CHAPTER FORTY,
episode eleven, the sorcerer's shadow.

MORGANA PENDRAGON had changed, there was no other way of putting it. ever since she had returned from when she went missing for the year, she had become cold and detached from everyone. before, she was the kindest soul in the whole kingdom. she was the heart of camelot, she was the first to help anyone who needed it, stood up to uther when he was wrong and always stuck by her friends. however she had been having dreams, terrible dreams that were always the same. isabella valour walking down the aisle to marry arthur pendragon, and at the very end, it showed isabella as queen. morgana couldn't let that happen.

camelot was holding a tournament. but not any kind of tournament, one where all comers from around the country could partake, to win a prize of one hundred gold coins. it was tradition, however, it had been held every ten years for centuries. and because it was an open tournament, all weapons were allowed to be used.

the only rule was that there are no rules.

isabella had unfortunately witnessed it before when she first visited camelot all those years ago, and personally thought it was a stupid idea, i mean they were literally just inviting anyone to come and fight.

isabella, arthur, morgana and uther were eating dinner when morgana decided to higher the king's ego. "remind me how many times you've won this tournament, uther?" she asked, a knowing smirk on her lips.

estella almost giggled at the girl, knowing morgana would probably start bullying arthur. isabella sent her an amused look as estella poured her a drink.

"three." uther recalled as isabella raised a brow, and glanced at arthur.

"that's a lot to live up to, arthur." morgana turned to the boy who raised his glass and agreed.

"i remember your last victory. you were a master in the arena." morgana smiled as uther chuckled. "it's such a shame we won't see you compete again."

"who says you won't?" uther responded.

"i thought you said you were too old to take the field?" morgana asked, tilting her head as isabella glanced at her curiously. she looked at merlin who was pouring their drinks and frowned.

"it is not age that stops me. i'll still prove a match for any man." uther boasted as isabella chuckled under her breath.

"well, we won't be finding out." arthur cut in, making morgana raise a brow and uther turn to him.

"whyever not?" he asked, frowning.

arthur glanced at him, "because i don't want you getting hurt." he responded seriously.

suddenly, uther began to laugh, so loud the table practically shook. morgana took this as a sign to question him further, "do you think you could still win the crown?" she asked her father...i mean...guardian..

"the kingdom needs him to rule, not to fight." arthur cut morgana off as isabella ate her food silently, her eyes scanning each of them as they spoke.

"you think i cannot do both?" the king asked, clearly very amused by the situation.

"you are not as young as you used to be." morgana spoke teasingly, "besides, i need someone to keep me company in the stands."

"um, i am right here." isabella said sarcastically. morgana chuckled, apologising.

"if you'll excuse me, i need to prepare for the tournament. merlin." arthur stood up, calling his servant to go with him.

"it is such a shame. it would have been good for the people to see you compete one last time." morgana sighed as isabella raised a brow suspiciously at her. what was she up to? "but still, arthur's probably right. you can't do everything."

the king stopped eating in thought and glanced at the girl, and they stayed silent for the rest of the meal.

THE NEXT morning, isabella walked in step with estella up to the stands. the princess smiled hearing all of the claps and loud cheers for her. estella looked up at isabella with a smile in adoration, she was so proud of her.

isabella reached the final step and faced the people, and sent them a polite wave before moving to stand in front of her throne. arthur pendragon spotted her and smiled to himself, walking forward towards her. she raised a brow and looked down at him in confusion.

he reached up and handed her a single flower, a rose. she shook her head with a small laugh and reached down to hug him, thanking him again and sitting down on her throne.

"you two are so lovely together." estella spoke with a small smile, tapping isabella to get her attention.

"as are you and merlin. tell me, how is your...relationship going?" she asked curiously. estella blushed and turned away.

"he is most likely the nicest person i have ever met. i would love for my parents to meet him...it is not like it is forbidden. we are both peasants after all." the girl said sarcastically.

isabella let out a very unladylike snort, a hand going over her stomach as she laughed. "you are not a peasant!" she giggled, but then noticed a very poor man looking at her in confusion.

