#merlyn

Her journey over the past few days had taken her past mountains, lakes, rivers, and forests. Merlyn was, for the first time in her life, beginning to grasp the vastness of the world. And she found that she wanted to see it all. To know what else was out there. Experience everything it has to offer. She wanted to travel to the edge of the Earth and let herself fall off just to see what was on the other side.

Merlyn couldn’t resist letting out giggles of delight as she entered the city, her eyes bouncing from one sight to another. Merchants and traders lined the road, stands packed together and displaying a colorful array of items. Animals pulled carts, and children chased each other between stalls. Merlyn couldn’t take a single step without brushing up against someone else. She loved it. She had never seen so much life all at once. It was as if the city itself was alive, and she could feel its pulse beat through her with every step she took.

Merlyn was broken from her reverie by the sound of horns in the distance. She followed the sound, moving with the crowd toward the citadel and congregating in a cobblestoned courtyard encircled by high stone walls. The drums began next, and a man was escorted out of the palace by two guards, their grips firm on either elbow.

“Let this be a lesson to all.”

A booming voice echoed through the square. Merlyn’s head shot up to the balcony, where a man, who could only be King Uther himself, stood before them, the sunlight reflecting off his crown.

“This man, Thomas James Collins, is adjudged guilty of conspiring to use enchantments and magic.”

Merlyn’s face fell. Her entire body went rigid. She clenched her jaw and swallowed nervously. Her grip tightened around the straps of her backpack, leather sticking to her increasingly sweaty hands.

“And, pursuant to the laws of Camelot, I, Uther Pendragon, have decreed that such practices are banned on penalty of death.”

Her eyes opened even wider, the tension in her body overwhelming her. And yet, Merlyn couldn’t take her eyes off him.

“I pride myself as a fair and just king, but for the crime of sorcery, there is but one sentence I can pass.”

Merlyn could feel the anticipation in the air, her whole body trembling as Uther raised his arm, then lowered it, signaling the executioner. The axe fell, a slicing sound hitting their ears as Thomas Collins’s head fell from his body. A collective gasp broke out across the crowd, and Merlyn felt herself recoil.

“When I came to this land, this kingdom was mired in chaos, but with the people’s help, magic was driven from the realm. So I declare a festival to celebrate twenty years since the Great Dragon was captured and Camelot freed from the evil of sorcery. Let the celebrations begin.”

The moment broke, and people began to chat amongst themselves, but before the crowd could disperse, a shrill, wailing noise drowned everything else out. Like everyone else, Merlyn’s attention was drawn to the weeping woman, the sound of her cries ringing in her ears.

“There is only one evil in this land, and it is not magic! It is you! With your hatred and your ignorance! You took my son!” The elderly woman sobbed before finding her resolve. She stood up straight, and her next words came out much clearer. “And I promise you, before these celebrations are over, you will share my tears. An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, a son for a son.”

“Seize her!” Uther declared, having not yet left his perch.

But no one got the chance to seize Thomas’s mother. The grieving woman began to chant feverishly and was swiftly swallowed up by a whirl of wind and smoke. Merlyn could barely see. Dirt and dust swirled through the air. Her braid was loose from days of travel, and the stray hairs flew into her face. By the time Merlyn wiped her hair back and the air cleared, the woman was gone.

Merlyn was moderately alarmed by how easily everyone seemed to go about their day after that. Chatting away as though they hadn’t just witnessed a beheading and a sorceress in action. Though she supposed she understood the desire not to sit in it any longer than necessary.

“Where would I find Gaius, the- the court physician?” Merlyn asked a guard upon reaching the nearest palace entrance.

The guard pointed, and Merlyn gave a nod in thanks before heading in that direction. She went through one door, which led her to a spiral stairway. Up a few steps was a sign with an arrow, and she went in the direction it pointed, hoping it would take her where she needed to go. Merlyn climbed the rest of the steps, went down a hallway, and up another set of stairs before reaching a second door.

The door was cracked open, and she knocked gently, peeking her head inside. “Hello?”

No one answered, but she went ahead and slipped inside anyway. Her eyes widened, and a smile spread across her face as she took in her surroundings. There was a bewildering assortment of glass flasks and jars across every table top, filled with concoctions colors Merlyn hadn’t even known existed. Books were everywhere, open on the table, stacked off to the side, on the floor, and tucked into shelves lining the walls.

As she wandered further inside, Merlyn looked up to a balcony to see an old man with long grey hair, presumably Gaius, searching through some shelves, his back towards her. “Hello? Gaius?”

She hadn’t intended to startle him, but he fell backward, the railing breaking as the physician hurtled towards the ground. Merlyn was barely aware of what she was doing when her eyes glowed gold. It was instinctual, the way she slowed time. With Gaius’s body now suspended in the air, the girl quickly scanned her surroundings for something to help and spotted a bed. Her magic activated one last time to move the bed under Gaius before releasing, time resuming at its normal speed once more.

Gaius’s body hit the bed, winded but uninjured. “What did you just do?!” He shouted, sitting up and pushing himself out of the bed.

“Erm…” Merlyn didn’t know what to say. But it didn’t matter. Because as soon as Gaius laid eyes on her, something changed.

“Merlyn?” Gaius gasped breathlessly, staring at her with barely concealed wonder.

