Merlin

The New Wave

France Gamble

Chapter 2

They sat by the firelight Merlin had been able to start for them in the relative safety of being at least an hour away from wherever Morgana had hidden them. As the light from the fire bounced off of the forlorn girl's face, he studied. She had stopped crying, but it was only just. He worried about even talking to her, due to her fragile state. With the dancing flames he could make out her bright colored hair, a light brown with streaks of gold pulling through it. She desperately needed a good bath and a brush, he thought. He brought his fingers through his own hair with self-consciousness.

He also knew he needed one too.

"Thank you," she sniffled in a light whisper. He barely heard her over a crackle from the fire.

"You're safe now," he assured her. She shook involuntarily, even though the wind was still. He shuffled slightly as if to stand, and she curled in more into the blanket type dress. "I'm not going to hurt you."

She nodded, "I know." Her voice was quiet, cracking from the crying and possibly screaming she had done prior.

"Do you have any injuries? I trained as a healer," he assured her.

"No," she looked up from the fire at him, "You can't heal what she did to me."

He opened his mouth to ask, but she put her face into her hands again to sob openly. Even long after her crying was done, she sniffled and shook. He stayed where he was on the ground, and tended to the fire to keep them warm for the rest of the night.

It wasn't long before the sun started its creeping above the line in the horizon. Slowly the trees around them were beginning to glow in predawn light. He allowed the fire to burn down. "We should get back to your village…"

"No!" she suddenly screetched out. "No, please." Her eyes welled again with tears, but they didn't fall.

"Don't you want to get home?"

"I can't… please… I can't," she shook her head. "They won't take me back now. Please just leave me to die here."

"What?" Merlin stood up and leaned down to in front of her. "You aren't going to die, alright?"

She shook her head, "I don't want to live with what she did."

He carefully removed her hands to look into a pool of dark blue eyes, "I'll take you back to Camelot with me." He tried to smile at her, "I promise I will make sure you're safe."

"I don't…"

"No, listen," he interrupted. "I know you're scared, and Morgana isn't very… uh, nice… but, you will be fine."

She shook her head; allowed him to pull her to stand. Turning around her stamped out the last of the fire and put some dirt over it.

He watched her carefully as they continued their way now toward Camelot. She was lithe, pale, so not a farmer's daughter or wife. He wondered if she had come from the village that he had been captured from, or another one? He was correct that her long hair had streaks of gold running through it as if the sun had pulled fingers through. Touches of red may have even glimmered when they went into sun patches on the forest floor. He couldn't tell. She was shorter than him, maybe a bit taller than Gwen herself. He wouldn't know until they reached the city. Even wearing the blanket to cover her, though, she walked with a grace that said she may have been a Lord's daughter. He hoped not, though he didn't know why he would.

"My name is Merlin," he broke the song of the birds around them when they stopped a bit later by a berry bush.

He handed her the berries as she whispered, "My name is Lilly."

"Like the water flower?" he asked. She nodded with a slight smile. He knew she was thinking of a memory and finally not what had happened. Yes, he agreed that she looked like the beautiful lily pads from the small garden ponds beside the castle.

They ate what they could of the berries, and he pocketed a lot more for later. As they walked along, he realized they would reach a village soon. "There is a settlement ahead," he told her. She stopped so abruptly that he tripped. Luckily he didn't fall flat onto the forest floor, but it was only just. "Lilly?"

"I can't go into one," she said.

"I wasn't going to suggest you did," he told her gently. "I will go in and see if I can get you some proper clothing." He nodded when she didn't move. "Just sit here," he handed her the berries from his pocket.

He really hoped she didn't leave as he went the ten more minutes in another direction slightly away from their path toward the castle. Inside the village it wasn't difficult for him to find a tailor who was willing to give him a peasant dress for one gold piece. He knew he paid too much for the cloth alone, but he was in a hurry. Trying not to show his distrust of the girl, he hurried back without full on running.

He needn't worry, though. She was right where he had left her. He slowly approached, because she had startled when he moved the tree to her line of sight. "Just me," he assured her.

She took the dress gratefully.

It only took to close to supper time before they walked into the city of Camelot. She hid against the back of his shirt as he greeted people he knew. Working for Gaius gave him many acquaintances within the lower town, and the upper town he had even more of close to friendships there. He barely made it through the gate to the upper town when Gwaine came running toward him. Percival was right behind in just a quick of a jog. "Merlin!" they both must have heard that he had come through the gate.

"I'm back," he said smiling. Gwaine went to give him a hug but stopped when Merlin held his hand up. He pointed to his back where Lilly was still trying to hide into his red shirt. "I need to bring her to Gaius," he explained. She wouldn't let go of him for her to be brought to the front. He only slightly tried because her shaking had started again.

"We'll escort you," Percival nodded. "Arthur is still out there looking for you."

"He is? Alone!?" Merlin almost turned around to run back into the forest surrounding the city.

Gwaine shook his head, "No, they figured Morgana took you. So, he brought about twenty knights with him."

"He should be back very soon," Percival added.

Merlin warred with himself on whether to drop Lilly off with Gaius and rush out, or maybe stay to also be checked over by the physician too. His mind was made up the minute Gwen followed behind them into the herb filled rooms. "Arthur just came through the gates," she assured him as she sat on the cot next to Lilly.

Gaius was checking his wrists for damage done by the ropes before he would switch over to the girl. She didn't want the old man to come near her at first, so he needed to wait for Guinevere's presence to calm the younger woman.

Merlin left them both to treat his rescue. He rushed out to the courtyard to find Arthur coming down from his horse. The king saw him and smiled, "Thank God, Merlin."

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