A/N: Thanks so much to all you who have read so far. I hope you have enjoyed it. This chapter is not quite as exciting in my opinion, but you need some exposition before the story right? Next time we will get back to Merlin and Arthur, but for this time enjoy a little Ali. By the way italics mean it is her dream. Thanks so much!
Chapter 1: Ali's POV
I groaned in frustration as I slammed the book in front of me shut. This was a little bit ridiculous. I mean I had been working on this essay for at least four hours and I had nothing good to go on. No ideas. I saw a Calvin and Hobbes cartoon one time that said that last minute panic was the best inspiration. Well, I guess I agreed because that was how I seemed to live my college life. Like any normal college student, when this paper was assigned I swore to myself that I would not procrastinate this time. It was like a New Year's resolution, for the first four hours I was really excited about it. But then, of course, something else came up and the paper sat abandoned on a shelf in the back of my very crowded mind. So, like most college students, the paper was due in less than 24 hours and I had no research and no idea where to even think about beginning. The library was providing no help whatsoever, so I pulled on my backpack, pushed in my chair, and walked into the sunny day.
I knew that I had a ton of homework to do, but I couldn't stay cooped up on a day like today, I told myself. I needed to take some time for me. It was the first day in a week that did not include rain and I was going to take advantage of every moment. I made my way to my favorite spot on campus. I sat on the small shady hill next to a large, very unclean, but still beautiful lake, and lay down. I love the outdoors, I decided, as I breathed in the fresh air and felt the slight breeze rustle the blades of grass beneath me. I pulled out my phone and pulled up Google, looking for information about my report. I mean, I might as well work a little bit, I reasoned.
You see, my report was supposed to be a five page paper on the legend of King Arthur. Seems pretty easy right? No, not right. I was supposed to focus specifically on the friendship between Merlin and King Arthur. We were supposed to use a basis created by real legends, but we were also supposed to add our own twist to the story. A couple of problems however: one, these stories did not have a plethora of information about how close Arthur and Merlin were, and two, I am so not creative. I honestly do not think that I have a creative bone in my body. I thought multiple times about forcing my friend Mandy to write the paper for me. You see, she luckily enough was a theatre major, focusing on playwriting. Pulling a legend out of nowhere would have been the easiest thing ever for her. However, I knew that wasn't fair, so here I was, lying in the grass with my smartphone, forced to suffer through this assignment on my own.
Why couldn't it have been a test?I asked myself, probably for the first time ever in my life. I clicked on the first link that came up when I searched King Arthur and Merlin. The website it took me to was completely useless, talking only about the marvelous Arthur and mentioning Merlin in passing twice. And every link after was the same way. They all said that Merlin was Arthur's advisor and nothing more. How the heck was I supposed to write a five page paper about that though? So what? He gave Arthur some advice, big deal. That isn't a relationship worth five pages of paper. I scoffed and put down my phone. I was getting nowhere. I weighed the options in my head. Stress about it or take the F? I knew that even if I got a zero on the paper I would get a C in the class, which was of course a passing grade. I decided to cut my losses and take a nap. It was too nice to pass up. I dozed off there under the sun with the sound of birds chirping lulling me into a blanket of comfort and the tale of King Arthur and Merlin on my mind.
I run across a field covered in little yellow flowers. I turn around quickly to sneak a peek behind me and I see a beautiful castle standing in the background. I am confused though and I can't quite figure out why, until I run into someone and their arms wrap around me.
"Caught you." I hear a male voice laugh as the hands move from my hips to the sides of my face. "Do you surrender now, Ali?"
"You know I won't give up that easily, my love." I giggle, as I rip his hands from my face and once again begin to sprint away. I run into a nearby forest and dash between trees and brush until I come to a large rock by a creek. I take cover behind the rock and watch for the man I know is following me. I am completely out of breath and I try to breathe quietly so that my hiding place can remain secret. I am so focused on watching for my predator that I do not notice the fountain of water rising behind me. I see him and prepare to run again when I am attacked from above by falling water. I scream shocked by the cold, and stand up yelling. "Merlin! How dare you use magic, that is cheating and you know it!"
The man laughs at the sight of me standing in front of him, soaking wet. "I am sorry, my love, but I couldn't resist. You are always the one sneaking up on me, just this once I had to try it. You are right by the way, it is quite entertaining." I smack him on the arm as he puts his arms around my waist pulling me closer to him.
"You know I won't ever surrender. I will never let you win, Merlin. And you will get it for attacking me like that."
"Oh, really. And what are you planning on doing to me? Are you going to put me in the stocks or make me do extra chores?" He asks as he moves one hand up to my face, brushing my wet hair out of my eyes and tucking it lovingly behind my ear. I fully intend to smack him again and run away, but I know that the moment he looks into my eyes I am not going to have the strength to move. He is mocking me and I know it, but I am lost.
"I do love you, you know?" He says as he looks into my eyes. I nod, at a loss for words, as his head lowers and his lips touch mine.
I awoke with a gasp. What in the world was happening? This assignment was definitely getting the best of me. I mean come on; I was in love with a man named Merlin? As if. I must admit though, the man that I saw in my head was far more attractive than the old man in the pictures I had seen in my research. I blushed as I thought of the kiss. I mean, I had my fair share of boyfriends, but the way that he looked at me and the feel of his lips on mine, even in a dream, those were the things most girls, including myself can only hope for.
I gathered my stuff and stood up. It was getting late and I needed to make my way back to my dorm. As I got up the wind blew wildly and almost knocked me over. I put my head down and started running as fast as I could. Before I could make it very far lightning flashed across the sky and I screamed. I hated thunderstorms more than anything and I was nowhere near home. The rain started to fall, wind continued to blow furiously, and the lightning was striking almost continuously through the sky. I had never seen anything like this and I had no idea what to do. I looked to my right and saw a large rock formation. It had been there for as long as I could remember but this time I saw something glowing inside a crevice in the rock. The crevice looked big enough for me to fit into and I was terrified so I ran toward it without a second thought. As I slipped inside I realized the crevice was a lot deeper than I had originally believed. It looked like it led into some type of cave. What was a cave doing on campus? That is strange. The light that I had seen seemed to be coming from somewhere deeper in the cave and so I decided to explore and see where it was coming from.
"Hello," I called waiting for a response. Someone had to have been the cause of the light right? I called out again, and again no one responded. I continued to walk into the cave and saw that about ten feet away it sloped down and then opened up into a larger room. I slipped through the opening and when I saw what was inside my jaw dropped to the floor. I was surrounded by glowing blue crystals. They were everywhere and they seemed to be humming, full of energy. I couldn't believe my eyes. There was a large crystal in the middle of the room, and curiosity pulled me toward it. I had to know what it was. I reached my hand out and walked closer until it was right in front of me. The humming seemed to grow even louder as I got closer, but that didn't stop me. I walked right up to the crystal and touched it. And then I was falling, through the floor and into an underground river. I had no idea what was happening, but I heard someone screaming, I can only assume it was me. The river was raging and tossing me this way and that. The water was ferocious and I was sure I was going to die. Darn curiosity, I had to touch the crystal and now I was never going to see the sun again. My world was coming to an end, I knew it. I screamed once more as the water crashed into me angrily and pushed me toward the wall. I closed my eyes waiting for the end and felt my head hit the stone, and the world went black.