Iseldir approached Em when he was feeding the chickens. He watched the skinny youth for a bit, not sure how to start this conversation. His nephew had his back turned to him, so he did not see Iseldir. The birds were gobbling up that night's scraps and a bit of grain, practically swarming the poor boy. The rooster, a particularly devious bird, pecked the boy's ankle. Em muttered under his breath and a short blast of wind blew the rooster about a foot back. It squawked in alarm, and Iseldir laughed out loud.
Em flinched in surprise and whirled around. "Oh, it's you! Hi, Uncle."
"Hi, Em." The Vates shifted nervously. "I hate that old bird. Your mother should cook him for Midwinter dinner."
Em laughed. "We don't have enough of 'em to be eating 'em, Uncle! But if we did, I'd kill that one. Anyway, what are you doing out here? I thought you were eating dinner at Aisling's and then talking Seer stuff."
"How'd you know about that?" Iseldir frowned. "Did your móraí tell you that?"
"Wouldn't you like to know?" Em grinned. "In a camp this small, are you really surprised I know? Is Aisling going to be 'Aunt' Aisling, soon?" He waggled his eyebrows.
"Emrys, you little scoundrel, Aisling is my friend and dream interpreter! Nothing else," his uncle exclaimed, flushing.
"If you say so," said Em dubiously. "So, like I said, do you need anything?"
"What do you know about Camelot, nephew?" Iseldir blurted.
"I know it's where my mother is from, and that Uther Pendragon is King. He's the reason we had to leave Ealdor. Ma says it's beautiful and not much different from Essetir. I think she misses it, sometimes."
"Would you ever want to go there?"
"Uncle, they'd kill me on sight!" Em pulled his shirt collar down a bit and tapped his triskel. "But if magic wasn't, probably. Ma says the capital city is beautiful, especially the castle. She went there when she was little, to sell surplus crops with her da. You ever been to a city?"
"Amddiffynfa. My father took me there when I was very young. It was the first time I ever saw the ocean."
"That's in Caerleon. It's a port city. Is Caerleon a nice place? I heard it was full of murderers and thieves."
"It's a lawless place, run by wicked and corupts nobles, sure, but its peasantry is hardworking and kind. Times are hard, so banditry is rampant. Who told you that?"
"Read it in one of Ruadan's books."
"Oh. Well, you shouldn't go there. The king there has outlawed magic as well, even though Uther is his enemy."
Em asked, "Why'd you ask about Camelot?"
Iseldir froze. Then he took a deep breath, and began to explain. "Y'see, Emmy, on my journey back from Ruadan's after I first dropped you off there, I had a powerful Vision…"
At the same time, Emerald caught up to Hunith and Balinor just as they about to go for a walk in the woods. However, judging by the coy glances Hunith kept giving her husband and the look in her son's eyes, Emery was beginning to regret her decision to talk to them at this particular moment.
"Hey Ma!" Balinor said when they turned around. They had probably heard the sound of her footsteps on the forest floor. "Are you joining us?"
Don't sound so disappointed, lad, Emery said dryly. Aloud she said, "Oh, I just wanted to ask you about something." She thought starting off casual would be the best way to begin this conversation. "You might want to sit down."
Hunith sat on a fallen tree near the edge of the treeline. Her husband and mother-in-law joined her. "I'm all ears, Emery."
"I—Well…"
Balinor chuckled. "It's rare to see you at a loss for words, Ma."
"Have either of you ever heard of the Unwritten Vision?" Emery said.
The couple exchanged a look and shook their heads.
"It's an ancient prophecy that promises the coming of a powerful sorcerer who will free the Druids from oppression and suffering. Only by uniting with a king, called the Once and Future King, can this freedom be attained."
"Imagine that," Balinor mused, taking his wife's hand.
"Enjorran was the first sorcerer in a century to see the Vision. That's typical. He informed the council of elders, and they told him to burn any records he had made of it. We keep it secret so as to keep knowledge of it from falling into the wrong hands."
They nodded, and Emery continued.
"Five years ago, Iseldir Saw this Vision. For two Seers, especially a father and a son, to see it so close together must mean the time of the prophecy's fulfillment must be soon. And…" She took a deep breath. "We have reason to believe Em is the Druid in this prophecy."
"Em?" Hunith repeated. "Our son Em?"
"Yes, dear. I can't give very many details, but all signs in the dream point to Emrys. As for the Once and Future King, we believe the King to be—" She hesitated.
"Who, Ma?" Balinor said in a low voice.
"A member of the Royal House of Pendragon."
"Uther?" Balinor practically snarled. "Uther?"
"King Uther has a son, Prince Arthur, who is Em's senior by five years. We believe it to be him."
"Why are you just telling us now, Emery?" Hunith sounded hurt. "He's our son. We have the right to know."
"Prophecies are fickle things. We wanted to make sure, beyond a doubt, that Em is indeed the Druid in the prophecy. We now know for sure. Iseldir had another Vision, one of a woman who said 'He must go to Camelot, the future of your people depends on it.' I know in my heart of hearts that this woman spoke of our Emrys."
Balinor's face was pale. "I would rather die than send my son to Camelot. He has a triskel; he'll be identified as a Druid, and killed on sight!"
Tears welled up in his wife's eyes. "I won't let you," she said. "I won't be parted from him again—three years is too long, and he is only a boy."
"The future of our people depends on it! It is Nature's will he goes there!" Emery urged them. Her eyes stung with tears.
"If Nature wills it, then I say blast Her!" Hunith retorted.
