Merthur - Love in the Time of War

Chapter 4 - The Voice

Arthur's POV

I dash down the steps of the citadel excitedly. Dark clouds descend over Camelot. It seems it might rain tonight. I'm about to head out the gate towards the lower town when I'm stopped by Guinevere.

"My lord? What are you doing out here? It's about to rain. You should be inside," she says with worry.

"I... I have an appointment in the lower town," I lie.

"With whom?"

"Um... the blacksmith."

She puts her hands on her hips. "I'm the blacksmiths daughter. I heard of no such thing."

I curse to myself. I'm an idiot sometimes. "Uh... I have to go." I turn to leave only to be grabbed by Guinevere. She yanks on my arm, pulling me back around to face her.

"What is going on Arthur? You have been going off on your own for the past two weeks! Always at the same time, every single day."

"I... I really have to go." I start to back away, pulling my arm from her grasp as gently as possible.

"So you are meeting someone."

"No I'm not."

"Did you meet a girl?" Jealousy is written across her face.

"Like I said, it's nothing like that. I'm only meeting a friend alright? That's all."

She huffs, probably hearing the sincerity in my voice. Her shoulders seem to relax, though only slightly.

"Why are you so against me going out anyways? You never quite cared before."

She blushes brightly. She shies away from me. "No reason in particular." Her eyes dart around the courtyard.

"Well... I'll get going now." I turn and sprint out the gate, not giving her the chance to stop me again.

-----

I make it to the waterfall, out of breath. I bend down, resting my hands on my knees as I try to steady my breathing. Merlin's already there. He's sitting by the lakes edge, his feet dipped into the pool. I can see his boots tossed to the side beside him. He whips his head around quickly when I arrive. A smile appears on his face.

"What took you so long clotpole?" He asks, pulling his feet from the water.

"Sorry... was... held up," I say in between breaths.

Merlin pulls on his boots and scoots over to me. He sits cross legged facing the pool, waiting patiently.

He clicks his tongue. "So... what do you want to do?" He asks, rocking back and forth slightly.

My breathing finally evens out. I sit down beside him on the grass. "I'm not sure... It's too cold for a swim and too dark to walk in the woods."

"Maybe we can play a game?"

"Like what?"

He thinks for a moment. "Let's see who can climb to that branch first." He points towards a branch located half way up a tree.

I grin. This will be easy. There's no way he can climb that high with those lanky arms. "It's a race then."

Merlin smirks. I stand and stretch. He does the same. We ready ourselves at the base of the tree.

"Three..."

"Two..."

"One..."

"Go!"