READ! I've decided that Merlin would also be female on her past life. Sorry to disappoint some of you, but I found out I prefer it that way.
DISCLAIMER: I WISH I own Merlin. I don't own Bradley James either. Lol.
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CHAPTER II: THE STIRRING
RANDOM LECTURE ROOM
Merlin and Lance found most of their classes the same. It wasn't really surprising since the faculty of Natural Sciences had pretty much the same minor subjects. The department had a total of five academic departments. Merlin belonged to two of them: Chemistry and Life Sciences, while Lance in Mathematics.
The subject they were currently having was Lance's specialty. And Merlin pretty much showed him off.
"Not bad." He muttered as she returned to her seat. "For a non-Math major…" He added with a smirk.
She chuckled lightly. "Don't tell me I've already crushed your self-esteem…?"
Lance scoffed, amused.
"You wish."
Still somehow she wondered how he decided to do this, despite being okay with Math. There are simply things she felt he would be good at. He may have a nerdy appearance, particularly with his massive eyeglasses, but she could see he was sociable and he was quite handsome with his sharp features.
Also, he wasn't that good at Math.
"What is it?"
"I was wondering how you chose this field."
He looked at her, looking a bit baffled himself. "I honestly don't know." He told her which made her stare at him as if he ate a fly. Then he chuckled and patted her head.
"Maybe so that we could meet?"
...
ALBERTOPOLIS
Spending a few hours in school together brought the two closer together as friends. They met a few new faces and added them to their acquaintances but they really just preferred each other's companies.
"Here we are." Lance stated just before stopping his tracks. He offered to give her a tour in the nearest tourist area—Albertopolis. As geeks and nerds, their first stop was the Natural History Museum. It was a wonderful piece of old Architecture and Merlin didn't hide her delight. Lance smiled at the sight and gestured that they go in.
They are aspiring Scientists, meaning the exhibitions took their breaths away. Yeah, these were their sources of joy…
Merlin's eyes widened in delight as she saw the specimens collected by Darwin, himself. Merlin swore if she could use magic she would take the blasted glasses away—
What—
For a moment there, she could swear the reflection of herself disappeared.
She blinked and held out her hand only to find her hands touching her reflected face that suddenly reappeared. She scratched her head in wonder. Was she in need of eye-glasses?
She shrugged the thought away and then decided to look around again and her eyes stopped at a door named 'Library'. She went closer only to be stopped by a staff.
"Sorry Miss. Library use is for appointment only." The bulky man stated and she pouted, just before nodding in disappointment when she entered a light glaring session with the man. She didn't move in front of the door for a while when she felt a hand on hers.
"Why the sad face?" Lance asked worriedly. She just stared at the door and then at the staff. Lance sighed in understanding.
"Yeah. It's a bummer. But there are a lot of other things to see here in Albertopolis." He smiled reassuringly making her smile back.
They were holding hands all the way to their next stop.
...
After that they went to the Science museum followed by the Albert Memorial. It was getting dark and so they decided the next stop would be the last one: the Victoria and Albert Museum.
There were a lot of exhibits like holdings of ceramics, costumes, ironworks, and jewelleries. But one section definitely caught both of their attentions:
The Medieval exhibition.
She had always been fascinated by the period but seeing objects directly from that time was truly something else. Her ring was the only thing from then that she had touched so far… She thought that maybe her father's hiding some artefacts in his huge mansion.
Then her eyes widened when she realized something. Her father—
She flinched she heard a mobile phone ring. She forgot to call her father. She quickly took her phone only to find that it wasn't the one ringing. "Hello…? Mom?" Lance spoke quietly, and she turned her head to him in surprise. When their eyes meet, he frowned and silently apologized to her. He walked a few steps away, but she decided to observe him anyway. He was saying "Yes…"
"But—"He paused and his shoulder sagged. "Okay. I'm coming…"
After the call he looked at her with a very disappointed expression. Merlin just smiled in understanding.
"You have to go?" She asked and he nodded in response. He looked a bit embarrassed at leaving her there though, but she grinned at him reassurance, patting him at the back for good measure. "See you at school, then."
