Author's Note: Sorry for the wait. I couldn't get the website loaded yesterday. So I just wanted to thank you guys for all of the favorites, follows, and reviews on this story as well as its predecessor! After I posted the end of the first one and the first two chapters of this one, my entire e-mail box was filled with notifications! I have to admit, I was really nervous about the ending I wrote, but everyone had kind words to say, and I'm very appreciative of that. So I have only read one modern Merlin story which I really loved, but it sounds like they tend to go haywire pretty frequently, so I'm going to do my best to keep this story on course. I have 100 pages that I wrote like half a year ago. (No wait, apparently Feb. of 2014; I just looked up when I created the document...wow.) I'm just editing/rewriting those pages, but I've got a fun plot, I think. I've got three parts planned out, and a pretty clear goal. It's a lot simpler than the first story, but it's also a lot less dark. There will be a lot of light-hearted moments. Anyway, I hope you all continue to enjoy it!
-Three-
The Pain of Forgetting
The boy was staring at Liz with a mixture of horror and surprise. She felt kind of bad for him, but why did everyone keep insisting she was this Ryll? What kind of name was that? "I'm Liz," she amended. "At least that's what everyone calls me."
"Amaryllis."
"Yeah. How did you know that's my full name?" she asked. "Who are you anyway?" He practically flinched at this.
"I know your full name because I know you," he said. "Or I did." He paused for a moment. "I'm Merlin," he said in a soft voice. "We used to know each other. Don't you remember?"
Liz just stared at him. "Your name is Merlin?" she asked with disbelief. "Like the wizard? Is this some sort of joke?"
Hurt flitted across his face. "This isn't a joke," he said.
"And we know each other? How is that possible? Did we have a class together at the community college?" she asked. This had to be it. He was probably one of the nameless faces in her lecture halls.
"No."
"All right. London? Wales?"
"No. We knew each other a long time ago." He seemed hesitant to say where they'd met.
"Okay, so a childhood friend? I don't recall knowing any Merlins."
"Have you ever been to Camelot?" he asked abruptly. Liz blinked. Was he some sort of crazy tourist thinking she was Guinevere reborn or something?
"Umm, the ruins? Sure. Loads of times. I'm not really into that sort of thing though. I studied history for a while. Half the stuff they tell you in this tacky tourist town is not true. According to historical records, Camelot wouldn't even be close to here. It wasn't so near to the sea." She shut up when she realized how nerdy she had just sounded. She was supposed to be the suave bartender, not the nerdy college-kid who liked history way too much.
"No, I mean the real Camelot."
It took her a moment to realize he was being sarcastic. But he didn't look as if he was trying to be sarcastic.
"You really don't remember?" his tone was desperate now, and she shrunk back instinctually. "I'm sorry. I just didn't expect this," he said. "I've been waiting so long."
"For what?"
"For you."
"All right, now this is getting creepy," she said. Where was Byron when she needed him?
"I'm not going to hurt you," the boy – Merlin – told her as if guessing her thoughts. "It's just the girl I knew, well, we were very close."
"You loved her." Ryll stopped looking for Byron. Maybe this guy wasn't crazy after all. Love could make you do crazy things, but that didn't make him crazy.
"Yeah. And she loved me. Her last words to me were that she would come back again for me."
"She died?" No wonder he was so desperate to believe she was this Ryll.
"Yeah. She died to save me. She sacrificed her life." She could see guilt in his eyes and realized he blamed himself for her death.
"That's incredible. I can't imagine ever being brave enough or self-less enough to do such a thing."
"That's not true."
"Oh? You think you know me?" she challenged.
He watched her carefully, blue eyes sad. "I think that you remind me a lot of her. She was spirited too. Stubborn." Liz lifted an eyebrow at this. "Always fighting for what she thought was right."
"She sounds like quite the girl."
"She was."
"Tell me, Merlin. What brought you here? Why Ealdor of all places? And how did you know I'd be here?"
"It's kind of a long story." He sighed.
"I've got the time." The bar was empty and something about this boy intrigued Liz. Maybe she just felt sorry for him but it seemed like something more. There was something familiar about him. A sort of comfort that she felt around him though she knew nothing about him. Normally she was so cautious around strangers. All it took was one look from a boy she didn't know and her hackles were up. It wasn't like that with this boy though. He was somehow safe.
"Okay, well, it started when I got a flyer on my door." He pulled something out of his jacket pocket and laid a crumpled flyer on the bar. Liz smoothed it out. It was an advertisement for the town of Ealdor.
