𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙥𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙩𝙚𝙣
movement caught arthur's attention. he grabbed the girl's hand and ducked behind the large stump. "thanks to your loud voice, a new demon's shown up... after all, demons have acute hearing." he whispered.
the new demon was fat and had large ears. it suddenly swept its fist, causing arthur and the girl to quickly jump out of the way. they continued on as the demon kept swiping at the ground, not realizing they had already gone past it. arthur turned to the girl, smiling. she quickly jogged up to him with a small smile of her own. he jumped up onto a tall rock structure before helping the girl up. he then leaned down, letting the creature go, and grabbed a handle poking up out of the ground. the trapdoor creaked as he pulled it open.
"over here!" he said to the flying eye-bat.
"an entrance?"
"follow me!" arthur said before jumping straight into the passage below, the girl following.
the eye-bat panicked and quickly flew after. "h-hey! wait!"
the two humans landed on the ground below and hurried through the hall, the eye-bat behind them calling out for them to wait. they suddenly turned a corner, throwing the eye-bat off course.
"no way! they've... completely disappeared! i can't even sense their presences at all..." the creature muttered. "and that demon up there didn't notice their presences either... wh-who are they?"
"over here!" arthur popped his head around the corner, causing the eye-bat to scream.
"don't spook me!"
"is merlin doing well? well, it's merlin... i probably don't need to worry about her." arthur hummed as they led the eye-bat down the hall. the girl giggled quietly, making him smile at her.
"how do you know about her?" the eye-bat questioned loudly. "you... couldn't be..."
arthur opened the door to the shelter, immediately being welcomed by the people within. "welcome back, lord arthur!" "master arthur!" "good to see you again, lady mira!" "are you hurt at all, arthur, my king?" "mistress mira!"
the eye-bat was shoved out of the way as people crowded the couple. "i just got a bit dirty, that's all." arthur replied as the people gushed over him.
"as expected of our king arthur!"
"hey, damnit! who the heck do you think i am?" the eye-bat snapped, visibly upset.
"what's up with this weird eyeball?" an old man asked.
"he's merlin's familiar!" arthur answered, peering back at the eye-bat. "right?"
"er... yeah. i am a ryoal vampire, born from the mother of chaos, lord orlondi!" the eye-bat said proudly.
"pretty big talk for an eyeball."
orlondi turned to where the voice came from, spotting cath perched in a bag on arthur's hip. "i heard that you damned mangy cat!"
"stop that, cath." arthur scolded as he took off his cape.
"well, he's acting like a big shot." the cat replied shortly.
"i don't wanna hear that from a cat... and why is a cat able to talk in the first place?" orlondi complained.
"i don't wanna hear that from an eyeball."
mira smiled at the exchange as she removed her cloak, allowing arthur to take it. "a job well done, king arthur! now, how about some food?" a man asked.
"oh yeah... i'm starved!" arthur responded before turning to mira. "care to join me?"
"sure!"
"ooh, that doesn't sound bad." orlondi muttered.
"we weren't talking to you." cath piped up.
the man gave arthur and mira a bowl of soup. they sat down on one of the benches on the sidelines, watching the people dance and play music. arthur held cath on his lap as he sipped his soup; mira perched beside him as she shared some of hers with orlondi, who thought it better to gnaw on a mouse.
"they're pretty carefree." orlondi remarked, watching the people dance.
"you don't know what's happening in the royal capital right now?" arthur asked.
"that brainwashed humans are all prey for the demons? they're being sacrificed to break the goddess' seal, right?" orlondi asked.
arthur paused, a sad look covering his face. "...i know... everyone's going through terrible times... they're forced to be away from their families and friends... and losing them as well..." he looked at the crowd before him, "but that's why we need to stay positive all the more... otherwise, we wouldn't be able to handle these feelings."
mira frowned at his words, setting her soup down beside her. "arthur... you don't really think that, do you?"
he looked at her in question as a man leaned over his shoulder. "that's not it at all! it's because we have you and lady mira here, that we're able to not lose hope!"
