Magical Encounters

Chapter 2

Clara blanched "What?!"

"I said" Gwen began, "you just met-"

"I heard you. That was really the king?"Clara asked, "huh. I'd have thought the king of Camelot would look a little more, I don't know, kinglike"

"Well he doesn't" Gwen said, turning, "come on, there's work to be done"

Clara sighed " fine" .

"Before that, come meet some of the other maids" Gwen said, walking briskly.

Lilly and Annie were both around Clara's age but that's where the similarities ended.

Lilly was a tall plain looking girl with stringy black hair, wide eyes and the biggest smile Clara ever saw. Annie, by contrast,had fiery red hair, a petite stature and eyes twinkling impishly, which overrall gave her the look of a very troublesome pixie.

Gwen introduced them: "Clara, Lilly and Annie, Lilly and Annie, Clara".

Both  girls grinned at Clara. She smiled back.

Gwen looked round at them and said, "I want the two of you to take care of Clara-"

"Hey! I don't need to be taken care of!" Clara protested.

"-and make sure she doesn't get into any mischief" she finished, glaring at Clara. "Oh we won't" they chorused, smiles widening.

" Weeell" Gwen says warily " I'll leave you three to it".

The girls descended on her, shooting questions at a speed Clara wouldn't have thought humanly possible.

"Who’re your parents?"

"What’s the name of your village?"

"Did you really talk to the king?"

A bit overwhelmed, she answered their questions to the best of her abilities.

One of the palace workers poked his head through the door and yelled, “You three! get a move on! you weren't hired to stand around jabbering!"

Giggling they moved away, walking in companionable silence. Lilly was the first to break it. "So... I heard you could do magic. Can you really?" she asked eagerly.

"Yeah" Clara answered " I've always been able to for as long as i can remember"

“Wow!" she said softly.

"Well I don't believe it" Annie said, giving a little sniff, "everyone knows that magic is, like really really rare and the only person who can do it is Merlin"

"No I really can do it" Clara protested.

"Yeah? Prove it!" she challenged. Clara smiled to herself. She turned towards the wall beside them and stared at it for some seconds.

"Oooh what's supposed to happen? is it going to sprout wings or something?" Annie said in a taunting -but unmalicious -way."Told you she couldn't do it" she said, nudging Lilly.

Just then, the wall disintegrated into dust, a faint blue light emitting from it. Their jaws dropped. Clara faced them, grinning triumphantly. They looked on, impressed.

"That was amazing Clara!!" exclaimed Annie.

"That was incredible"Lilly agreed, " but you do know that you've just destroyed a portion of the palace? and I don't think the palace workers, not to mention the king and queen, are going to take too kindly to that, do you?"

"No I suppose not" she said, working quickly to restore the wall.

Annie looked thoughtful. "What?" Lilly asked.

"Well.. its just that your powers Clara. They're a sort of like Merlin's"

"How so ?" she enquired. "Once" Annie continued "when he was helping with the re-construction of a friend's home, I was passing by and I saw his eyes."

"And?" they pressed.

"It might just be my imagination, but I swear I saw them glow sort of gold for a while"

"Oh I guess my eyes glow that way right?

"See, thats the thing, your eyes don't glow,your whole body glows momentarily"

"How come I didn't see anything?" Lilly asked, frowning slightly. "You never see anything" said Annie shaking her head. Lilly scowled at her.

 As they were already outside they decide to pick up some firewood that had already been previously chopped. As they were walking back to the castle, they saw knights in their practice session.

They were all jousting. One of them in particular stood out. His rain darkened hair was swept across his face by the wind, as he charged, atop a fine stallion, with his jousting stick. All in all he was extremely good-looking.

Though, his looks weren't really why Clara noticed him. You know that moment, when you look at someone and you just know that somehow your lives are going to be connected? Well this was nothing like that.

Of everyone there, he looked to be half their ages. There was also the fact that, though he was in the vicinity of some very pointy jousting sticks, he didn't wear any armour.

"What an idiot" Clara said disdainfully.

"Who?" Annie asked.

"That boy in the middle. The rest of them obviously have more experience than him as they're older, plus he's not even wearing armour so he is going to get flayed". But when Clara turned to look at them, they were both staring at the idiot in question with dreamy expressions on their faces.

"Hello? are you two listening to my tirade at all?"

"Of course we are" Lilly replied " though I don't really see what the problem is. If the prince wants to ride with no chainmail, he can ride with no chainmail"

"The prince?"

"Yeah, Prince Nathan"

"I didn't even know they had a son, haven't seen him around the palace"

"You wouldn't" she said "he's hardly ever there, usually he's out with royalty from neighbouring kingdoms".

"Really?" Clara asked

"Yes" piped in Annie "He's also struck up a friendship with the beautiful princess Rosaline, though some say its only because of a treaty the king wants to make with her father".

"Wait, how do you two know all this?" she asked.

Annie shrugged, "gossip"

"yeah, people talk around here" Lilly said

"I noticed" Clara said dryly. A man Clara recognised as Leon, the palace messenger was walking towards them.

"Hey Leo!"Annie grinned.

"Don't call me that!" he gritted his teeth,"anyway I'm here to call Clara not to chat"

"Why?" asked Lilly.

"Yeah, what did I do?"

"I do not know, what I do know is that Merlin, their royal highness King Arthur and Queen Guinevere send for you".

Clara swallowed. Certain it couldn't be anything good she followed him back into the castle.