Hey, guys. So sorry that I took so long. Thanks to MoonShadow396 for the super inspiring review! Thanks everyone that reviewed, of course. Here's the long awaited chapter, guys!
CHAPTER 14: SANITY
"What?" I asked, not believing that this was what he came here for.
While I was covered in dirt and my hair was sticking to my skin, he seriously wanted to seduce me?
Wilburt smiled widely, tossing his hair back a bit.
"Perhaps it sounds a bit…pressing, but when one has not been deflowered-"
"Get out." I bit out, clutching my dress tighter in my hands.
Surprisingly enough, he looked actually very hurt when he left immediately. I almost felt bad for him from my harsh tone, but why did he have to say "deflowered"? If our friendship wasn't already a weak strand, he just made it even more frail and awkward.
I glanced at the red gown still in my arms, slowly stroking it with two fingers. I scoffed. Of course the dress was red.
I walked to my room and placed it on my bed carefully, then ran back down the stairs. I opened up the bag, and I felt no shame as I quickly scanned it for any more goods. I wrinkled my nose when I picked up the shimmery pair of shoes inside, dangling them from the tips of my fingers.
Orange shoes with a red dress?
"Merlin? Why are you so filthy?" Gaius asked, walking through the door. He shook his head as he examined me from head to toe before shoving some bottles in my hands.
"Arthur decided to try to train me." I said tiredly, putting the bottles of ingredients in the cupboard. I studied one for a moment that looked like a familiar plant. "Is this belladonna?"
"Yes, it is. Remember that it goes into the other section nowhere near these. It is vital that-Arthur is training you?"
I nodded. I moved the bottle of poisonous plant to the right section.
"Yeah. He just…sprung it on me out of nowhere. Probably because he realized I had a free morning for once." I said, a little disappointed when I finally declared Arthur's connotation to his actions. Maybe Arthur and I would be friends one day, but there was no way it would happen if I stayed his maidservant.
Gaius cocked his head to the side suspiciously.
"It's fine, Gaius. You know how Arthur is sometimes-"
"He allowed you to wield a sword?" Gaius interrupted, his face awestruck. I looked at him with the most grim look I could muster, but this only caused him to start chuckling.
"I am not that bad." I murmured, closing the cupboard and moving to tend to the beaker about to boil over. Geez, Gaius, just set the lab on fire while you're at it. I grabbed a nearby rag just in case it bubbled over, but I sighed when I managed to calm the liquid down. Gaius chuckled, walking over to my side, observing my antics with little care.
"Oh really? What have you learned?"
"I've learned…not to tell Arthur I have a free schedule." I admitted glumly, getting another chuckle out of Gaius. I scowled. "You're full of laughter today."
"Oh, yes. It is a wonderful day today." He said, nodding his head a little as if nodding to a jingle. Silence filled the air, and I continued to work.
"Are you alright, Merlyn?" Gaius finally asked, his voice suspicious. I nodded, but that wasn't enough for him, for he placed a hand on my shoulder and made me face him. "Merlyn."
"Yes. I have to be." I bit out, and quickly escaped up the stairs before I saw his face.
I didn't have time to take a bath before the ceremony, thanks to all of the preparations I had to help with. Dishes to be washed, curtains to be displayed…the usual boring stuff.
Even though I didn't have time to take a bath, I slipped on the simple, but soft, red dress. I slipped on the gross orange slippers mostly because they were comfortable. The dress covered them, anyway.
I locked up the magic book on my bed and tucked it away somewhere safe before joining Gaius downstairs. I was about to say something, but I wrinkled my nose when he sniffed me. I stared at him in confusion, but he sniffed again before nodding.
"You smell decent." He said completely seriously, opening the door to leave. I rolled my eyes.
"If I was indecent, what would you have done? Made me stay at the lab?" I questioned, hurrying to keep up with the elderly Gaius's quick stride. I had a feeling he was only trying to banter with me because he was going to watch me like a hawk. Great
I glanced at a servant carrying a tray of meat, and I looked at Gaius teasingly, wiggling my eyebrows. He shook his head, causing me to snicker. We finally quickly got in line with the other members of the royal household, filing into the meeting hall. There, I saw Uther sitting in his chair at the front. Morgana stood next to him, and the knights of Camelot were sprinkled around everywhere. Gaius and I stood in our places, on the side, and I quickly spotted Gwen. She smiled tightly, meeting my eye, and joined me, much to my distress. If Gaius could see through me, I knew Gwen would be able to. Before she could say anything, thankfully, Arthur walked in. The room was silent.
He approached Uther with an elegant yet confident gait. He bowed to his father. Uther stood before him, motioning down with his hands, and Arthur kneeled. I watched as Arthur pledged to keep Camelot safe and was crowned the official Prince of Camelot. The golden crown with diamond encrusted circles was placed on Arthur's head, and I clapped even though I did not really understand. So was he not the technical prince before today? Or was he still the prince, but he was not able to do everything a crowned prince could do?
