A Night of Magic
Merlin walked across the court yard half in a dream, as he continued to plan the night ahead. It had been a busy day, with the last of the plans for the Five Kingdoms Conference that was coming up next week, finally being completed. It had been an arduous task, one that had taken so long that at times, Merlin had feared they would never get there. But finally a draft had been agreed, and all they needed now was the signatures of the various Kings. But that could wait, as tonight he had other plans in mind.
As he began thinking about his wife, so his mood began to lift instantly. He had been married to Mithian for fifteen months now. Their daughter Alana Hunith was coming up to her first birthday, and already Merlin could hardly believe how fast the year had flown by. She had been born in March, on a cold snowy night. Even now Merlin shivered at the memory, it had taken a good twelve hours for Alana to be born. But the moment she had arrived his world had changed dramatically.
Despite his busy days being Court Sorcerer, and assisting Arthur he always made sure he had time for Mithian and Alana. Not that Mithian would accept anything less; while entirely supportive of his position if he ever neglected his home duties, his young wife would gently remind him. He marvelled at how Mithian had instantly settled in to life at Camelot. He had feared she may be bored, but she always seemed to find something to do. Like Gwen she also insisted that she would have as much to do with her daughter as possible. Mithian and Gwen had bonded and Merlin would often come across them in the gardens, with their growing brood of children.
Gwen had recently given birth to Arthur's third child a girl, to go with her and Arthur's two sons. Merlin was delighted that Alana would have a natural play mate. As he watched Llaclan and Owyn with their rough and tumble games, he shuddered at his daughter getting mixed up in them. He was ever the protective father. He hoped Alana and Lara would bond just as their mother's had.
He ran up the stairs listening in at the door, as he heard Mithian's soft singing. He quietly closed the door, creeping over to where Mithian was trying to encourage her daughter to sleep. He could see Alana was on the verge of drifting off, so decided to leave Mithian to it. He began to put some stew in a pot, and added the herbs, he had brought with him. He needed to get them moving, or else it would be totally dark outside.
As the stew came up to boil he heard Mithian come up behind him, smiling as he felt her lips softly kiss his neck. He felt insanely happy as she rested her chin on his shoulder caressing him softly on the cheek.
"That smells so lovely." Mithian sighed, "I have never been much good at cooking stews."
"No of course not." Merlin laughed, "You were born a Princess, you have people to cook for you."
"That doesn't mean that I didn't have cookery lessons." Mithian said, "We all learnt the basics, my brother Iwan almost burned the castle down, having one of his lessons."
Merlin laughed, "Well I am sure you were better than him. Sit down I will get us a drink, we need to toast your special night."
Mithian sat down, a luminous smile on her face as she watched Merlin bring two goblets.
"All day I've been wondering what you have in store for me." Mithian said, "In fact Gwen and I were trying to guess."
"Well you can rest assured it will more spectacular then Arthur's plan for Gwen's last birthday." Merlin laughed.
"Poor Gwen, mind you she still laughs about it." Mithian smiled, taking a goblet from her husband.
"Here's to you Mithian, for a special night, for a special person." Merlin said, touching her goblet.
"Thank you. I am so excited I feel like a little girl again." Mithian giggled, "Are you sure Gwen doesn't mind looking after Alana for us."
"Mind?" Merlin asked, "She almost bit my hand off at the chance, between you and me I think she finds Alana less of a handful then her own."
"Well Lachlan and Owyn are growing fast now, how do you keep up with two growing boys." Mithian asked. "A couple of years down the line we could be in the same position."
Merlin made a face. "Please don't even joke about it."
"Who was joking?" Mithian asked, before bursting out laughing at her husband's face. "You are so easy to tease my sweet."
"You sound like Arthur." Merlin grimaced.
"So what are you planning tonight?" Mithian asked.
"Once you take Alana over to Gwen, we can get on our way." Merlin answered elusively, determined not to give any clues away, this would be a night of surprises for his wife.
He grinned as he watched her hurriedly getting her daughter out of the cot and carefully wrapping her in the blanket, Gwen had made for them. He bent over his daughter's face, and saw she was fast asleep, and he gave her a brief kiss being careful not to wake her. As Mithian closed the door, he put a few things in his bag, and prepared some water skins for them. They would need these, as he intended them to walk a bit of the way.
By the time Mithian had burst through the door again he was waiting for her, with Mithian's shawl in his hands. He helped her to put it on, doing up the button at the front and giving her a quick kiss, before grabbing her hand and pulling her out of the door.
