A knock on the door had stopped him from packing up the remainder of their belongings and Diarmuid guessed it was the innkeeper trying to drive them off or something of the sort, since they had only payed for one night. He approached the door and opened it slowly, whilst making sure that Arturia remained seated on the bed. "We are on our way out, sir." He spoke, but came across someone he did not recognise.
A man, possibly a year or two younger than himself, stood in front of him. Piercing blue eyes and black hair covered by a brown cloak. "Good morning," the young man greeted.
"Good morning," Diarmuid replied, keeping cautious of the male.
A bright smile from the young man's part, "May I enter?" There was delight in his eyes, relief even—as if he was glad to have come across them.
Diarmuid blinked, "I am sorry, but who are you?"
"Ah," the male nodded and extended a hand, "Merlin. I am Merlin."
Crossing his arms over his chest and leaning against the door frame, Diarmuid blinked, "What would you like?"
Seeing as how the Irishman was not going to shake his hand, Merlin retracted it and nodded again, "I came to meet with Arturia. I honestly thought it would be a longer while for her to arrive, but I am glad that she has finally arrived back in Camelot."
"What is it that you want with my sister?"
"There is no need to lie to me. Though, I never would have thought that Igraine had given her to an Irish Knight... It must have been a long journey on her part."
"Excuse me? Who are you and how do you—"
"I told you, I am Merlin. Arturia is—" The male stopped as he realised that they were in a public space, "—it is best to speak inside."
Diarmuid stepped aside and allowed for the man to enter. "Arturia is...?" He continued the other male's sentence as to spark the conversation back up.
Merlin noted that the little child was currently packing some candles into a small bag, making sure to look up at them when she had heard her name. "Hello there," Merlin greeted, "You look a lot older now; you've turned into a big girl, right my little princess?"
Arturia looked at him past her small eyelashes and she gave a little smile, "Thank you," she mumbled as she bowed her head in respect to the older male.
Diarmuid pursed his lips and then opened them once more, "How do you—"
"I have already told you, I am Merlin. Arturia is, well, she is special. Her mother has sent me to watch over her. I have always been watching over her, but now I can do so first hand." Merlin turned towards Diarmuid, who only gave him a confused look.
Diarmuid furrowed his brows and tried to understand the words of the male, "Pardon me?"
"Alright, we'll begin from the start. I am a loyal servant of Igraine, this little girl's real mother." The young male stopped and took a breath. "Upon learning that the Saxons were to kill the newborns, she was able to run away. It had truly taken her a while but she made it and when she returned to Camelot, she was weak beyond all hope. I had tried my best to save her with the best of my abilities, but it had been to late and she had passed away, entrusting Arturia to me."
"I am sorry," he breathed, "But this is not the child that you have been looking for. Arturia and I come from Hibernia, and I can assure you that no mother could possibly travel from Camelot to Hibernia with a newborn babe in her hands."
Merlin took yet another deep breath and dropped his gaze to view the small female again,"But Igraine did, and Arturia is alive. Look, Diarmuid, this is the Arturia that we have been awaiting; whether you wish to believe it or not." He then looked back up at Diarmuid, "She was born on the evening of the sixteenth day in September. Igraine had left her at your doorstep in the early days of spring of the following year... I am very glad that my mistress was able to find a good man to entrust her with, though a woman would have been more fitting in my eyes."
At the given moment, Diarmuid had not wanted to think about it, "It was very nice to meet you, Merlin, I haven't any idea of why you know my name and how you have found us but it would be best if you leave us alone." He was possibly an imposter if anything and he was not the slightest bit special.
"Alright then, look," Merlin smiled eagerly and lifted his hand in front of his face. He then blew on something that looked like purple dust and mumbled some words under his breath.
Right then, in front of Diarmuid's very own eyes, a scene formed—like a play. He himself was sitting when a knock on the door had stopped him, and then he recognized what was happening before him; it was the day he had met Arturia. Taking a step back, the male watch as the past was preformed by the dust and then he shot his head to Merlin, "A wizard?"
"Magic!" The little girl giggled as she clapped her hands together, "Magic!"
His smile widened and he seemed even more excited, "Yes, I have been trying to explain it; but worry not! I am not going to harm you or her—I am here to save both of you."
"More! May I see more magic tricks?" Arturia laughed as she walked up to Merlin.
Now, Diarmuid was having a rather hard time. To begin with, he had already been tricked by a Witch before and his life had fallen out of place then but then again, his own foster father had had possessed magic and he had been a good man. "Fine, I have no choice but to let you stay," he said as he witnessed the child holding onto the male's pant leg, "but, if you do anything to hurt her..."
Merlin brought a hand up to salute, "Yes, sir. I promise not to disappoint."
"Oh, and you would have to carry your own weight."
"I have a home here," the younger of the two chirped, "it is not too far and it is not that big, but it will work for the three of us. Unless you would rather pay per night."
Diarmuid blinked and then nodded, "Alright then, thank you." He mumbled as Arturia went back to packing once Merlin had done a small magic trick for her; making her a little bird statue from the dust.
He always held tightly to her hand for he had been afraid of loosing her. Her small hand securely held between his fingers, her body close so that she would not wander far. It was not as if he was trying to keep her caged, but they were dangerous times, and if he did not keep an eye on her, it was possible that he would loose her.
Merlin had offered to haul the horse as they walked to his cabin house, he had promised it was not too far, but Arturia was already beginning to get tired from the mindless walking. After a bit of complaining from Diarmuid's part because she was asking for water, they had arrived at the small house.
It was smaller than he had imagined, which had caught him off guard because he thought it would be able to hold at least another two people. The little girl—now on the man's shoulders—cried out in joy. "I like it!" She smiled brightly.
"I am glad that you like it, princess." Merlin smiled and nodded at her. "It has a garden in the back, so we needn't go to the market all the time. There are only two rooms, which means you and Arturia must share one, and the kitchen is a reasonable size..."
"A garden?" Diarmuid lifted and eyebrow.
A nod from the blue-eyed male, "I like to save money."
"That is fine, I only want to keep my horse away from it."
"Oh, of course. We can pay to keep him in a stable until we can formally get him his own."
The Irishman nodded, "If you say."
They then entered the house, and it seemed a bit more spacious than it did from the outside. There was no set kitchen, the living room and the kitchen were combined and there was a small table in the middle. It seemed like a warm house, it had a warm atmosphere and a welcoming feeling. But the size of the house seemed uncomfortable for him because it reminded him of that cabin in the woods,and for a split second he felt the coldness of winter wash over him.
"Is everything alright, Diarmuid?" The voice had snapped him out of the trance and the Irishman looked over at the other male.
"Yes," he had spoken lowly but made sure to sound unaffected.
"I am sorry it looks so much like it. I tried to make it different, guess it did not work." Merlin mumbled. "Though I hope that you are able to make better memories here."
"Yes, thank you."
~Author's Note~
Hey guys! I hope you enjoyed the chappy and everything. New character yay! He's modeled after Merlin from Merlin, where else? In my opinion Diarmuid did not give anytime to build that relationship but like who cares? Lancer needed a place to stay; he was bribed. Nah, but I feel you think he might be too trusting; he's not. I hope you guys liked it and thank you so much for the reviews!
Sincerely,
~Ms. AtomicBomb
