"Fuck! I hate royal court stiff formalities... all these meaningless ceremonies." I growl in my head while keeping a smile plastered on my face and focusing on being kind although I only want to roll my eyes hard.
This is a total waste of time. I'm a very talented witch and I have a broom, a flying carpet and my powers so we could've travelled from the cave to the castle's central courtyard in a few seconds, it'd be fast and easy, we wouldn't need to carry our heavy luggage and worry about Luna being comfortable. But no, this is King Arhtur's court and we must follow his stupid rules so we had to travel on horseback for days while a tired donkey pulled the cart with all our bags stacked in a pile and the cat on top of them. And that was so the monarch could show off his skills as a host sending his best knight to meet us at the border to escort us through the kingdom.
"Welcome... Milady... Your Highness..." Lancelot bows his head respectfully and some locks of dark hair fall on his forehead, his face doesn't show any emotion despite he's a handsome guy. All ladies visiting Camelot fall in love with him but I don't know why, honestly: the son of King Ban of Benwick is even more boring that his lord Arhtur and a pain in the ass when he brags about his courage in war, his blemish-free reputation and moral rectitude. I suspect he's not the good boy he wants us to believe but women seem unable to see beyond his broad shoulders and pretty face even if he never smiles... unless you're Queen Guinevere.
"You're very kind..." My wife whispers and smiles leaning over the horse neck to extend her arm, the knight kisses her knuckles formally for a split second and steps back immediately, trying to keep his eyes away from Aranel's long legs covered with tight pants.
My princess got very excited when I asked her if she wanted to ride astride instead of wearing her heavy riding suit with a puffy skirt but now she looks awkward because she wasn't expecting such a grandiose welcome, probably. Another three knights of the Round Table came with Lancelot, several pages will take care of the luggage cart and a handful of smartly-dressed ladies, members of the Queen's entourage most likely, are watching her with ill-disguised horror. My wife straightens her back and stares at them with a straight face challenging them to say something rude but these women are used to live in a royal court and they know how to hide their reactions while talking to guests they don't really like so they greet us kindly too.
"Follow me, please." Lancelot jumps on his horse and turns around, at least he hasn't got closer to me to kiss my hand too, that would make me feel really awkward. The road is wide and well-maintained and I can ride next to Aranel who's holding the reins skilfully, I can see the knights nodding approvingly out of the corner of my eye and the ladies looking at her with ill-disguised jealousy now. Maybe they should change their long velvet skirts for pants instead of judging my girl because she wants to ride comfortably. She's married to a witch, what they were expecting? A stupid princess wearing pink satin? I can't help smiling when remembering the day I found Aranel in the forest, so lost and out of place, wearing a stained dress, trying to make me understand that abandoning her to be eaten by wolves was wrong... Since then, we've come a long way together and our first anniversary will be in a few days... I wonder if she remembers it.
"Ridiculous..." my girl mouths quietly when our eyes meet and I nod, winking at her and relaxing slightly when I understand that Sir Lancelot, the perfect warrior, hasn't made much of an impression on her. I agree with her, this welcome is unnecessary but Arthur loves this kind of formal rituals... although it may mean that he's treating me like an honoured guest because he's got himself in a big mess.
We ride across some picturesque villages, green fields and forests, farmers bow their heads respectfully when they spot the king's emblem on our escort's surcoats and children wave their hands at us excitedly. Okay, maybe Arthur is boring and snooty, but his people look happy and well-fed, I admit it. Suddenly, Camelot appears in the distance, the white walls stand tall on top of a hill and the village houses are scattered around, flags flutter in the wind and the sunlight gets reflected by the water in the moat blinding us for a second. The market is packed with stalls when we ride across the square and some citizens are hanging banners from the windows in blue and white, the Queen's colours... I guess common people will join her birthday celebration too.
