Merlin's eyes followed the girl with suspicion. He set himself recoiled against the damp night air.
She swallowed. "People called it a sign of," she shrugged, "destiny."
Merlin's eyes narrowed at her little snort. "Stupid," she retorted. "Or maybe dangerous. It's too easy to manipulate people with false signs in a society of magic."
He shrugged. "You don't believe in destiny?" he asked, ignoring the implication of her statements. –Kilgarrah was in this kingdom, and he was possibly still alive. His heart beat a little harder.
"—I don't believe it's a wise concept to live by," she clarified. "You don't seem like you're from Camelot," she intoned, her voice upturned.
"What's that supposed to mean?" said Merlin.
She huffed. "You haven't called me a witch," she said. Her gaze was so analytical. It was like Mordred's. He hated it.
Merlin pursed his lips. "Witch," he declared darkly. He turned his face away.
'Hmm," she said with a shuffle. "I suppose I'd best keep you from freezing to death. Come here, please, on your own power."
The words 'on your power' caught his attention. In some spells, the caster deliberately gave the aspect of control up to prevent dark intentions, but it was a sign. She intended to perform magic, and he wouldn't allow it.
She reached her hand out to him, then huffed. "It won't hurt you." She chewed her lip and looked away. "Suit yourself."
"We're just going to stay here in the night?" he said. She had pulled her cloak around beneath her and curled into it.
Merlin shifted. "Your knights are out there with the dragon running freely; won't they get hurt?"
She scoffed. "The knights aren't afraid of that dragon. While you were out like a dead sheep, he discovered they're carrying enough deer meat to feed him for days."
"So, you brought him food," he said.
She made a sound like a trill. "A good motivator for the starving."
"I tried with the dragon," said Merlin, feeling sharply accused. A cold drop of guilt fell into his stomach. Merlin wiped uselessly at the wet dirt on his trousers. His hands became numb. "H-how cold will it get?"
Her enchanted glow went out. He jumped and looked around. Even the mouth of the tree looked like a dangerous void. It towered like a reaching claw into the cool sky. He squinted, trying to make out the shape of the great tree, but couldn't hear if something had come near him.
He sucked air sharply. His body ached and stung with the wet cold. He shivered and wrapped his arms around him. He stood and moved closer. "Wen?" he chattered.
Her glow came alive again. He blinked at its brightness. "You, ah, have the dragon. You have your food. You don't need me now, do you?"
The orange flame of her eyes doubled the glow of her orb of magic. He jumped.
She pinned him.
He lept, his muscles straining as he grasped for something to hold onto.
"Is there somewhere you intend to go? Or was I under the wrong impression about you being ousted from your precious, magic-hunting kingdom?"
Merlin clawed forward. "How would you know?' he grunted.
She sucked her teeth and pressed his shoulder into the dirt. "I saw too many supplies in your bag, dear man."
"I'd like some of them now," he complained. She was very strong. His breath came hard. Had she gone through his things? He felt a touch low on his back, and a comforting warmth followed.
"W-wait! I…" Merlin pushed forward, but she only twisted. He blinked; she sat up and ran that magic light over his back. He shivered deeply. The heat was sudden and full and consuming. Merlin groaned.
"I won't touch you untowardly," she said, sounding patient.
His hard breath became a sob.
She looked him over. "What happened to you?" she asked quietly.
The jewelry in her hair clinked as she lowered her face and whispered a few old-world magic charms. Merlin felt warmer. His clothes dried, and his fingers curled. She asked if she could cover him and unpinned her cloak.
He let her curl beside him, just for rational purposes. She didn't reach, as promised.
When he woke, the earthy smells of the forest had come alive. The light was a haze and barely mottled through the tops of the trees. Light swayed cheerfully at the nearby stream.
He sat up suddenly and clutched the empty earth beside him. She'd gone. He'd never find his way out of this realm if she'd gone.
It was true; she didn't need him if she had the dragon.
"WEN?" he called.
A branch cracked. "It's all right," she reassured. "I'm here."
He shivered. Then he pointed. "You have something; what is that?"
She gave a gawky smile. He tipped his head in interest.
"Fish," she announced. "I've caught us breakfast." She'd rolled up her sleeves and pulled her hair up loosely. It hung about her face. Her ornamentations sparkled in the new sun. She looked royal. She also looked like a street cat. "There's no fire to cook it with," he challenged, dutifully annoying.
"That's what magic is for, Merlin," she smirked. She assembled some small stones and a slab of rock. The surface looked cut from a nearby cliff face. She set it and produced a knife from her sock.
Merlin sighed and took the knife. He swiftly cut the head off a still-moving fish and cleaned it. She squeezed her hand over the slab, opened a vial from her belt pouch, and spread oil on the surface. It sizzled; already hot.
He eyed this skill. "I thought you said you didn't have strong magic?"
She paused. "Cooking fish is a little different from wielding magic in battle."
"You'll learn," he said apathetically.
"I'd rather not," said Wen.
He shoveled a piece of fish directly from the heat into his mouth. "You will, though. It is a matter of survival."
She frowned at this. He knew she understood him to be right, but Merlin heard his words and found them uncomfortably callous.
"You've been through something," she said pointedly.
He looked up from the food. "It's still true."
She blinked and raised her eyebrows. He ate the remaining pieces, and she tied her boots, striking a low, steady whistle with her mouth. Her knights emerged from the near brush. Merlin stood and unceremoniously dropped the remains of their meal into the stream.
Raul pulled Merlin onto his horse. "How did it go?" Raul asked the princess warily.
She clicked her tongue on her teeth. "He needs to meet Tieve."
Merlin didn't know who this was, of course. He half-thought it was someone to torture him for threatening her, but a shock to him, she wasn't concerned that he could have hurt her.
Merlin frowned. It came to him. They still thought he had no magic. To them, the power balance was the other way around.