AM I THE ONE? | ARTHUR PENDRAGON [1]

Love

*Third Person's P.O.V.*

"I know Kanen's kind." Prince Arthur spoke to the people of Ealdor who have gathered in a small group in front of where he, Lady Morgana, Guinevere, Merlin, and Annabelle were standing. "He'll be back, and when he is... We must be ready for him. First of all, we have to prepare-"
"Am I the only one wondering who the hell this is?" William interrupted, walking forwards to stand in front of the villagers in order to fully face Arthur.
"I'm Prince Arthur of Camelot."
"Yeah, and er, I'm Prince William of Ealdor." William scoffed.
"Keep quiet." Hunith scolded. "He's here to help us."
"He's made things worse!" William snapped. "Kanen will be back, and when he is he'll be looking for revenge." He said, before facing Arthur angrily. "You've just signed our death warrant!"
"He saved Matthew's life!" Hunith exclaimed, but Arthur held up his hand.
"It's alright, Hunith." He assured, before looking at William. "This is his village. What would you have us do?"
"We can't fight against Kanen." William stated after a second. "He has too many men."
"So what's the alternative?" Arthur asked.
"Give him what he wants." William said, making the villagers shake their heads and murmur in disagreement.
"Then what?" Arthur asked. "Those of you who don't starve to death, will face him again next harvest! And the harvest after that!"
"We'll manage. We'll survive." William said, but people gave him incredulous looks.
"How?" Many of the villagers exclaimed in disbelief.
"The only way he can be stopped is if you stand up to him." Arthur tried to persuade him, but William just shook his head.
"No. You just want the honor and glory of battle. That's what drives men like you. Look, if you want to fight, then go home and risk the lives of your own people, not us!" He snapped at the Prince, before walking away.
"Will!" Annabelle called, but he ignored her and continued walking. She sighed and looked at Merlin, who was standing on Arthur's other side, before the two siblings went after him.

*Annabelle's P.O.V.*

    Merlin and I chased Will all the way to his house, only to see him trying to clean the mess that Kanen's bandits have made.
"He knows what he's doing." I said, referring to Arthur, but Will just ignored me. "You've got to trust him." He looked up at me with a scowl on his face, before continuing the cleaning.
"Look," Merlin sighed as we stepped forward. "When I first met Arthur, I was exactly like you." My brother said as we started to help Will clean up a little bit. "I hated him. I thought he was pompous and arrogant."
"Nothing's changed there, then." Will spoke up, not looking at us, as he picked up the stand with his father's chain mail shirt and tunic, which were still stained with blood.
"But, in time, I came to respect him for what he stands for, what he does." Merlin continued.
"Yeah, I know what he stands for; princes, kings, all men like him." Will snapped, making me frown.
"Will," I sighed softly. "Don't bring what happened to your father into this."
"I'm not!" He snapped before looking at Merlin."Why are you defending him so much? You're just his servant." He then looked at me. "And you're just a maid."
"He's also our friend." Merlin defended, making Will scoff.
"Friends don't lord it over one another."
"He's not like that." I said, and Will nodded sarcastically.
"Really? Well, let's wait until the fighting begins, and see who he sends in to die first." He snapped. "I guarantee you, it won't be him."
"We trust Arthur with our lives." I said, and Will scoffed again.
"Is that so?" He asked, although quietly as if he was tired of everything. "So he knows your secret then." I swallowed and looked down, while Merlin just stared at him. "Look, face it, you two. You're living a lie. Just like you were here. You're servants, nothing more. Otherwise, you'd tell Arthur the truth."

*Hunith's House, Night, Third Person's P.O.V.*

    After Arthur and Merlin's short yet meaningful conversation, the Prince was dying to ask his servant about Annabelle. Was it also so hard for her in Ealdor? Was she in the same position as Merlin? Did she choose to leave with her brother in order to find a place where she would belong? All those questions piled up in his head, but he didn't want Merlin, or anyone for that matter, to know his feelings for Annabelle. He didn't want to show how much he cared; even though he did a great deal.

