Summer froze when the sword caressed her spine. Please don’t be bandits, she prayed. The man didn’t seem like a bandit, but she’d been fooled before.
Which was how she came to be afoot, approaching Camelot, weary and all but penniless.
“My name is Summer. Summer Rainault. I am a lady of the southern shore, come to visit the King’s court.” She lifted her hands from her tattered skirts, showing them empty. No weapons hung at her hip. Those, too, were gone, with her horse and baggage. “Please, I mean no harm.”
Mordred paused for a minute, considering that, before withdrawing his weapon and returning the sword to its sheath. A moment later, he showed his face by walking around the woman to get a proper look at her. He hadn’t heard of her nor seen her before, so she could have easily been lying.
”To visit?” he questioned, studying her expression for any signs that she was not telling the truth. “You know it is dangerous to be in the woods alone without any protection?” he added after a minute, finding it strange that she was completely unarmed. “I am Mordred, Knight of Camelot; would you like me to accompany you to the kingdom?”
The swordsman was a Knight of Camelot! Summer studied him for a moment, as he studied her, wondering vaguely what he saw. He was tall, and dark, with pale eyes. She wondered if he ever smiled; he seemed so serious. And young, too; she hadn’t expected that when he came around.
“It wasn’t entirely my idea,” she admitted, in answer to his question. “I was ahorse, and armed, and then there were bandits, more than I could handle alone. They took me captive, but I think they considered me helpless because I am a woman, and I was able to slip through their watch.” She neglected to mention she’d used her magic to encourage that view.
“I would be deeply grateful, Sir Mordred, if you would escort me the rest of the way. I’ve nothing to offer you in return, though.”