Things moved pretty fast once Artoria had finished pulled the sword free from the stone.
Once the light had died down enough for people to see again, the town square erupted with cries and screams as both the famous sword and it's new master had disappeared in the flash of light.
"Come along you two" Merlin said in his usual cheery voice as he and Artoria quietly rejoined me and Kay amidst all the confusion. "Places to be and all that."
Like Merlin, Artoria was now also wearing a nondescript brown robe that somehow managed to hide her entire face without making her look a super shady person; and that wasn't the only change either, as Caliburn was now safety concealed in an old and worn-out looking sheath by her hip.
With how big of a spectacle the sword pulling had been, news of the event was probably already making its way all across the city. So with that in mind, Merlin led us through the winding back-alleys of Camelot towards the castle's servant entrance.
"So...time to meet the old man..." I said awkwardly as I fell in step with Artoria.
Artoria nodded in response, but it was obvious that her mind was preoccupied with what was to come. Her expression was almost worryingly calm and her eyes were focused square on the path ahead of her, but from were I was standing I could see her hand gripping Caliburn's hilt so tightly that her knuckles were turning white.
"It'll be okay." I said softly, and putting my hand over Artoria's, I began using my healing powers. Since Artoria didn't have any injuries at the moment, Phoenix's power instead began relaxing her overly tense muscles and gave her a general pleasant feeling.
"Thank you Y/N." Artoria muttered quietly before gently removed my hand. Though are a few minutes her hand moved back to gripping the sword's hilt.
I understand why she was so apprehensive. Today was the day she was going to be meeting her father for the first time. For the past 15 years that hadn't been any communication between father and daughter, and from what Merlin had told us about the guy, King Uther wasn't going to be all that happy to see Artoria all grown up.
Uther wasn't an evil or cruel man by any means, but the years of lavish feasts and retelling past glories had made the man rather comfortable with his status as king; and it was unlikely that he would welcome the idea of acknowledging Artoria's existence after all this time.
That was why we decided to sneak into the castle through the servant's entrance; we weren't going to give Uther the opportunity to turn us away! And in almost no time at all, the four of us were standing outside the large twin doors that lead to the king's audience chamber.
"So," I began, trying to sound more confident than I felt. "Do we knock, or should we wait for someone to announ-."
*BANG!!!*
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