Author's Note: Last chapter in part one! I've got a few chapters written in part two so far. I was hoping to have made more progress by now, but I have a lot of writing projects going, and I never seem to keep to my own writing goals. Never fear, I'll keep writing and start posting part two soon! Part two will answer a lot more questions and introduce more characters. I've got some ideas I'm excited to work with.
Thank you so much to my readers! I hope you are all enjoying. I so appreciate every follow, favorite, review, and anyone out there who is reading.
-Sixteen-
The Sword in the Stone
It was an incredible feeling standing inches away from Excalibur. Liz had scoffed at the replica on the wall at the White Dragon, but this…this was something entirely different. She could almost sense the magic wafting off of the blade. It had been forged in Dragon's breath, Merlin told her.
"On the count of three?" Merlin asked. Liz nodded. They stepped up, one on either side of the stone. Merlin met Liz's eyes and they shared a long moment while Liz summoned up her nerves. Then Merlin began to count. "One." What if she still didn't remember even after they pulled the sword out? "Two." What if they couldn't pull the sword out? What if Arthur wouldn't wake? "Three." She wasn't ready, but they both grasped the sword and gave a heave. Liz saw Merlin's eyes flash amber and then everything went black.
…
Ryll was standing at the edge of a clearing across from a crowd of people. The knights of Camelot stood across from her and Byron stood at her side. Merlin and Arthur stood in the middle of the clearing next to the sword and the stone. The clearing was much the same otherwise, and it was surreal being back in time.
"What's supposed to happen?" she whispered to Byron.
"Only the once and future king of Camelot, the true king, can pull the sword from the stone," Byron explained.
"But it's stuck fast. I believe in Arthur, don't get me wrong, but pulling a sword out of solid stone is impossible." She sounded just as doubtful as Liz had felt.
"Have a little faith. Maybe it's not you who needs convincing," Byron told her with a smile.
"You need to believe in yourself," Merlin told Arthur, echoing Byron's thoughts.
The king looked unconvinced, but Ryll could tell how much he wanted to believe that. He put his hands around the sword and tried to pull it out. It would not budge. She watched the frustration wash over his face.
"You need to believe in yourself," Merlin said. "Look at all those people. They look to you as their king. They believe in you. You are destined to be Albion's greatest king."
Arthur tried again, but the sword still wouldn't give. He let go of the hilt.
"Nothing, not even that rock can stand in the way." The conviction behind Merlin's words made Ryll's heart swell.
Arthur took a deep breath and closed his eyes for a moment. Then he looked up at the people of Camelot. He wrapped his hands around the sword again and pulled. Ryll watched Merlin and saw his eyes glow amber for a moment. There was a loud grating as the sword came loose from the stone. Another heave and Arthur drew it out. It glinted in the afternoon sun. Arthur looked mildly surprised, but then his confidence grew as he faced his people.
Someone shouted 'Long live the king' and the call was contagious. Ryll felt a smile spread over her face as she shouted along with the people of Camelot. Merlin's eyes caught hers and she felt her heart give a twist.
The memory changed and now Ryll was standing on a battlefield. Arthur, Merlin, Morgana, and Mordred stood at her side. Heavy footfalls alerted them to the oncoming army and a murder of crows fled the scene across the field. Morgana and Arthur stepped in front of Ryll in unison, and Merlin squeezed her hand. Ryll could feel the uncertainty rushing through her veins. Someone was going to die today, but she did not know who. It could be Morgana whom she had finally helped save or Arthur whom she had fought so hard to keep alive. Merlin could die trying to protect her or Arthur as he always did. She'd already vowed to save them all. Today they would be a victory for Albion.
The king of the opposing army rode forward on a black horse. Sarrum. The name sprang into her mind. His men looked grim and some sported injuries. Ryll's memories were limited though, and she could not remember how they had sustained the injuries.
"I have something of yours," Sarrum called out. He motioned into his ranks and two men appeared carrying what appeared to be a body. They threw it on the ground between the two armies. Time seemed to slow as the body rolled forward. Ryll gasped. It was Byron. A heavy black arrow protruded from his chest, and his face was pale in death. Merlin's hand tightened on hers. He had died for her – that thought rose in her mind. Whatever he had done, it had been for her.
