The situation was unbelievable. It really was. How on earth he'd managed to get into such a ridiculous situation he would never understand. He was glad Merlin was here with him though – despite the fact that he didn't quite know how the boy survived. When all Arthur's companion knights fell and he himself was captured, Merlin wasn't killed – he was simply brought with him. The ambushers were hard to read, they were silent and harsh and Arthur hoped that the feeble plan forming in his head would work. He glanced at Merlin who, with his bloodied face and blood stained shirt looked as terrible as he felt, and he felt a slim ray of hope – Merlin was always there and if Merlin was there then Arthur would remember who he was; he would remember and he would fight for his honour, for his friends, for Camelot and for Gwen (even if she did refuse to love him).
They walked for hours, well – they were dragged for hours with their arms tied behind their backs and their torsos regularly beaten with a large whipping stick by their captors. Arthur despised the undignified weakness of it all but he was working out his escape plan and he held onto his fragile hope.
After what seemed like days but was a matter of mere hours they trudged into a makeshift camp in the forest. Mud soiled their clothes and leaves decorated their hair as their tunics were torn from the snagging branches of the grasping trees they had passed. Simply – they were a mess and their sore, weak bodies feared another beating.
"Ah! And the company returns triumphant I see!" A voice called from beyond the broad man stood in front of Arthur.
"Sir, we have the Prince Arthur and his servant Merlin." The man – who was obviously the leader of the ambush party replied and the voice chuckled in answer,
"Well tie them to that tree Brovin, I have another matter to deal with first." Arthur stumbled as he and Merlin were dragged to a nearby oak tree and tied side by side.
"Hmmn, any chance of escape then sire?" Merlin asked in a vain attempt at his usual manner, Arthur simply looked at him and then returned his attention to the clearing of tents they were situated on the outskirts of.
The voice belonged to the man who was clearly the leader of this camp. He was tall and his shaggy black hair framed his piercing blue eyes as he turned elegantly towards a commotion from the left side of the camp. Arthur allowed his eyes to also drift to the area and he saw a hunched figure being dragged into the arena. His eyes took a moment to register that the beaten, weakened creature was a young woman whose ragged brown hair lay brush-like around her gaunt face. A sharp intake of breath tore his eyes from the woman to Merlin as his ears caught a whispered sentence,
"No. Please please no." Puzzlement pierced Arthur's heart but the stricken pain in his servants face stopped him from probing.
"Oh my little warrior girl, we have met before – I do believe?" The girl was forced to her knees and a rough hand entwined itself in her ragged brown hair and heaved her face skyward so that her vivid forest green eyes met the ice blue ones of the leader. Arthur waited for her reply, as did the rest of the camp, but all that was received was a stony silence, "You will answer me." The leader commanded and the young woman did so, she projected the ball of spit so that it landed at the very toes of his boots. Fury flitted across his face and his pale hand reached out, snapping a smack across the woman's delicate face. Merlin whimpered and Arthur began to wonder whether he knew the girl in question.
"Speak child!" The leader roared and the whipping stick came down heavily on her slender back. Her whole body rippled with the aftershock and a ragged gasp ripped its way from her throat but she still refused to speak. "Speak to me girl!" There was a slow intake of breath and then a sweet, tuneful voice roughened and made hoarse by the pain of her beatings filled the camp clearing,
"I should not speak to one so arrogant as you sir." The hand returned to her face and left her cheek flaming once more, "I should not speak to one so arrogant as you, sir, if you refuse to talk to me as your equal for I am a human being and not some creature placed here for your tortuous pleasure." The leader laughed once more at her speech,
"You are not of this world girl; you are not my equal."
"I am as much of this world as you, sir, my very essence belongs to this world and I have more connection to this earth than you would dream of." The leader stopped in his tracks for he had been pacing the earth,
"If you are so noble then show me your equality."
"Oh no." Merlin's whimper was audible only to Arthur and it simply increased his curiosity. He felt this inquisitiveness conflicting with another emotion though – his anger – as this girl was obviously being ill-treated and abused.
"Very well sir. My equality to you or to mankind?"
"To me." The smirk was evident in his voice,
"Then you asked for this punishment and I hold you responsible for your men." The young woman bowed her head and the man behind her fell. She twisted her body and tugged the knife from its sheath within his boot and this she proceeded to send in a small spin which – when it landed point down – cut the bindings from her wrists and then she stood.
She was not tall, nor did she look particularly strong but there was an aura of power surrounding her and then the battle commenced. She placed her bare foot against the chest of the man whose knife she had stolen and she plunged the knife through his heart. She then removed his sword and tested the weight in her hand. She nodded her head, seemingly satisfied and then swung in a lightening quick movement to parry a blow from another man.
