Chapter Two

Disappointment and Discovery

He sat up, wide awake. He immediately recognized the voice as Aithusa. He threw on jeans and a t-shirt. He grabbed his jacket on the way out.

He nearly fell into the water as he scrambled into the boat. He quickly muttered an incantation to make the boat move. It creeped across the water. He said another spell to make it move faster, but it did not work. He said it again. Still nothing. He tried one more time, but the boat still moved at an annoyingly slow pace.

Finally, it reached the Isle. He tripped up the stairs and sprinted to the ruined courtyard. There, he found Aithusa waiting for him. Wordless, she led him to the water's edge. He ran to the bank and knelt down.

He smiled at the girl who was sitting on the beach, holding Excalibur. He took the sword from her and set it aside. Then, he drew her to him and kissed her deeply.

After a few minutes, she pulled away. "I have to go," she said. "But promise me something. When love finds you again, you will not run from it." He nodded. "Promise me, Merlin!" she exclaimed.

"I promise, Freya," he answered. She smiled and nodded. She kissed him one more time, and then dove into the water.

Sighing, he picked up the sword and got to his feet. He turned to the White Dragon behind him. "What does this mean?" he asked.

"It means that Albion will soon be in danger," Aithusa responded.

The Dragon Lord brightened. He knew this meant Arthur would return, and soon! He looked to the dragon. "But why did he not just bring his sword with him when he came?" he questioned.

"Because right now, the sword is in jeopardy. Man has developed devices that are not bound by the laws of magic. They can swim in this lake; they can find the sword," the White Dragon answered. He nodded in understanding. "So, I'm guessing I need to hide it somewhere then," he stated.

Aithusa nodded. "You must hide it somewhere that no one will suspect it is hiding," she said.

That night, he decided to research these devices that Aithsua had mentioned. After a short time, he laughed. Even though she had lived through the centuries, and Merlin had done his best to teach her the things of this world, she still had very sheltered life on the Isle of the Blessed. The devices she was referring to were robots. Robots were not dead or alive, and not even undead, therefore, they could swim in the Lake Avalon and not be affected, and they could find things that no other's eye could see.

Leaning back in his chair, he looked over at the sword laying on the empty bed on the other side of the room. At first, he was disappointed when he was told that he would not be having a roommate that year, but now he was glad. When Arthur returned, he would need a place to stay.

A fortnight later, he saw on the news that archaeologists had unearthed a magnificent find in the town of Camlann. Merlin gasped as they presented a beautiful sword.

It was a plain, straight blade, but it was perfectly formed, and it almost glowed. The handle looked to be solid gold, but otherwise had no decoration.

He held his breath as they explained the research they had done on the sword. They believed it to be Excalibur. Merlin laughed. But then, he became serious. If they believed it to be Excalibur, that meant it had the same magic flowing through it as Arthur's sword did.

He drew in his breath. They found Mordred's sword. They had found the sword that Morgana had formed in Aithusa's breath for Mordred to kill Arthur. Now he knew what Aithusa meant by the sword being in jeopardy. They could not find Arthur if they looked in the lake, but they could find Excalibur, and the lake was the next place they would look for King Arthur relics.

He knew the sword needed to be safe; and lying on the opposite bed was no longer a safe place. He got down on his knees and pulled the wooden box out from underneath his bed. He whispered an incantation. His eyes briefly turned gold, as they always did when he used magic.

The box unlocked and opened. He smiled and took out a large book. He lovingly flipped through the pages containing the many spells and incantations of his kind. He then shook his head and put it back in his place. Now was not the time for a trip down Sentimental Avenue.

He picked up the sword and placed it in the box. Then, he closed the lid. He whispered an incantation, his eyes glowing gold. There was a click as the box locked. Now the sword would be safe. Nothing could get into that box, not even a robot. He slid the box back under his bed and sighed heavily.

Now there was no evidence that Arthur was going to return. Nothing to remind him of his best friend long ago. It was back to the daily mundane assignments and tasks. Being a servant to a cocky prince seemed like a dream come true right now. What he wouldn't give to have Arthur tell him to polish his armour and clean his room, or even throw something at him.

Merlin perked up in his history class when the professor said, "For the next couple of weeks, we will focus on Arthurian legends. We will be analyzing them and deciding which ones are most likely true, and which ones are purely legend. You should know that I am quite an expert on King Arthur, so it will not be an easy high mark."

He sniggered. "You sure about that?" he mumbled. Then, he thought, "You didn't spend four years cleaning his room, and saving his life. How could you know the first thing about Arthur?"

