Sorry, it took me longer to write this then I had hoped, but I had a math diploma to prepare for.
Well, here is a happier chapter for you, take a break from the downers.
Disclaimer: I don't own Merlin, only my OCs and this storyline.
Hope you enjoy.
Innocence
"Something bad is going to happen. I can just tell." A young Merlin gripped the axe in his right hand as he walked across the field towards the forest.
"Have faith in yourself." A girl with messy black hair came up beside him. She had braids woven into her dark locks. "You're stronger then you look."
"Plus if it doesn't work you can always use magic." Merlin's best friend Will jogged up with a grin on his face.
"Shush Will." The girl waved her hands at him. "Do you want everyone to hear?"
"Calm down, Eliza. No one is awake at this hour." Will brushed her concern away.
"You'll wake them all up with your loud voice, big mouth." Eliza stuck out her tongue at him.
"Big mouth?" Will coughed. "Well you're no bottle of sunshine yourself, you…" He struggled to find a word.
"Oh?" Eliza grinned. "No snappy comeback this time?"
"You witch's warty toad." Will blurted out.
"That's the best you can come up with?" Eliza laughed. "You are such a prat."
"What's a prat?" Merlin asked, turning around to walk backwards so he could see them.
"It's another word for fool or bottom." Eliza explained.
"Fool?" Will's face turned red. "Bottom? That's it."
Eliza yelped as Will tackled her to the ground, trying to pin her down, but Eliza was strong for her size. She started to get the upper hand. They managed to get to their feet at one point.
"So you wanna go, village boy?" Eliza pounced, knocking Will onto his back, but then he swung his foot at her legs, taking her down as well. She let out a gasp of air as she hit the ground. Will was about to go in for the kill.
"Enough!" A surprisingly loud shout came from the small form of Merlin. Eliza and Will froze, looking up at him. "You two need to stop fighting. Seriously, it's childish."
"We are children." Will reminded him, standing up. "Its just horseplay."
"No harm done." Eliza got to her feet.
"Can you at least try and get along, just this once." Merlin pleaded. "Don't forget that I'm the one carrying the axe."
"Was that a threat?" Eliza asked.
"Maybe?" Merlin shrugged.
"I'm so proud of you." Eliza beamed, giving Merlin a crushing hug.
"They grow up so fast." Will joked, and faked wiping a tear from his eye.
"Now, can we get back to the business at hand?" Merlin managed to say when Eliza finally let go of him.
"Of course." Eliza bowed dramatically and they resumed their walk towards the forest.
"And you're sure Hunith didn't hear you leave the house?" Will wanted to make sure. Merlin hadn't always been the stealthiest of kids.
"Do not doubt my powers." Merlin faked a regal voice, making the other two giggle.
"So which one are you going to cut down?" Eliza asked when they finally reached the trees.
"Preferably a thin one." Merlin looked around at the possible trees that he could cut down with the axe in his hand.
"Come on, go for a big one." Will urged him. "How about this one?" He pointed to one right at the edge of the forest. It looked almost as thick as Merlin was tall, and he was quite tall for his age.
"That would take forever. Probably all day." Merlin groaned, looking at his spindly arms.
"That's why you use magic. Chop it up into little pieces and take it home." Will was getting excited. "You'll never be cold again."
"I don't think we thought this through." Eliza started chewing on her lip, a bad habit of hers. "It will definitely surprise Hunith, but if Merlin cuts down this tree using his magic she is going to figure it out and then we'll all be in trouble." The three of them shivered at the thought of an angry Hunith.
"It wouldn't be the first time." Will nudged Merlin with his elbow.
"And every time we get in trouble it always seems to somehow be your fault, Will." Eliza glared at him. She heard a twig snap and her eyes quickly scanned the woods, looking for the source, but she saw nothing, nothing but shadows. "Anyways, we should hurry up. It's cold."
"Is the great Eliza spooked?" Will poked her.
"Shut up, Will." Eliza punched Will in the arm, not willing to admit that he might be right.
"Ow." He rubbed his arm where she had hit him. "Whoever came up with the idea that hitting like a girl means it doesn't hurt was seriously misled."
"That almost sounded like a compliment." She smirked.
"I am capable of saying nice things, even when it's not deliberate." Will mumbled under his breath, but Eliza still heard him. She opened her mouth to say something snarky in return but the sun caught her eye.
"We should hurry up with this." She advised. "The sun is getting higher in the sky and the early risers will be rising."
"For once I agree." Will crossed his arms.
"Never thought I'd hear that." Merlin grinned. Will and Eliza had been at each other's throats since Hunith found Eliza passed out in the rain at the edge of the forest. She had a terrible fever and almost didn't make it, but somehow she pulled through.
