I open the door to see Richard and his family. Richard is holding two birthday bags out in front of him.
"Hello Luke. Happy birthday." He hands me the bags and walks inside. Kimberly gives me a polite smile and follows her husband inside. The dimwit twins don't even speak to me but rush in after their mother.
I place the bags on the table by the fireplace and take an unoccupied chair.
The kitchen door opens and Samuel walks out with a tray of drinks.
"Richard it's great to see you. How have you been?" Samuel asks as he sits the tray down next to the deli tray.
As they talk the doorbell rings again. I open it and Maggie and her family walk inside. John has three gifts in his arms and looks like he's about to drop one. "Here, let me help you with that." I take the small offending package and place it next to the other gifts. John follows suit." "Thanks, Luke and happy birthday."
"We're welcome sir and thanks."
"John, Maggie, I'm glad you could make it." Samuel walks over to greet them. I sit back down and let the adults talk. They always act as if they haven't conversed in ages even though we all live within ten miles of each other and they see each other often.
"Hello, everyone." June says as she takes a seat by Kimberly.
"Harry birthday." A dark haired six year old comes over to me. Sarah wiggles her way on my lap. After Ben, Sarah is my favorite cousin. She's a sweet little girl but is very curious which often leads her into trouble.
"Thank you, Sarah." I smile down at the girl. Sarah is the only small child I've ever spent any time around.
"Sarah, where are your shoes?" Maggie is looking at her daughter's bare feet.
"I don't know where they went mommy. " Sarah innocently states.
"Well, come here. You're going to help me look in the car." Sarah hops down and follows her mother outside.
"Sarah has constantly been misplacing her shoes lately." Ben states as he takes the chair beside me. Ben looks like his mother. He's black hair is hidden behind a red hat.
"The joys of having a little sister." I smirk at his exasperation.
"You're lucky. You're an only child. You don't know what it's like having to deal with sisters." I know plenty about having a sister. Unfortunately by the time I found out she was my sister she had already betrayed me.
"Next time, leave your shoes on." Maggie orders Sarah as they enter the living room again.
"I wish I had a sister. "
"You're mental. I wish I had a brother. All Hannah wants to do is play her violin and Sarah is always running around asking a million and one questions."
"Luke would you like to open your gifts now while lunch is still cooking? " June inquires
"That would be fine."
Samuel gets up and hands me a gift from the mantel. He lifts up his camera and waits for me to open the gift. This is one of the bags that Richard had been carrying. The card says it's from. Tyler and David. Astonishingly there's a new pair of fencing gloves inside. "Thanks, Tyler. Thanks David. I've been needing a new pair." Maybe today won't be too bad.
I put the gloves back in the bag and placed it by my feet. Samuel hands me the other bag. This one is from Richard and Kimberly. I move the blue tissue paper aside and find a copy of England Laws. "Thank you. I've been wanting a copy of this for a while. " Richard seems pleased. He is an attorney and is glad that I show an interest in the law.
"Your welcome dear." Kimberly replies
The next gift is the one that I took from John. From Sarah and Hannah is messily written on a card. I unwrap the small green package. There's a hand sized wooden figurine of a horse. It's beautifully carved. Sarah jumps down from her mother's lap and comes over to give me a hug. "Hannah found it at an antique store mommy took us to."
"Thank you both. I love it. "
"I'm glad you like it." Hannah's soft spoken voice is barely audible over the other people's conversation. She is the opposite of her younger sister. She prefers to draw or practice her music than to spend her time with other children. It's not that she's not friendly but she's not a social person. I smile and nod my head.
The next gift is square and wrapped in red and silver wrapping paper with Ben's neat penmanship. Ben and I get along decently well. We both accept each other's oddities. Ben has a love affair with comic books. His room looks like a comic book store. There's posters of superheroes and villains covering his bedroom walls. He can quote his favorite issues by heart. We don't have much in common but our friendship isn't based on that. Ben talks about whatever comic he is reading while I go through my different training drills or play chess against myself. Ben gets to talk about his hobby and he let's me continue my routine. I unwrap the box and am happy to find a new glass chess set. I've been using a wooden set that I got from a yard sale for a pound.
