solemnly swear to govern the people of this kingdom and it's dominions. according to the statutes customs and laws laid down by your forebears." king uther spoke as isabella and arthur kneeled infront of him.
"i do, sire." arthur answered.
"do you promise to exercise mercy and justice in your deeds and judgments?" he asked as they both repeated his words from before. "and do you swear allegiance to camelot...now, and for as long as you shall live?"
"i, arthur pendragon, do pledge life and limb to your service and to the protection of this kingdom and its peoples." he spoke as uther smiled and moved to isabella.
"do you, isabella valour, solemnly swear to protect camelot and it's peoples along side arthur pendragon, and put your faith and loyalty's into camelot, and camelot alone, for as long as you shall live and reign in camelot?" king uther asked the girl.
isabella was grateful he bent the rules ever so slightly, so while she was in camelot she put her full loyalty to it, but once she was in devlin, she could rule there as a princess like normal.
"i, isabella valour, swear to protect camelot alongside arthur pendragon. i will protect the people, and put all my loyalty's into camelot for as long as i shall live and reign." she repeated, she caught morgana's eye who beamed at her .
uther nodded and moved to get his crown and her tiara. "now, being of age and heir apparent, from henceforth you shall be crown prince of camelot, and you, isabella: princess of devlin and camelot." he placed them on their heads as the two looked up, and glanced at each other with a smile.
arthur stood up, holding his hand out which isabella took as she stood up and turned to face the people with a smile, claps and cheers filling her ears as she couldn't help but giggle slightly.
her smile was immediately wiped off her face when a knight on a horse jumped into the throne room, the glass from the window smashing everywhere as everyone gasped. the knights of camelot immediately pulled out their swords as uther spoke, "what in the devils name?" he gasped and pulled isabella back to stand with morgana behind them.
the knight in black came towards them and dropped his gauntlet in front of arthur. arthur went to take it, however a young knight beat him to it and picked it up with a determined look. "i, sir owain accept your challenge."
"single combat, noon tomorrow. to the death." the knight spoke before turning around on the horse and galloping out as everyone was left in silence.
MORGANA, ISABELLA and their handmaidens were in arthur's chambers later that evening, and it was safe to say arthur was fuming. "he shouldn't have picked up the gauntlet!" he exclaimed.
"so then put an end to it." morgana walked over.
"he can't." "i cant." both isabella and arthur spoke, almost tired of explaining it.
"the challenge has been taken up. the fight cannot be stopped." isabella answered.
"then fight in his place." morgana spoke as isabella raised a brow.
"isabella's right. i can't." he shook his head.
"why not?" morgana sighed.
"cette fille!" this girl. estella huffed.
"elle est si lente." she is so slow. isabella complained.
"exactement!" exactly! estella replied. the two shared a giggle whilst the others looked confused but carried on.
"owain picked up the gauntlet. so, owain is the one who must fight. that's the knights code." arthur told morgana. "and he knew that." he finished as he began to walk away. morgana shook her head.
"but it's a fight to the death!" morgana complained. arthur slowly turned around to face them.
"i know." he whispered before walking away.
isabella turned to the three women. "i have a bad feeling about this knight..." she mumbled. "we must keep arthur from fighting him at all costs." she declared quietly.
gwen, morgana and estella shared a smile, bowing at her in response. "yes, your grace." morgana teased as isabella rolled her eyes with a small smile.
THE NEXT morning, isabella, gwen and estella joined arthur, merlin and owain once he was dressed to talk to him before the fight. gwen and estella bowed at arthur whilst arthur and owain did the same to isabella.
"the lady morgana asked me to give you this token." gwen handed owain a red handkerchief. "she wishes you to wear it for luck."
"you can thank her, and tell her i shall wear it with pride—but i won't need luck." he said with a kind smile as isabella, merlin and arthur shared a look.
king uther and princess isabella walked out to the tournament stage and sat down on their thrones, estella sat next to isabella, and gwen and morgana sat where the other knights did.
arthur walked owain towards the unknown knight and stood in front of him. "the fight shall be to the knights' rules. and to the death." arthur called out as he walked away from them and got onto the stage to sit next to isabella on his throne.
"let the battle commence."
it was clear who was winning—the unknown knight was much stronger and more skilled at combat than owain, who kept getting knocked down. "one well aimed blow!" arthur exclaimed in annoyance.
and then, owain shoved his sword into the knight as isabella smiled, even merlin clapped, but the knight simply moved away, knocked owain down and stabbed his sword into his chest. no one even saw the sword go into the unknown knight which was what made isabella confused.
"who will take up my challenge?" the knight took off his gauntlet and threw it onto the floor, arthur was about to pick it up, but uther pushed him back, shaking his head as another knight jumped down.