The fight was swift and bloody but there was an elegance to it as it seemed like the woman was dancing as she twirled and twisted. She leapt into the air, reaching a height no normal man would ever be able to reach and she landed behind an opponent whom she then impaled on the blade. Soon, the dance was over and the men who had been immediately involved in the fight were dead, their blood staining the earth around them. There was a roar of fury and the woman looked up to see another man running at her. She twisted just in time to parry his blow and they began to dance. Their bodies connected and distanced as the blades became blurs. The girl turned, bringing her arms up to parry a blow aimed at her shoulder and her forest green eyes connected with the deep blue ones of Merlin. She seemed not to see Arthur as the world froze and – for a moment – she stared at the boy as if he were the most precious thing in the world. Then he momentum carried her round and the spell was broken. She drove her sword horizontally through the mans waist – cutting him in half. She then bowed to the leader who had backed away, ashen faced and shaking.
"I am more worthy than you sir." She said and she ran to the two young men tied at the tree.
"Stay still." Was all the warning she gave before forcing the sword through the ropes and releasing them, "now RUN!!" She commanded, pushing Arthur in front of her and trusting that Merlin would follow.
They ran for their lives.
When their weak, fatigued bodies finally refused to go on they slumped to the ground in the shade of another oak tree.
"I am Prince Ar-"
"Yes." She cut him off, "I know who you are sire and I apologise for my disgraceful appearance." Arthur smiled weakly,
"Yes, well...this is my servant Merlin."
"Merlin." The young woman repeated the name and felt its power on her tongue, "my Merlin." She whispered. "I am Aella Serenity Vildher. I am the lost child of the Seranuov Vestium." Arthur's confused expression remained and Merlin elaborated,
"The Seranuov Vestium, also called the Serenity Warriors were a clan of guardians." When no understanding dawned Aella continued,
"The Seranuov Vestium protect the people and creatures of their worlds. I am the Lost Child – I protect several worlds as my birth world is unknown. It is said that I will know my home when I know my love but I will always be under the guardianship of the seven worlds of lost magic. These are the worlds in which magic is banned, feared or misused; it is my employment to correct the imbalance when things go wrong and this I have been doing for fifty five years. As the Lost Child I remain in the image of a seventeen year old girl until I know my home." Arthur was finally beginning to understand,
"So, you're called Aella Serenity Vildher, you are at least seventy-two because you've been working for fifty-five years, you're the Lost Child, you guard several worlds of lost magic and you belong to the Seranuov Vestium."
"Yes." Arthur then realised that Merlin and Aella hadn't spoken to each other ; he recalled Merlin's reaction to Aella's appearance and Aella's look during battle as well as the way she had caressed his name.
"Hold on; if you only know your home when you know your love then why are you so at ease here?"
"Because I am at home." She replied simply, before Arthur could ask any more questions she stood.
"Do not force me to damage you as I would have to if you take action against my use of sorcery but I have not enough strength for a fight and we have company." She said this so directly, that Arthur took a moment to realise what she had said and by that time her hands were moving in a fluent, uninterrupted pattern. No words came from her mouth but her hands never stopped and the wind began to change course around them. It stirred up the leaves from the forest floor and formed them into the shape of a woman. A commotion came from the other side of the leaf woman and then a small group of men carrying weapons of various disguises became visible. The halted at the sight of Aella's woman and then they watched as if mesmerised by the beauty of the leaves as the woman danced before them. As Aella's hands weaved their pattern the men became more and more hypnotised and suddenly, the dancing stopped. The leaves fell abruptly back to the floor, the wind stilled and the men fell with the leaves to the earth.
"You shall not know who I am. You shall not remember this event and you shall not speak of your experience to another living creature, stone or droplet of water. The wind, earth and fire will hear no speech of this or you shall suffer at the hands of the whirlwind of serenity. You should become like newborns if you do not obey this command and so the choice is yours. Sleep until morning my dear children." Aella finished her monologue with a kiss blown to the fallen men and then she motioned for Arthur and Merlin to follow her.
They reached a wooden hut after some hours and there Aella spoke again to Arthur,
"Do not seek to punish me for the events back there sire. I did not harm the men, I gave them a new beginning. I am Aella Serena Vildher which is translated into Whirlwind Serenity Wild-one. I am strong in my connection to the wind and yet I seek not to bring harm with my powers but to bring peace and serenity to the worlds I guard. I am known as the Wild-one for I am the Lost-One, I am untameable and I am the strongest of my race. I am the powerful child of the Seranuov Vestium and I am cast out because of this. I have never known my parents and I have no siblings, I was educated by an old man in between the worlds who taught me the art of the fight and the skill of magic. I wish only to correct an imbalance present in this world – it is an imbalance of darkness and I must correct it with actions of light unless the world should fall into the darkest oblivion. I mean no harm sire and I should finish my business as soon as is realistically possible." Arthur looked at the young woman,
"What do you do when the worlds are in balance?"
"I practise my skills." A sadness crept into the forest eyes, "It is lonely to be the Lost Child." Unbidden, Merlin stepped forward and took her delicate hands in his, their skin tones were exactly the same shade of creamy white,
"You are not lost any more Aella. You are home."
"Yes." She smiled and Arthur forgot about her filthy hair, her bloodstained clothing and her soiled boots, he simply saw the ray of pure happiness that connected Aella to the world and to Merlin and he felt overwhelmed – and slightly awkward.
"You are home?" Arthur asked, knowing he was being stupid,
"Yes. I am home because I am with Merlin."