I wanted to get this out days ago, but wifi has been a pain. I've had to re-edit my documents so many times. Let's just hope that I am successful.
Previously on Lya200's story "Arthur"
Merlin and Arthur communicate via telepathy. Arthur makes a unicorn friend, who bows to him because it recognizes that he is the Once and Future King. Merlin is enjoying hearing his real name again. And someone is calling Arthur's name.
Dammit, why won't people let me work? Take THREE of writing the music.
-"Dumbledore's Army" by Nicholas Hooper (Harry Potter)
-"Very Old Friends" by Howard Shore (Lord of the Rings)
disclaimer: I hast "borrowed" some creatures from the Harry Potter universe. See "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them" by "Newt Scamander" (cough JK Rowling cough) for details. Great read.
Let's Go On An Adventure
Phantoms
Arthur glanced out the window. In his opinion, the glass could do with a great deal of cleaning, but it seemed that Merlin was just as lazy in this life as he was in his past. Not that Arthur cared about looking out the fogged up glass. In fact, he was barely registering his surroundings at all.
At this moment, he was thinking. Yes, what a feat that was. However, it just so happened to be the truth. Actually, he spent a good portion of his time thinking, despite what others seemed to think.
Arthur was just trying to take it all in. After yesterday, he had been unable to see his dreams the same way. He was supposed to see that each event in the dreams actually happened. However, last night, there was a voice. One moment the dream was as clear as usual. Then it was as if all sound was muted but for that voice. It was obviously male, and it sounded so ancient... Almost like Merlin.
Arthur knew that it was not Merlin. He was used to the voice. Yet he knew that he did not imagine the voice. It was as ancient as Merlin was, if not more. Arthur had no idea who it was.
They knew his name. Then again, more people knew Arthur's name than he originally gave credit for. He did not have a whole lot of contact with people because he was homeschooled. He had few friends growing up. It was mainly just Kay and him.
I wonder how Kay will take it. Or should Arthur tell him? It was not his surrogate brother's business. Knowing him, Kay would probably drunkenly reveal Arthur's secret. Then Bella would find out that Arthur knew. He relished knowing that he was secretly a step ahead. They counted on his ignorance. They did not try as hard if he seemed like easy prey.
The idea of going to Ector was laughable. He did not know how to take a joke; Ector did not even know when someone was being serious or not. He would call Arthur out on "making it up."
So the only person Arthur could talk to was an elderly warlock who apparently was his best friend a millennium ago. Yes, that seemed right. Things were really going swell, weren't they?
Arthur laughed dryly. Between being a long-dead king and immortal warlocks and forests of unicorns, Arthur did not know what was myth anymore. Next thing Merlin would be telling him would be that smurfs were real. For all Arthur knew, they were. He snickered at the idea of the tiny blue creatures actually existing.
Arthur felt his phone buzz in his pocket. Does Merlin actually have service out here? He opened the message and found it to be from Kay.
Hey, do you care if a couple of my friends use your bed since you're not here?
Arthur almost did not want to respond. Last thing he wanted was to have a member of the Eyes of Camelot sleeping in his bed. Kay did not even know who they were, however, and Arthur was not up to explaining when he did not even know the full story himself.
Whatever. As long as nothing shady happens, I don't care.
Then Arthur put his phone away, sighing. At least Kay was the same in some ways. However, he could not shake that feeling that something else was going on. I hope that he's doing okay without me there to babysit him.
Arthur was bored of sitting around. Being idle was never fun, of course, but there were times when it was bearable. Now the blond just wanted to get up and do something, something productive. The word "hunt" swam through his head, but what would he shoot? Helpless unicorns? No thanks.
Besides, he did not know this forest that well. Yes, Arthur knew that there were unicorns and other magic creatures, but the majority of them were probably dangerous. What would he hunt with, his dagger? He'd get killed by a misjudged creature of magic before so much as snaring a two-headed rabbit.
Maybe a normal walk in the woods? He might as well get to know this forest. Arthur planned on staying here for as long as possible. Somehow, he knew that this was the only safe place for him to be since Kay seemed to be making friends with the wrong sort of people. Of course, he could not stay here forever. Ector would start missing him.
He pulled the leather jacket off the back of the chair. After checking to make sure his watch and knife were in its pockets, he slipped on the garment. Arthur patted down his jeans' pockets for his phone and wallet. He was using his spare driver's license, but sooner or later he would have to recover the original, even if it was long gone.
