They had been driving for nearly seven hours straight without so much as a small coffee break. Well, they was a relative term. He had been driving was a better term and night had long since fallen across the land, unfortunately the night sky was overcast, and was threatening rain. At the steering wheel, Stephen Craig could feel his eyes dropping. He stifled a yawn as they carried on down the winding, empty country road. Beside him, his significant other was making lovely drooling patterns on her chin as she took a deep breath, sleeping. He glanced at her lovingly, before he reached over and turned the air con up another notch. Or two. Beside him Bethany Styles yawned and opened her eyes a little. Stephen feeling a little twang of guilt, he hadn't actually meant to wake her, but it seemed the air con had done the trick anyway.
"Are we there yet?" she asked sleepily. Stephen grinned as he drove, it was one of her little sayings she had when they were on long trips alone.
"about another fifty nine miles" he said, as he checked the rear view mirror.
"So where are we?" she asked.
"on a little road so small the sat nav thinks we're in a field" he replied.
"I don't hear her" Beth said. Stephen shook his head.
"I got tired of her telling me to turn around and rejoin the motorway, I thought you updated this thing" he said.
"I did" she replied.
"With what? British roads nineteen canteen?" he asked, as there was a flash outside.
"storm's coming" Beth said in a little sing song voice. Stephen nodded, then frowned.
"no rain though" he said.
"Yet" she said. Stephen grinned at her.
"Steve!" she suddenly screamed, Stephen looked back at the road and hit the breaks, swerving around a man who was stumbling into the road. The car skidded to a halt, and Stephen looked out of the back window seeing the man sprawled just off to the side of the road.
"Damn it!" he said slamming the steering wheel. He glanced at Beth, then opened the door, stepping out, Beth doing the same. He glanced at her over the top of the car, then moved quickly to the man they'd nearly hit.
He was maybe in his early to mid twenties, and had dark raven coloured hair. His clothes however would not have looked out of place in some period drama. Slowly the pair of them knelt down by him, Stephen checking his pulse.
"He's alive" he said. Beth letting out a breath she didn't even realise she'd been holding.
"Art…. Arthur… need to warn…" the man mumbled, as he opened his eyes and looked up incoherently, and trying to sit up.
"Woah, easy mate" Stephen said. The man looked at him, then at Bethany.
"Where… where am I?" he asked.
"To be honest, I'm not sure this place even has a name" the woman said.
"so I'm dead then?" the man asked.
"You sure you didn't hit your head or something?" asked Stephen.
"No"
"No your not sure or no you didn't?" asked Beth.
"I didn't" the young man replied.
"You mentioned an Arthur, is that your friend?" asked Stephen.
"No.. well yes, he's me king actually" the man said, then watched as Stephen looked at Beth.
"Do you have a phone you can call him on?" asked Stephen.
"A what?"
"A phone, a mobile" Stephen said.
"I, I don't know what one of those is" the man admitted.
"Whoo boy" Stephen said with a sigh.
"Well, do you know where this Arthur lives? Perhaps we can give you a lift" Beth said. Stephen glaring at her as if to say that was a really stupid idea.
"well we can't leave him here, god knows when the next car will come past and if they'll even stop" Beth said, he inherent kindness coming out. Stephen rolled his eyes and looked at the man.
"Okay, fine, where do we find this… Arthur?" he asked.
"Camelot, I need to get to Camelot"
"Excuse me?" asked Stephen.
"Camelot" the man replied.
"Camelot?" asked Stephen.
"Yeah, its not far from here, well I don't think it is, but this is different to what I remember" the man replied.
"Do you have a name?" asked Beth, becoming worried.
"Merlin"
"Merlin? Merlin from Camelot? With King Arthur?" asked Stephen.
"Yes" Merlin replied.
"Merlin the magician?" Stephen said. Merlin's eyes narrowed.
"How do you know that? Only Gaius knows that!" Merlin said.
"Look Mate, sorry, Merlin, I'm sorry I nearly hit you, but no offense I think you'd be better off sleeping it off in a motel" Stephen said.
"What?" asked Merlin.
