Every Single Word

chapter one

Being the princess of Camelot came with a heavy price. Especially if you're King Arthur's-the greatest king of all the realms-daughter.

Queen Guinevere loved her daughter very much, she even went to a great sorcerer, Merlin for his help in protecting her kin. King Arthur loved his daughter as well, and even named her the heir of the throne when he passed away, which didn't happen for many decades.

Arthur Pendragon named Avalon Pendragon his heir at two months old, the eldest child of his kin. He knew of his fate long ago, knowing he'd be buried in a place called Avalon, an honorable death.

Thankfully, he's still alive. Otherwise Avalon would've taken her life long ago. She's now 22 years old, which passed by surprisingly slow for her parents.

She's surprised she's alive, to be quite frank. Her father had killed prince Amr, her beloved little brother, the solider, around the time she was 17. He was born exactly a year after her, and she'd always tried to protect him from the harms of the world.

A year later, Gwydre had been slaughtered by a giant boar. Llacheu, her younger brother of three years, was slain terribly.

Finally, her youngest brother, of 5 years, was killed by Sir Kay so that the latter could take credit for the defeat of the giant Logrin. They all knew he was terribly stupid and wouldn't have been able to defeat a giant.

You could say she was very lonely in the castle, and bored. Merlin came to her often though, to give her gifts of his travels. He was a terrific present-giver.

Camelot rarely had visitors, so when her father came knocking on her door and telling her to get dressed and take a bath, they had visitors, she was surprised.

She instantly called for her handmaiden, smiling softly as the girl unlocked her corset and washed her hair for her. Avalon was taught to not treat her slaves as such, but the girl, Lynoesse, had wanted to treat her as a princess. So, eventually, Avalon let her.

She pushes herself out of the tub, finally, and gestures for Lyonesse to grab her robe for her.

Suddenly, the bell outside of the castle wall is playing and Avalon freezes. "Gods above, pass me my dress." She says to Lyonesse, who grabs for her dress and straightens out the wrinkles as Avalon dries herself.

Lyonesse has her corset and dress on faster than a flash of an eye, pins Avalon's hair up for her, and Avalon leaves with a kiss to Lyonesse's cheek, a promise of smuggling an apple into her dress for dinner.

Lyonesse pushes her out of the door, giggling.

Her father and mother are outside, waiting for her and they all walk down the steps together, but she half-hides herself behind her mother. "Who is coming to greet us, mother?"

Guinevere smiles down at her only child and shrugs. "Your father holds this meeting."

"Father-"

"Shh, Avalon. Be quiet and be patient."

Avalon picks at her dark blue dress, trying to understand why her father wouldn't tell her of such things.

Immediately after they get to the bottom of the steps, the knights follow them and there's the tell-tale of clip clopping from the horses.

She stays still, her head held high like her father taught her and waits.

A carriage comes into the royal square, and she can see a girl with light gray eyes looking out of the window.

Avalon keeps her head forward, but her eyes stray elsewhere, the tips of the castle, the glint of her father's crown, until the horses come to a stop, that is.