(1100) The village is small compared to London. Not even fifty people live there. It is a popular spot to stop though on the way to the city. That is why she isn't surprised to see so many new people here every day. They never stay long. A day or two at the most before they move along. She has lived here her whole life. Her father had been a farmer and she had helped out on the farm before she married the baker. It was a happy marriage resulting in a few children. The girls had long black hair like their mother while the boys were tall like their father. They close up the bakery early that day deciding to spend some time together. Holding her husband's arm, she smiles as she watches the children in front of her. Her eyes look up from them and land on a man. He is not someone she has seen before. Most likely just passing through the village. Giving him a friendly nod, she looks back at her children. This is a good life.
(May 19 1536) Growing up her life was very different than most people's. Her title was Lady of Bristol and it brought many perks for her. Being royalty meant an invition to the royal court once she became of age. Being there would mean being able to marry another person of royalty. If she was lucky she could one day become a duchess or at least stay a lady. By the time that she got to court things were different. The king had married for a second time to a woman people accused of being a witch. The marriage did not last very long. The queen was said to have been cheating on the king. This was just a lie though. A lie to get rid of a woman who couldn't have the much desired heir. The queen and her ladies-in-waiting were to be killed. She tried not to show any fear the day of her execution. The tears would not stop coming much to her disappointment and she wet herself when she say the ax. Taking a deep breath, she kneeled down at the block. She took one last look at the world around her. Her eyes landed on a man she swore she had seen before. She saw in her mind herself walking down a street holding onto a man's arm and watching a few children running in front of her. There was a man watching her, smiling. It was the same man in the crowd now. Shaking her head, the picture disappeared. It was just a dream. It never happened. Closing her eyes, she lowered her head to the block. This life was over. It was time to move on.
(1800s) Her father had died of disease before she was born leaving her mother a widow with no family and a belly large with child. Her mother didn't last much longer than her father. Childbirth took her. There was no family to send the girl to. No one to look after her so she was sent to an orphanage. The place was horrible. Lice, rats, and hunger run rampant. Once a child turns fifteen they leave. The boys find work in the factories. The girls marry if they are lucky. Most are not. Most end up selling their bodies out on the streets and that is exactly what she does. With the money she makes she buys food, something that she never had before. This leads to weight gain. The one dress that she owns soon is stretched tight over her growing body. She is filthy. Her hair greasy, her teeth yellow. As she is standing by a pub one night she sees the man from her dreams. The dark haired man. He tosses a few coins at her before walking away. This is a tough, unhappy life.
(1910s-1920s) It is when she is a teenage that she sees her first movie. It is the way the people move that memorize her and fills her dreams at night. They so easily are able to tell a story by just moving. No words are needed. She heads to a movie studio on her 16th birthday and lands a role as an extra. In just a few years she is staring in them. They make her feel alive and she is good at them. She makes dozens of films throughout her life and becomes a star. Her picture graces the covers of movie magazines and newspapers. They love their star. Her biggest hit is about a mythical place called Camelot. They cast her as the villain, Morgan le Fay. This is a role she was born to play. The sister of the king who turns evil. She embraces the role. As she looks around at the cast, she frowns. She pictures other people in their places. A dark haired wizard, a blonde king, a dark skinned queen. These people are not right. Shaking her head, the other people disappear. This is just a movie based on a myth. None of this stuff happened. Her career last another decade before talkies become big. No one wants to hear her Irish accent and so she is fired. Just another star who couldn't make it with talking. The glamours life she knew is over. Holding the gun in her hand, she wants sweet relief and that is what she gets. It is time to move on from this life.
(14 October 1940) The world has fallen to darkness at this time. The war is running strong. Bombs are falling from the sky in London. It is during one of these nights of darkness that she is forced down to the underground. She had just done overtime at the hospital she is being trained at and was on her way home when the bombs started falling. A soldier ushered her down to safety. This isn't the first night she spent hiding from the bombs and she is sure that it will not be her last. Maybe afterward she would go back to the hospital. There is always so much that needs to be done after a night like this. Many people dying and getting hurt. This is why she is becoming a nurse. The world needs help at this time and because she is a woman this is the only way she can help. She holds her legs tight to her chest as the ground above them shakes. It is ok to be scared and she knew that. Looking around at the people trapped down there with her, her eyes land on a dark haired man. He seems familiar but she is not sure from where. Maybe he was a patient at the hospital. So many people had come in. It was hard to keep track of faces anymore. She is about to say something to him when another bomb goes off. Instead she screams. Hearing rushing water, she turns to look. In less than a minute the whole underground is filled with water and dirt. She tries her best to swim to the exit but it is not good enough. Water fills her lungs and she sinks to the bottom. This life is over. On to the next.
(1970s) This decade is different. This decade is when the ideas of equal rights for women spread quickly. First it is just a whisper. Something people talk about it private. Not something to be shared. Soon though it is a roar and she embraces this idea. Feminism they call it, this idea of equality for both genders. She starts by giving speeches at her university. Moves on to writing for magazines once she is done with school. Why shouldn't women be able to work along with having families? Why shouldn't they be able to do everything men are allowed to do? Her ideas are written down in books. They become national best sellers in both the U.K and America. This is the decade that she was born for. People form around her. An organization is born. She is back to doing speeches like in her university days. The crowds are larger though. The message spreading to more and more people. This is what she wanted. There is always a dark haired man at her speeches. He is always standing in the same place. Sometimes she thinks he is just a ghost. He never moves, never blinks. Just stares at her. It is unnerving. At a speech she is doing in London, a man with a gun comes. He does not like the message she is spreading. With two shoots she is down. Her eyes land on the dark haired man. He gives her a small smile before walking away. It is time to say goodbye to the decade she thrived in.
(Now) The memories start when she is a child. She grows up playing pretend with her siblings. Her brothers are the knights, her sister is the queen, and she is the witch. To her siblings this is just pretend but to her it is so much more. These are memories from another life. A life from long ago. A time when there were knights and magic. At night she dreams of these people. Of the brother that she had when she was growing up. Of the man who was her father. The one she dreamed of most was a dark hard man. He started out her friend but became her enemy. These dreams never went away as she grew up. It wasn't until she was an adult and living on her that she began to see these people in real life. The dark haired woman and her husband walking down the street. The dark skinned man who taught at her sister's school. The men in the pub who use to be knights. Even the old doctor at the hospital is from her dreams. She heads to the local bookstore to research her dreams but she can't even escape it there. The two woman and boy who work there are all too familiar. These things are driving her nuts. There is no way she can escape it. These dreams, these people, these memories. As she watches an old silent movie late one night, she sees herself. There is no denying that it is her. The same hair, the same body type, the same eyes. She watches it five times, taking in all the detail. That is her and that is her home. Camelot. How could she have forgotten it? Gwen, Arthur, Uther, Morgause. Those were her friends. Her family. She has seen them all this lifetime besides her brother. He has yet to return. When she goes to visit the lake the lady of the lake rested in, she sees a dark haired man. This is the man she has been hoping to see her whole life. This lifetime is for remembering.
"Hello Merlin..."