Eliza was an odd creature, not like any other girl Merlin had ever met. Instead of dresses she wore trousers and tunics. No matter how much they pried she would never say anything about where she had come from. But who didn't like a good mystery. Merlin hoped one day he would solve the riddle of Eliza. But the future wasn't set in stone…yet.
Merlin lifted the axe he was holding and prepared to swing at the tree's trunk near the bottom. Eliza and Will stepped back. Merlin swung. The axe bounced off the tree and Merlin stumbled back. He looked back at the trunk to see what damage he had done. There was barely a dent in the bark. His face fell.
"It was only the first swing." Eliza encouraged him.
"I doubt I'll be able to do any more damage then that." Merlin sighed, letting the axe fall by his side limply.
"Unless you use your magic." Will pointed out. "You'll never get any better at it if you are too afraid to use it."
"What if I don't want to get any better at it?" Merlin looked at Will. "You've seen what danger has come from having magic. Mom's told me to keep it hidden. She's afraid and maybe I am too. At least I have good reason to be."
"We shouldn't have to be afraid." Eliza stated. "We shouldn't have to hide. Being born shouldn't be a crime."
"Eliza." Merlin's eyes softened. He stepped over to her and placed his hand on her shoulder.
"I don't want to hide anymore!" She suddenly cried.
"Neither do I." Merlin agreed. "But I'm afraid we don't have a choice in the matter, not if we want to keep our lives."
"Keep hiding for me at least." Will tried to smile, but it was halfhearted and it didn't reach his eyes. "I couldn't bear loosing either of you."
"Thanks Will." Merlin reached out to his friend and all three of them huddled together, holding tightly to each other as if at any second they would be torn away.
"You know what, I'm going to do this." Merlin pulled away and dropped the axe, looking up at the big tree.
"Do what?" Eliza eyed him warily.
"No one's around. Why can't I use my magic?" He shook out his arms as if getting ready for a fight.
"Go Merlin!" Will clapped, grinning.
"You better step back." Merlin warned. They didn't need to be told twice as they quickly hurried behind him, hopefully out of harm's way.
Merlin took a deep breath, staring down the tree. "I can do this." He told himself. Eliza and Will watched closely, wondering what was going to happen.
It all happened quite quickly actually. Merlin's eyes flashed gold, not a single word was uttered. For a moment everything was silent, then the tree groaned and started to lean. There was a smooth cut at the bottom of the trunk going right through. The leaves of the tree rustled and the tree fell, in the opposite direction then where they were standing.
Unfortunately the three of them realized too late what direction it was falling. They held their breaths as it fell towards a house that sat quite close to the forest. They sighed with relief when it landed just inches from the house with a giant crash. But then they heard someone moving inside the house.
"Isn't that Old Man Simmons' house?" Eliza asked.
"Shoot." Merlin froze.
"Run!" Will grabbed his arm and the three of them bolted away from the crime scene before the old man even got out the door. They laughed as they ran, feeling the adrenaline.
"You come back you little scoundrels!" The old man shouted, waving a stick in the air as the three children disappeared across the field.
"We definitely didn't think this through!" Eliza shouted, a grin on her face.
"When do we ever?" Will laughed and the others joined in.
None of them thought about how much trouble they were going to get into when Hunith found out.
Even a young prince found himself laughing for the first time in a while from his hiding place behind a tree where he and his two companions had watched the children. Arthur had felt a chill when he heard them talk about magic, but they were young and innocent, no monsters in sight. He felt himself waver slightly on his beliefs of the cruelty of magic.
"So that's the difference in this world." Arthur said aloud. "In this version Merlin has magic. Wouldn't that be strange?"
"Yes, it would." Aida said cautiously, sharing a look with Jasper, making a silent promise not to tell Arthur the truth. It wasn't the magic that was different. It was the girl. Eliza didn't exist in Arthur's world.
But they couldn't linger here. They were on a quest and they had to stay ahead of the shadows, which were slowly catching them up.
Thanks for reading and please keep up the brilliant REVIEWS! They keep me going on a down day.
I am planning to write a full story for this scene so don't forget our sweet Eliza. There is more to her then it seems.
I've made an account on FictionPress under the same name where I'm going to be uploading my original work. When I'm done the rewrite for I Will Never Forget I will be posting it there for those who want to read it. Be sure to check it out.
If any of you have a story that you want reviewed then don't hesitate to PM me the name. I'd love to read it.
Hope you keep following because not even I know fully what is going to happen next. It's a mystery.
See you next time.