Lily turned around when she heard a new voice. Behind her stood an elderly man with a white beard, blue robes and a blue pointy hat. He was beaming at Lily from behind a desk on the other side of the room.

"Are... Are you Merlin?" Lily asked, shifting on her feet nervously.

"Of course I am, who else would I be?" the man asked with a cheerful chuckle. "I knew someone would come to find me very soon. You need help with your magic, don't you? Or at least that is what I've seen."

Lily nodded, surprised that he really did know she was coming. When the fairies said that he probably already knew, she thought they would have notified him. But he really could see into the future.

"Yes," Lily said with a short nod. "I'm Lily... Flora, Fauna and Meryweather sent me to you. They said you could help me."

"Oh yes, of course I can," Merlin answered, coming from behind his desk and walking up to Lily and Flynn. "But I was expecting only one person today..."

His eyes shifted to Flynn who cleared his throat awkwardly.

"Well, she's the one you've been waiting for, I am just along for the ride," he said with a light shrug.

"Flynn is just with me," Lily nodded.

"I see," Merlin said, turning back to Lily again the moment the matter was cleared up. "Now tell me, how much did you practice your magic?"

Lily looked at him surprised.

"Practice... Well, I don't know how to practice," she honestly said. "My magic just acts up with my emotions. I don't know how to control it."

"But didn't the fairies give you a book?" Merlin questioned.

Lily thought for a moment, then remembering the large tome with basic magic that they had given her before she left. Together with an orb she could use if she needed their help... But the orb had disappeared when she touched it.

"Oh..." she softly said. "I uh... I haven't had the chance to use that yet. I've been searching for you."

Merlin crossed his arms.

"You can't expect me to help you without putting any effort into it yourself," he scolded. "I cannot just teach you everything whenever you ask for it, Young Lady."

Lily bit her lip, looking down as he scolded her. She couldn't blame him... But everything happened so fast and there was so much that happened, she had completely forgotten about her basic spell book.

"I don't expect you to teach me everything," she told him softly. "I just wanted too..."

Merlin waved his hand, and her bag started shaking. She let out a gasp as the flap of her bag flew open and he book was pulled out. She instantly reached for it, but it was too fast, flying out of her reach and through a door that quickly closed.

"Hey!" she exclaimed, looking at Merlin, who gave her a satisfied look. "What was that for? I wanted to use it..."

"Well, then go get it, I'd say," Merlin said, making a gesture towards the door that the book had flown through. "If you really want it, you should be able to get it back. Then I will see about helping you gain control."

"But..."

Lily started sputtering, but there was a poof, and suddenly Merlin disappeared into thin air. Lily stared at the place he had just been.

"That's not fair..." she muttered softly. "I went looking for him right after I received the book, how would I have been able to practice?"

"Well, not everything can be done for you, Sparky," Flynn answered lightly amused and he had a teasing smile on his face. "Sometimes you need to work for what you want."

Lily snapped her head to him, giving him a glare. His constant teasing was getting under her skin, weather he did that intentionally or not.

"You think I'm used to having everything done for me?" she asked him annoyed. "I'm not some princess or rich girl. I've learned to take care of myself and you don't know anything about me. Try being..."

She stopped in her tracks, almost having blurted out her past and what happened to her. It wasn't necessarily a secret, but it was not something she could just trust anyone with. And couldn't say she really trusted Flynn.

"Try what?" Flynn asked, raising his eyebrow.

Lily let out a frustrated grunt, throwing her hands up.

"Never mind," she told him. "I'm going to find my book and get it back. You can do whatever... It's not like you're supposed to be here anyway."

"Except for the fact that you still need to hold up your end of the bargain..." Flynn argued, starting to lean against the wall to tell her he was not going anywhere.

Lily rolled her eyes. He was still keeping her to that? Of course that was the only reason that he'd be staying with her. That very small moment in the bookstore above had disappeared again. She thought she was getting to know more about him, but he had instantly pulled back when she asked him about it.