The professor turned to Merlin and said, "Mr. Ealdor, do you have something you would like to share?"

"No, sir," Merlin quickly replied.

"Perhaps since you are named after the great wizard that served at King Arthur's side for many years, you think you know a lot about Arthur," the professor suggested.

"Actually, I do know a lot about Arthur. It's almost as if I actually knew him," Merlin answered.

Over the years, he had learned that people don't react well when told that you have first-hand knowledge about historical events. Therefore, he had learned to say things like the above. He had learned how to tell the truth, but be vague enough that no one would suspect him of being anything but an obsessed history buff.

Smiling mischievously, the professor said, "What was the name of his father and mother?"

"Uther and Ygraine Pendragon. Although, Ygraine died in child birth," Merlin blurted.

"Well done. Not many people know that," the professor praised.

"I also know that he hated it when his armour was not polished, and he was the best swordsman in all of Camelot," Merlin added.

The professor looked at him curiously. "How do you know that?" he asked.

"Well, the first part, I may have gotten from a film," Merlin replied, catching himself, "but the part about being the best swordsman in all of Camelot; well, it's obvious, isn't it? I mean he was the First Knight of Camelot, and he was the one that would unite all of Albion. He had to be the best."

"True," the professor smiled. "And we will talk about the uniting of all Albion."

For once, Merlin actually looked forward to attending class. Usually, it was just more boring historical events and dates that he had counted with the scars on his arms. This time, however, it was about something he actually cared about, and knew better than any historical event had survived.

On Monday, the professor handed out a pre-test. He told his students that it did not matter how well they did on this test because it was simply a tool for him to see how much they knew about King Arthur and the legends surrounding him. The test asked some pretty easy questions, like: Where did Arthur live? Who was Guinevere? Who was Lancelot? Who was Merlin? And then it asked some harder questions, like: What was Arthur's last name? What was the name of Arthur's mother and father? What was the name of Merlin's mother? Give at least one other name by which Merlin was known. Explain the significance of the Sword in the Stone.

Merlin flew through all the answers, and was the first to approach the professor's desk. He smiled. "Either you are an overconfident nerd, or you really know your Arthurian legends," the professor commented. Merlin smiled and returned to his desk.

Soon, others began turning in their tests. Then, when all the tests were collected, the professor announced that they would start their official study of Arthurian legend tomorrow, but today he would introduce the project that was due in two weeks.

The professor first assigned everyone a partner. He told the students that they would need to work with their partners to make an interesting presentation about their topic. He then handed out the rubric for the project. "You must analyze all the myths surrounding your topic and find the one that you believe to be the most reliable," he explained. "Then, you will present that version to the class, briefly mentioning the other versions."

After class, a girl with long, dark hair approached him. She smiled. "Hi, I'm Elena Druid. I'll be your partner," she said, extending her hand. "Merlin Ealdor," he replied, shaking it. "So, do you have any ideas about our topic?" she questioned.

"Well, for one thing, I know it's bull," he answered.

"What makes you say that?" she asked, screwing up her face. "It was what destroyed Arthur and all of Camelot."

Merlin shook his head. "No, Mordred was what destroyed Arthur," he said.

"Mordred? You mean the Druid boy that Morgana saved? And then, years later, made an alliance with?" she inquired.

He raised an eyebrow. "That's right," he said. She smiled. "I looked up the meaning of my last name one day, and I came across the legend of Mordred, the young Druid boy. I didn't know if it was actually part of the real legend—if there is such a thing—but I always liked the story, so I chose to believe it. However, I was so disappointed to learn that he made an alliance with Morgana later on."

Merlin smiled and nodded. "So, what did happen with the whole love triangle thing? And did it not destroy Arthur?" she quizzed.

"Well," Merlin answered, "first of all, Guinevere never actually loved Lancelot. I mean, she had feelings for him, and was even willing to risk her life for him. But if she had to choose between the two, she would choose Arthur every time, and not just because he was the king. She loved Arthur more than anyone in the whole world.

"As far as Lancelot, he sacrificed himself to save Camelot. There was a magic veil that had opened between the world of the dead and the world of the living. The gatekeepers required a human blood sacrifice to close the gate once more. Lancelot volunteered himself, and walked into the veil. The veil closed, and Camelot was saved from the Underworld."

Elena stared at him. "Wow, you are either really arrogant, or you spent way too much time in the library," she commented.

"I have been called many things, but never arrogant," he smiled. She smiled back.

He lay in bed and wondered where this Elena had come from. Her last name was Druid. He wondered if she had magic, too. He needed a way to find out without making her think he'd lost it. Why was revealing his magic so much easier than hiding it?