I

It's not every day that someone discovers they have a special talent. Me? I don't have a special talent. I'm a normal, unhappy teenager that just happens to be forced out of my home after my parents died, and now I happen to be wandering aimlessly around, hoping to find a place to stay. I've heard of a kingdom afar, and people say that it is a stronghold, a welcome shelter for people like me. It's name? Camelot. I know not yet what I am going to do, seeing that I have no talents, but I'm sure that I'll find something, with a bit of luck and my AWESOME brain. 

I traipse through yet another town, feeling people's eyes on me. I wave at a few, but they give me a look like merchants do when I pass their stalls and they know I'm not going to buy anything. Ah, life is good.

By midday, my stomach is growling, but I'm wanting to reach my destination. The day's been long enough already. I wind around the last bend and gasp. Ahead of me is Camelot. It's beautiful. Huge and magnificent. The castle stands tall, surrounded by massive gates that wind around the countryside. My mouth has probably fallen open, so I shut it and hoist my pack on my shoulders again, and walk off, eager this time, to get to where I need to be.

The guards are interesting characters. When I look at their swords, they don't look like swords at all. They seem to glow weirdly, and make a buzzing noise. They let me in without a second glance, but one's lips quiver in what I can only describe as a restrained laugh. He wouldn't be laughing if he knew what I could do to hi... wait. That's no way to talk to people in a new town, Belle - even if I know I'm right!

There's a shout, so I follow my ears and stand back in shock. In front of me, just before the castle, is a huge platform. There's a huge stick errected, and a guard is standing by with a lit torch in his hand. Bundles of sticks lie everywhere, scattered around the one in the middle. I shiver as I realize that this is an execution. Great. Just what I wanted to see on my first trip to Camelot.

I hear noises again, and when I'm close enough to see what's going on, there's a balcony up above, where three people are standing. I look at the guy in the middle, whose obviously the king. King Uther, his name is, I've heard of him, he's known for his cruel ways in sentencing anyone to death who practices, breathes or even thinks about magic. I look to his left, where his son Arthur stands and I can't help but smile a tiny bit. The legends are true, he's cute. 

STOP IT! OK, whatever, he's ALRIGHT looking. On his right is an attractive girl with jet black hair that falls past her shoulders, and she's not looking very interested in what's going on below her. Then my attention turns to the accused. He's a tiny, shrivelled man, whose sunken eyes and few strands of hair seem limp and pale. His mouth is down turned as he looks at the stake in which he's about to be tied to, and his mouth curls around in a sharp wail. The guard pulls at the chain that binds him, and the man gives a howl and shuts up. Then, he's led up onto the platform.

"This man," The king starts, "is guilty of practicing magic and sorcery. By the laws of Camelot, he is stentenced to death by fire." 

Anger suddenly boils up in me. The poor man starts shouting again. "I did no such thing! And you can't prove it! You're a bad man, Uther! A BAD MAN! One day, someone will give you no trial and kill you innocently and you will pay!"

I feel so sorry for him as I watch him mount the platform. I look up at Uther, whose shaking his head, and Arthur, whose looking down at the ground, and back to the king's lovely ward, who looks slightly pale.

The drums start beating, slowly. "Ugh." I turn away to go, and bump into someone.

"I'm sorry." I look up to find a young man staring down at me. "Arthur's always telling me I need to be more careful." He smiles shyly. "Why the grim face?"

"I guess I'm not used to... um... seeing people executed." I say shortly.

"I know. It's a shame." He sighs. "Uther is so against sorcery and magic that he wants to rid it from his kingdom forever."

I look back to where the man has been securely tied, and then the lighted torch goes down.

"NOOOOO!" I don't even realized I've screamed it out, or run forwards. Then, there's a burst of light from who knows where, and when my eyes open, the people around me have scattered, screaming. I look up at the platform, which I'm very close to, and the fire has disappeared completely. The creature looks down at me, and for the first time I see a flicker of a smile touch his face. 

"Thank you my child." He whispers. Then, reaching around his neck, he pulls off a necklace and hands it to me. On the necklace is a delicately carved ring. "Take this. You will find many uses for it." 

He starts to make strangled sounds and clutches and his throat. "NO! MY... PRECIOUS. MUST... AAGH!" He writhes around a bit but the bonds are tight, and they hold him, until at last he sags against them and sighs. "It is yours, now. I must go."

"Where are you going?!" I ask.

"You saved me, but you did not save my life. Thank you." He whispers again, and then disappears in a puff of smoke.