Camelot
The capital city of Logress Kingdom.
Camelot, the biggest and the most prosperous city among all the seven kingdoms. In the last few days, the city welcomed many people from all over Briton. They all gathered to enjoy the always anticipated yearly event: the Divine Order Tournament.
The city was more crowded than usual, with nobles browsing the markets, a few squires on break walking around wearing their kingdom's symbols, and groups of knights patrolling the area. However, the main focus of the crowds today was not the city, but the arena standing at the outskirts outside, where the tournament was currently held.
Brraaccckkk!
People cheered as one squire's lance threw another squire off from their horse. The winner of that round's jousting tournament was clear.
"People of the seven kingdoms! We have found the winner of today's Divine Order tournament, Lamorak of the Gangani Kingdom!" A too-chipper, announcer voice amplified perhaps by a magical device echoed through the place.
The squire who won was known as one of the most talented young squires from Gangani, the kingdom known for raising the finest horses and even finer riders. The squire pulled the reins of his horse, letting it trot towards the main stage, where he bowed towards the one sitting in the center: King Arthur Pendragon, the host of this event.
After giving a polite bow to the king, the young squire suddenly shouted. "I give the honor of my victory to the most beautiful princess of all the seven kingdoms!"
Hearing the declaration, the audience turned rowdy. Cheers and the sounds of slammed would be heard and, if one listens carefully, some threw a bit of wolf whistles.
The princess mentioned was of course no other than Princess Gwenneth of the Lioness. She was currently seated in the honorable guest chair, right next to Arthur. Hearing the praise of the young champion, the princess stood up and said.
"Congratulations for your victory, valiant future knight of the Divine Order. I am so honored to accept the gift of victory and praise you have bestowed to me." Gwen gave the squire her signature radiant smile and the glee on the squire's face was unmistakable.
The young squire was so happy, he even stammered and bowed once more, the voices of cheers accompanying his actions. The people were cheering not for the princess, but for Gwen, who would be their queen in a few days.
After a few hand gestures, Gwen returned to her seat, only to be teased by Arthur.
"Wow, I think you're more famous than me at this point. I mean, they all love you…"
"No... No, my king. They love me not because of my skills, they love me for being their future queen."
"Don't undermine your own achievements, Gwen. You really are good with words, but you also have a charm that makes it easy for people to like you."
Not long afterwards, as the second day of the tournament came to a close, it was time for the nobles to begin what some would call socializing. They confidently strode near their seats and gave their respects before starting a chat.
Most commented that the tournament was predictable as usual. The archery round held yesterday was won by Dematae Kingdom, known for raising the best archers and producing quality bows from their special light yet sturdy wood. The jousting round was of course won by Gangani.
One noble spoke up and mentioned about the game two years ago, where a young unknown squire proceeded to sweep the title of champion for all three games. It was definitely the most memorable tournament ever.
Upon hearing the mention of the champion, Arthur threw a discreet glance at Gwen. To his surprise, she replied without losing her bright smile and continued to do what she did best, brightening the hearts of the people. Despite that, Arthur couldn't help but worry that Gwen was thinking about Merlin at the moment.
Seeing Gwen was easily making friends here and there, Arthur couldn't believe that only in one year she had managed to bring so many nobles to support Logress. She had even taken over half of her previous Lioness territory from Cantiaci only with diplomacy.
The event's closing ceremony passed in what felt like the blink of an eye and they returned to the castle. Arthur entered the halls, seeing many of the golden knights along with the ministers had gathered. Among them, Uther, his father, was also waiting. They all bore a very serious expression on their faces.
"What happened?" Arthur asked.
Uther, who was normally calm, spoke in a serious tone.
"We have news from the scouts we stationed in the east. The Danes' ship came faster than we thought. They will arrive on the Iceni shores tomorrow at dawn at best."
"Alright, don't we have knights ready for this-" Arthur calmly asked, but he was cut off.
Uther explained that, not only were the Danes here, the northern Brigantes tribe was also moving along the border to invade their land.
That one sentence was enough to freeze the room in an instant. No one could blame them, for it meant their biggest nightmare just came true.
They were the biggest barbarian tribe in the north and, with the coming of the Danes, it would mean they would work together to wipe the kingdoms of Brittania.
Arthur took a deep breath and said, but try as he might, he could not keep the slight shudder in his voice. "Don't worry. We will be ready for this."
He turned to look at Gwen and said. "Gwen, even if it pains me to say it, the kingdoms are facing the greatest threat. I believe it would be best if we postpone the wedding."
If everything went as planned, the wedding was supposed to be held after the tournament, which was 4 days from now. With the current situation, it would be inappropriate to celebrate, which was why Arthur decided to postpone it and prepare the troops instead.
Gwen nodded, she surely understood the gravity of this matter and the reason behind Arthur's decision, but Uther thought differently
"The city is at the peak of its morale for this year due to the recent tournament. I believe we should push the wedding forward. We shall do the ceremony the day after tomorrow, together with the celebration of the tournament winner. This is the perfect momentum to bring all seven kingdoms to unite against the invaders. What do you think?"
Arthur looked at Gwen and, without a trace of hesitation, she immediately nodded in agreement.