𝕭𝖔𝖔𝖐 𝕿𝖜𝖔
𝔖𝔲𝔪𝔪𝔞𝔯𝔶: From trolls to dragons to foreign princesses, Astraea Aphelion grows stronger as she
continues to navigate medieval Britain using her wit and heart, standing unshaken beside Merlin and Arthur as they face every threa...
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📍 Camelot
⏳ March, 505 AD
After a few minutes of me begging (more like annoying) Arthur to let me help, he finally told me that I could do so by riding around the inner – 'protected', he'd emphasised – city and ask around in case anyone spotted Morgana. It's not much, but it's honest work. Certainly better than sitting around doing nothing. So I stole Gandalf – Uther's Friesian-like horse – and used him to make the rounds, not wanting to over-work Dallas.
I had chosen the name for the black stallion after the King had admitted that he'd neglected the basic show of affection. I only explained the meaning to Merlin and Gaius, and they thought it was hilarious. Gotta love the irony.
As you might be able to comprehend, I quickly got bored of riding around the same places after coming up empty, so I decided to scout further and exited the inner city, much to the guards' protests. As I rounded towards the west wing of the castle, a sour smokey smell hit me, making me frown. "Do you smell something burning, Alf?" I asked the stallion in a mumble, easing my hold on the reins as he weaved through the trees in the direction of the smell.
Eventually, we came across the secret gate that Arthur had used to smuggle the little druid boy out of the castle all those months ago. And it had a big, gaping hole in the middle with smoke coming out of it. My eyes widened at the sight as my heart began to race. "Oh, crap, did someone discover gunpowder ahead of time?" I wondered aloud as I moved Gandalf closer to the gate.
There was another explanation for it: magic. And it just so happened that I hadn't seen my best friend all day. Had he and Morgana run away together? Were they truly having an affair? Had they been kidnapped? We needed to find them, and quick.
"Darn it, Merlin," I muttered to myself before hurrying to find Arthur.
I left Gandalf just outside the castle and ran inside, checking every room for any sign of the Prince. "Arturo, where art thou?!" I asked loudly as I rushed up the stairs, almost falling in the process as I tripped. I sighed in relief when I spotted him coming out of the council room. "Art-Attack!" I yelled to get his attention. He started and turned around, then let out a frustrated huff. "What is it now, Astraea?" he asked through gritted teeth, his behaviour making me recoil slightly.
"Watch your attitude, Prince Charming. I found something," I said, narrowing my eyes at him. He frowned and walked closer, motioning for me to keep talking. "There's a big hole in that secret gate you showed us once," I explained quickly. His eyes widened and he let out a sigh of relief.
Together, we ran outside and went to get Bronze, then I got back on Gandalf and joined Arthur as he went to check out my discovery.
"I thought I told you to stay inside the walls," the blond noted as we trotted through the woods side-by-side. "And I thought you knew better than to try to order me around," I shot back with a smirk, causing him to huff in response. "You forget who you are dealing with, Lady Astraea," he replied. His voice was stern, but I could see a ghost of a grin on his lips. "Trust me, I don't," I responded, not dropping my smirk, "Prince Prat," I added with a wink. The Prince snorted and shook his head in disbelief.
