So here's chapter 3, a bit longer, and hopefully a bit more interesting.
Enjoy.
Merlin Ambrosius, alias Emrys Hawkins, and Mary Sefton were enjoying their time together, a thing that was not hard for them to do. The night was late-or the morning was very early––depending on the way you looked at it, and they were on their way back to the Into the Mystic shop Leo and Una ran from having been to the cinema. They had gotten several strange looks from the cinema employees who were surprised to see two fifteen year old children at the movies at eleven o'clock at night. In Mary's case the stares were pretty much well deserved, but in Merlin's case appearances were deceiving for while he appeared to be only fifteen years old he was well over five thousand years in truth, owing his current form to a faulty regeneration spell.
Both he and Mary were forced to go out at this time due to Mary's unusual case of lycanthropy. Instead of turning into a ferocious wolf, or wolf-hybrib, at full moon she became a wolf at day with her normal human mind, although she kept the increased wolf senses at night and it had occurred before that if she fell asleep as a human at night the wolf in her could take over.
Today they had taken the wise decision to avoid any movie that involved Merlin himself, King Arthur, or history in any way.
"You know," said Merlin as he and Mary walked down the sidewalk, "I didn't really get the point of th..." Suddenly he stopped.
"What's wrong Merlin?" Mary asked her boyfriend, looking up at him nervously.
Merlin rubbed his forehead, "I don't know," he said, "I thought I felt something." He looked around the empty streets, "If I didn't know any better I would have said that I sensed the presence of a fey that was trying to hide, but not doing a very good job of it."
Mary was about to say something when they heard a cold voice come out of the shadows of an alleyway. "How very perceptive."
The shadows in the alley seemed to melt together until they formed the shape of a man. The stranger stepped out of the alley and the two teenagers were able to see him properly. He was tall and lanky and had long red hair which he kept combed behind his long pointy ears. Everything was pointy about him, his face, his nose, and especially his ears. But most importantly his skin was sky blue.
He leaned against the wall of the alley and said, "Long time no see, Merlin."
Merlin stared at the stranger with his mouth open, "Jack?" he stammered, "What are you doing here?"
Mary stared from one to the other, "I take it you know each other, mind introducing me?"
Merlin shook his head as if to clear it, "Sure, Mary this is Springheeled Jack, one of the more renowned Tricksters of Avalon, Jack this is Mary, my, uh..."
"His girlfriend," Mary said, glaring at Merlin.
Jack nodded to Mary, "Pleased to meet you," he turned back to Merlin, "About your earlier question, let's just say that I've been hiding from Oberon."
Merlin raised an eyebrow, "Let me guess, one joke too many?"
Jack feigned surprise, "How ever did you guess?" He asked Merlin, covering his mouth in shock.
"Let's just say it has happened before," said Merlin, "But isn't hiding from Oberon in the human world worse than risking being caught on Avalon?"
Jack buffed his fingernails on his shirt, "Well, to tell the truth I'm not only hiding, the Weird Sisters told me that if I helped them track down some of the renegade Unseelie they'd put a good word in for me with Oberon."
Merlin stared at Jack with a disbelieving look, "You actually trust them?"
Jack chewed his upper lip and fidgeted uncomfortably, "Well, I have my reasons for trusting them. Let's just leave it at that."
"If you are hunting down renegade Unseelie then what are you doing here?" Mary asked, "There aren't any Unseelie still left in London are there? I thought the Morrigan was the last one left."
Jack turned to face her, "And it's the Morrigan that has led me here. She said that the Banshee was hiding in London."
Mary glanced at Merlin with a nervous expression, Merlin quickly hushed her hoping that Jack had not seen it. But he had.
"So," said Jack, with a sly expression, "She is here. I was unsure of whether the Morrigan was telling the truth. But it seems there really is bad blood between the two of them."
Both Mary and Merlin groaned inwardly, the Banshee wasn't a close friend of theirs, but they didn't want to give her up to the justice of her people. She had joined the Unseelie's side in the war, but Merlin doubted that she did it out of true ill intent. He was certain she had had another reason for joining the other side, but he didn't know what.
