She Who is King

16 | floating in trickery

England

IT WAS RAINING as though the bottom fell out of the sky.

This was the only thing I was sure of when I woke up to pounding on my windows and on the roof above my head.

It was then I remembered that today, we would ride into battle against Camille and everything she stood for.

It was then I realized I really needed to use the chamber pot.

I rushed into my small bathroom to relieve myself before surfacing in my room, relieved. I rang for Rose. I settled into my sofa.

I thought about the plans my round table had come up with last night.

In the end, we decided that there had to have been significant casualties among the Saxon ranks. We couldn't afford to lose too many men, therefore, all these things combined, we had decided to use one battalion, plus ourselves.

I may not have been trained to use Excalibur, but the rest of them were raised for battle.  

I grinned when I thought about all we would accomplish by not giving her much time to recover from our attack yesterday.

Rose arrived quickly, a bundle of cloth in her arms. She smiled when she saw me, and gestured towards my closet.

"These are the new garments you requested, Lyra. Should you need anything, I'll be right here." Rose handed me the garments she was holding and I walked into my closet to get changed.

I was probably going to have to get over my modesty, but I didn't want to think about that right now. 

I slipped into the silky tunic and stepped into the comfortable pants. The boots I would wear were brown leather; the worn in kind that you didn't need to walk in to be comfortable walking long distances in them. I secured my curls under my hat.

I strapped Excalibur to my waist.

When I looked in the floor length mirror on one side of my spacious closet, I thought I looked every bit a king.

I opened the doors to the main room and stood in front of Rose, who seemed to be speechless.

"No one will ever doubt who the real ruler is, miss," Rose said, her voice coated in awe. 

I blushed furiously. "Thank you."

Rose bowed and left the room, her smile leaving behind a warm hope in my chest.

We could win. I could win.

England could win.

I left my rooms soon after Rose, eager to begin the journey early. The sooner we left, the sooner we would reach Camille's supposed base, and then we would strike.

Someone might drive a sword through Camille's heart.

I made my round table promise that the whole sword thing was a last result, but I didn't see one person who looked completely sincere.

I took in the gilded hallways, the silver finishings and old bronze-framed portraits. I admired the beautiful tapestries and woven rugs that had to have been added to the palace recently, because none were fraying at the edges.

Everything in the palace seemed suspended in time; as though the passing of years outside the grand walls did nothing to the objects inside of them.

Taking my time, I stopped and looked for Merlin and Arthur on the way to the Round Table, but deep down I knew they wouldn't be in any of the rooms.

They would be preparing for war in the armory, or waiting for my appearance in the room housing my knights.

When I finally reached the doors, I took a deep, cleansing breath. After I entered the room, I would be thrown into a cyclone of plans and questions; limits and control.