“You recognize me?” Merlyn asked, puzzled. As far as she knew, he hadn’t seen her since she was a small child.

That seemed to snap him back to reality. “You look like your mother.”

This was obviously a lie, and Merlyn had about a thousand questions she wanted to ask, but it didn’t seem like she was going to get the chance.

“But you’re not meant to be here until Wednesday!”

“It is Wednesday,” Merlyn informed him uncomfortably.

“Ah, right then,” Gaius resigned. “You better put your bag in there.” He gestured towards a door at the back of the room, presumably her bedroom.

Merlyn took a few steps towards her new room before whipping around in a panic. “You- you won’t say anything about, erm…”

“No,” Gaius answered, and she gave him a nervous smile before moving towards her room again.

“Although, Merlyn-”

She stopped and turned to look at him once more.

“I should say thank you,” he smiled kindly.

Merlyn gave him one more anxious glance before entering her new bedroom. There wasn’t much to the room, just a bed, table, dresser, shelf, and window. She thought it was absolutely perfect. Merlyn excitedly plopped on her new bed, giggling when she bounced slightly. She’d never had a bed before. She went to the window next, pushing it open and peering out. Merlyn was ecstatic to find she could see the whole city. She grinned excitedly. She thought she was going to like it here.

Merlyn didn’t sleep well that first night, despite the fact that she was sleeping in a bed for the first time in her life. She had a strange dream, hearing a distant, echoing voice calling out for her. The whole thing left her feeling groggy and disoriented when she woke. She pushed it aside, quickly dressed, and stumbled down the steps into the main room of the physician’s chambers, adjusting her neckerchief as she did.

“I got you water,” Gaius said, scooping porridge into a bowl. “You didn’t wash last night.”

“Sorry.”

He set the bowl down on the table for her. “Help yourself to breakfast.”

Merlyn sat down and grabbed the bowl, stirring the runny liquid with her spoon. But before she could take a bite, Gaius intentionally knocked a bucket off the table. Merlyn was on her feet in an instant, her eyes glowing as everything stopped, the bucket and water suspended in midair. Gaius gasped, turning to stare at her with wonderment. She looked at him briefly before letting the bucket fall, water splashing across the floor.

“How did you do that?” He narrowed his eyes at her. “Did you incant a spell in your mind?”

Merlyn aggressively shook her head, “I don’t know any spells.”

“So what did you do? There must be something?”

“It just happens.” She went to grab a mop, clearing the puddles from the floor.

“Well, we better keep you out of trouble,” Gaius muttered. “You can help me until I find some paid work for you. Here,” he grabbed a small pouch and a bottle, holding out the pouch for Merlyn to see. “Hollyhock and feverfew for Lady Percival.” He set the pouch on the table, then held up the bottle. “And this is for Sir Olwin,” he set it down, pointing at the golden yellow liquid as he instructed, “he’s as blind as a weevil, so warn him not to take it all at once.”

“Okay,” Merlyn reached for the items, tucking them into the pockets of her dress.

“And here,” Gaius held up a plate with a sandwich for her on it. Merlyn smiled in thanks and took the sandwich.

“Off you go,” he gestured towards the door, and Merlyn made her way to leave.

“And Merlyn-”

She halted, turning back to look at Gaius, his face now rather stern.

“I need hardly tell you that the practice of any form of enchantments will get you killed.”

Merlyn nodded in understanding before opening the door and exiting. She munched on her sandwich as she walked down the corridor, making her way outside and crossing through the square before walking down a few more corridors and ending at what she hoped was Sir Olwin’s door just as she finished eating. She knocked on the door, and a squinting old man answered.

“Um, I brought you your medicine,” she held out the small bottle for him.

Sir Olwin reached out, his hand landing nowhere near the medicine. Merlyn stared in confusion for a moment before grabbing his hand with one of hers and placing the medicine in his palm with the other. She nodded as he successfully gripped the bottle, finally letting go of his wrinkly hands.

He immediately popped the cork and was chugging away when Merlyn remembered, “Oh, and Gaius said don’t drink it all-” but she was too late. Sir Olwin had already finished drinking.

“I’m sure it’s fine,” she said, unsure of what else to do.

After dropping off the hollyhock and feverfew with Lady Percival, Merlyn began making her way back to Gaius’s chambers. She had just crossed the drawbridge when a loud voice caught her attention.

“Where’s the target?” A smug-looking blond boy asked, his friends laughing behind him.

“There, Sir?” The smaller brown-haired boy trembled.

“It’s into the sun?” The blond one asked with, what Merlyn thought was, a rather rude smile on his face.

“But, it’s not that bright,” the other boy, clearly a servant, spoke anxiously.

“A bit like you, then?” He laughed with his friends. Merlyn already hated him.

“I’ll put the target on the other end, shall I, Sir?” The serving boy picked up the target and began carrying it.

The larger blond one laughed quietly with his friends for a moment. Merlyn couldn’t hear what they were saying, but she was sure it wasn’t anything good. Her suspicions were proved correct when he turned around and whipped a knife at the target, still in the other boy’s hands.

“Hey! Hang on!” He looked afraid as his head popped out from behind the target.

“Don’t stop!”

He stumbled back a few steps. “Here?”

“I told you to keep moving!” Another dagger went flying. “Come on! Run!”

The serving boy panicked, running back and forth as the other boy threw daggers at him.

