-Eight-
The Second Coming
Merlin heard a knock on his hotel door first thing in the morning. He opened the door to find Ryll and Morgana standing there looking unsure of themselves.
"Hi," Ryll said. Merlin's heart leapt when she spoke just like any time she was near him.
"Hi," he returned.
"I know this is kind of strange, but…can we come in?" she asked.
"Yeah, of course." He stepped aside to let them in, stiffening slightly as Morgana passed. If she noticed, she didn't say anything. She hovered next to Ryll as if they were already best friends. It wasn't that Merlin didn't trust this new Morgan, it was just that she was currently a blank slate waiting to tip one way or the other. He hoped she'd tip toward their side at the beginning this time. They'd spent too much time fighting against each other in their last life even if they'd ultimately been on the same side in the end. Ryll's death had pulled them together though at a price Merlin hadn't been willing to pay.
"We have some questions," Ryll started.
"And we're not leaving until we get answers," Morgana put in, looking quite fierce despite the fact that she also looked quite frightened.
"All right, what do you want to know," he asked. Had one of them remembered something? They weren't simple. He knew they'd start to piece things together eventually, especially with their heads put together. Ryll always had been exceedingly clever, and Morgana just as much so.
"Who are you for starters and don't just say a tourist," Ryll said. Her blonde hair came out from behind her ear and fell across her shoulder. Merlin fought back the urge to tuck her it behind her ear. The blue was still vivid against the blonde, but it was growing on him.
"Well, I'm Merlin," he started. "And I live about four hours away from here in a little town called Hunter's Grove. I have a PhD in astrology and medical science as well as medieval history specializing in Arthurian legends."
"So you're more than just a history buff." Ryll rolled her eyes.
"How old are you?" Morgana asked. "You have three PhDs? Did you start college when you were ten?"
"I've been around a long time," he replied warily. He would happily tell them everything, but if they didn't remember who they were, it was going to sound like a lot of nonsense.
"All right. Are you the real Merlin?" Ryll asked. "The one who lived in Camelot and was King Arthur's advisor or magician or whatever." He noticed she was playing with a golden chain around her neck. He couldn't quite make out what was on it.
"Servant."
"What?"
"I was King Arthur's servant. From the time he was a prince."
"You're seriously the real Merlin?" Ryll didn't look like she believed him. He supposed he wouldn't believe him either.
"Yep. I can prove it, but you have to promise not to freak out."
"We're not going anywhere," Morgana said.
"All right. I did warn you." Merlin closed his eyes for a moment and then said an incantation out loud. He didn't need to speak at all anymore to use a spell after so many years of practice, but he thought it would give his magic more credence. "Baerne," he said.
Ryll and Morgana gasped as his eyes glowed amber and a small fire erupted on his palm. He couldn't feel the flames at all. He looked up at them. Morgana was staring at the fire like it might jump out and try to burn her, and Ryll was staring straight at him. His heart gave another jolt. Did she remember?
"You're really a sorcerer," Morgana said. "I didn't know such a person existed." She sat down on the bed, looking overwhelmed.
"Morgana, do you remember who you are at all?" Merlin asked. She jumped when he said her name.
"My name is Morgan," she said, turning frightened eyes on him.
"No, it's Morgana."
"Morgana tried to kill Arthur," Morgana said in a soft voice. "Did I do that?"
It pained Merlin to see her so helpless and scared. "That was a long time ago," he said. "Arthur's coming back."
"I think you need to start from the beginning," Ryll said. Her voice was hard.
Merlin extinguished the fire with a silent spell and pulled one of the chairs away from the table, taking a seat. He motioned for Ryll to sit. She stood for a moment longer and then sat next to Morgan on the bed, taking her hand.
"Who are we?" she asked.
"Let me start from the beginning," Merlin said. "When this all started."
