Destined to Be | Arthur Pendragon

Through the Eyes of a Child

Anna was bored.

Very bored.

The last few days were not exciting whatsoever. Sure, a melee tournament was the day before, but no one Anna knew participated in it. Not her brother. Not Arthur. The only reason she went to it was because her mother and father wanted to keep an eye on her. After the fiasco with her sister, Anna needed someone close by in case something were to happen to her.

The girl hated it.

Last night's dinner didn't have much appeal to the child either. Anna got to dress up in extra fancy dress and dance with Wolfe once or twice, which was nice, but the passing days were beginning to mesh together. The worst part was Anna not being able to spend as much time with her sister.

During the trip to Camelot, their mother explained all the "adult talk" that would go on throughout the festival. Adult talk was very, very boring. Anna did not envy her sister at all for what she sat through.

So, maybe it wasn't all that bad.

"You're unusually quiet today," Jonathan approached Anna from behind, nodding his head to the knight watching over his little sister. "What's going on in that head of yours?"

"Just thinking," she answered, moving her fingers around in the small brook just beyond the walls of the city. "What are you thinking about?"

"That I can't believe I have to spend so much time watching over my sister while she plays in a stream," the man joked, ruffling Anna's hair. "I'm just kidding. I like spending time with you. We haven't had much of an opportunity lately."

"That's because you're always with Eliza," Anna stated, keeping her eyes on the small fish swimming by her fingers. "You're with Eliza. Ada is with Arthur. That leaves me with Nic."

"Nic's fun," Jonathan commented.

"Not for hours at a time," she said. "All he wants to do is play hide and seek and sneak food out of the kitchen."

"Sounds like fun to me," her brother shrugged. "You could play with the other kids. I see you with Wolfe from time to time. It looked like you had a good time with him at dinner last night."

"I guess" Anna sighed. "I just miss how things were before."

"Before we came to Camelot?"

"Maybe," Anna looked up at him. "Definitely before Ada got hurt. Now everyone is freaking out; thinking something bad is going to happen every second of every day."

"Well, sometimes that happens," Jonathan said. "Life isn't full of butterflies and rainbows. There are, unfortunately, times where things in life happen that are not good or are downright scary. It's a good lesson for you to learn."

"I'm not an idiot, John," Anna rolled her eyes at him. "I know there are bad people in this world."

"When did you get smart?"

"Last night," she joked. "For what it's worth, I like spending time with you, too. It is like old times."

"Yeah, it is," Jonathan agreed.

The Dartmouth siblings spent most of the morning outside the city walls. Jonathan humored his little sister with her games and vast imagination. Not that he minded all that much. It did, in a way, bring Johnathan back to his younger days. When life was less strict and more fun. Now, he was expected to rule the kingdom when his mother and father stepped down. At least he would have Eliza by his side. Something he looked forward to. Furthermore, his parents were still in very good health and young. Relatively speaking. No passing of the crown would happen any time soon.