#1 Sorry for the wait. School

#2 I never say CD in the summery. Spoilers


"Merlin! Wake up, if there was ever a day you mustn't be late. It is today..." Prince Arthur stood over my bed. In his nightclothes no less. I was surprised to see the high and mighty prince in my room, but the attitude I've gotten used to.

As the frustration faded from Arthurs' voice he left my room in a manner that reminded me of a fat, sleepwalking cat from home. Slow, drossy and otherwise to lazy to bother.

One of the first things I noticed was the moon. Or, specifically the lack of sun outside. What would Arthur wake me up so early for? Then I remembered the tournament. Starting the day after Christmas, the knights and I set out to all of the 15 villages in all of Camelot. They host a tournament in each village to find the 15 best knights in the kingdom and presented them as protégé to the king on the last day of the years. Start a new year off with a new vision of prosperity.

I threw on a pair pants, a blue shirt, my light brown jacket and my only red scarf. Well it's not my only scarf but it's the only red one. And it my favorite out of the lot.

I headed straight for the kitchen first and grabbed Arthur's breakfast. It smelt so good. Gwaine must have thought so to cause he bumped into me trying to grab at the plate. But I was very cunning for 5 in the morning. I swerved the plate up and down, left and right, behind my back and over his head. After a minute or so I I faked left and spun counter clockwise purposely getting lost in the flowing crowds leaving Gwaine dumbfounded in the middle of the hallway with his glove inhand.

I quickly found Arthur's room and nook on the door as a curtsy and entered.

"Where were you?" Arthur said from behind the screen.

That victory was short lived.

"And good morning to you too sire."

"I don't need pleasantries Merlin I need clothes. The Tour of Knighthood begins today. Today we leave for six days, we must conduct a tournament in every town in the entire kingdom and arrive home with the next generation to seat the round table before the new year..."

After handing Arthur his clothes I let him carry on from behind the divider screen.

I would always think to myself. Why is it royalty is thought of as clever enough to run an empire, if they can't hand themselves a shirt? It helped me to keep my sanity.

I understand he'd be stressed but he acts like I don't have a clue about what's going on. I'm with him 24/7, I hear every conversation the king doesn't demand be in private, I literally handle everything for him and oversee his every move. Not by choice but still. I may as well be his shadow. Why does he still talk to me like I'm a child. As if he has to remind me of these things. If I could just tell him I understand the gravity of the situation I would. Oh in a heart beat but I'd be strung up before the next beat.

"Are you going to answer the door or will a day in the stalks remind you of your manners," Arthur voice broke though my thoughts.

There was a knock at the door. A melody almost. But the knocking I recognized instantly. It was there little joke between us. That is a whole different story. But I will say that when returned to the castle I might have mistaken' Arthur's room for the stables.

Back in the present. I opened the door for Gwen. She walked right in like it was home. They began staring at each other so I decided to let myself out. Why spoil the moment. I swear the day they admit their feelings will be the day I reveal my secret to someone, I find true love and loose them in a fortnight, that will be the day.

I left them alone and prepared the horses. Gaius found me in the stables... well he kind of ambush me in the stables. I was brushing off my horse. And I'd started talking to myself. Don't judge me. The last thing I remember saying out loud was, "The thought of a warlock right under the king's nose. Eluding his wrath for so long is probably the best joke in history. It's a shame I can't share it with anyone."

"Perhaps I can fix that for you,"

I turned around completely paralyzed be fear and panic. A small dark cloaked figure stood in the door way. His voice was deeper then any I'd ever heard.

"Such a dangerous game you play," The small dark figure says. "I hope you know what your doing. It would be a shame to see such talent go to waste."

I've heard that voice before. Merlin peered down at the sleeves of the hooded figure's cloak. Long as they are. Small bony fingers were spilling out the cloth.

"Gaius!"

"It appears I've been discover."

"What's in your other hand."

Relucantly he pulled his other hand out of the cloak and held out a new bag, ''A medicine bag. Your new medicine bag."

"Are you toying with me Gaius?"

"Merlin, you've proved your merit a countless times. You've earned it."

"I don't know what to say."

"How about thank you."

"Thank you Gaius. Thank you, Thank you, Thank you." He said hugging Gaius excitedly.

Gaius left quite soon after that. Leave me alone with my thoughs.

I must be doing something right.

Just minutes later they left Camolet.

The first dozen village were just as he predicted. Every day I watched one or two tournament. He saw a dozens knights rise to glory wall at least a hundred knights were injured. They'd enter and leaf there care like was 20 foot waves. They'd crashing on are shores in wave that are quickly pulled back with the tide.

