Chapter 3 - Green
Lavender fastened the straps on her saddle, double checking that they wouldn't come undone as soon as she sat on it. The saddle bags were full of various remedies and herbs, with a few extra things. Her sword was attached to the saddle instead of her waist, whereas her bow and arrows were inside a quiver strapped to her back. There had been a nagging feeling at the back of her mind all night, something she failed to notice or do before she left home that seemed to only worry her now.
After finding out that her guard was prince Arthur and his manservant Merlin, she'd been quite shocked, she'd been expecting to men in armour, just average guards, not a prince. They hadn't even set off yet and she could tell she wasn't going to enjoy this journey.
Her horse buried its nose in her hair, nuzzling her neck. "You feel it too huh?" she said to the horse in a soft voice "Not normal is it?... then again... could of just left a herb out on the desk... that's probably it" she muttered to herself. As clever as she seemed, she was incredibly forgetful. Dismissing it, she stood on a box, placed her hands on her horses back and lifted herself up to sit in sidesaddle position.
Annoyed that some was treated in such a way, Lavender watched Arthur stand on Merlin's back to mount his own horse. When Arthur had mounted his horse he turned and smiled at her, she frowned and looked in the opposite direction. It took Merlin three attempts to mount his horse.
***
They had been traveling for three and a half days now and Lavender had barely spoken or slept, the nagging feeling in the back of her head getting worse as she got closer to home. Not that she'd told Merlin or Arthur this.
Merlin looked from Lavender, who was riding a few meters ahead of them, to Arthur, who was next to him.
"Remind me why I'm here." he said to Arthur
Arthur didn't seem to hear him "She's beautiful isn't she" it wasn't a question
Merlin was completely thrown off "Um... well... I suppose so..."
"A beautiful, cleaver, woman of nobility, a suitable wife for a future King, don't you think so Merlin?"
Merlin was shocked "Well... um... no offense sire, but... I'm not sure she likes you in that way." or at all he added in his head.
Suddenly Lavender stopped at the side of a lake, squinting into the thick mist. Quite a distance away a small green island was barely visible through the mist.
"Tread carefully, and follow my path precisely" she whispered, dismounting and securing the reigns round her hand, then waiting for Arthur and Merlin to do so too. "If you can't see me then stop moving."
"Wait. Do you mean to say we're going through the lake?We can't walk through a lake, we'll..." Arthur was cut off by Lavender's hand covering his mouth, she put a finger to her lips.
"Shh, great beasts dwell in this lake, ones that will swallow you whole before you can even blink." she whispered "You don't want to wake them do you?" she looked at both of them, then relaxed slightly "The water will barely reach half way up your calves before we get to the pathway... Oh and don't draw your sword under any circumstances."
This time, although now terrified, Merlin and Arthur followed her.
The icy water swam round their ankles, soaking the bottom of their trousers (or dress in Lavender's case). The world around them was blotted out by the mist, barely allowing them to see for two feet in front of them. The silence was deafening apart from the swish of water and the occasional chink of Arthur's armor.
After what felt like hours Merlin suddenly felt aware that Arthur was no longer in front of him and ice struck his heart, he stopped moving. He got the feeling that if he took one wrong step he'd fall into the depths of the lake, or one of the beasts that Lavender spoke of would wake up. It took him a moment to realize that his horse had carried on walking and was now out of his sight. Now was probably the time to panic. Lavender had never said what to do if they lost sight of her except to stop moving. Something about the way she had said 'stop moving' made him worry more, like that it was a matter of life or death choice.
Something brushed past his ankles, sending shivers up his spine. Then, it became too quiet. Accompanied by only the sound of his breathing and thundering heart, Merlin turned his head slightly. What looked kind of like a scaly gargoyle with webbed feet and claws lept at him out of the water. Crying out, Merlin brought his arms up to cover his face. The creature landed on him, digging its sharp claws into his arms and chest. As he struggled with the creature, it dug its razor sharp teeth into him. The pain was only momentary, then he could feeling the life leaving him and his blood running cold, 'poison' he thought. His entire body went limp and he slumped backwards, the icy water dumbing his senses further.
Vaguely aware of more of the gargoyle like creatures surrounding him and pulling him further down into the water, clawing at his skin, Merlin found himself unable to struggle or fight back. Something green was moving towards him, but not a murky, moldy, green like the creatures, but a pure, grass green, that reminded him of someone, or something, he couldn't remember. On the verge of giving up completely Merlin suddenly felt soft lips pressed against his.
***
Arthur paced the shore line, worried for his friend. All three horses were tied to a tree not too far off. When Lavender and Arthur had reached the end of the path way and Merlin's horse had followed with no Merlin holding its reigns, Lavender had told him to wait here as she'd be faster without him then run back into the mist which seemed to stop at the shoreline. It was quite a drastic change in scenery, there was dark murky waters with thick grey mists, then green fields, tall trees and a cobbled beach. Arthur had been waiting for over an hour now, he poked the dieing fire then added a few small pieces of drift wood. He caught sight of something green approaching through the thick mist and stood back up, striding out to the shore line. It was Lavender, doing her best to drag a limp Merlin out of the water. He rushed over to help her, not caring for the icy water re-soaking his trousers after they'd only just dried.
-
Lavender wiped the blood from the wounds in Merlin's chest and arms, her mind somewhere else all together. When she was thirteen (of marrying age in her village) she'd lost a sword fight to her oldest brother and now she would have to marry whoever he chose for her. Two days after leaving her village she turned eighteen, when she returned there was no doubt that her brother would of found a 'suiter' by now.
"Lavender? ... Lavender? Are you listening?" asked Arthur, stoking the fire
"Um... no..." she said, still only half there
"Honestly! I dare say you're worse than Merlin when it comes to listening skills." he complained
"Hmm..." she said, no longer listening.
Arthur rolled his eyes and gave up. Lavender dirfted off into her own trail of thought, when suddenly her ears pricked up and she froze. She put down the cloth and layed her hand on her bow and quivver of arrows. Arthur watched her, the look of alarm on her face.
"What is it?" he asked, laying his hand on the hilt of his sword.
Lavender didn't move, she kept on listening, not making an sound. Soon he could hear voices.
"...And James said pretentious? moi?" in was a mans voice and there were about four others by the sound of the laughter that followed. "Oh..." said the man as the group of people stepped out of the trees and saw them.
