The Call of Camelot

Chapter 14 - Pampering

The sky was a blanket of grey, with spots of black breaking through the shroud like ink dropped on paper, bringing with it the threat of heavy rain. A breeze stirred my hair, the air making me shiver and take refuge in the warmth of my heavy woolen cloak. The bleakness of the morning was hardly the backdrop for a summer's day, but was a perfect reflection of my gloomy mood.

I was sitting on one of the stone benches in the courtyard, watching a crow hop across the red tiles of the palace roof, waiting for whoever was to be my escort for the day as I still wasn't trusted to venture anywhere on my own.

The past few days had been a struggle, as it had been with every challenge I'd ever faced in my life, the true reality of everything that had happened to me had taken a few weeks to sink in, and since then I'd become sombre and joyless.

From the moment I'd arrived in Camelot my life had been a series of shocking truths and revelations, each day filled with more unanswered questions. But the past few days things had settled enough to allow a routine to form, and with that routine had come a new understanding, a feeling like my life wasn't my own anymore.

Every day I was told where I had to be, what I had to do and who I was to do it with. I had a list of unanswered questions and unfulfilled promises, coupled with the quest of finding my Father, having no idea where to start, and on top of all that my magic lessons were taking up more and more of my time. But at least with the latter there had been progress.

The singing I'd heard in the forest on the day of my escape seemed to have unlocked something inside me, and since then all I'd had to do was reimagine the beautiful harmony and I felt the magic within me stir and manifest itself in whatever it was Merlin had me do.

More than once my teacher had told me that I was surpassing his expectations, proudly reporting my progress to Arthur who'd, dare I say it, actually been friendly towards me. But despite my progress, neither Arthur nor Merlin had told me why learning magic was so vital, repeating what I'd been told since the beginning, that I'd find out when the time was right. And as such, the reason for my magic lessons was yet another thing to add my list of unanswered questions.

"Lady Cara?" I jumped at Percivals arrival.

I'd barely seen the knight the past few days, like Guinevere it seemed he was also actively going out of his way to avoid me, leaving a room as soon as I entered and avoiding my gaze as we'd passed one another in the corridors. So to find out that he was to be my escort for the day wasn't a welcome surprise!

"I know you would have preferred the Lord Mordred to escort you into the town today, but as you know he is in training for the tournament. I hope it is not too much of an inconvenience to spend your morning in the company of an old man"

"That would depend, will you be finding any other way to cause trouble between myself and the King?"

"It was never my intention to cause you any trouble" though he said the words it was clear there was no sincerity behind them. Honestly, I don't know what I'd done to offend this man, but as I was desperate to escape the confines of the palace walls and find something to wear to Arthurs banquet this evening, I was happy to pretend that I liked him, if only for a morning.

We walked to town in an awkward silence, my mind drifting, as it had so many times over the last few days, to the dream I'd had of the sobbing woman. Although I hadn't dreamt of her since that night, the sadness and grief I'd felt from her had settled in my heart, starting the spiral of sadness I'd fallen down into the last few days.

Arriving in town I was pleasantly surprised to find that it had undergone a transformation since my last visit. It was clear the town was preparing for Arthurs celebrations, which were starting tonight and happening across the coming days.