"So how does it feel to be the servant to the Crown Prince of Camelot?" Gwen asked me lightly, smiling widely. I shrugged.
"Am I supposed to feel any different? He was able to throw me in the stocks for doing nothing before, and he still is." I responded in an indifferent tone.
"You're proud of him, though?" She asked, though more in a light-hearted accusing way. I shrugged again.
"I don't know what to be proud of. He was great yesterday, so I don't know why today makes him greater."
"You are proud! You called him great!" Gwen exclaimed, pointing at my now smiling face. I sighed. I didn't really mean it like that. Can't people just cognize that maybe I didn't have the best vocabulary or something?
"Your words, not mine." I spat out, clasping my hands together. She frowned, making me wince. She obviously noticed my harsh tone. She opened her mouth, no doubt about to question my antics.
A crash through the window interrupted her.
I flinched backwards as glass shattered, spraying everywhere. I peeked through my arms to see a black horse with an even darker rider. His cape billowed behind him, his helmet preventing us from seeing his face.
Arthur immediately unsheathed his sword, undoubtingly loyal to the pledges he had just promised to Camelot, the other knights following suit.
With everyone cowering to the sides, the dark rider had a clear path, his horse stomping loudly on the floor and closer to Arthur. I frowned at the civilians still here, and murmured for them to get out. The word got around, and they all quickly and quietly began to leave the room with the help of a couple knights opening the large doors.
Arthur stood in front protectively, and Gaius and I could no nothing but watch the exchange. Gaius looked at my hands and then locked on to my eyes. I nodded understandingly, and walked to a corner where I could see the intruder wide and clear without a person being able to see me. Thankfully, they were all too focused on the creepy rider to notice me scurrying around.
The dark rider took his dull gauntlet off and threw in on the ground. Even though I wasn't an expert in medieval or renaissance times, I knew from my time in Camelot what that meant. And I knew Arthur was so stubborn, he was going to be the first to reach for it.
Another knight of Camelot quickly grabbed the challenge while Arthur was sheathing his sword, making me feel guilty for being slightly relieved. I was only slightly relieved because the dark rider's intense stare was completely focused on Arthur alone.
"I, Sir Owain, accept your challenge." The knight of Camelot stated bravely, keeping his gaze on the rider. I gasped when the rider's head suddenly snapped away from Arthur and towards Owain.
"Single combat. Noon tomorrow. Till the death." The rider's gravelly, dark voice bellowed out emotionless. I shivered at how flat, yet creepy, his voice was. His horse bucked at Owain intimidatingly before he simply turned and rode through the double doors.
"Have you ever seen this 'Black Knight' before?" I questioned Gaius. I didn't even know why people had started calling him the 'Black Knight'…a knight shouldn't be nearly as creepy and rude as this man had acted. The way Gaius looked when he saw this creepy man was as if he'd seen a ghost, and it frightened me even more when Gaius simply kept stirring a boiling potion while calmly stating his denial.
"So you didn't recognize his crest?" I asked, not even hiding my accusing tone. Gaius turned to look at me, his eyes narrowed.
"If I had seen it, then maybe I would have. And if I did, you know I would have alerted the king immediately."
"Yeah, like you've been eager to tell Uther things in the past…" I murmured to myself; it was obviously not-so-quietly, for it resulted in Gaius hitting me not-so-gently on the head. I rubbed the spot gently before huffing frustratingly.
"I'm sorry Gaius, but it's like no one thinks this man is unusual. He came in through a high window on his horse-did no one even think about how he managed that? A normal person would have set up a formal appointment, and at the very least, barged in through the doors."
Gaius sighed, setting down the stirrer.
"No one thinks like you and I, Merlyn. Now, maybe if you would finish your work and go to bed, I could finish mine." He said, his eyes crinkling as he glared. I sighed, giving up. I should have gotten used to it by now.
"Fine." I admitted, raising my hands in defeat, walking off to finish unpacking and organizing the new bowls. It wasn't like Arthur was actually that good at training the knights. I hoped Owain didn't die.
I gulped, trying to get rid of the tightening in my throat. Maybe Owain really didn't have a chance.
When the dark rider had intruded on Arthur's ceremony, I felt a tingly, crawly feeling under my skin, like bugs had infested my body. This, along with my slightly darkened vision and the feeling that time was slowed made me wonder if I had lost my mind, but I knew that the dark rider was somehow affiliated with some sort of magic, some sort of supernatural essence that made him abnormal.
"Maybe I should be worried about Owain."I thought out loud grimly, furrowing my brows. I trudged back up to my room. I cracked open the magic book Gaius had originally given me. If Gaius was going to act oblivious like everyone else, I wasn't. I decided to just change and bathe in the morning. I wasn't going to get any sleep, anyway.