"Together," Merlin said and Ryll nodded mutely. What words could be said when her best friend was lying dead before them.
Arthur motioned to two of his men and they went forward to retrieve the body and bring it back. Ryll forced her emotions back. Now was the time to be strong. She had to be strong for Byron. For all her friends. The part of her that was still Liz marveled at her bravery. Maybe a part of her hadn't really believed it was possible for her to be a knight, but now she saw that Ryll wasn't afraid to die for her friends. And that was exactly what she'd done.
"I see you've joined ranks with the witch," Sarrum said with a frown.
"You're not welcome on this land, Sarrum," Arthur called back. "If you and your men leave now then we might spare your lives. If you stay then we will have no choice but to defend our land. You've taken one of ours, and someone will pay the price."
"You're taking the side of the druid boy?" Sarrum asked. "My how far the mighty have fallen. Your father would be so disappointed in his son."
"I am not my father, and this is my kingdom now," Arthur said. "I make my own choices. I choose to trust my friends no matter how they were born. Magic or not, it doesn't matter." Ryll's heart swelled with pride at his words. Seeing Morgana at his side gave her hope. She wished Morgan could see what she did. She wanted her to know how brave she'd been.
"Hand over the key, and we'll leave," Sarrum said.
"What key? There is no key to the future. You're chasing fairy tales," Arthur said.
"Before their untimely death, my sorcerers told me of a powerful object that could change the course of the future." Ryll's memories stirred. This was what Merlin had told her about. She was the key. She was the one who had brought about the second coming.
"You're consorting with sorcerers though you say you magic is evil and must be eradicated? You seem to be breaking your own laws, Sarrum."
"I know it's here. Everything has led me to Camelot. I thought the witch would know, but now I'm not so sure. Then I thought to myself, what if the object isn't an object? What if the object is a person instead? Someone who has the power to manipulate the future. One person shouldn't hoard all that power." Ryll wondered who the sorcerers were that Sarrum had consorted with. She hadn't even realized what she was or what power she'd held until the end but yet someone had heard of her and what she could do. Perhaps she, Merlin, and Morgana were not the only ones who had seen the future.
"If you want her, you'll have to fight my army to get to her," Arthur said, moving in front of Morgana protectively. "I protect my family at any costs."
"You're siding with her after all she's done?" Sarrum asked. "I thought you'd thank me for keeping her a prisoner." Ryll could picture the pit Sarrum had kept Morgana in. Morgana and her white dragon. Ryll, Merlin, and Byron had rescued her. She was beginning to fill in the stories Merlin had told her with actual memories.
"What you did was cruel. She's not ever going back there."
"Then I guess it's to be a battle after all because I'm not leaving without her."
"It's not-" Ryll started, but Merlin put a hand over her mouth shaking his head. She glared at him, but he wouldn't let go.
Arthur drew his sword and his knights followed suit. "Today we fight for freedom and for peace and for family!" Arthur shouted to his knights. "Today magic and sword will fight together as equals!" The knights cheered. "For Camelot!" Arthur charged, Morgana at his side. As he raised his sword, ready to strike down the enemy, Morgana let out a surge of magic that bowled over the enemy lines. Ryll ran beside Merlin and Mordred. Merlin had a sword, but Ryll saw him using magic when Arthur and the knights weren't looking. When they hit the enemy lines it was like sunset meeting night as red blended with black. Ryll unleashed her powers like she never had before, unafraid to use them in front of Arthur. It felt so natural and she ached to think of her powers being cut off. Enemies fell wherever she struck. Morgana came to fight by her side. Ryll felt a surge of hope. They could do this together. They were much stronger as a family.
The battle seemed to be going in Camelot's favor. Ryll had lost track of Sarrum, but now she went in search of him. When she caught sight of him, he was striding toward Arthur, taking down knights as he went. His eyes were set on the king, and his sword was running red with blood. Ryll threw a surge of magic at the enemy soldiers in her way and started for Sarrum. He was fighting Arthur now, swords flashing in the sunlight. Sarrum was a fierce fighter, but Arthur was better. He disarmed the king, and Ryll sent him to the ground with a push of magic.
