Merlin

Episode 4.03: The Wicked Day Rewrite

The Spirits' Secrets

Prologue

It was cold. Merlin was resting down somewhere, his bare back pressing against cobbles stones. He shivered involuntarily, gasping as he attempted to curl into a fetal position. But why was he here?

The pale fingers twitched slightly as memories flooded in.

The Dorocha… Arthur screaming… Merlin walking up to a torn veil… and then falling back, a great golden flash erupting through his eyelids…

Merlin's eyes flew open. He had died… He had willingly sacrificed himself to the spirit world. He propped himself up, and looked down. The first thing he noticed was that he was stark naked and seemed to be placed in a misty courtyard.

The second thing he noticed was his unblemished skin, a pale radiance glowing from his body. His chest was no longer marred from the countless scars he received while he served Arthur – Nimueh's fire ball to the chest, the serket sting, even countless other scars he received from random run-of-the-mill assassins or bruises created from the sorcerers who threw him against the wall. All of his mistakes, his accomplishments, his stories – all gone. Merlin looked almost sad as he lifted his hand to his eyes.

He didn't look like a spirit, per say. Just a weird, glowing naked man. In the middle of a courtyard. If that didn't spell bizarre, maybe the giggles that rose into the early morning air did.

Merlin glanced up, squinting towards the sound source as he clambered onto his feet.

"Ooh, look sis! It's another lost one!" A voice seemed to whisper from his right. Merlin turned around, rapidly.

"No, this one's special. Not just another lost soul…" Another voice contradicted. The voices were childish, as if they belonged to toddlers.

"Well, he is somewhat handsome. Handsome and – " Oh, wouldn't Gwaine be proud. Merlin's eyebrows shot up into the air, as he self-consciously tried to cover himself.

They started to giggle again, and Merlin felt himself blushing. The fog was starting to clear, and Merlin found himself squinting again to see more clearly.

There were two girls, barely five years old. One had brilliant golden locks that fell to her shoulder. She wore a green gown that reached up to her knees, accentuating her tan skin and her emerald green eyes. The other was pale – deathly pale. She was adorned in a long black dress that was full sleeved, a dark cloak flowing behind her. Her long silky hair would have fallen down to her ankles had she not tied it up with a silver band. Both of the girls were twirling gracefully around each other in hypnotizing dance – as if they were going through a ritual.

Their arms waved around in a childish clumsy manner. Yet they still possessed a grace Merlin had never seen before. As they danced, the golden chains around their necks lashed out, the crescent moon pendants almost touching each other, but never quite making it.

And then there was a third, standing slightly farther away from the other ones. Judging from her stance, she looked more mature, like an older sister. She was dressed in a satin red dress embroidered with gold lacing that flowed past her knees. Her caramel brown hair was neatly tied into a loose braid, intertwined with golden and silver threads. A silver disk hung around her neck, magical aura emanating from it.

The two girls stopped dancing, as they watched the warlock approach them. The raven-hair looked at him, smirking amusingly as her eyes fell down. Merlin turned scarlet red, and took a couple of steps back, hoping to god that the fog covered him.

"Really, sister?" The green-dress was shaking her head. "Can't you tell he's uncomfortable like that?"

The raven-hair laughed in return, a cold high-pitched giggle that seemed unnatural given her age. "It isn't the first time we've seen a naked man…"

"I think we should help him," Green-dress said, before snapping her fingers. Merlin looked down. He was now clothed in the most hideous, oversized yellow robes ever to be imagined.

"Yellow? Seriously?" Raven-hair asked. "I think he prefers being naked. Let me help." Another snap, and the yellow turned to rich black, fitting themselves around the startled warlock. Merlin looked up gaping. Neither of the girls used any incantations, nor did their eyes turn gold when they created clothes from thin air; all that happened was a warm hum and a slight glow from their pendants.

"Black," Green-dress said, shaking her head, as if she was disappointed in her sister's choice. "Fine. Have it your way. But let's just add the 'essence of the Universe' on there, shall we?" Another snap, and this time his robe was sparkling – as if stars from the heaven were placed onto his robe. Planets orbited the suns, entire galaxies were being formed, and others destroyed. The cosmos itself seemed to be plastered onto the satin surface. A comet zipped past his shoulders and out of his sleeve. Merlin couldn't help it, the robe was beautiful beyond description. "Oh! And we definitely need a hat!"

He felt something heavy on his head, and Merlin reached up, pulling the hat down. It was the same rich material, twinkling with stars. The only thing Merlin didn't like, was the shape – it was pointed – a conical hat. Merlin shook his head. Unbelievably, Green-dress had an even worse fashion sense than Prince Prat.

Raven-hair looked ready to snap her fingers again. "I think that you two have played with the poor man enough." Red-dress stepped up. She snapped her fingers as the full moon pendant glowed, replacing the Night-Sky robe to his regular worn out trousers and red tunic. He even had his blue neckerchief back, nestled snugly underneath his chin. Merlin looked gratefully at the toddler, who was now trying to break the fight between her two sisters.

A smile formed on his lips as he watched the children fight. Although there was something off about their pendants (and their language style), Merlin couldn't help but fall prey to their adorable antics. Merlin took a step forward in their direction. "Who are you?" He cocked his head, curiosity reigning his eyes.

The two girls stopped and turned around to look at him. Slowly the three moved so that the red dress stood in the center, with her sisters on either side. The innocent aura around the trio vanished, replaced by a mystical magic.

"I'm Life," the blonde haired girl said cheerfully. She grinned warmly towards the confused warlock.

"I am Balance," The brown haired girl said, her voice far more sober than her sister's and far less welcoming.

The raven haired girl picked up her head defiantly, her pale gray eyes boring into Merlin. "I am Death." Her tone was frightening and deep, an unnatural chill radiating from her words.

Merlin unconsciously stepped back, hoping that the mist would cover up and take him away from the three standing before him.

"We are the Triple Goddess," the three said in unison. "Welcome, Merlin Emrys, to the Spirit World."

A/N: I don't know what possessed me into writing the Merlin's wardrobe scene – but it was ultra-fun! I really loved thinking about the black robe, with the entire universe plastered onto its rich surface. It makes it sound really beautiful, I thought. It was a playoff of the original royal blue robes with the tacky golden five pointed stars…

I did change up the Triple Goddess (as you can see), but it made more sense in my story for me to change her to this. I kept them as children in this scene (and several more scenes) but they can show themselves as anyone/any shape/any age they feel like :D

I don't really know how I'm going to take this story, but I know that the next two episodes (stories) are going to revolve a little on Spirit World and understanding a bit of what else I've got planned.

I know that I normally update every 2-3 days, but these next couple of weeks, I'm really busy... I think this fic might follow a weekly or 4-5 days a week update pattern. I sincerely apologize for that beforehand.

As always, please review. Your reviews allow me to write faster which gets me to update faster. :D Also, your reviews help make my story better!