AN: I might have gotten a little carried away while writing this. :) Anyway, enjoy (hopefully)
"Once upon a time lived a knight called Nedallot the Endearing." Merlin began.
Ned completely blanched hearing that. Chuck let out a small laugh but Emerson who was standing in the corner just sent an amusing glance in the direction of the pie maker.
But they all stilled when on the table in front of Merlin appeared a miniature version of Nedallot on a horse and dressed in armour.
Arthur smiled at their gaping faces, he had always loved the way Merlin told his stories. And he had, after all warned them, in a way.
The mini Nedallot was simply standing there and looking around proudly, like a knight should. Merlin began to describe him.
"Nedallot was not a simple knight, oh no. He had a gift and a rare gift, at that. It was a gift he didn't want many people to know about."
The mini Nedallot immediately changed. He looked secretive and cast glances around him, as if trying to hide something.
"But about that later." Arthur was disappointed at the words, he wanted to know. The other three, on the other hand, were getting worried. They were wondering who exactly these strangers were and how they knew about Ned. Or Nedallot, as he was apparently called in the story.
"Right now we need a world for Nedallot the Endearing to live in." Merlin continued.
"The land was very different." At these words Merlin hesitated. Sensing a moment of opportunity Chuck opened her mouth. The young woman wanted to ask so many questions but decided against it. There would be plenty of time for that later and she really wanted to hear the story. Besides, she didn't know how asking a question could impact the way the story was told – would mini Nedallot have to act out the answer? Or maybe he would disappear? Whatever the case, Chuck didn't want to interrupt.
"Well, the world was different from ours" Merlin motioned between him and Arthur. "I guess for you it isn't that different. But I'll describe it anyway."
And he tried to describe it to his best ability. As he spoke the area around the mini Nedallot began to change. Beautiful flowers of every colour bloomed and small hills and houses appeared, resulting in a small scenery on the table in the kitchen.
What astonished everyone was how similar and at the same time different the small world was from the one outside the window. Both worlds were colourful, bright and full of nature. The differences lay in the details – the houses were more in the style that Arthur recognised from Camelot, to the others they just looked more medieval. The trees in the small world were more impossible – their leaves were more like feathers. In the big world they were like normal trees – just brighter.
As Merlin continued to describe the details – the animals, the air, the grass – Arthur understood something. The world Merlin described was a cross between their world and this. But the world itself, the big world seemed more similar to Sam and Dean's world. The buildings were similar and so were the roads. It just looked like someone had repainted the world to be more cheerful.
As Arthur was having this revelation Merlin had finished describing the scenery and went back to describing Nedallot's gift.
"Nedallot's gift wasn't something he wanted, he hadn't asked for it – it just appeared."
Ned's hands kneading the dough stilled. This all was almost too weird for him, all he wanted was a simple life of making pies, looked like Nedallot had wanted the same.
"He first discovered when he was just a boy."
The mini Nedallot turned into a even smaller Nedallot before their eyes.
"He was nine years, 27 weeks, six days and three minutes old when he first discovered his gift." Merlin smiled to himself, he had always enjoyed the way time and age was described in the story, it was, in part, the reason why the story had been his favourite.
"It happened on a hill covered with flowers"
A small hill similar to the one with the yellow flowers grew on the table.
"Nedallot was playing with his dog – Digby –" The warlock turned to Arthur to explain. "Even though his father had been a knight, he had gone missing and his mother didn't want Nedallot to start training at such a young age, so he hadn't yet started training his sword skills."
"Wait up scrawny guy. What's this I hear about swords? You some weird medieval sword fighting freaks?" Emerson tried to butt in but grew silent when Chuck threw a washing cloth his way and shushed him. Merlin looked offended at being called a freak and Arthur was ready to start a fight. But Merlin calmed him down with a look and started speaking again. He was determined to tell the whole story and get offended properly later.
"So, as I said, Nedallot was on the hill with Digby." Next to the mini Nedallot appeared a mini golden retriever.
"When they were attacked by bandits. Now, if Nedallot had learned to handle a sword he might have fought them off long enough for Digby to run for help. But as we know, he didn't. So he couldn't." the mini Nedallot looked terrified, his face showed true fear, Arthur couldn't help but admire how detailed and precise the spell was.
"So Digby did the only thing he could – he attacked the bandits. But he was too small, too weak for them." Merlin continued with a sad smile, when he was little this part had always brought tears to his eyes. He watched as the small dog jumped at the bandits, with no reservations, just doing what he could to protect his master.
