AN: I hope this chapter makes sense. I'm not certain of how the next chapter will go, but hopefully it doesn't take me too long to write it. I'd love some feedback on what y'all think. Too much Mina, not enough others? Merlin acting OC at all?

Gingeraffealene, as always thanks for your thoughts. You'll have to wait and see about poor Leon. Thanks for your words about bringing our world into Mina's thoughts. I draw some inspiration from Mark Twain's A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court, but mostly I try to imagine what a slightly goofy, naïve college student would do in this situation.Optimysta, so glad you're reading! I hope you like it!

CHAPTER 10: Waiting for Sunrise

Sadly, the dreams did not leave me alone. In fact, instead of waking up after every scary or emotional part of a dream, I couldn't escape. Jumping up and down in my parents' kitchen when Coach called and offered me a full ride scholarship. Watching my aunt be crowned after Uncle was killed. Arthur and Merlin lying frozen as what looked like a giant naked mole rat sniffed at them. So excited to ride in a limo to prom. Learning to ride a horse. Learning my parents were dead, but were they my parents? Griffin. Manticore. Laughing with my teammates as we shopped, a car going too fast, riding up on the sidewalk, brakes screeching, too late to dodge...Taliesin? What was happening? Taliesin, what in the name of twisted worlds was going on?

I didn't know it, but Merlin had gone back to Gaius after bringing me my sleep aide. "Gaius, what if Mina has magic?" he asked after explaining about the dreams. "That's how it started for Morgana, with dreams. Or what if she has magic, but forgot when she got hurt?"

"It's possible, I suppose," admitted Gaius. "You're concerned that she will accidentally use magic?"

"Yeah, remember how Morgana started a fire before she understood that it was magic? I'm worried that she could be a danger to herself or even get caught performing magic."

Gaius frowned. "And...?"

"And who could suppress magic or prevent problems better than me? Besides, there's something else I want to see."

So instead of asking for guards to watch my door, Merlin came himself. He knocked and quietly called my name, then slipped in when I didn't answer. He smiled at the sight of the book still in my hand, then lifted it off the bed and set it on the table. Feeling a little bit like he was being a creep being in the room while I slept, Merlin moved to the desk and slid the drawer open as quietly as he could. I never moved, so he took the papers out and moved to a chair next to the low fire to look at them. Glancing my way once more, he invoked a light spell and looked at the first paper. They had gotten out of order when I'd shoved them in the drawer, and now the picture of race cars was on top. He stared at it for a long moment, but couldn't make much sense of it. He just had no frame of reference. The next picture just looked like rectangles with a picture of a face in the center – a cell phone. That one was even more useless. But the next picture had the most detail, and he could easily see that the airplane was something that could fly, and was man-made. The skyscrapers in the background were obviously buildings, but unlike anything he'd ever seen. He spent a long time looking at that one. The next one had a girl about to hit a ball, and didn't really give him anything, except he vaguely wondered who she was to me. He thought she must be a friend or relative, but with the lines giving just a hint of a face in profile, he couldn't see more.

The next picture on the stack was one he hadn't seen before. I'd drawn a cruise ship traveling at an angle to the observer. Merlin realized the dots were windows and went back to look at the skyscrapers. He shook his head; no wonder I told him these were impossible things. But it was the next picture that stopped him short. It was crude, but clearly the Questing Beast. The picture was from the side of the creature, and below it, sword held high, was Arthur. On a rock shelf, looking down was a figure Merlin knew was himself – and it was exactly where he'd been standing when Arthur had fought the beast. Nobody else had been there. Nobody else could have depicted the tableau so accurately. He stared at that one for a long time, waving his hand so his floating light came right above the paper.

Finally, Merlin turned to the next page. And the next. And the next. Kilgarrah inclining his head to a Merlin whose stance conveyed defiance, knights lying on the ground around him. Morgana wielding a sword, hair pulled back, probably in Ealdor. The round table. A close-up of Lancelot wearing a half smile that made Merlin's heart contract. And finally, Merlin's face, his hand held before him, a ball floating above his hand. He looked at the light he was currently conjuring. It was identical. And there was no color in the sketch, of course, but his irises were swirls. Merlin extinguished the light he was holding and leaned back in his chair, completely shaken. "She's a seer," he whispered to himself. "Like none I've ever heard of."

