Echo!
The snow was falling furiously covering Camelot in a haunting crisp white sheet.
Arthur pranced around his chambers, the smirk on his face was taunting and child like.
"Oh come on Merlin it's Christmas, where is your festive spirit?" Arthur's tone harassed Merlin's thoughts.
The young servant stared coldly at the chambers walls, his expression like ice, a deathly sadness in his eye's.
"I just don't see the big deal with Christmas, it's not something I really care about" replied the servant through clenched teeth.
…….
Arthur picked up a branch of mistletoe and handed it to Merlin "go… go find some Christmas cheer" his face still plastered with a ridiculous smirk.
"Arthur, seriously don't…….. I'm not in the mood" snapped Merlin as he turned away from the Prince, ignoring the branch of mistletoe Arthur still had in his hand.
Arthur raised his brow and pouted his perfect, pale lips!
…….
The atmosphere in the room was thick with awkwardness.
Arthur lifted the mistletoe to his lips and tapped it gently against his nose.
"Mistletoe is meant to bring good luck….. I think, anyway" he gazed up at Merlin "apparently if you kiss someone under the mistletoe then you are meant to be with that person".
Merlin's gaze was fixed on the floor, he stood silent and still.
"Personally I think it's a little silly….. I mean one kiss under the mistletoe can't determine who you are supposed to be with…. Right" Arthur continued to speak but Merlin wasn't listening.
……..
Merlin's thoughts were elsewhere.
He was remembering his first kiss under the mistletoe, he played the memory over in his head like it was something he had only experienced yesterday.
He was 15 years old, she was a girl from a neighbouring village.
She was sweet, kind and she had a mysterious vale over her, she was beautiful in a majestic way.
Her eye's were as blue as the oceans, her skin was pale with a slight hint of rose upon her cheeks and her hair was dark like the earth.
He had met her out on a walk one day, he had been bullied by some of the boys in his village and he needed to escape, he needed to think and be alone.
Away from the taunts, away from the pushing and shoving.
………
He didn't fit in well in Ealdor, the villagers didn't understand his gift.
They looked at him as if he was pure evil, he was surprised he hadn't been dragged out of bed and tortured during the night.
Instead he was pushed around, called names and looked at with deathly stares.
It broke his mothers heart to see her son bullied and hated for just being different.
She knew deep in her heart that he would never fit in here and as soon as he was old enough for her to let him go she would send him to live with her friend.
Someone who could guild her son and nurture his powers, instead of bully him and cast him out.
…………..
Merlin walked out to the neighbouring village Eolvin, a small farming village like his own.
He walked slowly past the small field of golden crops, past the clearing that was covered with wild flowers and down to the small creek.
As he sat on a rock, his head in his hands, sobbing his heart out.
He heard a sweet voice "are you ok".
Merlin looked up and met her gaze, his red puffy eye's met her beautiful bright blue piercing eye's.
He felt weak, he had been caught crying by a girl.
"I don't mean to…" she studied the mysterious boy who was slumped on a rock, tears streaming down his face.
She kneeled in front of him and smiled up at him "I heard you crying, you're not from Eolvin are you" she asked her voice full of concern.
Merlin wiped his tears with his sleeve and sniffled, "no.. no I'm from Ealdor, not like they want me though" his words caught sharp in his throat.
He stared out into the distance, his face full of pain and loneliness.
"I am Earenella Dusqaune, but you can call me Earen" she smiled.
The young boy stretched his legs out to touch the ground.
"My name is Merlin" he replied with a warm smile.
…………..
Merlin sat with Earen for hours by the creek, telling stories and telling her about his mother.
"she sounds like a wonderful woman, I would love to meet her one day" Earen beamed.
She passed Merlin an apple and a flask with water in it "you should eat something" she smiled.
He felt his heart warming, he had at least one friend in this cruel world, a young girl he had just met.
…………..
Arthur stared at Merlin from across the room "do you care to share whatever exciting thought your having" he mocked as he tossed the mistletoe down on to his bed.
Merlin blinked and he felt a warm trickle run down his face.
"Merlin are you deaf" Arthur yelled.
"No I'm not…….. I just don't want to share my memories with someone who takes them for granted" Merlin snapped.
Arthur's eye's grew wide with shock, he narrowed his gaze at Merlin and coughed.
"What do you mean by that" he spat.
Merlin glared at the Prince, "Prince Arthur, most desired man in Camelot, you can have any woman you want……….. You wouldn't know a good thing if it hit you in the face" he growled.
Arthur's expression fell confused "Merlin, where has this come from?" Arthur's tone inquiring as to why his servant had suddenly gone off on a rage.
…………..
Arthur slowly made his way over to his servant and stood before him.
He caught sight of the tears and sighed "why are you crying" his eye's searching Merlin's sad face.
Merlin's lip trembled with pain, his eye's empty apart from the shimmer of salty tears that were welling up.
Arthur laid his hand on his servants shoulder and leaned down to his ear "I know I'm a brat but I can tell when someone is hurting, talk to me" he spoke in a soft gentle voice that made Merlin choke up.
…………..
Merlin pulled away from the Prince's touch and spun around and headed to the door.