“Do you want some moving target practice?” The blond one teased.

The servant eventually lost his grip, dropping the target. It rolled towards Merlyn’s feet, and she was quick to step on it, preventing the serving boy from picking it up.

“Hey, come on, that’s enough,” Merlyn said.

“What?” The rude one asked.

“You’ve had your fun, my friend.”

“Do I know you?” He asked as he sauntered over to her.

She reached her hand out. “Um, I’m Merlyn.”

He didn’t shake it. “So I don’t know you.”

She dropped her hand. “No.”

“Yet you called me ‘friend,’” he said. Merlyn thought the confidence with which he spoke was wholly unearned.

She smiled sarcastically. “That was my mistake.”

“Yes, I think so,” he agreed.

“Yeah, I’d never have a friend who could be such an ass,” Merlyn replied. She started to walk away, but he didn’t let her get very far.

“Or I, one who could be so stupid!” He marched all the way to her that time, getting right up in her face. “Tell me, Merlyn, do you know how to walk on your knees?”

“No,” Merlyn answered. She had never been one for subservience, nor for respecting authority. And she certainly wasn’t planning on starting today.

Their faces were inches apart now. “Would you like me to help you?”

She smiled teasingly. “I wouldn’t if I were you.”

“Why?” He laughed. “What are you going to do to me?”

“You have no idea,” Merlyn smirked. She was by no means a trained fighter, but she was fast, scrappy, and had the audacity of a nobleman. It had gotten her this far.

“Be my guest!” He held his arms out, taking a few steps back. “Come on!” He egged her on. “Come on!”

Well, he asked for it. Merlyn swung her fist at him, but he was quicker. He immediately grasped her wrist, twisting her arm behind her back. There was a chorus of “oohs” from the crowd that had gathered, but Merlyn wasn’t done yet. She tossed her head back, and she heard a loud crunch as the back of her skull met his nose.

“Ah!” He screamed out in pain.

His grip on her faltered, and Merlyn was able to wiggle out of his hold.

“I’ll have you thrown in jail for that!” He roared, cradling his bloody, crooked nose.

“What, who do you think you are? The king?” She sneered.

“No, I’m his son, Arthur.”

Merlyn didn’t fight it as two guards dragged her away. She had no regrets. He deserved what he’d gotten, prince or not. She was harshly thrown onto the floor of a cell, in which she spent the rest of the day and the entire night. She was sound asleep atop a thin blanket spread across the hay, morning sunlight shining in through the window, when she heard it again.

“Merlyn…”

She startled awake. It was the same voice she had dreamt the night before.

“Merlyn…”

Merlyn scrambled to her feet. It was coming from the floor. She backed away.

“Merlyn…”

After the third time, Merlyn was sure that it wasn’t, in fact, her imagination. She nervously went back to where she had lain the night before, getting down on her hands and knees and pressing her ear to the floor.

“Merlyn!”

The noise came from outside her head that time. Merlyn picked her head up and looked over her shoulder to see a guard opening her cell door. She leaped to her feet just as Gaius came storming in.

“You broke the prince’s nose?!” Gaius roared.

Merlyn grinned. “So it is broken then?”

“That’s not a good thing!”

Merlyn shrugged. She thought that was debatable. “I didn’t know he was the prince when I smashed his face in.”

“That doesn’t make it better! The one thing that someone like you should do is keep your head down, and what do you do? You behave like an idiot.” Gaius reprimanded.

Merlyn deflated, the fire within her thoroughly extinguished. “I’m sorry.”

“You’re lucky, I managed to pull a few strings to get you released.”

“Thank you,” she replied, her voice small.

He sighed. “Well, there is a small price to pay.”

The price, it turned out, was being put in the stocks.

“Oh, no,” Merlyn groaned as she was pelted with rotten fruit and vegetables by children. Gaius walked past, giggling with absolute glee as he looked on at her misfortune. “Thanks!” She laughed, shouting at him as he disappeared from her view. Merlyn was hit with one last head of browning lettuce before the children departed, off to fetch more food to throw at her. She was spitting out a chunk of carrot when a girl with curly brown hair and kind eyes approached her.

“I’m Guinevere,” she said, “but most people call me Gwen. I’m the Lady Morgana’s maid.”

“Right, I’m Merlyn.” Her wrists were trapped, but she did her best to shake Gwen’s hand anyway. “Although, most people just call me idiot.”

“No, no, no,” Gwen hastily disagreed. “I saw what you did. It was so brave.”

Merlyn grinned. “And it’s really paying off so far.”

They both laughed.

“Well, it’s great you stood up to him,” Gwen said.

“What? You think so?” Merlyn was surprised to hear this.

“Arthur’s a bully, and everyone thought you were a real hero.”

At Gwen’s words, Merlyn felt a bit of the lightness return to her spirit that Gaius had diminished with his scolding earlier. She felt vindicated hearing another person call Arthur a bully. “Oh, yeah?”

Gwen nodded. “You’re all the servants are talking about.”

Merlyn was eager to hear exactly what it was that the palace servants were saying about her, but the children had returned, full baskets of rotten vegetables in tow.

“Oh, excuse me, Guinevere,” Merlyn pointed at the kids. “My fans are waiting.”

With one last kind smile, Gwen got out of the way, and food went flying at Merlyn’s head once more.