Merlin's thoughts ran around in circles for hours. Maybe halfway through the night, when he had finally begun to drift off, I began to mumble and whimper in my sleep. I cried out enough that he stood up and walked closer, wondering if I was okay, and if he could help in any way. Most of what I said was unintelligible, but I started repeating one word that caught him by surprise. "Taliesin," I was saying, over and over, sometimes angry, sometimes pleading. To Merlin Taliesin was a seer who had been dead for hundreds of years, but had somehow manifest himself to Merlin at the crystal caves, the birthplace of magic. He had become corporeal enough to perform a healing spell on Arthur and had insisted that Merlin look into the crystals for visions of the future. He was thought to be the strongest seer who had ever lived. So when I said his name so often and forcefully, Merlin had even more to think about.

He was feeling very guilty for intruding on my privacy, for being in my room while I slept, and for looking at the pictures without permission, so he decided to see if he could help in some way. Thinking it over, he cast a calming spell on me. It was usually reserved for animals or children, since adults tended fight against it if they felt their emotions being manipulated, and end up more upset than they started out. But with me sleeping, he hoped it would help fight the nightmares. And it did. Almost the second he finished casting, I sighed deeply and fell quiet.

Glad he had actually helped somehow, Merlin went back to the pictures. Fighting his guilt, he pulled out some of the most incriminating pictures to take to show Gaius. Rationalizing, he reminded himself that it wasn't safe for me if others saw them, either. He glanced over at the bed one more time and settled himself back in. He'd stay and make sure nothing happened while I slept. His eyes drifted shut.

I woke up before the sun, feeling very grumpy. The waking early was unusual, the grumpy part was not; morning is not really my thing. I'd give both arms for a Starbucks latte macchiato, extra large, extra hot, extra shot! No, one arm and one leg, so I could still drink it. Heck, at this point, I'd drink instant sludge just for the caffeine hit. I pictured a Keurig, then shook my head and looked around the chambers to ground myself in what was real. I was shocked to see Merlin sleeping in a chair by the fire, then I remembered that he'd promised I'd be safe during the night. Finding him there was half creepy, half sweet. Sweepy? Yikes, I really did need coffee.

While I was grateful that the latter part of the night had been fairly peaceful, there was still no way I'd be able to sleep after reliving a fatal car accident 100 times during the night, so I slipped behind the screen and put on some clothes. Gwen, my new bff, had even found me some pants and a belted tunic that didn't feel much different than yoga pants an oversized shirt, though the calf-length fur cape I buckled on over top made me feel like Xena, warrior princess. Maybe I'll go find some place to watch the sunrise, I thought. If I couldn't sleep, it seemed a good alternative.

Merlin never stirred, so I just slipped out. I smirked to myself. His intentions were good, but he wasn't much of a watchman.

I wandered through the halls for a while. I didn't pass many people, just a few servants and a couple of guards, and no one gave me a second glance even though Gwen had told me it wasn't very common for women to wear pants. I wondered idly what this lot would think of my volleyball uniform.

I managed to find my way outside, but I was pleased to find myself in a medium sized outdoor courtyard or garden. Quiet sounded pretty good, but there was an eight foot wall blocking my way to the impending sunrise. In my remembered body, I could have almost touched the top from standing, but that was far from the truth now. However, it was made of craggy, uneven blocks that would be easy peasy to climb. I ditched the cape (a high-pitched voice in my head saying no capes!) and started to climb. It was harder than it looked, but I was a couple feet up when a voice startled me. "Could you use some help, my lady?"

I looked back over my shoulder to see a knight I didn't recognize. Despite the climbing I'd already done, his head came to my shoulder. I stared at him for a moment, but he didn't smile or make fun of me, though there might have been amusement in his eyes. "That might be nice," I admitted, not very graciously. "Could you just...make a step with your hands or something?"

He held up one hand about level with my knee and I looked at it dubiously. It's not like a fall from this height would hurt, but it would certainly be embarrassing. He looked pointedly at his hand, so I gingerly set my left foot on it. When I'd put most of my weight on it, he proceeded to lift slowly until I could easily scramble to the top. That made me feel a little more charitable toward him. "Thank you, Sir...?"

