Author's Note: This is my first Merlin fic! I hope you like it and constructive criticism or suggestions are always welcome! Enjoy! :)
Prologue (3rd Person)
'Ismay...'
Shifting slightly, the woman with dark hair turns to her right side and searches with her left hand for the missing blanket. Finding nothing, her long dark lashes flutter open to reveal a set of annoyed hazel eyes. Adjusting
to the lack of light, she turns back to her left to find another woman, her younger sister, curled up next to her on the large makeshift bed comprised of two cots. In a fetal position, the other woman's face can't be seen
because of her light brown hair crossing her face in a vast array of tangles. Sighing in annoyance, she reaches across and tugs on the blanket being hogged by her sister and wraps it around herself, making sure to keep it
around her sister as well. Laying back down, she scoots closer to her sister and closes her eyes.
'Ismay..."
Snapping her eyes open, she sits up in bed abruptly and frantically looks around to find the source of the voice. Jumping slightly when she feels a hand on her shoulder, she calms down when she sees her half-awake sister
staring at her in confusion.
"Ismay? What's wrong?" Her younger sister asks while clearing the light brown hair from her green eyes.
"Evie, you scared me! Don't do that again!" Ismay scolds furiously.
"Sorry. Why were you awake anyway?" Evie asks curiously.
"I heard my-"
'Ismay!'
Gasping and covering her ears, Ismay turns to Evie questioningly, "You heard that too, right?"
At her sister's confused expression, she grimaces and leaps out of bed to grab her worn-out brown cloak. Settling the warm cotton around her, she motions for Evie to do the same. Tip-toeing out of the room, Ismay glances
at Evie and puts a finger to her lips, a silent warning to be quiet and let Gaius keep sleeping. Reaching the door and pushing it open, they sneak out quickly to avoid the constant creaking that came with it. Rushing down
the steps and entering deeper into the castle, the women keep their eyes and ears peeled as they walk along the stone walls, elegant tapestries, and creepy statues.
Still avoiding Evie's confused expression, Ismay waits to hear the voice again as she mulls over the undeniable urge to investigate and follow her instinct. After a few moments, it's like when bad news hasn't sunk in yet and
there's a sense of just waiting- processing.
'Ismay!'
This time the voice doesn't scare her since she's expecting it. Instead, Ismay grabs a hold of Evie's forearm and violently pulls her along another hallway to reach the voice. Weaving through countless halls, the calls from
that strange unknown voice grow and Ismay finally puts a hand to her temples to massage them after reaching a set of stairs.
Catching her breath and seeing her sister do the same, Evie peeks over the railing to find two guards with red garb sitting on measly wooden chairs with tiny table in between them. Squinting through the dim torchlight,
Evie sees them playing with filthy and worn play cards along with a set of dice. Relaying the information back to Ismay with a grin, her eyes begin twinkling when she sees that they both came to the same idea. Ismay
steps forward quietly and silently commands the set of dice to move along the adjacent hallway causing the both the guards to adopt laughably confusing expressions as they chased after them. Holding in her own laughter,
Evie sees the same amusement flicker across Ismay's face.
Quickly reaching the torches, Evie grabs two unlit ones lying on the floor and moves toward the ones already held up by the wall. Lighting them both, the women hurry down the mysterious tunnel that exists past the
guarded door. Quickly stopping her sister from continuing as they come to a small cliff, Evie clutches Ismay's arm as they stare in fear at an empty cave.
"Hello! Is any-" Ismay begins before Evie slams her hand over her idiot sister's mouth.
"Do you have a death wish? Keep-!" Evie chastises in a harsh whisper before breaking off suddenly because of a whoosh right across from them.
Their eyes widen as a dragon almost the size of the cave itself lands upon a wide stretch of rock with scaly wings fully extended and sharp teeth bared. Frozen in place with their voices now lost, Kilgarrah watches the
women in amusement as their mouths open and close like fish.
Snapping back to reality first, Evie shoves Ismay in front of her like a peace offering and reveals a tense smile while she slowly backs away. Ismay, also recovering from shock turns around with a glare and grabs her caring
sister's wrist to pull her forward again. While eyeing the dragon in front of her, Ismay feels the strong presence of old magic in front of her- much like the feel of her own powers. As a sign of respect she lowers herself and
Evie to the ground and gazes intently at the dark abyss surrounded by rock.
"Ismay and Genevieve. It is an honor to meet you both. I am Kilgarrah," the Great Dragon's voice booms and echoes across the caves. Still sensing the women's discomfort, he lowers himself as well and folds his wings.
