N/A: So here it is, as I promised, the first chapter of The Lost Boy Of Ealdor. Translation for this chapter belongs to my (beautiful) beta reader lilaclily00 whose helped me stay here and finish this journey. The next six chapters are available in spanish but will soon be translated to english (which is not my native tounge by the way); without more delay, here it is and I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I did writing it. Constructive comments/reviews are always welcomed. Thanks for reading! –BKS.
They looked at each other. Their eyes found each other for the first time in this version of reality.
His eyes were blue like the heavens. His hair was yellow like the sun, and his skin so soft and clean, it beckoned to be caressed.
"Are you lost?" the blond boy asked Merlin, who gawked at him as if he were an angel.
Merlin stayed silent as he appreciated the luxurious clothing of this evidently city-born citizen. Perhaps everyone in Camelot dressed so elegantly? It must be quite a wealthy city, nothing like his little village Ealdor.
'Mother,' he thought, 'where have you gone?'
The boy huffed. "Do you not know who you are speaking to? Or are you deaf? I asked if you are lost."
"Uh..." The black-haired boy cleared his throat so that it wouldn't sound as piping high as it usually did . "Yes, I lost sight of my mother as she was buying fabrics, and I ran here." He lifted his arms, motioning to the giant trees surrounding the two boys.
"These are my father's lands. Where do you hail from, villager?"
"Royalty must be treated with respect," his beloved mother told him once, "so if a member of the royal family speaks to you, you must kneel. Perish the thought of the terrible things they may do if you do not respect them!"
Immediately, Merlin collapsed his right leg to touch his knee to the ground, and bowed his head deep enough to collide with his left knee.
'Prince Arthur, of course! How stupid I was to not see it... Please do not cut off my head.'
"I am from a small village on the outskirts, Ealdor, my lord," mumbled the sickly boy.
He heard the steps of the young prince come closer, shiny boots crunching on the leaf-laden ground. 'Surely, he has a thousand servants shining his boots daily.'
"Stand. I will not punish you."
Merlin assented and got to his feet, trembling in the process. After regaining his posture, he stayed stiff and did not dare to breathe in front of the prince. He realized then, being so close, that they were almost the same height; Arthur was a smidge taller, likely due to the small heels of his boots.
"You appear to be very tense," said Arthur, a big, dazzling smile gracing his lips. "Relax, I will not harm you, nor will my father. Come with me; I will get a guard to escort you back home." He placed his gloved hand on Arthur's rigid shoulder, who finally relaxed (and became embarrassed) upon hearing these words.
"No, my lord, I am sure I can find my way home on my own."
"No no, do not question my decision." The prince replaced his hand with his full arm swung around the boy's shoulders. "You must be afraid to travel this forest all alone. My father would understand."
In the distance, Merlin could hear the clomps of trotting horses.
"Prince Arthur! Prince Arthur!" Merlin looked all around him, searching for the origin of the soft voice calling for the boy next to him. He searched for where Arthur's gaze lied over the dry leaves blanketing the forest ground, his blond hair sweeping side to side as he shook his head.
"Here I am, Sir Leon!" replied the prince.
'Please do not hurt me!' Merlin turned down his head and shut his eyes tight as the horses circled about them. Two of their riders, perhaps knights from Camelot, dismounted.
Slowly, Merlin opened one eye, then the other.
"My lord, you must not wander off. You do not know of the dangers lying in this forest! Your father does not want to see you hurt," spoke the man donning red hair and dressed almost, but not quite, as exquisitely as the prince.
'Sir Leon?'
"Do not worry so much, Leon. Nothing will happen to me."
"And who is this?" said the other knight, whose name Merlin did not know, like the boy's presence offended him.
"He is my new friend," Arthur replied rather defensively against his contemptuous tone, stepping forward. "His name is..." He turned to the boy bowing his head once again. "What is your name?"
"Merlin, my lord," he replied quietly.
"You heard him. I want you two to escort us to the castle; he must return to his home in Ealdor."
"But my lord, he is only a peasant," began the red-haired knight, but Arthur interrupted him.
"If you will not help me, I will accompany him home alone."
'Prince Arthur escorting me all the way to Ealdor?! What is he doing all this for?' Merlin asked himself, blinking hard in disbelief.
The two knights shared a look as Arthur waited for a response, his arms crossed impatiently.
"Well?" Arthur demanded, his tone making the hair on Merlin's neck raise.
Sir Leon opened his mouth to speak, then shut it. He opened it again to say, "We will travel towards the citadel, up to the castle, but I cannot predict what your father will do with him."
"I will convince him."
Just like that, Arthur mounted onto one of the horses alone, and Merlin was trying to process how he could reach that high up on such a large horse, when one of the knights pulled Merlin up by the waist, without warning, to place him onto their own horse.
"Steady yourself, lad."
Merlin nodded and settled into the horse's seat as the other knights guided their horses toward the citadel.
Arthur shot a complicit grin at his "new friend", the lost villager of Ealdor, and he returned it in kind.
'All this is left is that King Uther does not cut off my head."