It had taken Merlyn ages to get all the mush out of her hair. She had scrubbed herself thoroughly, but she was convinced she still smelt of spoiled tomatoes. But all in all, she was relieved to be clean, putting on a fresh dress and neckerchief and pushing back her damp hair. She made her way into the main room of the physician’s chambers for lunch, and she hadn’t even finished sitting before Gaius teased, “Do you want some vegetables with that?”

Merlyn snorted and laughed. “I know you’re still angry with me.”

“Your mother asked me to look after you,” Gaius said, his voice firm but not unkind.

“Yes,” Merlyn sighed, tapping her spoon against the bottom of her bowl.

“What did your mother say to you about your gifts?” He inquired.

“That I was special.”

“You are special,” he agreed. “The likes of which I have never seen before.

She furrowed her eyebrows. “What do you mean?”

“Well, magic requires incantations, spells. It takes years to study.” Gaius explained. “What I saw you do was… elemental, instinctive.”

“What’s the point if it can’t be used?”

“That I do not know. You are a question that has never been posed before, Merlyn.”

This did not reassure Merlyn at all. “Did you ever study magic?”

Gaius squirmed a bit in his seat. “Uther banned all such work twenty years ago.”

She noticed that he didn’t actually answer her question. “Why?”

“People used magic for the wrong end at that time. It threw the natural order into chaos. Uther made it his mission to destroy everything from back then, even the dragons.”

“What? All of them?” Merlyn was shocked.

“There was one dragon he chose not to kill. Kept it as an example.” Gaius’s voice deepened. “He imprisoned it in a cave deep beneath the castle, where no one can free it.”

Merlyn stared solemnly at the wall, processing this new information. She knew Uther was powerful, but she couldn’t imagine how he might have pulled that off.

“Now eat up,” Gaius nodded at her bowl. Merlyn had completely forgotten that she was supposed to be eating.

“When you’re finished, I need you to take a preparation to Lady Helen. She needs it for her voice.”

She nodded in understanding and shoveled a spoonful of soup into her mouth.

As soon as she finished eating, Merlyn headed out to bring Lady Helen the potion. She was barely looking where she was going, her eyes darting around to take in the grandeur that surrounded her. She hoped she appeared only mildly confused to the passing servants. After one last spiral staircase and a short balcony, she reached Lady Helen’s chambers and popped inside.

Merlyn looked around, but Lady Helen was nowhere to be seen. She didn’t think anything of it and moved to set the bottle on her table. She went to step away, but stopped, noticing a strange object resting before her. Merlyn picked it up and flipped it over. At first glance, it appeared to be some sort of doll crudely made out of straw. Seemingly unremarkable, but there was something about it, some sort of quiet vibration. Merlyn set it down when she noticed something else. A book, with an ornate cover and jagged edges, tied with a string and haphazardly hidden under some sort of fabric. She knew it was magic as soon as she touched it, the magic almost screaming out for her.

But Merlyn didn’t get the chance to investigate any further. Footsteps echoed from the hallway, and she moved quickly to cover up the evidence that she had been snooping. She had just covered the book back up and whipped around when Lady Helen ducked under the entryway. They just stared at each other, and Merlyn suddenly felt very small under the noblewoman’s calculating and distrusting gaze.

“What are you doing in here?”

“An… I-”  Merlyn fumbled for a second. “I was asked to deliver this,” she reached back to grab the bottle and walked up to Lady Helen to hand it to her.

Lady Helen reached up for it, but didn’t quite grab it just yet. The tension was heavy in the air as the two women stared at each other. Merlyn attempted to break it with a chuckle and a forced smile. It didn’t work. The noblewoman looked between the bottle and Merlyn’s face a few times before giving her an equally uneasy smile. That was good enough for Merlyn, and she raced away, darting out of the room as quickly as possible. She looked back a few times once she was in the adjoining corridor. She could have sworn that she caught a glimpse of an unusual reflection in Lady Helen’s mirror.

Merlyn trudged through the lower town later, her mind mulling over the strange interaction with Lady Helen. She wasn’t paying much attention to where she was going, barely managing to sidestep a cart in time. She had just finished apologizing to the donkey pulling said cart when she saw Arthur, approaching from the opposite direction, flanked by the same idiot friends as before.

He turned around as she passed him. “How’s your knee-walking coming along?”

Merlyn kept walking.

“Aw, don’t run away!” Arthur teased.

That got her to stop. Merlyn clenched her jaw, something inside her snapping. “From you?”

She could hear Arthur sigh. “Thank God, I thought you were deaf as well as dumb.”

“Look, I’ve told you you’re an ass,” Merlyn finally turned around to face him. “I just didn’t realize you were a royal one.”

Arthur looked unbelievably irritated, and Merlyn was pleased to see that his nose was purple and blue. She teased him further, “Oh, what are you going to do? Get your daddy’s men to protect you from a girl?”

Arthur laughed. “I could take you apart with one blow.”

“I could take you apart with less than that,” Merlyn countered.

He raised his eyebrows. “Are you sure?”

Her smile was genuine as she gestured to his face. “Nose looks good.”

Merlyn giggled as the grin was wiped from Arthur’s face. It was fun to watch in real time as his fragile ego worked to repair itself.