"Steve.." Beth said. Stephen looked at her and shook his head.
"He's as drunk as a skunk" Stephen said.
"How do you know?" she asked.
"Merlin? Camelot, Beth, those are legends" Stephen prompted.
"I know, but maybe he did hurt himself, maybe he's just confused" she said. Stephen looked at Merlin, then sighed.
"We'll give you a lift as far as the next town, which is about 59 miles" Stephen said.
"I can't go that far, I need to get to Arthur, Morgana's up to something" Merlin replied.
"Look, you can either come with us, or wonder around looking for a city that's hasn't existed for a thousand plus years" Stephen said.
"What?" Merlin asked perplexed. "What year is this?" he asked.
"2012" Beth said. Merlin looked at her, then at Stephen, then looked around.
"You're sure?" he asked.
"Unlike you, yes" Stephen said.
"then they're dead. Arthur, Gwen, Gaius" he said quietly, his voice breaking slightly.
"I'm sorry" Beth said gently. Stephen looked at her, but remained silent under the glare.
"Merlin, as I said you can come with us to the next town, maybe you'll find something or someone there to help" Stephen said again. Merlin looked at him blankly, then nodded. Stephen and Beth helped him to stand and he suddenly looked around.
"Merlin?" asked Beth.
"My Neckerchief" he said looking at the ground.
"You'll never find it in this darkness" Stephen said. Merlin nodded and then looked up as they led him towards the car.
"What is that?" he asked.
"A car" said Beth.
"Think of it as a wagon without horses" Stephen said. Beth glared at him again, but he just shrugged as he opened the back doors and let Merlin crawl inside, the others getting into the car a moment later. Merlin looking around it in wonder. There was another flash from outside, and this time the rain did start.
"That was close" Stephen said as he started the engine, the radio kicking to life. In the back Merlin jumped in his seat, looking around. Beth reached forwards and turned the radio down.
"Sorry, we didn't mean to scare you" she said gently. Merlin nodded, and looked out of the window as the car moved forwards.
She watched the strange cart move away, as she relished the feel of the rain on her skin. Something had brought her here, but she was not certain what, all she did know was that she was far from home. Slowly she stepped forwards, her hands glowing to offer some illumination in the darkness. Then she paused and knelt down, picking up a blue neckerchief. Slowly she scrunched it up in her hand and looked in the direction the magical cart had gone.
"Merlin" Morgana hissed.
In the back of the car Merlin sat up a little straighter, feeling the goose bumps on his arms.
"Cold?" asked Beth. Merlin shook his head.
"No. I can feel her. She's here now"
"Who is?" asked Stephen.
"Lady Morgana" he replied.
"Look mate, I dunno what your on, or who you think you are, but maybe you should be thinking about when the last time you took your medication was" Stephen said.
"I'm not on any" Merlin replied.
"then you should be" Stephen replied.
"You really think I'm insane don't you?" asked Merlin.
"I think you're two stars short of a pointy hat yes" Stephen said, ignoring a glare from Bethany. Merlin smiled then held up his hand.
"Liot" he said softly, his eyes glowing golden and a light appearing in his hand.
SCREEECHHH! The can came to a sudden halt, Beth and Stephen both looking back at Merlin.
"What the hell was that?" demanded Stephen.
"Magic" Merlin said.
"No.. no look, there's no such thing okay" said Stephen. Beside him Beth was staring wide eyed.
"There is, people just deny it" Merlin replied, almost sadly. "You just have to know what to look for"
"Can you…. Can you do anything else?" asked Bethany.
"Sure" Merlin said. He held out his hand again.
"Sidor Dracoon" he said, a moment later a tiny dragon made of blue flame began to dance across his hand.
"It's beautiful" Beth said quietly.
"I know" Merlin suddenly closed his hand and wiped his eyes that were watering.
"You okay?" asked Stephen, his voice still shaky. Merlin nodded.
"We should go, Morgana won't be far behind us" he said.
"And Morgana is what? You arch enemy?" asked Beth. Merlin nodded.
"She wasn't always" he said as The car began to move again.
