It was frustrating how slow it went. She walked and walked but seemed to get nowhere. It felt like for every step she took she had to rest for a minute or two, and Merlin resented herself for it. But her body was old now, even though her mind wasn't, and there were naught she could do about it. So on she walked, painstakingly slow, towards the end of the known world.
When the princess had walked for about half a day (and gotten an embarrassingly short distance) she suddenly heard a neigh. At first she thought she'd imagined it, because she was in the midst of a deep fur forest, and who would be riding here? But then she heard it again, and for a moment she was indecisive as to if she should walk towards the sound, or if she was to turn around and hide. She really wanted to talk to another human being, it'd been so long, and the last one she'd talked to was Agravaine.
The thought of Agravaine made Merlin's blood run cold and her magic coil inside her, the man scared her, but yet she hated him with her whole being! But, she told herself, now was not the time for a fight if it was indeed Agravaine that was coming for her, since she was now old and ugly and weak. And so she hid behind a few high boulders.
Once more she heard the neighing before she saw the source of it, and when she did she couldn't help but laugh. It was no menacing uncle coming to get her, but a lone horse without a rider. And not just any horse, but hers! It was the old horse she'd stolen from Agravaine, the one she'd named Grey!
So Merlin walked out from her hiding and the horse came trotting to meet her.
"Hey, how did you find me, huh? You are such a good horse, yes you are!" Merlin told the horse as she absentmindedly ran her fingers through its mane. She wondered indeed how the horse had found her. Was it really a happy coincidence? She looked different now, even felt different, but the horse didn't seem to notice. Or maybe it was just this nice to all old ladies it met.
Merlin wondered if she could ride it still. Her body was not as young as it was used to be, couldn't do the things she'd done before, but it would be bliss to be able ride for a bit. For a moment she contemplated how she was supposed to get up on the thing. The horse wasn't high by any means, probably not much taller than a pony, but she was old and there was no stirrup to help her up, the horse still without both saddle and bridle.
Suddenly Merlin got an idea. If she was to climb one of the rocks behind which she hid before and then mount the horse, it would probably be much easier. She tried to get Grey over to the stones, but to no avail. She tried to pull it by its mane, tried to bribe it with some freshly picked grass, but the horse seemed stuck in its place. When none of this worked, she decided to try and use her magic instead. She gently pushed a tendril of that glowing stream inside her towards the horse, gently leading it to where she wanted it to be, and lo and behold, the horse actually moved.
After that it was easy to climb the horse. Using her magic she guided Grey towards the end of the known world, where her shadow prince was waiting for her.
Merlin rode through many a forest and over many a moor, her old bones aching as Grey gently walked along the path Merlin had laid out for them. Merlin lost track of how long they'd travelled, but one day, they were finally there.
The end of the known world, it turned out, was a harsh place, a lone castle laying on a rocky island surrounded by a cold, indifferent ocean. A path made by grey rocks surrounded by grey waves led to the castle, and the cold wind made Merlin's grey hair dance along with that of her horse's mane and tail.
"Here I must leave you." Merlin said to Grey as she jumped down from the horse's back. The horse gently puffed her with his muzzle, and then she was on her way.
She walked slowly along the path that led up to the castle and she shivered slightly as great grey waves crashed upon the black rocks and splashed cold water upon her. She wished she could walk faster, and not for the first time she cursed the dragon and his prize to pay. But she also knew that she'd do it again if she had to, because she had to find her brother, to tell him that she knew what he'd sacrificed for her, and that both she and Camelot wanted him back.
Finally, finally, she was standing before the grey and looming castle, and she absentmindedly fingered the ring she was wearing around her neck, the one Arthur'd given her such a long time ago, as she knocked on the big black door that seemed to be the main (and as far as Merlin could see, the only) entrance to the castle.
Three times she knocked, and it echoed faintly before the door was swung open by a beautiful woman, dark locks surrounding a pale face and eyes that seemed to see through Merlin's very soul.
"Uh, hello…?" Merlin said, feeling awkward and unprepared and very nervous. This was it, if she couldn't convince this woman to give her her brother's shadow she would've given it all up for nothing, her beauty, her youth…
"Well, hello my dearest," The woman looked her over, "I have been waiting for you."