"and there is also nothing wrong with being a peasant." she announced a bit louder so the man heard her.

strangely, morgana then stood up, and isabella was confused when she began to speak instead of the king. "it is my pleasure to welcome you all to camelot. this is a contest like no other. it is open to all comers." as she spoke, the trumpets began to make a loud tune as she smiled, "including our reigning champion, the king." she introduced as the crowd cheered.

"oh, dear me." isabella sighed, looking bewildered. she also couldn't help but notice how clear it was that morgana felt so powerful speaking to the people.

"there are no rules, no weapons are banned. the last man standing takes the prize. myself and the princess, isabella—" she began, pausing for loud cheers and claps as the princess waved again, "wish you good luck."

"let the tournament begin!"

morgana turned and sat down next to isabella. the king was up first. "why on earth is he taking part?" isabella sighed, shaking her head as morgana chuckled falsely.

the king won his first round, which wasn't a surprise to anyone.

soon enough, arthur was up, and a man using two swords came running at him, but isabella felt her jaw slowly drop when all arthur had to do was punch his jaw, and the man fell backwards. there was a clear winner.

some of the fighters were actually quite skilled. but what shocked isabella the most, was when one of the men used an axe to behead another player. her eyes widened as the crowd all booed him. she stared ahead at him nervously, picking at her nails to try and stop herself from thinking that arthur would have to go up against him.

a small, young and skinny boy went up, and was definitely not skilled in combat, however when there was a weak moment and the other man somehow got his sword stuck in the stands, he managed to defeat the man. interesting.

the first day of the tournament soon came to an end, and isabella made sure to congratulate everyone who had a victory, even if she didn't want to congratulate certain people.

THE SECOND day was pretty much the same as the first, arthur defeated everyone he came up against, as did uther. however, the small younger boy, gilli, went up against the man who had beheaded another opponent the day before.

it was obvious to isabella that gilli had used magic in the fight against the man, however she didn't expect the loud cheers and claps he received when he killed him. she couldn't help but clap as well, since it was clear the opponent was an evil human being.

arthur was conflicted, he had to go up against his father tomorrow. however he was worried that he would injure and show up his father during the fight, if he fought the way he actually could. he would just let him win, however uther would most likely never stop gloating about it.

the third day of the tournament was what everyone was waiting for. the battle between the king and the prince of camelot. uther was attempting to humble arthur with his confident words, and when he started fighting, it was clear arthur was taken aback.

despite him being the king, isabella had every faith...and silent hope...that arthur would win.

arthur managed to knock uther down, however this angered uther further and he scrambled up, taking his helmet off and staring at arthur, who also took his own off. isabella was surprised to see uther continue the fight, fury in his dark eyes as he launched his sword at arthur, who luckily was dodging it.

as it went on, uther was panting out of breath, but arthur looked as if he could do another few rounds. isabella felt her heart warm when arthur accidentally dropped his sword and let the king knock him down. arthur looked up at his father with worry in his light eyes. the king extended a hand to him and arthur got up, staring at the floor while uther raised his sword when the crowd cheered.

arthur met isabella's eyes from the stands and she stood up, clapping for him and only him with a clearly proud smile on her face. he bowed his head, and she curtsied, but never stopped clapping for her prince.

that meant that the king was in the final, up against a very angry gilli who was killing everyone he fought up against. isabella frowned as she watched him fight, looking at merlin who looked equally as shocked and hurt.

isabella soon left the stands to find arthur who was in his chambers. she walked over and brought him down in for a tight hug. "well done. that can't have been easy...if you want my opinion." she began, before lowering her voice, dramatically making sure no one was around, "you were the clear winner." she smiled.

he chuckled slightly, nodding. "thank you. as much as it is irritating having to hear him gloat for the rest of my life...at least he is happy."

isabella stared up at him in adoration. "you have grown so much since i first came here. you were a selfish, arrogant and unkind boy...but now i see a selfless man who i am so unbelievably proud of. you are definitely still arrogant and are terribly unkind to merlin...but i still love you for it." she admitted, and he rolled his eyes with a small smile.