"I thought it was time you upgraded to a better set."
"Thanks, my old one isn't in the best shape." Some of the paint is peeling off.
"Maybe, I will finally be able to beat you." Samuel teases. On rainy days Samuel and I usually play chess together. He never wins but he still seems to enjoy himself.
"Maybe" I grin. I may not see Samuel as a father figure but I do care for him. He reminds me of Merlin somewhat. They both enjoy making beautiful things with their gifts. Samuel uses art and Merlin magic but they both are passionate about their work.
"Here you go." Samuel hands me the last gift from the table. It's a medium size red birthday bag. This one is from Maggie and John. Inside is a box of my favorite chocolates and a movie. "The Sword and the Stone." I've never heard of it before.
"Yes, it's a classic and you mum said you don't own this one." Maggie explains.
"Thank you. I look forward to watching this." I may need a drink to do so. I wonder if June would notice if some of the wine went missing?
"Here you are dear." June must have left the room to get my gift because she is now carrying a large,white, rectangular box with a red bow on top. "Thanks." I sit the box on my lap and take the top off. I don't believe it. I pick up an arrow to see if it's real. It's solid and has a pointed tip. I run my hand across the bow. Most of it is plastic but it's not a toy. It's not a sword or even a crossbow but it's wonderful. It's the most wonderful site I've seen in eleven years.
"Thank you, so much. I love it." My specialty was always swordsmanship but I'm a deadly shot, with any type of bow, even though I used it mostly for hunting.
"You're welcome dear. Dad already set up a target for you in the backyard." June looked pleased
Hearing that I'm tempted to go outside and use an actual weapon for the first time in forever but it would be rude to do so.
"I have an idea. How about the children stay in here and watch Luke's new video while we go in the kitchen. I need to finish decorating the cake. Richard would you mind helping me." Samuel suggest
"Of course not and I'm sure Maggie and Kimberly would love to discuss ideas about how you should remodel your kitchen."
"That sounds great. I brought a magazine I found that has some great ideas." Maggie adds. The women start discussing their ideas and leave the living room.
Samuel puts on the video and John places Sarah on the couch next to the twins. "The kitchen door will be open if you need anything." He tells his daughter and leaves with Samuel to the kitchen.
I won't be having a glass of wine after all. The twins don't look happy but they know not to try anything with their father in the next room. Kimberly may let them get away with anything but Richard doesn't have that problem. Ben and the girls don't seem to mind.
The movie starts and I am equally horrified and amused. This movie has Merlin as an old man. The knights and I never let him live the Dragoon the Great disguise down. It's ironic that everyone associates the Dragoon disguise to Merlin when the point of it was to do the opposite. The fictional me is a child who goes by the name Wart. Where did that come from? Between Gwaine and Merlin, I had numerous unflattering nicknames, but that wasn't one of them. The animated Sir Kay is nothing like the real man. Sir Kay was actually quite clever and was one of the best jousters in Camelot.
"This is stupid." Matthew grumbles
"Boring to the extreme. " His brother adds.
The movie is childish and has gotten nothing right but I've seen worse movies.
When the animated Merlin starts to sing and everything in the room floats around so it can be shrunk into the character's travel bag. I can't help but laugh. The first time Merlin tried a shrinking spell it didn't turn out like he planned. We had been invited to King Amis castle to celebrate his second son's marriage. Gwen had persuaded Merlin to bring one of his new outfits for each day that we would be dining with King Amis. Merlin had agreed to do so but couldn't get his clothes, magical books and other items to fit in his bags. He decided to shrink them. When we arrived at our destination Merlin couldn't get them to unshrink. The first day Merlin had to borrow clothes from me. He was able to fix them the next morning but the damage had been done.
