I think I owe you an apology for being late. Sorry. I've got flu and I didn't feel well.

Not afraid

The sun was warm and bright and the little Merlin looked outside through the window. He was hardly three years older. He'd found a chair and he'd climbed on trying to look outside. His mother was in the village and he was playing alone in the house. He was too young to be left alone, but she had little choice as there was hardly anyone who'd offer to look over the boy. So mother and son had to learn to trust each other. Merlin learned to be a good boy and listened to his mother while his mother had to suppress her motherly worries and put her trust in God to take care of him. Despite being so small and feeble, he was much more clever than a boy twice his age. Yet that day his curiosity had made him forget the promise he'd made to his mother.

Watching nature from inside didn't satisfy his little, eager mind, Merlin sneaked out from the house. He'd used a chair to reach the door lock. It only took him a moment to figure out how it worked as he'd seen his mother doing it so many times.

He ran as fast as his little feet allowed him. The smooth glass tickled his barefoot and the little Merlin laughed delightedly. Soon he saw a blue butterfly and started to follow him, going further and further away from his house, towards the welcoming forest.

He'd always adored the forest. It had made him feel warm and protected. He could feel every plant, every tree, every little bug answering to his magic. He was a little prince and the forest was his kingdom. Yet he'd never been to the forest alone till that day. His mother had always been by his side, telling him stories about the creatures from his little kingdom.

"Little creatures, I'm home." called the little prince to his tiny subjects and soon three butterflies flew around him. A deer piped from the shadow, lifting his head from behind a bush. "Hi, Sir Deer! How is your wife?" Merlin asked politely. He imagined the deer was one of his knights and the doe one of the ladies from his court. "I've heard you had a baby. I wish I could see him. I'll send some dragons to protect him from the evil Lord Wolf. Where is Lord Rabbit? He's never been late." The kid continued. He kept talking happily. Even if he was alone, he wasn't afraid. The animals would take care of him.

"Demon." He heard the voice of a man behind him.

The little boy instantly recognized the man. He'd repeatedly called him that, but people in the village hadn't given much importance to his words apart from the kids who enjoyed listening to his horror stories about the way he killed witches and dragons while he'd worked for the king of Camelot.

The adults, though, thought he was mad. At least most of them. It was well known that the man had slaughtered dragons and sorcerers under Uther's command and so it was no surprise he would see sorcerers everywhere. None knew why he'd returned to Camelot, though. Some said he was too cruel even for Uther. Yet they only said that while being at home and sure no ear could spy on them. Others thought he was a spy sent by the king to warn him if that man Uther kept searching for would ever return again. The people never forgot the moment when the mighty troops of Camelot had entered the village and ravished every home in order to find that man.

Yet there were some who were suspicious around Merlin. The boy had been born some months after Uther's men had entered Ealdore and none knew who Merlin's father was. So, it was inevitable that some had connected the two events. After all, they knew that Hunith would open her home to any stranger in need, even if he was a sorcerer.

During his few years, Merlin had learned to separate the friendly people from the bad ones and he tried to avoid them as much as he could. And that man was one of them, so little Merlin started to run. And he ran even if his little lungs were left with no air. It was only due to the thorny bushes and nettles that the man couldn't catch him. The man avoided them while the boy went straight through them, too scared to register the pain. And neither did he bother about the cliff that opened at his foot. He ran directly to it and then everything got dark.

Merlin opened his eyes only to find the same darkness like the one in his nightmare. Yet it wasn't a nightmare. It was a memory.

He felt he had no air left in his lungs and the fine sheets suffocated him. His head hurt as horribly as it had the moment he'd recovered his consciousness that day. He took a breath in, trying to calm his thoughts.

The storm outside matched the torment inside him. He left the warmth of his bed and started to dress quickly. He needed to visit the dragons. Everybody was already asleep and there was no better time to sneak out of the castle and have a chat with the big lizards.

He knew little about the sword. It was mostly a legend. The warlock wondered if Kigharrah was so convinced of its existence as he'd pretended to be.

As quiet as a cat, Merlin climbed the stairs which led to the ancient tombs of the fallen kings and nobles - the place where the sword was supposed to be. Where he might meet that woman again. Unless he'd imagined her. In that instant, speaking with a ghost was better than having to endure the neverending arrogance of the prince.

Things had gone according to his plan. His cousin seemed to trust him completely. Merlin thanked the gods for such an easy challenge. Yet, even if fooling Eugene was a piece of cake, surviving the party the prince had organized to celebrate, his alliance with Sarrum" had been complete torture.

His grandmother proved to be as cold as Uther himself and the warlock was convinced he was committing a grave error considering that Queen Karaliene was capable of the small amount of affection that strangely Merlin had discovered Uther was able to feel.

The excuse Merlin, well, Sarrum, managed to come up with regarding his presence in Drakar seemed to satisfy the queen.

"I've been so caught up in the country's affairs. I deeply regret not having welcomed you as I should have. Though, I'm glad to see Prince Eugene is becoming a better ruler each day." The queen uttered in a business-like tone.

"He made sure I won't lack anything." Sarrum/Merlin answered ceremoniously. "It's a pity the witch isn't around. I was really furious when I discovered you had tricked me, but…. I had to eventually admit my inferiority and...here I am...intrigued by your power and your country."

His manners and his careful words got him an even higher amount of admiration from his cousin.

The queen seemed to be very furious at Morgana's decision to run. Yet she was convinced she would return before the wedding.

"Because she'd made a vow that she would marry my grandchild and she would have to keep her promise." The queen had answered Sarrum's questionable face.

"What exactly does that spell cause?…" Merlin inquired as he couldn't help his curiosity.

"Do you dance?" the queen asked. "I'll tell you more about it during the dance." Sarrum laughed. He was lucky his mother had taught him how to dance. The memory made him feel like he was drowning in an ocean of grief. "Who was she?" The queen had continued. He must have noticed his surprise as she said later "The one you used to dance with. I noticed that my question had brought you sad memories."

"She was very special. One of the most important women in my life. She taught me to dance."

"It seems she's done a great job." the queen noticed. He wondered if he hadn't been wrong about her. " But I won't question you. That spell could do a lot of things. Even kill the one who breaks his or her promise. Mine, though, will only make her fall in love with my grandchild."

"With Eugene?"

"He's the only grandchild I know about, but it doesn't mean he's the only one…" The queen answered mysteriously and then she asked him to escort her back to her seat as if trying to avoid any other questions.

Broking that vow was just one of the numerous things he would have to ask Kilgharrah as soon as he met him. That and who Morgan would fall in love with considering that the queen had two grandchildren.