"Merlyn, stop yawning so loudly! This man is going into mortal combat, for god sakes!" Arthur, cried, flailing his arms about slightly as he momentarily stopped his pacing. He sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose, involuntarily pacing again.
I decided to ignore him, and simply nodded my nonexistent apology just for show. If only he knew that I had spent all night looking up spells to aid Owain in the sword fight if necessary. I mean, I did eventually rest. Well, I lied on my back in bed with my eyes wide open.
Arthur faced Owain, whom was currently faced towards me so I could help dress him.
"You've never fought in mortal combat before. It's different. It's not like the training I've been giving you." Arthur said, approaching his ear closer and closer with each word.
"Yeah, I know." Owain replied cockily like a son would to his mother.
Arthur grabbed his shoulder and turned him to face him, urging him to listen to him.
"The problem is we've never seen him fight. You have to quickly get the measure of him." Arthur said, holding Owain's eye sternly. Owain cocked a brow.
"But I have the same advantage. He's never seen me fight." Owain said, his words as confident as his body language. Arthur reluctantly agreed, for his worry was still so obviously abundant. For good reason.
"You've watched me." Owain started, waiting for Arthur's reply.
"Yes-"
"And?" Owain interrupted, his voice questioning. If this were any other time, I would be surprised that there was a knight that actually spoke to Arthur like a normal person. I was curious to see how Arthur would respond, given just how worried he was. Arthur finally sighed in defeat, pressing his lips together before patting Owain on the shoulder.
"And I know no one braver." Arthur said, smiling faintly. I smiled at this, and took the gauntlet from Owain, holding it in the hand that wasn't holding his helmet. "Remember, all it takes to kill a man is one well-aimed blow."
Owain nodded just as the door opened. I was surprised to see Gwen smile shyly and curtsy. She held out a rich red cloth in her hand.
"The Lady Morgana asked me to give you this token. She wishes you to wear it for luck." Gwen said, flickering her eyes to Owain's and back to the ground.
"You can thank her, and tell her I shall wear it with pride, but I won't need luck." Owain stated bravely, but accepted the token, smiling at Gwen. Gwen quickly left, and Owain left to say a few words to his sister.
I began packing up my things, but while I was working, I could still hear Arthur's feet pacing along the floor. I decided not to say anything, feeling kind of awkward. I would only be called an idiot, anyway.
He opened the door and started to lead us out to the arena. I sighed, and tossed my bag over my shoulder.
"I don't know how this will turn out, so I am not going to say Owain will be fine." I said, my tone not as light-hearted as I meant for it to be.
Great way to sound like a careless jerk, Merlyn.
"Thank you, Merlyn, for your comforting words." Arthur muttered, his scowl deepening, his pace quickening. I shook my head rapidly, jogging a little to keep up with him, ignoring the metal thrashing against my back.
"No, no," I disclaimed instantly, "I mean that…err, okay. We don't know how this will work out. There's a chance that he will die." Arthur raised his brow at my antics, but it was a silent way of approving me to continue.
"Even though we know that realistically, Owain-"
"Sir Owain." Arthur corrected. I frowned slightly.
"Sorry. Even though we know Sir Owain could die, we can only encourage him and make him feel great. If he thinks you doubt him, how do you think his opponent feels about him?"
Arthur grunted softly.
"He seemed plenty confident to me."
"Me too. Also, even though I was rooting for him before, I definitely am now." I said mysteriously. He tilted his head a little to the side. I smirked.
"He is the only knight I know so far that doesn't kiss your royal boots. I need him to live."
To my surprise, Arthur chuckled a little, ruffling my hair, much to my annoyance. I shrieked and quickly ducked down as a reflex, and I frowned when he laughed even harder.
I jumped when the crier announced the starting of the match. I began to usher Arthur out the side of the arena, since he was supposed to be sitting with Uther and Morgana, but he placed a hand on my shoulder.
"I should be with Sir Owain." He said, pointing out the door. I nodded, and he started jogging to the arena, with me running behind him with old pieces of armor hitting against my back. The things I did for this boy.
He quickly caught up with Owain, who was about to start walking into the arena. He approached him at his side, and Owain smiled gratefully at him. Gaius approached me, standing next to me. We paused, not able to walk on anymore. Well, neither was Arthur, but not one was going to stop him.
"Now remember, find the flow of the fight, and try to control it." Arthur said as one last reminder. Owain nodded slightly, his eyes completely focused on the dark rider ahead. Arthur grabbed his shoulder, looking him in the eyes. "You are one of my best knights. You can do this. I'm proud of you."
I nodded when I heard Arthur say this. Maybe not all of my advice went in one ear and out the other. I felt considerably better about the fight, and grasped Gaius's hand. It was time for Camelot to get some home pride and celebration.