"Oh, you got one too." A stab of curiosity hit her. It was a coincidence. Or was it? "That's kind of crazy. I got one too. Three years ago before I'd moved here. I got this crazy idea that I'd prove all their theories wrong. I was studying history at the time and had this obsession with trying to prove theories wrong. I ended up staying." She handed the flyer back.
"Maybe you were meant to come here," Merlin suggested.
She shrugged. "I don't really believe in fate or destiny or any of that. The only one who has control over my life is me."
"What if I told you that everyone has a destiny?"
"I'm not sure I'd believe you."
"And what if I told you that not all legends are false?"
"I'd have to argue that most legends are based on real facts but over time the stories get varied and facts get changed and by the end, most everything is a falsification of history."
"Did you get that out of a textbook?" He cocked an eyebrow, clearly amused.
Liz cleared her throat. "No. Never mind, it doesn't matter."
"Can I ask you something? And promise you'll think about it, don't just dismiss it."
"All right."
"Do you believe in reincarnation? Or if not that, second chances?"
Liz pursed her lips. This was an interesting conversation. She had to admit that at least. "Well," she started. "Many cultures believe that after they die they'll have the chance to come back as another person or even as an animal."
"But what do you believe?" he pressed as if he knew of her tendency to answer questions based on what other people thought.
"Me? I think that it's a romantic sort of idea that seems highly improbable."
"And second chances?"
"It depends," she said. "What kind of second chances are we talking about here? Like 'oops I messed up, give me another chance?' or 'something went wrong in my life, so now I get a second chance to get it right'?"
"The latter."
"I would like to believe that." She bit her lip.
"You mentioned Wales earlier. Did you grow up there?"
Normally her past was off limits, but Liz saw no harm in the idle chatter. "Yes, I did. My parents moved to London when I was five so I mostly grew up there, but I like to think of Wales as my homeland."
"But your family isn't originally from there?"
"No. I think we're a mixture of Spanish and English. How did you know that?"
"You mentioned London and Wales. I just assumed you'd grown up or at least spent time in both of those places. Andreli isn't an English name though. Or Welsh, so I assumed your lineage had to come from somewhere else."
"I never mentioned my last name," Liz said, instantly on guard again.
"Your friend mentioned your full name last night when I stopped by for a drink," Merlin said quickly.
"Oh, Byron, you mean." So this was the old friend he'd warned her about. Where was he anyway? She'd have to speak to him about giving out all her personal information to strangers who claimed they knew her.
"Byron?" Realization lit his eyes as if he'd only just remembered something.
"Yeah. He's the landlord's son. He works the bar most days when he's not away at school."
"Has he lived here his whole life?" Merlin questioned.
"Yeah, I think so. Why? Is he some long lost friend too?" She narrowed her eyes.
"No, it's nothing. I just thought the name sounded familiar, that's all." She could tell that there was something else. He wasn't a very good liar, but she saw no reason to press him.
"Listen, I should get back to work," she said. "But why don't you come back tonight? It's trivia night and all the locals get involved. Even some of the tourists take a stab at it. You can test your Camelot knowledge. It's a lot of fun."
"I thought you didn't believe in any of that nonsense?" he asked. She could tell that he was teasing her by the way his lip curved up and his eyes danced. She had always loved how much he joked. Wait, what? She shook her head. That thought had made no sense. Clearly she needed another day off. She did know anything about him. She was thinking about Byron. She liked it when Byron joked around with her. He was always too serious.
"Well, working here you learn a lot of things you didn't really need to know. I could probably tell you almost anything about Camelot," she replied to his question. "I could also tell you how much of that is probably inaccurate and false."
"I have a feeling I might do well at that."
"Great. The winning team gets a free round of beer."
"I'll see you tonight then."
As he turned to leave, Liz felt a strain as if she didn't want him to leave. "Wait," she said without really having a reason to stop him. He turned back and the hope in his eyes was so obvious that she wanted to give him what he wanted. "Thanks for telling me about her," she said instead.
He was quiet for a moment. "Sure," he said finally. "Thanks for listening." He turned and left the pub, and Liz was alone. This time when the feeling of emptiness crept over her, she could hardly breathe. It was the same sensation she'd felt the last three years of her life only multiplied. It left her wondering who she was and why her life didn't feel right. She tugged at the blue strand of hair and wondered what else she could try before she got herself right.
