The others knew something was wrong almost as soon as they'd returned. They tried to get information from them, but the whole troop of them who came back from the encounter with Nimueh said next to nothing else that day.
David knew in his heart something was deeply wrong. He would need to get to the bottom of it. For that, he would need his daughter Emma to open up to him and allow him to be her Dad, and not just co-sheriff.
David decided early on that to reach Emma's heart on the frozen matter or "The Big Secret" as Snow called it, he'd need to get Arthur to open up first. For in Arthur, he saw his daughter reflected in a man. He smiled at it often. They had many of the same slightly peeved smiles when Merlin or Henry would be silly or nerd out about a fun fact from the Book.
Merlin and Henry were becoming fast friends. Slowly, but surely, Arthur and Merlin became regulars of the town. It felt gradually and then all at once that they had always been among them. Facing giants looming from the tree line with them. Slaying the dragons of the dark, the shadows and imaginations that many fearful townsfolk had of demons reemerging.
David began to hope that it was all over. That the demons would not reappear. Still, he knew nothing of Nimueh and her looming threat, for none of those who had been there to hear it spoke of it. If ever the day of the attack was mentioned, these grew quiet, silent and soft as shadows, and drew the subject to gentler matters.
One day would disrupt all the quiet that had fallen in the wake of newcomers.
On a day when Henry was studying medicine plants with Merlin in the forest, and Arthur was out patrolling with David and Emma, something happened.
"I feel like I've been walking in circles for five hours...Did anybody notice anything...I don't know...worth looking at?" Emma folded her gloves and studied David. David smiled.
"I passed some of those blue flowers your mother loves...Other than that, nothing of import...You, Arthur?" David turned to their silent companion. Today, Arthur had a mild uneasiness even he didn't seem to understand.
"No, not just as yet..."he rubbed his arms. His head tilted to the side, as if contemplating.
"Except that...there is a part of this wood that seems unusually bright...I will return there..."He began to walk off into the distance as if he was walking in a dream.
"Okay? Uh...let's go follow him toward the bright light?" Emma shrugged and she and David followed in his footsteps.
Arthur walked ahead, slowing down, step after step. He came to a standstill in a beam of the sun that was white and hot like a spotlight.
"What is it? You seem...anxious or something?" Emma asked, puffing as she climbed over fallen trees behind him.
Arthur scanned the treeline.
"It's just a feeling...like...someone is here with us..." Arthur scanned the trees. David put his hand on his sword and Emma looked up.
"But not someone foul or unfamiliar..."Arthur corrected them. They paused, looking at him in wonder.
There was a shiver of leaves in the distance then. Arthur became anxious and he ran ahead. They chased after him.
There was a sniffling noise, and then, all of a sudden, a woman slipped and let out a little "Oh-oh!" cry of fear. Arthur ran to her just as she slipped down a hill, having been struggling over a wet log and falling at last.
She fell into his arms. Arthur stood staring at her in awe. How he had felt her presence when the others hadn't heard a thing, no one there knew.
She was blonde, and small, and had bright blue eyes. A lot like Arthur's eyes, David realized. In many ways, the woman, or girl really, was a lot like Emma. She was wearing a baggy white dress that looked more like a robe and her hair was wild and loose.
"You...caught me! I was sure I was lost when I fell from up there..."The girl looked up.
Arthur was transfixed. For a moment, he couldn't talk.
"What were you doing up there...?"Emma asked after a moment.
The girl was nervous then. She coughed.
"I..I'm not sure...I woke from a deep dream there. As if I was transported there by someone of a dark will...oh, and I am quite frightened and cold by the thought of who it might have been..." She locked eyes with David.
David had a strange feeling come over him that he knew this woman.
"What's your name?" he asked.
"Oh...well...I'm not sure. I-I have no memory of before..."She looked at Arthur then, and her eyes went wide.
"Do...Do I know you, young lord?" She tilted her head.
"You are familiar, yes. But I'm not sure how..."Arthur said at length. Then, suddenly, he was earnest. Almost protective. He pulled the jacket he was wearing off and slipped it over her shoulders.
"We'll lead you back to the village. The people here are good. We have food and clothes you can have to replace your ruined gown. Come, let me help you..."Arthur took her hand and led her down from the place where she fell.
David and Emma were left behind for a second.
"Do you feel something a little bit off here?" Emma asked David, drawing close.
David studied her. This could be an opportunity to start her talking to him, get her to open up about whatever they'd been hiding.
"Yeah...They definitely know each other. The question is...why don't they remember?"David took Emma's arm.