Friendly Exchanges

Panic. Instant panic. He had to save her from her own magic. Merlins body was nailed to the ground, he was shivering with shock from head to toe. The only thing that held him up was his magic, the fabric of this world, the thing he was made of. And so his magic saved him this time, but it also saved her. Without any intention to do so, Merlins eyes glowed and time seemed to slow down. Time even stopped. Merlin had never performed this kind of magic, but now it seemed the only logical thing to do. It came to him instinctively – what other spell could could save her? Falling always happened so… quickly.

Merlin hurried himself towards the broken railing and looked down. How would he get this angel without wings back on the ground? ''Think Merlin, think,'' he told himself. The girl had fallen too far down for him to be able to reach for a hand, leg, or waist. How could he save her from her own magic? He decided he needed a rope for this – just before his eyes caught a lifebuoy. He sprinted to get it, even though he'd stopped time. He had no idea how long the time spell would last, and leaving her hanging, paralyzed in air, didn't give him much comfort. He ripped the long rope off the lifebuoy, and made a big loop in it. All he needed to do now was throw the loop around her waist and pull her back up. It turned out to be a lot harder than he initially thought it would be. The first time he managed to throw it five meters away from her body, that's how awkward Merlin was. The second time he tried, the rope slipped off her body via her legs. He was ready to try it for the third time when all of a sudden, time wasn't frozen anymore. Clocks began to tick again. They ticked slower than usual, but it wasn't enough to keep the girl from being pulled towards the sea. Gravity was merciless. And then the girl yelled: a proper yell, a scream of fear. Like she'd awoken from a terrible nightmare just to find herself in another. Fear was written all over her face.

Merlin knew this was his last shot at saving her. With clammy hands and sweat dripping from his scalp, he grabbed the rope even tighter, took a sharp breath, and swung it around the girls body and pulled. He pulled. Pulled. Pulled, until he suddenly fell on his back and knew that it was over. He realised he was exhausted from using such powerful magic for so long and his muscles ached from physical strain. If it wasn't for the adrenaline that was rushing through his body, he wouldn't have been able to do this – yet he did.

There she was, the stranger girl, lying on his stomach. Her arms were wrapped around him as she clung to his body. Soon it became clear the girl didn't know what had overcome her, because she kept whispering in shock: ''I'm not dead. I'm not dead.'' Slowly, it changed to ''you saved me. You saved me. You're a hero.'' Her blue eyes looked at him with wonder and gratitude.

Merlin had not known before that saving someone could have such an impact on your life. The adrenaline still hadn't left his body. He didn't utter a word for another ten minutes, until the girl mentioned the word ''reward''.

''I do not want a reward,'' he said flatly, ''I didn't do this to receive some kind of price.'' He didn't want to be the center of attention. How could he possibly explain how he saved her? The girl clearly had no idea she was magical. She didn't say a word about how she'd gotten herself in the dangerous situation, she was empty, had no memory of it. Why otherwise would she speak of 'saving'? Clearly, she was a girl without a death wish.

''I can't leave you with nothing! There must be something I can do.'' She looked at him, said: ''There must be. Parents who need to pay their debts, friends who need to pay their rent.'' First class girl, Merlin noticed straight away.

''Life isn't all about money,'' he then said, his voice filled with disappointment and anger. He'd expected her to be different somehow, which was strange. He didn't even know her. He gently unfolded her arms from his waist and got back on his feet (an unsteady pair but good enough to keep him upright). ''I didn't save you because I needed something!''

''Then why did you? I mean nothing to you.'' Such a simple question, and Merlin had no clue what to answer. ''I- I… I don't know,'' he stuttered, before he started to collect his things. Of course he knocked over his ink pot, causing huge black splatters all over the letter for his mother. He cursed under his breath, quickened his pace with every step he took, and didn't look back at the girl. He heard her voice, but the meaning of her words passed him by. Merlin wanted to reach cabin 34 as soon as possible. When he did, he let himself fall on his bed. He was so, so tired. If only he'd gone spying with Percy and Oscar. If only he'd stayed with James. Nevertheless, if he had done so, the girl would have died. And he didn't wish the girl to die, as she surely would have if it wasn't for him. Thoughts kept pulling at Merlin whilst he drifted away in a restless sleep.

Sometimes I wish dad had thaught me how to face situations, instead of running away from them.

Sleep didn't do Merlin much good. He saw her, falling over and over again, and this time there was nothing he could do. Every time she hit the sea, Merlin would snap out of his strange sleep and sit straight up in bed. This continued until dawn. He had had about enough of it at five in the morning. He found his shoes, didn't care to tie his shoelaces, discovered he was still wearing his clothes from yesterday, didn't care again. Then he got up and led his nose to the fresh air outside.

The sun was rising: beautiful stripes of red, pink, orange and yellow laid vertically in the air. Merlin walked over to his favourite spot on deck. He'd practically claimed it, everything about it screamed ''this is Merlin Miller's property'' to him. Yes, this spot was definitely his.

He almost tripped over his shoelaces (still didn't care to tie them now), on the way to it. Not that he was being clumsy, although that was definitely the right explanation most of the time, but because his heart made a jump and his eyes seemed to betray him. The railing was intact! There was a railing. It was intact. Hadn't the girl broken it? Hadn't it found its place in the sea? It looked like it had never been touched. The railing shone and blinked, without a single scratch on its surface. Merlin got a bit dizzy and was searching for something to keep himself standing, when he heard a male's voice say: ''Easy, easy.''

