A/N : So I read the November Prompt of Tavern Tales- Buyin' it, Sellin' it, Savin' it, and basically couldn't resist writing...this. It probably doesn't even fit the prompt the way it was meant, but here we are anyway.
PROLOGUE.
Deep into the old forest, the Witch stepped out of a completely unnatural shack, its walls made of tree trunks whose branches twisted into strange angles, making a roof over the bizarre house. The trees parted as she touched them, whispering words that no living being understood anymore, and closed again once she was out of the hut. She then looked down the winding path... waiting.
She was old, older than most of the trees in the forest. So old that she had forgotten what she was called, and it had been a really long time since she had last met another human, since she had last uttered words that were not spoken in ancient language long forgotten, understood only by the earth and which stirred the magic deep inside the land itself.
And yet, today she felt anticipation the likes of which she had never felt before. She paced around her small house restlessly.
Emrys was coming.
At length, she heard footfalls, and stopped her pacing. Instead she drew herself to her full height, folded her arms across her chest, and stood like a formidable being that she was. Emrys may be more powerful than her, but she was older, wiser, and he would never take her without a fight.
Through the woods, a shape materialized. It was an old man, walking with a stick, his back bowed, his hair white. The Witch was surprised. That was not Emrys.
He kept walking, until he stood but two feet away from her. Emrys or not, the man was brave. She could not remember the last time any human had dared to come so close to her without cowering in fear, or running away.
"I was led to believe I was going to be meeting Emrys today." The Witch stated, her voice rusty with disuse.
"And you will. I bring you Emrys." The man said, and then he rummaged in his coat- a ragged old thing- and took out an object carefully wrapped in a red cloth.
"What game are you playing?" She felt fury bubble up in her heart.
"I play no games, Witch." The way he said Witch was reverent, not at all like the way people threw the word around like an insult these days. "Emrys told me to bring him to you. He said you were the only one who would help. Only one who can help."
"Help with what?"
"Help keep him safe, until the Once and Future King returns. Help him meet him again."
"How would I know when the Once and Future King returns? It could take decades. Centuries. Maybe even more."
The man smiled, a weary stretch of lips, filled with affection and loss."Mer... Emrys said, that he would be the only one who would be able to break the enchantment. Only one who would be able to set him free."
"That might be true, and maybe I could help you. But tell me, human, why should I?"
"Because the old religion is dying, and if Emrys dies too, there would be nothing left. Not even enough embers left to rekindle the fire when time is right. If Emrys dies, magic will bleed out of the land, like it never existed."
When the Witch looked at him contemplatively, wondering if anything was worth being burdened with so much responsibility, he raised an eyebrow and continued,
"And because you owe him."
"Owe him?" The outrageous claim made her temper flare.
"Yes! Owe him, you and everyone like you. It's because of him you are not persecuted anymore. It's because of him that you all can walk the earth freely practicing your art, and are not burned at a pyre. Each and every one of you is indebted, and he never asked for anything in return. Until now."
She could not argue with that, so she extended her arms, but still saying, "I will try. But I am going to impose some of my own bonds. I never do anything for free."
The man's eyes twinkled, relief clear on in them, but then his face grew grim and stern when he said, "He guessed as much, so he left room for some enchantments on top of his own. But remember, he would never serve anyone but a Pendragon. Such is his will."
Saying that, the bundle was reverently placed in her arms, physically weighing nothing at all, but the spells that were contained in it started binding her immediately, burdening her shoulders. She clutched it tightly, feeling her energy being drained. An arm wrapped around her, helping her sit down on a tree stump. She looked up, and a pair of kind eyes gazed back at her.
"Thank you." The man told her, and the voice was sad, like someone was parting from their dearest family, and then he turned around and walked back through the way he had come.
A/N-PS: I will hopefully be posting this regularly... twice a week!
I should probably have waited until I finished writing this entire thing- In fact I should have studied instead of writing it in the first place but that's beside the point- but like... it was turning out to be so much longer than I expected, and what can I say. I am a comments whore. Please leave reviews and I will love you forever...:D!