"that's right." an old man said, perking up from their right. "we truly believe that you'll both be able to take back camelot."
"these two?" orlondi scoffed. "hah, don't make me laugh."
cath suddenly pounced on orlondi, pinning him to the floor. "you laughing now?"
"i can't... breathe..."
"i have completed fully scouting the area." a new voice said, approaching the king and his friend.
"sir nanashi!"
"day by day, the seal grows weaker..." nanashi said, "today alone, the presence of 55 different beings have crept out of the hole."
"and today i happened to take down twice as many! without mira's help, might i add." arthur exclaimed as he stood up.
a ghost smile grew on nanashi's face. "well done, arthur. you've grown a great deal in these past few months."
"yes, sir! it's all in thanks to your teachings, sir nanashi!" arthur replied respectfully.
mira smiled, looking up at arthur. he really had gotten a lot stronger. she could see the difference clear as day. even from the way he walked, arthur had changed. she was a little distracted until nanashi spoke.
"it's about time we carry out our plan."
the people around them began to worry. "at last." arthur hummed.
"p-plan? what are you planning on doing?" orlondi asked. he then gasped, "you're not all planning on marching into camelot en masse are you? stop it! you'll all be caught and killed at the very least! you'll just be throwing your lives away for nothing!"
arthur turned to orlondi, a smile on his face. "i'm the only one going! and i'll take back camelot on my own!"
mira froze at his words and whiped her head around to look at him. "that's not what we agreed on!"
arthur looked back at her, his smile dropping. "look, i know what i said, but i took a second to rethink everything and i decided that it'd be better for you to stay here where you're safe."
"but if i'm here, then i can't be there to protect you! arthur, i promised i'd protect you and being left here means i can't follow through with that promise!" mira argued.
the king furrowed his brows. "and i promised i'd protect you. if you're not in danger then i don't have to worry—"
"if you promised to protect me, then let me come so you can actually see to it! a promise means nothing if you don't act in it." mira cut him off, making her final point with a set gaze.
arthur searched her face for any sign of hesitance. when he found none, he sighed. "fine, but please stay close to me."
"okay!"
"excuse me..." orlondi piped up. the two turned back to him as he flew up into their faces. "are you stupid? the castle is crawling with demons! and then there's zeldris of the ten commandments! he's the most powerful of all the demons, the executioner!"
"as long as we can reclaim 'that thing', we should be able to manage." arthur said with a smile.
"'that thing'?"
"the holy sword, excalibur!"
𝙩𝙞𝙢𝙚𝙨𝙠𝙞𝙥
the night before they set out, arthur and mira sat in the king's room planning. he had a map set out on the table before them. it was an overview of the kingdom of camelot. he was going through all of the possible entrances currently.
mira wasn't really paying attention though. she was studying him rather than the map. she watched his violet eyes dart across the map, and the way he moved his hands as he pointed to certain areas. every now-and-then, he'd adjust the map, turning it or marking it if he found an entryway he liked. she followed the way his hair swooped, the one rogue part that dangled in front of his face catching her attention most of the time. she observed how it moved with him, almost like he was a song and his body was the instruments, playing perfectly to his instructions from his mind. she watched the way he spoke, how his lips formed words. everything about him interested her. she was so distracted that she didn't realize he had stopped talking and was staring at her, waiting for an answer.
"what?" she squeaked, embarrassed from being caught.
"i asked if you preferred pork pie or apple stew."
"uh... i'd say—wait, what?"
he sighed, crossing his arms as he leaned back from the map. "i knew it. you're not listening. what's got your attention?"
mira couldn't look at him directly, too shy to admit she was practically checking him out. "i-it's nothing..."
arthur raised a brow, moving to stand beside the chair she was sitting in. "i don't believe you."
"r-really, arthur, it's nothing bad..."
