Merlyn's Only Hope

Valiant P3

Short from forcing Sir Ewan to miss the tournament, something that could raise Valiant's suspicions, Merlyn couldn't do much other than wait and pray that Ewan would see sense. In his chambers, Arthur felt powerless, only able to watch the moon climb higher in the sky, the light illuminating his now darkened room. The fire had burnt out long ago, blackened ashes smothering any form of amber light. He hadn't managed to get much sleep; he stayed by the window, only moving when he saw a figure with long, dark hair hurrying back to the castle. Moments later, Merlyn slipped into his room, a little out of breath. Her neck, he noticed, looked considerably better, barely noticeable in comparison to the day before. If he had less things on his mind, he would've questioned it, but, luckily for Merlyn, he was focused on a vague sense of impending doom.

"Did you tell him?" he asked, relieved that she hadn't bumped into anyone on the way to his chambers. He didn't want to answer any awkward questions, to make excuses over the safety of his kingdom.

She nodded, "It's up to him now." She felt awful, choosing between Arthur and Ewan but, if things were to go wrong, she couldn't put her apparent destiny on the line.

∆

Arthur won his fight, meaning he had the first position in the final. The battle between Sir Ewan and Valiant was highly anticipated, or, at least, that's what Morgana had told her. The final fight wouldn't happen until the next morning, giving the victors a little time to rest.

"I should've spoken to him." said Arthur quietly from inside the tent as Sir Ewan greeted the crowd.

"No, he wouldn't have believed a fellow competitor, especially one with so much to lose." Merlyn reassured him, hoping that she'd done enough to save Ewan.

Valiant made his way from his tent, striding lazily to the arena waving at the crowd, a dirty smirk on his face. Merlyn scowled, her eyes flashing gold briefly, causing Valiant to stumble, almost falling headfirst into the mud. A chuckle escaping her lips as she watched him stomp childishly through the sand, stopping only when he faced his opponent, glaring furiously. Arthur looked up and seeing his servant watching the two knights, he found himself leaning on the canvas of his tent, eying the fighters. Valiant looked bad, terrible in fact, his arm limp, his shield scraping along in the dirt.

It was wrong, but Merlyn felt a flicker of hope as Ewan attacked, placing his advances on Valiant's right side. She knew she could only be disappointed, but it didn't stop her cheering along with the crowd when the yellow knight struggled to keep hold of his weapons. With Valiant's limp left arm, Ewan managed to avoid the shield fairly easily; it didn't take long for Ewan to hit Valiant's sword out of his hand. With just his shield, the yellow knight switched arms, rebutting all of Ewan's hits with an ease which made Merlyn feel a strange sense of uncertainty.

It was then that she saw it.

Valiant charged forward, deflecting Ewan's sword, hitting his shield to Ewan's chin, forcing him to the floor. If she wasn't looking for it, she may have missed the slither of green appear, striking Ewan and vanishing as quickly as it had come.

The man didn't get up from the ground.

The crowd cheered, Valiant holding his shield up, grinning broadly. Uther stood, applauding loudly. Merlyn scowled. Of course the idiot was impressed with the injured knight, unable to see what was right in front of him. Gaius ran towards Ewan, two guards rolling the body onto a stretcher and running in the direction of the physician's quarters. It was chaos, the speeches, the frenzied crowd, the wild excitement almost tangible in the air.

Arthur said nothing.

He just stared, not even noticing a yellow knight approaching him.

"See you in the final."