“Come on, then,” Arthur tossed a mace at her, and she only fumbled slightly as she caught it.

“Come on, then,” he repeated. He started swinging around his own mace, clearly trying to show off. It seemed his wounded pride wasn’t going to let him quit while he was ahead. “I warn you, I’ve been trained to kill since birth.”

“Wow, and how long have you been training to be a prat?” Merlyn fired back.

Arthur scoffed. “You can’t address me like that,” he laughed indignantly.

“I’m sorry. How long have you been training to be a prat, My Lord?” Merlyn sniggered and gave him a little bow.

With one last perturbed grin sent her way, Arthur started swinging. Merlyn’s eyes bulged out of her head as she ducked just in the nick of time. She backed up as Arthur advanced, never breaking his swings.

“Come on then, Merlyn! Come on!” He goaded, backing her all the way into the market stalls.

Merlyn winced as her back hit splintered wood, her mace getting stuck in a cage before she even got the chance to swing it. The crowd kept gathering, and Merlyn was starting to realize that she, in fact, had no plan. Arthur swung down at her head, and she narrowly managed to roll away, falling down in the process. Arthur laughed, and Merlyn groaned with rage. She hopped to her feet quickly, but this time, she had no weapon, leaving her with little option beyond merely dodging blows and hoping for the best. Arthur backed her into a fruit stand, sending her flying over it.

Arthur laughed, “You’re in trouble now!”

But Merlyn wasn’t going to go down that easily. She looked around for something to help her, spotting a couple of large hooks hanging above them. She used her magic to entangle them with Arthur’s mace, chuckling when he got stuck. Merlyn took her chance to get back up while Arthur struggled to get free. As soon as he did, he charged at her. Merlyn was prepared this time and magically moved a box into his path.

“Ow! Argh!” Arthur yelled out in pain when he banged his shin on her box.

Merlyn laughed, and he pursued her again. She tightened a rope on the ground, tripping Arthur and sending him faceplanting into the ground. She took her chance, grabbing his mace and swinging. “Do you want to give up?”

He raised his eyebrows. “To you?”

But she was the one advancing on him now, so she asked again. “Do you? Do you want to give up?”

Arthur never got to respond. His foot got caught in a bucket, sending him tumbling backward. He tried to get up, but before he could, Merlyn grabbed a nearby broom and whacked him in the head. She grinned when he went down for good. Merlyn was delighted. She was thrilled by the victory she managed to pull off despite her complete lack of any discernible skill or talent. But then she spotted Gaius among the crowd, wincing when she met his disapproving stare. Merlyn knew she was in for it.

But as the guards came to grab Merlyn and take her away, she decided she didn’t care. She felt good about what she’d done. Arthur had needed to be taken down a notch (or seven) and she would go to the dungeon with her head held high.

“Wait—” Arthur raised his arm, signaling for the guards to stop. “Let her go.”

This was the absolute last thing that Merlyn expected. She knew her confusion was written all over her face as he ambled up to her, wobbling slightly from the head injury.

“She may be an idiot, but she’s a brave one.”

Merlyn scoffed, but she didn’t say anything. She thought she had pushed her luck enough for one day.

“There’s something about you, Merlyn,” he shook his head, his face scrunched with disgust. “I can’t quite put my finger on it.”

“How could you be so foolish?!” Gaius yelled, storming into their chambers after her and slamming the door shut.

“He needed to be taught a lesson,” Merlyn’s voice wobbled with fury.

“Magic must be studied, mastered, and used for good! Not idiotic pranks!”

Merlyn spun on her heel to face him, her eyes filled with tears. “I don’t want to!” She screamed. “If I can’t use magic, what have I got?!” The sadness overwhelmed her then, the tears finally falling. When she spoke again, her voice was much weaker. She wasn’t magical and special anymore; she was just a scared kid. “I’m just a nobody, and I always will be. If I can’t use magic, I might as well die.”

Merlyn didn’t stick around to hear what her guardian had to say to that. She turned and ran to hide away in her room. She didn’t have to close the door behind her; her heightened emotions sent her magic spiking within her, and she unintentionally sent the door flying shut without laying so much as a finger on it. She threw herself onto her bed and allowed herself to sob freely.

This was it, Merlyn thought. Her adventure in Camelot ended here, barely two days in. There was no reason for Gaius to keep her around. He was probably right about now realizing that she was far too difficult for his undertaking. Caring for a teenage girl was challenging enough on its own. Throw in her unstable magic, impulsivity, and complete inability to regulate her emotions? No one in their right mind would take that on.

Merlyn didn’t move when Gaius finally entered her room around ten minutes later, keeping her face buried in her pillow. She was grateful when he didn’t say anything right away, just sat next to her and rubbed her back soothingly. A few more minutes passed like this before Melryn finally asked, “You don’t know why I was born like this, do you?”

“No,” Gaius answered apologetically.

Merlyn’s cries picked up again, then. It was the question that kept her up at night, that weighed on her soul. The question she had been desperate for an answer to for as long as she had been alive. And Gaius didn’t have it. “I’m not a monster, am I?”

“Look at me, Merlyn.”

She turned her face up from her pillow.

Gaius waited for her to lock eyes with him before finally answering, “No. Don’t ever think that.”

Merlyn shifted to sit up, protectively hugging her knees to her chest. “Then why am I like this? Please, I need to know why.” She begged desperately.

