AM I THE ONE? | Arthur Pendragon [1]

Discovery

*Annabelle's P.O.V.*

"Anna!" Gwen exclaimed as she rushed into the house, making me whip around.
"What is it?" I asked, immediately sensing that it's something important.
"Lancelot's been arrested!" My eyes widened, and I quickly put away the dishes I have been washing, and run out of the house.

*10 minutes later*

I rushed into Gaius's quarters, making him and my brother whip around at the sound of the door opening.
"Is it true?" I asked, and they both nodded grimly.
"They took Lancelot today in the morning." Merlin said, and I sighed, sitting down on the chair by the table.
"Merlin." Gaius said, looking up from the book he was reading.
"Whatever you do, don't say 'I told you so'." My brother said in a defeated tone, sitting down on a chair beside me.
"I'm not intending to. What's done is done." Our guardian replied, looking back at the book he was studying. "Here. Come and take a look at this." He gestured for us to come and stand next to him, I shared a confused look with Merlin, and then we both got up, walking over to stand next to Gaius. "I realized my mistake. I've been looking for the creature in the wrong place. The records of all known living things in the kingdom. And then I thought: what about creatures only recorded in legend, and myth. And I discovered this." He said, taking his hands off of the book, revealing a picture of a creature with the head and wings of an eagle, and body of a lion.
"That is it." Merlin breathed, tapping the picture with his finger. "That is the monster!" I elbowed him in the side as Gaius looked at him with a questioning and suspicious look.
Suddenly the three of us looked up as we heard the bells outside. I quickly jogged over to the window, with Gaius and Merlin following. What I saw made my eyes widen. The creature we just saw a picture of in the book was now attacking the people in the courtyard. It flew above them, and around the castle. I looked down once I heard someone yelling, and saw Arthur with his knights, all with shields and swords. Arthur however, had a spear instead of a sword. The creature, Griffin, flew above them, and Arthur and the knights all knelt down in the defending position. The Griffin then dove down, pushing all the knights, including Arthur, onto the ground. The quickly got up, and the Griffin flew up into the air once more. They then ran in front of the stairs that led into the castle, and took their stance. The Griffin then landed in the courtyard, right in front of them. Arthur and the knights knelt down in the defending position once again, and the Griffin kept hissing at them. They all then moved forward, and stopped in front of it, with their spears positioned in front of them.The knights all ran forward towards the Griffin with a yell, with Arthur in the lead. They started attacking the Griffin, but backed away as it started hissing at them and striking with his paw. The knights all backed further away, but Arthur ran forward and started stabbing the Griffin with his spear. But then suddenly, the spear broke on the Griffins body! It snapped in half! I covered my mouth to muffle the gasp as I saw Arthur fall, and the Griffin rose on his back paws, preparing itself to strike Arthur. Thankfully some of the guards ran into the courtyard, and threw Arthur a torch. It landed close to him, and he quickly scrambled back onto his feet, grabbing it and waving it in front of the Griffin. It started hissing even more, but backed away, and with a final hiss... Flew away. I sighed in relief and slumped back into a chair by the window.
"We have to find a way to defeat it."

*5 minutes later*

I stood next to Gaius with Merlin on my other side, as the King walked into the throne room, with Arthur by his side.
"You said your Knights were the best in the land. You proved that today." He congratulated, ruffling Arthur's hair.
"All I know is that it's still out there." Arthur said, obviously tired from facing the Griffin.
"Let's not wait for it." Uther replied, making me share a look with Gaius and Merlin. "The kingdom has been menaced by this creature for too long. We finish this now."
"Sire, if I may." Gaius spoke up, causing both of the men to turn towards us. Arthur eyes landed on me, and I gave him a small smile.
"Gaius." Uther acknowledged, making Gaius walk forward, with me and Merlin close behind.
"I've been researching this creature, Sire. I believe it to be a Griffin."
"A Griffin." Uther repeated with a confused look on his face. "What's in the name?"
"A Griffin is a creature of magic." Gaius answered, making the King's expression harden noticeably.
"I don't have time for this, Physician."
"It is born of magic, Sire, and it can only be killed by magic."
"You are mistaken. It's a creature of flesh and blood like any other." Uther said in a stern tone. "Arthur proved that today." He said, placing a hand on Arthur';s shoulder. Although I could see that Arthur was considering what Gaius was saying to be true.
"I'm not so sure, Father. I think there may be some truth in he says." Arthur said, glancing at Gaius.
"What truth?" Uther asked, his tone becoming hard.
"The Griffin was unharmed, Sire. Our weapons seemed useless against it." Arthur said, making Gaius nod. He looked back at me and Merlin for a second, and I could see that this was going to get a lot worse.
"Useless? I think not." The King said sternly. I sighed quietly. Why can't he just believe them? Just because he hates magic doesn't mean that magic doesn't exist. He turned to look around, and Arthur looked at me with a frustrated look on his face, making me send him a sad smile. "Now, it's tasted our steal once. The next time will be its last." Uther said with a determined tone, looking at Gaius in particular. He then turned to look at Arthur. "When will your knights be ready to ride again?"
"An hour. Maybe two." Arthur answered in defeat, making Uther nod.
"Good." He then brought his gaze onto Gaius once again. "We finish this tonight." He then walked out of the room, and Merlin, Gaius, Arthur and I all shared a look. This is going to get really hard.