I just threw words on a page and hoped they were good. College apps time, so I should be done soon, but this chapter is just to let you guys know what is going on. Plus I wanted to cause my friend pain. hehehe.
Merlin woke up feeling like he was forgetting something. He quickly shrugged off that feeling when he looked at his clock and realized he was supposed to get up 30 minutes ago to get ready for work.
"SHIT!" Merlin screamed, racing around his room and flashing on clothes with little bursts of magic. Merlin got dressed in record time, did a spell for personal hygiene he learned while in Camelot, then raced to his car.
"Rough morning?" One of his fellow teachers asked as Merlin rushed into the school building where he taught.
"Yeah, but at least traffic wasn't so bad." Merlin answered, smiling at his coworker. "At least I made it."
"Yes, well you best hurry or you will be late. Class starts in about thirty seconds." The other teacher said, slipping into his own classroom, leaving Merlin racing towards his own.
"Safe!" One of his students yelled as Merlin literally slid into the classroom right as the bell rang.
"Very funny Kevin." Merlin said, slipping into teacher mode. "Okay, Bobby, please take attendance. And Lacy, I would appreciate it if you would collect the classes papers."
As his students began their morning routine, Merlin got situated at his desk. He taught British History, and they were just about to start a very important part of it, at least to him it was important. But he still couldn't shake the feeling he was forgetting something.
"Alright class, ready to start on my favorite unit of the year?" He asked. The class groaned and started to pull out their textbooks and notebooks. "Nope, no notes and no texts. We are just going to have a discussion."
The air seemed to be more upbeat as the students put their things away.
"Who can tell me what they know of the Legend of King Arthur?" Merlin asked the class. A few hands went up in the air, mainly the book nerds that constantly had a new show, book or movie to obsess about.
"Jenna."
"King Arthur is supposed to be the Once and Future King, the man who was supposed to unite all of England and bring peace to the world." Jenna said.
"Good. Anyone else have something?"
Surprisingly, one of the quieter kids raised their hand.
"Jeff."
"Wasn't he raised in the country until he could pull the sword out of the stone, and friends with the powerful wizard Merlin?" Jeff answered.
"Thats what the books tell us." Merlin said, laughing on the inside how much the history books got wrong. They often switched his and Arthur's stories.
"Hey Mr. Emyrs, isn't your first name Merlin?" Lacy asked. "And wasn't Merlin's other name Emrys, which means immortal."
"Yep, looks like someone has been studying their latin." Merlin said with a smile. "My family has always been huge fans of Merlin's legend, so every man in my family has been named Merlin."
"So I take it you are not a thousand year old warlock?" Someone in the back asked.
"No, fortunately not." Merlin lied with a smile.
"That would be so cool, to live forever." A nerd by the name of Jack said. "Imagine all the things you would see!"
Merlin felt a little anger boil up, but kept it under control. These kids had no idea what it was like, and hopefully they never will.
"But imagine all the things you would lose." Merlin said, looking Jack right in the eye. The class, who had started chatting about living forever, quieted down and looked at him with confusion in his eyes.
"I want all of you to look at your friends here, then imagine watching them growing old and dying, but you are still there. Imagine having to make new friends again and again, only to see every single one of them grow up and die before your eyes. Everyone dies, except you. You would be alone over and over again." Merlin told them. The class had become very subdued and quiet. Even the kids who never paid attention seemed to be contemplating the meaning of his words.
"That would suck." Jack finally said.
"That it would. Now what else do we know about the legend of King Arthur?" Merlin asked.
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"Now Lancelot was considered the bravest and most noble knight in all the round table." Merlin lectured to his fifth period class.
"Then why did he sleep with the King's wife?" Kelly asked.
"He never did, it was all a trick by Morgana to try and destroy the Knights of the Round Table and bring about the end of Camelot." Merlin said. He was about to go into more of the adventures of Lancelot, when a knock at the door interrupted him.