"Pick up your sword," Arthur said, standing over the king. "I will not fight you unarmed."
"He's mine," Ryll growled. "He killed Byron and now I'll kill him." As Liz, the idea of killing anyone would have been terrifying. She wasn't sure she could do such a thing let alone live with it. Amaryllis had grown up in a world where wars were fought and lives were taken. She would do whatever it took to keep her friends safe. The anger and hatred inside of her frightened the Liz part of her. Did Ryll ever feel remorse for the lives she'd taken?
Sarrum looked up at her, recognition dawning on his face. "Ah, so you're the one who was shouting last night at my camp. Byron! Byron!" he mocked her frantic tones. Ryll clenched her teeth. She could see Byron's death now as her memories mixed. It was something she'd never forget.
She and Merlin stood at the edge of a camp. The only source of light was a great fire that separated Sarrum from Byron. Something shot through the air, and Byron threw up a magical shield the moment before a heavy bolt sliced through the fire. Instead of stopping the bolt, his shield wavered. Byron fell backwards onto the ground, a thick arrow protruding from his chest.
Time slowed as he fell, and Ryll watched the motion with no concept of what was happening. Her mind was blank. The fire crackled and fizzed where the arrow had sliced through it. The night was suddenly quiet, but that was because her ears were ringing with her own screams now.
"NO!" she screamed aloud and lunged forward, the spell broken. She was aware of Merlin catching her around the waist and trying to haul her back. Ryll sent him flying away from her with a surge of magic. She screamed again and Sarrum's men collapsed around the king as she sent out a vicious stab of magic. She didn't care how many of them died. She wanted Sarrum. The king couldn't see her yet through the darkness, but he raised the bow again. The menacing click pierced the night like a knife. Ryll didn't care. She sent a rush of power at the great fire and suddenly the camp was burning and men were screaming. Sarrum stood still though, untouched by her attempts to kill him.
Liz was appalled by everything that was happening. This world was cruel. It made her false existence in the modern world seem like a fairy tale.
"Go." Byron was speaking from the ground. Still alive. "Go!" Ryll looked down at her dying friend. He grew blurry as thick tears filled her eyes. "I did this for you. Don't you get killed too."
"No, no no!" she knelt down and cradled his head in her lap. She put a hand to his chest, and warm blood seeped into her skin. She sent out a healing spell, but nothing seemed to work. She cried in frustration. Why couldn't she heal him? "It wasn't supposed to happen this way." None of her visions had prepared her for this. What was the use of seeing the future if she couldn't stop her friends from dying?
"You have the chance to change it," Byron told her softly. "In the future. Everyone will have a second chance at happiness. Maybe this life was always too far-gone. You'll understand soon. I can see it already." His eyes were staring straight up. The camp had gone silent and it was as if Ryll and Byron were in their own world far apart from Sarrum and his army. She looked up and saw a light shining brightly, opening wider like a crack. "We'll meet again," Byron told Ryll. "You might not remember me at first, but we'll meet again."
He knew. He had known about the second coming. Liz grappled to understand. He hadn't remembered her either. Despite all they'd been through together, despite him dying for her, she'd forgotten him and he her.
His eyes reflected the brightness above as Ryll looked down at him. They were suddenly glassy though a smile still touched his lips. He'd stopped breathing. Ryll started sobbing, burying her face in his hair. Then she felt hands pulling her away.
"Byron!" She tried to reach him again, but Merlin had her in his grasp again. He dragged her back as she screamed Byron's name over and over. Sarrum sent a group of men at them, but Merlin fended them off with his magic, sending them reeling backwards. They didn't get up again. Merlin dragged Ryll onto his horse with her, calling for Owl to follow. Ryll was sobbing uncontrollably now. She felt as if her heart had been wretched out of her chest and doused in dragon's flames. Byron was dead because of her. This was her fault.