At least he had one name to blame. Bella. Even so, she was just a pawn playing the game of another, more powerful man, the Master. Merlin seemed to know who he was, yet he did not tell Arthur. By now, surely this "Master" had possession of the driver's license, all the proof he needed that this indeed was Arthur.
Why couldn't I have been reborn in a different body and with a different name?
Ector had told Arthur the story of his birth a few times before Arthur learned not to ask. The doctors did not know what went wrong, as his mother's pregnancy had no problems before. Then, on the night of his birth, that cold Christmas Eve, it was as though another force was at work, counteracting everything the doctors did. It was said to have been a miracle that Arthur had survived. Madalyn lived just long enough to name here child, yet she had no reason to name him "Arthur." It was as if the same force was at work yet again.
Arthur now had reason to blame magic.
Not that magic was all that bad. Merlin's shown him otherwise. It was only those who wielded the magic that gave the power a bad name. Arthur could neither blame nor thank magic for anything. It was the reason that Arthur was still alive, but sometimes, the Once and Future King could not tell if that was supposed to be a good thing.
Now he was getting off track. Arthur was supposed to be exploring Broéliande. Yes, it was around eleven in the morning, and Merlin was nowhere to be seen. He went out before Arthur woke up, leaving a note written in an untidy scrawl and a bagel (with a bite taken out of it) on that table. The note detailed the following:
Clotpole, I have went on some errands of SEVERE importance. I do not expect to be gone long, perhaps just the day. Do what you will, but please refrain from smashing my pots. You broke my favorite pot once about a thousand years ago. Funny story (for another time of course).
When I return, there is something I wish to discuss with you. It involves you and your destiny and the only one who can describe it completely. I just need to gather the right supplies. If it would not pain you to do so, find some clothes decent for outdoor wear. I am NOT washing your socks. -Merlin
P.S. Your bagel was very good. Thanks for letting me have a taste.
Of course, Merlin could have just as easily eaten his own breakfast. Then again, he could have also been more descriptive about where he was going instead of talking in riddles.
A thousand years alone must have really addled his brain.
Not that Arthur could blame him. He did not know what he would do if he had to watch all his friends grow old and die while he lived an immortal life. Who has he been talking to this whole time, the lake?
For some apparent reason, he found a set of hiking boots in his room. They were a size too small, but he figured that they would do for whatever the warlock was planning. Now that Arthur had some time to kill, he figured that it would not hurt to break in those boots with a trek through the forest. What could possibly go wrong?
The famous last words. Arthur snorted. Any number of things could happen. He was putting his trust in a man who could have him dead in a second. He was choosing to accept this magic around him. All the while, there were still those who wanted him dead, or rather, they wanted him alive and as their prisoner.
Yeah, a quick walk would be nice to clear his head.
He exited the hovel. When Arthur turned to look back at it, he could not hid his amazement at how dingy and little it looked. It was practically a doll's house, yet the interior felt like a normal house. Of course, it had to be the doing of magic. Arthur could not imagine why a spell designed to make a location appear to be smaller than it actually was would be necessary in a place where there was already an enchantment in place to dissuade people from coming here.
Yet it had not worked on Arthur. Arthur had almost no qualms about entering the place, and that was only from villager warnings, not from an inner voice like how Merlin had described. People in town always looked at him strangely when he was young and stupid and wanted to visit the "cursed" forest. Well, it was cursed all right. Cursed against those brave at heart so that they did not enter Emrys's realm.
Arthur saw few normal creatures about. Yes, there were some squirrels waking from their hibernation, a few birds having already returned from their migration south, and Arthur thought that he saw the flash of a deer out of the corner of his eyes. However, he also saw an abundance of magical creatures.
For example, there was what looked like an underfed vulture in the trees. Its feathers were a greenish black. It was moaning loudly, unlike what birds were supposed to do. There was also what looked like a winged horse in the distance, but it seemed to have the head of an eagle. Actually, when Arthur thought about it, it reminded him of a hippogriff. Arthur also thought that he saw several glowing yellow eyes in the bushes. When he parted the shrubbery, however, he was met by fluffy animals with fur in all the colors of the rainbow.
While the atmosphere seemed pretty calm, Arthur could not shake the feeling that he was being watched. Well, he was by all these animals, but he felt like he was being stalked by something of intelligence... or someone. Surely that was impossible, though. No mere human was supposed to be in this forest.