Lance smiled at her, so warmly her eyebrows rose. Then he nodded and leaned down to place a light peck on the cheeks. A bit frozen, she waved goodbye as he watched his figure disappear in the length of the corridor, and when he was completely gone, she instinctively touched her cheeks.
She didn't feel embarrassed at all.
It felt like they've been doing so for ages. Merlin elegantly raised an eyebrow.
'What the hell…'
…
She decided to call her father and said that she'll be a little late but she'll eat there nevertheless. She lazily walked out of the museum and pondered the way home. She walked past streets lit by yellowish lights, past the mid-rise buildings, whose walls either veneered with brick or were actually brick walls.
She closes her eyes at the quaint quality of the place and soon reaches a park, slightly modern in spirit, and strong hands suddenly pulled her backwards towards a big nook of the building not too long after.
"What the—"She managed to utter before the said hands covered her mouth. She wasn't scared though, just very, very annoyed. There was no malice in this maniac's touch, so why the hell was he holding her so tightly? She was getting hungry, too.
Her question was answered by a group of frantic looking girls looking for something… or someone.
"I swear I saw him come this way! Tsk. I thought I saw someone standing around here to see where he went, too..." A random girl stated in a very intimidating tone of voice.
"Waaaaaa…" another sobbed.
"I didn't come here only to get a glimpse of him!" One yelled in despair.
"I want to kiss him!" Another stated as she squealed.
"Me, too!" A girl standing right beside her responded making the previous girl growl.
"What? I'm the only one he can kiss!" She declared possessively resulting into a very gory cat fight. She did not want to watch such disgusting actions so she calmed down and closed her eyes. She felt the man's hold got gentler, as well probably sensing her relaxation, but she was not in the mood to run…
…not with those wild fan girls hanging around, ready to strangle.
.
.
It took many many minutes for the group to finally disperse. The maniac behind her let out a sigh of relief.
"Thank you." He muttered under his breath as he let go of her. He looked calm, though internally he wondered why he didn't let her go earlier, as she didn't seem like she was planning to run away. He shrugged the thoughts off and continued his expression of gratitude.
"What's with the fan girls?" She asked indifferently as she turned around. His eyes widened in recognition.
His eyebrows meet at the thought because he was certain he had never seen this girl before. He may have met countless of women in his lifetime, but somehow he knew he'd remember this one if he had encountered her before.
But more importantly—
Wasn't he the one supposed to be recognized here?
Merlin stared at him for a moment, confused at his reaction. She wasn't ugly… well no one told her before, anyway. In any case, the maniac's reaction certainly expresses the type shock similar to the one you wear when you see a beast of sort. Merlin frowned.
"Hey! Even if you're a little good-looking doesn't mean that you can think as everybody else as ugly. How rude." She exclaimed pulling him out of his trance. The maniac flinched and apologized.
"It's not that—I was just… surprised… I thought I know you… I was wrong…" He uncharacteristically mumbled. Merlin's eye twitched.
'The second time today… But odd enough, he feels more familiar than Lance…' She mused for an instant but shook it off. She was definitely more comfortable with Lance.
She did not get what the bloody heck was happening. Including the plethora of thoughts and feelings that were popping up that day…
Maybe she was going crazy? Maybe.
People always did say that people who have too high an IQ have a tendency to be crazy…
She scratched her head, thinking it wouldn't be fair if that was true since her father was not mad. Or was he?
The image of his odd prophetic attitude the previous night appeared in her head. Her eyes twitched crazily as she stared blankly at the handsome blonde in front of her.
"…ah, crap."
...
"Hey! What's wrong?" The blonde yelled a question as she swiftly walked away. The boy unconsciously went to follow her.
"Shut up! I need see a neurologist right now!" She yelled back.
"What?" He exclaimed in befuddlement as he involuntarily stopped his tracks.
"Go away, Prat!" She growled. She did not know where she got the sudden insult, but she liked it.
He'd have gasped indignantly if he was any other man. "What did I do to deserve being called a 'Prat'?"
"Uhmm… like wasting several minutes of my precious time because of your bloody fan girls?"
"Well, I am so sorry for being beautiful!" He retorted with a smirk. At least he was back to his normal self.
