"Gaius, have you seen Merlin?" I can hear Arthur asking in a tired tone.
"He's still asleep, sire."
I give myself a frustrated sigh just before getting out of bed. 'He wants me to go and prepare the horses.' I walk out into Gaius' chambers and I look up at Arthur. "No, I'm not. Not anymore at least." I run a hand through my black hair trying to untangle the bed head I gained from sleeping. "Let me guess, you want me to prepare the horses?"
"Exactly. We've gotten reports of a sorcerer near Camelot. She seems to have been turning the villagers and some of the knights into children or infants...by the way, Gaius, have you found an effective way to stop her?"
"Typically you would need to fight magic with magic, however, with the way the spell is, you would have to get her to reverse the spell or enchantment herself. you cannot kill her. If you do, the spell becomes permanent."
"Great, a criminal we can't kill...just what Camelot needs right now. Alright, ready Merlin?"
"No, I'm still in my night clothes. Give me a moment." I walk back to my room and change into my day clothes. After that I grab my satchel and pack it with the necessary things such as bandages, salve, herbs, three needles, two spools of stitching thread, two rags, three small glass bottles of a special mixture gaius made to immediately counteract pain, and lastly a pouch of water. "Alright, let's go." I yawned.
"Merlin, I'm the prince. You don't give me orders." I watch him cross his arms and I can't help but shake my head in disbelief.
"Arthur, I'm tired, it's not even dawn yet, and we have to go catch a criminal. Now, you can stand here being a royal prat all day, or we can go catch ourselves a sorceress with a liking for children. Either way, let's go."
Without waiting for an answer I head down the stairs and out towards the stables. I set my things down and begin to prepare the horses. I grab my favorite one first. She is a beautiful black horse and if you look close enough there are small hints of white and silver throughout her fur. She's the only horse that hasn't bucked me off and I don't have to run after her if the reigns get loose. "You're a good horse, Millie."
After I finish the fastening I tie her to the nearby post and begin on Arthur's horse. His horse has a tendency to go backwards sometimes, which I find funny, but Arthur has told me to never speak of it again...even though it keeps happening. He's tame with me though. I place the padding on his back before the saddle, because in one of the last battles with a few sorcerers his back got slightly cut on his back and towards a few ribs. So, Gaius helped make a special padding and saddle for him and he is no longer in any pain while being ridden. He is also healing rather well. At least a week more and he'll be fully healed. "Merlin, how dare you walk away from me like that?" 'And he's back.'
"You have to admit, I had a point." I saw as I finish the final fastening on Arthur's horse.
"Even so, you can't address me like that."
"Do you remember what happened last time you said that to me?" I can feel the mischievous smirk appear on my face, and I can't stop it.
"Whatever, just...get on the horse."
"Yes, Sire." I smile as I attach my satchel and get on my horse.
As we ride out I realize that we're taking the path that leads to the valley of the fallen kings. "Merlin, you've been awfully quite."
"Why wouldn't I be? Like I said, I'm tired and we have to catch a crazy sorceress. My silence seems like a good way to go. So, is she in the Valley of the fallen kings?"
"That's where she was last seen. Let's just hope we can convince her to reverse the spell. I don't think I can stand the thought of either of us becoming a toddler."
"You and me both. You're already enough trouble now...and I hate to admit it...but I was definitely trouble as a toddler."
Apparently that got his attention, because I could sware I heard the gears in his head turning. "How were you a troublesome child?"
'What do I tell him? I could be honest or I could tell a lie...Well, this seems harmless so I'll go with the truth.' "I would play pranks on the other children and some of the adults. I would get into mischief and I would succeed without having to try. Later on I learned how to behave more but I was about eight or nine."
"Well, well, well, Merlin!" 'I can hear the grin. I don't have to see it...I can hear it.' "Who knew you had it in you! So, who stopped your mischief?"
"My mother. She wouldn't scold me but she made it rather clear that what I was doing was hurting other people and that it was no way for someone like me to act."
"Someone like you?"
"A um...country boy who worked the fields. She um...feared they wouldn't trust me when I became old enough to sell what I harvested. She taught me how to be a gentleman."
"But not how to address royalty?" He scoffed.
"No, she did. I just don't care to treat you like that." We both laughed, and that laughter we sometimes share...I've come to realize it's a sort of understanding between us to tease the other this way. He knows I'll probably never formally address him unless it's in front of his father or Gaius, but we still joke about it from time to time.
"Well, if it isn't Arthur Pendragon and...his servant." A woman came out, she had to me no older than thirty with long honey brown hair and wearing a light purple dress with druid markings flowing to the bottom of the dress. "I suppose you've come to ask me to reverse my spell."
"His name is Merlin, and yes."
"Apparently, and no. Once I've accomplished my goal, I will stop the spell and everyone will return to normal or until an important realization has occurred. I know what it is...do you?" She spoke in an ancient tongue and we were surrounded by blue and red smoke just before I pass out.