…
He started from the very beginning, telling them how he'd come to Camelot and how he'd saved Arthur's life and, as a reward, been made his servant. He spoke of Morgana and how she had been Uther Pendragon's ward, always arguing against his cruelty toward magic and standing up for what she believed in. He tried to shed a positive light on her. This was her second chance, after all. She had an opportunity to become that same compassionate girl again.
He told them how Ryll had come to the castle after saving Morgana's life and had been mortally wounded. But she'd survived. Merlin hadn't healed her and yet somehow she'd survived. Ryll listened silently as he recounted their adventures with the wraith and how she'd died and come back to life after she'd defeated it.
He spoke of her banishment and her friendship with Lancelot. Then her return to Camelot. He hesitated when he came to the part in his tale when Morgana started to change. "Morgana, I want you to know that what you did in the past does not define who you are now," Merlin said to her, pausing his story for a moment.
She looked frightened. "That's not very reassuring," she said. "No girl likes to hear she's the villain."
"You're not. Not yet. Not ever, I hope." He told her how she'd grown to hate Uther and his reign of terror against all people with magic, how she'd had to hide her own gift, fearing his wrath, how she'd met Morgause and had turned against everyone in Camelot. Her eyes glistened with tears when he told her of her reign as queen after driving Arthur from the castle and casting Uther into the dungeons.
"That's when Arthur knighted Lancelot and the other Knights of the Round Table," he said.
"And me."
He looked at Ryll. "And you," he confirmed. "The first female knight in Camelot."
She smiled. "I like the sound of that," she said before falling silent again.
He worked his way through the year of peace and then their rescue of Morgana. He watched for any reaction as he mentioned King Sarrum, the cruel king who had imprisoned Morgana and the white dragon Aithusa, but neither girl showed any recognition. "He thought there was some sort of key to the future in Camelot," he explained. "He brought an army into Camelot. That was also the day you and Arthur made peace," he told Morgana. "Ryll never gave up on you or Arthur. You fought by their sides. It turned out that Ryll, that you," he said looking straight at her, "were the key. You had the power to change the future. I knew you had elemental magic, that you were powerful, but I didn't realize that you held that great a destiny. You didn't tell me until the end. During the battle, I tried to tell Sarrum that it was me, not you he searched for and he tried to kill me. I guess he thought destroying the key would destroy magic in the future. He shot a black arrow forged from dragon's fire straight at my heart but you jumped in front of me and took the arrow." Ryll's eyes widened. She was playing nervously with the gold chain again, but her hand paused, and Merlin saw the golden object glistening from between her fingers. A ring. Her engagement ring. She still had it. "You died to save me. I'm still alive today because of you." Her blue eyes didn't blink as they stared at each other. Finally Merlin looked down. "Because of you, everyone was able to be reborn. You gave them all a second chance. I've been waiting all these years for you to return to me."
Ryll and Morgana were silent. "Why can't I remember?" Ryll finally asked. "Why can't I remember any of this?"
"I don't know. I wasn't expecting that. I just knew that you and Arthur would come back again. I think I know where Arthur is, but I can't go there without you. I need your magic."
"Hold on!" Ryll held up a hand. "I don't have magic. Even if I did by some crazy chance in some past life, I think I'd know if I had it now."
"Everything's changed," Merlin said. "It seems as if everyone suddenly woke up with no memory of their past life. I don't know who else has woken up. You two and Byron are the only ones I've met so far."
"Byron?" Ryll gave him a sharp look.
"He's a druid. He was your best friend before."
Ryll looked overwhelmed, and he wondered if he'd told them too much in one sitting. If he knew anything about Ryll though it was that she could handle anything thrown her way. He still knew how incredibly crazy this must all sound to her. "So he's forgotten just the same as us?" She looked over at Morgan. "What do you think of all this?" she asked.
