Lady Scarlet of Camelot

Chapter 7

"Yes, My Lord," I answer him, "I wanted to prepare a dish for this evening's dinner and needed to pick the items out myself. Isabella and Gwen had gone into the woods to collect some needed herbs."

"And the alone part," he asks, coming to stand in front of me, "We, I needed to get out of the castle. I just need to feel like I did before everything happened," his gaze softens, and he pulls me in for a comforting hug.

"Please, next time, take a knight or two with you. You can even have them change out of their red uniforms if you like."

With a nod from me, we take our seats as we wait for the food. Arthur arrives just as we have been served. I see the cook bring over my dish and place it on the table in front of Uther. It has a lid on it, "My Lord," the cook opens it and steam rolls out. I hold my breath as she ladles out the apples into a bowl, and they look just as they did when I left them.

My knee starts to bounce as Uther takes a bite. His neutral expression remains on his face, "Did you make this," the cook shakes her head in response. He then looks to me, "Scarlet?"

"Yes, My Lord. I made them," I whisper, "Do you like them?"

"You must teach the cook how to make them so we can have them more often."

"I have no problem making them."

"You do not need to be slaving over a hot fire to the point that your face is red," Arthur defends his father's stance.

Uther looks at me in shock, "Scarlet, your health has improved, but Gaius still wants you to be careful with yourself. It is settled; you will teach the cook how to make them."

"As you order."

Silence fills the table as we dig into the stew made for today's meal. The apples were a nice sweet treat that paired well with the savory meat and vegetables. Arthur starts speaking about a funny training today that happened when he tested the now-new knight for the final time. Apparently, the knight ended up stepping into a bucket after the test and knocking over the weapons rack as he fell.

"Leon wanted to skin the poor man for messing up the weapons but couldn't stop laughing himself," he finishes the story as we laugh.

"You will have to let us come and watch the training sometimes," I stated before remembering what he had said to me when he fetched us back to the castle today, "My Lord, Arthur said that you had something to speak about with me."

He huffs as he leans forward, "I received a letter today from a Lord. Claiming that your father had promised you hand in marriage to him before your..."

"Father never told my brother or me about such a thing," I offer. I rack my memories from this time, trying to see if anything could help us, "What was this Lord's name," I ask, lifting my cup to my lips.

"Lord John Whittemore."

Said cup drops from my hands and clacks to the floor. Isabella is by my side before I can even blink, trying to clean up the mess. Ignoring her and everyone else, I stand and flee from the room. Muffled voices call out to me, but I can't hear what they are saying. I don't know how but I end up running to the top of the wall overlooking the lower town. The sun has set, and all that can be seen are the guard's torches that tell that everything is well. 

I sit on the pathway with my knees pulled into my chest. The thing about having two sets of memories in my mind, I may not have been there when something happened, but I have all the emotions and feelings from that time. I know the feeling of fear and shock as Lord John's hand landed on this times Scarlet's face. The sting of the hit, the memory of the bruise, and the threat that I would learn my place when I became his wife. I can hear the sound of men running below and orders being shouted out. However, I stay in my place. Not wanting to have to explain my reaction.

"Lady Scarlet," a voice along the walk calls out, searching, "-Scarlet. Lady Scarlet!"

"Scarlet," Uther's voice surprises me. He is out looking as well on the wall with the first voice. The glow of their torch shines on the left side, "Scarlet," the relief in his voice tells me that he was distraught. He kneels beside me and takes one of my hands in his, "You're freezing."

He takes his own cloak and wraps me in it, "I won't do it," I state, void of emotion, " I won't marry him."

"We need to get you back to your room," Uther stands me up and, out of nowhere, picks me up bridal style with one arm under my knees and the other around my back. At this time, I see that two guards have been with him, "Tell the others that I have her."

One leaves us as we head back inside. Uther carries me, not caring about the looks people send us. Entering my room, the guard stays at the door and is soon joined by another. Uther places me in a chair by the fireplace that is roaring. Isabella enters with Gaius in tow, "I'm fine," I state when he moves to check on me, "I'm not hurt."

"I believe you, My Lady; however, the King will not believe you till after I check," he calmly states. He feels my face and hands and asks me if anything hurts, and looking at my visible skin for cuts, "She will be fine. Keep her warm, and get her to bed. I will make her a sleeping tonic," with that, he leaves.

"Scarlet," Uther kneels in front of me so our eyes are on the same level, "Did Lord John do something to you?"

I nodded to Isabella, and she left the room, closing the door behind her, "He visited my father about a year ago asking for my hand. My father invited him to spend a few days with us to see how we got along with one another. On his second night there, I caught him trying to face a kitchen maid to sleep with him," I hiss, "Using his station against her. I push him away from her and started yelling at him, saying that he had no honor and that only a coward would do that," I look at the door, "It was Isabella's younger sister. He hit me across my face saying that I should mind my place. I told him he was in my father's house, and I ran the household, so it was my business. He gripped me by my neck and pinned me against the wall. He promised that I would learn my place when I became his wife."

"Your father didn't agree to a marriage, did he?"

"No, when he found out the next morning what happened, he came bursting into my room to check on me and through Lord John out. He made me promise that I would never marry Lord John. Not even if my life depended on it. I swore that I never would."

"Nor will you have to," Uther stood to his full height, eyes on fire, "We have a week to make sure that he has no claim whatsoever. Whatever real or fake evidence he produces."

"Thank you, My Lord," I bow my head in respect, "You have done more than my father would ever have thought would be needed."

"You are family," he states, "and I take care of my family. Rest, in the morning, we will discuss this more to devise a plan."