Arthur's eye's followed his servant "Merlin.. Merlin come back" his voice echoing off of the chambers walls.
Merlin pulled the door open and ran down the hall back to Gaius' quarters.
The door swung open and Merlin hurried past the old physician. Gaius peered up from his potions and his eye's followed Merlin as he slammed the door to his room.
……………
Merlin laid upon his humble bed, he snuggled into the thin wool blanket that he used to cover himself at night.
His tears ran down his face and pooled onto the pillow that lay under his head.
His mind once again playing out his memories.
…………
Hunith turned to the door and smiled at her weary son, she had been cooking a special dinner of chicken and vegetables, she didn't have much food but she did the best she could.
The smell of roast chicken filled the room.
The fire was blazing making the small humble home glow.
Merlin guided Earen into the house to meet his mother.
Hunith smiled and greeted Earen with a warm hand shake.
Merlin gathered cups and set out the wooden plates on the table so his mother could dish out the food.
…………….
Merlin had known Earen a couple of months before he took her back to Ealdor to meet his mother, they were best friends and in Earen's heart she thought they were kindred spirits.
Neither one of them actually fitting in in their village and they both understood each other.
……………
Hunith was sleeping in the chair after wearing her self out cooking and preparing the dinner and setting the house up with fresh flowers and twigs of holly and mistletoe to make the place more festive.
"Mistletoe is meant to bring you luck" Earen commented with a grin.
Merlin cocked his brow "really" his face so naïve and innocent.
Earen picked a piece off of the mantle and stood before the young boy.
"There is also another myth that goes with mistletoe" she whispered into his ear.
Merlin leaned back in his chair and pulled a confused but very cute face "what myth?" his eye's bright and inquisitive.
Earen held the mistletoe above their heads and leaned into Merlin and gently kissed him on the lips.
The kiss lasted a couple of seconds, Earen pulled away with a smile "I guess we will have to see if the myth is true" she whipped with a soft laugh.
…………..
The door to Merlin's room slowly opened, Gaius stood with a dull expression on his face "what's happened now" he asked as he entered the room and took a seat on the end of the bed.
Merlin pressed his face into the pillow so Gaius could not see his tears or his red drained eye's.
"Merlin.. What did Arthur do now?" questioned the old man.
Merlin pictured Earen's face and he felt his heart break over and over again.
………………
"It's not Arthur" he managed to speak, forcing the words through his sobs.
The young man struggled up on his bed and sat slumped against the headboard, tears still streaming down his face.
"I hate this time of year and Arthur is insensitive" he spat.
"Arthur is insensitive every day of the year, what's so different about this time of year?" Gaius asked in a concerned tone.
Merlin let a slight smirk slip "he's not that bad, he just takes things for granted, things I would give anything for".
Gaius sighed "do you want to talk about it?, I'll listen".
Merlin squeezed his eye's closed and took a deep breath "it hurts so much to think about it" he said his voice breaking.
Gaius placed his hand on Merlin's leg "talking can ease the pain, so can crying".
Merlin slammed his head against the wall "it happened years ago, when I was 15".
Gaius nodded, listening intently.
"I met a girl, the most amazing girl I had ever known, Earen! She was from a neighbouring village" Merlin stared at the wall, concentrating, recalling the memory.
"Eolvin" Gaius asked as he straightened on the bed.
Merlin nodded, Gaius inhaled deeply and gave Merlin a knowing look.
"I'm so sorry Merlin, I……..I cant imagine.." he trailed off and fell silent.
Merlin watched the old man as he sat in silence.
"Eolvin was one of the biggest tragedies Albion has ever had to date and I'm so sorry you had to.." Merlin cut him off with a sharp growl.
"it's so unfair, every year I have to relive the pain and the loss" his face now full of anger as well as pain.
Gaius stared at the young man "you lost someone you cared about, but you must not let this ruin your life Merlin, we all lose people we care about" Gaius' words failed to comfort Merlin or even make sense.
"she was a child… we both were.. But we.. We had something" his words caught in his throat again.
"I went to her village on Christmas day to give her a present, a necklace I had made her and some flowers… when I got there the village was ashes.. The heat was unbearable, there was bodies everywhere" his tone growing angrier with every word.
"They killed a whole village, men, women, children, even animals. They stole food and trinkets and then burned it to the ground" he clenched his fists and gritted his teeth.
Gaius nodded knowingly "Earen died with them, that's why you hate Christmas".
……………………..
Arthur stood by his window, he felt a cool breeze sweep over him as his door opened.
Merlin stood in the door way, his face gaunt, his eye's swollen and sore.
His frail slender figure hovering in the door way.
"I just want to say I am sorry for…. Losing it with you" he spoke in a barely audible tone, but Arthur knew what he was on about.
"Merlin I am not the enemy" Merlin cut him off.
"I know and I'm sorry… Christmas has unhappy memories for me" he began to explain his feelings to the Prince.
…………………………….
Arthur picked up the branch of mistletoe and handed it to Merlin "I'm sorry for being an insensitive oaf, take this and keep it in her memory" his voice soft with compassion.
Merlin took the mistletoe and held it to his chest "we should have been together forever" he whispered.
Arthur backed off and left Merlin to his thoughts, memories of his lost love..