Ismay and Evie both share a glance with each other and shrug at the same time. Relaxing at the dragon's kind tone they realize immediately that they're in for a long night. Somehow, this dragon knows something about
them and probably wants something from them as well. Sighing, Ismay begins the interrogation.
"What are you doing here? I thought all the dragons were gone."
"No, not all of them. During the time of the Great Purge, Uther captured me and bid me to live below his castle. I am the last of my kind," Kilgarrah says with barely concealed venom.
"Well... I'm sorry about that. I can't imagine how that feels."
Evie finally speaks up and questions gently, "Me as well. But how did you know our names? And, I'm assuming you're the one that called Ismay?"
"You assume correctly. Both of you have been in Camelot for some time but I never felt the need to interrupt your lives until now. Something has changed, though. Tomorrow, a new arrival will awaken everyone's destinies.
That includes yours. Camelot has suffered under Uther's hands for a while. But his son, Arthur, is different. Under his reign, Albion- a kingdom of peace and prosperity among all- will live. Until that time, the young warlock
due to arrive tomorrow is destined to protect him. As are both of you."
Suddenly uncomfortable, the women look at each others' disheveled and sleepy forms then back at the dragon before bursting out in laughter.
"You can't be serious! No wonder he's in an underground cave! He's a lunatic!" Genevieve breathed out in between laughs at Ismay.
Ismay just laughed harder at that and held her empty hand against her stomach to soothe the pain her muscles were causing.
"ENOUGH!" Kilgarrah's voice booms out again.
Immediately the girls straighten themselves out and stare up in fear. Looking apologetic, they quickly mumble out their apologies and hang their heads.
"I wish I was only jesting. But the fate of everyone depends on the three of you keeping Arthur safe and guiding him to accept magic. Many have been persecuted for years and that is not something for you both to take
lightly."
"This kind of information is hard to swallow and I hope you understand that. We meant no disrespect. On the contrary, we've always wished we could change Uther's ways and save all those lives lost," Ismay reassures.
"I understand as well but I hope you don't expect us to believe you immediately. We would need to see it with our own eyes. For now, could you tell us whatever you can?" Genevieve questions, jumping right to the point
and with deep skepticism.
"Wait for the warlock, Merlin, before visiting me again. Befriend him and Arthur. The rest is for another time," Kilgarrah ordered.
Before anything else could be said, Kilgarrah extended his wings again and took off higher up the rocky caves. Evie and Ismay took in the sight of the now empty caves and the dwindling torches they each held. The journey
back to their chambers was a quiet one as their minds reeled with the new information. Sitting down on their beds, they both looked out the window wondering whether a world such as Albion could ever grace them.
By dawn, the sisters hadn't gotten any sleep since their strange encounter and had whispered their thoughts to each other. The only new arrival that they knew about was Merlin, Gaius's new assistant. The old physician
proved to be quite friendly with them ever since they'd arrived by themselves in Camelot all those years ago. He was now like a father to them.
With their silent agreement to visit Gaius and keep an eye on Merlin, Evie and Ismay began to dress in proper work clothing. Evie was an apprentice for Tom, the local blacksmith, and best friends with his daughter, Gwen.
Ismay was a singer in the minstrel, the on-call royal entertainment. And, since she wasn't needed today, she decided to spend the day with Gaius until the warlock arrived. If all went well and Merlin turned out to be who
they were looking for, she would at least have someone who understood what it was like to hide magic. Evie is always supportive but she could never understand. The two women looked at each other and their worn and
bland blue cotton dresses and smiled reassuringly.
"I know it's probably too soon but Kilgarrah was so genuine. I can't help but believe him. It's also pretty exciting, don't you think May? I've always thought that something was missing from our lives! It's not just that
though, I always knew that Uther's persecution couldn't continue. Even if what Kilgarrah says isn't completely true, maybe we can do something to bring peace, " Genevieve rambled excitedly.
Ismay had already expected her impulsive sister to be less skeptical but she also agreed. Her heart told her that the dragon's words were indeed true and she realized that she desperately wanted a time like Albion. The first
step, though, was Merlin. Nodding to each other, Evie quickly left the room to meet Tom at his shop while Ismay straightened out their room until she knew Gaius would wake.
They were lucky to have a room in the castle- especially one extremely close to the Physician's Quarters. Although, it was small, plain, and hardly decorated, it had become their world. Ismay, walking with purpose out the
door, just hoped that this world wouldn't come crashing down around them anytime soon.
Author's Note: Please tell me what you think! I'll probably change the POVs to first person and alternate between Evie and May. What do you think?