A Heart For A Heart

Excalibur Part 1

Alexandra's Point of View:

I was at the Great Hall for the prince's coronation, and man was it crowded! Merlin, Gaius, and I were standing at the back of the room with all the other fancy nobles. King Uther was up there doing his thing, and Arthur was kneeling before him. To be honest, I was feeling pretty nervous about the whole thing. The dragon's prophecy had me all worked up about Arthur's safety and how easily someone could hurt him. But I tried to just focus on the fact that this was a big day for him. Finally, Arthur was getting crowned prince, and the whole place went crazy with applause. Gwen noticed how proud Merlin looked, and that made me feel a little better."Ya, right." He chuckled.

"I must say, Merlin is quite proud of Arthur. We all are, but Merlin especially," I remarked, playfully nudging his shoulder. He responded with a comical expression. Suddenly, there was a loud crash, and the room fell silent as everyone turned to look at the broken window. A mysterious knight, dressed in dark armor like the night itself, appeared on horseback. The gust of wind from his arrival extinguished all the candles, and in an instant, Arthur and the other knights drew their swords. I cautiously moved away from the group and approached the knight, who continued to gallop toward Arthur. The knight dropped his left vambrace, which made a loud clattering sound as it hit the floor. I knew that Arthur retrieving it would be a bad idea since this situation was no ordinary one - this was the work of sorcery at its finest. Sir Owain quickly picked up the vambrace before Arthur had the chance to do so.

"Single combat at noon til the death," the magical knight demanded. Everyone in the room was shocked and it was evident for the knight and his horse continued out of the Great Hall. When we returned to the physician's chambers, Merlin asked Gaius a question about the knight. Gaius told Merlin off, but I interpreted Gaius.

"I don't think it's wise to underestimate," I claimed, "This is clearly sorcery and we both know it. Breaking a window with a horse and not getting hurt is impossible. The horse would have reacted to the glass. I have a feeling that Sir Owain is in danger tomorrow. We need to keep a close eye on him to confirm my suspicion." Someone with magical powers might be trying to harm Arthur again. I excused myself: I need to gather more information about this knight.

Feeling frustrated, I left the room and slammed the door shut. I couldn't believe that nobody else seemed to be concerned about the situation. As I walked through the hallways, I knew exactly where I was headed - Arthur's chambers. I didn't plan on barging in and revealing the truth about the enemy's magic, but I had to warn Arthur about the potential risks of the upcoming match. When I arrived at the door, I heard Morgana's voice and took a deep breath before knocking. Arthur invited me in.

"Alex." Arthur stated with a bit of surprise. I walked next to where Morgana, Gwen, and Arthur were at. "I'm sure you're here for the same reason as Morgana. I can't do anything about the match tomorrow."

"Sort of. I know you can't break the knight's code. However, I want you to know that it is a high possibility that Sir Owain won't survive tomorrow."

"How could you.."

"Arthur, let me finish. This so-called knight broke through a glass window and was unharmed. He had armor on so it makes sense. The horse did not have armor on and was not fazed or harmed from breaking the window." Everyone in the room stayed quiet waiting for me to continue on. "It would be smart not to underestimate this knight for he may be something we are not familiar with." Arthur stared at me. His crystal blue eyes showed that the gears in his head were beginning to shift. Morgana had her hand over her mouth.

She lowered it to say, "I shall give him all my prayers." She left swiftly after that with Gwen behind her.

"I believe I should take my leave then too," I said now that it was only Arthur and I in the room. He looked back at me away from the window.