"Re Sheen"  said a tall dark haired elf in the elvish dialect. " Yi in re keesh ma'at xenateq ti, qi nam rezi qa junta poleri. Mun zhit kathri."

My Queen, We have been worried about you, surely you know better than to go off all alone in a strange city. And with strange men.

He gave Arthur the sort of look the well off lords gave beggars down the streets. Somewhere between disgust and mistrust.

"A'ani vit koi sentar, Valerio, ki trenza vi la'at! Kis halin nam ma'at, qi yin vash tanda! Le Miraz vikishi qi laboni. Tinda vi qani latrisa vintashi?"" Nymeria said in an annoyed tone.

I'm not a child, Valerio, so don't treat me like one! This is no strange city, so mind your tongue! We are lord Miraz's guests. How do you reckon he'll respond if he hears you speak such folly?

"Iye n'i kathri. Iye vit kah bethro sintali Valari Abba shis el dracon'a." She added, beckoning at Arthur.

And he's no strange man, he's the genius who will bring great grand father's 'dragon tooth' to life.

As she said this, she cast a side glance to where he stood and smiled fondly at him whilst rolling her eyes as if to say, See the idiocy I have to live with?

"Merci, Re Sheen. Vi qin rama vikishi."he said, bowing his head slightly.

My apologies, my Queen. It was never my intention to offend you.

" Ta ta vin rama." She simply said.

It is not I you offend.

He turned his head to Arthur.

"Forgive me, friend I have misjudged you. My sincerest apologies." He said.

Arthur could see the elf didn't mean anything he said. In fact he could see a trace of annoyance in his eyes. Clearly he didn't like being made to apologize and from what he'd seen, this Valerio - as Nymeria had called him - hated being told what to do by a woman. Nymeria didn't seem to see this. Instead, she turned back to Arthur.

"I'll come back tomorrow to collect the sword." She said. "Until then."

She gave him one last smile, a secret message as to what she truly hoped for before she and her entourage walked away. When he got back home, his father was waiting for him.

"I take it you had a lovely walk?" He asked.

"Yeah, I guess." Arthur replied.

The conversation was okay so far, so why did he feel a sense of dread hanging in the air?

"Will you see her again?" He asked.

"I don't know, probably not." Arthur replied sadly.

"No, I reckon you will meet her again. She came to your humble abode. An esteemed Queen would never do that unless she was interested." Henry said with a serene expression.

Arthur, who had been in the middle of gulping down a cup water immediately chocked.

"Wait, you knew?" He asked in between fits of coughs.

"Of course I knew! I may be an old man but I know I can tell the Queen of Venetia from other women even if she was completely disguised and walked straight into my kitchen." Henry said.

"Say it, I'm an idiot. I should just do my work and forget about her." Arthur said when his breathing had finally settled.

He looked away from his father. He didn't want to expose to him his vulnerability any further.

"Arthur, look at me." Henry said.

There was a new edge in his tone. A kind of desperate plea that drew his attention as Arthur looked up to face his father.

"Whatever happens, I want you to know that you will always be my son and I will always love and support you. Even if it breaks my heart." He said sadly.

"You said the exact same thing to me earlier. Papa, what's going on?" Arthur asked in alarm, searching his father's eyes for any sign that would shed the light as to what was bothering him.

Henry looked at his son. This was his last opportunity to tell him the truth. He had sworn 16 years ago to keep it a secret, take it to the grave with him if need be. He had been willing to, not because he'd sworn to secrecy but because he had promised Sarah. He immediately found himself drifting back to that terrible and unbearably hot summer day 16 years ago.

... Flashback...

She lay there, thin and pale, her body frail and her skin scotching with fever. The damp towel was placed on her forehead to help lower the fever and occasionally he had to pry away stray strands of ebony hair from the towel. Her hazel eyes fluttered open. He held her tiny hand in his and whispered words of encouragement to her.

"You'll get through this, Sarah. You need to hang on." He'd said.

"No, no, Henry. I'm dying. There's no getting through this." She had replied in a weak voice.

"Don't say that. You have to be strong. I can't lose you." He said as a sob escaped his throat.

"Don't cry, you have to be brave. For the both of us." She said.

"I don't know how to be." He admitted sadly.

"Yes you do. That's why I know you will protect our child." She said as she smiled weakly. "He'll come here, to swear you to secrecy but I want you to make me a promise."

"Anything." He said.

"Protect my son, Henry." Sarah pleaded. "Protect him."

"With my life." He'd responded.

She had looked at him, gave him a weak smile and as he watched, she gave her last breathe. Immediately the midwife came into the room carrying the young infant who seemed to have quieted down and placed him in Henry's hands. The child had his mother's silky ebony hair and hazel eyes and as it looked up at him, it smiled lovingly at him.

"I will give my life to protect you little one." He told the child

......................................................

He couldn't do it, he could not tell his son the truth, he could not bring himself to break that promise and yet he feared the boy would find out. He had run out of time. Reaching under his wooden chair, he pulled the package and handed it to Arthur.

"What's this?" Arthur asked as he pulled out a new pair of trousers, shirt and navy blue jacket.

"What? You didn't think I'd let you go to the grand hearing dressed like a a bloody blacksmith, did ya?" Henry asked with a laugh.

Arthur immediately looked up in surprise.

"We're going? Really?" He asked in disbelief.

"Yeah, I know it'll mean much to you. Plus I figured you'd get to see your lady friend one last time." He said.

"Thank you, really." Arthur said.

"I don't know if I deserve thanks." He said sadly. "Now come on, lad, off to bed. You don't want to be late, do ya?"