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Her hands tremble so much that there's no denying it: she is nervous as hell. She swallows; she shouldn't be so worried, as she is a knight, a noble, a princess. She is the future queen Arthe, a Pendragon woman through and through. She should be able to relax if she loses against that mysterious knight, to get up and salute the champion with a bow and a gracious smile while the crowd roars in cheers and applause. She has lost before, because such is the price for winning some battles, but even that thought doesn't seem to be able to calm her: the churning, clenching feeling on her stomach does not leave her, doesn't even relent slightly. She feels ridiculous and dissapointed in herself, more so after what had happened at the throne room with her ex-servant.
She has a new one, of course, but it's not the same: the young handmaiden doesn't talk around her, does not complain when she asks for too much nor offers her sincere opinion when asked. She just moves around her like a gush of wind, putting her armour with callous and deft, capable hands. Hands her body doesn't know, never will like those of Lin.
Arthes never had a friend - not, at least, among any of her servants. She was a princess first and foremost, a ruler - she had to provide for her people and they served her in exchange, as simple as that. Friendship wasn't needed into the mix. There was Gaius, of course, but he was a father more than a friend to her, as it was for Morgan. But Merlin was different - she was a girl from far away, and even if she generally seemed distracted she had her moments of brilliance - such as when she had saved Arthe's life from the dagger of that witch. Sure, the girl was a little weird, with her strange habits and old clothes and messy hair that reached her shoulders, but sometimes Arthes suspected that she was just playing dumb and knew more than she seemed to. Of course, when she started to consider that Lin had the tendency to do something totally useless and clumsy that made her discard the idea completely, but from time to time her mind began to wonder again.
But despite each other's ideas about the other, the two had grown closer since she had become her servant. Merlin was a hard-working girl, prone to worrying about everyone she loved and always ready to help those in need, and capable of softening Arthes when her arrogance or wrath reached it's peak. Something about her touched the princess, warmed her in a way that the other servants never had.
To be honest, a part of her regrets having fired her. She hadn't wanted to look like a fool in front of her father, so she did it without even flinching, but now she doubts it was the right decision. She also had her doubts about that knight, after all. And besides, as much as it pains her to admit it, she misses her.
The handmaiden finishes dressing her and Arthes dismisses her, neither of them paying any mind to the other, and she goes out of the tent to go hone her sword - when among the crowd of attendants and servants she catches sight of a flash of familiar clothes, a mane of black hair, big ears and a face that she would recognize anywhere: Merlin.
She blinks, confused, while the girl stands before her like a rabbit before a hawk. "What are you doing here?" She ask befuddled, while Lin stutters before her.
"I..." the other girl tries to answer "I... Lost something here? I was packing to go, but I'm missing one of my cloaks. I remember leaving it on the tents." She smiles awkwardly, the tint of a blush blooming in her cheeks, and her blue eyes seem bigger than ever while she looks at Arthes.
The princess grunts, the forgotten anger starting to wake inside of her. Yeah, she misses Merlin, but the maiden still had made her look like an idiot in front of everyone. And she still acts like one. "Of course you would forget about something like that." She answers, rolling her eyes. "Go fetch it. And bring me the honing stone while you're at it."
Merlin gasps, indignated. "I'm not your maid anymore!" She protests.
"Yes, which doesn't allow you to go looking around on the tents. If you want your cloak back you may as well do something of use while you're here." Arthes retorts, crossing her arms and tilting her head the way she does when she wants to look smug.
Merlin sighs with frustration. "Alright." She answers at last, disappearing of her sight to do just that.
Arthes returns to the tent, impatient. She's about to ruffle her hair with frustration before she remembers that she's wearing a net to hold it in place for her helmet. Gods, that girl. How can she make her act like such an idiot? Every time she sees her in trouble she feels the urge to annoy her in some way, as if she's an arrogant princess who enjoys being a jerk to her people, or a little boy with a crush (Maybe she's one of those things, but she'll never admit it).
Merlin comes back quickly, flushed while she mutters something under her breath. It sounds like utter nonsense, but Arthes doesn't care: she has a duel to fight and that's all that's worth thinking about right now.
"Can I leave-" she beings to ask while she leaves the stone, before she's interrupted.
"Hone it."
"What?"
"The sword." Says Arthes, giving her the weapon with a petulant, charming smile. "You used to do it so well, it almost seemed like magic. My new handmaiden isn't so skilled."
"Well... Uhm... Err... Alright." The servant mutters as she starts to do her job. Her hands are clumsy, the stone slipping under her slim fingers. She seems unskilled for such a task, her touch too gentle to really sharpen the blade. Arthes finds herself thinking about how she would have a noblewoman's hands if she didn't do so much hard work, how her black hair could rival Morgan's if she did something nice with it - maybe comb it for once, or braid it like Gwen, or -
"I think that will be it." Says Lin, as if she has no idea about sharpening. As if she thinks she can fool Arthes into letting her laze around.
"This is terrible, Merlin." The princess sighs, covering her face with a gloved hand. "Not near as good as you usually do. But I'm generous, and I understand that you're tired and don't want to do it when you no longer are obligated to. I'll just do it myself." She says as she retrieves her weapon and the stone. "Go find your cloak." Lin smiles, relieved as if she couldn't wait to be in another place. Not that is any of my business, Arthes thinks to herself, feeling a weird pang of sadness.
"Thanks, my lady." Lin says before putting a hand on her shoulder and leaning towards her ear. Arthes feels a little startled at the proximity, at how Lin's touch feels on her shoulder, at the shivers that run down her spine when she feels Lin's breath ghost over her skin. "And don't worry about Valiant. You will beat him, I know you can. I trust you." She whispers before leaving the princess alone.
After a while, Arthes notices that her hands have stopped shaking.