Her sobs lessened and her vision went red with anger. "Tomorrow he dies," she hissed. "Tomorrow I'm going to kill him."
Ryll was back on the battlefield facing Sarrum. Byron's death was fresh in her mind and Liz found herself cheering Ryll on."You have no idea what you've done," she said.
"And I have no time for little girls who play at being sorceresses. Step aside so I can fight your king." He reached for his sword.
"Let me fight him, Ryll," Arthur said. "Ryll?"
Ryll stood seething as Sarrum got to his feet. "He doesn't deserve a noble death after what he did," she said.
"But we're not like him," Arthur reminded her softly. "We're better than that."
The vision shifted once more and now Sarrum was on his horse again. She remembered the illusion – it had been a sorcerer that Arthur had fought and killed, not the real king. Sarrum held a crossbow in his hand with the familiar black bolts. Ryll's vision was turning real. "It's time to purge magic from this world once and for all," Sarrum said. "Hand over the key." His eyes snagged on Morgana. Arthur stepped in front of his sister.
"I won't let you take her," he said.
"I'm not leaving here without her!" Sarrum shouted. "How many more of your men will die before you hand her over?"
Ryll opened her mouth to tell Sarrum it was her, not Morgana he wanted, but suddenly Merlin was shouting, "I'm the one you want!" Both kings looked at him in surprise. "Morgana has nothing to do with this." Arthur looked confused and shocked while Sarrum narrowed his eyes in understanding.
"Merlin, no!" Ryll shouted, staring at him wide-eyed. Sarrum looked between the two of them. "It's not-"
"She's just trying to protect me. My name is Emrys, and I'm the one you want." He stepped in front of Ryll, setting his eyes on Sarrum in a challenge.
"You hold the power to change the future?" he asked. Merlin nodded. Ryll tried to protest, but Merlin wouldn't let her. "I do, and in my future magic is strong." He stepped away from Ryll, closer to Sarrum, distancing the king's gaze from her. Ryll could see how much he loved her. He was willing to die for her just as she had died for him. The uncertainty in her heart was melting away, and she could feel how much she loved him in return. Their love was something that death could not keep at bay nor the centuries that had passed.
"Thank you for revealing who you really are," Sarrum said bringing Ryll back to the present. "That makes this so much easier." He raised his crossbow and fired. Ryll watched in slow motion as the bolt sliced straight toward Merlin. Time seemed to slow, and she saw Byron dying over and over. This couldn't happen again. Not to Merlin. Anyone but Merlin.
Her feet were running though she hadn't been aware of moving. She watched the progression of the black arrow. She saw Merlin's eyes glow amber as he tried to stop its progression.
It all happened in a matter of seconds. She heard Arthur shout her name and then splitting pain filled her body, and she was falling, falling, falling. This time it was like she was watching for a distance. She saw her throw her body in front of the arrow, saw it sink into her chest. Then she saw the look on Merlin's face. Her breath snagged in her throat. She'd never seen anything so horrible or heartbreaking. She watched as she fell to the ground. Merlin fell to his knees, cradling Ryll against him. He shouted her name over and over. Ryll lay, unconscious, in his arms for a half a minute before opening her eyes again. Arthur looked shocked. Morgana knelt next to Merlin, crying softly. Ryll was back in her body, no longer floating above the scene. She could feel the pain from the arrow.
Merlin was sobbing now. He looked up at Sarrum. "You monster!" he shouted. He held his hand out and magic surged from him like a tidal wave. Sarrum's eyes widened before the magic struck him. He was knocked straight off his horse, dead before he hit the ground. Half of Sarrum's men fell too leaving the battlefield in shocked silence. Arthur was staring at Merlin now.
"You…you have magic?" the words came out as hurt, but Merlin had already turned his attention back to Ryll.
"You weren't supposed to get hurt," he said. "I'll heal you. I'll make this right."
"I don't think you can," Morgana said softly from his side. "That arrow was enchanted. It was forged in dragon's fire. It's fatal. There's nothing we can do."
"That's not true! I can heal her!"