"you are the reason for it all, isabella. you make me a better man." he held her hands, looking deeply into her dark eyes.

a small smile crept up onto her face. "i think ive also turned you soft. i couldn't ever imagine the arthur pendragon from back then saying that."  she joked, giggling slightly as he laughed.

"i happen to enjoy our heart to hearts." he admitted, and she squinted.

"i do not know what heart to heart means...." she winced and he let out a laugh, before looking deep in thought.

"coeur à coeur...a conversation that is intimate, loving and personal." heart to heart. he began to explain, and she smiled again.

"i knew merlin was telling the truth about you learning french." she smirked, making the boy scoff in disbelief.

"you had to ruin the moment."

THE FINAL day of the tournament soon came around and everyone was on the edge of their seats to watch the young boy, gilli, fight the king of camelot. arthur sat next to isabella on their thrones, her having intertwined their hands out of worry.

the king raised his sword, "for glory!" he exclaimed.

gilli smirked, and raised his sword. "for glory." he responded calmly.

isabella let out a breath, and watched nervously as gilli's sword was immediately flung out of his hands. using magic, he managed to make the king's sword get stuck in the ground, but while doing so, merlin also used magic to stop him. gilli's shield was flung out of his arms.

the two continued to fight combat, and gilli used his magic to have uther's sword fly out of his hand. arthur stood up from his seat in shock when uther was knocked to the ground. gilli mercilessly shoved his sword through the shield, which stopped inches away from the king's face.

in attempts to pull it out, merlin quickly used his magic to stop him, which made his sword get stuck. the king shoved him off, and reached for his sword. gilli used a metal shield to stop the king from getting to him, until he fell to the ground, uther's sword pressed against his neck.

the crowd cheered loudly, clapping when the king pulled back, raising his sword in the air to claim his victory. isabella smiled lightly and clapped for him, arthur and morgana joining in.

gilli had tears in his eyes as he left the arena, completely ignoring merlin's apologies as he tried to explain why he did what he did.

isabella joined arthur, morgana and uther for dinner, and it most definitely was the most shocking thing that had ever happened during mealtimes. uther was explaining about how he won the tournament. "and now you are champion once again." morgana grinned.

"maybe you can give arthur some lessons." morgana spoke, smirking at the boy who ignored her.

"it is i who learned a great deal from our fight." uther admitted, and isabella widened her eyes ever so slightly and took a sip of her drink.

"i can't see what." morgana retorted as isabella squinted her eyes at her rudeness.

"he is a far better warrior than you may think, morgana." isabella cut in with a irritated look on her face. morgana raised a brow and smirked as uther nodded in agreement.

"isabella is correct. it is arthur who should have claimed the prize." uther admitted as arthur continued eating.

"but sadly, he wasn't good enough." morgana pouted, looking annoyed that arthur wasn't responding to anything she was saying.

"because he threw the fight that i might save face." the king announced and arthur choked on his drink.

"you knew?" he coughed, making the king smile. morgana looked so angry, her face was a picture.

"i have followed your progress with a sword since you were a boy. i knew your abilities better than anyone. i am eternally grateful." he said sincerely, patting arthur's shoulder. "i hope that when you are king and have sons of your own, that they will afford you the same honor."

"indeed the most satisfying outcome of the tournament was that arthur's actions has shown me that he us now truly ready to be king." uther announced as isabella smiled widely, and looked at arthur, squeezing his hand.

"i am very proud of you." isabella grinned at the boy, who pressed a kiss onto her cheek.

isabella glanced at morgana who looked physically sick, and she sent the girl a small smirk before turning back to the king and clinking her glass together.

cuteeeee chapter 💗

also! wicked game has 100k!!! definitely an early birthday present!!!. thank you so much to everyone who supports it and loves it as much as i do. i adore u all, thank u.