"Then you know why I have come." Merlin cursed how weak her voice sounded.
"Why yes. But please do come in, this is not a place for making deals." And with that statement the woman was gone, leaving Merlin with no choice but follow, lest she would be left standing alone in the cold outside the castle. And so Merlin followed her inside.
The castle was made of a dark grey stone, and from the outside it'd looked looming and almost murky, but once inside Merlin found that the castle was actually quite homely. The walls were of course still made of dark, grey stones, but there hung colourful tapestries and there were lit candelabras hanging along the walls. It was no Camelot, but Merlin found that she actually quite liked it none the less.
Trough long dwindling corridors they walked, the woman at a pace the princess's old body had a hard time keeping up with. But after what felt like an eternity the woman stopped, opened an old wooden door and led Merlin into the room awaiting on the other side.
There were two high chairs and a small table next to a fireplace and the woman, whom had yet to introduce herself, gestured for Merlin to sit in one of the chairs while she seated herself in the other. Once Merlin had done so the woman began to speak.
"You have travelled far, young princess." She said, and Merlin did her best to hide her surprise at being called both young and princess since she herself could barely recognise herself as the fair princess she had been when she'd left her home in search for her brother. But she must've failed since the woman continued, "Oh, don't look so surprised. I know a lot of things. But, how rude of me, I have yet to introduce myself. I am Morgana Le Fay, the Shadow Collector." Merlin realised that the voice she'd heard in her vision must've belonged to this woman, and that it must've been with her Arthur'd made his deal. Merlin had no idea whether to be grateful of this stranger for saving her life or mad at her for all the suffering she'd cost Arthur.
"If you know who I am, then you must know why I've come." Merlin said. But since the Shadow Collector made no attempt to answer, just stared at the princess as if her eyes could see into her very soul (which might've been the case for all Merlin knew), she continued, "I'm here to get my brother's shadow back so I can find him and bring him home. I cannot stand the thought of him living alone somewhere, never to return to Camelot again, all because he wanted to protect me."
"I see that you are determined, a trait you and your brother have in common. But are you really willing to get your brother's shadow back? Everything comes with a price, you know."
"Is there anything I've learnt along this journey then that's it." Merlin sighed.
"Then I shall give you back what is yours. Your brother will get his shadow back, and you…" Morgana trailed off, a sad gleam in her eyes. Merlin was a clever girl, she could see where this was going.
"And I my sickness." She said, a finality to her voice. The woman in the chair opposed to her own only nodded with a pained expression.
They sat a while quiet, neither of them saying anything, before Morgana spoke again.
"There is nothing else I can do. I am sorry. There are rules and I can but follow them."
Merlin had come so far, and sacrificed so much, and she just couldn't give up now. Somehow getting back her sickness seemed like a fitting price.
"Give me my brother's shadow back and you will get my health in exchange."
"So be it." The Shadow Collector said. At the same time these words where uttered Morgana stroked Merlin's brow three times with her thumb and for each and every stroke Merlin could feel her health leaving and her sickness grow in her chest.
When she opened her eyes again (she hadn't even registered closing them) and looked into the other woman's eyes she could see them glow a molten gold, much like she imagined her own did when she practiced sorcery, before the gold faded to be replaced with Morgana's ordinary eye colour.
"Wait here." The Shadow Collector said before leaving the room, while Merlin could do nothing but sit there, breathing heavily and trying to get her sickness under control. There was a battle raging within her, her magic seeming to refuse to accept her fate, and she felt it as if her eyes were glowing golden as her magic and the sickness fought for dominance within her. If that was the case, Morgana seemed not to notice when she returned, Arthur's shadow trailing behind.
When Merlin left the castle at the end of the known world she found Grey waiting for her, and with great difficulty she mounted him, following her brother's shadow along the path it showed her. And despite being ugly, old and sick, for the first time in a long time Merlin felt hope burning brightly in her chest, burning as brightly as the magic still evident in her eyes.
Review please, it would make my awfull day a little bit better. Also, sorry for any mistakes, this is unbeta-ed