I might not post anything next week. Big test coming up…
"What you told me about your dream… is it possible it was false?"
"Not all visions come true, King Arthur. Something has changed the path destiny had carved out. I have no way of knowing what it was that led Morgause to attack and kill your father." Adelina replied, swallowing nervously as her mouth went dry. "I can try and find out, but I don't think it will do much."
"No, leave it. Hopefully what your dream showed you of my sister- I mean ,Morgana was false."
"I'm sorry." Adelina told him, bowing her head and trying to hide the tears at Morgause's cruelty.
"I offer you my condolences, King Arthur. I detested your father, but I do not wish this pain on you." Balinor said, standing up and offering the younger King his arm in solidarity.
"I brought you all without even asking what you wanted. You are free to leave if you so choose."
"I'll stay, Arthur. I will be your servant till the day I die." Merlin said immediately, not waiting for the other two to answer.
"That's going to be a problem, Merlin. Especially since soon you will have one of your own."
"What?!"
"When this is over and we retake our Kingdom, I am making you the Court Sorcerer. My advisor on everything that has to do with magic. There is no one I trust more." Arthur told him, looking out at the congregation of Knights stoically.
"Arthur, are you sure? There's people with far more experience than I. Even Adelina knows more about it than I do and she's five years younger than me."
"Four." she mumbled, though no one heard her.
"You have been behind me every day since we met. Protecting me. Seeking nothing in return and washing my dirty socks to boot. You deserve this, Merlin. You deserve much more than this. I am making you Court Sorcerer. There will be no more discussion." Arthur told him with finality, looking him square in the eyes.
"I am not getting a servant; I can dress myself thank you very much." Merlin said after a heartbeat, emotion causing him to reply in the easy banter he'd had with his friend the past few years.
"Merlin?"
"Sire?"
"Shut up!" Arthur said, shaking his head in astonishment at how humble the man was. Really, he should accept the gratitude without the attitude.
"What was that?" Adelina asked, looking around as the hairs on the back of her neck stood on end, her magic at the ready as the bushes behind them rustled and two men emerged, smiles wide as they spotted the almost former manservant.
"Merlin!" Lancelot greeted with a wide smile, arms open to pull him into a brotherly hug.
"Lancelot! What are you doing here?" Merlin asked with a disbelieving chuckle.
"We heard about the dragon, we've been traveling south from Northumbria to offer our help." Lancelot explained, grasping Arthur's forearm and pulling him in for a hug.
"I'm afraid you're too late. He's gone." Merlin told them, looking at his friend's companion and holding his hand out.
"This is Percival. We met some time ago while traveling. He's a good fighter. I figured you must need all the help you can get." Lancelot introduced, speaking now to Arthur.
"I welcome your sword, Percival."
"Thank you, Your Majesty." he replied, grasping arms with him and smiling.
"Arthur."
"Arthur it is." he said, his smile wide as he and Lancelot went to speak with the rest of the knights.
"I just remembered something, Arthur." Merlin said, standing beside him and speaking quietly. "Lancelot knows about my magic. He figured it out when he killed the Griffin."
"You mean you killed the Griffin." Arthur corrected, rolling his eyes as he discovered yet another time Merlin saved them all.
"No, it was his aim that was true, I just supplied the magic." Merlin denied, shaking his head and patting him on the shoulder, walking to where the knights were all gathered and laughing as he joined their conversion.
"Problems, King Arthur?" Balinor asked with a knowing smile, recognizing the insubordination in his son as something he'd clearly inherited from himself.
"Your son is a headache, Balinor." he growled under his breath, crossing his arms over his chest and watching as everyone sat around the fire and spoke in quiet tones.
"You should rest. Your journey's been long."
"And it'll be longer still. I'll rest when we're safely in King Rodor's palace." Arthur told him, accepting the food that his men were distributing and eating in silence.
"Adelina! Come, join us." Merlin called as he saw her walk towards one of the horses with outstretched hands to care for them.
"Merlin?" she asked, blushing slightly as she approached the men eating around the fire, all much older than she was. And all extremely handsome, more handsome than she could have ever imagined.
"We were just hearing some of Lancelot and Percival's tales. Join us!" he invited, his smile wide and a strong feeling of butterflies rising in her stomach unlike any she'd ever felt before.
"Okay." she said softly, sitting in the open space next to Merlin, ignoring how hot she was becoming from being so close to him, only half hearing their tales.
