Merlin lit a candle in his dark study and placed it in the mits of a table, creating a golden mask on the fair, smooth face of the former girl squirrel. She was sweating after the horrid event that had just taken place. It was silent, only compounding the eeriness of the dark room that was only illuminated by a single lit flame. He sighed, in a half annoyed and half concerned manner.
"Alright Hazel," he said as he rubbed his eyes. "What is this all about?"
Swallowing hard, she replied, "I had a dream."
"Alright, and now, in this dream of yours... what happened?" Merlin probed, his voice filled with anticipation mixed with a yawn. Hazel looked down at her feet, wondering if she should tell him what happened, or what really happened.
"It was only a dream."
Merlin, the reflection of the candlelight flickering in his eyes, sensed Hazel's agitation.
"I heard you screaming and sobbing all night, so much so that you wanted help and now you are going to tell me it is just a mere dream?" he stated. "Now, just spit it out."
Hazel raised her gaze, and the flickering candlelight revealed the irritation in her yellowish-green eyes. She thought to herself, 'Alright then, old man. I'll tell you what you want to hear, but that doesn't necessarily mean it's the truth.'
"Well," she started, her voice cautious. "When it... when it started... well, you see... I couldn't really make out what was going on exactly. It was kind of a blur."
Merlin pressed on, his curiosity piqued. "What was the dream about?"
"It was... it was about my... their execution," she confessed.
Her words triggered Merlin's curiosity further.
"Your brothers?" he finished.
"Yes. It wasn't even much of a dream. It was just a... a-a-a-a flashback. I have no idea how it popped into my head," Hazel replied, attempting to conceal the haunting memory of Mim. "Well, just for the sake of setting... the execution... that excuse of a day...no it wasn't a day..it was night. Yes. It was the night of July twelfth...no...no it wast the thirteenth. Or was it the..." her voice trailed off into silence.
"I believe it was indeed the twelfth." Merlin said, his tone gentle.
Hazel sighed, a mixture of weariness and vulnerability in her voice.
"Nine years ago, when I was about... five... Onyx and my other brothers...Timothy, Massimo, Alexander, and I had a little fight. And eventually... that fight got bigger and bigger and bigger until it just spiraled into an all-out emotional war."
Curiosity burning in his eyes, Merlin probed further.
"What was the fight about?"
"Our parents," Hazel responded, her voice tinged with sadness. "If you know the history of my family, you'll know what happened."
"That I do," Merlin acknowledged.
"Well," Hazel continued, her gaze fixated on the moon as she crossed her arms. "You could say I had a... rather strange way of grieving back then. Still do. And I would do whatever I could to find somebody to blame for such feelings. And that somebody was Onyx." Her fiery red locks swirled around her face and the flame of the candle reflected in her honey yellow eyes. "I yelled and I kicked and I screamed at him. I did whatever I could to free myself from the lingering thoughts of my parents. And then the hate spread to Timothy, then Massimo, and eventually even Alex. After six months of our fighting, I had finally had enough. I decided I was gonna run away. And I did. Eventually, I made it to England. And, well, I think you know what happened to Onyx and Timothy and the others." The room was silent.
"And then!?" Merlin prodded eagerly. Hazel turned away from the moon, confusion evident in her expression.
"And then what?" she asked, completely oblivious. "Did I leave something out?"
"Oh, you sure did," Merlin replied, reading Hazel like an open book. "Look, girl, you're not as easy to please as Arthur, anybody will tell you that. But you came here and interrupted my well-deserved sleep, and I know it isn't just to restate your history." Hazel slumped back in her chair, defeated.
"Alright. What do you want to know? Ask me, and I'll tell you," she said.
"Now that's more like it. First things first, would you care to tell me how you ended up in the care of the Madam Mim?" Hazel fell back further in her chair, exasperated.
"You too!?" she exclaimed.
"Shhhh!" Merlin hissed, trying to maintain the silence. "We don't want to wake anybody."
"Sorry," Hazel muttered, though her apology lacked sincerity. "I'm not even gonna ask how you know, but why do you need to know?"
"That is how we figure out where this dream is coming from. That is why you are here."
"Hey, it's the Dark Ages, anything's possible," Hazel quipped, trying to inject some levity into the conversation.
Merlin's warning tone cut through her attempt at humor.
"Hazel," he said, signaling her to get to the point.
