Catrin: Sister of Emrys

Chapter 4: Sir Micheal

Chapter 4: Sir Micheal

Merlin blinked his eyes open as Gaius shook him awake. He slowly sat up, yawning loudly and stretching his arms over his head. Looking around his room, he stood up and changed into his daily clothes, before walking out of his room and into the main chambers.

Cade was sitting up, still looking a bit paler then what was normal, but at the same time, she looked better then she had the previous day. She looked up at Merlin and smiled. He smiled back in response.

"How do you feel, Cade?" he asked.

"Fine." she answered. "Better than I did yesterday."

"That's good." Merlin said.

"I'm still not sure I understood what Kilgharrah was talking about last night. He seemed to be talking in riddles." Cade stated.

"The bloody dragon refuses to give a straight answer any time I've asked him for help." Merlin explained. Cade rolled her eyes.

"Fantastic." she said slowly.

"Well, if you're feeling well enough, Arthur needs us." Merlin said. Cade nodded.

"Sounds like fun." she said.

"He wants us to meet him on the training field."

Cade nodded again. "I'm willing to bet he wants us to help train his knights."

"That's usually the case."

Cade rolled her eyes. "Great..." Merlin smiled.

"Don't worry. If Gwen's hanging around there today, she won't let Arthur go too awful heavy on us." He said, chuckling. Cade glared at him.

"Key word: IF." she said.

Merlin nodded. "That's true." Cade stood up, stumbling a bit as she lost her footing. Merlin chuckled again. "Arthur would probably be saying something about that right about now if he were standing here." Again, Cade rolled her eyes, but managed to steady herself long enough to grab her boots and neck scarf. She pulled her boots on and was just tying on the neck scarf when Merlin handed her her jacket. She nodded her thanks and pulled it on.

Let's go." she said and began walked out the door.

Merlin looked at Gaius, smiled and shrugged, and, grabbing a couple of slices of bread, walked out of the door, running to catch up with his sister.

"Come on Merlin! You're not even trying!" Merlin cringed under the shield as Arthur hammered against it. Cade was standing close by, her arms wrapped around her shoulders, her body shaking slightly.

"I am trying, you prat!" Merlin exclaimed. Cade snickered softly.

Merlin, one of these days, Arthur won't let you get away with that. Cade thought.

"Caden!" Cade blinked, just now taking notice of Arthur calling her. She looked at him and indicated that she was listening.

"Yes?"

"Why don't you show Merlin how you should act when you're a battle-hardened warrior." Arthur said.

Merlin looked out from behind the shield at Arthur's words. "Arthur, I really don't think that's a good idea."

"I didn't ask you, Merlin." Arthur snapped. "I was asking Caden. No. More like commanding. Caden, show Merlin how it's done."

Cade sighed, but bowed respectfully to Arthur. She walked foreward and took the shield and helmet from Merlin. After getting the helmet on her head and the shield on her arm, she took a defense stand, doing her best to hold the position once Arthur began hammering away at the shield as hard as he could.

After several minutes of non-stop hammering, Cade finally spoke up. "Sire!" she exclaimed, raising her voice so that it could be heard over the constant clanging of the sword against the shield. When it didn't stop, Cade tried again, only louder. "Sire!" The clanging stopped and Cade chanced a glance over the shield. Arthur was looking down at her, a glare of annoyance on his face.

"What, Caden?" he snapped.

"Couldn't you ease up just a bit?" she asked. Arthur's annoyed look changed to one of shock, before melting into a wide smile as the prince burst out laughing. Merlin glared at Arthur while at the same time casting Cade a look of concern.

"You're joking, right?" Arthur asked. "You actually believe that just because you ask like that, I'll actually follow through?" Cade looked at him and nodded slightly, which caused another roar of laughter out of Arthur which was then followed by laughter from the knights. As the laughter quieted, Arthur squatted down next to Cade, who's green eyes made contact with his baby blue eyes. "Not on your life." He said and, standing up, began hammering his sword, once again, against the shield, which Cade only just raised in time before the onslaught began again. She squeezed her eyes shut, expecting the worse any moment now.

"Sire." Cade opened her eyes as the onslaught ceased and looked over the top of the shield again. A tall knight with short brown hair was coming towards Arthur and Cade. Arthur had turned and was now looking at the knight.

"Yes, what is it, Sir Micheal?" he asked.

"I think that the girl is right and you should stop this incisive onslaught." Micheal said. "At this rate, we'll be sending her to Gaius with a broken arm and you know what happened when you went too far and Merlin ended up with a broken arm as well as a concussion." Cade saw Merlin's face redden at Micheal's words. Arthur looked at Micheal then glance back at Cade and sighed.

"Very well, Sir Micheal." Arthur said. "You're right. Training is now over. I must go see to my father. Merlin, Micheal, check on Caden." With that, he walked off.

Once Arthur was gone, Merlin dropped his servant act and ran towards Cade, dropping down beside her as she struggled to pull the shield off her arm. Micheal walked toward her as well and squatted beside her and Merlin. "Are you alright?" he asked.

Cade finally managed to pull the helmet off her head, which resulted in her sweaty bangs spiking up, and looked up at Micheal, smiling. "I'm fine." She answered. "A bit sore and tired, but I'll live."

Merlin, meanwhile, was fussing over Cade, feeling her forehead and asking her repeatedly if she felt ill, which Cade denied exasperatedly. Micheal smirked, but eyed both Merlin and Cade curiously. Cade grinned tiredly.

"I was born sickly so Merlin is extremely protective and does whatever he can to make sure I don't get ill." Cade explained.

"I don't blame him." Micheal said. "As your older brother, keeping you safe and well is his job."

Cade shrugged. "But sometimes it can get annoying!" As she said the last words, she raised her voice and glared angrily at Merlin, who looked up and grinned sheepishly.

"Deal with it, Caden." He said. "As long as you're with me and Gaius, both of us are going to be checking your health regularly." Cade groaned and fell back on the ground, covering her eyes with one arm.

"I can't get a break!" she exclaimed. Merlin and Micheal looked at each other and smiled.

That night, as Cade laid in her bed, she thought about Sir Leon. Guess there is something else about Camelot that is worth my time. She thought. Turning over on her side, she listened to Merlin's steady breathing. Now, not only do I have my brother, I have Micheal as well. Maybe I can stand living here for a while. With that last thought, Cade's eyes closed and, her breathing evening out, she fell into a deep slumber.