Red hot searing agony.
Could no one else feel this?! How could they all sit there talking, mellifluous with normality, when there was so much fire eating at their skin?
He was squinting, frantically rubbing his hair to stop the burning. He might have been crying, all his tears evaporating in the heat. He could be screaming or maybe that was the roaring in his ears from the flames.
Merlin wobbled, the ground shifting underneath his feet, and suddenly he wasn't there anymore. The feeling was gone, and he was gasping on a cobbled surface, his hands gliding and clinging to the smooth wet stones. He immediately placed his face on them. Cooling it. Reason glided from him and all he felt was pure animalistic relief. Cold. Heavenly cold. Three weeks of pain gone in a flash. No longer was he being eaten alive from the inside.
He wasn't sure how long he laid there. Waiting for his temperature to drop, the relief to saunter off, and the confusion to settle like a heavy weight in the emptiness of his stomach.
Here? Where was here?
Merlin tilted his head, mouth still agape to greedily suck in gulps of chilling air, and looked across to his right. This was Camelot's courtyard. But it was empty and wet with puddles of water. The sky blurred with dark stormy clouds.
It had been sunny this morning. How in the world had it gotten extremely colourless in that small space of time? And for that matter where was the council meeting...? How did he get here? Where was the clotpole?
With that last anxious thought Merlin felt his magic come to his aid, flooding his system with thick honey comfort. It was slower than normal, and that made him worry. He sat up sluggishly and forced himself onto his feet. He felt like a drunk; the steps he took were small and awkward. With each and every corner he stumbled past he stopped, hoping to see someone drifting in the heavy volume of shadows. Or at the very least see signs of human existence. Anything would have been a comfort to him. Unfortunately he was greeted by the welcome embrace of absence.
Hi again everyone! You are all gorgeous! Thank you for your reviews/favourites/follows! I hope this story is leaving you confused and wanting more. See you soon :) xx
(please ignore any grammatical or punctuation errors. Merlin is not mine!)