"It all sounds crazy but yet somewhere in my head everything is clicking in place as if this has been the answer all along," Morgana answered. "I had a dream last night. I was Morgana and then you were there… I could tell we used to be friends but something had driven us apart. Did I really do all those terrible things?" she asked, turning her eyes to Merlin. She looked like the frightened Morgana who was still learning that she had magic.
"I truly believe you can change. You did before. You were given a second chance for a reason," he told her. "What you did in the past doesn't shape who you are now."
Morgana nodded. "I won't ever use magic," she said. "Not if it corrupts me the way it did before."
"It was your hatred for Uther that corrupted you. Not your magic."
"Then let us hope I never see him again," she said, and Merlin couldn't help but catch the edge of venom to her words. "Let's hope he isn't in this world."
"You said I have elemental magic," Ryll said. "Will you show me how to use it?"
"It's not something I can show you how to do. It comes naturally. Your elemental magic was very strong. Any sorcerer can learn how to use elemental magic with a spell, but it came naturally to you. All you had to do was command any or all of the elements and they obeyed you. Even I had to use a spell most of the time."
Ryll shut her eyes for a moment. "You said that you were in love with Ryll. Is that true?" she asked, opening her eyes to look straight at him.
His heart beat quickly as he answered. "Yes. We were in love."
"How can I not remember that? How can I not remember you?" There was pain in her voice. Merlin felt the same pain.
"I don't know. I guess it's not time yet."
"I believe you, crazy as it all sounds, I believe you, but I don't feel like this is me. I don't feel like Ryll because I can't remember being her. I still feel like Liz." There was desperation in her voice.
"I know. Hopefully in time you'll remember."
"So what now? You said Arthur was coming back. That you needed me to help you find him."
"There was a prophecy that told of Arthur's second coming. When Pegasus's eye falls on a Midsummer's Eve, King Arthur and his savior will rise again."
"Am I his savior?"
"I think so."
"Who else is going to rise again?" she asked.
"Well, so far it's just the three of us."
"What about the man who asked if I was Ryll?"
"I'm not sure who he was, but probably someone from Camelot. What did he look like again?"
"Dark hair, dark eyes, handsome." She shrugged.
"That could describe half the men in Camelot."
"Yeah, thanks. I know."
Merlin mentally kicked himself. She was still Liz, not Ryll. He couldn't joke around with her the way he used to. "Right now I'm concerned about finding Arthur. He should have come back the same time as you and that was three years ago." Ryll and Morgana exchanged a glance at this. "What?"
"Morgan – Morgana – and I were just saying last night now we had memories from our whole lives, but we could only really remember living the last three years."
"That's because that is all the time you've lived."
"But then were did these memories come from? Are you telling me they're false? I don't really have family in Wales?"
"Your family died when you were very young. They lived in Camelot."
Ryll took this in. "How do we find Arthur?"
"I think I know where he is, but I need your help," he said. "I think he's on an island in the middle of Lake Avalon. It's where the Sidhe used to live. You went there once to be healed. You told me that only a Sidhe, or someone with Sidhe blood, and the dead could set foot there. You have Sidhe blood. I can't set foot there without you with me. We also need to find Excalibur for him to wake up."
"That sounds easy enough. Where's Excalibur?"
"That's where it gets hard. I have no idea. When Arthur died, I sent the sword off with him into Avalon, but I don't know if it stayed there."
"It got up and walked away?" Ryll asked, lifting an eyebrow.
"Well, according to the prophecy, one who is worthy must first claim it in order to awaken Arthur."
"So Arthur might or might not have it?"
"If he does have it then why hasn't he returned?" Merlin asked.
"Umm, because he's stuck on an island with no boat? Will he have forgotten who he is?" Ryll asked.
"I don't know," Merlin admitted.
"Maybe we need to find Arthur first. He could be sitting on this island, starving and alone for the last three years."
"He'd be really annoyed with me then," Merlin said.
"So just like old times?" Ryll replied with a smirk. For a second Merlin could see the old Ryll.
He smiled back. "Just like old times."