Jack stared at their overly blank faces, "So," he asked, "care to tell me where she is? It would save me the trouble of tracking her down."
"We don't know where she is," Merlin lied, taking a step backwards.
Jack rolled his eyes, "Whatever, I can see you don't want to tell me. So I'll just go now." With that he crouched down as if to jump, and he did jump, clear onto the top of the apartment on the other side of the rode.
He turned around to wave once and then Mary and Merlin were once again alone.
Mary turned to look at Merlin, "Would you care to tell me what that was about?"
Merlin frowned, "Well to tell you the truth I'm not really sure. I only have met Jack a few times, he's only rarely left Avalon as far as I am aware. I think he might have even been guarding Avalon along with the Weird Sisters. But where he was when the Gargoyles settled there I have no idea."
They began to hurry back to the Into the Mystic, "What should we do?" Asked Mary.
Merlin stared at her, "What do you mean?"
"Well," she said as they came to the London Gargoyle's shop, "A fey in London isn't really such a great thing for us. Suppose he tries to start trouble."
Merlin frowned, "You've got a point, he may have been friendly to me whenever we met, but he's also a trickster, and they tend to care less about what happens to mortals. Even the best among them can turn pretty nasty."
He opened the door to the shop and Mary went in first. Only Leo was behind the counter, his large body draped in the all concealing robe that he and Una wore when in the shop. Whenever Mary looked at the leonine gargoyle she always had the impression that he was wearing a mask, when in fact she knew he wasn't.
"Hullo children," Leo rumbled in his deep baritone voice, "how was the movie?"
"Pretty good," said Merlin, "are the others still here?"
Leo shrugged, "Arthur and Griff are up there, I think Rory might be with them."
Merlin walked into the back room of he shop and climbed up the stairs that led to the gargoyle's living room, Mary close behind him. Before they went into the room Merlin stopped and turned to Mary.
"Whatever you do," he whispered, "try not to mention what we just saw. After all the trouble we've had I think it might be better if we were careful in how we told Arthur that there's a fey in London." Mary nodded to show him she understood.
They opened the door and walked into the room. Arthur was there, sitting in his favorite chair, Caval resting his head on his lap. Griff and Brianna were laying on the couch together. They had been discussing something when Merlin and Mary came in.
Before Merlin could say anything Mary burst out, "We saw a fey."
The silence that filled the room after Mary's statement could have been cut with the proverbial butter knife. Merlin was starring at Mary, his mouth open and a shocked expression on his face.
"What did I tell you?" He asked her, his mouth gaping like a fish's.
"Sorry," Mary apologized, blushing, "I kind of forgot."
"Merlin," Arthur said, standing up from his seat, "What's going on?"
Merlin turned to face his former student. Seeing Arthur's stern, yet questioning gaze Merlin swallowed nervously. Arthur was definitely not going to be happy about this. "Well," he said, "On our way home from the movie..."
After Merlin had told the story of their encounter with Jack Arthur sat down heavily in his chair. He gazed down thoughtfully at the floor, contemplating what he had just heard could mean for them. "And you're sure that he is after the Banshee?" Arthur asked, finally looking up.
Merlin nodded, "I'm pretty certain." He moved slightly closer to Mary, who was rubbing her arms as if she were cold.
Arthur stared at the floor again, "Well, we can't let him have her. The banshee has given us trouble in the past, but she has helped us as well. We cannot betray her." He turned to the two gargoyles lounging on the couch, "Brianna, I'd like you to find Rory, and the Banshee. Griff, take Caval, find Leba and investigate the place where Merlin and Mary saw this Fey."
The two gargoyles nodded in agreement and climbed up the stairs that led to the roof of the shop where the gargoyles normally took off from, the red gargoyle beast following closely behind.
When the two gargoyles had left Arthur stood up from his seat and went over to look out the window. His expression was a mixture of fatigue and pain, when would it finally end? When would he be allowed to live his life in peace with those he loved? But he knew this would never be granted him. What could one expect when most of their loved ones were gargoyles that the rest of the world wanted to kill?
+++++++++++++ People, come on, I need some reviews here. How am I supposed to get this right if I don't get any feedback?
