❝ when she looks into his eyes, she feels the gripping temptation to tell him all her darkest secrets; the names of the men she has killed, but she learned a long time ago that the only people who can keep secrets are resting in overgrown graveyards...
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Calliope isn't sure what the cause of all the odd behavior around the castle is, but she doesn't have time to put much thought it as she takes on extra guard duties for their guests to ensure maximum safety. She hasn't seen much of Arthur. He's been busy throughout the day in meetings with his father and the other Kings to discuss the terms of peace while she's been patrolling the halls with Leon. With the castle packed to the brim with people from all over the Five Kingdoms, she expected more excitement, but so far, all has been quiet amongst the corridors of Camelot. In other words, Calliope is bored out of her mind.
She picks at the dirt under her fingernails as they enter the armory. Leon shrugs off his armor; they're finally about to get relieved by two other guards, and Calliope plans on going to the practice field to cure some of her boredom.
In the corner of the room, a shadow flashes. She barely catches the movement, but her hand drops to her belt. A dagger is in her grasp as she squints her eyes towards the back door.
"What is it?"
"I thought I saw something," she answers.
Her boots click against the armory floor as she approaches the row of shields in front of the door. The assassin's eyes drop, and she notices a faint, dusty footprint.
Calliope pushes the door open. She steps into the autumn breeze, scanning the path to the tree line for any sign of the owner of the footprint.
"Pst," she whips her head to the left, drawing her dagger back. "Over here." It's a guard she's never seen before; his face is hidden by his helmet as he beckons her closer, but she simply narrows her eyes. "I mean no harm."
Calliope keeps a firm grip on her dagger. She takes cautious steps towards him until they're right under the cover of a balcony.
"Do you need something?" she asks in an impatient tone, eyes still darting to their surroundings.
He nods, looking at her through his helmet, "Yes, I'm here to warn you."
She takes a threatening step, "Choose your next words wisely."
"Oh, no, I'm not a threat!" he holds up his shaking hands. "There's been trouble in Mercia—a rogue gang of mercenaries have been declared enemies of the kingdom."
"What does that have to do with me exactly?"
"Because they're coming for Camelot next," the guard answers. "There was a spy in their ranks. They were robbing secret vaults, building up funds for something big. The last we heard from our spy, this gang was planning on infiltrating the walls of Camelot to find someone."
"Who?"
The guard shakes his head, "I don't know. We think our spy was caught and killed."
Even if a dangerous group of mercenaries are coming for Camelot, this seems like information he should be relaying to the King or Arthur, or even a knight, so why her? Calliope notices sweat rolling down the exposed portion of his face as well as the guard's uneven breathing.
