AM I THE ONE? | Arthur Pendragon [1]

A Choice

*Third Person's P.O.V.*

"We have to make Arthur understand that he and the men cannot do this alone." Annabelle said determinedly as she, Lady Morgana, and Guinevere sat outside of Hunith's house.
"Well, you know as well as I that Arthur is the most stubborn man on the planet if he wants to be." Morgana replied with a sigh, making Gwen chuckle despite the mood.
"Well, I'm sure someone can find a way to persuade him." She nudged Annabelle, making the young sorceress roll her eyes while Morgana chuckled along with Gwen.
"You've got to stop this nonsense." Annabelle groaned. "You're wearing off on my mother!"
"So your mother also noticed that Arthur is in love with you?" Morgana asked making Annabelle sigh.
"He is not in love with me. Why don't we leave it at that?"
"Because you keep denying the truth!" Guinevere exclaimed. Annabelle rolled her eyes and opened her mouth in order to retort, but was cut off by a blood curling scream. The three girls jumped and shared a quick look, before quickly getting up and running over to the road that passes through the middle of the small village. Prince Arthur, Merlin, and the village men, who have all been in one of the buildings discussing the plans for defending Ealdor, already arrived, and they all watched as a horse galloped forwards with Matthew slung over it. Two of the village men, upon Arthur's orders, ran over to the horse and grabbed Matthew, pulling him off the horse gently and lying him on his stomach on the ground, revealing an arrow in his back, which also held a parchment of paper.
    Annabelle, Morgana, and Guinevere all walked forward slowly, staring at the body with wide eyes (teary, in Annabelle's case), until they reached the Prince and the Warlock. Merlin, upon hearing the three girls, glanced at Guinevere to make sure she was alright before putting a comforting arm around his sister, who covered her mouth with her hands. Hunith, as well as all the other village women, also ran over and gasped, covering her mouth. Arthur glanced at Annabelle worriedly, seeing the tears in her eyes, before he knelt down next to Matthew's body and grabbed the note, readying it silently.
"What does it say?" Merlin asked after he got over his shock from seeing one of his old friends dead.
"'Make the most of this day. It will be your last'." Arthur replied solemnly.
"MATTHEW!" A woman's voice was heard as Matthew's fiancee pushed through all the people, nearly barreling Guinevere out of the way if Merlin hadn't caught her, before dropping to her knees by Matthew's side. "NO!NO!No!" She sobbed, bringing more tears to Annabelle's eyes while Arthur watched, feeling the immense guilt rise up in his chest.
"You did this!" William accused, making the feeling even worse, as he pushed through some of the men in order to stand in the front. "Look what you've done. You've killed him!"
"It wasn't his fault!" Annabelle defended from Merlin's side, her voice cracking at the end as William brought his gaze onto her.
"If he hadn't been strutting around, treating us like his own personal army, this would never have happened!!" He pointed at Arthur, making Annabelle shake her head.
"These men...!" Arthur started as he pointed at the villagers. "Are brave enough to fight for what they believe in! Even if you aren't!!"
"You're sending them to their graves!!" William exclaimed, and Arthur looked down at Matthew's sobbing fiancee with guilt and sorrow as Annabelle knelt down to comfort her. "You've killed one man. How many more need to die before you realize this is a battle that can't be won? When Kanen comes, you haven't got a chance." Everyone looked at William as those words left his lips. "You're going to be slaughtered."