"We will have to walk a bit of the way." Merlin said, over his shoulder as he strided across the court yard.
"Why don't we take the horses?" his wife asked, suddenly puzzled. She was a fine horsewoman and loved nothing more than going for a ride.
"Where we're going we've no need of horses." Merlin explained, his voice loud on the evening air.
"What do you mean no need of horses. Everyone needs horses." Mithian corrected him.
Merlin tittered, "I don't think so."
"You don't like riding you told me." Mithian pointed out. "So maybe it's different for you."
"Look at this place." Merlin said his arms out wide. "The forest is a different place at night, you will see. There are things you only notice at night; that is why it is so special."
Mithian smiled, grabbing her husband's arm. "I love you when you are like this." She said, happy to let him lead the way.
Merlin put his arm around her and pulled her to him. It was not the first time he had taken his wife out with him at night. He loved to show her his magic, and how it became even more natural and unexpected. The forest came alive with its own form of magic, and Merlin never tired of showing Mithian things she would never have noticed before.
"Look." He said, pointing up ahead of them. "That is a Bay Worm."
"A Bay Worm, it doesn't look like a worm." Mithian said, watching it glide by.
"It is actually a type of dragonfly, the only one that flies at night." Merlin explained.
"You are a fountain of knowledge." Mithian smiled, fondly at her husband.
"Not really." Merlin laughed. "But when I was a boy I loved staying out late and finding out about nature. Where I lived there was a really big forest which had so many unusual creatures in it. I would never tire of watching them and learning all I could about them."
"That sounds like heaven." Mithian sighed. "When I was a young girl I wasn't aloud out on my own at all. I had to be accompanied at all times by my personal body guard. He was quite old so really didn't like to be out after dark. I would have given anything to do what you did."
"When Alana is older we will bring her with us and discover the world together. " Merlin promised.
"That would be lovely." Mithian smiled.
The trees were becoming more evenly spaced as the forest proper began, the recent rains had made the ground wetter, so Merlin began to slow down a bit, making sure his wife was behind him.
"We need to be careful the ground is a bit wetter here." Merlin said, holding Mithian's hand and pulling her carefully up onto a grass bank, by an old oak tree. There was a mass of trees around the older tree, taking what natural light that was now left from the evening. Knowing that there was some more awkward ground ahead, Merlin came to a halt. "I think we could do with a bit more light." Merlin said, holding his hand upwards. He loved performing his magic in front of Mithian, she was always so stunned by it. Even now he couldn't believe he could perform it so openly. He could barely stop himself from smiling, as he prepared himself, he could sense Mithian waiting excitedly by his side.
"Leoht." He said softly, as Mithian let out a gasp as a light appeared on Merlin's hand. "There we are. Now we can see where we are going." He said, a grin on his lips.
"You are so clever." Mithian laughed, clapping her hands together. "You make magic seem so natural somehow."
"For me it is." Merlin said, "I am magic simple as that. I would not be who I was without my magic."
"Do you think our daughter will have magic?" Mithian asked.
"I don't know." Merlin answered, though he too wondered.
Nothing would give him greater pleasure than teaching his daughter about magic. He hoped that she too would have something of the gift, but even if she didn't he knew she would grow up loving it anyway. He was determined there would be no secrets between him and his family. He would often marvel at just how miraculous it was that he had got through his time at Camelot, with his secret intact. It was not something he would ever want to go through again.
Telling Arthur about his magic had been a difficult thing to do. It had caused his friend great hurt as well. But he had eventually accepted it, and to Merlin's delight had in the end reversed the ban on magic. People had been stunned to begin with; there had been rows with certain Lord's especially the older ones, from Uther's time. But the young King had stood firm, and eventually the secret about Merlin had come out. He had hated that time, and had felt very awkward, as people stared at him, and talked about him in whispers.
One of the first people who had accepted him from the start, was Mithian. She had also been curious and they had shared a couple of conversations where Merlin had explained his magic to her. As he explained all about his life, it felt somehow natural, she was a good listener, and asked only intelligent questions. He soon began to look forward to meeting up with her, where they always found time to talk together. He found it strangely easy to have a conversation with her. They could talk about anything, and he never got tired at looking at her lovely face. By the time he realized he had fallen in love with her, he wondered about whether he dared take it any further.
