Thank you so much for your kind words, Pip. I really appreciate all of you who are reading this and hope you enjoy this next chapter.
"So." Merlin clapped his hands together. "After consulting the trees, I've decided how this is going to go."
Arthur clenched his teeth. "Merlin, I don't have the time to listen to whatever ridiculously long plan you've concocted in your twisted little head!"
As if to prove his point, the woman cried out, "Father!"
Merlin's nostrils flared. "Fine then! But whatever you do, you have to get them back to the castle. Especially her!"
"What?"
"Quit staring at me like a tadpole, sire. We're wasting time!" Abruptly cutting everything off, Merlin dashed past Arthur.
Dumbfounded, Arthur started after him. No explanation at all?
And hadn't Merlin just told him to wait?
"Hey!" Arthur stumbled through the thicket after Merlin.
Although Merlin had a head start, Arthur arrived at the clearing a split second later to see an older man prostrate on the ground, a younger woman, and three ruffians. Belongings were scattered about over the yellow fallen leaves.
And Merlin was heading for the tallest of them, waving his satchel back and forth in the air like an old codger. "Yoo hoo!"
For the love of fae!
Unsheathing his sword, Arthur quickly put himself between them and Merlin, pushing his manservant back with his unoccupied hand. "Hey! Release them!"
The scoundrel hunched over the old man, who was cowering with his hands feebly protecting his head, looked up. "Eh?"
The second man, the one not bear hugging the young lady, sneered. "A tin can and a duckling."
As if the forest took offense to this description of Merlin, a loud crack echoed. Arthur and the first bandit looked up.
Conk.
The latter of the two experienced the texture of bark up close and personal.
Arthur took advantage and advanced, swinging his sword in an impressive arc to let them know they were messing with a trained tin can.
Apparently deciding that their prey was no longer easy and that sticking around wasn't worth it, the other two abandoned the scene and made a run for the woods. Their mate hobbled after them, rubbing his head and cursing.
Sheathing his sword, Arthur faced the young lady - fae, he reminded himself.
She was the most beautiful creature he had ever seen. Golden hair adorned with rosebuds as pink as her lips curled around the milky-white skin of her smooth sheeks. She was smiling, and to Arthur, it was as though the sun were favoring him.
Suddenly, Arthur found it no problem to invite her back to the castle.
But it was only for a moment. Merlin broke it as he came up beside Arthur, shaking his fist after the retreating attackers and hollering, "And let that be a lesson to you!"
Arthur rolled his eyes.
"Thank you so much!" the lady gushed, clasping her hands in front of her as she focused on Arthur. "They were going to kill my father, I was sure of it!"
Arthur found the corners of his mouth curling up again.
Merlin helped her father to his feet with a less-than-thrilled expression plastered on his face. A tad roughly, he dusted the older man off.
Arthur turned his head back to his daughter. "What are your names?"
"Oh, I'm sorry. My name is Lady Sofia." She drew herself into a curtsey. "And my father, Aulfric. We are nobles to the south, my lord. We have come to seek refuge from our enemies while on our way to another kingdom."
With each passing second, Arthur was finding it hard to believe that Sofia could be a fae. She was too beautiful. Too lovely. Too charming. Perhaps Merlin and his trees were wrong. Maybe his magic-detecting skills were off. For all Arthur knew, Merlin's fae blood was the weakest of them all. In fact, that seemed most likely from Merlin's general...well, he wasn't sure what to call it besides aura.
"Ahem." Merlin cleared his throat and pointedly stared up at the canopy of three leaves above them like a drunk squirrel that was deciding if the sun actually existed.
"Of course, excuse me. Are you injured? Do you require a physician?" Arthur asked, scanning them over.
"No," Sofia answered for both of them, wrapping her arms around herself. "You stopped them in time."
Arthur frowned. He couldn't have her catching a cold. "Merlin, give her your coat before she freezes to death."
"What?" Merlin squawked. "My coat? What can't it be your coat?"
"I'm not wearing a coat." To remind him just who was crown prince around there, Arthur glared at him. "So if you don't mind, Merlin."
"I can give her mind, my lord," her father broke in, already working to pull his own off his shoulders.
Arthur stopped him. "Of course not. You are nobility. Merlin, your coat." Arthur crossed his arms and gave Merlin a look.
Merlin gave him one right back.
"Your. Coat. Or the stocks."
Even though merlin was off sword-polishing duty, the stocks were metal-free. And quite uncomfortable.
Glowering, Merlin peeled off his coat and thrust it at Sofia. "Sorry if it smells like herbs."
