Far Away Reality

Chapter Five: Tournament

A/N: I plan to test out some POV changes throughout this chapter. Please, bare with me as I figure it out and enjoy. Also, Warning- Violence outside of canon.

Scarlett POV (original perspective):

It was the day that knights from around the kingdom and the surrounding kingdoms arrived for the tournament. Which, unfortunately, marked the beginning of 'Valiant'; my least favorite episode. Something about Knight Valiant gives me the chills. He is such a creepy person in general, just how he behaves and looks at people. I can only hope that I find a way to stop him before anyone dies. Merlin and I woke up early that morning to begin our duties as servants to the Prince of Camelot.

"Ready?" Arthur asked as Merlin clumsily readied his sword and shield. This should be interesting to watch.

"Would it make any difference if I said no?" Merlin asked.

"Not Really" Arthur answered as he swung his sword around with his back facing Merlin. He turned around and positioned himself to practice for the upcoming tournament. "Body. Shield. Body. Shield" he almost chanted as he continuously hit Merlin with the large sword. Then, he added,"Head" to his list of areas he was targeting.

"Head?" Merl asked nervously.

"Come on, Merlin! You're not even trying" swatts Merlin's butt with his sword. "Once more," he started again,"to the left. To the right. Left, head!"

"Oww!" Merlin blurts out.

"Come on, Merlin!" Arthur says in exasperation,"I've got a tournament to win".

"Can we stop now, please?"Merlin asks, as I wince at how it looks more painful in real life than through a tv screen.

"You've got this, Merl! Just focus!" I shouted in encouragement from the sideline, where I stood with water and a towel. Arthur looks over to me, sending a confused look. Probably, wondering why I am cheering on Merl. He turns back to Merlin with a focused gaze, twirls around and hits his shield and armor numerous times. Merlin joined in on the naming of what was being hit. Honestly though, he is just trying not to fall over or get stabbed. After one more blow to the head, Merl collapsed on the floor as his helmet rolled off and he groaned. "You did great, dude!" I attempted to cheer as I winced at the pain he must be feeling.

"You're braver than you look. Most servants collapse after the first blow" Arthur almost complimented. Although, I have no idea if he truly meant it.

"Is it over?"

"That was just the warm up. How's your mace work coming?" Oh boy, this is going to be a long day. Perhaps, I should offer to switch places with Merl.

"How about I try?" I said to Arthur as I walked over to help Merlin up.

Later that day, Merl and I walked into the physician's chambers. Arthur had refused to allow me to take over for Merlin as 'I was a girl and it would not be proper for him to spar with me'. Unfortunately, that means the Merl received a real beating from Arthur over the course of the day.

With a chuckle, Gaius asked,"So, how was your first day as Arthur's servants?"

Merlin patted the side of his head a few times and answered with a question,"Do you hear clanging?".

"How about you, Scarlett?"

"It was alright, but Arthur certainly loads on the chores. Way more than I originally thought" I answered. It's true, I had known that Arthur enjoys giving Merlin loads of things to complete, I just didn't fully realize to what extent it went. At least, I can aid Merlin in the craziness I know will soon follow. As Camelot is a place full of danger and magic, I don't know how it survived prior to Merlin.