Arthur's Sons (Book 1)

Summer Dreams

Merlyn's POV

It had been a few weeks since I had brought the Camelot knight, Sir Arthur, into our humble abode, his leg was healing quickly thanks to my mother's constant fussing and the odd bit of magic while he was asleep to help him along. He was still confined to the small bed not yet able to put too much weight on his injured leg though I did help him hop from the bed to the kitchen table for meals. It was a beautiful late summers day there was still a week or two before the leaves began to change and I was in the process of mending one of my two shirts when suddenly I was struck in the back with a discarded boot.

" Merlyn I'm bored!" Arthur whined. I sighed and rolled my eyes, knight my ass.

"Why don't you tell me more about Camelot rather than throwing things at me."

"I've already done that and I don't want to talk, I want to go outside for some fresh air." I sighed and placed my shirt down.

" You can't get up yet, your leg isn't ready for your full weight." I responded crossing my arms and staring into his glittering blue eyes.

"Can't you get me something like, I don't know a crutch? Plus I don't need to go far just out the back or something. I've been lying in this bloody bed for ages! Please Merlyn." He begged, giving me his best puppy eyes.

" You know you sound like a spoiled brat." I grumbled causing him to pout emphasizing my point. " I think my friend Will might have a pair from when he broke his ankle but no promises." I picked up the boot and chucked it back at him before running out the door and quickly closing it right as the boot thumped against the wood, I grinned and jogged down to Will's. Mary, Will's mother answered and I politely asked for the pair of crutches which she retrieved and gave to me with a kind smile before I hurried back to the blonde prat.

" Finally I thought you'd been eaten by a beast." He snapped as I walked in both crutches under one arm.

" You know I should have left you where I found you, it would have spared me from your appalling attitude and your bottomless stomach." I quipped back. He stared at me for a moment before a guilty blush crept up his neck and he looked away muttering an apology. I carefully helped him swing his legs over the edge of the bed and held the crutches out as he stood on his good leg a positioned them under his arms. He took a few cautious steps around the room keeping his injured leg bent away from the ground before he headed for the door.

"Why don't you give me a tour of your village?" He asked tilting his head toward the door. I smiled and held the door open for him to slip past. Once outside he paused taking a deep breath tilting his face toward the sky with his eyes closed, a beatific expression crossed his face and I blushed at how much he looked like a god crafted from the sun. He began making his way toward the village and I happily walked alongside him commenting on certain buildings and giving the occasional anecdote on something Will and I had done in our childhood. He laughed along and seemed in a much better mood now that he was no longer cooped up inside the house. We had just passed the well at the centre of the village when a shout from my least favourite person called out.

"Hey, freak, who's the cripple?" Tommy the baker's son approached with his goons and sneer in my direction.

"He's a traveller I found in the woods, he broke his leg so I took him in until he's well enough to walk on his own." Tommy snorted and out of the corner of my eye Arthur stiffened.

" You found yourself a boyfriend freak? Oh, wait," Tommy stepped up till we were nearly nose to nose. "You don't have friends never mind finding a guy who could like a monstrous freak like you." I clenched my fist, magic bubbled aggressively beneath my skin but before I could respond or throw a punch Tommy was suddenly stumbling back after Arthur had lashed out and struck him with his crutch. Arthur moved in front of me and squared up his eyes blazing, jaw set into a snarl.