"Thank you." Sofia smiled sweetly. "It is very generous of you. And you, Prince Arthur."
Arthur never noticed that her sweet smile turned into sour wine. Or the looks she and her father exchanged. Or Merlin's apprehensive frown. Or the bit of magic in the air, seeping into his nostrils. Or how she already knew his name when he had never introduced himself.
As far as he was concerned, she was perfect.
…
Merlin slammed his palms down on the top of Arthur's desk. "You've got to listen to me, Arthur. I'm not joking when I say she's fae!"
Arthur scoffed. "You're just jealous, Merlin. It's perfectly reasonable for someone of your social standing to be jealous of-"
"For the love of Freya!" Merlin cried, throwing his hands into the air. "She really has enchanted you. And all it took was ten seconds! You really are a clotpole. And she's a blasted witch."
Arthur bristled. "I won't have you insulting a lady. You might get away with lots of things around here, but that isn't one of them." Sometimes, he could not believe the audacity of his manservant. George wouldn't use such a vulgar term for a woman. Neither would Sofia.
Sofia was perfect.
"Arthur, she's fae. I don't know what her endgame is, but I can guarantee you'll have more things to worry about than how many sausages are on your plate."
Arthur snorted. "Don't be ridiculous. If she were fae, she would have killed me by now. Like our poisoner. You haven't done anything about it."
Merlin huffed. "What do you think we fae are, run-of-the-mill assassins?"
Arthur raised his eyebrows. Even if Merlin had saved his life, it made him uncomfortable when his manservant brought up fae and death in the same sentence. He didn't like where Merlin was taking this, and if didn't leave soon, he was going to be late for his outing with Sofia. Merlin was being ridiculous. As usual. "Listen, you're the one who bossed me around like a queen mother, telling me to bring her back to the castle. And you aren't doing anything to get rid of her."
"My mistake."
"Yes, well, anyways. I need you to cover for me." One advantage to having a fae as a manservant, he supposed, even if Merlin did make his skin crawl every once in a while.
Merlin's eyebrows knit together. "Cover? For what?"
"I'm taking Sofia on a picnic." It was all planned out in Arthur's mind. He would take her to the meadow, where pansies were just starting to bloom and the birds like to nest with their young, and-
"A picnic?!" Merlin's eyes widened as though Arthur had told him he was taking Sofia to the pig sty. "I thought you were supposed to patrol with the knights. At least, that's what Percival told me."
Stretching to work out a few kinks in his back, Arthur stood. "That's where you come in. Obviously, I can't be in two places at once."
"You can be in two pieces at once," Merlin savagely muttered.
"Merlin!" Despite the room's stuffy atmosphere, Arthur shivered. When Merlin spoke that way, it was too close to an actual fae instead...Merlin.
"Fine." Merlin's tense stance relaxed as some of the tension leaked out of him. "Since you're enchanted and obviously courting the stupidity and all of the other good things that go along with that...I suppose it isn't the full moon…I'll just have to catch her in the act."
Although Arthur didn't know and didn't care what a ruddy full moon had to do with anything, he took the opening. "It's just a picnic. You worry like a mother hen. Sofia is perfect. She cannot harm me. You'll see."
Merlin made a non-committal sound as he moved away to scoop up some dirty laundry. "Yes. We'll see."
Arthur hated it when Merlin acted as though he knew more than the ruddy prince of Camelot.
As if.
…
Sofia was perfect. Arthur couldn't remember a more pleasant afternoon. The birds sang sweetly, and the air was as fresh as laundry after someone else besides Merlin had washed it. Everything seemed brighter, bolder, and more lovely with Sofia around. It was as though she had opened up his eyes to what everything could be if only she were his.
Arthur found himself willing to sit forever and stare into her breathtaking eyes as she whispered strange, incomprehensible - but still beautiful - words to him.
He would do anything she asked. His body was under her command.
"Hey!"
The single word cracked through the tranquility of the clearing. Sofia's head snapped up, and her eyes focused on something behind Arthur.
He felt as though he were moving through a bog, but he managed to twist around to see what had captured her attention.
It was Merlin.
Like a foal learning to walk, he trampled through the high grass. Once he saw that he had Arthur's attention, he waved both hands in the air. "Sire!"
"What does he want?" Sofia asked, irritation leaking into her voice. "Didn't you tell your men that we wanted to be left alone?" She twisted one of her hands into Arthur's.
"Yes. My manservant is a dimwit."
"Get rid of him," Sofia whispered, leaning forward. "He's spoiling it."
