An Early Morning Stroll(Arthur)

[Aliyaha]

The streets of the city were always bustling with all sorts of human life. This is what a young, fifteen year old blonde haired girl was used to. Her bright blue eyes were sparkling as she glanced around at everything and everyone. She most avoided the people that were looking at her oddly even though she didn’t know why. A small sigh escaped from her lips as she ran a hand through her hair. Aliyaha Bennett was an average typical servant human. She herself had possess no mere magic, not that she wanted to anyways with Uther going around and killing people. The young girl flinched slightly as she had accidently witnessed one of the executions on her way to the Camelot Palace. She was fearful of the king and that was by his actions alone. She had never talked to him personality anyways and she wasn’t usually the one to judge. She sighed softly as she glanced around again. Already not early in the morning and Aliyaha had already forgotten where she had come to the city in the first place.

Oh well, she thought to herself. It always gives me more time to wonder around. Aliyaha was the type of person that always enjoyed the bustle of life in the city. A small smile started to spread across her lips as she started to walk, always mindful of the others around her. She linked her arms behind her back and listened to the people bargaining for the things that they need for the day or for the week. A little further on Aliyaha saw a nobleman and a noblewoman. They were obviously together as a small dark haired child raised its head to smile at its parents. A small knot twisted up in her stomach as the servant girl was reminded of her parents, who had died a couple of weeks before her arrival here in Camelot. “Mother…Father,” she whispered to herself softly. She had never wanted anything badly in her life up until this moment. She was filled with jealousy, an emotion that she was familiar with after having watching the lives of the city people.

She turned on her heels and ran off as quietly as she could. Aliyaha didn’t want them to noticed that she was watching them. The deaths of her parents was still a raw and touchy subject for her. Richard had ridden into battle and was killed. Her mother, Isabel, had died of depression soon afterwards. And if that wasn’t much for a fifteen year old girl from the common class to go through she had been gently told that she could no longer work or live for the master and mistress that her parents worked for. Aliyaha turned and made a small dash into the alleyway to wipe away any tears that had threatened to fall. She took a deep breath and glanced around cautiously at the shadows, feeling her cheeks turning slightly crimson. She didn’t want anyone to see her like this. She smoothed out her pale light brown dress and frowned slightly, her ears perking up after hearing a couple of sounds. Her blue eyes grew wide with fright. What was she supposed to do if she was suddenly attacked? Aliyaha couldn’t fight back nor did she have any weapons. It was forbidden for a servant to be carrying a weapon. All the fifteen year old girl could do was to turn her head in the direction the sounds seemed to be coming from.

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Word Count; 585
Tags; Arthur!
Notes; Set during episode five season one

[Arthur Pendragon]

Arthur was not in the best of moods. Not that that was a rarity, but with the recent events that have been unfolding in the kingdom . . . his bad mood was easily explained. The griffin was still terrorizing the streets -- thankfully not right at this moment -- and none of his men were passing their tests to knighthood. How was he supposed to strengthen his army when those he was training could not even last a minute in the arena with him? Hopefully this new, whathisname would prove to be different. So far, Lancelot seemed to be doing alright. He had managed to last in a short fight in the streets, with rather improvised weapons, aka: broom sticks. That was the basic training and the rest they would have to wait and see.

Still. it did not take care of matters in term of this magical creature who without cause, was killing innocent citizens of Camelot. It was why Arthur was still roaming the streets, even after initiating that short training session. He noticed from the corner of his eye a young girl disappear into an abandoned alleyway. Now normally that was no cause for alarm for a Prince. However, it did become his business when a couple of shadowed figures decided to follow her. This indeed alerted the young prince, and he slightly raised an eyebrow. He paused, still looking at the shady men as they continued down the alley way; the young girl seemed to have caught their eye. And that was not a good thing.

Arthur silently began to follow them, though they had a bit of a lead. He was not dressed in his usual knightly or even princely attire. He was dressed in casual clothing, but all he needed was his sword which was securely attached to his side and safely tucked in its sheath. The rest . . . well, most in the city should recognize his face. He began to creep up on them, trying to understand what their motives were . . . already disgusted by the thought of two men potentially harassing and possibly attempting to rob a young girl. What was this world coming to. Camelot did not condone this kind of behavior at all! Which was precisely why Arthur was so keen to stop this, before anything severe happened.

"Well well, whats a young girl like you doing all alone in this alley way here?"

One of them sneered, cocking his head to the side. The took a few steps towards her, one standing in front of her and the other behind her so that she could not make a quick get away. This was when Arthur could not longer appease such behavior. His suspicions had been confirmed and any additional fear that the girl may experience would be his fault for not having stopped it sooner. "You there!" He called to them, so that they would be distracted from . . . whatever they were attempting to do. And so that the girl knew she was not alone in her fright.

