The next day, Merlin met Arthur in the town before they came over to the tent. When they came in, Arthur pulled me aside.
"I need to tell you something," Arthur muttered to me.
"Is everything alright?" I asked.
"I just..." Arthur said it so quickly that I didn't pick it up.
"I'm sorry?" I replied.
"IjustkissedGuinevere," Arthur said again too quickly.
"Arthur, speak slowly and louder," I told him.
"I just kissed Guinevere!" Arthur whisper-yelled, and that is when I finally heard it.
"Oh my God!" I squealed before hugging Arthur.
"Don't make it so obvious," Arthur warmed me, as we glanced over at Merlin.
"I know but this is amazing! I cannot believe it!" I laughed happily.
"You can't tell anyone. I don't even know if it meant anything," Arthur admitted.
"Of course, it meant something. You have no idea how long I've been waiting for this," I smiled up at him.
"Oh God," Arthur muttered, as though realising something for the first time.
"What?" I muttered.
"If this meant something... and Guinevere and I are... something, we would both be courting servants," Arthur explained.
"And?" I said.
"Father would have a heart attack if he found out," Arthur said. We both looked at each other before I started laughing at Arthur's expression. "Chelsea, it's not funny."
"Oh, but it is," I laughed.
"Arthur, you might wanna start getting ready now," Merlin called over to us.
"Go and get ready," I told him, pushing him towards Merlin.
"They're nearly ready for you, sire," William said, coming into the tent.
"Already?" I panicked. "Will you be ready in time?"
"Don't worry, Chelsea. I got this," Merlin assured me.
A few moments later, Arthur was ready to go and win this tournament. Helmet under his arm and sword in hand, Arthur took a deep breath and put on his helmet. He walked out to the loud cheers of the audience as he had become pretty popular among the court and the people.
The two Knights got into position and waited for the boy to lift the red flag. Seconds later the flag was lifted, and the flag boy ran out of the way as Arthur and the other Knight charged at one another.
I watched Arthur closely and was over the moon to see his back straight, his arm lifted, and he was in a perfect stance. He would easily win with this.
But I was wrong. When they reached one another, Arthur was knocked back by the other Knight's lance.
"No," I muttered. There was no way he could lose with the stance that he was in.
I continued to watch Arthur and noticed him clutch his side as though he were in pain. Seeing this, I went over to one of the horse boys.
"Bring him over quickly," I requested.
"Of course, your highness," The boy nodded before running over to get Arthur.
"Chelsea?!" I heard Merlin call out to me, but I was running over to Arthur's tent to see what I could do to help.
"Just give me a minute," I called back before carrying on running.
A couple seconds later, I saw Gwen helping Arthur into the tent.
"His lance pierced my armour," Arthur told me, as I lifted his other arm over my shoulders.
"I thought that armour was supposed to prevent you getting that badly hurt," I commented, sitting Arthur down on a chair.
"It is," Arthur assured me. "Do what you can. I need to be back out in five minutes otherwise I have to forfeit the match."
"You can't be serious?" I asked. "Lift your armour."
Arthur managed to lift up some of his armour so I could clean it. The wound itself didn't actually look too deep so I got some fabric and started to clean it.
"I have never forfeited a match and don't intend to start now," Arthur said.
"You're so stubborn," I muttered before wrapping a bandage around his wound.
"That's rich coming from you," He scoffed.
"Arthur, you can't possibly joust. You're too injured. You would risk your life for your pride?" Gwen asked. "You have nothing to prove, least of all to me."
Sensing I was interrupting a moment, I walked over to the bucket of water in the corner of the room and tried not to listen to their conversation. But this was the first time I had ever witnessed Arthur talking to someone he actually liked so my efforts to not listen didn't go very well.
"I have everything to prove, to myself," Arthur replied, making me smile to myself. "Chelsea? Can I have my helmet?"
I walked back over with his helmet and tried to contain my smile. Giving Arthur a knowing smile, I handed over his helmet.
"Shut up," He muttered.
"I didn't say anything," I replied.
"You didn't have to," He said.
With his wound wrapped up with a temporary bandage, Gwen and I helped Arthur back onto his horse and I led him back to the outskirts of the arena.
"Chelsea!" I heard someone shout my name. I spun round and saw Merlin running up to me. "Where's Arthur?"
"He's just left to joust," I replied.
"He's jousting against the assassin," Merlin told me.
"What do you mean he's jousting the assassin?" I asked, chasing after Merlin, who was walking to the arena.
"The assassin must have killed the Knight and took his place. Chelsea, you have to stop the match," Merlin said.
"I can't. Only my father has the authority to do so," I admitted, just as we reached the arena.
Arthur and the other Knight started to charge at each other again, but Arthur was slanted to one side and slouching.
"He's gonna get hit again. We have to do something," I said.
"Hide me," Merlin muttered.
There was a nearby gap in the wall, so I subtly pushed Merlin in there and stood in front of it.
"Not exactly what I meant," Merlin whispered in my ear, making me smile. My smile faltered when I saw how close Arthur and the assassin were.
"Merlin..." I warned.
"Ic ia tóspringe," I heard Merlin mutter, and next thing I knew, the strap on the assassin's saddle had broken and he lost concentration so it was Arthur's turn for his lance to pierce the assassin's armour.
He then went flying onto the ground, rolling over several times and then not moving at all. While everyone else cheered for the champion, Merlin and I ran over to go and help Arthur.
We helped him get down from the horse and, one arm over each of our shoulders, we carried him back to the tent.
"You were jousting against the assassin," Merlin told Arthur after we had sat him down. "He killed Sir Alynor and took his place."
The cheering outside was getting louder and louder.
"The people are waiting for their champion," I smiled, going to hand Arthur his helmet.
"It's time to reveal yourself," Merlin added.
"You must go and collect the trophy," Arthur said to William, shocking us all.
"I thought this was going to be your moment of glory?" Gwen asked.
"Perhaps this is a time for humility," Arthur replied.
I noticed Gwen and Arthur share a smile, causing me to smirk at Merlin. William then left the tent so Gwen, Merlin and I followed him out to watch.
William rode over to the centre of the arena in front of my father and raised his lance in the air in victory. The audience went crazy with applaud.
"He looks happy," A voice said behind me.
I turned and saw Arthur with his cloak on, smiling over at William.
"Yeah, he does," I agreed.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"The assassin attacked us as we were returning to Camelot," Arthur told father. "I was injured whilst I was killing him."
We had managed to sneak Arthur back out of the castle to meet the couple of Knights who left a few days ago.
"Odin must pay for this. We must strike back," father said straight away.
"Surely you must understand the grief he feels for the loss of his son?" Arthur asked. "We should try and make peace with him. There's been enough bloodshed."
Father seemed to consider it for a minute, and I gave Arthur a small smile.
"Perhaps you're right. How was the rest of your trip? Fruitful?"
"Very. I learnt a great deal. How was the tournament?"
"Excellent. We have a new champion. Sir William of Deira," father told him, making Gwen, Arthur and Merlin and I all share a subtle smile.
"I'm sorry I missed all the excitement," Arthur said.
"Don't be. But when the time next comes around, I believe we have another possible suitor for your sister," father stated, making me look over at him in disgust.
"Is that all you ever think about? Shipping me off to another kingdom?" I asked.
"Hold your tongue, you retched girl," father responded.
"Maybe that is a discussion for another time," Arthur intervened before I could say anything else.
Brilliant! I can't wait for that conversation.
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