Morgana stood by the side of the road watching the small Volkswagen beetle drive up towards her. She eyed the car with a modicum of distrust as it pulled up beside her. A moment later the window wound down and a fair haired man looked out at her.
"You okay broke down or something?" asked the man.
"Something like that" she replied. "Do you think you might be able to give me a lift?" she asked sweetly. The man nodded and opened the door for her, Morgana climbed in, shutting the door.
"You have any luggage?" the man asked.
"Only what I carry with me" Morgana replied. The man nodded.
"Travel light, I can appreciate that" he said with a grin as he started the car. Ignorant fool Morgana thought to herself. Out loud however she simply gave a polite chuckle.
"I'm Mark. Mark Adams" the man said as they drove along the country road.
"Morgana" she replied. Mark looked at her and smiled. Morgana looked out of the window, her thoughts already off of her unwanted companion. Still, it might prove beneficial to at least make some small talk, she had no idea of where she was, this land of strange horseless carriages. And besides, a slave or two might prove useful, slowly she smiled and looked at him. He caught her glance and smiled back. Yes, a truly ignorant fool she mused.
"So you have…. Magic" said Stephen for around the fifth time.
"yes" Merlin replied with a patients born of tolerance. Besides, he could imagine this being how Arthur would react when he got back, so it might be good practice.
"So… how did you end up here?" asked Beth. Merlin shrugged.
"Not too sure actually, Morgana had ambushed me while I was gathering herbs for Gaius, she used magic, knocked me flying, I was half dazed when I landed, and I must have done a spell of my own, except there was a flash and the next thing I know you nearly hit me with your wagon" Merlin said.
"Car" Stephen said.
"Beg your pardon?"
"Its called a car" Stephen said.
"Car, Wagon, they have wheels and get you from one place to another" Merlin said. Beth chuckled and Stephen sighed.
"So you said you had to warn Arthur…?" prompted Stephen.
"Morgana's managed to call up the Skree, Arthur needs to get the defences ready or the majority of people in Camelot will be slaughtered" Merlin told him.
"These Skree are dangerous?" asked Beth.
"Deadly. They're a creature of the old religion, and even back then their summoning was frowned on"
"Sorry, old religion?" asked Beth.
"Before the great purge, the High priestesses of the old religion would sometimes summon them in times of great danger, the problem was if you weren't powerful enough then the Skree would turn on you as well as your enemies" Merlin said. "They're vicious, twisted and cruel creatures with no qualms about who they kill and how" Merlin explained.
"Sounds like your mother" Stephen said glancing at Beth, receiving a jab in the arm for his trouble.
"I know this is a lot to take on faith alone, but please. I need to get back to Camelot before Arthur or the others are killed" Merlin said.
"I don't know how" Stephen said. "You have to understand Merlin, Camelot is from a time… long ago, no one today is even sure it existed. Yes there are records of King Arthur, and Merlin his loyal wizard, but nothing has ever been proven to show they or Camelot really existed" Stephen said.
"Nothing? Nothing at all?" Merlin asked.
"I'm sorry, but no. If you are this great wizard you claim to be, then your lost way out of your time and way out of your depth"
"I can't not try to get back" Merlin said.
"Neither of us is saying that" Beth said kindly. "But the best place to get clues for what you would need to do would be back in London at the British Museum" she said.
"And we're not due to head back there for three days" Stephen said.
"Three days?" asked Merlin.
"Yep, three…." Slowly Stephen's voice trailed off and he looked at Bethany. "You can't be serious" he said.
"Why not? We can't just abandon him" she replied.
"what?" asked Merlin.
"Beth, Lee won't appreciate us turning up with a guest" Stephen said ignoring Merlin.
"Lee will be fine Steve, you know that" she replied.
"Clothing then"
"He can borrow some of yours, I bet Amanda would take them up for him"
"Beth…."
"Stephen…" she countered, while Merlin watched from the back. Stephen slowly sighed and nodded.
"Fine, but you better not do anything to scare people at the party" Stephen said, looking back at Merlin.