''James,'' was all Merlin could pronounce.

''You're not alright at all, are you, mate?''

Merlin let himself be guided to a bench. James knew about his spot and had brought some blankets with him. Before he'd wrapped Merlin up entirely (it was freezing cold outside), he demanded: ''What is going on? Tell me!'' Patience wasn't James' strongest feature.

Merlin breathed into the blankets, his voice muffled by them: ''There was this girl, last night –''

''What did you say?''

''This GIRL –''

''Jezus, Merlin, so soon! How was it? Good for you!''

Merlin wanted to cry at that point. For Christ's sake, this girl – ''She was about to kill herself! She broke the railing and jumped. She did, I swear! I… saved her. They made it look like nothing happened here – but I swear…''

James seemed to shake and nod his head at the same time. ''Are you sure, Merlin? Not that I don't trust you, but how can a girl break a steel railing like that? Even Percy would struggle breaking that.''

I bet I could, Merlin thought, but never said. James wouldn't be much of a help. Merlin needed to convince himself that it did happen, that was all. Because it did. He was certain it did.

The hours didn't tick away nearly as fast as they did the day before. Merlin picked at his white slice of bread. He didn't feel the need to eat, he was too busy feeling annoyed. The people in the breakfast room were noisy, talking loudly about the dullest subjects Merlin could think of. Oscar and Percy were telling about their observations from yesterday and stopped telling when they realised Merlin wasn't in the mood to respond. This realization came to them quite quickly, right after they asked Merlin enthusiastically: ''What do you think we did next?'' and Merlin simply shrugged.

Percy suggested they'd play a card game when breakfast was over. ''I'll reveal the secret of my muscled arms to the winner.''

''Drugs,'' James said dryly, and that was that.

They ended up playing a game anyway. Even Moody Merlin (a nickname made up by Oscar with love) joined. Percy won the first round with ease. ''If he desired a price,'' was the question.

''Honour and nobility,'' Percy announced proudly. Everyone shook their heads.

A fair while into the second round, the big doors to the dining room opened and closed like they had many times before, but it was different this time. Oscars mouth opened in awe before he whispered quietly: ''What a stunner.''

Moody Merlin had to turn around then – for obvious reasons. Yet what, or better, who, he saw, was completely unexpected. The first thing that crossed his mind was: I knew I wasn't fantasizing. Of course she wore different clothes and of course her air and face and every part of her body looked better than yesterday night, still, Merlin knew with every inch of his body that she was the girl. She was looking for him, that much was obvious by the way her face changed when she saw him sitting at one of many tables: relief? She walked elegantly in beige boots and black tights. The rest of her body was covered in a big feathery coat.

''Excuse me,'' were her first words on the 12th of April, ''do you know that your friend is a hero?'' And there it was, her own version of the story in a way that contained no magic whatsoever.

James nodded convincingly during her story, as if he'd believed it all along. Merlin would have blushed because of her praising words, if he hadn't been so thrown off by the appearance of a first classer here. By the appearance of someone, who had been looking for him, Merlin. She even batted her eyes at him. ''So, what is your answer?''

Merlin struggled to concentrate on her words. ''I… I'm sorry, what did you say Miss?''

''I've just made you an offer to dine with my family this evening. It would mean so much to me if you'd consider it.'' She smiled.

''I… I'm not sure,'' he replied. He didn't lie: he was, actually, unsure.

''O, good God,'' said Oscar, who had had about enough. ''He says yes! He does, don't you, Moody?''

The girl had a little laugh. ''Your name is Moody?''

''Suits him, huh?'' Oscar joked.

The victim of the bad joke awoke once again, gave Oscar a hard push and cleared things up: ''My name is Merlin. Who are you, Miss?'' He swallowed. He'd finally be able to get rid of the ''girl'' term. Besides, seeing her now, she came across more like a young woman than a girl. Why hadn't he asked for her name before? Diana, Elizabeth or Victoria, were names Merlin thought that fit her. Something classy and big. She looked wealthier than everyone he'd seen in many years.

''Morgana,'' she broke his train of thought. ''That's how they call me.''

The name sounded surprisingly sweet, the opposite of big and classy. It reminded Merlin of the stories Hunith told him about a young little girl and her magical friend before he went to sleep. There, the main characters had always been Morgan and Emrys.

''Then I'll gladly accept your dinner invitation, Morgana,'' Merlin answered formally.

She ruffled his hair (and one could see she hesitated, debating whether it was appropriate or not), Merlin ducked. The heat was getting to his face.

''That's so lovely,'' she said, ''meet me at eight at the entrance of the first class restaurant. Wait at the end of the stairs. There is no need for formalities, treat me as a friend.'' Her black hair waved after her as she left the dining room, leaving Merlin with three baffled guys.

Readers, o my god. I've been absent for way too long. You probably thought I'd given this story up. Truth is: I haven't. I have carried it with me all these months, writing in my head but never actually on paper. University life is busy indeed :( Where is my time for my hobbies?

I only hope now that I've actually managed to get something on paper, I'll continue managing to actually write and upload. (Please don't expect to much, I don't want to disappoint you!)

There's nothing left to say besides a gigantic apology, and a small ''I hope you'll still like my story''.

Lots of love, Nynke