"i, sir pellinor, take up the challenge." the knight spoke as the unknown knight simply said.
"so be it." and walked off.
"sir owain landed a blow." isabella spoke up as uther looked at her in confusion.
"what?" arthur looked at her as well.
"i saw it. he stabbed him. right before the knight killed owain."
"you must be mistaken. otherwise he would be dead." arthur said gently as isabella shook her head.
"i know what i saw."
"you might be right." uther spoke up, stopping the two from continuing as he hurried away into the castle, arthur angrily hurrying after him.
THE FIGHT against sir pellinor and the unknown knight had begun, however unlike last time, sir pellinor was actually managing to keep up and fight back. the people of camelot were either cheering or covering their eyes as they watched.
everyone clapped when they saw pellinor land a blow into the unknown knight, who stumbled ever so slightly, but then raised his sword and killed sir pellinor as everyone shook their heads.
isabella wasn't quick enough when she reached out to pull arthur back as he jumped down to face the knight and threw his gauntlet onto the floor. "i, arthur pendragon, challenge you."
isabella sat back with fear in her eyes as uther's face dropped. "so be it." the knight said.
"a single combat, noon tomorrow." arthur spoke as the knight lifted up his bloody sword and walked away.
arthur turned around to face isabella and his father, but neither of them could even look at him. isabella shook her head and got down from the stand to walk back to the castle, and uther looked incredibly nervous.
"isabella!" arthur called out with a huff.
"how could you do that? have you seen what just happened? both of the knights landed a blow and he didn't die! you're an idiote!" she exclaimed, somehow her accent never left.
"uther will revoke the challenge." she told him, not letting him get a word in.
"no. the knights code must be upheld. it was my choice to challenge him." he said as he chased after her.
"don't you see? you're not going to make it this time." she whispered as he shook his head.
"you always say you have faith in me, isabella. why not now?" he asked in disbelief, breathing heavily after practically running after her.
she shook her head, backing away. "this is different. surely you can see that. did you not see the fact those other knights stabbed him and he didn't even flinch?!" she exclaimed.
"i have to prove myself—" he began as she cut him off with a disheartened look.
"to who? the people of camelot? to your father? ..to me?" she whispered the last part of her sentence as he nodded, his eyes glossing over. "you already have! the people love you! they all believe in you."
"so why can't you?!" he asked again.
"i will always believe in you, arthur and you know it. but i have a bad feeling this time." she sighed as he shook his head.
"i'll come back to you bella, i always do, don't i?" he told her, and she nodded.
"i know you will." she said quietly, but she didn't look convinced.
ISABELLA FOUND herself in gaius' chambers speaking to merlin and gaius to see what their thoughts were. "you were right." merlin said to gaius as isabella walked in.
"i wish i wasn't—hello, dear. are you alright?" gaius turned to the princess with a bow who nodded.
"i really don't have a good feeling about tomorrow." she admitted.
"i agree. if arthur fights that thing, he'll die." merlin nodded as isabella sighed.
"but arthur is camelot's strongest warrior." gaius argued. "if anyone can defeat it, he can."
"you said it yourself—no mortal weapon can kill it." merlin began, "which means we have to find a way to defeat the wraith ourselves. if no mortal sword can, then i will. with mortal magic." merlin said.
isabella shook her head. "i doubt that will work."
"i love your enthusiasm." merlin said sarcastically as isabella rolled her eyes.
"if only we had a bloody dragon." she huffed.
both merlin and gaius turned to her curiously. "what do you mean?" merlin asked, knowing he did have one. or...knew one.
"legend has it that a dragon's breath can burnish a sword and make it more powerful—the sword can then kill anything. dead, or alive. no matter what creature or being it is." she explained, gaius looking impressed while merlin was still confused. "haven't you heard of that story? father used to tell me it all the time." she asked.
"isabella...you are a genius!" merlin beamed as isabella raised a brow.
"...but we don't have a dragon." she said in a confused tone.
merlin and gaius shared a look as isabella raised a brow. "i'm sorry...are two you hinting that you do in fact have a dragon?"
"well—it's not mine...it's underneath the castle." merlin said hesitantly.
isabella's eyes widened. "kilgharrah? the great dragon?" she gasped in shock.
merlin tilted his head. "how do you know about the great dragon?"
"who doesn't know about him?! he has lived for centuries! ma mère used to tell me so many stories back in devlin...kilgharrah knows all the secrets of the past and prophecies of the future...you found him?" mother. she asked with a excited smile.
merlin nodded slowly as she smiled even wider. "can i come with you?" she asked as merlin shared a questioning look with gaius who looked hesitant for some reason, but nodded.
"okay...we must find a sword first." merlin said.
