Like a sheep following its flock, Merlin and I followed Gaius and Sir Leon to see whatever it was that my father wanted Gaius to look at. When we got there, it was clear what had happened; someone had broken into the castle.
One of the night guards was collapsed against the wall, dead.
"Can you determine a cause of death?" father asked Gaius.
"His neck's been broken. There's scarcely a mark on the flesh. The killer knew exactly what he was doing," Gaius told us.
"Earlier this evening an intruder was spotted in the lower town," Leon added. Hang on, that's where Arthur is! What if it's the assassin?
"Then I fear that it is true. Odin has sent an assassin to kill Arthur," father muttered.
I could see Merlin fidgeting beside me, so I glanced over at him and attempted a reassuring smile, but it probably looked as forced as it felt.
"An assassin?" Merlin asked.
"Have you had any word from Arthur since he left the Northern Borders?" father spoke directly to Merlin.
"No. None," Merlin lied.
"Chelsea? Has he contacted you?" father asked.
"No. Not at all," I replied.
"With this assassin in Camelot, we must be thankful Arthur isn't here. Search the entire town. I want the assassin found before Arthur returns," father ordered Leon before leaving.
"Yes, my Lord," Leon nodded.
"We need to warn Arthur," Merlin muttered to me.
"Yeah, you're probably right," I replied, but didn't look over at Merlin because I knew he would see that I had hidden something from him.
"Chelsea?" Merlin whispered. Clearly, he didn't need to look me in the eyes to know when I was hiding something. "What's wrong?"
"Except from the fact that there is now an assassin in Camelot, nothing," I shrugged.
"No, there's something else," Merlin insisted.
"There's nothing else," I assured him.
"Chelsea... I know when you're lying. What is it?" Merlin continued, and I realised I wouldn't be getting away with not saying anything.
"I knew that there was an assassin on the way looking for Arthur," I admitted.
"Why didn't you tell us? Warn us?" Merlin asked.
"Because I didn't think he would get here. We had half of the guards and Knights out looking for him to prevent him arriving. I just thought that they would stop him before he got this far, clearly I was wrong," I muttered the last bit to myself.
"Well, then. Let's go warn Arthur," Merlin said.
I nodded and we subtly slipped out of the room. Making sure to avoid all the guards, we snuck around the lower town till we reached Gwen's house.
Before we went in, I peeked through the window and saw Gwen and Arthur standing close and looking into each other's eyes. Cute!
"Merlin, wa—" I began, but Merlin had already burst through the doors, making the two of them jump apart.
"Arthur, there's an assassin in Camelot. He's here to kill you," Merlin told them, as I walked in and shut the door.
"Is it true, Chelsea?" Arthur asked me.
"Of course, it's true," I replied, as though it were obvious.
Arthur began to pace around the room and Gwen was nervously biting her nails.
"Odin has put a price on your head and that assassin Myror has accepted it. He killed a guard and is still somewhere in Camelot," I explained.
"Why would Odin want you dead?" Gwen asked.
"Because I killed his son," Arthur admitted. "Odin's son challenged me to a fight. I had no quarrel with him. I asked him to withdraw. Perhaps he felt he had to prove himself. I still see his face. He looked so scared.
"Arthur, we've been through this before. You cannot blame yourself," I reminded him.
I remember when it happened. I remember it clear as day.
It had been a normal, peaceful day and I was about to turn in. That was until I heard a knock at my door. It was Arthur and he looked awful. He told me all about what had happened and how guilty he felt. I'd never seen him like that before.
"No one, but us, knows where you are," Merlin assured him. "If the assassin can't find you, he can't kill you."
As much as I wanted to agree with Merlin, I don't know if I could. Leon said that the intruder had been spotted in the lower town. Why else would he be down in this part of town if it weren't to see if Arthur were here?
"May I continue to stay here?" Arthur asked.
"Of course. For as long as you need," Gwen assured him.
"Thank you," Arthur replied. "I'll sleep on the floor tonight."
"No, have my bed. You need to be well rested for the tournament tomorrow," Gwen said.
"I will not hear of it. Good night, Guinevere," Arthur replied before walking to the back of the house.
"Good night," Gwen answered.
Merlin and I followed Arthur to the back of the house.
"Fetch a mattress from my quarters and bring it up here," Arthur ordered Merlin.
"How am I supposed to carry a mattress on my own?" Merlin whispered.
"I don't know. Strap it to your back," Arthur suggested.
"I'm sure you can manage a couple of nights without it," I muttered to Arthur before grabbing Merlin's hand and dragging him out of the house.
"How do you even strap a mattress to your back?" Merlin wondered aloud, as we started to make our way back up to the castle.
"I don't know actually. Oh, well. Just forget about it. I'm sure Prince Arthur can live without his luxuries for a couple of nights," I said.
"Oh, I don't know. I think that this will seriously impact his jousting tomorrow," Merlin sighed dramatically, making me glance over at him. We caught eyes and just started to laugh.
Even when there was an assassin in Camelot trying to kill my brother, Merlin still managed to make me laugh and that was something that I was always going to be thankful for.
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