"Excuse me, Mr. Emrys?" Tom, the office worker said, opening his door with a smirk on his face.
"What can I do for you Tom?" Merlin asked with a easy going smile.
"Well there is someone here to see you. Can I let them in?" Tom asked.
"Uh, sure." Merlin said, smile dropping. Who would be here to see him? He thought. Every who would died long ago, and he tried not to make many friends outside of his workplace because he knew they would all die soon.
Tom stepped back and a women with black hair and a rather pretty sundress walked in. It took Merlin to recognize her.
"Freya?" He asked, disbelief in his eyes and mouth open wide. Freya smiled and nodded.
"Hey Merlin. You forgot your lunch this morning." She said with a huge smile. She brought two brown bags out from behind her back. Merlin was still gaping at her, trying to grasp the fact that she was here.
"Mr. Emrys, is this your girlfriend?" Kelly asked, disbelief in her own voice.
"Kind of." Freya answered her. Merlin was still thunderstruck that she was here, and Tom was laughing in the doorway.
"What do you mean kind of? You are either dating or you aren't." Kelly pointed out.
"Well Merlin here proposed a while ago, and we are getting married the first chance we are both free." Freya told Kelly with a smile, then turned back to Merlin. "So, I brought you lunch."
Merlin snapped out of it. He walked over to his door and shut the door on Tom who was still laughing.
"Right, okay." Merlin said, still trying to sort out his head. He turned to Freya, then looked at the class. "Class, this is my fiancé, Freya. Freya, this is my fifth period History class."
"Hi!" Freya said cheerfully, flashing a smile towards his class. Immediately his class started asking questions.
"How did you two meet?"
"Why are you going out with him?"
"When did he propose?"
"She is so out of your league Mr. Emyrs."
"How long have you two been going out?"
"Seriously, how did you get a girl like that!"
"Alright!" Merlin yelled over his class. Freya just chuckled. The class quieted down and looked at their teacher.
"We met what feels like several life times ago." Merlin began to answer. He might as well tell them the truth. "I proposed somewhere around the 18th" he didn't tell them it was the 18th century. "And we've been going out for a long time now. And yes, I know she is way out of my league."
The class and Freya chuckled. Freya smirked at him, know how he told them the truth, but not the whole truth.
"Now back to class." Merlin said with a smile. "Freya, would you mind sitting at my desk until this class is over? We are starting unit you might like, the legend of King Arthur."
Freya nodded and went to his desk in the back of the classroom. The entire class groaned as he continued to teach.
"What about the Lady of the Lake?" Kelly asked. "I mean, everyone knows how King Arthur came to be, and Merlin is the most famous wizard of the legend, but how did the Lady of the Lake come to be?"
Merlin glanced at Freya in the back and smiled.
"Should I tell them?" He asked telepathically.
"Do your best. I have always wanted to hear your side of the story" Freya answered.
"Well long before Arthur became King, the warlock Merlin fell in love with a beautiful women." Merlin began. "She had been cursed by an evil sorceress to turn into a beast every night until she killed someone. Because of this curse, she was hunted down and captured by a bounty hunter, who brought her to Uther Pendragon's kingdom, Arthur's father. Merlin found the girl in a cage that prevented her from changing into the beast, and freed her. For a few days, Merlin hid her in the catacombs underneath the castle while Uther's men searched for the girl. He brought her food and showed her little tricks. They fell in love with each other, and they planned to run away together. Except on the night before they were supposed to leave, the girl changed into the beast and escaped from the catacombs. Many guards found her and attacked, one dealt her a mortal blow with his sword. After being stabbed, the girl escaped to the edge of Camelot, where Merlin found her. She had changed back, and he brought her to a lake that he knew of. See, when they talked about running away together, the dreamed about getting a littl house by a lake that glittered like diamonds, with mountains in the distance and a calming forest all around them, where they could live in peace. He brought her to that place, and she died in his arms. He laid her body on a boat and set it a drift, and lit it on fire, as was the traditional burial at the time. Her spirit became one with the lake, which guards the sword Excaliber and keeps the spirit of King Arthur, so that both are ready when the time arises for them to come back into the world and save it once more. They say that once a year, the spirit of the Lady of the Lake can appear on land, and Merlin spends the entire day with her, as he is immortal."