Good things never happen in Camelot, it seemed.
"Gaius, I told you there was something wrong with that dark rider." I murmured once we came back from the creepy crypt of Camelot, entering the lab. Gaius glared at me, causing me to shut my mouth. "So, who is Tristan de Bois?"
"Finally, some reasonable questions," Gaius muttered, making me glower, "but Tristan de Bois was the brother of Ygraine, Uther's wife."
I paused while Gaius cracked open a dusty book. Uther's wife? There was a woman crazy enough to marry that psycho?
"Wow, she must have been just as cold-hearted as him to want to marry him." I said, chuckling a little. I shrieked when Gaius hit me on the head even harder than usual. I winced when I felt the tender spot on my head. "What the hell?"
"Merlyn, that was incredibly rude and disrespectful to Ygraine. I am disappointed in you." He said, his eyes wide with shock. Not really feeling embarrassed, I frowned when I realized Arthur never mentioned Ygraine. Was Ygraine even his mom?
"Arthur's mother?" I asked out loud, and received a positive nod from Gaius.
"Ygraine died in childbirth-he blamed Uther, and he came to the gates of Camelot and challenged him." Gaius informed me, dropping one book and picking up what looked to be an even dustier book. I swallowed, figuring out how Tristan ended up in his coffin, and I felt a little bad for my earlier thoughts, even though I still didn't know how Ygraine was.
"To the death?" I asked quietly.
"Uther won. But in his dying breath, Tristan cursed Camelot to one day suffer his return." Gaius said. He paused to look at me. "I thought it was the ramblings of a dying man"
"Well, he must have contacted a sorcerer before taking up the challenge because he couldn't have been so angry he could raise himself from the dead." I surmised, flipping the page of the book and blowing some dust off of the page.
"I agree. I can only assume he is…ah, here we go." Gaius said, peering down near the bottom of the page. My eyes squinted as I tilted my head down.
"A wraith…the spirit of a dead man conjured from a grave." I read, my eyebrows nearly touching at the end of the sentence. We were dealing with the undead. Great.
"And according to this, it does not stop until it has achieved what it has come for." Gaius said, his voice grim. It was obvious that it was coming for some sort of revenge. But what revenge did Tristan have that made him want to kill every knight of Camelot he faced?
Unless he hasn't gotten to the knight he really wants to kill. Arthur.
"Then we will have to stop it before it does." I stated, straightening my back out. I sighed as I continued to read about the wraith, and was frustrated by the one small paragraph on it. We would just have to spend the night searching for a way to stop it. Sir Pellinor's life depended on us. I couldn't let another knight die. Gaius placed a hand on my shoulder, jerking me from my thoughts.
"We cannot. Because it's not alive, no mortal weapon can kill it." Gaius said, his face disappointed. I scoffed.
"Magic…" I murmured, pointing at myself.
Gaius was not amused.
The next morning, the day of the combat, Arthur had rejected breakfast, saying he wasn't hungry. I'd had no luck in my all-nighter of researching ways to defeat Tristan, so I happily ate it, since I'd forgotten to nourish myself anyways. I listened to him rant about why Sir Pellinor would take the challenge knowing he had been in recovery from an injury and that he had intended to take on the challenge before he did. It was stupid, how worried Arthur was about his knights, and it caused me to be on edges.
Whenever Arthur felt something was wrong, he tended to get this God-complex. Knowing Arthur was basically willing to do anything to make sure another one of his knights wasn't killed by the dark rider made me very, very nervous.
Later, exactly at noon, the people of Camelot were gathered. It seemed that almost the whole city came, most likely a result of rumors of the "Black Knight" surviving a killing blow. The citizens of Camelot seemed to be getting even stupider than usual. Wasn't it painfully obvious that this wasn't natural?
I winced as I heard another clash of the two swords. Sir Pellinor managed to duck another incoming attack from the late Tristan de Bois. It was obvious that the knight of Camelot was getting tired very quickly, most likely due to the injury he was still recovering from. I inhaled deeply, preparing myself to use magic, but I, forgetting what Gaius said, relaxed when Sir Pellinor managed to thrust his sword into the chest of the Wraith. The Wraith stumbled back a little, but otherwise was not affected.
Before I could utter a spell, the Wraith cleanly stabbed Sir Pellinor, whose body was not prepared to plunge right back into battle.
And I nearly fainted when a gauntlet was thrown towards the Wraith.
Please don't be who I think it is.
I walked to where I could see, standing on my tip toes, and my jaw dropped.
"I, Arthur Pendragon, challenge you."
No!
I had researched for hours and hours and I failed to find any sort of help on this kind of stuff. When it came to necromancy, the subject was not very researched and was still being studied-and Gaius had books over centuries old on the subject! If I didn't find anything yet, there was no way I was going to be able to research what I needed to stop this creature now.