*Next Day, Annabelle's P.O.V.*

"You've still not learned how to dress yourself?" Morgana asked with a smirk as the two of us walked over to stand in front of Merlin, who was helping Arthur put on his vest.
"You don't have a dog, and fetch the stick yourself." Arthur retorted before glancing at Merlin. "No offence, Merlin."
"None taken." My brother replied, making me chuckle quietly as I shared a look with Morgana before we both rolled our eyes.
"Prince Arthur, you didn't finish your breakfast." Mother said as she came over to Arthur and handed him the bowl with the food she served as breakfast.
"Didn't I?" Arthur took the bowl from her with slightly wide eyes, obviously not wanting to put it in his mouth.
"Come on. Eat up." Morgana prompted with a mischievous smirk, making me stifle a giggle. Arthur glanced at Mother, who turned around after smiling at him softly, and picked up the spoon, holding it near his mouth.
"Mmmmm." He pretended to eat, before putting the spoon down as soon as Mother's back was to him. He then quickly shoved the bowl into Gwen's hands, before patting Merlin on the shoulder. "Alright, let's get going. We need wood. Lots of it."
"Of course." Merlin nodded as Arthur and Morgana headed out. I looked over at Gwen, only to see her finishing Arthur' breakfast before handing it to Mother.
"Arthur said it was lovely." She lied with a kind smile, before also heading out while I quickly put on the necklace Arthur gave me for my birthday, before tucking it in beneath my shirt.
"He must care for you two a great deal." Mother said.
"Arthur'd do the same for any village." Merlin said nonchalantly as he put on his jacket. "That's just the way he is."
"It's more than that." Mother said. "He's here for you and your sister." I took a deep breath, but otherwise didn't let them know that I cared.
"I'm just his servant and Ann is Morgana's maid. That's all."
"Give him more credit than that. He likes you." Mother glanced at me while she spoke to Merlin, as if she wanted to say more, but decided not to.
"That's because he doesn't know us." I said, speaking up for the first time.
"She's right." Merlin agreed. "If he did, we'd probably be dead by now."
"You two don't really believe that, do you?" Mother asked in shock, but Merlin just shrugged before leaving as well. "You know, I saw the looks the Prince sends your way." She said, walking over to me, seeing as we were now the only ones in the house.
"I'm afraid I don't know what you're talking about." I said as I turned around to face her.
"Anna, I've lived for longer than twice as long as you." She smiled at me. "I know when a man falls in love. You can always see it in the way he looks at the woman."
"Arthur isn't just any man, Mother." I said. "He's the Prince of Camelot. Even if we did have feelings for each other, which we don't, Uther would rather have my head than let us be together." As I said that, I grabbed my sword, ready to leave as well.
"There is not thing stronger in this world than love, Anna." Mother said softly, making me stop abruptly. "Remember that."

*20 Minutes Later*

"There is no way they're going to be able to hold Kanen off." Morgana said as she, Gwen, and I watched Arthur train the village men while the two of them sharpened swords and I mended some of the armor.
"Men aren't the only ones who can fight." I said, and the girls smiled at me.

*40 Minutes Later*

"Looks like the battle's already fought and lost." I said as I, Gwen, and Morgana walked over to Arthur, who was getting a cup of water from the well.
"They'll toughen up." He simply said as we all looked over at the men who were now resting, looking completely exhausted.
"They need to." Gwen said.
"How are we doing for weapons?"
"There isn't much but we should be able to scrape together what you need." I said, and the Prince nodded. "But it's not the weapons that worry us, it's having enough people to use them." I glanced at my friends before continuing. "We think the women should be allowed to fight."
"You haven't enough men." Morgana said softly as Arthur was about to speak up, obviously disagreeing seeing as he shook his head.
"If they were trained soldiers, maybe you'd stand a chance, but they're not." I added. "Most of the men in this village have never held a sword in their lives."
"It's too dangerous." Arthur said while looking at us, before walking away towards the men, making me sigh and share a solemn look with Morgana and Gwen. "Alright! On you feet!! Come on, let's go!!"

*Night, Hunith's House*

"We don't stand a chance." I heard Gwen say quietly as I lied on the bed that I shared with my Mother.
"Arthur can't see that." Morgana replied in a whisper. "He's too stubborn."
"Why do you think he came here?"
"The same reason we did." Morgana whispered. "Merlin and Annabelle. Arthur may act like he doesn't care about his servant but he wouldn't be here if he didn't. And Annabelle..." She trailed off with a quiet chuckle. "Well, you saw as well as I did. He's clearly in love with her; I have never seen him fall for someone so deeply."