Merlin: In Modern Times

Chapter 1.7: The Willshire Stone

In the corner of his eye, Arthur could see Elly's small group of friends. They were all fairly beautiful and elegant, but only one really caught Arthur's eye. She was the silent of them, the prettiest in his opinion. She had sparkly brown eyes framed by wavy curls that completed her look of natural beauty. Her clothes expressed simple elegance so she had class even if she was what the king would call a simple commoner.

"What are you staring at?" Elly said, nudging Arthur in the side.

He tried to play it off cool and pretended he didn't know what she was talking about by giving her a look. "I don't know what you're talking about," he answered and swung his sword in his hand twice. "And the break's over anyway." He tried not to look back over at the group of friend, but hope that special pair of eyes would be on him when he walked back out on the field and got ready to continue training.

Elly followed him there, but didn't give up that easily. "Arthur, come on, you've done this before. Don't think she hasn't noticed. Although, she doesn't believe me when I tell her it's her you're looking at."

This made Arthur turn around with a frown. "Why?" he asked.

Elly smirked. "Well, because she believes Sandra is much prettier than she and because she is a commoner."

He gave her a look. "Don't be ridiculous. If I liked her, her title wouldn't matter to me," he answered as the rest of the team were gathering around.

"But it would matter to your father," Elly inferred and Arthur made a face.

"I know," he responded and Elly gave him a sad look before joining her training partner for the day, Stuart. Arthur's partner was McGwaine, who had stepped out of his usual suit and into something more fitting for practice, but his signature grin was in place as always.

"McGwaine," Arthur greeted his security guard and current opponent. "Think you can beat me this year?"

McGwaine smirked. "Of course, sir. Last year was just a lucky run on your part," he answered, making the prince shake his head with a chuckle.

Nearby, Merlin and Gaius were taking a stroll just after lunch so Merlin could see the royal gardens. He was also curious to see just how good Arthur was in combat since he had heard rumours from Gaius that the prince had won the tournament for years in a row now. It was an old tradition that Merlin found both weird and interesting. Interesting that Arthur competed since he wasn't that much into the old myths and traditions - but he was born into it whether he liked it or not.

"Gaius," Merlin said as they walked. "Why is Agent McGwaine training with Arthur?" Agent Thomas was standing on the side of the field with sour expression and seemed more paranoid than usual. It wasn't unthinkable that the king had given him instructions to guard Arthur extra carefully on a training day like this.

"McGwaine is what you would in the old days call a noble. He's been in the military for years and has governed Arthur ever since he returned from duty. You might not believe it, but he and Arthur have known each other for a long time even if they are employer and employee."

"Really, how odd," Merlin mumbled.

"Well, who would the King see more fit to make sure that his son and heir is safe? He and Agent Thomas make a fine team. Arthur is in good hands," Mr Gaius pointed out.

Merlin nodded. "Yes, but they don't seem to like each other."

Mr Gaius didn't seem to mind. "Sometimes differences make the best union." They watched on in amazement as the royals and their friends made use of their skills in combat. Even Arthur's cousins, Elizabeth and Stuart weren't bad, but compared to McGwaine and Arthur they only just clinked their swords to each other. Arthur and McGwaine were fighting like crazy and Merlin was convinced - several times - that one of them would get hurt. Each time, however, they evaded and kept trying to trick one another. Merlin could see why Arthur was the champion when he overpowered McGwaine, who ended on his knees with Arthur's sword at his chest. The prince gave McGwaine a hand to get back on his feet and under a subtle applause they shook hands and went on to talk about techniques. This was the most interesting event for Merlin that entire day and when Mr Gaius drove them home, he was very quiet. He was starting to feel something nagging him, but he was too nervous to think about why that was.