"So be it." said the Wraith in its gravelly tone. Arthur held his eye contact with him, his shoulders square.
"Single combat. Noon tomorrow." Arthur finished, keeping the same terms and time as the dark rider had given to Sir Owain and Sir Pellinor. The Wraith turned sharply, causing some gasps in the crowd, and started to walk away. I winced when he…it, walked past Gaius and I. Gaius and I backed a few feet away, not wanting to make any contact with it, which quickly turned into us rushing back to the lab.
"You were right. No mortal weapon can hurt it." I said, sitting in a wooden chair. I rested my arm on the back, and massaged my throbbing temples with my free hand.
"I wish I wasn't." Gaius murmured, looking down.
"Arthur will die if he fights this thing." I said, meeting Gaius's eyes tiredly.
"He is Camelot's strongest warrior. If anyone can defeat it, he can." Gaius stated, his eyes shining with approval. I shook my head, nonchalantly flipping through an old book. Of course, no more information on Wraith. I looked at Gaius and scoffed.
"Okay. So he will just use his sword, stab the Wraith, and just because he's Arthur, the Wraith will die. Okay." I summed up, my words monotone and biting. Really, Gaius?
I winced when I felt hands firmly on my shoulders. Gaius squinted his eyes, and I tried to look away. He firmly grabbed my chin.
"Look at me. What is wrong, Merlyn?" Gaius asked, his voice firm, but a little shaky. I jerked away from him.
"Do you know where the Wraith stays?" I asked, ignoring his question. There were more important things to worry about.
"Why?" Gaius immediately asked suspiciously, his eyes narrowing. I sighed.
"I just want to see if mortal magic will kill it." I said, my tone impatient. Gaius finally sighed, but it was very obvious that this wasn't over.
I stepped outside and quickly scampered to the side of the castle. I peeked around the wall, and sure enough, the dark rider was there. I was very creeped out to learn from Gaius that this was what he did in between matches-he would just stand there with his tattered flag, motionless.
I breathed in deeply, hoping the Wraith wouldn't kill me as soon as I tried this magic. For measure, I hid behind the wall a little more so that I could hide if need be. I cleared my throat quietly, and I raised my right hand.
My lips moved quickly as I cast a fire spell and I was still cautious when the Wraith was set aflame. The Wraith did not react to being burned at all, just like how he didn't react to getting stabbed. I swallowed nervously when the flames suddenly disappeared.
The Wraith's eyes met mine.
I ran like hell.
There was no way to stop this thing. I had to get to Arthur and convince him to not fight. I ran as fast as I could through the hallways of the castle, tip-toeing past certain rooms where officials were staying, all the way to Arthur's chambers.
Finally, I made it, and there was no time for knocking as I barged in.
Arthur stopped swinging his sword around abruptly and relaxed when he saw it was me, which made me temporarily relieved that I wouldn't get yelled at for waking him up.
"Merlyn, you know that conversation we had about knocking." Arthur said calmly, not at all fazed by my disheveled appearance.
"You have to pull out." I said immediately, ignoring his teasing. Arthur looked down a little, which told me that he'd been getting told this all day. Great.
"And why is that?" he asked, his tone not really wanting to hear the answer.
"He will kill you." I said, deciding to go with a straightforward answer instead of all the details. Maybe being blunt would get his attention.
"Why does everybody think that?" Arthur exclaimed, obviously frustrated. Great. Seems that everyone was taking the blunt road, too. My face shriveled up in mock confusion.
"Because they're right!" I said, dramatically stretching my arms out and flopping them to the side. I sighed when Arthur stopped looking at me and started looking at his sword, lifting it and twirling it. Obviously, I would need to approach this a different way.
"Look, Arthur. You're the one and only Crown Prince, a future king; no one wants to see you die over some stupid challenge. You've proved your courage already, trust me. But now, you withdrawing from the combat will be what proves your wisdom."
"I'm not backing down." Arthur stated, his back facing me. Did I really need to get on my hands and knees? I peeked over his shoulder and was disgusted to see that he'd had a full view of the dark rider this whole time. This must have been what was keeping him up all these nights.
"Arthur, listen to me. It never sleeps, never eats, never asks Gaius and I to look at its wounds-probably because it's never hurt even though we have all seen swords go straight through it! All it does is stand there," I said, finishing my speech by walking over to the window after Arthur left, "in complete silence."
The dark rider was, as usual, standing in the same position. I felt chills in my bones looking at him. What if he wanted to kill me because I tried to kill him? It obviously saw me. It made eye contact with me after I had set it aflame. Gulping a bit, I quickly grabbed some linen and put it over the window, making a makeshift curtain.