“Maybe there’s someone with more knowledge than me,” he suggested.

“If you can’t tell me, no one can.” Merlyn felt defeated.

Gaius didn’t say anything more. He poured a potion into a tiny cup and handed it to her. “Take this. It will help with the pain.”

Merlyn lay awake in her bed that night, unable to quiet her racing thoughts. Her nightdress clung to the spots on her back where Gaius had applied an ointment to treat the scrapes and bruises she acquired during her fight with Arthur. She had just rolled over once more when it started again.

“Merlyn…”

Every muscle in her body stiffened.

“Merlyn…”

She shot out of bed. This was the third night this had happened. Merlyn couldn’t take it anymore. She needed to investigate. She dressed as quickly as she could and snuck silently out of her room. She moved cautiously as she entered the main room of the physician’s chambers, Gaius sleeping soundly in his bed. She had tiptoed halfway across the room when she knocked into something; a loud metallic clanging sounded throughout the room.

Merlyn froze, waiting. But Gaius stayed asleep, his snores undisturbed. Once she was sure she was in the clear, she used her magic to readjust Gaius’s blanket, lifting it to his chin. With that, she exited their chambers. She was racing across the square when it happened again.

“Merlyn…”

She followed the voice, letting it lead her the rest of the way across the square and into the dungeons. She only stopped when she found herself on a flight of stairs, looking down at two guards playing with some dice. She magically sent the die rolling off the table and across the floor. The guards went after them, the die leaping further away with every attempt to grab them. Once they were out of the way, Merlyn finished descending the staircase. She had just snagged a torch and made her way to the next door when the voice called for her once more.

“Merlyn…”

Merlyn looked down at the stairway before her. This was beyond the main part of the dungeons. Wherever this led, it was somewhere no one was supposed to go. She had barely begun her descent when-

“Merlyn…”

Merlyn was getting annoyed now. They really needed to cut that out. She had got the message, loud and clear. Her movements became more hesitant as she continued along on her journey. It was clear that, wherever she was, it had been abandoned long ago. And something told her it was for good reason.

“Merlyn…”

She followed the path all the way to the end, where she found herself standing on a ledge overlooking a vast cave. That same voice was laughing now. Merlyn held her torch out, looking all around, but there was nothing and no one to see. “Where are you?”

She heard it before she saw it. Something deep and vibrating. And then, a ginormous creature swooped into the air, sending Merlyn stumbling back. Her eyes nearly popped out of her head as a great, big dragon perched before her.

“I’m here!” The dragon roared. The dragon. An actual dragon. Merlyn wasn’t sure what she had been expecting, but a dragon definitely wouldn’t have been her first guess. It wouldn’t have been one of her first ten. She just stared with her mouth hanging open as the dragon took her in.

“How small you are for such a great destiny,” he said.

Merlyn was so flabbergasted that it took her several seconds to realize what he had said. “Why? What do you mean? What destiny?”

“Your gift, Merlyn, was given to you for a reason.”

“So there is a reason,” she replied eagerly, her pulse spiking.

The dragon moved his head much closer to her. “Together, you and Arthur will unite the land of Albion.”

“Well, why have I got to be part of it?” Merlyn asked, her eyebrows furrowed. She hadn’t the faintest clue what Albion was, let alone why she should care.

“Without you, Arthur will never succeed. Without you, there will be no Albion. Without you, magic will never return to the land.” He put extra emphasis on that last bit.

“Wait, what?” That got her attention. “Bring back magic?”

The dragon nodded. “But you face many threats from friend and foe alike.”

It was then that Merlyn remembered who she was supposed to do this with and began to shake her head vigorously. “Wait- No. No. You’ve got this wrong.”

The dragon wasn’t deterred. “There is no right or wrong, only what is and what isn’t.”

“But I’m serious!” Merlyn threw her hands up. “If anyone wants to go and kill him, they can go ahead. In fact, I’ll give them a hand.”

The dragon laughed. Merlyn was annoyed by this reaction.

“None of us can choose our destiny, Merlyn,” he said, his voice full of mirth.

“No. No way. No. No. There must be another Arthur because this one’s an idiot.” Merlyn was sure that some sort of error had been made.

But the dragon was unmoved by the girl’s rejection. “Perhaps it’s your destiny to change that.”

Merlyn raised her eyebrows. “You want me to fix a boy?” She shook her head. “That’s not happening.”

“There is no escaping your destiny.” And with that, he flew away, leaving the girl with more questions than answers.

“Wait! Wait!” Merlyn shouted after him. “Wait, stop! No, I- I need to know more! I said I’m not doing it!”

But he was gone, and Merlyn was left alone with her thoughts. None of this made sense. None of this made any sense. That dragon had the wrong people. He had to. Arthur was an arrogant buffoon who, despite his supposed lifetime of training, lost two fights to an untrained girl much smaller than himself. And Merlyn was just a girl from Ealdor, with no education and no knowledge of anything beyond farming. It couldn’t be them. There was no way Merlyn and Arthur were the ones from his destiny. Two incompetent children couldn’t possibly be the ones to bring about Albion.

Merlyn didn’t remember making it back to her and Gaius’s chambers, her feet carrying her while the dragon’s ominous words rattled around her brain. She shed her clothes and curled up in bed, settling in for what she anticipated would be another restless night.