"You must listen to your common sense, Hunith," Emery pleaded. "Your boy will save our people."
Balinor stood up, pulling his wife up with him. "We won't listen to you any longer, Ma. Go away, you've done enough." He wrapped his arm around Hunith's shoulder and led her deeper into the forest, leaving his mother standing by herself in shock.
Dejected, Emery wandered back to Iseldir's hut. To her utter amazement, she found her grandson and son sitting at the table drinking mugs of tea. They appeared to be in deep conversation. Freya and her parents were nowhere to be seen.
"Ma!" Iseldir said in delight when he walked in. His grin turned into a frown when he saw his mother's reddened eyes and drooping shoulders. They didn't take it well?
Not at all. Iseldir hugged her tightly, and she held him close. Iseldir had always been the most affectionate of her children.
A second pair of arms—skinnier, longer—wrapped around her. "Did my ma and da get mad at you, Móraí?" Em asked.
"So you know?"
He nodded.
"How do you feel about it?"
"I… I have a duty to my people, and I will do what is necessary," Em said after dwelling on it for a moment. "So, Móraí, this Arthur fellow is the Once and Future King, then?"
"Possibly. There are only two members of the House of Pendragon left—Uther and Arthur."
Em wrinkled his nose. "Why is his name so similar to his da's?"
Emery laughed. This boy, who had just been told he was the sole hope for his oppressed people, chose to focus on that, of all things? Nature bless him—nothing could break Em, nothing. "Says Emrys, the grandson of Emerald," she teased.
"That's different. Emerald and Emrys are nice names. Arthur's a good name, but Uther is a gross name. It doesn't have a nice ring to it."
Iseldir spoke up. "Em is willing to go to Camelot."
"You are?" Emery wrapped her arms around her grandson again. "You brave lad. What do you think you could do there to help our people?"
"Finnlagh says we have eyes in Camelot. I figure I could get help from them if I get in trouble. And my Uncle Gaius, my ma's brother, he's Uther's court physician. Ma says he saved my da, so I'm sure he doesn't mind magic users. I could stay with him."
Iseldir watched the boy with pride. "And, if he lives in the castle with Gaius, he may run into Arthur! Even princes get sick. I'd give him my old scrying mirror so he could keep in touch and give us updates."
"Even making the journey to Camelot will be dangerous," Emery warned.
"Cedran, Alvarr, and Uncle Issy could accompany me there, as long as they hide their Druid marks. With our magic and our swords, we should be safe."
Emery wrung her hands. "Now, if only we can get your parents to agree."
The issue of sending Em to Camelot turned into a month-long battle—Em's parents versus his grandmother and uncle. When Adelina, Alvarr, Will, and Gilli found out about it, they sided with Em, Emery, and Iseldir. Mordred, Cedran, and Maud initially opposed it, but Em eventually won them over. Sefa, stubborn as a bull, sided with her parents. Daegel was too young to understand—he was just upset that his family members were fighting. "Just love each other!" he would wail.
Long talks with Aisling, letters from other Druid Elders, their children's badgering—nothing could change Hunith and Balinor's minds.
Em and his mother were in the forest digging up wild onions to go in a stew. Quietly, Em asked, "Can we have Uncle Iseldir and Móraí over for dinner, Ma?"
She sighed. "Don't start, Emrys. Please—today has been so peaceful."
Yeah, because you avoided me, Uncle, and Móraí in the fields all day today and barely spoke to me during breakfast or lunch, Em mentally yelled. His mother, as she had no magic, could not hear him.
Em, who loved his family above all else, was heartbroken by his mother's distant behavior. He wished she would just understand that this was his destiny—his sacred duty to his people.
"What's Camelot like?" he asked.
"Emrys, please," she snapped.
"I just wanna know. Tell me about the village you grew up in, Ma."
"There's not much to tell, and what there is to tell I have already told you."
"Please, Ma!"
She sighed. "It's a bit miserable, looking back on it. The homes were little better than hovels, and sometimes we didn't have enough food. There were no more than one hundred and twenty-five people. We didn't have much, but we shared what we did have. Sometimes we traded with people from other villages, or traveled to other villages to trade with the people there."
"What were those villages like?"
"Some were nicer than others, but still dirt poor. The capital, though…"
"What is it like?"
"The castle is made of white stone and it overlooks the whole city. It's on the top of a hill, and just thinking about it now takes my breath away. There's a marketplace and a Lower Town. The Upper Town is very small, mostly nobles but a few wealthy merchant families dwell there too. It's magnificent," she sighed.
"I'd love to see it," Em said.
She closed her eyes. "Son…"
"Ma, I must."
"You must? Says who?"
Em thought long and hard about this. Finally, he said, "I say. It is my destiny. I know it in my heart of hearts."
"You always were the bravest and kindest person I had ever met," Hunith murmured, pressing a callused hand against his cheek.
Em felt tears come to his eyes, and blinked rapidly. "Really?"
Hunith closed her eyes again. "Promise me one thing."
Heart fluttering, Em whispered, "What do you want me to promise?"
"Promise me you'll come home."
"I promise." Em hugged her tightly and they stayed like that for a long time.
A/N: Hey, long time no update! The musical I ran tech for is officially over. While I am very sad about it (it was a fantastic production with a talented cast and crew!), I am excited to finally have some time to write. Who's excited to meet Arthur (FINALLY, you all must be saying!)?
As always, a huge thank you to everyone who followed, favorited, and reviewed. I love you guys and reading reviews! Much love~