Hime: Hope you enjoy the chapter! I do not own Merlin!
The next morning
"Wakey-wakey!"
Arthur, Merlin, Melinda and the knights awoke to see a dancing goblin in front of them.
The goblin was short, at about four feet tall. It had lime green skin, long, pointed ears and large amber eyes. The only thing it wore was a dark blue loincloth.
"Good morning!" he greeted the stunned group cheerfully, flashing a toothy grin at them.
Melinda frowned, "Who are you?"
Gwaine interrupted the goblin before he could speak.
"Our horses are gone!"
Immediately they all turned their head to scan their surroundings and realized that Gawine was right!
Their horses were missing!
"I sent them away."
Arthur turned to glare at the goblin, "Why?"
"Because it would be difficult for you to care for your horses and continue this journey. But then again, you can only continue unless you manage to pass my test first of course."
"Test?" Merlin asked.
"Yes, the journey to the Well of Le Fay has many obstacles and at each one, there are guardians like myself who will each ask you a riddle before you proceed."
"A riddle?" Elyan asked.
The goblin nodded and smiled, "When all of you are done packing, meet me at the bridge!"
And with that he skipped away, leaving the group of Camelot citizens to stare at him.
What a peculiar creature...
A few minutes later at the bridge
"That was fast!" the goblin commented when he saw the group come toward him.
"Just tell us the riddle." Arthur snapped, impatient.
The goblin smiled, "Here we go!"
The group nodded and listened closely to his riddle.
"I am seen in the water
If seen in the sky,
I am in the rainbow,
A jay's feather,
And lapis lazuli."
As the men tried to think about the riddle and figure out the answer, Melinda froze.
Lapis lazuli…
Flashback
"You have such beautiful eyes my little princess. Eyes that have the color and shine of a lapis lazuli. Just like your father."
End of Flashback
Melinda felt hot tears flow down her face, it was her mother who told her this.
I miss her too…
"Did the riddle strike a chord with you milady?" the goblin asked, startling Melinda.
Melinda wiped away her tears and looked up to see the goblin smiling at her sadistically.
He knows
She scowled and glared at the troll who took amusement in her misery, "Blue. The answer to the riddle is blue."
The troll smiled, "Correct. You may cross."
Melinda nodded and started to walk on the bridge, the men followed quietly.
"Milady?"
"Yes Sir Lancelot?"
"Why were you crying?"
"It was nothing, don't mind it."
Before Lancelot could respond to that, his instincts told him to turn around and when he did his eyes widened to see the goblin looking at him with a crazed look in his eyes.
"One tooth to bite,
He's the forests foe.
One tooth to fight,
As all Norse know!"
Lancelot watched in horror as an axe materialized in the goblin's hands.
He has an axe!
"RUN!"
Melinda ran, the others following behind her but not long after, the wood her feet was on, splintered and gave way under her weight.
"LADY LINDA!"
Melinda shut her eyes, ready to scream but Lancelot was quick. He grabbed her hand, lifted her up and carried her in his arms.
"Let's go!"
Lancelot ran forward with Melinda in his arms.
Please…please let us get through!
Merlin, realizing that they needed help; magical help, he muttered a spell under his breath and his eyes turned gold, "Folgie min bebeod!"
Suddenly, the men felt felt a sudden rush of adrenaline in their legs, helping them run faster.
What on earth?
However, realizing that it was not the right time to wonder what was going on, they decided to ponder about the strange occurrence later on so they concentrated on running for the moment. When they reached the end, they all turned to see the bridge disappear from view.
"Congratulations! It's been 3 years since the last man passed this test! Well done!"
Too tried to glare at the goblin, the group continued on their journey whilst the goblin smirked from where he stood.
It'll only get harder from here
Nightfall
Melinda was taking a nightly stroll in the forest, to pass the time waiting for dinner to be ready when she heard the sound of the bushes rustling behind her and turned around.
"Sir Lancelot! You scared me!"
Lancelot smiled sheepishly, "Sorry about that."
"Is dinner ready already?" she asked "Did you come to fetch me?"
"Oh no, not yet. I just wanted to talk you."
"About?"
"About why you were crying earleir."
Melinda sighed, "I told you it was nothing"
"But I know it's something. So what happened?"
"I just...I miss my family..."
"You're very secretive about your family" Lancelot commented.
"Excuse me?"
"You always refused to tell Arthur your father's name."
"He doesn't need to know who my father is."
"You yourself refused to tell us your real name because you were named after your father and when you spoke of your siblings the other night, you never told us their names either."
"You don't neet to know that either."
"We don't need to know? Or you don't want us to know?"
Before Melinda could retort, they heard Merlin calling for them.
"Lady Linda! Lancelot! Dinner is ready!"
"Could we talk about this later?"
Lancelot nodded and together, the two made their way back to camp.
Hime: Hope you liked it! Please review!