"ah, see? but it's something!" he smiled, crouching down and making her face him. "so what is it?"
she looked at him, her blush worsening due to his close proximity. a small dust of pink was on his cheeks, and from how close he was now, mira could see the details in his eyes. she was unable to answer, rendered speechless by his face.
he blinked, confused why she was still spacing out. he was about to say something when she cut him off.
"i love you."
he... didn't know how to reply. for a second arthur sat there, replaying her words in his mind. this girl, who he's like since his childhood, just told him she loved him. honestly, it sounded too good to be true. he searched her eyes for any dishonesty or any underlying plans. however, he was only met with pure innocence and affection. it made the small blush on his cheeks worsen as he stuttered a reply.
"y-you... love me?"
did she say that? what? when did she say that? oh goddesses, did she say that out loud? no way, that's not possible. she couldn't have. but... why else would he have responded like that? oh geez, she did say she loved him, didn't she?
"i-i'm sorry! that was too sudden! i should've waited a while longer! i'm really sorry, arthur! it's just... you're so handsome and kind, i just got carried away! oh geez, i'm doing it again! please don't kick me out!" she muttered quickly, her own blush growing redder by the second.
she expected him to tell her he didn't love her. she expected him to tell her to leave. she expected him to make her stay behind tomorrow instead of going to camelot.
what she didn't expect was for him to laugh.
she peeked through her fingers at the boy as he practically doubled-over in laughter. at first, she thought he was laughing because he couldn't believe she thought she could ever be the lover of a king. but when he stopped laughing and his eyes met hers, that thought quickly disappeared.
she could see the love in his eyes. she could see how much he truly cared for her and wanted to protect her from the very beginning.
he reached up and took her hands, holding them in his own as he smiled at her. "i'm glad. i've actually been wanting to tell you the same thing for a while, i just never knew when."
she searched his eyes, her own affectionate gaze reflected in his own. the peaceful silence was broken as he moved to put his knee on the floor, shifting so he was a bit more comfortable.
"h-hey, you don't mind... if i kiss you, right?"
his words made the blush on her face exploded with warmth. she was surprised at his sudden boldness. however, she couldn't deny that she didn't like it. with a slight nod, she quickly closed her eyes.
she heard him chuchkle quietly before he went silent. and after a few seconds, she felt his lips press against hers. it was a slightly awkward start, but they soon smoothed into it, lips pressing together and drifting across one another like waves. she felt her heart flutter at the texture of his surprisingly soft lips. he slightly pulled back, making her crack open her eyes as she met his piercing gaze. the moment was short-lived as he swiftly pressed his lips to hers again, letting go of her hand to drift it across her jawline.
she took her own hands, placing one on the side of his face while the other held his own tightly. the kiss got a little more heated as he pressed himself closer, his hips knocking into her knees. he pulled back, a little embarrassed at the tiny mishap. he grinned nervously as she smiled back, discarding his hand and instead pulling him close for an embrace. he gladly wrapped his own arms around her, resting his chin on her shoulder as she placed her own on his.
she gripped the fabric of his tunic when she heard him make a quiet hiccuping sound. pulling back slightly, she looked up at him in confusion. tears streamed down his cheeks despite him trying to fight them off.
he huffed out a sad laugh. "s-sorry... you must think i'm weird for suddenly crying."
she reached up and swiped a tear running down his cheek. "no, it's all right. what's wrong?"
he sniffled, turning his gaze away from her. "it's just... i remembered that day... y'know, when you died? and i just," he paused, moving his gaze to the ground. "i'm just worried i won't be there for you again. a-and what happens if you get caught alone with zeldris? i-i mean, he probably won't do anything inappropriate b-but... i just mean..." he trailed off, unable to put his concerns into words.
"arthur."
he looked up at her voice.
"promise me you'll be careful tomorrow."
"okay."
"okay?"
"i promise."
𝙩𝙤 𝙗𝙚 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙪𝙚𝙙