“Oi!”

Merlyn was abruptly woken from her slumber by Gaius’s yelling.

“Have you seen the state of this room?!” He gestured to all her things that were scattered about the floor.

Merlyn didn’t see what the big deal was and shrugged. “It just happens.”

“By magic?”

“Yeah.”

“Yes, well, you can clear it up without magic.” Gaius flung a dirty sock at Merlyn’s face. “And then I want you to get me some herbs. Henbane, wormwood, and sorrel. And deliver this to Morgana.” He handed her a bottle tucked inside a pouch. “Poor girl’s suffering from nightmares.”

One last armful of clothing went flying at Merlyn’s head, and then Gaius was gone, leaving Merlyn sitting alone in a tangled heap of bed sheets and dirty laundry. “Mm, I know the feeling,” she said, but there was no one around to hear.

Merlyn made the trek up to Morgana’s chambers, where she found the door already open. She was just entering as Morgana slipped behind her changing screen, not noticing the other girl’s arrival.

“You know, I’ve been thinking about Arthur. I wouldn’t touch him with a lance pole.” Morgana said.

Merlyn had to agree with this statement.

“Pass me that dress, will you, Gwen?”

Merlyn panicked. “Uh… not Gwen.”

Morgana poked her head out, and immediately, her eyes bore into Merlyn. Merlyn gave her a very nervous smile that showed far too many of her teeth and a very awkward wave.

“Who are you? Where’s Gwen?” Morgana demanded.

Merlyn just stood there, her mouth opening and closing like a fish, before she finally managed, “I- uh- Merlyn?”

Merlyn shrugged, mentally kicking herself for the way she said her own name like it was a question. Thankfully, she was spared from further fumbling when Morgana’s eyes widened in recognition.

“You’re the girl who broke Arthur’s nose!” Morgana exclaimed, looking delighted.

Merlyn chuckled. “Yeah.”

“Merlyn?”

Merlyn whipped around, her shoulders slumping with relief when she saw Gwen’s familiar face staring back at her, an eyebrow raised in question.

“What are you doing here?”

“Oh! Right!” Merlyn suddenly remembered the task she had come here with and held out the sleeping draught for the other two girls to see. “Gaius asked me to bring this.”

“Oh, good, thanks. Just set it on the table.” Morgana instructed, and Merlyn was quick to do so.

“And Merlyn didn’t just break Arthur’s nose,” Gwen spoke with a twinkle in her eye. “She beat him in another fight yesterday.”

“Did you?” Morgana questioned, eyes lighting up and grinning eagerly.

Merlyn smiled sheepishly and stared at the floor. “It wasn’t that hard.”

Gwen and Morgana both laughed, and Merlyn felt her heart soar.

“I quite like you, Merlyn,” Morgana said, and Merlyn beamed.

Merlyn kept close to Gaius as they entered the banquet hall that evening, feeling incredibly out of place in this new environment. Members of the court, dressed in their best finery, filled the room. Merlyn felt very out of place in her tattered dress, which was better suited to farming than to a dinner party.

Two long tables lined the hall, overflowing with foods Merlyn could tell were ridiculously expensive just by looking at them. That hunk of cheese was probably worth more than all the food she had eaten in the last month, maybe even several months, combined, she thought bitterly. But Merlyn resolved not to let pretentious cheeses get her down. This was a party, after all. She was just beginning to think it might not be so bad when she spotted Arthur across the hall, laughing and joking with his friends. She groaned and threw her head back.

“Merlyn,” Gaius chided upon noticing the source of her sudden mood change. “Remember, you’re here to work.”

“Yes, yes, I know,” Merlyn sighed in defeat.

Her mood was only further soured upon Morgana’s arrival as she was forced to watch Arthur and his idiot friends ogle her like she was a piece of meat. Her thoughts turned to their shared destiny, the weight of which she presumed she would have to carry alone, seeing as she couldn’t exactly reveal her magic to the prince. Merlyn wasn’t sure who to take up her complaints with. Didn’t know who was in charge of writing destinies. But whoever they were, she’d have liked to ask how she and Arthur had been selected for this particular task. They weren’t exactly the best and brightest that Camelot had to offer.

Merlyn’s only respite came when Arthur noticed her presence, his face falling as the two of them met eyes. Deciding to have a little fun, Merlyn gave Arthur a little smirk before tapping on her nose and giving him two thumbs up to let him know that his looked good. Arthur scowled, immediately attempting to cover his bruises, and Merlyn giggled with delight.

“Knock it off!” Gaius smacked her hands down. “What did I just say, Merlyn?”

“Sorry,” Merlyn muttered, unable to wipe the grin from her face, feeling not at all sorry.

With almost poetic timing, the horns sounded, and Merlyn was saved from further admonishment. Everyone moved to line up alongside the tables, clearing a walkway for Uther to enter, smiling at the court as he strode to the far end of the room.

“We have enjoyed twenty years of peace and prosperity.” Uther announced. “It has brought the kingdom and myself many pleasures, but few can compare with the honor of introducing Lady Helen of Mora.”

Merlyn applauded with the rest of the crowd. The members of the court took their seats as Lady Helen began to sing, her golden gown billowing out around her. It didn’t take Merlyn all that long to notice that something was wrong. Within seconds, people began to slump over and drift off to sleep. Merlyn quickly covered her ears to protect herself and, with a quick look around, realized she was the last one standing and would have to figure this one out on her own.