"What about you?" Percival asked in a soft voice that certainly didn't match his huge body when his story ended.
"I'm afraid my stories won't be nearly as exciting as yours. I've lived a very sheltered life." she admitted softly.
"It can't be too boring; you've trained under two High Priestesses." Lancelot prompted, smiling reassuringly at her.
"Well, I did ride a unicorn once." she stated timidly, suddenly remembering that quest. "And Nimueh told me the story of her quest to the Labyrinth." she added quietly as her mind filled with those images.
"The Labyrinth?" Leon asked, looking curiously at her.
"The Labyrinth of Gedref. All young prospects go there, undertake a quest before they can begin studying. If they fail, their journey ends and they cannot train." she answered, her eyes going unfocused as she lost herself. "Once we have a basic control of our magic, we are taken to the Labyrinth of Gedref. Left at the entrance to the maze to venture into it, relying on understanding its magic, and our own, enough to pass whatever trials are put before us. Nimueh had hers when she was seven, she was left there on a hot summer morning, Alice, her tutor, the Bendrui priestess in charge of the uninduced young girls back then, gave her something to drink, and told her the moment she crossed the threshold, she would need to see the trial to completion. If she didn't she would fail and have to leave the Isle. So Nimueh walked in without a moment's hesitation." Adelina began, her magic out of her conscious control as the flames before her morphed into a young girl stepping into the Labyrinth. "She faced all sorts of creatures there. Her first was a man, a crown adorning his head as he stood in her way, preventing her from advancing. She couldn't use her magic in front of him, the man warned her, any use of it, even if for something so simple as to light a candle, and she would be run through by his sword. But it wasn't as simple as just walking away. No, she had tried to leave, tried to take another way, or run past him. But every time, he met her there. Every time he stood in her way. So, she thought, perhaps asking would do. But no, he just laughed at her." she continued, her soft voice carrying through the clearing as everyone had gathered around to watch by now, the flames showing what she was narrating with a King that looked suspiciously like Uther. "So, she decided it was time to be more subtle. She spoke to him, she befriended him, she made sure she was safe, and asked him to escort her to her destination. And he agreed, but then they came across another challenge. A great beast with a lion's body and eagle's wings and a serpent's tail. And the head and breasts of a woman." At this the flames took on the appearance of the Greek Sphinx blocking the path of two people. "The girl greeted the Sphinx, in hopes that she could convince it to let them through, but when the Sphinx opened its mouth, her escort's face twisted in rage, and he slashed furiously with his sword. Until he fell on the floor in exhaustion and was left alone. Ignored by them while the Sphinx posed her riddle: 'I create my lair with earthen string, and dispatch my prey with a biting sting'."
"Spider." Arthur answered from where he sat, close enough to see everything going on, the spiders he'd escaped in Balor flashing to the front of his mind.
"Yes, spider. And the sphinx stepped aside. But before Nimueh crossed its path and left them behind, the Sphinx spoke. 'You are at a crossroads. On one side destiny's interference is heavy. On the other, there is nothing but happiness. Both sides are fraught with danger. Both sides have long paths. The choice is yours. Accept the Goddess's plan for you, relinquish your will to her. Or choose your own path, make your own decisions and accept all the consequences of what you choose. But beware, the choice once made is difficult to change. You cannot turn back, you can only go forward. Choose carefully.' And with that the sphinx faded into nothing. As did the man she had kept as a companion."
"What'd she choose?" Galahad asked, sitting directly across from her in the circle, everyone around him as entranced by the spectacle as he was. No one had, after all, seen magic used so openly in their lifetime, even if it first they all reached for their weapons and halted at the look their commander shot them.
"She chose to relinquish her fate and her decisions to the Triple Goddess." Arthur responded, instinctively knowing that was the answer.