"Sire! Over here!" Merlin called again.
"I'll get rid of him as quickly as possible," Arthur assured her, releasing her hand so he could stand. "I'll be right back." Instead of wasting time, he jogged over to Merlin, who stopped above twenty yards from their picnic blanket.
"Okay, so," Merlin began before Arthur could even ask him what was wrong. "You have to come back to the castle as soon as possible."
"What?" Arthur barked. "You have to be out of your mind. I thought I told you to cover for me." Blast it. This was what he got for trusting Merlin with such an important task. "It's a good thing that Camelot isn't in a time of war."
Merlin winced. "Yeah. People keep reminding me. Anyway, it's Gwaine."
"Gwaine?" Now Arthur knew this was going to be a doozy. "If he's gotten himself drunk before going on patrol, he can sit and rot in the dungeons for all I care. It might even do him a little good." Arthur glanced back over his shoulder at Sofia, who was biting into an apple. Why couldn't Merlin just deal with Gwaine himself? He was fae, for crying out loud.
Letting out a weak laugh, Merlin scratched the back of his neck. "Yeah, well, it's not just Gwaine. It's more like Gwaine and...a couple of close friends!"
"A couple of close friends?"
"Elyan and Lancelot?"
Arthur groaned. If it were Gwaine, that was one thing, but several of the knights? He would have to return before his father caught wind of a problem. "Fine. Give me a minute to pack up."
Merlin gave him two thumbs up. "Great. Fantastic. I'll be waiting, sire."
"What's wrong?" Sofia asked, looking up from the fruit nestled in her palm as Arthur returned, casting a shadow over their picnic scene.
"A problem has arisen with the knights," he told her. "I have to return."
Sofia frowned. "Someone else can't deal with it? We were just starting to have such a good time."
Arthur was royally tempted to agree. To pass the responsibility over to someone else. To cast all cares into the wind.
But he would never have another chance to spend the afternoon with Sofia if his father found out and cracked down.
"It cannot be avoided."
Sofia huffed. "All right. I suppose you must."
She waited by the horses while Arthur packed up the blanket.
…
The next day, a thunderstorm arose. They were soaked.
…
A flock of geese attacked them on a ride near the lake.
…
"Merlin. You wouldn't happen to have anything to do with anything?"
"I have no idea what you're talking about, sire."
Arthur highly doubted it, but he was drifting away on a river that smelled like sweet roses.
…
Arthur did not recall much of anything except Sofia's eyes. They were shining gold as she intently stared into him.
She was leading him into the river, but he felt as though he were walking on a cloud. The water slid into his mouth, up his nostrils and into the cavities of his ears.
"Close your eyes," Sofia whispered. "Close your eyes and become the river."
Yes, Arthur thought. Yes.
The water was crystal clear, a beautiful resting place. The perfect place to die.
"Close-"
The words stopped like the snapping of a lute string.
Something cracked in his mind.
Arthur tried to suck in air, but instead, he choked. The water turned heavy.
Soft hands tugged him upwards, but Arthur found the closer he came to the sunlight, the blacker the world became.
…
Upon regaining consciousness, the first thing that Arthur noticed was the water spewing out of his mouth and the words ringing through the air. His cheek was pressed against the rocky shore of the river.
"Did you try to poison him?"
Poison whom? Arthur asked himself as his mind struggled to regain control. Was he poisoned?
"No," a second voice sneered.
"Do you know who did?"
"No."
"Then why were you trying to kill him?"
Once all of the water had escaped, Arthur rolled onto his back.
"Because I was punished," the second voice answered with a sneer. "I will do anything to regain my position in the Court."
Court...Court...eons ago, he and Merlin had a conversation...Merlin…
The first voice was Merlin, and for the love of fae, Sofia-
"But you wouldn't know anything about it, now would you?" Sofia spat. "You have been absent. You have no place. You have no right to interfere where you do not belong."
"I have a right to interfere when you try to kill Arthur," Merlin stated firmly.
As he stared up at the sky filled with puffy white clouds, Arthur ruddy well hoped someone had a right to interfere.
"Why now?" Sofia asked sharply. "You've been around. You had days to show yourself. I thought you were an idiotic manservant, but you were just waiting. I could have killed this pathetic human, this...Arthur the second I met him."
"Oh, you tried," Merlin agreed. "But it wasn't the full moon yet. That was the requirement, wasn't it? And you had Arthur under your spell. I couldn't just rip the rug out from underneath him when it could have driven him crazy. But I've broken most of it now."
Sofia swore.
It hit Arthur like a bucket of ice.
