CHAPTER 4: THE TRUTH PART 1
(A/N: I DO NOT OWN MERLIN, BBC DOES. THE CHARACTERS WHO ARE MENTIONED AND THE EVENTS THAT FOLLOW NEVER OCCURRED.)
ALSO, I'M SO BUMMED THAT NOT A LOT OF YOU POSTED REVIEWS. I WAS REALLY LOOKING FORWARD TO SEEING YOUR REVIEWS. I WANTED TO KNOW IF YOU LIKE THE STORY SO FAR. PLEASE DO REVIEW AND FOLLOW THE STORY. THANK YOU.
OH, IN ADDITION, I JUST FOUND OUT THAT THE LEGEND OF ARTHUR IS ACTUALLY TWO THOUSAND YEARS AGO, SUPPOSEDLY. BUT IT'S OK, YOU GET THE PICTURE. ENJOY THE MUSHINESS OF IT.
Kilgharrah smiled at his reflection in the mirror. He is a magical and powerful dragon indeed for transforming into a man, an old man to be precise.
He entered the Emrys' private residence and smiled to himself. It was once the castle of the Once and Future King.
"Who are you?" he recognized the face of a friend from before. He knew too well that the person in front of him isn't the man he knew, but a reincarnation.
"The time has arrived." He spoke. "My name is Kilgharrah, the order of the Round Table know me as the Great Dragon." He added and the man gaped in shock. "Arthur has risen." He said and almost immediately, Balinor kneeled in front of him.
"What do you want me to do?" he asked and stood up. Kilgharrah approached him and rested a hand on his shoulder.
"Call the members of the Order and your family. They must know of this, especially your daughter. Also, tell your daughter, Meryln, to come with the friend she is with now. He needs to come as well." He ordered and entered the familiar hallways of the castle.
On the other hand, Meryln was staring at Arthur's face whenever he read an instruction from the folder. She was amused that a prince will be so interested in that sort of thing.
"Wait, I can't speak or look at the creatures in the eyes?" he looked up to her while she finished sketching her drawing pad.
"Yes; you'll only agitate these creatures. I'm not an expert really, but from the ancient books of magic there are some instances where these creatures control your mind." She explained and closed her sketch pad. She stood up and went to her left and removed the painting on the wall. She opened her safe and put the sketch pad inside.
"Why can't you just use your powers and make sure that no one will get it?" he curiously asked. He had a point.
"When I was growing up my parents reminded my siblings and me to never use our magic in public. Also, they also told us that if we can do things manually, we must do so because not many have the privilege to have magic at hand." She looked at him and closed the safe. "But I did put in a little magical trap in there. Whoever tries to steal it, he or she will die." She teased but saw the color from Arthur's face drain. "I was kidding." She added to make him calm.
"Of course you were; I wasn't really scared or anything." He tried to sound brave, but his tone failed him.
She looked down at her phone and saw her father's number.
"Hello dad, how are you?" she answered and smiled to herself.
"Meryln, I need you to come down to Ealdor this instant. Also, bring the person who's with you now." She furrowed her brows together after hearing her father's frantic voice. In addition, she wondered to how he knew that she's with someone right now.
"Is there anything wrong?" she rested her fingers on top of her desk. Arthur stood up and went forward to her.
"No, but we really need everyone in here now. Something has happened and we need to meet."
"Father, I don't know if the person who is with me at the moment can go with us." She bit her lip and looked at him. "He's kind of… busy."
"No, I'm not. I don't have any schedules for today and tomorrow." He smirked at her. Great, he really needs to go now.
"Fine, where are we going, to Ealdor or to Ireland?"
"Go to Ealdor in our residence." He hung up and she hummed while pursing her lips.
"It looks like you will meet the council." She smiled at him and the blinds opened altogether, revealing her employees who were gathered around the exterior of her glass office.
"We should go now." He suggested and she blushed when she realized at how close they were standing from one another.
"Yes, of course." She nodded and grabbed her purse. "Are we riding in your car, or mine?"