Ryll felt magic warming her side, but Morgana was right. The arrow was already poisoning her, and she could feel herself starting to drift away. She forced herself back. "This isn't the end," she said, forcing the words out. "It's only the beginning."
"What do you mean?" Merlin asked.
"I die so that everyone can have a second chance. I die so that I can see you again."
"No, no! I'm not losing you! You're not going anywhere!" Merlin held her close to him.
"I'm going to make a future where no one is afraid. Where everyone has a place. Then we'll be together. We'll have our life." She felt her eyelids closing and forced them open. She had been to Avalon in that half a minute. She'd seen her mother and Lancelot. She could feel the water pulling her back, pulling her away from Merlin.
She turned her eyes to Arthur. "Arthur, it's been an honor serving you. All I ever wanted when I was younger was to become a knight, and you made that come true. You are a strong king, and you will unite Albion." Arthur knelt beside her and took her hand.
"Morgana," Ryll said, turning to her friend. "You have a place here. You have a second chance right now. Take it." Morgana nodded, tears streaming down her face.
"Merlin." She turned to Merlin. This would be the saddest goodbye. "We will see each other again. I was brought here for a reason. For this."
"No. This isn't right. Why can't we have our second chance right now?" he asked. Tomorrow was a special day. Tomorrow… Ryll remembered the ring. The ring Liz wore around her neck. It wasn't an heirloom; it hadn't belonged to her mother. It was an engagement ring. She and Merlin were to be married the next day. But she'd died. She'd left him all alone. "Why do you have to leave me?" he asked her.
"Because we're both going to be needed in the future. If I stay now then Albion will fall apart later."
"I don't care about later! I care about now!"
"You're immortal, Merlin. You'll be there to see Albion fall apart."
"Then we'll save it together."
"Will you wait for me?" she asked softly, her voice failing her.
"I'll wait for you," he'd told her. "Always."
"Good," she'd said. "Because I'm coming back for you." She felt herself slipping again, and this time she could not fight it. "Take my body to Avalon," she whispered. "I'll be safe there until it's time for me to return again." She felt Arthur pressing something into her hand. It was her sword. She smiled and looked at Merlin one more time. Then she saw the light up above her; the same light that had lit Byron's eyes even in death. The world fell away, and she was drifting away into the light with the hope of a different future ahead of her. The hope for a second chance. The last thing she heard was Merlin calling out her name over and over as if he could call her back from death, but she was already there.
…
Merlin caught Ryll as she fell, dropping Excalibur on the ground. Right after they'd pulled the blade out of the stone, her eyes had gone glassy and rolled into the back of her head. She lay unconscious now and though he shook her gently, she wouldn't wake. He could feel his powers surging within him and realized that the sword had reawakened them. It was imbued with the great dragon's power and though the dragon was now dead, his power lived on in the sword. What effect had it had on Ryll then if it had strengthened his powers?
She was out cold for nearly ten minutes. Merlin held her, stroking her brow and praying that she'd be all right. He remembered holding her in his arms when she'd died and a fear took over him. Then her eyelids fluttered, and she looked up at him. "Ryll! Are you all right?" he asked. "You were unconscious for nearly ten minutes."
"Merlin, I remember," she said softly, looking up at him with glowing eyes.
"Remember? What do you remember?" he asked, hardly daring to hope.
She placed a hand on his cheek, and his heart gave a jolt. "Everything," she said. "I remember everything."
…
Morgan awoke with a start and felt a surge of emotions roiling through her. She had a splitting headache and rubbed her temples to try to subdue the pain. Memories suddenly invaded her mind, and she fell back onto the bed, overwhelmed by the painful rush. When she opened her eyes again, her headache was gone and she remembered everything from her past life. She was no longer Morgan. She was Morgana. The room felt too small, and she got out of bed and tried the door. The door wouldn't budge. She tried again but it was locked. Uther had locked her in.
Morgana felt anger surge up inside of her and before she could control it, the door broke open. She had burned the lock clean off. Scorch marks blotched the doorframe and smoke rose up from the metal knob. Morgana felt her powers spiraling out of control as she stepped into the dark corridor.