She made her way towards the door determined to find what she was looking for. How hard could it be anyway? She just needed to find the book and get back to Merlin.

She tried the door which, to her surprise, was not even locked. He was making it a lot more easier than she thought... Sadly the moment she walked into the room she knew she shouldn't have second guessed the wizard. The room was large, and the walls were higher than she had ever seen. The whole place was surrounded by bookcases, and just like in the main room books were flying around. But they seemed to be very large. She looked around, trying to find her book amidst the chaos. But they were all going so fast, she could not even see the titles of the books flying past her.

"How am I supposed to find it?!" she shouted frustrated, wondering if Merlin was watching her right now.

He disappeared into nothing, but he had known she was coming. He knew the fairies gave her that book. She could only assume he was still watching her even though he disappeared into thin air. But of course, weather he was watching or not, there was no answer. Her frustrated voice echoed through the room and she was completely alone.

"See what I mean, Lily?" Layla said with a soft sigh, sounding sad and disappointed. "You can never trust anyone in this world... He is just playing with you. Merlin clearly doesn't want to help you, and Flynn only wants to use you. The only way to get something done is to do it yourself."

Lily clenched her fists as Layla's voice echoed through her mind. She thought that she could finally get the help she needed, but Merlin didn't give her a chance before he took away her book. Her one thing to be able to learn her magic better... What kind of a lesson was that even?

"I don't know what to do..." she sighed, looking through the room and still trying to find her book. "I can't do this on my own..."

"But you're not alone, Lily," Layla softly said, sounding like an older sister, or a friend she had had for years. "I am with you... Maybe not physically, but I can help you if you let me. You don't need their help. Your magic is powerful. More powerful than anyone would believe and if you manage to develop it, I could imagine you getting more powerful than Merlin."

Lily shook her head slowly, letting out a soft sigh.

"I don't want to be powerful... I just want to understand my powers, and I want to help you. I don't need power."

"I know you don't understand... But power isn't a bad thing. Not always. You can either let people manipulate you and keep you sheltered, or you can go against them and show them what you are made of. THAT is power."

Lily remained silent this time, not knowing what to say. Layla wanted to help her... But she could also see the bad things she was trying to make her do. She wasn't sure why Layla enjoyed what she had done to those poor people in the village... Even if it was to help Flynn, that didn't mean she had wanted to do it that way.

Then, suddenly the room started to shift. Lily froze as the room slowly grew darker, as if the day became night within a few seconds.

"Merlin?" Lily called out, assuming it could only be him doing something. "What is happening?"

To her surprise Layla let out a gasp, and Lily could feel something. Fear... Not just her own fear... But she felt as though she had been dreading what was about to happen a for a long time.

"That's not Merlin..." Layla whispered, sounding more afraid than Lily had ever heard her.

Lily's eyes widened as she could take a guess of what was happening. Layla hadn't been the only one who had been able to show up in her dreams. And if she found a way to get to her without them... Maybe he had as well...

"Hey, Sparky how's it going in there?" Flynn's voice came from behind the door. The handle rattled, but it didn't open. Someone had locked it... "Sparky?... Lily?!"

"Flynn, I'm here!" Lily called out.

"Did you really just lock her up in there, old man?" Flynn's voice sounded through, not replying to her call.

"Flynn!" Lily called again, but she heard footsteps fading away. "Flynn! I'm here! Merlin?"

"Oh don't bother... They won't be able to help you..."

Lily's breath caught in her throat as a new voice joined in the room. But one she knew... She slowly turned around. At first there was nothing. Just the room being darker than before, but she could feel a darker presence. Then, from the shadows, he stepped forward, revealing himself to her.

Jafar...

Author's note:

I'm sorry for being gone for a while, had a lot on my plate. But I am back, and happy to continue. Hope you enjoyed this chapter! I had a lot of fun writing it, especially it being one of the first actual cliffhangers.