She couldn't help seeing the witch.
Every single night- as soon as she fell asleep- her dreaded face would appear. The hooked nose bobbing up and down. The teeth worn down and cavity-ridden until they were nothing but yellow stumps. An ugly old wart at the corner of her thin upper lip, a single black hair poking out.
Each night, Azkadellia saw this face.
Each night she'd find herself mumbling, tossing and turning in her bed until she was shaken awake by a guard or her mother, sometimes DG. They'd sit with her until the images had faded, until she was able to close her eyes once more.
So she wasn't surprised when she found herself being shaken at the darkest hours of nightfall. Azkadellia knew that her cries of woe would be loud enough to wake anyone in the realm of the O.Z., not just in the castle. She was used to feeling strong hands wrapped around her shoulders, sweat beading on her forehead until she forced her eyes open.
What surprised her most was the eyes looking down at her when she did wake up with tears dotting the corners of her eyes. Those of a young man looked down on her, bright blue and filled with what could be described as centuries of knowledge. Aside from that, they were filled with worry.
"Are you alright?" he asked gently, his black hair falling in his face as he bent over her. Chest tightening, Azkadellia scuttled backwards, sheets tangling around her feet as she moved away from him. Nodding solemnly, the man- more of a boy, really, averted his sharp blue eyes, backing away from the bed.
"I apologize-" he began, biting his lower lip.
"Who are you?" she snapped, "why are you in my bedchamber?!"
"I apologize Princess Azkadellia," the young man bowed his head, his black hair falling in his eyes. Azkadellia looked him up and down as she regained her breath, calming herself down. He wore a baggy pair of brown pants tucked into boots, his blue shirt baggy on his thin frame. Her eyes were drawn momentarily to the red neckerchief tied round his neck.
"How do you know my name?" Azkadellia demanded, ignoring his apology completely. A smile played on his lips as he answered her.
"I know your mother, Princess," he said, "I apologize for not formally introducing myself." At the mention of her mother, Azkadellia straightened her back, suddenly conscious of the thin jewel-encrusted nightclothes she was wearing. Surely if he knew Mother…. she trailed her thoughts, trying to look as regal as possible. Clearing her throat, she raised her chin a little higher.
"Your name?" she asked, her voice softer now.
"Merlin, Your Highness," the boy answered, lifting his head to gaze at her with his shockingly blue eyes. They emended her of DG's eyes, the blue almost an icy white in color, wide and innocent like a child's. The difference between this man's- Merlin's, she and to remember- and DG's eyes, was that Merlin's appeared to be filled with a vast knowledge of the world.
A knowledge, Azkadellia had the feeling, no amount of travel would help to obtain.
"Anyway…" Merlin coughed uncomfortably, "I just came to check on you…." Azkadellia raised an eyebrow at him, sighing with realization after, well, figuring out that once again, she had been crying out in her sleep. Rearranging the sheets, she squirmed in her bed until she was comfortable, despite the fact that Merlin was still standing there.
"Well…. Merlin," she let the name play on her tongue, "I thank you, but I assure you I'm fine." Now it was Merlin who raised an eyebrow at her. Azkadellia sighed- she knew it was quite obvious that she was most definitely not fine.
"You know, your mother said she used to sing DG a lullaby-" Merlin began.
"Good for DG!" Azkadellia snapped, recoiling at the harshness of her voice, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to- to snap at you…"
"Quite alright, Princess," Merlin chuckled, "your mother informed me of what happened, so it's understandable that you still bear a grudge against your sister." Relief flooded through Azkadellia as Merlin said this- at least he wasn't calling her a heartless bitch, like so many of the citizens in the O.Z. had so many times before.
"Well, Merlin," Azkadellia felt herself sniffling, "I thank you for checking up on me, but there really isn't-"
"Two little princesses…."
Azkadellia cocked her head as he began to whistle the all-too familiar nursery rhyme. She hadn't heard it in years, since she and DG were children. So how was it that this stranger knew it himself? Merlin smiled broadly at the recognition in her eyes, playfully bobbing his head up and down as he continued.
"Two little princesses dancing in a row-"
"How do you know that?" Azkadellia asked, "that nursery rhyme. How do you know it?" Merlins topped singing, his blue eyes brilliant in the moonlight that came in from one of the bedroom windows.
"Back in Camelot, where I'm from," Merlin explained, "my mother used to sing it to me when i was a baby." As soon as the words left his lips, a saddened look had befallen his features.
"Your mother?" Azkadellia asked. Merlin nodded, laughing nervously as he added, "Of course, I never really remembered my mother or the rhyme until a friend of mine sang it for her fiancé, the King." Azkadellia felt a small smile tug at her lips. While it was definitely a little cheesy, it was definitely sweet.
Of course, sweet never mattered to the Witch that tormented her every night. A shiver ran down her spine, and Azkadellia frowned, casting her eyes down at the blankets, the pale pink looking a ghostly white in the dark.
"Princess?" Merlin broke through her thoughts, "are you alright?" Azkadellia nodded, the frown deepening as she lowered her head to her pillow, tears dotting the corners of her eyes. She heard Merlin's heavy sigh, twitched as he grabbed the thin sheet serving as her blanket and pulled it up around her shoulders.
"Two little princesses," he began to sing softly, "dancing in a row…." Azkadellia felt his words caress her like feathers floating on the wind, it was so serene and gentle. She curled her legs towards herself as he continued to sing the song:
"Spinning round and freely…. on their little toes…"
Azkadellia could see the spinning dolls she and DG played with as children, flying like kites in the air. It was calming, seeing the white blur of the doll's skirt as she lay on her pillow.
Merlin's voice broke through her thoughts as he went on, "Where the light will take them, no one ever knows…" Azkadellia could feel herself grip the blankets tight, her knuckles shaking until she felt it. The warmth of Merlin's pam rubbing her back. She could feel a tear fall down her cheek to stain the pillowcase with a singe dot as Merlin then finished the song:
"Two little princesses dancing in a row…."
Azkadellia let her eyelids flutter shut, the het of Merlin's skin lingering on her back as he removed his hand. She could feel him push himself off the bed, hear his footsteps as he exited her room and slowly close the door behind him. Before she heard the lock, however, she listened as he said one last thing:
"May the witch never enter your dreams again. Good night, Azkadellia, and may your dreams be forever sweet."
Then the door shut with a click, and she knew Merlin had left her chambers.
That night, and every other night, for that matter, she never saw the Witch's face again, Merlin's voice playing in her head as she fell asleep.