But the views were well worth it. From each coast Camolat appears like a land from long ago, before fantasy overthrew reality. In the king's home at the center of the European empire stood a village called Camolat. At the heart we left behind a quant market with candy colored stand, a grand church and lively music which rode on the gentle breezes. Surrounding neighborhoods housed warm families with children by the dozens.

The castles was taller then any forest. You could ride to the farthest ends of the country and the towering castle was still visible. His castle loomed over the village casting a shadow of protection in every direction. But a creeping suspicion that any member of the castle could by watching you. They must have hundreds if not thousands of candles and torches burned in every window. Evil gargoyles place on every ledge and every brick was older then the last. If they could speak they would tell tales for a year straight with about the millennia gone by before them. And crowded wood which fumbled all invaders.

It really was the perfect place to live. In fact there was but one flaw in the entire village. Uther's closed mindedness and ill founded judgement. In there simplest from his view were. "If a man of my ranking cannot comprehend the event or attain the ability in question. The subject matter is those of good man and all traces of the subject matter must be burnt from are midst.

The knights and I arrived at the 13th village just before dawn with the most bizarre welcome... lack of welcome we've ever seen.

The town was peppered with corpses. Everyone in the town was dead. All different ages, gender, occupation. No man appear much diffreent from the last. From the look of them some were dead for ages. Maybe ten year, dozen maybe more. It's hard to say.

"Check for more bodies. We move on as soon as we give these people a proper burial." Arthur annonced.

Everyone speard out to start searching. But you didn't need to look very hard to find bodies. The town was littered with them. Like these peoples' lives were worthless rtrash. Every last one of them slaughtered without remorse.

Strange thing is, no one seemed to notice the cave in the side of the cliff. No one walk towards it, no one walk towards it, not one knight noticed a hole in the side of a mountain and stopped to thing, "If I was a thug I might hide a body in there".

Soon I realized there were no bodies near the cave. None of the bodies were even facing the general direction of the cave. It's like there isn't anything there at all. Not like an immediate danger for example a void of water in the middle of the ocean. More like the area forgotten about. Maybe an accident...

"Emrys."

"What the?!" I turn around expecting a druid to be standing behind me, But there is no one there.

"What wrong?" Arthur asked. "You look like you've seen a ghost."

"No."

Arthur just stared at me for a moment.

"No sire," Arthur turned around and kept walking through the bodies.

"But I might have heard one."

"Emrys..." It was hard to describe. It might have been womans' voice. But it defiantly was not human. The voice felt like it was from magic, not a person. Voices practically radiated magic. It called from the cave itself. Inviting me, chanting my name.

The cave itself isn't deep at all. Maybe five feet deep. It had a large entrance with a low ceiling and a wide arc. The voice continued to call me. Like it was in the wall. "Emrys."

I pressed my fingers against the wall, pushed and chanted. "Είναι εφικτή τοίχο πριν από μένα. Ροκ εμποδίζει μου πορεία. Θρυμματιστεί πριν από μένα και αφήστε τον τρόπο μου να είναι σαφής ως ημέρα." With a tingle on my eyes and the wall of rock crumbed beneath my fingertips.

Music erupted from the chamber. But at the same time it only seemed to be in my head like the wall was a blockage and it's path to my mind is clear now. It is haunting an sweet and familair somehow.

"Boys. It's a bloody miracle! Merlin brought down a wall of rock!" Gwen stood at the mouth of the cave completely ignorant to what just happen.

I looked just in time to see the knight walking away gossip like school girls. My safety is in there hands... Boys I'm in trouble.

I turned back to look behind the debris and only saw her. A girl floating just below the surface of a river. A long narrow lazy river running parallel tothe right side of the endless cavern waiting inside.

Every time my heels hit the ground I felt the music grow stronger, more mesmerizing in my head. I assume it's in my head because at first no one hear or see the signs but me. Still I can't make sense of it. The further in this direction I go the louder it gets. But if I stand still there is no way to tell which direction it originates from. Like I'm singing it inside my head but I'm not controling it. I've read that hearing voice is a sign of insanity. But you can't imagine a whole cavern and have someone acknowledge it.

Without hesitation I ran to the edge of the river and pulled her from the waters.

She was peaceful and lifeless. Like she has been preserved for ages. She wore a dark red dress that was tattered and dirty. Her skin was fair, her hair seemed to be changing. Maybe chocolate brown or a deep gold. Went down to her waist and nails were long. I don't imgine you fuss about your looks after ten plus year spent in this cold damp cave. I'm not shore how but she made it work. You could never be certain of anything from just looking at her. So much about her baffled me. For every answer I found, two questions rose.