Merlin Ambrosius, alias Emrys Hawkins, and Mary Sefton were enjoying their time together, a thing that was not hard for them to do. The night was late-or the morning was very early––depending on the way you looked at it, and they were on their way back to the Into the Mystic shop Leo and Una ran from having been to the cinema. They had gotten several strange looks from the cinema employees who were surprised to see two fifteen year old children at the movies at eleven o'clock at night. In Mary's case the stares were pretty much well deserved, but in Merlin's case appearances were deceiving for while he appeared to be only fifteen years old he was well over five thousand years in truth, owing his current form to a faulty regeneration spell.
Both he and Mary were forced to go out at this time due to Mary's unusual case of lycanthropy. Instead of turning into a ferocious wolf, or wolf-hybrib, at full moon she became a wolf at day with her normal human mind, although she kept the increased wolf senses at night and it had occurred before that if she fell asleep as a human at night the wolf in her could take over.
Today they had taken the wise decision to avoid any movie that involved Merlin himself, King Arthur, or history in any way.
"You know," said Merlin as he and Mary walked down the sidewalk, "I didn't really get the point of th..." Suddenly he stopped.
"What's wrong Merlin?" Mary asked her boyfriend, looking up at him nervously.
Merlin rubbed his forehead, "I don't know," he said, "I thought I felt something." He looked around the empty streets, "If I didn't know any better I would have said that I sensed the presence of a fey that was trying to hide, but not doing a very good job of it."
Mary was about to say something when they heard a cold voice come out of the shadows of an alleyway. "How very perceptive."
The shadows in the alley seemed to melt together until they formed the shape of a man. The stranger stepped out of the alley and the two teenagers were able to see him properly. He was tall and lanky and had long red hair which he kept combed behind his long pointy ears. Everything was pointy about him, his face, his nose, and especially his ears. But most importantly his skin was sky blue.
He leaned against the wall of the alley and said, "Long time no see, Merlin."
Merlin stared at the stranger with his mouth open, "Jack?" he stammered, "What are you doing here?"
Mary stared from one to the other, "I take it you know each other, mind introducing me?"
Merlin shook his head as if to clear it, "Sure, Mary this is Springheeled Jack, one of the more renowned Tricksters of Avalon, Jack this is Mary, my, uh..."
"His girlfriend," Mary said, glaring at Merlin.
Jack nodded to Mary, "Pleased to meet you," he turned back to Merlin, "About your earlier question, let's just say that I've been hiding from Oberon."
Merlin raised an eyebrow, "Let me guess, one joke too many?"
Jack feigned surprise, "How ever did you guess?" He asked Merlin, covering his mouth in shock.
"Let's just say it has happened before," said Merlin, "But isn't hiding from Oberon in the human world worse than risking being caught on Avalon?"
Jack buffed his fingernails on his shirt, "Well, to tell the truth I'm not only hiding, the Weird Sisters told me that if I helped them track down some of the renegade Unseelie they'd put a good word in for me with Oberon."
Merlin stared at Jack with a disbelieving look, "You actually trust them?"
Jack chewed his upper lip and fidgeted uncomfortably, "Well, I have my reasons for trusting them. Let's just leave it at that."
"If you are hunting down renegade Unseelie then what are you doing here?" Mary asked, "There aren't any Unseelie still left in London are there? I thought the Morrigan was the last one left."
Jack turned to face her, "And it's the Morrigan that has led me here. She said that the Banshee was hiding in London."
Mary glanced at Merlin with a nervous expression, Merlin quickly hushed her hoping that Jack had not seen it. But he had.
"So," said Jack, with a sly expression, "She is here. I was unsure of whether the Morrigan was telling the truth. But it seems there really is bad blood between the two of them."
Both Mary and Merlin groaned inwardly, the Banshee wasn't a close friend of theirs, but they didn't want to give her up to the justice of her people. She had joined the Unseelie's side in the war, but Merlin doubted that she did it out of true ill intent. He was certain she had had another reason for joining the other side, but he didn't know what.