"Party?" asked Merlin.
"Look we don't know exactly what's going on, but its obvious you need help, especially if you're a thousand years out of the way" said Beth. "So we'll help you as best we can" she said with a smile. Merlin smiled.
"Thank you, but it's best if you stay away from me, Morgana will be after me and I don't want you two in danger" he said.
"Merlin, we're already involved just by giving you a lift." Beth pointed out. Merlin looked at her, then at the back of Stephen's head, then smiled.
"I guess" he said. in the front of the car Stephen handed Beth the phone.
"better tell them we got guests joining" he said.
They drove in silence, the conversation between Mark and his mysterious passenger having petered out about four miles back. But for some reason Mark didn't seem to mind, a strange lethargy had settled across his mind. He was alert enough, but for some reason he just didn't want to speak, which was unlike him. Maybe I'm coming down with something he thought, then jumped as his mobile began to ring. Beside him Morgana looked around, almost confused. Merlin pressed the receive call button on the hands free.
"Yo" he said.
"Marcus" came the reply.
"Hey Lee, what's up?"
"Beth just called, you spoke to Steve and her?" Lee replied
"nope, what's up?" he asked.
"Seems Beth's cousin is coming with them to the party" Lee said.
"Her cousin?"
"yeah, can you believe this, his name is Merlin" Lee replied.
"Sounds like something you'd call your dog" Mark said, causing Morgana to actually chuckle.
"Who's that?" asked Lee.
"I picked up a woman who'd broke down" Mark said.
"cool, hi there" Lee said.
"Hello" Morgana said evenly.
"she sounds hot, she's hot isn't she?" Lee asked
"Oh yes" Mark said, with a smile, Morgana returning it in what she hoped wasn't too false.
"You should bring her to the party, maybe she and this Merlin geezer will hit it off" Lee said.
"What do you say Morgana?" asked Mark. Morgana smiled and didn't have to falsify it this time.
"How can I refuse such a generous offer" she replied.
"good good, anyways, James, Kerry, Michaela, Amanda and Shaunie are already here" Lee said.
"And Steph?"
"she's in a taxi as we speak" Mark said with laugh.
"She's the laziest diver I know" Mark joked.
"the taxi drivers lover her" Lee replied. "Anyway, I better get going before Michaela drowns Amanda" Lee said. Mark laughed.
"We should be there in a few hours" Mark said.
"Okay, see you both soon" Lee said hanging up.
"Well My lady, looks like you'll get to meet my friends" Mark said, then frowned. My Lady? Why the hell had he called her that?
"Oh I look forwards to it" she replied with a smile. One thing was certain, this would be a party none of them would soon forget.
To Be Continued….
Merlin stepped out of his room in the lavish building, dressed in a white shirt, black jeans and a pair of trainers.
"Wow, he brushes up nice" muttered Michaela. Merlin heard the comment and seemed to blush slightly. Beside him Stephen gently took his arm.
"Come on Romeo" he muttered, Amanda and Bethany both chuckling.
"you own all this?" Merlin asked Lee as James handed him a drink.
"Lottery, got lucky" Lee replied.
"Yeah, figures don't it" James joked. Merlin nodded and looked around, seeing a small car pulling up.
"Looks like Mark finally made it" said Bethany.
"Mark and guest actually" Lee said.
"Guest?" asked Amanda.
"Yeah" Lee said
"Oh no…." Merlin's breath caught as the door opened and a young man stepped out, and a very familiar woman as well.
"Merlin?" asked Stephen.
"Its Morgana" Merlin said. Merlin shrank back a little, trying to remain out of sight, but she'd already seen him.
"Merlin, such a pleasant surprise seeing you here. Its been years" she said, her tone dark.
"Is there a problem?" asked Lee looking between them.
"Nothing we can't work out" Morgana said with a sneer.
"What the hell are they!" demanded Stephaney
"you wouldn't believe us if we told you" Beth replied as around them fire blossomed from the ground, other guests running every which way.
"Give it up Emry's you're nothing compared to me!" Morgana screamed at him as she hurtled a fireball at him.