The water felt odd. But I didn't think on it till much later. I pressed my hand against her wrist to find a pulse. No such luck. I began CRP but with every minute I felt her breath slip away.

"Προβολή των νεκρών σε κάθε λογής αιτία."

My vision change. Everything was tinted with a deep blue. Out of the corner of my eye I saw that the river was shining a brilliantly gold. The girl's body shone with the same golden glow. But a small part of her was more apparent then anything else. A path from her lip to her heart. The trail stops cold after that. I had to shake off the effect.

I'd never consider that charm, let alone use it.

I started CPR again. Her breath and pulse was quickly dropping quickly. Out of desperation I took a moment and conjured a spell I had hope never to use. I didn't need to think twice.

My eyes began to glow and I bent down. I didn't stop till our lips were a few millimeter apart. I took a deep breath. That breath pulled the same foul waters form her completely defying gravity, a shining shaft which the flowed free from her. Purify the water in a gold shimmer. Slowly her face began to regain color. I pulled away and spat the water back into the river. It seemed to turned back to the sickly black and green marble swirls as it hit the water. It seemed to ripple and mingle with different ghastly colors and textures.

The sight was gruesome but I couldn't focus on that.

I finally took a breath that didn't risk killing myself.

The glow in my eyes faded away. Replaced with a shimmering. Everything I saw shimmered except for her. She was a deep shining blue with a dormant trail void of light or color. It was the same trail which started from her lips to her heart and stopped dead in it's traces. Slowly the shimmer engulfed the void. And my vision returned to normal.

"What the..." I was still absorbing what just happened and by mistake I hit her arm. It fell into the river somehow uneffected by the odd nature of it. Her hand rippled the water into a vision. A vision which engulfingmy perception.

Mountains took shape in the background of a battle field. A war set ablaze with the bodies of fallen knight so thick you couldn't see the ground and they span as far as the eye can see. Arthur was in the midst of combat. Just as confadaint as ever in battle. His adversary let out a toxic breath which drained the color from his face till he fainted. The dark knight raised his sword prepared to strike a mortal blow...

"So Merlin breaks a wall of rock and save a girl. I'll believe it when I see it." Arthur stood in the rubble bored at the scene inside. He walked up beside me and said.

"Come now Merlin, you've seen a dead body before. What's the matter?"

I didn't answer that, I was still stunned by what I had just seen.

"Put her with the others."

"No!" I never wavered.

"What did you just say to me?" Arthur demanded.

"She's alive but only just." I said ignoring that last remark as best I could to focus on her.

"Don't just stand here, get her to Gaius." After that I snapped and faced Arthur but he had disappear out the mouth of the cave.

I scooped her up in my arms, brought her out and led her on a mount of snow. Given she was already ice cold that probably wasn't my brightest idea.

"What do we have here?" Gaius asked rushing over.

"At first she appeared to be drowning in a river. But when I pulled her out she seems unaffected by it. As I placed her on the riverbanks her heart and breath started to slowed. They..."

"Yes." Gaius said impatiently.

"The river was absolutely vile. Whatever is in that water was reeking havoc on her. It was startling. Her hand fell into the water. I was shown a vision. It depicted Arthur wounded in battle, perhaps his last battle."

Gaius leaned closed so we could not be heard. "This is not an ordinary town, you must keep your wits about yourself. Now more so then ever. This village has a tendency to bring out the worst of people. "

I just nod. I looking down at her wrist and saw something more peculiar then anything I'd seen since we left Camelot. It bares the strangest markings. First was a golden infinite sign with the outer edges blackened, a little bit like a tattoo. Overtop is writings of the old religion. But the writing was made of wounds carved into her skin.

"And my beard is turning black." Gaius said impatiently.

"Yes.."

"Merlin!"

"What." After he'd finally get my attention. Gaius held out his hand. He inspected the marking and tried to mask his surprise but this was something beyond either of our knowledge.

Gaius passed her arm back. I closed my eyes and concentrated. When I opened then the wounds shrank. But a thin defined lines remain. I tried once more but nothing happened.

"How can that be." Gaius was just as puzzled as I was.

"The spell always works. Unless.."

"Poison played a part." Gaius chimes in. Mostly because I dared not finish that sentence.

"And it appears to be strong too. You can see the wound ran deep for years. But how could she survive such a thing?"

"She's is impossible." Gaius proclaimed.

"Impossible. What is? A girl." Arthur says standing behind us. Fear and panic paralyse my body, my brain shuts down and mouth refused to form word.

How long has he been standing there?
What has he heard?

That's Chapter One

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