I realized then that I'd been talking about the Wraith like an object instead of a person-which was correct. But Arthur hadn't said a word to correct me. He obviously knew something was wrong with the thing! I looked at Arthur again, not wanting to look at the Wraith, and saw him practice swinging his sword like he wasn't even listening to me.
"Doesn't all of that tell you something?" I questioned, seriously wondering if Gaius was right about us being the only two in Camelot to question the unusual.
"No one is unbeatable." Arthur said simply, continuing his actions. My jaw clenched.
"If you fight him, you will die." I stated, trying to snap some sense into him. Arthur stopped swinging his sword. He still hadn't made eye contact with me.
"I'm not a coward." He interrupted, still only looking at his sword.
"I know! I've seen you face a water-poisoning Afanc, an evil knight with snakes that poked out of his shield, a love spell that could have gone completely wrong, and let's not forget the other many bandits and wrongdoers!" I pronounced, my hands wailing about animatedly.
"It's what's required of me." Arthur stated simply, polishing his sword, his eyes focused only on it. I wanted to scream. He was completely missing my point. He sighed. "I am not listening to this."
"Well, obviously not! I'm only trying to warn you, Arthur-"
"And I'm trying to warn you, Merlyn!" Arthur snarled, his jaw vein throbbing.
The next thing I knew, cold metal was against my throat. I gasped, tilting my head back instantly to avoid being cut. My heart immediately sped up. I clenched my tingling hands into fists, trying my best to defy every natural reaction of my body to defend itself.
Arthur, seeing my most likely horrified reaction, slowly removed his sword, his eyes wide.
My stomach muscles immediately tightened and sucked inwards. I didn't notice how loud my breaths were until the seconds passed by, which felt like hours. I was literally gasping for air. It was humiliating.
"Merlyn…"
I ran before I did something regrettable.
"Merlyn. This is most surprising." The dragon called out, his gravelly voice for once making me wince. His eyes narrowed. "What is it?"
"I need your help. Arthur will die unless you burnish this sword. Please, hurry. He doesn't have much time." I rushed, taking the sword out and holding it out awkwardly to him. I jumped when the sword started to magically float towards him.
"The dead do not return without reason." The dragon stated, his voice accusing. I sighed, knowing where this was going. I knew he hated Uther with a passion. He would probably want Uther to die.
"You're right. A Wraith came for revenge on Uther."
"Then I say let him take his vengeance, and the Wraith will die without my aid."
"No, no. It isn't Uther who is facing him tomorrow. It's Arthur. You have to save him." I ushered, getting ready to beg if need be. The dragon shook his head.
"That is your destiny, young witch, not mine."
"What am I supposed to do? I can't do anything if Arthur fights the Wraith. He will die and I won't have a destiny anymore." I claimed, speaking up, maintaining full eye contact. The dragon's eyes narrowed for what seemed like the umpteenth time.
"Did you slay the Druid boy?"
"What does that have to do with this?" I immediately cut in, my mood darkening even more at the painful reminder of my wicked actions. The dragon seemed to scoff, but to my surprise, dropped the subject.
"An item burnished by me will have great power."
"What do you mean?" I asked, confused.
"In the wrong hands, this sword could do great evil. It must be wielded by Arthur and him alone."
I nodded. It seemed more than reasonable. "I promise to make sure only Arthur wields it."
That seemed to be enough for the dragon. I jumped when the dragon immediately breathed a white fire on the sword. I didn't expect the dragon to do it so quickly, and I flinched, stepping back at the extreme heat. The heat started to die down, and I managed a peek at the sword, and my eyes widened completely.
I felt like I was being drawn in by an inviting light, a soft, warm glow. It filled my very essence with light, and my jaw dropped the closer it approached me. Its golden reflection shined directly on me, but it didn't blind me. No, it only made my vision brighter. I reached out for it, and when I finally grabbed it, I felt awed at the smoothness of the handle and the comfortableness of it. It didn't bring me down with its heaviness like other swords. The dragon was almost smiling at my reaction. I cleared my throat, focusing back on the dragon, but I couldn't help but be in complete awe of such absolute beauty.
"Heed my words," He said seriously, "the sword was forged for Arthur and him alone."
I felt a little disappointed, being that this was the only sword that I hadn't been upset with, but I nodded understandingly. There was a reason for this.
"And Merlyn?" The dragon called, causing me to turn around. I cocked an eyebrow questioningly.
"Arthur's future has never been any brighter." He said, his voice praising. I swallowed. Yeah. Thanks to my murdering of a child.
The day of the match, feeling much better about the whole ideal, I carefully laid out the sword, still mesmerized by its shining beauty.
"That's a fine blade."
I looked up abruptly, and I was completely confused and a little anxious when I saw that it was Uther. Oddly, he was actually wearing chainmail, something I'd never seen him wear. His crown was also nowhere to be found, the sides of his head actually a little darker than the rest of his receding hair. The only way he would need chainmail was if he was expecting to fight...