Everyone in the Pie Hole watched the events with their breaths held. The silence was so complete that they could hear the whines of the dog as the bandits made a ring around the dog and started to mercilessly work on it with their feet, having completely forgotten about the small boy.
"Nedallot saw his chance and ran down the hill for help. He ran the shortest distance he could, just enough for the villagers to hear him but not as far as to leave Digby completely alone." Merlin broke the silence with strained voice, he enjoyed telling stories this way but at times like this he wondered if it was worth it, if it was worth seeing the hurt to see the love.
The mini Nedallot ran and shouted for help, his quiet voice echoed in the room.
"It wasn't long till the villagers heard and a couple of the bravest knights ran up the hill. Together they ran to the bandits and Digby."
On the table a small group of armoured knights appeared and followed Nedallot who lead them to the bandits.
"The knights caught the bandits. But Nedallot was too late, Digby's soul had left his body."
Chuck felt her cheeks grow wet as she looked at the small figure crying and clutching the body of the dog.
"And then, in a moment of complete despair, Nedallot discovered his gift." Merlin smiled a little, as a child he had identified with this moment very much even though he had had his powers all his life.
The small figure looked up from where he was clutching the dog and a golden thread appeared. It was stretching up from the body to the sky. Nedallot clutched the thread and yanked it back. Not knowing what to do with it, just following his instincts Nedallot put the thread in his pocket.
"And as he did this, Digby jumped up and started running around again, like nothing had happened." Merlin said as the figure of the dog became full of life again. Everyone let out a sigh of relief at the sight.
"But Digby started acting weird, when Nedallot tried to hug his pet in joy Digby avoided him."
The small figures ran around, Nedallot trying to catch Dibgy and the dog evading.
"And that is how Digby came to forever stay three years, two weeks, six days, five hours and nine minutes old." Merlin remarked as the miniature dog and the boy ran around the hill.
The scenery changed as Merlin continued. "Later that night Nedallot's mother was baking a pie for him - she had decided that her boy should start practicing sword fighting. She knew Nedallot didn't like fighting; he didn't like conflicts and always avoided the other boys. So she did what she always had – bake a delicious pie that Ned could eat after learning the bad news."
Tears ran to Ned's eyes when he saw the small figure of his mother, he had started to forget what she looked like. The interior of the house was different but his mother looked just like she had when he last saw her.
"But something horrible happened – Nedallot's mother slipped and fell. And it wasn't a fall she could simply get up from." Merlin continued.
The small figure on the table fell and hit her head on the corner of the oven. A golden thread immediately appeared in the air. Little Nedallot watched in horror until he remembered what he had done with Digby. He grabbed the thread and pushed it into his pocket.
"His mother got up but Nedallot learned another thing about his power that night. Right about then his neighbour's Lady Charlotte's father came to the door. He had had a long day of training and was quite tired. Ned watched through the window as he always did at this time – he thought he could catch a glimpse of Charlotte, she usually ran out to greet her father. At that moment something incredibly sad happened." Merlin stopped, he couldn't continue. So he let the figures speak for themselves.
The mini Nedallot watched in horror as Charlotte's father fell down just as he had reached the door. A golden thread appeared in the air and, though Ned wanted to run out and grab it, his feet wouldn't move. The evening passed, with Nedallot barely registering anything and Lady Charlotte running to her father and crying over his body. Nedallot's mother had gone out to comfort her and came back only after leaving Charlotte at the hands of her aunts. By the time she came back Nedallot had already eaten the pie and was waiting in his bead for his mother to kiss him goodnight.
Merlin turned away his head. He didn't notice it but Ned did the same.
As Nedallot's mother kissed him the thread flew out of his pocket and disappeared in thin air. The boy's mother dropped on the floor and didn't move. Nedallot desperately grabbed through air, thinking that maybe, just maybe the thread was only invisible, he didn't want to believe that it was gone.
Chuck looked at Ned with tears in her eyes, he had told her what had happened but seeing it with her own eyes broke her heart.
"After that lady Charlotte moved away with her aunts. And Nedallot grew up all alone, except for Digby who never changed and followed his master wherever he went. Nedallot grew up fearing and resenting his gift – every time he went to visit his mother at her grave he would see thousands of golden threads going into the sky. It looked like every inch of the ground had a thread attached to it. Every inch except for his mother's grave."
Now an older figure, the mini Nedallot ran away from the cemetery. Everywhere he went golden threads appeared all around him.
