The Lost King—Chapter 2

One Week Later

The first rays of daylight stretched across the sky, waking Addy from a pleasantly deep slumber. Immediately, she rolled over to see if the man was still sleeping next her. When she saw that he was, she pinched herself on the arm and smiled. Yup, she thought warmly, it's not a dream. She continued to watch him sleep. His chest rose and fell in regular, slow beats, but his brow was troubled. After awhile, he frowned in sleep and moaned quietly. Bad dreams. Again. It really shouldn't have surprised her. After all, he was the Merlin. Visions, bad dreams, and magic powers were just a part of his everyday life. But they were ruining what should have been the happiest time of hers.

Merlin stirred, moaning louder, and yelled out, "Arthur!" He sat up heavily, sweat beading up on his brow, and his normally ice blue eyes were stormy and dark.

Addy placed a comforting hand on his chest, and said lightly, "It was just a dream. Just another bad dream." She wished she could really believe that to be true.

He sighed a rubbed his eyes, the fearful moment passing. "Yeah. Maybe." Then he seemed to remember where he was and turned to her. He smiled, but his eyes remained lost and troubled. "Sorry. Did I wake you?"

She shook her head. "I was already up. You want some breakfast?" She chirped, trying to relieve the tension.

He started to jump out of bed, but she caught his arm. "Sit! I'll make it." She winked at him and kissed him gently on the cheek. One of the most amusing things about dating Merlin, she realized, was that he still acted like the servant to a king. I'm in love with a thousand year old warlock and all he wants to do is make me dinner, clean my apartment, and do my laundry. It's every girl's fantasy. She chuckled to herself as she strolled to her kitchen.

Soon, the smell of coffee and bacon was wafting through her small flat. She bustled around her kitchen until her eye caught on the calendar. A week today. Only a week since he had found her and his magic had returned to him. She had been so happy that she had barely noticed the passage of time.

Suddenly, Merlin popped his head around the corner. He grinned and said, "Smells great, Addy. I couldn't wait. Do you need a hand?" She shooshed him from the kitchen. He ran his fingers through his tousled, black hair and sat down at the counter, looking somewhat like a lost puppy. It was hard to believe that when she had first seen him again, he had looked old enough to be her grandfather. Actually, he's probably old enough to be my great, great, great, great, great, great,…. She shivered and pushed that line of thought aside quickly. There was already far too much about him she didn't know about. In some ways, it might be better to keep it that way.

She handed him the breakfast and between bites, he asked, "So, what are we going to do today?" His eyes were back to their normal cloudy blue and he was wearing a disturbingly handsome grin.

She twirled her long hair around her fingers. "Well, we could go see a movie. I know how much you love those," she winked knowingly. "Or maybe visit the Royal Gardens. Or..." she dropped her voice, "we could just...stay in."

"Oh," he sputtered, coughing his coffee into the air. "In. Definitely in."

He was so cute when he was nervous, she thought. A thousand years old and he really has no clue about women. She offered him a flirtatious glance that he completely misinterpreted. Instead, he took away the dishes and began filling up the sink with water. She leaned back against the counter and watched with equal parts frustration and admiration.

"So," she said over the sound of sloshing dishwater, "What was your dream about this time?"

His shoulders stiffened. She wasn't really expecting much of reply. He usually claimed not to remember them. Shockingly, he answered, "It was Arthur. He was in some sort of trouble."

She frowned. "Maybe it wasn't, you know, a vision. Maybe it was just a normal dream. Or a memory from the past. I mean, how could Arthur be in trouble? He's gone," she said, and instantly regretted it.

He stopped swirling the dishes around in the sink and his shoulders slumped to the ground. "Yeah, I know," he said hoarsely, reminding her again of the old man he had been before.

"I'm sorry, Merlin. I didn't mean it like that." She put her arms around his thin shoulders and encircled him. He turned around and placed a tender hand on her temple. She could feel the electricity radiating from him. It was more than heat, more than chemistry. It was magic. His magic. A part of him as essential as breathing.

Something had changed in him since she had known him in Camelot. He had more power now. Much more. And it seemed to emanate from him in waves. She had wanted to ask him about it, but hadn't yet thought of a way to bring it up. So instead, she nestled herself into his arms. It didn't matter now, she thought, I'll ask him later. Now, she just wanted to make him happy.

-(0)-(0)-(0)-

That night, the dream returned with a vengeance. This time, Addy awoke to the sound of Merlin shouting out words in a strange sounding tongue. A lamp next to the bed began flickering on its own. Across the room, a vase shattered on her nightstand. There was an electric feeling in the air, that raised the hair on the back of her neck.

Desperately, she began shaking him. "Merlin! Wake up!" A book flew off the shelf and crashed near her head. The bed shuddered. "Wake up! You're going to tear the place apart!" She pleaded.

His eyes flew open. They were no longer blue, but aflame with gold. He was trembling, and he called out, "Arthur! He's in trouble. He's in trouble NOW!"

"What? How could he be?"

He shook his head. "I think... somehow... he's come back!" The electric tension of his magical ability was beginning to dissipate. "Addy!" He said, grabbing her hands with wild excitement. "He's. Come. Back! I know it. Do you know what this means?"

She wanted to protest, wanted to say that it was impossible, but she knew it was useless. She'd heard the phrase "Once and Future King" a little to often. But at the same time, she had the vague feeling that his return meant something really awful was about to happen. Still, looking into Merlin's crazily happy eyes, she was having a hard time finding the downside.

"Do you know how long I've been waiting for this?" He was practically bouncing on the bed like a child. It shocked her that he could still act like such an idiot for as old as he was.

"A thousand years?" Addy offered sarcastically, crossing her arms. Why did she suddenly feel like she was his mother or something?

He stopped jumping around and stared at her intensely. "This...this is...! HE'S BACK!" He said breathlessly. "We have to go to Avalon! Right. Now."

"Em, it's, like 2:30 in the morning, Merlin."

He stared at her.

"Right." She said, angrily tossing her covers off. Who needs sleep? Besides... Avalon. Could be interesting.