That did not appease his sense of unease.
Then he saw them. Their edges were blurred, and the figures were distant, but Arthur noticed vague apparitions far off in the distance. They were humanoid, and he knew that there was no way possible for them to be real, yet he paid attention just the same.
There were three of them. The one closest to him was clothed all in black, the same shade as her flowing mess of ebony curls. Even from the distance, Arthur could have sworn that her nude mouth was curled upward in a snarl. In her emerald eyes was a look of pure loathing. Arthur felt uncomfortable under her sharp glare, but she made no move towards him. Then again, she couldn't have if she wanted to, as she was but a figment of Arthur's wild imagination.
The second figure stood somewhat close to her. He looked similar enough to be her brother, even though Arthur figured that they were not related by blood. He was young, really just around Arthur's age, yet there was an intelligence in his cold eyes. It betrayed the fact that he had seen too much horror. The young man, too, was dressed in dark clothing, but it was not terrifying. The clothing was merely an assortment of brown and grey furs to keep him warm. His facial expression, while partially shielded by his curly black hair, still shown him to be conflicted. His eyes periodically flicked towards the woman with dark hair.
Finally, there was a young woman. Whereas the other two had pale complexions and raven hair, she had dark skin and wavy brown hair. She had coffee-colored eyes, and they looked on Arthur in (how else could he hope to describe it) adoration. Her lips were pursed in a smile. Even though Arthur felt no breeze, the folds of her salmon-colored dress fluttered as if the wind was blowing. Her hands were folded in front of her, as if she were a servant waiting for further instruction.
Arthur deliberately ignored the other two apparitions in favor for the third one. She stood the furthest away, yet she was the one he saw most clearly. She was the one he was most inclined to join. The raven-haired woman caught the look of wonder Arthur was giving and scowled at the woman.
"There you are."
If Arthur had not been self-conscious, he would have jumped at Merlin's voice. He turned around slowly, his hand travelling to the pocket where he kept the knife. Then he released a breath.
"You know, it is not a good idea to sneak up on people. Someone could get hurt."
Merlin feigned a look of fear, which was unbelievable on his elderly face. "Oh, I am so scared! What on earth will this cabbage-head do to me? My magic will be of no use against his dangerous knife he always keeps in his pocket."
"Merlin..."
"Yeah, yeah. Shut up. I got it."
Arthur raised an eyebrow. "I was going to comment that sarcasm coming from your lips makes it hard to take you seriously regardless. It is not a good look for someone as old as you." He took a breath. "But yes, shut up."
Arthur glanced towards the apparitions, but they were gone. It was as if they never existed in the first place.
"What are you looking at?" Merlin pretended to be interested in the air where Arthur was staring.
"Err, nothing. I thought I saw something." Arthur knew that he was going to use this excuse a lot.
"Might want to get your eyes checked. We don't want a blind king." Merlin chuckled and glanced at the objects in his hands. He smirked. "Hey, dollophead! Catch!"
The warlock tossed Arthur a canvas bag. The sack landed at Arthur's feet. Flushing, he opened it to find granola bars, a metal canteen of water, a spare change of clothes, and a few other things. "What's this for?"
"This," the warlock said as he held up his own pack, "is for our trip. Do you have any problems with mountain-climbing?"
Arthur shook his head. What was Merlin planning? "No, but where are we going?"
The old man stroked his beard, his eyes clouding in thought. "To talk to an old friend of mine, Kilgharrah."
Okay. Any more problem? Can I actually finish this?
Oh, yes. Kilgharrah. Should have been easy enough to piece together. I hope you enjoyed. I certainly enjoyed WASTING 3 WHOLE DAYS TRYING TO SAVE THIS DOCUMENT. And then Cheer Camp, so no updates are possible until Wednesday. Which'll suck, because I want to start the next chapter already.
What do you think will happen next?
Thank you mersan123, Kyromatronix, Pompous Butterfly, and Guest for reviewing.
Thank you mersan123, Walluruby, moroflake, ScruffydaDruid, KaylaFlaishans, , Pompous Butterfly, and XxTheMoonRiddlexX for following.
Thank you Shiruu, ScruffydaDruid, Lala3200001, and for favoriting.
Special thanks to mersan123 for reviewing almost every chapter.
~Lya200~