"Yes, King Arthur. Her path was marked for her. She only had to walk it and survive. She fought dragons, griffins, tyrants, and at the end, found herself before a cave. Deep within the Labyrinth, where the hedges grew so high you couldn't see the top, she found herself. It was as if the hedges' magic converged together to block out the sun. So, forward she walked, deeper into the cave than she found comfortable, deeper than the light could permeate. As such, she conjured up her own little light source, floating high above her head, a blue ball that emanated a soft light on her immediate surroundings, giving the earth the appearance of being covered in seafoam. And before her, with no help from her little blue ball of light, perched a brilliant, golden chalice that glowed brightly in the darkness. With this spotlight, she let go of her magic, let the blue ball go out and walked forward. But before she could reach it, she heard the sound of pincers. Thousands of them growing louder and angrier behind her. And with a nervous breath she turned around and faced them. Balorian Spiders. But the truly fearful one was right above her, protecting the Cup. A spider so ancient he was the size of the great stones the druids had taken to their sacred clearing. And he spoke, spoke without moving his pincers. Spoke directly into her mind. 'Who dares disturb me? Who dares interrupt my rest?' But before Nimueh could say anything to that, the spider ran at her, and she dodged nimbly. Avoiding running into the wall of spiders that surrounded her as she did so. For so very long the spider charged at her and she moved out of the way, keeping her magic to herself, building it up and when she found the ancient creature's movements slowing, she struck. Nimueh sent a great big fireball right at it, engulfing it and leaving the other spiders fleeing for their lives. For never had they seen their progenitor defeated. And so, she walked around the charred carcass and took her treasure. The Cup of Life." she finished, the great spider still up in flames as the young Nimueh stalked away, a triumphant smile on her face as she saw where she stood upon leaving the cave lingering in the campfire.
"Nimueh did that when she was six?" Merlin asked, eyes wide in wonder as he considered how he had been able to just defeat her without any training.
"No, I made up the cooler parts when I was younger. Nimueh laughed at me, said I was foolish if I truly believed that a seven year old girl had the power to kill a creature as ancient as that spider." Adelina shrugged, smiling fondly at the memory of when she first told her mentor her version. "I just stuck my tongue out at her, and received quite the verbal lashing for it." she giggled softly.
"What did she really do?" Merlin asked her softly, catching her gaze and holding it with the reverence in his eyes.
"She kept the light on, made it bigger and just walked up and took the Cup. But that's not cool. I like my ending better."
"What was your quest?" Merlin wondered, taking her hand and forgetting the other Knights listening in.
"The unicorn I rode. Nimueh took me there. Just under ten years ago, when I was five. Of course, this was before Nimueh told me about her quest so I wasn't as afraid as I should have been. Thankfully, mine wasn't as wrought with adventure and danger as hers was. I just walked for hours, there was no one, nothing. Then I came across a fork in the road, one looked a little too easy for my taste. Bright, straight path, clear as far as the eye could see, with glistening lakes and flowers blowing in the breeze. But I've always been told appearances deceive, the eye is easy to enchant and mislead. Sometimes, that which seems easier or safer is truly treacherous. The other path was dark and winding, what parts I could see. So I trusted my instincts, followed the harder path, with all its twists and turns. But for all of that treacherous terrain, there was no foe. Then I saw it. The most magnificent creature you could imagine. A mane so golden the afternoon sun reflected off of it and blinded you, skin as white as the cleanest snow you could imagine, strong legs, muscular flank, powerful just standing there. But what really draws you in with a unicorn isn't its beauty. It's the peace and innocence the being emits." Adelina said, her smile soft as she felt it as if the unicorn stood right in front of her and conjured up the image in the flames, but the image was nowhere near the true beauty. "An innocence maintained, even though the unicorn was as old as time itself. Even though it'd seen countless wars and the endless human struggle with good and evil. And as I took a step closer, I saw it fall onto its flank. I felt the pain searing through me as if I was the one injured. And I couldn't let it suffer like that, writhing on the ground in front of me. So I went to it, and I healed it with all my strength, gave it my own health so it could live. He let me ride him, the rest of the way. I didn't do much fighting. All I saw was destruction in the Labyrinth. Everywhere I looked I saw burning villages, corpses littered the ground. But the unicorn never left me. Nor did my hope. I was nearing the end of the Labyrinth when I felt it. The Fated Golden Age approaching. Peace and happiness surrounded me, all that death and destruction a thing of the past. Nothing more than a memory that stained the journey. And as I was fading, I saw the unicorn bow and it gave me one of its hairs in gratitude. I carry it with me to this day." she said, holding out her wrist where she'd tied the coarse hair and spelled it to remain. "To remind me that even though you see such monstrosities happen, you can keep your soul pure. Hope never leaves, it never dies." she finished, her voice ringing through the clearing as she said the last words, her eyes fixed on the man she sat beside who looked at her with such a dopey expression, one she couldn't begin to fathom.