[Aliyaha]

Aliyaha turned her head to stare at the two men with wide terrified eyes. This was what she feared would happen. She had thought of going to either the king or the prince and ask for their permission to carry a knife. She had stamped that thought hard. Aliyaha took a deep breath and bit down on her lip. It was something that she always did whenever she was scared or terrified. And at this very moment this fifteen year old was beyond terrified. She was shaking as she turned her head around, her blue eyes searching for an opening or somewhere so she would escape. She flinched when one of them had asked what she was doing here alone in the alley way and Aliyaha wasn’t the one to tell them to back off. Although she was very tempted to. “That….would be none of your business,” she managed to stammer, trying to sound tougher than she really was.

She turned her head around again and was suddenly helpless. The two men had positioned themselves so that she couldn’t escape. Her eyes then grew wide with terror when she heard a voice speak. Aliyaha snapped her head up, staring at the spot where the voice had come from. Somehow she felt braver, it was as if the young boy was there at the right time. Or had he been following her as well. The young servant girl shook her head to clear her thoughts as she reached out and tried to shove the man that was standing in front of her. Her mind flashed back to the many lessons, and the many talks, that her mother had with her. Isabel had reminded the young girl constantly that people would often try to take an advantage of her because of her status. In a flash, wondering if it was indeed the brightest thing that she had done so far today, Aliyaha leaned forward and bit down on the front man’s arm.

Not for the first time since today did she wished that she knew how to fight. Even in this situation she seemed to appear weak. It was something that she hated. “I haven’t done anything to you. I don’t even know you two. Let me pass…” the little authority she thought her voice had trailed off. She glanced at the boy. Never mind the fact that she had thought he was young. He seemed older than she did. Probably a couple of years older at first glance. Aliyaha shook her head as she turned her attention to the two men. She had to keep them in her vision and turn her attention on them. Who knows what they would do to her if she showed that she was distracted. The young girl sighed softly as she shook her head, glancing up at the two men fearfully. She had heard tales of people, children especially, getting kidnapped and usually held for ransom depending on their status. It would be nice being a noble, she thought wistfully. Her eyes glimmered as a thoughtful look crossed her face. It was a bad thing to do and she forced herself to pay attention to the two men and the boy, wondering which one would be the first to do something.

[Arthur Pendragon]

Arthur moved closer to the small group, now perfectly in view. Neither of the three people recognized him, that much was clear. For neither of them changed their demeanor. Yes, Arthur believed that had they known who he was -- his rank to be more specific -- then the two men would not have been as bold, and shown him some respect. And the girl's fear did not seem to alleviate . . . though, she herself was rather bold. Arthur almost smirked when she shoved one of the men and then went a step further, biting one of them. She was brave indeed . . . but the victim of her bite did not seem as amused as Arthur was. For he yelled out in frustrated pain and pushed the girl aggressively to the side.

That was when Arthur knew he could no longer just be a spectator. He swiftly pulled out his sword, deciding not to use his title . . . not yet. He wanted to first see what these two idiots planned to do. Arthur's stance was a defensive; one that showed he was prepared to fight . . . though he doubted either of these men would be much of a challenge. Of course, that did not stop them from trying. One of them pulled out a blade of his own and swung at Arthur. Of course, the Prince blocked the attack, holding his own and finding the pressure from the other man not too great. He had fought worse. Though he did try to catch a glimpse at the blade the man was using. It was nothing fancy . . . he was no more than a petty crook, or bandit.

When their swords broke free from the other, the man glared at Arthur. Arthur did not glare back. He just looked sternly at him and it did not take more than a few seconds for him to charge again. And as before, Arthur blocked the attacks, quickly picking up on the man's combat style. There was not strategy. No footwork. No evidence of any sort of training what so ever. He was just a man with a blade, and that was why Arthur was confident he could win.

"You should leave," he told the young girl, not wanting her to get caught in the middle of this, even if she already was. She had already proved she was bold -- from her words and her bite which Arthur could already see what bleeding and swelling and yet again, he had to hold back a smirk. But still. She should not be involved any more than she already had been. He would have to later see if he could find her to ensure she was alright. But for now, he had to focus on his opponent, and just hoped the young woman got to safety.

The other crook was not too willing to let this happen. He quickly pulled out his dagger and grabbed the young girl. "You're not going anywhere!" He exclaimed, holding a firm grasp on her and directing the blade to her neck.

[[I'm so sorry if I'm controlling your character too much! I don't want to god mod or anything, so just let me know if you want me to change anything! Just trying to create a bit more excitement But like I said, if there is anything you want done differently, don't hesitate to let me know!]]