"Real men don't call themselves beautiful." She replied coolly making him want to calm down, himself.
"Real ladies don't call strangers 'Prat' either." He said, smiling at his cleverness.
"Who said I want to be a lady?" She shot back immediately after he uttered the last word. Her reply was so quick that he instinctively answered just as quickly.
"Who said I want to be a real man—" He stopped upon realizing what he just said.
"Idiot." She sneered and continued walking away. This time, he did gasp in aghast.
"T-That was just a slip of the tongue!"
"Ah. But psychologists say that slips like that are what you really thinks subconsciously."
"…"
"Idiot Prat."
It was lucky for her, with their shouting battle and all, that there were barely people there that time.
But there were people there, nevertheless.
"Hey isn't that Bradley James?" A random girl pointed at the blonde making him wince, the latter totally forgetting that they were in a public place. His gaze shifted immediately back to the brunette that was taking advantage of his situation. She was pretty much 20 meters away from him now. He opened his mouth to retort but he immediately stopped himself.
Why was he so disturbed by her, anyway?
…
"I'm back." She stated as she got past one of the maids. She heard her father's swift footsteps. He was smiling… right before he saw her serious expression…
"What's wrong, Hon?"
"Dad…?" She asked meekly.
"Yes…?" He responded, trying to calm his anxiety. 'What? Did she get a boyfriend and—'
His crazy assumptions were stopped by his daughter asking a similarly crazy question. "Are we going insane?"
This made him blink and stare at his daughter, his tense posture visibly softening. "Tell me." He told her, hands gesturing that they talk to the living room. As she sat, she crossed her arms and looked at him worriedly, and she looked like a doctor about to give a patient some very bad news.
"You're going to think I'm crazy."
"Like how you think I am?" He finally said after a moment, smiling satirically. At his tone, her face betrayed a smirk.
"…Yeah."
"You're my daughter, alright." He muttered and then cleared his throat to return to his serious expression. "So… What happened?" He asked, already having an idea as to what the answer was. His daughter gulped and embarrassedly looked at the carpet, in the end still thinking of a way to minimize the insane impression she might just give off.
"I think it's just my imagination but I met people today… people I swear I have never met before." She mumbled quietly.
"But…?" Her father uttered, urging her to continue.
"They both feel awfully familiar to me." She responded and her father just laid back at the back rest with an anxious yet expecting expression on his face.
"Ah…"
"Are you sure I have never been in England before?" She asked, increasingly getting confused by her father's reactions.
"Yes."
"Then, I am hallucinating?"
"No. You did know them. Very well, I may add."
"What?"
"That's all I could say."
"What? Why?"
"That's just the way things are."
"Is that an even acceptable answer for a Scientist?"
"I mean that you have to follow the law of nature. Progress, dear. Be patient. Everything will be explained to you soon." He stated, as if anyone would be able to wait.
"You make it sound easy."
"It's not. But nothing is truly easy—especially of what is about to come." He stated with visibly sad eyes. Merlin's tense expression softened at the sight of his father's despaired state.
"Dad…? Is everything alright…?" She asked worriedly, unconsciously standing up to sit beside him. The old man just mustered a reassuring smile and gestured for a hug. She told him that fine she would do as he said (for now) and, relieved, he stroked her head fondly.
"May God be with you, my child; May God be with you…" He said, almost as if he's chanting. Merlin did not say anything. She couldn't.
So instead, she just closed her eyes to relax herself and passively accept the fact that there was something that big was going to happen.
And that she was in the middle of it.
.
.
END OF CHAPTER II
Coming soon:
CHAPTER III: Recollections
Merlin and the odd actor meets again. What could happen?
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REPLIES TO ANGELS
Evil E. Evil - Thanks for the review! Although I sure do hope you don't hate me now. Hahah
phoenixi77 - Thanks for the review~ I hope you weren't disappointed with my earlier announcement.
A/N: If you're wondering why the heck I made Merlin a nerd... Well, we have Disney's 'The sorcerer's apprentice' to thank for that! Haha. I dunno... Making mages science nerds just made sense!
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PLEASE TELL ME WHAT YOU THINK! Thank you~ :D