"Oh, alright," she huffed. "It isn't really any of your business, but... A couple of months after I left home sweet home, I ended up here in England. I couldn't speak English or read or write, so nobody would understand me. But then... one day... I discovered this strange cottage in the forest, and the witch along with it. So... she gave me everything I wanted through her magic. Everything. I could read, write, and speak English, and she even let me live there," Merlin raised an eyebrow, intrigued. "Well... more or less. But it all came at a cost. I promised her that every night, I would go out in the body of a squirrel, sneak into people's houses, and bring her back useful things for witchcraft. And one day... I stumbled upon Arthur, and then you. And after you both left, and after my little existential crisis, I followed you. And boy, the things I saw." Hazel couldn't help but snicker at the memories, much to Merlin's confusion. "I saw Arthur fly into Mim's cabin and nearly get eaten by her. I saw you fight her (and, may I say, she must have thrown an average of seventeen daggers at me while she was sick and bitter). And then I saw Arthur pull the sword."
"You were there for all of that?" Merlin asked, astounded.
"I'm always there, Merlin. But every person I'm always there with just turns against me. Like my parents, my brothers, and Mim. Now you might as well go back to sleep while I sit here and pout." The room fell silent, and Merlin rubbed his forehead, deep in thought, before speaking again.
"Arthur won't," he said quietly. Hazel raised her head, seeking clarification.
"What?"
"Hazel, you are no blessing to live with. Alright, I'll just say it - boy I've been waiting a while to do this- but you're a rude, bossy, ungrateful, cunning, overly flirtatious, insensitive little brat!" Hazel scoffed.
"Gee, don't hold back Merlin." she uttered.
"Now never mind that. But anyways, underneath all that you have a heart of gold still and I know you wouldn't ever let anything bad happen to anybody you truly care about. And that little boy is purer than the cleanest fresh spring in the world, and he wouldn't leave you if you begged him."
"Alright, maybe he won't,but I'll end up leaving him someday."
"What are you talking about?" Merlin asked, puzzled.
"My past wasn't the only thing the dream showed me," Hazel said, her voice trembling with emotion. Her eyes started to grow wet and shiny. "I saw the future, Merlin. Mine and Arthur's future! I know we're going to be married someday, if I'm not arrested for being found out by then. And I know I'm going to betray him, and I know he's going to kill me!" Hazel couldn't contain her grief any longer and broke down into uncontrollable sobs, hiding her face in her hands and drenching them with her tears. "Oh, why did you have to bring me here? I think my heartbreak as a squirrel was enough for me!" Her cries filled the room, echoing off the walls. Merlin watched the sobbing girl in silence, his heart heavy with empathy..but also the harsh backlash of reality.
"Everything will be alright, Hazel," he finally said, his voice gentle and soothing.
"Will it!?" she exclaimed after a heavy gasp. "Because unlike the other vision, this one seems pretty realistic to me!" She continued to cry for about ten minutes before looking up at him again, her eyes red and puffy. "Merlin." she asked in a numb, emotionless voice.
"Why, yes?" he replied, his voice filled with concern.
"I... I've got something to ask, and I need a straight answer right away..."
"What is it?"
"Am I going to leave him for Lancelot? Am I going to be dead in the next twenty years?"
"I truly don't know, girl," Merlin admitted, his voice tinged with regret.
"What do you mean you 'don't know'!?" Hazel exclaimed, her frustration evident. "I thought you could see the future!"
"Evidently, you can too," he replied, noting her own visions.
"Merlin, you're right. I'm rude, I'm bossy, I'm everything you said! Alright!? I get it, I'm stupid. And that's why I don't trust myself to be fully sure."
"Well, if you don't believe yourself, how can you believe me?" Merlin's words held a hint of wisdom. Hazel grew even more frustrated and sobbed even harder, her emotions overwhelming her.
"Please... just... don't let me hurt him." she pleaded, her voice choked with tears.
"If you want the truth, child, I will give it to you," Merlin said with sincerity. "Yes, in future legends, Guinevere does leave Arthur for Lancelot." Hazel's cry intensified, her tears flowing like a torrent. "But there is no mention of Hazel doing such a thing."
"Huh?" she asked, her tear-streaked face looking up at him, hope flickering in her eyes.
"Hazel, the world is full of trouble and heartbreak, and I don't think I have to tell you that twice. It's a part of life that you can't escape. But that is all it is: a part. Whether you kiss Lancelot is up to you. But after this incident, I'd say it is highly unlikely. But like you said, Hazel, anything is possible."
Their conversation, which Hazel viewed as completely pointless had come to a close and Hazel left. She thanked Merlin, though she didn't really mean it and walked out the door to try and started to head towards her room and force herself to sleep. But as she ventured through the dark eerie hallway she swore she heard none other than Mim's deranged voice leave her with one unsettling message.
"Get ready Hazel. The fun is about to begin."
To Be Continued...
