Chapter Three- Ealdor

Days in Ealdor felt like years. Life was simple- the community worked together in the harvesting, supplying water. It may have been peaceful for many but Merlin's mind was somewhere else. He befriended a young boy name Will and the two would engage in mischievous activities. Felling trees over the elders would waste daytime but Merlin always felt unfulfilled. His friend knew about his rising powers but he had been forbidden to speak of it by his mother. Strengthening everyday it seemed but with no one to talk to, no one that could understand, Merlin feared what he would become. And so did his mother.

As soon as the sun fell below the mountains and the moon rose high in the black sky, the nightmares returned. Throughout his teenage years, his abilities forced mere flames to jump higher and catch the room on fire. But the dream he saw was imminent. It returned to him on every full moon and yet he could not fathom its significance. He tossed and turned, rebelling against images that formed in his mind. The clanging of swords, the piercing screams of the fallen and then he saw her. Morgana. Standing in the clouds and looking down at the hell breaking loose below and she smiled. Her eyes, wicked and cold. Merlin refused to accept that his Morgana, his kind-hearted passionate Morgana, would be responsible for this.

Some nights he would try to stay awake but the dream manifested itself into an awful reality. Glass shattered and fires blazed and far worse, the talk of the tightly-knitted community spread quickly. There was always the chatter leering over his head. Suspicious looks thrown to him as he merely went to collect water from the river. Old women spoke of the wildling boy hidden by his terrified mother. Merlin thought she had no reason to be afraid but as he grew mature, he realised her reasons. Men like Cenred would seek out sorcerers and enchantresses and use them for his own ends. He knew he would never partake in such evil misuse of his magic but he had no choice but to keep it hidden.

Another of Cenred's disputes had forced the kingdom into terror. The village was preparing for siege as knights roamed around the village ordering the women and children to flee to the Forest of Ascetir. Will's father was a knight under Cenred's banner. Merlin had only seen him once or twice brandishing a sword and commanding his men -Will was his father's spitting image. Light brown hair and pale green eyes and an apt for fighting.

Peaceful, it may seem but Ealdor had many threats. Sitting at the foot of the kingdom, any king, any lord Cenred had angered, Ealdor and neighbouring villages face the wrath of the powerful men. The invaders would break down their houses, burn all the crops, and abuse the women and children. Collateral damage, his king did not care for.

Tonight was a full moon, with all the commotion around him, his magic compelled him to sleep. Flashes of the same familiar images haunted him but he was interrupted.

"Merlin! Wake up!" Will tugged at his fumbling arm. "The people are fleeing! Father says we need to hurry or we will get left behind."

Merlin mumbled incoherently as his vision began to clear. Returning to his senses, he noticed Will already packed his sidebag with the rations of bread, and his mother entered their hut carrying water buckets. The three hurried out of the back door and merged in with the small crowd escaping through the towers. The night shaded them from their enemies and the paths of the forests were known well by the locals. Looking behind, the first wave of battle came through and the villagers quickened their pace.

Watching on, Merlin felt guilt burn through his chest. He examined his hands. They held so much power and yet he could not do anything. Will investigated his friend's face,

"What are you going to do?"

"Let's see." Merlin lifted up his right hand and thought only of the battle. He did not utter a word but his deep blue eyes flashed gold and fire spread through the enemy territory. It wasn't much but it'd buy time for the knights fighting so valiantly.

"Brilliant." Will was in awe. He had seen Merlin a new light, he saw a young man instead of a boy. He was proud. Merlin simply nodded and the two friends regrouped with the fleeing crowd.

"Morgana! Morgana! It's just a dream!" The lady's maid shook her mistress, trying desperately to snap her out of her nightmare. Morgana shook with fear, pupils dilated. The sweat on her brow trapped her black hair on her face. Her voice, piercing screams into the silence. Noise from inside her chamber had reached the attention of the guards who alerted Arthur. While this was a terrifying night for Morgana, for her loved ones it was a daily occurrence.

The comfort of her friends brought down her fear but they couldn't understand her nightmares. They saw it as a pigment of her imagination running wild in her head. For Morgana, it was reality. Some of the things she had seen had come to pass. Gaius, the court physician, would tell her she must be mistaken. She would even try to convince herself that it was her mind deceiving her.

"My child, tell me what you saw." The court physician arrived to her chambers. With black circles under his eyes and tired eyes, Morgana felt guilty of her 'ailment'. But he was the only one she trusted. With unspoken agreement, Arthur and Guinevere left the room together, leaving Morgana in the safety of her physician. Morgana heard their muttering outside the door, they were always concerning her- her wellbeing, her emotions. She felt as if she was a burden on these selfless people.

"I…I saw a village," she swallowed. Her throat was dry from screaming. "Destroyed. Burnt. There was a boy…He cried so much. H-He wouldn't stop." Morgana curled into her covers, her hands covering her sobbing eyes.

"My child, it was merely a dream. You should not cry. These people are not real." The physician tried desperately to calm her, fearing of the palace's rumours of her nightmares.

"It was real. I know it. I felt it!" Morgana snapped and retreated in guilt. "There was something else. Something I noticed. There was that boy standing in the background."

"It is the mind playing tricks on you. They twist your emotions from reality and intertwine them into your dreams."

"It was the same boy. How could it be?"

Gaius had heard the king's ward describe this boy many times. The boy that appeared in her nightmares. The girl sat up in her bed and fiddled with a wooden charm wrapped on her chain. She never let go of it. Gaius rooted through his medicine bag in search of a sleeping draft- not that it helped her. He loved Morgana as if she were his own child. She relied upon him and it was his duty to protect her. The nightmares she experienced were far too close to sorcery and if her guardian ever found out, he feared what would happen to her. He noticed her face turn from terrified to confused. He could see by the scanning of her eyes that she was collating all her thoughts.

"What is it, Morgana?"

"The boy that cried. He called for someone…It can't be." Realisation hit her like a wall crashing down on top of her. "He said… But it can't be. I thought he was dead. He must be alive!" A spark lit up in her eyes, while Gaius portrayed shock.

"Morgana, who was it?"

"Merlin."