"we'll have to go to gwen." isabella told him as merlin nodded and they hurried out of gaius' chambers in search for the blacksmiths daughter.
they reached morgana's chambers where gwen was, and she opened the door with a smile. "what are you both doing here?" she asked with a surprised smile.
"we've come to ask a favour." isabella explained as gwen nodded, "yes?"
"i'm not sure how to ask it." merlin looked hesitant, which only made gwen grow more confused.
"ask merlin, you know i'll grant you anything." she told him.
merlin raised a brow as gwen's face dropped. "well. not anything. obviously—what is it you want?" she asked as merlin shrugged.
"we've come to ask for a sword. the strongest sword your father has ever made."
"what for?" gwen asked with a frown.
"to save arthur." isabella spoke up.
gwen nodded with a small smile.
THEY HURRIED to gwen's house, where her father kept all of his weapons, trying not to get caught, and picked out a sword that was covered up. "my father has been saving this." she explained.
"he always said it was the best sword her ever made." gwen told them as she unwrapped the sword.
"it's perfect." isabella smiled as merlin lifted it up.
"he'll kill me if he finds i've taken it." gwen admitted.
"he'll understand." merlin shook his head. "you did it for arthur."
"i knew you were proud of him, really." gwen joked as they all shared a laugh.
"thank you, gwen. we'll see you tomorrow." isabella said, hugging the girl tightly as merlin wrapped the sword up again.
the two walked through the courtyard and merlin led her to the guarded dungeons where the dragon was held captive. they managed to sneak past the guards as merlin got a flame stick and isabella nervously followed him down the steps.
to her shock, as they arrived, kilgharrah was waiting on his rock as she widened her eyes. "merlin." the great dragon greeted.
"you've brought the agate."
merlin frowned, confused. "this is isabella... princess of devlin and now camelot." he introduced as isabella bowed to the dragon, which shocked him, but he bowed his head too.
"i know who she is." kilgharrah smiled slightly, "why have you brought her here?"
"i asked merlin if i could come with him to ask a favour, sir." she called out, the great dragon chuckled, shaking the place slightly.
"i have waited a long time to meet you, isabella valour."
"a long time? i'm only nineteen. twenty soon, actually. but...that's not a long time." she said in a confused tone.
the dragon chuckled again, shaking its head. "has nobody ever told you who you are?" he asked.
"not really? gaius once told me i was the once and future queen...i'm not sure what that means." she spoke up.
"hmm...now, what was the favour you've come to ask me?" he asked curiously.
"it's to do with arthur. his life is in danger he will die." merlin spoke up.
"unless?" the dragon spoke, as if he already knew what was about to be asked.
"unless we can make a weapon that will kill the dead. isabella said that a dragons breath can do that." he continued as he unwrapped the sword.
isabella widened her eyes slightly as the sword floated into the air and moved towards the great dragon gently. merlin had done it without even blinking.
"the dead do not return without reason. who has he come for?" kilgharrah asked, merlin sighed.
"uther." he admitted.
"then let him take his vengeance. and the wraith will die without my aid." the great dragon spoke.
"but it's arthur who is going to fight him! you have to save him." isabella begged, the dragon turned to her, and then back to merlin.
"that is your destiny, young warlock, not mine."
"but if arthur fights the wraith and dies, apart from isabella, camelot will have no heir." merlin exclaimed.
"please, kilgharrah." isabella looked up at him.
the dragon saw the look on her face and hummed to himself. "a weapon forged with my assistance will have great power." he told them.
"i know." merlin nodded, determined.
"you do not know. you can only guess. you have not seen what i have seen. if you had, perhaps you would not ask this of me." kilgharrah spoke in a stern voice.
"what do you mean, sir?" isabella asked, a small frown on her face.
"in the wrong hands this sword could do great evil. it must be wielded by arthur and him alone."
"we understand." merlin nodded.
"you must do more than understand. you must promise." kilgharrah said, isabella looked at merlin and then back to the dragon.
"i promise." they both answered.
the dragon roared slightly, and then backed up as merlin pulled isabella back, as they watched the dragon breath fire onto the sword, isabella's eyes widened in amazement as the sword floating back to them, a smile on her face. "wow."
"heed my words." the dragon spoke, in an almost dangerous tone. "the sword was forged for arthur, and him alone."
merlin nodded, thanking him and turned to leave. "thank you, sir. i am forever grateful." she said, the dragon's lips turned upwards as he bowed deeply at her.
"off you go, little one."
she nodded, picking up her dress and hurrying up the stairs to catch up with merlin.
THE NEXT morning, isabella didn't have chance to speak to arthur because gaius had rushed her away to take her place in the throne outside.
meanwhile, merlin was getting uther ready to fight, since the king had taken arthur's place without anyone knowing. merlin had explained that he had got arthur the sword from a different blacksmith because he thought arthur should have a better sword.
the king smiled slightly. "you've shown him and isabella the most extraordinary loyalty." uther said slowly.
