Okay, as I told some of you I would do, here's a more full explanation of my absence from fanfiction:
So, first came exams (as you know). Then I was surprisingly busy with stuff for a children's club I help at, even doing stuff like writing scripts for the weekly pantomime. Following that, I became completely addicted (again) to Japanese Dramas, and ended up spending almost all of my free time watching those. Especially this one drama, which I've now seen about 15 times (the first three times were in a row). There also came illness and more hectic things to keep me busy before I went home. I then got my mum addicted to the same Japanese Drama I had watched, along with several others. Together with babysitting, meeting up with old friends, family activities, and more. And, on top of all that, (and probably fuelled by the guilt at not posting any news chapters), I found myself to have a massive case of writer's block (which was quite a shock to me- I've never had it before).
But! Here's hoping that that's all over with now. I'm slowly worming fanfiction back into my life. And once things have settled down (third year of Uni is proving rather busy) I should be able to return to some semblance of my usual update pace.
So there you go- it's not much, and I'm sure I missed things out, but it's just my way of offering an apology, and an explanation, for my disappearance. Once again, I am SOOOO sorry!
Anyway, I'm sure those of you who read this are probably bored by now, so I'll get on with it. Not much in the way of action in this chapter, but it is necessary so that I can move on to the next stage.
Disclaimer: I don't own Merlin :'(
Chapter 22
Merlin looked back over to where the girl stood, still seeming slightly wary of the others in the room. She was staring at him, her eyes wide, and her teeth teasing gently at her bottom lip. Offering her a wide grin, Merlin patted the floor beside him, inviting her to come and sit.
Almost at once, the girl rushed over, settling herself down and holding onto his jacket with one hand, the other hand going to her mouth so that she could gnaw at the nail on her thumb. In an odd way, she reminded the young Warlock of how he had been as a child- he had always clung to his mother, and found most of the other people in the village far too daunting to approach, lest they find out about his magic.
Turning slightly, so that he was facing the girl, he began to speak.
"Alright, I think we should probably start off with finding something to call you. Do you have a name?"
A nod.
"Do you know how to write it?"
This time, the girl shook her head, her expression apologetic. Merlin couldn't help but grin in return.
"Don't worry. It doesn't matter." He paused for a moment, serious, before allowing a small smile to dance across his lips. "How about this? We could choose you a name for now. And then, once all this is over, we could help you find your parents... do you have any?"
A quick, indignant nod, and the fast removal of her thumb from her mouth, was his instant reply.
"Of course you do. Well then, once all this is over, we can try to help you find them. And then it will be even more exciting for us because we'll get to find out your real name. What do you think?"
The girl beamed back at him, nodding enthusiastically. Encouraged, Merlin faced the others in the room.
"Any ideas? I'm probably not the best at things like this." He smiled, shooting a playful glance in Arthur's direction. "And I have no doubt the first thing to pop out of the prat's head would be something no girl would want to hear." Ignoring the Blond's protests, he continued. "Which leaves Kennard and Gwen. What do you think?"
Kennard smiled good-naturedly, then cast a careful eye over the eager child seated by the Warlock's side. "I have a cousin called Fira, and another named Olivia, but neither seems to fit in this case. Besides," he joked, "neither of those cousins have provided anything in the way of a welcome memory."
"How about Paige?"Suggested Gwen. "It's simple enough. We don't want anything extravagant if it's only temporary, and I think Paige is a nice name."
Merlin smiled down at the girl. "How about it? Do you like Paige?" Laughing at the exuberant nod he received in reply, he patted her head gently. "Then Paige it is. Nice to meet you, Paige."
A small flush of pink blossomed in Paige's cheeks, and she ducked her head down, her fingers tightening where they held onto Merlin's shirt. The Warlock smiled gently, then looked over to where Arthur stood, his expression growing serious. Once their gazes locked, the elder man nodded. It was about time they got down to business.
"Paige?"
Paige lifted her head to face Merlin, her brow furrowing in mild confusion at the sudden change from the Warlock's previously light-hearted tone.
"Now, I know that this is going to sound like a strange question, but do you understand what's happened to the people in Camelot?"
The girl's eyes widened, a small glimmer of fear entering them. Slowly, she lifted her free hand and, with a wide, sweeping, gesture, waved it in a large circle.
"The room?"
A shake of her head. Merlin thought quickly. Something that would relate to the situation...
"...Everyone?"
A proud grin flicked across the Paige's face. This time, the hand went to her temple. Crossing her eyes comically, she made a small circular motion with her index finger.
"Crazy? Everyone went crazy?"
Another nod, before the finger moved to point at her chest, followed quickly by a shake of the head, accompanied with the same cross shape she had made with her arms earlier.
"You didn't? Everyone went crazy, and you didn't? Is that it?"
A beaming smile acknowledged this as the correct answer.
"Only you? Or are there other people who didn't go crazy?"
Paige tilted her head to the side, her expression clearly saying that she was thinking about her answer. Finally, she gave a small, unsure nod.
"Do you know where those people are?"
An immediate shake of the head.
Merlin leaned forward slightly, looking her straight in the eye. "I'm going to tell you a secret. Will you listen to me?"
This time, the nod was interrupted by a minuscule frown, and a furtive glance at the other people in the room- all of whom were watching the exchange between Child and Warlock with eagle eyes.
Merlin laughed. "Don't worry- they already know the secret."
Once Arthur, Gwen and Kennard had all nodded their affirmation of this fact, Paige looked back at Merlin, nodding shyly. At the same time, she lifted her hand to brush back a strand of hair which had fallen in front of her face.
"Well, you see, the secret is that, deep inside of you, there is a magic spell. And not just in you, but in some of the other not-crazy people too. And this is a bad magic that someone has put in you." Seeing the girl's alarmed look, Merlin shook his head reassuringly. "Don't worry- if you can help us to find those other not-crazy people, then I might be able to use my magic to take the bad spell out of you. And if I can do that, then everyone else in Camelot will stop being crazy too.
"So how about it? Will you help us?"
This time, Paige grinned widely, nodding so enthusiastically that she ended up with what seemed like half of her hair in her mouth. As she was preoccupied with removing said hair, Merlin couldn't help but beam at her in return.
"Thank you. Now, we're going to have to leave this room, and go somewhere very high. If we do that, I can find the other non-crazy people and tell them that we can take the bad magic away. Are you ready?"
In one swift motion, the girl leapt to her feet. Within seconds, she was standing at the door, looking expectantly back at the room's inhabitants. This time, Arthur beat Merlin to the laugh.
"I suppose," the Blond smiled, "that we can take that as a yes." Moving forward, he crouched down to the young girl's height and offered her his hand. "Welcome aboard Paige. I look forward to working with you."
If Paige could talk, Merlin would have sworn that she would have let out a laugh at that point. But instead, she merely smiled cheekily and shook the offered hand in both of hers, before ruffling Arthur's hair and running back to the young Warlock, who had now risen to his feet, and dragging him over to the door. Merlin couldn't help but laugh at her antics.
"Well then, I suppose we better get going then."
Is it just me, or does anyone else think Paige is really cute? She just keeps becoming more and more adorable in my head!
[SPOILERS FOR S4 DURING THE REST OF THIS AN]
On a random note, for those of you who have seen the new episodes, in S4.E1, when Lancelot says 'If you leave in the morning, I'll cover with Arthur,' doesn't his 'cover' sound just like he's saying 'cuddle?' AWKWARD!
(ps- HA HA LANCELOT! [The dude has bugged me for yonks])
(pps- YAY! Dragoon the Great returns!)