Merlin was finding it a little hard to keep it together, but Freya had tears running down her face.
"Thats so sad!" Elyane exclaimed.
"The price of living forever." Merlin said. The bell rang. "Don't forget to do the reading. And tomorrow I will be assigning projects!"
The class groaned as they hurried out and joined the giant blob of students rushing to their next class. Merlin looked at Freya.
"You know I knew I forgot something. I just can't believe I forgot what today was." He said sheepishly. "I am sorry."
Freya laughed and brushed the tears off her face. "Its alright, you're only about 1500 years old. People tend to let things slip in their old age."
"Hey, I'm not that old. Look at me! I look just like I did when we first met." Merlin protested.
"Yes, but give it another few years and you might get that pot belly you got around the 1740s." Freya said.
"It was a different time." Merlin said.
"Yes, well just in case, I brought you a healthy lunch." Freya said, gesturing to the two brown bags on his desk. Merlin laughed and walked to the back of the classroom. Freya handed him one as he sat down across from her. He opened it up to see a simple sandwich and apple. He loved them both.
"First, how did you know I forgot my lunch?" Merlin asked as he pulled out his sandwich and apple. She did the same.
"When you weren't at the each waiting for my when I arrived, I waited until daybreak, then went up to your house only to see you rushing out the door." Freya explained. Merlin felt really guilty about forgetting about their special day. "I saw you didn't have one of the brown bags you usually do, so I gave it my best shot. How is it?"
"The sandwich, its perfect." Merlin said with a smile. "I am really sorry about forgetting. I have it marked on the calendar. Look behind you."
Freya turned around in Merlins swivel chair to see a calendar with a picture of a flower and a bunch of dates written on it. Only one day was circled in red, and it read FREYA COMES BACK! in large letters.
"Merlin, its fine. I actually enjoyed surprising you here. Its like we are a normal couple." Freya said, turning back to Merlin. Merlin blushed and looked down at his sandwich.
"Yep, our relationship is the definition of normal." Merlin said sarcastically. Freya laughed.
"So tell me, whats it like here?" Freya asked.
Merlin told her all about the school and his students. They had to stop when the bell signaling the end of lunch period.
"I have to get back to teaching. You can stay the while day and afterwords, we can spend the rest of the day together, like a proper couple." Merlin said with a grin and a wink.
"Its a date." Freya said, winking back. Students began filling into the classroom as Merlin went back up to the front.
"So it is true, Mr. Emyrs has a girlfriend." Someone said while entering.
"Yes, that is Freya, my fiancé. She will be here with us for the class, which means that she will be watching you all." Merlin warned his class with a smile. The class smiled and Merlin began to teach.
It continued like that for the rest of the day. The class would come in, exclaim how Merlin had a girlfriend, one of his female students had said rather loudly that she thought he was gay, then Merlin would teach class.
"You teach the same thing all day?" Freya asked as the two left the school when the last bell rang.
"Usually. Sometimes there might be an good discussion topic and I focus on that for the period, but other than that, its pretty fun." Merlin said. "Here's my car."
They got in the car and buckled up, Merlin checked all his mirrors, then took off. But Freya wasn't done asking questions.
"So about the whole I am out of your league," Freya began, Merlin blushed. "what does that even mean?"
Merlin let out a laugh, and Freya glared.
"Sorry, I just keep forgetting that you don't know much about this world." Merlin said. "Now, a bunch of younger people have come up with a bunch of categories for who people can and can not date. Them says that you are out of my league is like saying that you are way too awesome for me."