Oh no.
I cleared my throat awkwardly, forcing a slight smile to spread across my face.
"Yes, Sire. It's f-for Arthur." I said as politely as possible, trying to keep his gaze and not stammer like an idiot. Uther's eyes squinted.
"He won't be needing it today." He confirmed, causing my stomach to drop. He walked over to stand directly next to me, causing me to back away, and cursed to myself when he got full access to the sword. "I will be taking Arthur's place."
Now what was I going to do?
"But, Sire…"
"Prepare me for battle." He commanded, but to my surprise, his voice cracked a little bit. I licked my lips, my open mouth causing them to dry out.
"A-Arthur should be the one that fights today." I tried to say confidently, but I flinched at how utterly weak my attempt was. Uther looked away, probably already used to servants scared to speak with him.
"The grievance was with me. The fight is mine." He said grimly. I was a little shocked that Uther of all people would try and do the right thing for once and own up to his mistakes.
I decided not to press him directly anymore, but I saw his eyes still trained on the beautiful sword, so I quickly covered it back up with a blanket-y material. He looked at me sharply, and before I could receive a day in the stocks for mocking the king, I explained.
"I d-don't have your armor." I said, emphasizing a little on the 'your' in hopes that he would forget about the sword. He glanced back down at the beautiful sword.
"It's likely to make little difference, anyway." He uttered grimly while looking at the sword I still had covered. I grabbed the sword, but Uther yanked it from my hands, and it wasn't like I could play tug-of-war with the King. "This one will be fine."
He slowly uncovered the sword, his eyes widening more. He twisted it and swung it, his eyes never leaving it. I timidly retrieved Arthur's armor and started to apply it to him, and he automatically raised his arms so I could do so. I was a little surprised at how well it fit him-not perfectly, of course, but not as bad as I thought. I probably would've snorted at that fact if Uther didn't scare me shitless.
"Who made it?"
"G-Gwen's father." I said immediately, and getting a questioning look from Uther, I quickly continued in detail. "Um,Tom, the blacksmith. He's got a little shop in town that's near the castle. Sire, maybe you'd be better off with a sword you trusted."
"It's worthy of a king. It has almost perfect balance." He said, not so subtle. I was a little peeved at his last sentence. A sword so majestic was perfect in every shape and form. Of course Uther would try to undermine it in some way. "This Tom is not the royal sword smith. I am surprised Arthur would go to him."
Oh crap, I thought, freezing completely. I heard the allegation in his tone. I absolutely positively do not want your son, Uther. And even if I did, I would've made him the best meal of his life, not buy him a shiny new sword.
"Well, it was me, but then again, I pick up everything for him anyway, so…" I stammered, shrugging a little bit to seem as nonchalant as possible. But then, the unthinkable happened.
Uther laughed.
I mean, it was just a little chuckle; probably a snort. But there was no denying the slight crinkle in the corner of his eyes and the upward twitch of his mouth. Pleased, but a little bit disturbed, I continued.
"But please don't think of him as being...you know. He's the prince, and I'm his servant, so it is only expected for me to do his running."
Uther nodded a bit, but I didn't miss the furrow of his brows. I probably sounded like an idiot; of course, the king wasn't going to chastise his son for making his servant do things for him. Now he's really going to think I have the hots for Arthur.
"You show him the most extraordinary loyalty."
"That's my job, sire." I quickly said, focusing on tightening up his gauntlets, not dare wanting to look him in the eye. Great. Way to seem like a school girl meeting her crush's father for the first time.
"But beyond the line of duty." He surmised, and I took a step back and looked him in the eye.
"Please don't think I am only serving your son to woo him."
That's it. I'm done for. Why did I have to open my big fat mouth? I should've just stayed quiet the whole time. But then what would I have done when he asked me questions? Staying quiet would've been even more rude, most likely. So I was inevitably meant to screw myself over and turn bright red in front of the king.
What was even more shocking is that Uther laughed a second time, except this time, it was fully audible and obvious.
He recovered from his little burst of amusement before I did, and patted my back. I forced myself to relax whenever I stiffened, and Uther, sensing this, quickly shuffled back, the smile on his face slowly disappearing as he seemed to remember what exactly was about to happen.
He had to know that there was nothing that could be done about the Wraith. He'd seen two other knights slain by it after they delivered what was supposed to be killing blows. I didn't know if the sword would work if it was with Uther, but if it didn't, I guess this wasn't the worst memory to have of the king. I still didn't like him, but at least I have had at least one decent memory of him. It will make comforting a grieving Arthur much easier.
"Look after him." Uther asserted finally. I curtsied one last time to the King, and kept my head bowed until I heard him leave for the last battle of his life.
