40. Trials

The following days went by in a dizzying blur. Lucy spent most of her time with Amora, studying the craft and practicing her spells. Arthur was always nearby, usually working on something Amora has neglected, like her tiny little shack, the shed nearby, or the garden that had gone unattended. Lucy even began to wonder what would have happened to the dear old lady had they never met, but yet she knew that she was meant to be here. Fate had its own plans for her.

"Lucy, you are not paying attention." Amora scolded her.

"I'm sorry, I'm trying. I've just got other things on my mind." Lucy shook her head, trying to clear her distracting thoughts. She couldn't stop thinking about the looming threat of her sister's nefarious plans and how she and Arthur had essentially left Camelot defenseless while they hid away here in Savernake Forest. She felt the weight of the world on her shoulders and at most, she was able to control some astral projection and cast a few simple spells. What she needed was a foolproof plan to stop her sister and protect the city, yet here she was learning how to identify and use various herbs for her spell casting.

"Any that you'd like to talk about?" Amora asked with concern.

"No... Maybe... Okay, yes I do." Lucy answered hesitantly. Suddenly thinking about a whole new topic altogether, her future with Arthur once this all blows over. Sure she was distracted now with her responsibilities, but what happens when its all said and done and he comes a knocking looking for marriage and kids. Lucy stops her self from cringing at the thought of kids. She couldn't imagine being a mother. Taking care of Mary had resulted in a failure and it was all her fault. How could she subject that to her own child, more or less letting Arthur make the biggest mistake of his life?

"What's on your mind dear?" Amora asked with concern. Her niece looked stained and conflicted and it broke her heart to see the girl struggling so.

"My future with Arthur, is that set in stone?" Lucy let out an uneven breath. She didn't know what to do, and he had been weighing on her mind a lot lately, especially with how kind and supportive he has been of her adventure.

"Do you not love him?" Amora asked a bit confused. The prophecy had been told that a daughter of the three that see would unite the kingdom, and she was the only daughter left who had has developed a connection with the rightful king. Of course, Lucy would marry Arthur.

"Gods no!" Lucy gasped all too quickly, "I mean I don't know. I really like him, of course. He's great but I don't want to be chained down." She shook her head, trying to justify her feelings. She knew how she was supposed to feel, but were those even her real feelings? With so many other things weighing on her it felt selfish and irresponsible to be thinking about her potential relationship with the King of all Britain.

"What is really your aversion to marrying the King? Be honest with me Lucy." The little old lady pushed. She could obviously see that Lucy was struggling and was doing her best to understand the situation.

"It's nothing." Lucy shook her head again thinking it was dumb to even bring it up. She was an adult, surely she could figure out her feelings by herself.

"Said every teenager ever. Tell me what it is you're afraid of." Amora sighed sarcastically. Having kids was a privilege she never gave herself a chance to indulge in. Living to see this day was much too important than taking such a risk as her sister did.

"Well," Lucy drawled, "what if he wakes up one day and decides he hates me, is disgusted by me? I don't deserve a man of the likes of him. No man before has ever taken an interest in me before, why him, why now?" Lucy ranted, her emotions and insecurities bubbling up.

"Destiny, my dear girl. Have faith that everything will work out. You need no other man." Amora smiled a bit relieved. The girl was simply just confused, and Amora knew that she would figure it all out soon. Many things had to come together first and then all the pieces would naturally fall into place.

"And if that is true, then why does it feel so foreign? I care about him immensely, but I don't feel 'in-love'." Lucy explained. She had heard the other girls talk about the intensity of the emotion of love and she had yet to recognize that within herself.

"Ah, you are not feeling the rush of infatuation that most speak of." Amora nodded.

"Does this mean I don't love him?" Lucy questioned, making her doubt her feelings once again. Arthur deserved better than her, she wasn't even sure about her feelings, so how could she make a commitment

"Quite the contrary. Love isn't just simply blissful infatuation, it's hard work. Love is one of your trials." Amora explained, trying to reassure the girl.