Freya laughed. "If they knew the truth, they would think that you are way out of my league."
Merlin turned redder and chuckled. "Well today lets, have a proper date. I need to make up forgetting today."
"Merlin, I told you its fine. It was nice being the girlfriend that randomly drops by your work to surprise you with lunch." Freya insisted. Merlin smiled as he pulled into his driveway.
"Well I am taking you out to dinner. Like a normal couple." Merlin said. Freya smiled and they got out of the car, and went into the house.
"Remember that day a while ago when I took you shopping?" Merlin said as they walked in.
"Yes, and you bought me a bunch of stuff I didn't really need." Freya said.
"Thats the day. Plus, after a thousand years, you should see my bank account." Merlin told her.
"Whats a bank account?"
"Its like a place where you store your money. Kind of like the treasury, but they also give you money for placing your money in the bank." Merlin explained.
"Okay. But what were you saying before?" Freya asked.
"Oh yeah. Well some of the things I bought you didn't seem like you would need them, where ever you go when your not here." Merlin said, leading her back into his room. "So I stored them here. A bunch of modern day clothes, normal clothes. And because today we are pretending to be a normal couple, I thought I would take you out to eat at a normal restaurant."
"Oh Merlin thats so sweet!" Freya exclaimed. Merlin smiled at her, and led her into his room.
He showed her a wardrobe that was full of women's clothing of the modern day. He showed her this material called denim that was very comfortable. He showed her the shirts from their shopping spree day, then left her alone to change.
An hour later, Freya found herself in a simple outfit of jeans a nice gray shirt with Merlin seated across from her in his causal clothes. They were in what Merlin called a diner. There were black and white tiled floors, red booths and red bar stools at a long counter. They had been shown to a booth by a nice older women and told that someone called Gina would be with them shortly.
"So what's good here?" Freya asked. She was glancing at the menu, but everything sounded so good.
"Do you trust me?" Merlin asked, a glint of magic in his eyes.
"Of course." Freya said.
"And are you a vegetarian?" Merlin asked.
"Nope. Not at all." Freya responded.
"Perfect."
A women named Gina arrived at their table, and Merlin ordered for them both. She wrote down their orders and went back to the kitchen.
"Whats a milkshake?" Freya asked as soon as Gina left.
"You will find out. But be honest if you don't like it. Its pretty good though." Merlin told her.
"Okay, and whats a burger? And fries?" Freya continued.
"Trust me, you will find out the wonder of deep fried potatoes." Merlin told her. "After all the things humans have screwed up over the years, fries was one of the things they got right. As for the burger, you will find out."
"So this is what humans do on a normal date?" Freya asked. "Go to a place where others cook for you then eat it. What else do they do?"
"Well most couples do dinner and a movie, or just dinner. Some people go roller skating or bowling. A normal couple just does things together." Merlin told her. "But I was thinking we could go for a walk in the park across the street after dinner. Its a really pretty place."
"Sounds lovely."
Their food came a moment later, and Merlin was right.. Humans have screwed up a lot of things, but fried were one of the things done right.
"Try dipping them in a combo of mayo and barbecue sauces." Merlin suggested. "Looks and sounds gross, but they are fantastic."
Freya tried her fried plain, in ketchup, in barbecue sauce, mayo, mustard, and a few different combos of each of them.
"You were right, fries are amazing. And this burger is fantastic!" Freya told him. Merlin laughed at her amazed expression to the food.
"And this is called a milkshake?" Freya asked, pointing to the tall glass that was nearly empty.
"Yep. Its ice cream and a bunch of other things that I never really cared to learn about." Merlin told her. Freya laughed.
They felt so normal as they finished their meals, laughing and chatting about Merlin's job and the newest books. Finally, they finished, Merlin paid for their meals, and they left the quaint little diner and walked across the street to a park.
