Gold
Chapter Six
"Come on Merlin!" Hunith said, holding her hand out towards the little giggling boy who was too excited to stay still. "It's time to hear Old Thomas tell his stories!" she said.
Merlin loved his stories, and Hunith knew it well. This had been a particularly good harvest, so there was much celebration to be had. She could hear the singing and the dancing outside in the warm summer night air, she could hear the crackling of the bonfire and she could smell the pig on the spit that had been killed specially for this day. It was her favourite day of the year and always had been. She knew that it was Merlin's favourite day too.
"Hurry!" she said to the small boy who was running around in circles around their hut, far too excited for her to keep up with him, but he finally latched on to her hand, his little fingers curling around her long, slim ones. "You make me dizzy Merlin!" she told him, laughing at her son.
She led him outside, although in truth, he was almost pulling her. At seven years old, he was already getting strong. He'll be helping out with the harvest properly soon, she thought to herself, following behind the reapers to pick up the ears of wheat.
They walked towards the merriment, but he pulled away from her, his hand slipping out of hers easily as he saw Will, and the two boys made their way towards Old Thomas. She walked over to Thea who had similarly been abandoned by her daughters so that they could listen to Old Thomas' stories.
Merlin and Will sat as close as they could to Old Thomas, trying to vie for his attention just like all the other village children who were sat around him.
Old Thomas smiled, he loved how the children sought him out for not only his stories, but also for the sweet honey that his bees made that his good wife kept. They reminded him of when he was a young man and told stories to his own son, Young Thomas, who was grown up now and had his own family.
When he saw that the children were all- mostly- settled, he started his stories, his deep voice made for such a task, age having not diminished it at all.
"A long long time ago, before the time of Camelot, there was a beautiful Queen by the name of Alianor of Arosslegne, ruling over the lands of Nythfa. She was a good queen, beloved by all the people in the lands. She was the fairest, kindest queen that ever lived. And she was..." he paused, knowing that the children knew this part.
"A SORCERESS!" they all chorused together, giggling and clapping.
Old Thomas sat back and laughed, a great guffaw pealing out and mixing with the children's laughter. "Yes!" he said, clapping his hands to his knees.
"A sorceress," he continued, the children falling under his spell once again. "But not just any sorceress- Queen Alianor was a good sorceress, and only used her magic to help her people. Kings and wise men would come from far away lands just to hear her wisdom and gain her thoughts on matters of the world. She was also a healer and used her magic to bring strife and pain to a halt, healing the sick and the wounded with barely a glance."
What happened to her?" one of the younger children asked timidly.
Old Thomas leaned forwards towards the children, and they unconsciously leaned in towards him to hear his words. Merlin was leaning his chin on his hands, his elbows on the knees of his crossed legs, and his mouth hanging open, completely engrossed in the story. Most of the children had an expression quite like his as well.
"Well I'll tell you," he said, speaking as if he were confiding in them a great secret. "An evil sorcerer who lived in the mountains watched her realm from far away and he was jealous of her, but so powerful was she, that he could never defeat her all on his own. Until one day, he happened across a rogue- a villain of such deception and cunning that the sorcerer realised that together, they could defeat the Queen. He bewitched the rogue with tales of the Queen's great wealth, for she had the largest vaults of gold that anyone had ever possessed to keep her people well fed and to trade for exotic goods from across the seas and lands of the East. They say," Old Thomas said in a stage whisper, "that the walls of her palace were inlaid with gold and precious gems and that her people ate fruit that were like spice explosions in the mouth, such delicacies that had never before been tasted, nor since. They say that all the people in the land wore silks from Persian traders and such wealth has never been equalled since." Old Thomas took a drink from his flagon before he continued. "The rogue was astonished at the tales and vowed to help the sorcerer for all the sorcerer wanted was the Queen's magic, and that wouldn't help the rogue at all. Little did the rogue know that with the combined magic of both the Queen and the evil sorcerer, the sorcerer would be too powerful for the rogue to resist anything that might be done to him. On the blackest night of the year, during the witching hour, the rogue and the sorcerer broke into the Queen's palace and before anyone knew what was happening... BOOM!" Old Thomas shouted, clapping his hands together in one great sound making the children jump back and scream. "They imprisoned her!" he said.
"No!" Merlin couldn't help but say, feeling deeply for the Queen. Will was so caught up in the story as well that he didn't tease Merlin for his emotion one little bit.
"They did a most evil deed," Old Thomas said, his voice becoming more and more dramatic, the light of the bonfire flames flickering over his face. "Yes indeed, the sorcerer was powerful enough, with the rogue's help, to place her into a deep sleep- the deepest of slumbers that she couldn't wake up from. You see, the sorcerer had to borrow the lifeforce of a willing volunteer to make his magic more powerful. All that remained of the Queen was what he allowed her- the smallest flicker of life where she could only appear to the sorcerer in his dreams to beg for his help and to set her free. But her freedom would come at a cost- to be free, she had to give up everything, her power, her magic, and her great wealth to the sorcerer and the villainous rogue. She refused, knowing that if she did that, her people would be at the mercy of two very evil men, so she let herself wander, never to return to her body again." Old Thomas stopped again to take a drink of ale before he carried on. "The sorcerer was furious and he wanted to punish her, so he took her body and buried it- still alive, but without her soul- in the catacombs of the dead kings, but he surrounded the tomb with so many spells and charms that no one would go near it- he made it so that the place felt so wrong, that no one would ever want to be there and they'd all run away. The tunnels were deep, and the chambers were sealed up with magic. The rogue found out that he was never to get his riches, so he challenged the sorcerer. The had a duel to the death! And in the final blows, they each landed a fatal move, each killing the other stone dead!" The children cheered as the villains of the story had their comeuppance.
"But what about the lady?" the young child from before asked.
Old Thomas shook his head, "So many people avoided the tomb, that in time, people forgot where it was. Magic is forbidden now, so there are no magic people left who can find the sealed entrance. But sometimes, or so they say, when you sleep, the good Golden Queen comes to you in your dreams just to make sure that she isn't forgotten... and sometimes," Old Thomas said, his voice getting lower and lower, "Sometimes, people say that the Queen is still out there, waiting for someone to come and rescue her, and in return for their help, she will give them her riches and her wisdom and she will bless them with a look from her beautiful face which legend says was more wonderful than all the riches of the land."
Old Thomas sat back, his story finished and gloried in the radiant look on the children's faces, each of them wondering if they would dream of the Golden Queen that night.
All of them looked towards the bonfire as they were all called away to have some food, followed by singing and dancing, and Old Thomas, helped by one of his granddaughters, got up for his share of pork before all the best parts were gone.
Merlin finished his story, smiling widely- that particular night he'd been thinking about was still vivid in his mind even after all these years. His mother's hair was so black and shining back then, and it had danced with the colours from the firelight. The pork had tasted so good- he still remembered the saltiness and the juiciness, and the crispness of the crackling. He remembered how he, Will, and some of the other village children had played well into the night and far past their usual bedtimes. And most of all, he remembered how contented everyone was.
He sighed in happiness for the memory.
Arthur sleepily looked at him, but at the expression on Merlin's face, he didn't tease him. Arthur let a fond smile play about his lips and he stayed silent. Harvest was always an important time in any land, and he remembered his own harvest festivals, although they were larger, more grand affairs, but they were always happy memories. He turned over to sleep, noting that Gwaine was already nodding off. He heard Merlin shifting down under his blanket and he heard Leon do the same. He lifted his head to check on Elyan who merely nodded at him, already keeping a lookout into the night.