JessieLightyear - Hi everybody!
Merlin - well hi... person, um, where am I? What am I doing here?
JessieLightyear - Just read the card
*card magically appears in Merlin's hand*
Merlin - oh, um, 'JessieLightyear does not own the TV Show Merlin or any of the characters.' Wait what's a TV show
JessieLightyear *rolls eyes* - Big shout out to NationalWonder for putting up with my various butchering of the language.
Well I'm here now, Camelot.
The name should have sent me running – far away. I pulled my blue hood closer to my face. I walked through the market and looked at the people – my father's people. They were all ages and sizes. My eyes darted all around – a happy child running after his friends, a pair of men arguing over the price of something, a group of women swapping the latest stories. Everywhere I looked a new person was, and no two of them were the same.
Looking up, I saw the castle. It was gorgeous. Light stones shone in the afternoon sun as the rays reflected off the towers. A large wall surrounded the palace, attempting to bring fear, but only made me more in awe. I could hear men practicing with swords in the courtyard even from here. This was where my father lived? He certainly earned it, but it was still so massive. You could fit a dozen villages in it. I still couldn't believe who my father was. It had taken long enough to find him. I wasn't sure if I loved him for being my father, or hated him for killing my mother.
I shook my head to clear the cobwebs. I had to focus. I wasn't here to kill anyone; I was here to find out about what he did to her, and what happened after my mother left. I kept walking and bumped into someone, the action causing me to fall over. He was a little taller than me and had dark hair. His blue eyes looked worried. I pulled my hood up.
"I'm sorry," he said quickly.
"Don't worry about it; it was entirely my fault," I told him as I stood up and brushed my dress off.
"Are you all right?" He asked.
"I'm fine." This boy needed to leave. I didn't want to attract attention. I turned to walk away. He grabbed my cloak and I stumbled forward. I whirled around and gave him an evil eye. "I'm so sorry. I um-"
"What?" I snapped, trying to get away.
"It's just that I've never seen you before. Are you new in town?" I sighed.
"Actually, I am. I'm looking for a job," I said. I tried to leave again. He called after me. "Wait! Maybe I can help." I kept walking. He ran after me.
"Trust me, you've helped enough," I said over my shoulder.
"Merlin!" A new voice called. "Come back here, I need your help with these baskets.
"One second, Gaius," the boy responded.
"You should go help your friend," I said, but he started talking again. This boy couldn't take a hint.
"Look, to make a really long story short, I used to be Gaius's assistant, but then I started a job at the castle and now I don't have time to help him. Maybe you could help him," he suggested. I stopped and slowly turned to him.
"What does Gaius do?" I asked curiously.
"He's the court physician." The court physician! He would see the king many times, and maybe I would too. It would be the perfect chance to talk to the king about my mother! Wait; if the king found out about me, he might kill them for 'harboring a fugitive.' That stupid law was going to cause a lot of problems. I turned to say something, but was interrupted.
"Merlin, I'll not have you lollygagging all day. Now come along," an older man said. He had gray hair down to his shoulders and kind green eyes. He had some wrinkles, but they seemed more like laugh lines then signs of old age.
"Wait, Gaius, I'd like to introduce you to um, to uh-" I curtsied.
"I'm Ashlynn," I said to older man, who I assumed was Gaius.
"Good day to you Ashlynn. I'm Gaius. I'm sorry for any trouble Merlin has caused you."
I smiled at Gaius. The boy spoke up.
"Ashlynn just arrived in Camelot and I was thinking maybe she could be your new assistant." Gaius looked me up and down, as though my appearance would show anything about me.
"Do you know anything about medicine?" He asked.
"Just a bit," I answered. I knew a lot of healing spells, but I didn't know how to take the long way very well. "But I like to learn," I spluttered out hopefully.
"Maybe you could be some help," Gaius said. "Well, do you have a place to stay for the night?" He asked. I shook my head.
"You could stay with us," Merlin offered.
"Merlin," Gaius rebuked.
"We can't just leave her here."
"Well I am just fine with it. The rules of society would not approve of a strange woman staying with two men, one old enough to be her father and the other being you."
"Gaius..." Merlin said in a bit of a whiney tone. Something told me he would make me go insane.
"I'm sure I can find other arrangements," I said.
"What about Gwen? I'm sure Gwen would let her stay," Merlin suggested.
"Have you asked Gwen? Honestly Merlin, where is your head?" Gaius asked. I smiled: so I wasn't the only one who thought Merlin could be annoying.
"I'll ask her. I'm sure she'll be alright with it."
"The last time you invited a house guest to Gwen's house things did not go very well."
"Just give me a chance to ask her., Merlin pleaded. Gaius sighed.
"You're too stubborn for your own good, but alright. I'll have Lucie help me with the baskets."
"Thanks Gaius. Come on Ashlynn, you can meet Gwen," Merlin said, taking my hand and leading me into the crowd. I took my hand out of his.
"I can follow you just fine," I said indignantly. He gave me a half-smile and kept walking. I followed behind him.
We got to a home in the southern part of town where a girl about my age was working in the yard. It wasn't very big (maybe two rooms' size), but it gave off a feeling of home. Smoke was curling out of the chimney and floating away.
"Gwen, I'd like you to meet someone," Merlin said as he brought me closer to the house. The girl stood up and looked at us. She was very pretty. Her eyes were a dark brown that glowed against her light brown skin. Dark brown curls framed her face. She was a little shorter than me, but not by much. "Gwen, this is Ashlynn. She just came to Camelot."
"Hello," she said.
"It's nice to meet you," I replied.
"She might become Gaius's new assistant, but she needs somewhere to stay for tonight. Do you think she could stay with you?"
Gwen bit her lip. "Merlin, you've got to stop doing this," she said.
"I know, and I'm sorry, but she needs help." I bit my tongue to stop myself from blurting out that I wasn't some princess he had to help. The helpless act would help convince my father I wasn't a threat. With any luck, he'd never find out about my gifts. Gwen looked me over.
"Alright, but one night only," she said firmly. Merlin gave her a quick hug.
"You're the best Gwen." He turned to me. "I'll stop by in the morning and take you to Gaius's workshop.
I nodded. "Thank you," I said and curtsied. Merlin smiled and left. I sighed, and Gwen turned back to her work. "I'm sorry if I cause any inconvenience," I said to her. She laughed quietly.
"It's not your fault," she said.
"At least let me help you," I offered.
"You are my guest."
"You had no warning of my arrival, though. I insist," I said.
"Well alright," she said, standing up. "I'm going to get dinner started. Would you mind finishing the weeding?" She asked.
"Of course," I said, kneeling down in the garden. Gwen walked into her house. I started pulling out the weeds and smiled. Maybe this could work and I wouldn't die after all.