He had looked ridiculous at dinner the night before. He didn't then know how to magically make the outfit fit his build. The pants were too big in the waist and even though he wore a belt they still looked silly. (It wasn't because I was fat, it was just because he was a twig.) The pant legs were inches too short. My shirt was just as bad. The shoulders area had been too loose for his thin frame. The shirt kept showing his collarbones. Also, the sleeves were a little too short. Everyone kept giving him disbelieving looks when he was introduced as my First Adviser and Court Sorcerer. In his defense he had only been Court Sorcerer for six months. As my servant he didn't have much time to spend studying spells. Also, he had been too busy dealing with magic related inquiries for the first four months to spend much time reading. I take a few deep breaths and my laughter stops. I'm getting odd looks but I keep my attention on the screen.
"Kids, dinners ready." Samuel is leaning against the door frame giving me a puzzled look.
"What was so funny, Luke?"
"I just found part of the movie funny."
"I'm sure Maggie will be happy that you're enjoying your gift."
"Hurry up please, before the food gets cold." June calls
"Coming darling." Samuel responds as he leads us into the dining room. Once again, I'm pleasantly surprised by the decor. There's a golden tablecloth now covering the rectangular table. June has set the table with her silver, expensive non identical+ glasses, and the best china. What's great is the lack of confetti, streamers, and silly hats.
I take a seat by Ben and Samuel and wait for the women to finish filling up their plates. Both June and Samuel are excellent cooks. June made a pot roast with all the trimmings, pasta salad, and fried squash. The cake is a piece of art. It's in the shape of a fortress. It even has a drawbridge with plastic soldiers guarding the entrance. The courtyard has green icing for grass and has two plastic knights in battle stances.
I get servings of everything besides the cake which will be served after lunch. The roast is perfect. I sometimes think June missed her calling as a chef. She's happy as a home retailer though.
"Are you ready for school to start again Samuel?" Maggie asks. She's also a teacher but she teaches music. Students have another month before school starts but teachers go back two weeks before us.
"Yes, I have my syllabus ready. It should be a good year."
"What about you Luke. I hear that you're a fencing prodigy." Maggie says to include me into the conversation.
"I do miss fencing practice and matches but I'm not looking forward to attending classes again."
"Oh, why is that? June showed us your last report card. Getting the highest marks for your year is quite an accomplishment." John remarks.
"I prefer learning on my own. I can work at my own speed and choose what subjects I believe to be useful."
" Luke is a real scholar, John. He's always reading some large nonfiction book and his grades are excellent." June praises. "However, I believe his main interests are history, politics and law." Richard adds
In Camelot I enjoyed spending my time on the training ground or hunting but as a child I spent half my days with a tutor. I didn't mind studying as I got older. Topics like Camelot's laws and battle tactics were interesting and useful. I didn't enjoy reading Gaius's medical books though.
I am studying for a reason. When I was eleven before, I always knew that I was training to be Camelot's next king. That meant being the best knight and learning how to rule. Here, I don't know what role I'll be playing. Yes, I'm Albion's King but Europe already has governments ruling her. So I'm trying to prepare for anything. That means learning about modern Albion's history, politics and laws.
"Yes, we're really proud of him." Samuel boast
"Do you want to go into politics or law, when you grow up?" John asks. Richard glances at me hopefully. He had to accept that none of his sons will follow in his footsteps. His eldest David is a journalist for the local paper and the twins seem more interested in sports and horror films than school.
"I'm not sur..." I don't finish my sentence because a brown and black owl flies through the window.
Hannah shrieks and the adults start yelling at once. "Richard do something." Kimberly demands as the owl comes towards them. Richard stares at his wife as if asking 'what do you expect me to do?'
The owl goes over their head and lands on the arm of my chair. Both Ben and Samuel are staring at the bird in disbelief. The owl opens one of it's claws and drops a yellowish heavy envelope by my plate. It's intelligent eyes look at me and then to my plate. I reach for a piece of roast and offer it to the bird. The owl snatches it from my hand and quickly leaps off my chair and back out the dining room window. Everyone is looking at the envelope.
Who still uses messenger birds? I don't know anyone who would send me a letter, especially by an owl. Unless... Please, let it be Merlin, please. I undo the purple seal and read the first sheet of paper. It's definitely not from Merlin.
HOGWARTS SCHOOL
OF WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY
Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore
(Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock,...)
Dear Luke Valer,
We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
"Luke dear let me see."I want to finish the letter and find out more but I hand it over to June. Her eyes get bigger the more she reads.
