Title: Seeking Solace
Disclaimer: All of the characters in this fiction are not of my creation.
Story Note: This idea just popped into my head. Symbolism flows through it. I might add on more chapters – it will depend on whether you liked this one or not.
Enjoy, and please review. :)
Sundays
Merlin likes nothing better than Sundays. No more mucking horses, no more running around, no more chores, no more of pratty Arthur. No more tripping over things – well, that isn't entirely true. He trips over things no matter what he is doing. "It just suddenly jumped up right in front of my feet. Honestly!"
But that's not what Merlin likes most about his Sundays. Those "Necessary Evils," as he calls them, would always be there, just like the sun and the moon - a never-ending cycle full of loves and losses, happiness and solitude… and surprises.
On Sundays, Merlin wakes up early. Early enough that there is no sleep in his eyes. As he opens his door, he hears Gaius's soft snores and he magically pulls up Gaius's blanket and smiles to himself, feeling content.
And then he exits the building and he sees the bright stars twinkling above him. He hears crickets break the silence and fill the darkness with music. Tonight, a barn owl flies overhead, and its shadow sweeps across the ground. A little rustle tells him that a mouse is nearby.
He passes through the silent square and his soft footsteps echo into the darkness. He passes the empty market-place and knows that when he returns, it will be crowded with bustling people selling their wares. In the morning, Merlin knows that Gaius will be gathering more ingredients for his potions; Gwen will wake up to find flowers outside her door, given anonymously, and smile; Arthur will oversleep again (that stubborn prat); Morgana will go on a long horse-ride through the woods; Uther will grumble about governing Camelot.
Tonight, Merlin walks through the sleeping city and sees silhouettes of the large castle fade away as he walks through the ethereal gates, out of Camelot and into a field of wheat - waiting to be cut - and up onto the hill.
He stops at its summit and lies down upon the moist ground and the dew soaks into his shirt, but he does not care, and he lifts his bright eyes to sky.
Half is now a deep, brooding blackness speckled with stars. Its opposite is morphing into a softer, lighter blue - the color of his own eyes.
Slowly, the sky sweetens and it is a juicy, glowing peach.
It bleeds, and is a bright, angry red, and gradually calms into a soft, pink.
The speckled darkness gradually gives in and soon blends into the other half – becoming a whole world full of light. Soft light. A sweet, tangible, glowing incandescence, and Merlin can just feel his magic tingle at the tips of his fingers.
No one is here. I am alone. I am safe.
I am.
Merlin sits up and hugs his knees and looks down upon Camelot, that honey city full of marvels, and he smiles.
My Destiny.
Ominous, overpowering, but at the same time, wonderful. A long journey with a slow beginning that never ends; a long journey full of surprises, perils, love, hate. A journey that he must take alone, and, along the way, learn. It is changing him in ways he himself cannot explain.
But he knows it is for the better; it is always for the better.
Merlin blinks and wipes away the dew that has formed on his eyelids. He doesn't bother drying his wet hair.
A bird sounds overhead, welcoming the new day.
It's a hawk.
Above the golden horizon, Camelot stands.
Sometimes Merlin weeps. Sometimes Merlin laughs. Sometimes Merlin just looks down upon Camelot.
Whatever he chooses to do, it is always alone.
No one will ever know and it will soon come to pass, like the sun and the moon and the stars.
Yes, this is inspired by me waking up around 4AM and watching the sun rise. It's wonderful. You should try it someday.