He'd had a problem with Arthur when he told him about wanting to marry Mithian. Arthur had pointed out that Mithian was a Princess, and he was a mere "Court Sorcerer" an ordinary boy from a country village. But Merlin had already talked it over with Mithian, as she had an older brother it was he who would take over ruling Nemeth. Mithian had also pointed out that her marrying someone from Camelot's court would strengthen the bond that already existed between the two Kingdoms. Anyway Mithian had assured Merlin that she would be able to talk her father around. She was true to her word, within a few weeks Merlin was officially courting Mithian.
After an engagement of six months their marriage had taken place, it had been a grand occasion; one that Merlin would never forget. His mother had come over from Ealdor to witness her son's marriage. She had immediately bonded with her daughter-in-law, and Merlin knew every thing would be all right. By the time Alana had been born, he was living the dream; he found it hard too believe how his life had turned out. He felt the luckiest man who had ever lived. He only had to remember the year before, when he was saving Camelot from Morgana's clutches; but now he was a married man with a beautiful wife and child. So much had happened to him, he was sure he would never be as happy again.
"How far are you going to make me walk on my special night, Court Sorcerer." Mithian demanded, as she prodded her husband on the shoulder.
"Oh maybe another five miles." Merlin replied, amusement in his features. "It is not much further than that."
"Five miles, you had better be joking." Mithian laughed.
"What makes you think that?" Merlin asked, before pointing up ahead. "Did you see that?" A flash of light disappeared past them.
"Yes I think so, what was it?" Mithian asked, standing by her husband's side leaning into the darkness.
"A very special thing, you will see more of them, where we are going." Merlin explained, mysteriously.
"You are a man of mystery tonight." Mithian sighed. "I hope this place of yours is going to be spectacular."
"I can honestly say you will have never seen a place like this before." Merlin promised, hugging her to him.
"I am liking the sound of this." Mithian smiled back.
They continued to walk Merlin pointing at things once in a while. He could sense now that Mithian was totally at ease. She followed his excitement as he showed her the ways of the forest at night. He had picked the right night for it, as everything seemed to be as one as they walked further and further into the forest. They walked over little streams, and darted through woodland paths, their eyes getting used to the dark now. As he pulled her up a small high path, he could sense a little bit of tiredness, and took pity on her.
"I think you have walked far enough, about time I called our help for the journey." Merlin said, a grin on his face, as his wife regarded him quizzically. But Merlin was already beginning the spell, his hands extended out before him. His words spilled out onto the soft evening breeze, and suddenly up ahead there was a ray of light.
Merlin turned to Mithian who by now had her eyes on the light ahead of them. As the figure of the creature walked slowly towards them, he didn't have to look at her, to sense the wonder in her, he could feel it everywhere. He watched as her smile grew wider, and laughed softly as she gave a gasp as she realized finally what it was.
"My god Merlin it's beautiful." Mithian whispered. "I have never seen a unicorn before, it is so beautiful."
Merlin took his wife by the hand and led her over to it. The creature allowed Mithian to stroke its nose, softly.
"Your carriage awaits." Merlin smiled, as he carefully lifted his wife onto the animal's back, before joining her. He softly eased the unicorn onwards, pointing out the flying glow-worms that passed them by. Merlin could sense the magic pulling them towards the special place he had always wanted to show her. Pretty soon the air was full of flying figures buzzing around their heads, making them feel almost dizzy, as their eyes tried to follow them.
"They are a type of fairy. They are very important to the place, we're going too. They act as guardians to it, and protect it from any alien forces." Merlin explained, carefully pushing one away from his eye line.
"I can almost sense something." Mithian said, uncertainty in her voice, she looked at her husband a little fearfully.
Merlin laughed and kissed her. "It is just their magic, nothing to worry about we are entering their world now. It is like walking through an enchanted wood, suddenly you know you are entering a new place, different from your own. As long as we respect their ways we will be fine."
The unicorn walked on, before coming to a stop. Up ahead of them they could hear running water, after a brief respite the unicorn began to move closer. As the water became nearer they could feel the spray from it, wet their faces. Before they knew it they were right by it, and both of them laughed as the beauty of the place revealed itself to them in its full glory. The unicorn had come to a stop, and Merlin jumped off it's back, before helping Mithian down.
He led her over to the clearing up ahead, and suddenly Mithian could see the enormous waterfall, guarded by the long grass, and swaying trees and the magical guardians who flew around their heads, before making for the water. He could feel his wife rest her head on his chest taking it all in. He let her look around and get used to the wonder of it. Then he leaned towards her and whispered.
"Welcome to Gwynfa."
To be continued.
6