He struggled to sit up.
While half of his mind ordered him to go pledge his eternal love for Sofia, the other told him that Merlin was going to die.
Sofia could kill Merlin, Arthur was sure of it, because Merlin was an idiot who tripped over invisible pieces of furniture.
"Merlin!"
His own voice rang through his ears as though it were traveling through swaths of water.
Sofia and Merlin were standing on the banks of the river, ten feet between them.
Merlin's back was to Arthur.
Sofia was raising her hands.
And Merlin was doing nothing.
"Merlin!"
Twip.
A streak of black. A spurt of red.
Both Sofia and Arthur stared, shocked, at the crossbolt emerging from her chest. Blood spurted over her white gown.
She looked so lovely in that color…
She crumpled.
"No!"
Arthur's mind was twisting and turning like the river's current. He wasn't sure whether he should be crying in anguish or relieved.
"Sire, are you all right?"
Leon's face appeared in front of him, drawn tight in worry.
"I'm…" Arthur was going to say fine, but he wasn't positive if he was anything-
Blocking his view of Sofia's body, Percival arrived on scene and helped him stand to his feet. "Sire, do you need medical attention."
"Let me through to him." Bony elbows sticking out, Merlin pushed his way to stand in front of Arthur.
"What did she do to me?" Arthur wondered aloud. "What did you do to me?"
"Nothing. But I'm about to break the last bit of her enchantment."
"Are you sure-" Lancelot began.
"It's the only way to get him to wake up," Merlin said. "If you want, you can run me through later once I do this." Grimly, he rested his hands on Arthur's shoulders and bowed his head.
"I'm right here, you know," Arthur began, irritated, "You don't have to speak like-"
A force struck him like a slap.
When the black dots disappeared and his hearing returned, Arthur found himself standing in the middle of a semicircle of knights.
Head tilted to the side, Merlin was staring at him. As though he liked what he saw, he turned around. "He's all right now! Anybody still want to run me through?"
"I'd be out of a drinking buddy," Gwaine remarked cheerfully.
"Gwaine, I am never going drinking with you," Merlin told him seriously.
"That's what I said last time," Elyan piped up.
Arthur was terribly downright confused. If he thought Merlin was a headache, this was ten times worse. "What...What in fae just happened?"
Merlin grinned at him. "Congratulations at your first enchantment, sire! The next time I warn you that fae are in the area, you might want to listen to me."
Arthur could remember it all.
Oh, Merlin was never going to let him live it down. As half of the knights moved to bring the horses, he groaned, and Lancelot clapped him on the back.
"But no, Merlin," his manservant mimicked. "She's perfect. She can't be a fae! Don't insult her father, either, Merlin, you idiot."
"Her father!" If he had been alone, Arthur would have smacked himself in the face.
"Don't worry," Lancelot, "Merlin helped us take care of him before following you."
Arthur felt like crawling under the thick comforter of his bed and going into an embarrassment-induced coma for a week. "Was I really like that?" he asked Merlin.
"Like what, a stuck-up, snobbish prince?" Merlin countered. "Don't worry. You didn't really change that much from your usual self."
"Thanks."
"How many times have you saved his life now, Merlin?" Gwaine prompted, stepping forward to hand Arthur a water bottle.
Before taking a swallow, Arthur sniffed it to make sure it wasn't alcoholic.
"Three? I can't believe how he survived before I came along."
Arthur screwed the cap back on. Even though he was still a bit unsteady on his feet, he made to move past them. "Let me know when you're done." He wasn't going to stick around and listen to them tearing him to pieces.
"All right," Merlin agreed.
"Hey!" Gwaine's voice turned sly. "Want to make a little bet on the next time, mate?"
"There won't be a next time!" Arthur yelled.
"I don't have any money," Merlin said. "Arthur's stingier than a grandmother."
"I'll loan you some."
"All right, then."
Arthur made it two weeks.
…
On the ride back to the castle, the teasing slowly died from Merlin's lips. As though picking up on his apprehension, the trees rocked in the wind and swayed against each other, creating a rattling sound with their leaves.
Emrys, they whispered the closer he came to the end of the wood.
There were a lot of things Merlin could not remember: why he'd slept for so long, much of the time before then, where he had come from. His mother. The vim of the fae.
But the name Emrys tugged at the corners of his mind, as it always had, calling him to something more.
A time was coming. A change was coming. A movement was arising. Merlin didn't doubt that this was not the last time a fae would try to end Arthur's life for some gain.
Their blood was stirring.
He would have to keep his eyes - and ears - open.