SUMMARY: It's the middle of the night, and Merlin and Arthur are both fast asleep. But their daughter just had a nightmare, and all she wants to hear to calm her mind are stories of the legendary kingdom of Camelot where her parents used to live.

DAY 4
December 21

SCENERY/LOCATIONS

...

It's 2 a.m. in the morning.

Soft summer breeze is going in through the window, making the temperature in the room a little more bearable.

The curtains are moving faintly.

The clock on the bedside table is quietly ticking into the silence of the room.

The moon is illuminating the occupied bed and the door that is left ajar.

Everything is alright.

An immortal all-powerful warlock and a king whose existence has been lost in the mists of time are both sleeping, partially covered with a thin blanket, holding each other tenderly. They have been through enough in their lives, and now, after such a long time . . .

Everything is finally alright.

Except for the little girl in the next room. She's tossing and turning, occasionally moaning. Her dreams are plagued by nightmares, trying to steal her peace and happiness. The little plushie of a knight that she clutches onto is not helping.

Eventually, she wakes up. She gasps and her eyes fill with tears caused by the memory of the vivid dream. She quickly gets out of bed and runs to the other room, where her parents are sleeping.

The gap of the slightly ajar door widens as she enters. Her tiny feet move quickly across the floorboards and soon she's climbing up the bed to shake her dads awake.

"Dad?" she sobs as she grabs the warlock's shoulder. "Dad?"

It's the king that wakes up first. "Sweetheart? What's the matter?"

The warlock awakes soon after.

The girl sobs. "I had a bad dream."

Both her fathers immediately sit up and offer their open arms for their daughter. The little girl climbs into their embrace with her plushie knight still in her arms and finally relaxes as they envelop her in love.

"It was just a dream, Gwen, nothing's going to happen to you, I promise."

"I know, but I'm scared to go to sleep."

"So we'll talk instead," the warlock smiles and kisses her forehead. "What do you want to talk about?"

The girl sniffles and smiles at the king who brushes her tears away. "I want to hear about your castle again."

The fathers share a smile as they agree. "Do you remember its name?"

"Camelot," the girl answers. "It was a big white castle, with many towers and knights." She smiles down at her plushie that she named after her favourite hero of the stories that her father told her – Lancelot.

The king and his warlock share another loving smile. "And there were so many people."

"And houses."

"And horses."

"Wide forests full of animals and big mighty trees."

"Villages, roads, lakes, valleys and rivers."

"There was a sea near the border with rocky shorelines, called the Great Sea of Meredor."

"And there was a huge hedge maze called the Labyrinth of Gedref near it."

"Old ruined castles..."

"Unicorns..."

"A dragon flying in the sky..."

"Hills and lowlands, mountains and caves, fertile fields..."

"And so many people who each had their own stories to tell. Like-"

"You two!" the girl exclaims, her fears forgotten and replaced by excitement. "I love your stories and adventures."

"And we love you, Gwen." They both hug her tightly and she hugs them right back, smiling. She will have no trouble sleeping tonight anymore, but she'll still stay the rest of the night in her parents' bed, where she's safe.

The moon slowly moves in the sky and is no longer illuminating the bed. Time to sleep.

"Can you tell me more about Camelot?" the little girl asks as they all lie down again. She's lying in between them, protected by their bodies from any monsters that might want to enter her dreams again.

Though it is late, telling Gwen stories will eventually send her to sleep, and so the fathers decide to fulfil her wish.

"It was a large kingdom with a big white castle in the middle, with many towers and people."

"It had vast meadows, forests and fields-"

"Mountains, rivers and lakes-"

"And it was a kingdom of good people."

"The kingdom that had it all," the girl murmurs as her eyes slowly close.

The kingdom that had it all.

*THE END*

I started with a completely different idea connected to the Labyrinth of Gedref (because I put up the map of Camelot on my computer screen, threw a little napkin paper ball at it and . . . it landed there . . . yup), but then I got this idea and tbh I think it's so much better :D I hope you enjoyed it! It's also posted on AO3 of course :)