AN: Another deleted/restored portion. Enjoy
"The first lesson in learning mathematics, my boy, is don't hate it," Merlin said to Arthur, however he realized that he wasn't listening. Arthur appeared to be on the bridge of falling asleep, as was the redheaded girl next to him. Merlin had woken them up and brought them to his study. "You awake lad?" he asked as he shook the boy's shoulder. Arthur slowly opened his eyes and yawned.
"Huh? What?" he asked through a yawn. "Oh...oh yeah I'm awake." he said as he rubbed his eyes. He and Hazel hadn't gotten back to the palace until daybreak, where they got a whopping twenty minutes of sleep before being woken up again.
"Good. Then maybe you could tell me why she isn't." Merlin said as he pointed to Hazel who was passed out asleep in the chair.
"What were you two doing last night?" the owl on Merlin's shoulder asked quite suspiciously. Archimedes' weariness only grew stronger when he saw the boy blush red.
"We uh...we... we just went for a walk. She uh...couldn't sleep and neither could I."
"Let's hope that's all that went on between you two." the owl uttered.
"Hazel?" Arthur said as he shook the girl's shoulder in order to wake her. "Hazel?" he said a bit louder, but she still didn't wake. "Hazel!" he finally exclaimed.
"Huh! What!? -OH!" the redhead moaned as she fell out of her chair and hit the ground, which got a bit of a giggle out of Arthur. "Ohhh." she moaned as she rubbed her head.
"Not much of a morning person are you my dear?" Merlin asked her. Hazel yawned and moved her red flocks out of her face.
"I guess not." she said.
"Well that's perfect. Because I brought you a little gift that might be the solution to your problem," the wizard said as he lowered himself under the table. "I visited the nineteenth century last night and found something remarkable," he said as he pulled out a pastel teacup, filled with a thick, steamy, light brown liquid. "This ought to wake you up." he said as he handed the teacup to her. Hazel took it and examined it.
"What is it?" she asked.
"Well I may have forgotten, but I think they called it 'coffee'."
"Coffee?" Arthur repeated. "That's a funny word.
"It's hot." Hazel observed.
"Yes, it's something like tea, but with a bit of spunk," Merlin noted. "Well go on...try it." Hazel gave a quick shrug and then did as he said. She seemed cautious at first, but it was rather satisfying. It was indeed like tea, only warmer and had more of a chocolate-cocoa-ey taste. It was...it was good. Really good. The two watched as Hazel continued to slurp it up and saw how she became more and more awake with each sip.
"Wow!" she said with wide eyes. "What is in this stuff!?" the girl exclaimed, super hyper all of a sudden.
"Mmm, cocoa beans, oil, milk, citrus and oh yes...a little something called caffeine."
"It's great!" she said after a slightly disturbing laugh.
"Glad to hear that. And I also wanted to thank you for accompanying this little fellow on the walk you two took last night." Hazel looked up from the coffee cup.
"What walk?" she asked, rather confused until she looked at Arthur, who was signaling her to just go with it. "Ohhhh, that walk. Yeah..it was great."
"It was also generous of you for teaching him how to read."
"Eh no problem," she said as she flicked her wrist with a yawn. "I mean you let me stay here, it's the least I could do." 'Or the least that she could do' she thought, beginning to remember Mim exposing words to her. Merlin waited till Hazel took another sip of the addicting after sipping it down a bit too fast, Hazel had humorously spit out the coffee and started to cough and pat her chest. Hazel fell on the floor coughing.
"Are you ok?" Arthur asked the girl. He had noticed she started to jitter a bit. Hazel started laughing. But there was something odd about her laughter. It sounded odd. Disturbing. This was sort of how the knights in the castle sounded after having one too many bottles of wine.
"HAA HA!" the girl cackled. "I'm great!" she exclaimed. "Never better!" Merlin flinched.
"No more caffeine for you." he mumbled as he pried the empty coffee that Hazel had licked clean out of her hand, sat her back up and then looked at Arthur.
"Well!?" he mouthed to Arthur. "Did you make your move yet!?" The boy cocked his head to the side, not knowing what Merlin was doing since he couldn't read lips. The old wizard slapped his forehead. "Ay ay ay ay ay," he muttered before standing up, the two children's eyes both following him. "That is it. Come on, get up you two. We are going to take this lesson outside."
"What? Why?" the blonde said, not wanting to be outside ever again after that long night.
"To teach you of course. Education does not necessarily equal being trapped in a room all day. I thought being a fish, a bird and a uh, squirrel taught you that." he said, tapping the floor with his wooden rod. Arthur stretched and then yawned once more before hopping out of the chair and grabbing his baggy red tunic and hopping out of the chair. Hazel had stolen the coffee mug back and was licking it clean.
"You too." Merlin said as he grabbed her bony wrist and pulled her along.
"On second thought Merlin, I take this back." Arthur said nervously. He was trying to walk across a log about four feet in the air, blindfolded. His arms were out to the side in order to keep balance.