"I always thought you were joking Samuel."
" What does it say?" He looks confused but he's not the only one.
She hands it over to him. " Your Aunt Betty. You said she's a witch. I thought you were joking."
"I was. Mom always took it seriously but I thought it was just a joke."
I tone out the rest of the conversation. I'm not supposed to have magic. I'm the leader and swordsman. Merlin is the sorcerer and magical adviser. If it's a school for magic then it would make sense that Merlin would be there. Maybe I'll get to see my other half soon. I haven't felt this happy in forever. Living with a part of yourself missing is a lonely existence. I miss the others especially Gwen but it's different with Merlin. We decided to only tell the other members of the Round Table about our bond. Gwaine thought it was hilarious. He had tried to bribe Merlin into telling him, my most embarrassing secrets. Unfortunately, for Gwaine he asked before we figured out how to shield our minds. I threatened to have Timothy banned him from the tavern if he tried to get information from Merlin again. Merlin wouldn't have told him anyway. We mentally swore not to share anything we found out. We each had memories that were mortifying enough for each other to see yet alone for someone else to know about. Leon had been worried about how the bond would affect our work. He relaxed when we told him that Merlin had received a response from the local druid camp and they were sending someone to assist us. Percival and Gaius had been curious but didn't ask too many questions. Gwen had been silent until we reached our chambers that night. I had asked her if she was alright. We had a little privacy because Merlin had fallen asleep a few moments before.
"Arthur this changes nothing. You both wouldn't be who you are without the other. You're my husband and he's my best friend. I wouldn't want either of you to change. I also know you in a way Merlin doesn't." Gwen had kissed me and I had responded until I felt Merlin wake up in horror and pleading with us to stop." Those first few weeks felt much longer.
"Uh he's a freak." Gregory yells.
"Gregory Allen Valer, be quite this moment." Richard angrily demands. He looks mortified by his son's behavior but his wife looks like she agrees with her son.
"But he is" Matthew defenses his brother
"I think it's time we should go. Happy Birthday Luke" Maggie suggest
"Thank you for coming and for the movie." I reply as Maggie rushes her children in front of her with her husband behind her.
"We should go as well . "Kimberly says as she gives Richard a pointed look.
"Of course dear. See you later Sam, June, Luke." Mr and Mrs Richard Valer each take one of their children's hands and exit through the side door.
"Well, this will be a birthday you won't forget son." Samuel is smiling but it looks forced
"I think we should go to the living room and discuss this." June doesn't look happy. I can't tell if it's because of the letter or because of our family members. I follow behind them. I have to persuade them to let me go. Not going isn't an option.
I know them well. Samuel will be concerned but will be reasonable. June will be harder to persuade. She's not an unreasonable woman but she'll want to know everything about the school before she'll even consider it. This is the closest I've come to finding Merlin and I'm not going to let it slip by.
"Luke you realize that it would be irresponsible of us to let you go to a school we know nothing about." June explains seriously
"I know that but we don't know how magic works. What if I get upset and accidentally set the house on fire?" Merlin had explained that it was hard for sorcerers to use instinctual magic. Sorcerers had to train for years before they could use spells and the weaker sorcerers couldn't do more than light a fire or levitate an object. This of course didn't apply to Merlin and to some extent Morgana. The Valers of course didn't know that.
"He has a point, June." Samuel looks worried
"Well, what can we do? I'm not sending him off into the unknown. "
"Of course not darling." Samuel soothes. Did June mention a magical aunt earlier? Maybe this will be easier than I thought.
"Sir, does your aunt Betty live far away?" I ask while coming up with a plan.
"I haven't seen her in years but my mother is in contact with her."
"Could you invite her over or at least call her? She may know about Hogwarts. "
"That's an excellent idea. I'll call mum tomorrow and see if she can explain things to Aunt Betty and see if she can visit." Samuel seems satisfied
"Speaking with your aunt would make me feel better about this " June admits " However, Luke before we get in contact with her I want you to spend the rest of the day thinking about this. Is this something you would even want to do?"
I don't need to think about it but I agree to do so anyway.