Everything seemed to darken then, cobwebs forming over the enchanted courtiers. Lady Helen’s voice never faltered, her tune ringing throughout the hall even after the room completely fell into darkness and thick cobwebs stretched over everything. Merlyn watched Lady Helen approach the royal family’s table, her eyes glued to Arthur. As soon as a dagger was pulled from her sleeve, Merlyn understood.

Merlyn didn’t stop to think. It wasn’t like anyone was awake to see her, anyway. She looked around for something to use, and just as Lady Helen’s arm pulled back to throw, Merlyn’s eyes glowed gold, and a chandelier fell from the ceiling, and Lady Helen was crushed beneath it.

A couple of tense moments passed as Merlyn waited to see if it had worked. Finally, people began to rise, and Merlyn let out a deep breath of relief. Everyone was staring at Lady Helen, except that she wasn’t Lady Helen. It was Thomas Collins’s mother, the sorceress, who had sworn to get revenge on Uther for executing her son the day Merlyn arrived in Camelot. She had been right to suspect that Lady Helen was not what she seemed.

But the sorceress wasn’t done yet. With her final breath, she pushed herself up and sent her dagger flying at Arthur. Merlyn slowed time as the knife propelled through the air. She sprinted to Arthur and pulled him to the ground, their bodies hitting the floor as the dagger planted itself in his chair. No one knew what to do, eyes glued to the corpse in the middle of the room as Merlyn and Arthur clambered to their feet.

“You saved my boy’s life,” Uther muttered. “A debt must be repaid.

Merlyn looked up to see that Uther and Arthur were staring at her with amazement and disbelief. “Oh, well…”

“Don’t be so modest, you shall be rewarded.”

“No, honestly, you don’t have to, Your Highness,” Merlyn said, afraid to make direct eye contact with the king.

But Uther wouldn’t hear it. “No, absolutely. This merits something quite special.”

Merlyn wasn’t looking forward to finding out what Uther’s idea of something special was. “Well…”

“You shall be rewarded a position in the royal household,” he clapped his son on the back. “You shall be Prince Arthur’s maidservant.”

And there it was, Merlyn thought, deeply uncomfortable as the court applauded.

“Father!” Arthur screeched in disbelief as the king walked away. Arthur and Merlyn reluctantly met each other's gaze, matching expressions of disappointment and disgust on their faces. They each quickly turned away from the other, refusing to celebrate with the rest of the crowd.

Merlyn was sitting quietly at her desk later that night, head resting against her hand, toying with the idea of making a break for it and starting a new life elsewhere, when Gaius knocked on her door, letting himself in. “Seems you’re a hero,” he grinned.

Merlyn chuckled. “Hard to believe, isn’t it?”

“No, I knew it from the moment I saw you.” Then, seemingly as an afterthought, he added, “When you saved my life, remember?”

“But that was magic,” Merlyn said, picking her head up.

“And now, it seems we finally found a use for it,” Gaius said, full of pride.

“What do you mean?” she asked, puzzled.

“I saw how you saved Arthur’s life.”

“Oh, no-”

“Perhaps that’s its purpose,” Gaius cut her off, uninterested in whatever excuses or rationalizations the girl might come up with on the spot.

“My destiny,” Merlyn sighed in resignation.

“Indeed,” he smiled.

“Any way I can exchange it for a different destiny?” She asked. “Perhaps one that’s less shit?”

But Gaius only gave her an amused chuckle. “Oh, Merlyn, if you only see the worst in things, you’ll miss all the best parts.”

This was a much more profound answer than Merlyn had been expecting, and there was a pause as she mulled it over. She supposed the physician had a point, probably, but she was still feeling quite skeptical.

“Here-”

Merlyn stood up as Gaius held out something wrapped in red cloth for her. She went to him, hesitantly grabbing it.

“This was given to me when I was your age, but I have a feeling it will be of more use to you than it was to me.”

Merlyn unwrapped it, revealing an old, leather-bound book, clasped shut. “A book?” She questioned.

“A book of magic,” Gaius explained, smiling excitedly. “Which is why you must keep it hidden.”

“Oh-” Merlyn faltered.

“What’s the matter?” Gaius questioned, clearly thrown off by her reaction. “I thought you’d be thrilled.”

“It- it’s very- very thoughtful,” Merlyn stuttered. “It’s just… I can’t read,” she explained. She had never needed to know. In Ealdor, no more than five people in the entire village could, and she always assumed other villages were much the same. She had never even thought to consider cities. That was, until now.

“Well, then I’ll teach you,” Gaius replied, his enthusiasm unwavering.

Merlyn gave him a grateful smile. However, before the girl could express her gratitude, there was a knock on the main door to the physician’s chambers, the sound muffled from within Merlyn’s room.

“Merlyn, Prince Arthur wants you right away,” an authoritative voice announced.

“Looks like your destiny is calling,” Gaius said, a mirthful twinkle in his eye that Merlyn hated. “You’d better find out what he wants.”

Merlyn frowned, wanting to smack the smug smile right off of Gaius’s old face. But she refrained from doing so, setting her new book down and heading out the door. Off to the beginning of what was sure to be a terrible adventure.