"My trials?" Lucy inquired.

"Yes dear, in order to complete the prophecy you must complete three trials. First was surviving the loss of your parents, next is defeating your sister, and the third is learning to love."

"You make it sound so easy." Lucy laughs with unconscious sarcasm. She was beginning to feel hopeless, her progress almost felt stagnant, something needed to give, something needed to happen.

"Watch your tone with me, child. You have much yet to learn. Come, let us get back to it." Amira insisted, directing her attention to the books in front of them.

Lucy focused her attention back on her lessons as Amora taught her the history of the mages. She spoke of the times before the Mage War when Merlin aided King Uthur. Lucy listened intensely as Amora spoke of her father and the things he accomplished. Lucy couldn't imagine mages living in the city, but hearing Amora's stories made her see the possibilities. Mages were mostly a caring and compassionate people who were harnessed the ability to manipulate the earth and it's creations' energy and spirit. It what a mage didn't with that power that determined whether they were good or evil.

After a long day of learning and listening, Lucy was glad to return to the little tent that she shared with Arthur. They had developed this routine and like always Arthur had food ready for her to eat. She sat down beside him, immensely grateful for his company.

"How was your day today?" He asked, serving up her dish before his own.

"It was long. Amora holds many stories of the days before the war."

"Yeah? Any worth retelling?"

She thought for a moment, "yeah, one."

"Tell me." He said handing me a plate of food. I smiled accepting it.

"It was about this King, a benevolent one who strived to bridge the gaps between the magick bearers and the rest of civilization," She started, retelling the details as she remembered.

"He worked day and night learning about and the people who had cured disease and spoke of the future."

"But all the while, the benevolent king never stopped cherishing his son, the boy that would one day rule the throne."

"Is this about me?" He asked and she gave him a knowing smirk.

"The king was smart though, he knew that one day something bad was going to happen to him and he wouldn't be there to see his son sit on the throne, so he made plans so that he son could achieve his goals for him. The king sought out the help of a mage named Merlin. This great and powerful mage had three daughters, triplets, known as the sight sisters. They predicted the day when a daughter of their own would unite the kingdom and finally achieve the peace that it strives for."

"And what did the king do then?" Arthur asked hoping for more.

"With no way to know what would happen to the kingdom after his death, he took his money and valuables and hid it away for it to found later, for when he knew the kingdom would be safe and could use those funds to help repair all the damage that's been done."

"My father had a secret treasure?" Arthur asked incredulously.

"He did and Merlin is the only one who knows where it is. I think we should get ready to go back to Camelot."

"What about your sister? Are you not going to search for her?"

"I want to more than anything but the longer we are away the longer the city is vulnerable. We need to return, you need to return."

"And what about Amora? We can't just leave her out here."

"Are you getting attached to this place?"

"A little, yes." he sighed.

She let out an adorable giggle. "Amora will be fine, she has survived out here for years. We can come back and check on her once things are settled. We aren't abandoning her." she reassured him.

"And your lessons?"

"Amora has taught me much, but teachers come in many forms."

"Are you sure about all this?" he asked.

"I am. I have thought about it a lot. I don't want to leave either. I could stay here secluded with you for forever, but we must return and defend the city."

"Is there something you're not telling me? Should I be preparing for war?" he asked.

"I don't know anything just this feeling residing in my gut this isn't the end," she told him sincerely.

"Okay, we will return to the city the day after tomorrow. We will leave at dawn," he agreed, taking her hand and squeezing it reassuringly.

"Great," she smiled at him, holding his hand for the strength she knew she would need to get through what was in front of her.

Author's Note:

Hey! I'm back! For now... Wow, its been a while and please allow me to apologize. Adulting is crazy, mostly cause I work more than I have free time, plus I've been doing a lot more reading and listening to audio books than actual writing. But hey, I haven't forgotten about you guys, I'm just struggling at balancing my time. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter I'm hoping to get started on the next one right away.

Much love,

Surviving