[Aliyaha]

Aliyaha stumbled a little as she was pushed to the side, flinching as she rubbed her arm. She knew it was a bad idea to bit him but she did it anyways. She didn’t like being helpless and defenseless but she was in this case. There was nothing she could have done about it since the young blonde haired girl didn’t know how to fight. There were times that she wished she did and these were one of the times. The young girl slowly turned her head to stare at the boy pulling out his sword. A wistful look was in her eyes as she glanced at the blade. Aliyaha shook her head swiftly to clear her thoughts before glancing at the two men and the boy. He did look familiar. Not in the ‘family or friends’ familiar but familiar as in ‘I have seen him somewhere before.’ She forced herself out of her thoughts and turned all of her attention to the two men. It wasn’t a wise thing to do when in a situation like this.

The young girl wasn’t the type of person that freezes up or panics. She always has a cool head on her shoulders. I guess now isn’t the time, Aliyaha mused a little to herself. She watched the fight, turning her head back and forth. She was silently cheering for the boy to win. He did look like he was born to raise a sword. Could he be a noble or a prince? She mused to herself. He didn’t look like a prince to her eyes but then again he did have the royal look. Aliyaha pulled herself out of her thoughts and glanced at the boy shaking her head. “I want to know that you would be safe,” a blush hastily turned her cheeks crimson as she backtracked. “I mean not get hurt. You look like you were born to use the sword…sir,” Aliyaha glanced at him sheepishly before looking away. She choose not to speak a while after that until she was sure that she was calm. The young girl was babbling again.

“And it’s not like I have gotten a home to go to,” Aliyaha found herself spilling those words to the boy, in front of these two men. She realized the danger she was in and lowered her voice leaning in forward to him. “My father died in battle and my mother died a couple of months after. While I don’t think the castle of Camelot could be my home it’s as good as I get,” she smiled a little. “Not that I’m complaining or anything but I’m truly grateful-“ She decided to stop talking. Her eyes widen a little as she froze up, glancing at the blade, not daring to try an attempt to struggle, knowing what could happen if she did. The blade was long and Aliyaha foolishly wondered if it was longer than the boy’s sword. “Let me go,” she whispered, her eyes grew even bigger with fright as she stared at the boy with the sword.

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[Arthur Pendragon]

Arthur was a bit surprised by her words of wanting to make sure he was safe. He would have expected her to run for it but no . . . she seemed more caring than that. Even if she was a commoner, Arthur never took such kindness for granted. While it was his duty to protect the people of Camelot, he did not expect to automatically gain their respect. It was something earned. It perhaps meant even more considering the fact that she did not know he was a Prince, or even nobility. Then again . . . she added the word 'Sir' so that may have very well changed. She was more perceptive than Arthur had assumed. The two idiots had not noticed his style of fighting, but she had. Arthur's fear for her continued to grow as she began to reveal her life. Of course it was not dangerous to disclose such information to Arthur, but who knew what the two men were planning on doing.

That was when he heard two key words: Camelot Castle. She worked in the castle as a servant then. Interesting indeed. Arthur did not say anything right away, he was focusing on the not letting his opponents get the upper hand. He would express his appreciation after, and comment on her words once these two pests were dealt with accordingly. When he heard her abruptly stop talking, he looked at her, noticing one of the men use her as a human shield. How utterly despicable! What kind of man hid behind a poor woman, using her as a shield, instead of fighting himself. It was the most cowardly thing to do and it filled Arthur with disgust.

"Unhand her," he said in a voice that suggested impatience rather than panic. If he showed any sort of panic, then the men would use that against him. So he just stood there, taking a step away from the thug he had been engaged in a sword fight with and instead, taking a step towards the man who was holding the girl hostage. Even if Arthur did not panic . . . he was extremely concerned. He did not know how far these men would go, but he was not going to risk the life of a young girl just to find out.

"Put down your sword!" One of them demanded. And Arthur did as he was told. He tossed his sword to the ground. This did not mean that they won . . . it only meant that he was appearing to be cooperative. One of the men -- the one who's hands were both free -- quickly bent down to grab the sword and held it in his hand. Then, they all just stood there in silence. Arthur resisted the urge to roll his eyes. He just stood there, composed and looking rather serious. The two morons had no idea what they were doing, or what they even wanted.

"Why did she call you Sir?" One of them demanded to know. Ahh. So they could try to hold him for ransom perhaps? Arthur did not answer right away. He locked eyes with the young girl, hoping the blade was in no way cutting into her skin. From what he could see, it was not. But he was further than he would have liked. He then shifted his gaze back to one of the men.

"Let her go. What do you possibly hope to achieve from this?" Arthur did not ask because he was curious. He was using the conversation as a sort of diversion. To distract the men, enough so that he could slowly make his way to the young girl. Which was precisely what he was doing. He held his hands out, showing that -- as far as they could see -- he was holding no weapons. "Killing her will not get you what you want. Let her go, and I will do whatever you ask." He still did not understand their motives, so he was just blindly compromising. At least if he was the one with a weapon against him, he would have more control over the situation . . . but she was just a poor young woman. At the wrong place at the wrong time.