King Arthur: Battle for the Sword

Chapter 4

We walked along the corridors of the King's palace, chatting with one another for the remainder of the day. Talking about anything that came to mind, no matter how random the topic could have been.

"We should be getting back." He said abruptly, coming to a stop. I stopped, turning around to look at him startled and confused by his sudden mood change. "Oh-is there something you have to do?" I asked. He shook his head, "Well, not exactly. But, I'm sure you're hungry, anyway." He said, touching my elbow, gesturing me to walk in a different direction.

He leads me back the way we came and dropped me off at a dining hall. "Dinner will be served soon." He smiled at me and left me alone in front of the door, walking briskly in the opposite direction. I frowned, feeling that something was wrong. I shook my head, trying to not worry about things that I couldn't stop or change, pushing open the door and interrupted laughter.

Olivia and an unfamiliar woman were sitting at the table, sharing a laugh. "Oh, how fun!" Olivia exclaimed, holding her hands together with a huge smile on her face. I came to sit beside her, "What are you guys talking about?" I asked, looking between them. "Oh, Martha, this is my dear friend that I was telling you about. This is Rose." The new woman looked at me, "You must be the one that King Arthur called for." She smiled at me, her eyes shining with something that I was not familiar or content with.

I shifted uncomfortably in my seat, pulling my dress down a little more, "Uh, I suppose." I wouldn't have used that terminology, but she and I were two different people and it was very clear. Especially by her lack of self-command. "So what did you two do?" She asked, leaning forward with interest, her eyebrows raising. I looked at her, slightly taken back. "Um, we talked. He showed me around the place." I said, shrugging. I was not comfortable with her expression or with her trying to suggest that I did anything other than talk with Arthur.

"Well, I hear that he does things with ladies." The woman wiggled her eyebrows at us. I made a face, "I'm sorry, but I'm not that kind of woman."

"I didn't say you were. It's just, you hear things.." she trailed off. Olivia looked pale in the face. I looked at her new friend confused and disgusted, "I'm sorry... I don't like what you're implying... what was your name... Mary?" Her friend paled as well, making me burn with anger and utter dislike. I looked back to Olivia, who looked as if she was about to burst into tears. "What's wrong Olivia?" She cleared her throat and looked down, her eyes on her lap, a submissive stance that we take often when someone important is around that we aren't supposed to make eye contact with. I looked over my shoulder to see Arthur, standing there with his arms crossed, his one eyebrow raised.

"I think it's time for you to get back to work, love." Martha immediately stood up and scampered back to what she was supposed to be doing. Arthur sighed and sat beside me, "She likes to talk." He unrolled his silverware and put the napkin on his lap. "I think she was getting the wrong idea of me," I answered inaudibly. "I wouldn't be surprised. She was speaking the truth though, only she doesn't know what she's been told." He looked up, flicking his fingers to a guard by the door.

"See, I do call on women, but not to sleep with them." The guard crossed the room as Arthur spoke. "They're my friends. I grew up with them, they took care of me." He said, looking up at the man, "Bring us our food, please." The guard nodded his head once and went to a side door, leaving us three alone.

"What does that mean?" I asked, ignoring his conversation with his guard completely. "Well, I wasn't raised in a castle. I was raised in the streets of Londonium." He relaxed back into his chair, wiping his nose as we waited for the food to come. "Are you girls hungry?" Arthur asked us.

I looked at Olivia, who sat silently beside me. Normally you couldn't get her to be quiet, so this new vow of silence that she has taken was odd to me. "Are you hungry?" I asked. She nodded her head once at me, keeping her eyes down. I looked back to Arthur, "She's hungry." I replied softly.

He gave me a soft smile, "Great." his eyes lingered on me for a moment longer, then returned to his drink. Olivia looked up finally, her eyes peeking to Arthur who looked ahead of him without even noticing. "He's handsome." Olivia murmured, "Hush." I whispered back, afraid that he would hear and also out of jealousy. I didn't want her to be attracted to him.

Compared to Olivia, I was a limp piece of soggy bread. She was drop-dead beautiful and all the boys in our house always left her roses and small gifts in front of her door. She of course couldn't keep them, because if our Mistress found out that either of us was getting gifts or any kind of affection from the opposite sex, we both would be in trouble. So, I made sure that they would be properly discarded or hidden.

Our food came out shortly after that, making us fall into silence as we ate. Arthur didn't say anything to me or Olivia. I felt awkward and nervous for some reason, sitting beside him. He exuded power and classiness. He was a perfect man to be King.

He finished his meal and stood to his feet, "Ladies, I have some things I must attend to, someone will show you to your rooms, I apologize for the short dinner, but duty calls." He bowed to us, "I'll see you both in the morning." With that, he left us at the table alone.

I looked at Olivia as his footsteps faded and a door closed. "Well, that was quite strange." Olivia remarked. I agreed, "Yes. That was strange indeed."

As Arthur promised, someone did show us to our rooms, which were on separate floors entirely. I thought that was strange but it was probably because Arthur let it be known that I would now be courted by him, or at least that was what I was telling myself to comfort myself.

I was hoping we could at least be able to reach one another quickly if something happened, but it wasn't my choice. From the tone in Arthur's voice, I didn't think we could roam the halls at night, or at least that was the impression I was under. The guard opened the door for me, leading to my new immaculate room. He gave me a quick short bow before leaving me outside the door. He walked to the end of the hall, and stopped, posting himself at the spot at the end of the corridor.

The room was extravagant, with silk and the finest looking material adorning the bed. I smiled, looking around the room I would be staying in. This room was much more than I could have ever slept in if I were still with our old Mistress, even if we were brought somewhere to stay. I stopped at the edge of the bed and dressed down to my undergarments and climbed into bed, exhausted and wanting sleep. I saw to my left that there was a silk nightdress laying on a table with a note on it, making me sit up to look at the impressive material.

For a peaceful sleep,

Arthur.

I smiled to myself at the nice gesture and slipped the dress on myself quickly, admiring the cloth on my body. I climbed back into the soft sheets, tucking them around my body, settling in for possibly the best sleep I would ever have. Before long, I fell into a deep sleep.

I wish I could say my dreams were pleasant and filled with nothing but the handsome man I came to know today, but I would be burned at the stake for lying. My dreams consisted of nightmares. Dreams of people screaming for help, blood, and gore. It felt like an endless loop, people being slaughtered by men in black. I stood there, helplessly watching as these people were mowed down by these men, I felt myself spinning down into a strange spiral of darkness and evil doings as I continued to watch incapable of doing anything as these people suffering around me. I watched as a man in armor fought off the evil men as hard as they could, and I saw Arthur with his infamous sword, fighting 10 men by himself. I felt something tingle within my arms, making me look down. I saw my arms covered in flames, but they didn't burn. I felt something within me, but I didn't know what it was. I looked back up to Arthur, who was screaming at me. I watched his mouth, the noise I was hearing was too loud for me to make out what he was saying.