*5 Minutes Later, Annabelle's P.O.V.*

    Merlin and I entered Will's house and immediately stopped as we saw him packing his belongings.
"Don't bother you two, I'm not interested." He snapped, making Merlin give him an incredulous look.
"You should be." I said as Will walked around the house to gather his things. "Because tomorrow Kanen will attack, and whether you like it or not, we'll have to fight."
"Not if I'm not here."
"Well that's up to you, but the rest of us are staying." I replied.
"Join us, Will!" Merlin pleaded as he quickly walked over to our friend and leaned against the table he was standing next to.
"This isn't about Arthur." I added, walking over t them as well. "This is about your friends! Are you really going to abandon them?"
"What, like you and Merlin did?" William finally looked up at me, but with more hurt in his eyes than anything else, causing me to give him a guilty and hurt look.
"We're here now." Merlin said, seeing that William's words really got to me. I tried to tell myself that it was for the better when Merlin and I left, but after everything Will's said, I'm starting to believe that, perhaps, we didn't do much good at all. Maybe we just ran away from our problems, from our friends, and from our Mother, when we could have just stayed and faced them. Maybe it is our fault that Kanen has done so much harm. Maybe we just don't want to admit it.
"Yeah." I was snapped out of my thoughts by Will's voice. "Yeah, you are. And either you or Annabelle can end this." He said as he grabbed some of his clothing from his bed before walking back to us. "If one of you used your magic, no one else would have to die."
"You know we can't." I said in a broken and quiet voice.
"Can't or won't?" Will snapped, making me sigh. "I'm not the one abandoning these people, Annabelle... You are." He then walked away, leaving me with tears in my eyes that I refused to let fall. However, I didn't miss the fact that Will said I am the one abandoning all our friends. Not Merlin. Not both me and Merlin. Just me.
    I sighed sadly while giving Merlin a sorrowful gaze before shaking my head and walking out. I was going to head straight to Mother's house, but I stopped abruptly as I saw Arthur sitting outside of the house, sharpening his sword. I debated for a short second, before walking up to him and sitting down next to him. Merlin must have followed my trail of thought, and sat down on Arthur's other side.
"William's father was killed, fighting for King Cenred." I said after releasing a sigh, not looking at Arthur. "That's the reason why he doesn't trust anyone of nobility."
"Do you think the villagers believed him?" Arthur asked after a moment, but it seemed to be directed more to me than to Merlin, so I was the one who answered.
"No." I smiled slightly. "He's always been a troublemaker. They're used to ignoring him."
"And if he's right?" I looked up at Arthur in shock.
"He isn't." Merlin said, while I looked at Arthur, whose eyes were filled with guilt and doubt.
"I'm treating these men like soldiers, and they're not." He said as we glanced at the villagers. "You've both seen them fight. They... They haven't got a clue!" I sighed and there was a moment of silence before Arthur broke it again. "You need to tell them all to leave the village before Kanen returns."
"No. We're going ot stay. We're going to fight. And we're going to win." Merlin said, and I nodded in agreement.
"Merlin. It can't be done." Arthur exclaimed. "The odds are too great."
"It can!" Merlin pressed. "We're going to make Kanen rue the day he ever came to this village. All you need to do is get the men ready for battle. And the rest will take care of itself." Arthur gave him and incredulous look.
"How?!"
"You've just got to believe in them, Arthur." I spoke up, making them both look at me. "Because if you don't, they'll sense it. And the battle will be lost before it's even begun."

*Late in the Evening, Common Building, Third Person's P.O.V.*

"Tomorrow morning, the women and children should gather what belongings they can carry and go to the woods." Prince Arthur said as he stood by a fire in the middle of one of the buildings in the village, with everyone else surrounding him in a circle.
"We're not going anywhere." Annabelle spoke up, immediately stepping forwards in order to face the Prince.
"I know you want to help." He said kindly. "The women can't stay here. It's too dangerous."
"The women have as much right to fight for their lives as the men do." Annabelle protested, surprising some of the villagers. They have known this girl since she was a small child, and to see her standing up to the Prince of Camelot in order to fight for the women's right, to fight for their village, was incredible.
"None of you know how to fight." Arthur tried to persuade, but Annabelle shook her head.
"Morgana and I can take out a great number of Kanen's men within minutes. You know that. Besides, the more of us there are, the better chance we stand." She said, and the Lady Morgana and Guinevere immediately stepped forward to stand on either sides of their best friend and show Arthur that they are ready to fight. All the other women looked at Annabelle in admiration, before stepping forward as well. Arthur looked around in slight amazement, before bringing his gaze onto Annabelle, looking at her admirably. After a moment, he sighed and nodded.
"This is your home. If you want to fight to defend it, that's your choice. I'd be honored to stand alongside you." He said, making Annabelle smile at him softly. All the women stepped back, knowing that they were allowed to fight for their home, but Annabelle stayed where she was. "Kanen attacks tomorrow. Kanen's brutal. He fights only to kill. Which is why, he will never defeat us. Look around. In this circle, we're all equals." The Prince said, looking around at everyone present. Even William, who despised him, was listening intently and was starting to believe that perhaps Merlin and Annabelle were right. Perhaps, Arthur Pendragon is different. "You're not fighting because someone's ordering you to, you're fighting for so much more than that. You fight for your homes. You fight for your family! You fight for your friends. You fight for the right to grow crops in peace... And if you fall... You fall fighting for the noblest of causes: fighting for your very right to survive! And when you're old and grey, you'll look back on this day and you'll know you earned the right to live every day in between! So you fight!! For your family! For your friends! For Ealdor!!" He raised his sword, and everyone immediately jumped up from their seats, the men holding up their swords as well.
"For Ealdor!!" They called out. Everyone, including Merlin, but except for Guinevere, Morgana, and Annabelle. "Ealdor!! Ealdor!!" Morgana and Gwen looked at one another with smiles, while Annabelle stared at Arthur with a small, soft, and proud smile. "Ealdor!! Ealdor!! Ealdor!! Ealdor!!" Arthur looked around with a small smile, before his eyes found Annabelle's again. He looked into her beautiful, sparkling, light blue eyes, and found himself smiling even wider. Even though she stood up to him in public, which is something his father would never tolerate, his admiration for her only grew. She was brave enough to stand up to a Prince, in order to make sure that people have a choice whether they want to stay or not. And though he couldn't figure out why he was thinking that, the thought stayed in his head; Annabelle would make a great Queen.