"Nonsense boy. Now keep walking." the wizard instructed as he tapped the back of the boy's legs with his staff, motioning for him to keep moving. Arthur reluctantly took another risky step forward, his legs like jelly. Hazel was quietly spectating up above as she casually rested on a branch, getting a giggle at Arthur wiggling like a worm. 'He's much cuter as a squirrel' she thought. 'Although he's less clueless as a human.'
"W-w-w-w-what does this have to do with anything? Didn't we already talk about grativy?"
"Gravity Arthur. Gravity," the wizard corrected. "And that is only part of this. You are learning about balance. Physically and emotionally."
"What in the world does balancing have to do with being a king!?" the boy asked, trying to glare at the elderly man, even though he had a pink ribbon covering his eyes.
"Oh, it's not all about that lad..it's learning how to be a well balanced individual in general. To be composed but let your emotions out at the same time. These are things everybody needs to know." Arthur started to lose balance and was flapping his arms like a bird to try and stay on.
"Whoa-wha-w-whoa!" he let out. He was wobbling for about a minute before he finally fell off the log and planted into the snow. He grasped the cloth on his eyes and threw it. Hazel jumped down onto the log, laid on her stomach and then peered down at him, smirking.
"I could watch that all day." she said slyly. Arthur shot her a pouty face.
"You keep out of this," he shot back. "To be honest I'm a little tired of you trying to make me look like a fool."
"You don't need any help from me to do that," she said as she leaned her face on her palm. "I'd say mission already accomplished."
"You just take that back!"
"Oh face if Arthur, you're not very menacing when you're lying in the snow with a pink ribbon on you." she cackled.
"If I pushed you into a lake I would be." he grumbled, evidently loud enough for Hazel to hear.
"Oh really?" Hazel said as she effortlessly hopped off the log and down to him. "Say that again, little boy." she said mischievously. Arthur stood up and dusted the snow off of him. He then positioned himself just inches away from Hazel. Merlin watched as the two stood eye to eye, but Arthur's towering height was undeniably visible as he gazed down at Hazel with his neck tilted downwards.
"Who are you calling 'little', shorter girl?" he said as he crossed his arms. Hazel stood on her toes to try and seem taller but it was pathetic. She was barely up to his nose when flat on her feet alone.
"You think you scare me? I'm from Scotland Arthur, there's people there twice your size."
"Well I'm surprised they didn't step on you, you silly little girl." he said as he raised his head proudly.
"Alright that's it!" Hazel barked as she slipped out of her jacket and then threw it in the snow, before all out tackling Arthur.
"Hey get off!" the boy yelled. "Ouch!"
"I'd take it back if I were you Arthur!" Hazel said victoriously. "Because there's more where that came from."
"Why, Hazel, you get off of him this instant!" Merlin shouted.
"Mind your business old man!" Hazel growled. 'You already broke my heart, now it's your turn.' Hazel thought. She was about to give Arthur a black eye, when Merlin stopped over, grabbed her by the hair and threw her off of Arthur and then went over to confront her.
"Listen to me young lady!" he started. "There's no denying that you have plenty of combat skill, but you also have a temper! A temper that could really hurt those around you just as much as your claws can! Now if you don't learn how to respect others and keep your temper under control, then there will be consequences, understand!? Very heavy consequences!" Hazels face only turned redder.
"If I have such a 'temper' then why'd you bring me here in the first place!?" she shouted back. "I know you know that I know that you know I can turn into a squirrel, so why can't I just leave and stay that way for good!?"
"I think we both know you don't want that Hazel. You were alone out there with no one but yourself." Merlin said as he crossed his arms. Hazel glared and looked in the other direction.
"Well I'd rather be out there alone than trapped here with you." she said pitifully. Both Merlin and Arthur knew she was just speaking out of her anguish, but that was no excuse for how she acts.
"Miss Hazel you know you are lying—."
"Maybe I am lying! What if it? You don't know anything about me! You don't know what I've lost or what has happened to me! My parents ain't dead, they walked out on me!" She paused from shouting to then point at Arthur, her face as beat red as her autumn hair. "And then on top of all that you had to go on and tear my heart in half and then stomp on it until it was dust! Your apologies and fake gratitude won't come to nothing with me! It don't come to nothi—." Hazel was silenced when Merlin gave her a humbling and stern yet somehow still gentle, slap to the face. Hazel stared at the wizard in disbelief with a gaped jaw as she messaged her face. She had been slapped many times in the past, but….this was different. It hurt more, not physically but emotionally.
A few minutes that felt like an eternity had passed and Hazel still stared at him numbly as she rubbed her cheek. At that moment something seemed to change in her. As if Merlin had just flipped a switch inside of her.
"There now. I think what you needed was to just let it all out. Now, are you going to learn to control yourself?" Hazel was quiet and took a while to answer the wizard.
"Yes sir." she said, in a very humble yet still astonished tone. Merlin went over and stood Arthur back up.
"Come now boy. I think it might start snowing soon." He had his hand on the back of the little boy, demonstrating his guardianship as the two walked away to let Hazel be alone with her thoughts.
"Oh hey Merlin," she called before they fully went into the castle. The wizard turned his head to look at her. She was still gently massaging her face. "Thank you." she said, almost saluting him.
To Be Continued...