"Percival, Lady Mina. I'm not helping you escape the citadel, am I?"

That made me smile, especially since there was a pretty nasty drop-off just beyond the wall. "No, I just wanted to watch the sunrise. And please, none of that lady stuff. Just call me Mina."

"In that case, Mina," he put a hand on top of the wall and took one giant step to climb up beside me. "If you don't mind?" I would have been really annoyed at how easy it was for him to get up, except that he brought my cape and spread it on the wall so I could sit without freezing my butt off.

"Not at all. I waved my hand expansively. "The sunrise is free to all." We sat in companionable silence for a few moments, then I admitted, "I'd sell my soul for a cup of coffee."

"I'm not certain what that is, but I know there is tea in the kitchen. I could get you some."

"No thanks, but I appreciate the offer. Look don't take this wrong, Percival, but why is everyone so flipping nice? I'm a total freeloader here, staying for free, eating your food, and nobody really even knows who I am. Maybe I'm just some nobody who's only pretending not to remember."

He gave me kind of an odd look, but I was starting to get used to those. I got the impression that he wasn't a big talker, so I didn't begrudge him a moment to collect his thoughts. "Well, first of all, it is obvious that you are a lady." His eyes flickered, and I guessed that he silently added, despite how you dress. "But more than that, you were attacked on our land, when you should have been under our protection. Really, all that you suffered is our fault. We owe you recompense for that."

I was shaking my head even before he finished. "So you're a protective bunch. I get that. I saw the reactions when I told the king about the attack. But there's no possible way to cover every inch of territory every minute. This," I waved my hand toward my jaw, "is on the scum bag who chose to hit me, not anyone else. You don't owe me anything."

"We don't see it that way." He turned to fully face me for the first time, his expression open and earnest. "We took an oath to protect, and we failed you."'

"No worries," I said lightly. "I'm here enjoying the sunrise, aren't I?"

He smiled and we went back to enjoying the sights. I may have checked out his biceps a time or two. Hey, I'm a red-blooded female. But our time was cut short when we heard shouts. One voice rose above the others, calling for the knights to go to the throne room. Percival immediately switched to serious mode, nodded to me, and vaulted off the wall. I scrambled down more slowly, but shamelessly followed him. I figured I'd do what the servants did and just stand unobtrusively behind the important people. When we arrived, a filthy, panting soldier was already telling his story.

"Sirs Gwaine and Geraint stayed behind so the rest of us could escape," he was saying, and my heart dropped like prices on December 26. "Sir Gwaine said to tell you that someone is supplying the bandits with weapons. And they are using these masks," he held up a piece of black fabric, and a knight took it and handed it to Arthur, "as proof that they are to be trusted." He put a hand on his side like he had a stitch there. "There are other survivors, but I was the fastest, so I ran ahead to get the message to you."

Arthur's brow was furrowed as he studied the simple mask. "How soon can you be ready to ride out? I know you are weary, and I am sorry, but we need to know exactly where this happened."

Whoa, the king said he was sorry. I was really starting to like this guy. "I just need a sip of water, then I can go, sire," offered the soldier.

"Get something to eat, too. It will take a few moments to muster the knights," ordered the king, and the soldier inclined his head and followed a guard out of the room. Still staring at the mask with an intense expression, Arthur called, "Percival, round up whatever knights are available and meet me at the stables in 20 minutes. We're going to go get our men." He strode from the room, and I was surprised to see Merlin follow him. I ducked my head, feeling unreasonably guilty for sneaking out and leaving him to sleep.

With a lot of others, I watched a surprisingly large contingent of knights ride out with Arthur. Merlin went too, and half a dozen regular soldiers. They were not taking this lightly, but I was still worried. And I really wished I could go with them. I wouldn't exactly be an asset in a swordfight, but waiting sucked.

"They'll be alright," said Gwen from behind me. "The knights are the finest fighters in the kingdom, perhaps in the world."

"I'm sure you're right," I sighed, crossing my fingers so I wouldn't jinx anything, and we turned and went inside.