We travelled for two days. The forests were cold and empty, and the bags on our backs were heavy. No one spoke. But no one really knew what to say. We'd just been forced to leave our home, we had no idea if we could ever go back. And we had no idea if all or in fact any of our friends were also able to escape. My mind would often wander to Merlin and Arthur. I feared for their lives, and prayed over and over that they had gotten out. Arthur would be Morgana's biggest target and Merlin would be damned if he didn't try to protect him.
The trees began to part into familiar paths, and soon enough we could see the village at the base of the hills. It seemed so clam, so isolated. Nothing like the chaos we had fled from. Our pace quickened then, everyone was eager to eat and rest. We'd barely set foot inside the village when mother came rushing towards us.
"Lilia." She called out happily.
"Mother." I called back smiling and running towards her, dropping my bag just before we reached each other to allow myself to be pulled into her arms.
"What are you doing here?" She asked still holding me.
"Morgana attacked Camelot, we had to get out. Is Merlin here?"
"What? No, no he's not. Did he say he was coming here?"
"I didn't see him. I don't know if he managed to escape. We didn't see anyone. But I was hoping he might already be here."
"I'm sure he'll be fine. He'll be with Arthur and the knights. Let's not worry. Come on, lets get you all some food and water." She sounded as though she were trying to reassure herself as much as she were me. But I accepted it anyway and followed everyone else inside.
We sat and ate in relative silence, at this point I was becoming used to doing everything in silence. The hours passed but no body moved from their seats, though the food was long finished, we were just too tired.
There was a tension in the room, we could all feel it. So, I left. Got up silently and walked away. I didn't know, at the time, that this single action would change the course of my life. I didn't know that in this one simple action I was walking away from my engagement, from Fredrik, Dryden and Rhea. I didn't know any of this, maybe if I had known I would've done things differently, but maybe I wouldn't of; I suppose we'll never know.
I walked away, through the doorway and out into the crisp evening air. The village was calm, the chaos of Morgana's attack on Camelot hadn't effected Ealdor in the slightest. As I walked my mind wandered. Suddenly, I wasn't in the village anymore. Instead I was stood in a cold dark empty room. The only thing there was an old mirror. I could sense that this wasn't just any mirror, it had a different kind of power. But I didn't understand what it was, not until a boy appeared in the middle of the room. He had some sort of cloak and when he removed it I could see him. He was a small boy and he stood in front of the mirror in his pyjamas and a red woollen jumper. He had his back to me, but in the reflection of the mirror I could see a lightening scar on his forehead. It was exactly the same scar I had seen on the baby in my dream. My breath caught in my throat, I was frozen on the spot. My eyes not comprehending what they were seeing.
The boy had been looking around the room, but now he was looking directly in the mirror. I followed his gaze and nearly stopped breathing all together. The mirror showed an image I truly didn't believe. It was me and Arthur, but we were older and the boy was stood between us. We were smiling at him, I watched as the older me placed a hand on the boy's shoulder. He moved his own hand to his shoulder where the mirror showed mine.
"Mum." He whispered.
And then it was gone.
I was back in the fields of Ealdor. I couldn't understand anything that I'd seen. Who was the boy? What was the mirror? Why were Arthur and I there? Why did he call me mum? I couldn't be his mother… Could I?
My head reeled I barely registered the arrival of another person. "Lilia? Your mother told me to tell you that your brother is here." The female voice said curtly.
"What? Oh, right. Thanks Petunia." I said distractedly as I walked past her, towards the centre of the village. The images I'd just seen replayed in my head, that was until I saw Merlin.
"I'm so glad you're alright." I smiled as I hugged him. Over his shoulder I could see mother leading three other people away. One of them was Arthur, I breathed a sigh of relief.
We talked for a while and Merlin told me how they'd escaped Camelot. As he finished mother remerged from one of the huts. "Arthur is sleeping, as are Tristan and Isolde." She spoke softly, and Merlin nodded. "But they've got a few wounds and something tells me they're going to need to be at full strength. So, Lilia sweetheart, I don't have to be happy about it, but it may be best if you have a look at their injuries."
"Of course." I nodded and went inside the hut that my mother had just emerged from. I heard her and Merlin walking away. Inside the hut was quite cramped. A fabric partition was being used to split the room in two. Arthur was on one side of it, and two others, who I assumed to be Tristan and Isolde, were on the other side.
Arthur was asleep in the bed. His legs covered with a blanket, his chest bare and a bandage wrapped around his stomach; with a large purple bruise protruding it. His chest rose and fell steadily and was matched with a quiet snore.
I stepped silently closer and placed my hand on the bruise. I closed my eyes, bowed my head and allowed my natural magic to flow through me and heal Arthur's wounds. When I finally opened my eyes and lifted my head, I saw that his blue eyes were open and staring right at me.
"We really need to stop meeting like this." He smiled.
"Better like this than not at all." I smiled back. "How are you feeling?"
"I feel as though I should say sore. But you seem to have sorted that for me already." He paused, "I'm glad you managed to escape."
"I'm glad you did too." I smiled.
He huffed, "I don't think I had much choice in the matter. I'm pretty sure Gaius drugged me. One minute I was in the Palace and the next I was standing in the forest with smugglers and being attacked by my own uncle." His eyes filled with sadness as he spoke about his uncle.
"It's not your fault, Arthur." I said as I sat on the edge of his bed.
"Is it not? I trusted him. I gave him the status he needed to betray me. I ignored Merlin when he tried to warn me. I let this happen."
"Agravaine made the decision to do this. It's not your fault. No one forced him to side with Morgana, it was his choice. And you can't blame yourself for it."
"How many of my people have lost their lives because I trusted the wrong person? That is on me."
"The knights warned the majority, people will have escaped to the forests." I attempted to reassure him.
"They shouldn't have had too." He said quietly.
There was look of deep sadness in his eyes, almost a look of defeat. It scared me. I had never once seen him look this down. And I had no idea how to help him. So instead I laid down next to him and watched as he slowly drifted back off to sleep. Then I silently got up and slipped behind the partition. Tristan and Isolde were both asleep, so I whispered a few healing spells and then left quickly. It was nearly midnight and the village was quiet, so I walked home slowly. It had been along time since I'd been able to enjoy the silence, even though I'd lived in relative silence for the last couple of months, it hadn't been the same. The atmosphere then was full of tension, now it was just comfortable and relaxed. It felt like home. It felt right.
Hope you've enjoyed this chapter. Please leave a review. And if you have any story suggestions I'm open to them.
Thanks for reading. Xem98x