"So Kyle was panicking, and I knew he didn't have his paper, but I have a rule that if you provide a good excuse as to why you forgot it, I will give you an extension depending on the story. It doesn't have to be real, just a really good excuse." Merlin was telling Freya. "So Kyle is freaking out because he can't make up a story to save his life, then he blurts out 'I can't tell you why. Its classified.' And I laugh for a moment then ask, 'by who?' And clearly Kyle was not prepared, but he surprised me by saying 'By order of Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II.' And I just stand there, rather impressed, while the class is laughing. So I tell him 'Well Her Majesty has extended your mission for three days. Better get it done.' And the kid just deflates with relief. I mean, this paper was worth a good portion of his grade, so of course he was relieved."
Freya laughed. "You certainly have interesting students."
"They get even more interesting with each year. They come to school with these little blocks of computer that allow them to talk to each other, play games, go on social networks and text."
"What is text?"
"Its like a letter, but shorter and can be read immediately. Like people can have an entire conversation in an hour that would have taken weeks had they written letters, like in our time."
"And what is a social network?"
"Like Facebook, Tumblr, Twitter." Freya looked confused still, and Merlin mentally slapped himself. He was used to explaining the modern day to Freya, but sometimes he forgot that she was trapped in another world for most of the year.
"Its a thing on the internet" Merlin had told her about the internet, after all, he had helped inventing it. Its just those other two take all the credit. "where people from all over the place make profiles. Like they fill out a page about themselves and let everyone see it. Its really nice because it helps people stay connected to others, and my students use it to keep up with homework and tests. Although, if I ever show you the internet at home, remind me to not show you what fan-fiction is."
"But what is fan-fiction?"
Merlin looked a little uncomfortable, and regretted bringing it up. "People take stories, books, movies, tv shows, comics, anything really, and write alternate stories about it."
"But why do you want to avoid it. It seems cool that people would write stories about other things."
"Because I stumbled upon a Legend of King Arthur section one day while criticizing some of the historical records, and was thoroughly disturbed."
"Why?"
"I'll tell you when it doesn't scar me."
They walked in silence for a while the chilly wind provided them an excuse to walk arm and arm. Not that they needed an excuse. The darkness and silence of the night was a comfort to them both.
"That one's Orion's Belt." Merlin said suddenly. Freya looked up at where he was pointing, the stars. There were so little compared to the ones that were back in her day.
"And whats the story behind it?" Freya asked. Merlin smiled and told her a story of archers. It went on like that. She would point out a star and Merlin would tell her the story behind it. They both pointedly ignored the moon steadily rising.
Merlin led her to a bench as her spirit got weaker so they could still talk.
"So this is what normal couples do on dates?" She asked.
"Yep. Sometimes they do dinner and a movie, sometimes the go roller blading. They do a variety of things that helps them enjoy each other's company." Merlin told her with a smile.
"Well today felt like a normal couple day." Freya told him with a smile.
"Yes, well the second I get back to school tomorrow, the kids will be bombarding me with questions about you."
Freya laughed. "Well good luck. Maybe we can do roller blading next year, whatever that is."
"I'll try, but I might need you to pack a lunch. I don't know how I'm going to live without your cooking for a year."
"It was just a sandwich."
"The best sandwich I ever had. Better than Mary's."
"Well thats one heck of a compliment. I always remember her cooking to be fantastic, with all those packed lunches she gave us back in Camelot."
"Not that she knew was my date for the day. I'm pretty sure Arthur had given her orders to try to fatten me up though, because the amount of food she packed was always phenomenal."
They sat in silence for a few minutes, but the moon was nearing the center of the sky. They only had a few minutes left. Merlin buried his head into Freya's shoulder.
"Please don't leave me alone again." He whispered. Freya put an arm around him, but she was getting weaker.
"I don't have a choice. You know I would be here all the time if I could." She whispered back. "But remember something very important Merlin. You are never alone."
And with that, Merlin fell onto the bench. There was no one there to lean into to support him. It was just a young man lying on a bench, alone.