Jack stared at their overly blank faces, "So," he asked, "care to tell me where she is? It would save me the trouble of tracking her down."
"We don't know where she is," Merlin lied, taking a step backwards.
Jack rolled his eyes, "Whatever, I can see you don't want to tell me. So I'll just go now." With that he crouched down as if to jump, and he did jump, clear onto the top of the apartment on the other side of the rode.
He turned around to wave once and then Mary and Merlin were once again alone.
Mary turned to look at Merlin, "Would you care to tell me what that was about?"
Merlin frowned, "Well to tell you the truth I'm not really sure. I only have met Jack a few times, he's only rarely left Avalon as far as I am aware. I think he might have even been guarding Avalon along with the Weird Sisters. But where he was when the Gargoyles settled there I have no idea."
They began to hurry back to the Into the Mystic, "What should we do?" Asked Mary.
Merlin stared at her, "What do you mean?"
"Well," she said as they came to the London Gargoyle's shop, "A fey in London isn't really such a great thing for us. Suppose he tries to start trouble."
Merlin frowned, "You've got a point, he may have been friendly to me whenever we met, but he's also a trickster, and they tend to care less about what happens to mortals. Even the best among them can turn pretty nasty."
He opened the door to the shop and Mary went in first. Only Leo was behind the counter, his large body draped in the all concealing robe that he and Una wore when in the shop. Whenever Mary looked at the leonine gargoyle she always had the impression that he was wearing a mask, when in fact she knew he wasn't.
"Hullo children," Leo rumbled in his deep baritone voice, "how was the movie?"
"Pretty good," said Merlin, "are the others still here?"
Leo shrugged, "Arthur and Griff are up there, I think Rory might be with them."
Merlin walked into the back room of he shop and climbed up the stairs that led to the gargoyle's living room, Mary close behind him. Before they went into the room Merlin stopped and turned to Mary.
"Whatever you do," he whispered, "try not to mention what we just saw. After all the trouble we've had I think it might be better if we were careful in how we told Arthur that there's a fey in London." Mary nodded to show him she understood.
They opened the door and walked into the room. Arthur was there, sitting in his favorite chair, Caval resting his head on his lap. Griff and Brianna were laying on the couch together. They had been discussing something when Merlin and Mary came in.
Before Merlin could say anything Mary burst out, "We saw a fey."
The silence that filled the room after Mary's statement could have been cut with the proverbial butter knife. Merlin was starring at Mary, his mouth open and a shocked expression on his face.
"What did I tell you?" He asked her, his mouth gaping like a fish's.
"Sorry," Mary apologized, blushing, "I kind of forgot."
"Merlin," Arthur said, standing up from his seat, "What's going on?"
Merlin turned to face his former student. Seeing Arthur's stern, yet questioning gaze Merlin swallowed nervously. Arthur was definitely not going to be happy about this. "Well," he said, "On our way home from the movie..."
After Merlin had told the story of their encounter with Jack Arthur sat down heavily in his chair. He gazed down thoughtfully at the floor, contemplating what he had just heard could mean for them. "And you're sure that he is after the Banshee?" Arthur asked, finally looking up.
Merlin nodded, "I'm pretty certain." He moved slightly closer to Mary, who was rubbing her arms as if she were cold.
Arthur stared at the floor again, "Well, we can't let him have her. The banshee has given us trouble in the past, but she has helped us as well. We cannot betray her." He turned to the two gargoyles lounging on the couch, "Brianna, I'd like you to find Rory, and the Banshee. Griff, take Caval, find Leba and investigate the place where Merlin and Mary saw this Fey."
The two gargoyles nodded in agreement and climbed up the stairs that led to the roof of the shop where the gargoyles normally took off from, the red gargoyle beast following closely behind.
When the two gargoyles had left Arthur stood up from his seat and went over to look out the window. His expression was a mixture of fatigue and pain, when would it finally end? When would he be allowed to live his life in peace with those he loved? But he knew this would never be granted him. What could one expect when most of their loved ones were gargoyles that the rest of the world wanted to kill?
+++++++++++++ People, come on, I need some reviews here. How am I supposed to get this right if I don't get any feedback?