"We can go ride yours, but I will have to call Leon to get my car to the palace."
"Let's go." She pointed at the folder and he immediately took it from the table.
It took them two hours by car to get to Ealdor. He has been here once or twice when he was a little kid, but his family preferred Balmoral castle or Sandringham House during their weekends or Christmas.
"This is your ancestral estate?" he sounded condescending, but more amused to be honest.
"It wasn't ours prior." She smirked and got out of the car. She inhaled deeply to get a breath of fresh air and she smiled to herself. She missed this place. He got out of the car as well and thanks the heavens that he could finally stand up after a long drive. "It was King Arthur's castle; our family bought it when we acquired title and money. It's been in our care for eight hundred years." She proudly said and she began walking.
The castle was magnificent. It was not as big as Buckingham palace, but it is certainly beautiful. It was grand and brilliantly preserved.
"Why is it so quiet?" he asked and saw that no one was walking in and out of the drawbridge.
"That is because the gate of the castle is about a mile from here. The people get to go inside when my parents invite someone over for meetings, or if my parents host a formal party."
"I see."
"Anyways, the helpers in the castle are also members of the council. They are descendants of the druids—who didn't like to have too much power. We don't actually treat them as servants, but they just clean and preserve the castle for us."
"Well, where are the members of the Order?"
"They are probably in the Grand Ball room." She smiled and began walking up the staircase leading to the interior of the castle.
"Meryln, what took you so long—"her sister gaped her mouth when she saw Arthur following from behind her. "Meryln, why didn't tell us that Prince Arthur Pendragon is coming?" she said his name rather loudly in hopes that the others would hear her.
"Relax Freya! Dad told me to bring him here, and he already knows the truth about the Order and whatnot." She stopped her sister from further questions, and began walking up the stairs again.
"How did he know?" she followed behind her and the prince, all the while looking at the dashing prince.
"He saw me using my magic to defeat the Afanc, and then he helped me kill it." She explained and halted to wait for her. "Long story short, he needed an explanation and I gave it to him."
"Well, I guess you're going to be part of the order then." She smiled and stared at the tall prince's face with such admiration. He felt a little awkward and Meryln took notice of it.
"Freya, this is Arthur and vice versa. Now, how did they know about him knowing about the order?" she asked nervously and it took Freya a second or two to get what she was saying.
"I don't know, but an old man came and ordered everyone to be called."
"Wait, what is this thing I heard about me being part of the order?" he sounded excited.
Never in his life had he been this excited. Well, he's a prince and he grew up in a dull upbringing with the exceptions of family outings and school.
"You see, if someone outside of the order found out about the order, they will become members of the court and they will swear the oath of protecting magic and the people from harm." Freya explained all at once without breathing and gave Meryln a look that says: I beat you.
They entered the ball room and many people who recognized the prince gasped. They were expecting someone new, but never in a million years did they expect the prince to arrive.
"Meryln, I know you have a good explanation for this." Her dad's voice was stern while bowing his head slightly to the prince. "Your highness…"
"Well…" she looked at Arthur and he took notice of her expression. She was scared. "I… did…"
"She and I are dating, sir. I was visiting her workplace and she got a call from you saying that you needed me here." He took the initiative and lied to her father. She only looked at him in horror with her mouth agape and much paler colored face. Murmurs from the people were heard, and Freya and the other younger women sulked when they heard the prince say.
They were already jealous of Meryln's beauty, but they became more jealous upon hearing the prince's revelation.
"Well then, I see that the destiny has begun." They heard an old, yet wise voice from behind Balinor and an old man who looked wise smiled at Meryln. "Do you remember me, Meryln and Arthur?"
Meryln her brows together and put aside what Arthur said from a while ago. She had never seen the man, and nor did he. However, his voice sounded familiar.
"It was you!" she pointed at him. "You're the person who called me and told me about what to do to defeat the Afanc."
"My name is Kilgharrah, the Great dragon of the Old Religion. But for you Meryln, you can call me: friend."