chapter two: finding solid ground
The portal seemed to work like a door, as Arthur stepped through, the world he had unwillingly left behind blurred back into focus.
Arthur didn't really know what he had expected when stepping through the portal; maybe to awaken back in his friends care, or to be submerged within the water of the lake his servant had been trying so hard to get him to. At the very least he expected to wake up in his body, likely in an immense amount of pain. However non of these happened. Instead, Arthur emerged from the light to find himself floating 3 feet above water and yet no clear explanation as to how or why. Although he was very confused Arthur knew two things: One he feels very odd, his body felt as though it was no longer connected to the world surrounding him and his head felt disoriented and confused. The second thing he knew was that he needed to find Merlin.
Just like when he was in the darkness, as Arthur tried to walk he found himself gliding softly through the air, his feet never quite touching solid ground -he just floated.
It took a little bit of time to adjust to this type of moving, it's like learning to walk all over again, but this time he's learning to fly, well… float.
Once he'd gotten a hang of moving, finding Merlin was fairly easy. Although if he didn't know the man in front of him so well, it may have been hard for someone to recognise him, considering he was sat at the edge of the lake, hugging his legs and crying into his knees. The sight of his friend alone, small and very clearly distraught, broke Arthurs heart. Was Merlin not the one who brought him back? Or did he just not think whatever spell he used worked? Either way Arthur just wanted to comfort his friend, show him he's here, that he's ok.
As he reached down to comfort his friend, Arthur suddenly jumped back as the boulder Merlin was leaning against moved - just a little, but it was enough to catch his attention. He reached for his non existent sword and bit down an annoyed grumble at the realisation that it wasn't there. Instead he opted for quietly investigating the suspicious boulder in hopes not to wake it until he could determine what it was and how much of a danger it posed to Merlin.
Upon further investigation of the "boulder" Arthur concluded that it was in fact, not a boulder- but instead a curled up breathing dragon. And not just any dragon- no- this one was the one that Merlin had very clearly stated Arthur had "dealt a mortal blow" to.
Although every part of him screamed to pull Merlin away from the creature, to believe that in Merlin's grieving state he hadn't noticed the giant dragon sitting next to him. But as he looked closer he knew that wasn't true, the dragon was perfectly curled around Merlin providing comfort, security and protection.
Focusing back in on his friend, Arthur remembered that there was still so much he didn't know about Merlin, about what he's really been going through and about magic itself. So many things Merlin hasn't yet had the chance to tell him, and as far as his friends aware, he never will.
As gently as possible Arthur reached down to comfort his friend, only to find his hand falls right through him.
NotesI hope you're enjoying the story so far, I plan to write another chapter tonight if I have enough time.
Any feedback would be really appreciated -thank you :)