"But even with resenting the gift he couldn't deny that it had given him one good thing – his constant companion who did all in his power, save touching him, to cheer up his master."
The figure grew older, changed as the landscape around him changed but one figure remained the same – Digby.
"One day the fair knight had had enough of feeling like he didn't belong anywhere. And he decided to make a home for himself – somewhere no one would know what had happened to him, someplace where he knew no one would ask questions. That is how he, a 22 years, 9 months, 12 days, 7 hours, and 38 minutes old man, decided to open his own tavern. But it wouldn't be a normal tavern."
The figures changed, Nedallot put on an apron and shook hands with a small blonde woman – Lady Oliveanne. A small building appeared and in it stood Nedallot, cooking pies.
"Some years passed and the tavern started to have problems – Nedallot's pies were delicious but people rarely went to taverns for pies, they wanted ale, and lots of it. Nedallot feared he would have to sell the tavern and travel in search of a home again."
The figure on the table illustrated it very expressively – he was walking around the tavern very nervously and had started to pack his belongings.
"But help came where no one expected it – a bounty hunter named sir Emersonian was riding past when he decided to go in for some pie. He was chasing an escaped evil sorcerer."
Everyone turned to Emerson in the corner.
"Bounty hunter? Yeah, that could be me." He said and turned to the figures on the table with some interest.
The figures showed the evil sorcerer attempting to hide in the tavern but jumping up in panic when Emersonian came in. The sorcerer lost his balance on a piece of pie that was lying on the floor. Nedallot was about to pick it up when falling the sorcerer hit his head and, Nedallot watching in horror, fell right towards him with the golden thread following soon after. Emersonian just watched as the lifeless figure of the sorcerer fell on Nedallot and the next moment it jolted up and started sprinting towards the exit with Nedallot chasing it and, with a touch, returning it to the previous state.
"And that was how at the age of 25 years, 2 months, 3 days, 5 hours and 54 minutes the partnership between Nedallot the Endearing and sir Emersonian was born and Nedallot learned to accept his gift as a tool, not a thing to be frightened from." Merlin supplied commentary for the events.
"Again some time passed and Nedallot with sir Emersonian travelled to a nearby town to try and earn the bounty for catching the killer of a young woman. They had gone into the habit of waking the victim to ask some questions if the killer was unknown." Merlin explained to Arthur, as he seemed to be the only one who didn't understand how bounty hunting could be connected to Nedallot's gift.
The figures continued moving. Nedallot entered the room where the victim was held before her family would claim her. There he saw the brightest and most beautiful golden thread he had ever seen.
"Looking at her face he saw that it was Lady Charlotte, his first and, to this date, only love." Merlin said with a shy smile, he had always enjoyed this part. In fact, as a child he had developed a bit of a crush on Lady Charlotte.
"Nedallot's powers had progressed with time and now he didn't have to grab the golden thread, he could just touch the person and the golden thread would retreat into him from the touch." Merlin stopped, he didn't want to interrupt the wonderful moment with needless words.
The figure of Nedallot reached out and, with small hesitation, embraced lady Charlotte. The golden thread with incredible light retreated into him.
Ned and Chuck blushed, they both remembered how small the touch had really been and couldn't help but feel some jealousy towards their smaller counterparts.
"And that was how Nedallot the Endearing at the age of 29 years, 6 months, 10 days, 11 hours and 13 minutes reunited with his love and started to see his gift as a way of helping people. That was how he learned to not resent his gift." Merlin whispered with a dreamy smile.
"Nedallot would forever remember the warm embrace of Lady Charlotte, because that was the last time they ever touched – one more touch and the golden thread would fly out of Nedallot and disappear forever." He continued but was interrupted by Arthur.
"Wait, didn't anybody else die in her place? Like with her father?" he asked.
"Yes, but the one who died was her killer." Merlin explained.
"And so sir Emersonian the bounty hunter, lady Oliveanne, and lady Charlotte helped sir Nedallot the Endearing to come to terms with his power and accept it for what it is – a gift. They all continued to live happily but, in the case of Lady Charlotte and Nedallot the Endearing, very carefully. They went on many other adventures together and saved a lot of people but that is a story for another time." Merlin smiled as he finished the story.
The small figures bowed and Chuck burst into applause, followed by Arthur and Emerson. Ned just stood there frozen, he was still trying to deal with the fact that his whole life was a fairy tale, sure, some details were different but the main events stayed the same.
If it had been just a story he would have found it easier but seeing it played out right before his eyes, how was he expected to deal with it?