"it is my job sire, and well, isabella is my friend." merlin replied.
uther nodded, "beyond the line of duty." he acknowledged as merlin nodded slowly.
"you could say there is a bond between us. it's more isabella really, i think she's the only one arthur listens to and she tells him off whenever he is rude to me." merlin said with a small chuckle.
the king nodded and smiled in agreement. "i'm glad..." he spoke, and then turned to merlin.
"look after them." he spoke before turning to leave.
back at the stage, isabella's eyes widened as uther walked out to meet to knight. gasps filled the audience as isabella turned to look at morgana, estella and gwen who looked shocked. arthur was nowhere to be seen. and neither was merlin.
"you can have what you came for...the father, not the son." king uther said darkly as the wraith turned to him. he put on his helmet and lifted his sword as they both got into starting position and the man behind them played the drums.
the fight began, and isabella noticed uther had the sword herself and merlin made for arthur. this wasn't good. the wraith was more skilled than uther, however he still managed to keep up.
isabella finally noticed merlin stood next to gaius as she sat up in her seat as the fight became more intense, and then uther knocked the helmet off the wraiths head. the crowd gasped when they saw a monster like creature with no eyes roar.
they continued to fight, and the wraith managed to knock uther down, his sword flying out of his hands as he got on top of him. the sword slammed down towards the king, who luckily had his shield up, so the sword had been caught in it.
uther managed to get up, grab his sword and pierce his sword straight through its heart. some people screamed as smoke and fire appeared around the wraith, causing it to explode as everyone went silent.
uther stood up and pulled his helmet off as the crowed screamed with joy, claps filling isabella's ears as she joined in slowly, a smile on her face, yet her nerves grew as she realised the great dragon would be angry.
THAT EVENING, isabella avoided arthur as she knew he would probably be angry with his father for letting gaius drug him, and joined estella in her chambers.
the two talked for a while, before isabella decided to go to sleep. estella wished her goodnight and blew out the candle.
just as isabella was drifting off to sleep, she heard a loud, painful voice in her head. "isabella" it almost growled. "isabella! come down here and bring merlin with you!" it ordered.
it was kilgharrah.
it seemed merlin had the same message as there was a knock on her door a few moments later. merlin stood there and they both shared a knowing look before going to where the dragon was kept.
"so does arthur live?" kilgharrah asked impatiently as he watched the two nervously look at him. "yes." isabella answered. "the sword worked. it was incredible—amazing." merlin nodded hurriedly.
"as i promised." the dragon bowed its head.
"but..." merlin trailed off.
"yes?" he asked.
"things didn't quite go according to plan. i mean, they did, except it wasn't arthur who wielded the sword."
"i had nothing to do with this." isabella quickly interupted as merlin sighed and turned back to the dragon who looked furious. "it was uther."
"no!" the dragon roared, the ground beneath them shaking as isabella held onto the wall to steady herself.
"i tried! but he just took it!" merlin yelled but the dragon was still roaring in anger. "he's the king! i couldn't stop him!"
"the sword was born of the old magic! you have no idea of its power!" the dragon exclaimed angrily. "in the hands of uther it will bring only evil."
"we'll get it back—" merlin began.
"you have betrayed me!" the dragon roared. "you are not ready to be trusted."
"we will bring it to you." isabella spoke up. "you can destroy it, sir."
"what is made, cannot be unmade." kilgharrah told her.
merlin sighed. "so what do you want us to do?" he asked.
"take the sword far from here... and place it where no mortal man can ever find it." the great dragon began, before flying away.
merlin and isabella shared a confused look.
morning soon arrived, and the two had retrieved the sword, and got on their horses, and took them outside of camelot. this was breaking many rules for isabella, she wasn't allowed out of the kingdom without a guard.
they found the lake of avalon, where they had once visited and isabella unraveled the sword slowly, and handed it to merlin with a small smile.
the young warlock took it carefully, and lifted it into the air, before throwing it into the lake, as far as he could. the sword fell onto the water, and merlin looked down at isabella who looked back with a small smile.
"well done, merlin."
those few words meant a lot to the young boy, isabella knew he did a lot for herself and the kingdom, and never got any credit. but she didn't realise how much merlin appreciated her gratefulness.
"no, thank you." he said and she smiled up at the boy who was slowly becoming like a brother figure to her.
i love this chapter sooo much. i'm so excited to develop the whole agate thing. just remember what i said a few chapters back and what agate actually means. :)
merlin and isabella are so<33333
and 1-800-ayvilo ik ur reading this & just know that sword is so iconic