King Arthur: Battle for the Sword

Chapter 1

"Ouch! Be careful you twit!" Our Mistress Anabelle hissed as Olivia and I placed pins in her reddish brunette hair. "Sorry, m'lady." We both said in unison. "You better be sorry... I give you the roof over your head and the clothes on your backs..." She began to rant about how without her, we wouldn't be in the best house in the kingdom or under her husband's lordship. I said nothing, as I always did. But I couldn't contain my excitement. Tonight, Olivia and I were attending an extravaganza at the King's palace. We hadn't been out in what felt like years, per our Mistress's demand.

The King was evil but at least we got to get out and see something other than those stone walls and our Mistress's horrible face.

"We must hurry or we will be late." Our Mistress huffed as we tried our hardest to get her ready. She shooed us from her mirror to the door, then paused for a moment to say, "Now hurry and get ready. Your dresses are in your rooms." She slammed the door in our faces, causing us both to look at each other in surprise. She never acted this pushy, even if Olivia and I were being completely terrible on purpose.

"I don't like King Vortigern," Olivia whispered as we walked side by side to their rooms to get ready for the gala that was only a few hours away. "Me either," I muttered, fiddling with my fingers nervously.

"But we get to go to a party!" She gushed. I smiled, "I know! Isn't grand!" We stopped outside of our rooms, holding each other's hands for a moment, "Well let's get ready and stop chatting like old hags!" Olivia playfully smacked my arm. I laughed and turned to my room to get ready for a night I wouldn't forget.

The boat ride made me nauseous. I hated riding boats and carriages, they always made me sick. This was only her second time being on a boat after all. I thought maybe it was because I had a fear of being dragged under the current after falling overboard or something. But I came to the conclusion it was the rocking of the boat that made me sick in the end. I decided from then on, I wouldn't ride another boat, even if my life depended on it.

Olivia had been chatting away mindlessly beside me, gushing and giggling about the party. That was the only thing keeping me from getting sick over the side of the wooden boat.

"Wow. Look at that, Rose," Olivia said mid-sentence in awe. I looked up to see a lit up fortress in the distance. "Wow," I said softly, holding the side of the boat, all feeling of nausea leaving my stomach. "Isn't that something?" Olivia responded, whistling. I nodded, "It is... I wonder how large it is on the inside..." I spoke narrowing my eyes to see better.

"I can't even imagine how massive it will be!"

"King Arthur has done a lot to it." A man answered from behind them. "Who?" I questioned. The man looked at them like they were insane. "The new king... Have you no ears? Or do you not listen to what every person has been talking about for weeks?"

"Our Mistress does not let us speak to anyone other than herself and her husband," Olivia said, rolling her eyes as if the man should have known that already. "Ah." The man said, seeming to be a little more understanding, "So you both must be what they call Purities. The things the socialites have with them to make them "feel" purer." The man said. "Olivia! Rose!" Our mistress called, ending our conversation with the stranger.

Our heads immediately snapped in her direction and we hurried off without another word to the man. "A new king?" Olivia asked. "I have no idea," I murmured back, mostly to myself. Why hadn't we heard about this new king? Did our Mistress forbid anyone to talk about it around us? It wouldn't be the first time she's done something like that.

"Get over here." She fizzed at us, snapping her fingers at Olivia and me as if we were strays. We clambered to her side so she could have a proper unloading "for a lady" as she says. The Mistress always wants to make an entrance, regardless if it was terrible on her part or not.