"The Pendragons just won't die, will they?" I asked between a mouthful of food. I quickly finished chewing my chicken and drank another sip of water, relishing in the cool liquid running down my parched throat. Gaius raised an eyebrow. I rolled my eyes. "I mean, they are very stubborn. Even when it seems like they're meant to die, they never do."
"Well, it is a good thing you are here, Merlyn, to give Uther special swords forged by Tom that can slay the dead." Gaius accused, the sarcasm so thick I could taste it-which was funny, considering I was eating some very heavily-salted chicken.
"He told you that?" I questioned, trying to change the subject. Knowing that I failed, I sighed. "Gaius, why do you always chastise me whenever I actually end up saving the day?"
He looked shocked at my question, which only made me clench up a little more.
"Merlyn, I was not going to chastise you. What you did was very brave-"
"Then why do you always have an attitude?" I interrupted, stabbing my food a little more forcefully than usual.
"That's funny. I could ask the same of you." Gaius commented, obviously not amused at all. I stood up, my chair scraping against the marbled floor, clenching my hands into fists and left the lab, not bothering to tell him where I was going. He knew I always left to tend to Arthur before bed, anyway.
I entered Arthur's chambers and immediately began getting everything ready for his evening routine. After I finished fluffing up his pillows, I wondered why he wasn't getting into bed until I finally looked up to see him squinting his blue eyes at me. What now?
"What?" I asked, hoping I didn't sound too rude, but of course, he had to say something.
"Did you know that Gaius drugged me?"
I was shocked at his interrogation. Gaius drugged Arthur? What the…
…Oh.
"No." I said simply. Arthur shook his head.
"I know that you were just trying to protect me, but I need to know that I can trust you, Merlyn."
I scoffed, upset. "Okay, Arthur, whatever."
Suddenly, Arthur walked close to me, his eyes more narrow than ever and his tall figure towering over me. I gritted my teeth as his warmth suffocated me, his close proximity uncomfortable. "Watch your tone." he bit out coldly.
What I didn't expect was for my throat to tighten up to the point that it felt like it was sore. My fingers were slowly curling, completely rigid and tense. I started blinking my eyes rapidly in an attempt to prevent what I knew what was coming.
I had gone through too much.
So much.
And I wanted out.
"I have done so much for you, Arthur. I have treaded through dangerous woods, lead you to Camelot's monsters, not to mention be your slave. I have dealt with you bullying me and even laying your hand on me."
Arthur winced at that last sentence. He immediately opened his mouth to say something, but I sent him the cruelest, most glum-looking look I could muster in order to make him be quiet.
"I quit. I am not going to be your slave anymore. I only hope you survive without me." I snarled, and I stormed out before I had a panic attack.
As soon as I entered the lab, Gaius stomped up to me.
"What is this I hear about you screaming at the Prince? About you quitting? Merlyn, how could you be such a fool?" Gaius yelled, placing his hands on my shoulders and shaking me. My tears fell freely, blurring Gaius's face.
I sank to my knees, my mouth slowly opening as the loud wails began to form. I placed my head in my hands, closing my eyes. Never had I cried this much before. I leaned over, almost lying completely on my stomach as I wept. The cries were brash and loud, and I did not hold back anymore. My mouth was wide open, completely frozen and horrific, like I had been paused while being surprised. My whole face felt hot and damp, like I had started to sweat. I kept blinking as much as I could, like I could even try and stop the tears that were now waterfalls, and my eyelashes started to clump together. The tears streamed down my cheeks and tickled as they dripped from the point on my chin. Not only were tears streaming down, but little slivers of blood were trailing down from my nostrils. I felt Gaius immediately crouch down next to me, but I hurriedly pushed him away and just opted for holding my nose, but I only started crying harder when I did that.
I did not belong here at all. I needed to go home. I used to not have to worry about killing monsters or defeating evil figures. It was like I completely blocked out the fact that I was in a completely different world. I don't know how I did it, but I did. And as a result, I killed an innocent child like I didn't think there would be consequences. Like this was all a dream.
"I have failed you, my Lady."
"Of course. Otherwise, I would know that you succeeded. Try again. Only this time, do it right."
That's a wrap, folks! Thanks so much for reading. I hope you enjoyed this chapter-it was a little dark, but most of season two will be so. And the end of this chapter...well, let's just say someone is betraying Merlyn. But a surprise will happen soon, guys, that is twisting up the original TV show storyline even more!
1) Please review. It makes me inspired to write and produce chapters knowing people actually want to read. It also helps me know what to fix and how to help make my future chapters better.
2) The new cover picture is the sims 4 version of what I think Merlyn looks like- pale skin, thick black hair, dimpled cheeks, wide doe eyes with beautiful icy blue-green colors and thick eyelashes, small, peachy, but perky, curvy lips.
3) Don't forget to vote in the poll on my profile page on who Merlyn should be with when this story finally gets romantic ;)