#jada thorburn

[jessisnotnormal]

Chapter 10: Test

Masterlist

<- Chapter 9

There was a definite spring to her step as Jada entered Gaius’ quarters the next morning. Over on the stairs by the window, Merlin looked up from some pages he was bent over, an easy smile greeting her as she bid him good morning.

            “What do you think?” she asked, giving her new dress a twirl.

            His eyes examined the dress, before he nodded. “Yeah, yeah. Looks good.”

            “Thanks. I wasn’t sure blue was really my colour, but I don’t think I look too bad, to be honest.” She’d quite liked the way Gwen’s colour choice had made her eyes seem more blue than grey—it was almost like some kind of magic in itself.

            Apparently Merlin had noticed the difference, too. “No, no. It makes- eyes- um…” He gestured awkwardly to his own eyes, his cheeks turning a little pink.

            Jada laughed. “I’m going to assume that was an attempt at a compliment?”

            Merlin’s laugh was more nervous. “Yeah. Sorry.”

            She laughed again, crossing over to see the pages he had been looking at. “Thanks, then. What’s all this?”

            “It’s tablature.” He sat back, picking up the lute that leant against the step beside him. “You said you wanted to learn?”

            “Aren’t you in work today?” Jada asked, sitting next to him.

            “Not until later. Arthur gave me the morning off while he checks in with Lancelot.” He turned more towards her. “If you still want to learn, I can try to teach you the basics?”

            She smiled. “That’d be great, thanks.”

            Learning the lute proved to be significantly more challenging than Jada had imagined. Despite appearances, it had very little in common with the guitar, and going against most of what was already ingrained in her brain turned out to be quite a struggle. Nevertheless, Merlin was a patient teacher, taking the time to answer each one of her questions and helping her reposition her hands whenever she strayed back into ‘guitar mode’.

            The plucking sequences were the hardest for her to get a handle on, but Merlin guided her through it slowly, until the notes she played gradually started to become less of a disjointed mess.

            “You’re getting the hang of it,” he commented, reaching over to readjust her right hand slightly. “Just remember to keep this in position.”

            “But the position feels so wrooong!” Jada whined dramatically, before sombering again. “Thank you, though. I’m sure you must have wanted to bash your head against something at least once by now.”

            One corner of his mouth lifted. “You really don’t have to thank me so much, you know.”

            She frowned. “What do you mean?”

            He shrugged. “You say it so often. I’m hardly doing anything.”

            “You’re helping me, aren’t you? Why wouldn’t I thank you for that?”

            He seemed almost surprised as he looked back up at her. “Well…”

            At that moment, the sound of bells clanging somewhere in the castle rang out, startling the two of them. Merlin jumped swiftly to his feet.

            “It’s the warning bells…” he frowned, but quickly spun on his heel at the sound of screaming coming from the window behind them.

            Jada also shot to her feet now. “Oh my God…” she gasped, then turned to Merlin. “What’s happening?”

            “I don’t know,” he replied. “But I’m going to find out.”

            He took off running, and Jada followed him out of the castle and into the streets of Camelot. There were dozens of people heading towards them, all wearing ragged clothing as they made for the castle. Some of them were bleeding, some wearing make-shift bandages, and some could only hobble wearily over the cobbles, but all of them had a haunted look in their faces as they passed by.

            Merlin quickly sprang into action, hurrying to the aid of a younger woman as she made her way tentatively through the gates. He guided her over to where Gaius was tending to an older woman as Jada moved to follow his example with the other refugees.

            “You’re safe now, I promise,” she heard Merlin reassure the woman, before he nodded towards Gaius’ patient. “How is she?”

            “Okay,” Gaius replied, dabbing at the woman’s head wound.

            Just then, Lancelot came racing over, his expression equally as panicked as Jada felt. “What happened to these people?”

            Gaius turned to him gravely. “Their village was attacked by a winged monster.”

            Merlin shared a look with Lancelot, then Jada. Could it be the same creature that had attacked them? It had to be, didn’t it? How many other winged creatures could plague Camelot?

            “The knights’ll take care of it, won’t they? Isn’t that what they do?” Even as she asked, she saw the dismay in each of the others’ faces.

            “I fear so,” Gaius replied.

            “But how could they prevail?” Lancelot asked. “I struck the creature squarely, yet it was unhurt.”

            Jada wondered how she could have missed that, but when she thought back to their encounter with the beast, she recalled that her attention had mostly been on Merlin at the time.

            Gaius gave Merlin a meaningful look, before replying gravely. “I’m afraid I do not know.”

            The rest of the day was spent helping as many of the displaced villagers as possible, and it seemed as though most of the castle’s staff had turned out to give what aid they could. By nightfall, Jada was so exhausted that she quickly fell into a deep and dreamless sleep.

            In the morning she was due to train with Lancelot again, so she dressed in Ubi’s old (now thankfully clean) shirt and trousers and headed out of the castle grounds. Lancelot greeted her warmly, but before they’d gotten very far into their training session he seemed to become distracted.

            “Is everything all right?” Jada asked, dropping her sword arm for a moment. “Lance?”

            He refocused on her, giving a short laugh at the nickname. “Lance?”

            She shrugged. “I can keep Lancelot if you want. It’s kind of a mouthful, but…”

            “No, no,” he smiled. “I don’t mind Lance.”

            “Lance it is, then,” she grinned. “What’s up, anyway?” She pushed her wooden sword tip into the ground, leaning on it slightly.

            “Prince Arthur has moved my test forward. I’m to face him in the morning.”

            “Really?” Jada felt her eyebrows raise. “How come?”

            “I believe he wants as many knights as possible to stand against the creature. He even changed their training regime this morning.”

            “You mean you have to go up against that thing again?” she frowned. There had to be some way of defeating it, right?

            “If I pass the test, it would appear so.”

            “Do they know how to beat it yet?”

            “Not that I have heard.” His eyes were worried. “Gaius was researching the creature last night, but I do not know if his search was successful.”

            Jada rocked thoughtfully on her sword. There had to be something they were overlooking, but every time she tried to figure out what it could be, she came up empty.

            “Well, at least your first task is only to defeat Arthur,” she tried, hoping to reassure him. “You’ve already faced the creature once, how hard can an arrogant prince be compared to that?”

            Lancelot chuckled, his eyes lighting mischievously. “Well, you certainly could not defeat him.”

            “Hey!” Jada protested, pulling her sword up again to tap him on the arm.

            Lance dodged to the side, blocking her with a cheeky grin, before whirling round to knock her on the back with his own sword. Jada giggled, swinging clumsily at him again as he danced lithely backwards out of the reach of each blow.

            On the fourth, he blocked her again with a teasing smirk. “You definitely need more training.”

            The threat of the creature attacking hung over the city, growing heavier as the day drew on. Its people were kept busy preparing for such an incident, so much so that Jada found herself with little to do and no-one to visit. She ended up heading down to Gaius’ quarters again—though he was incredibly busy with all the extra patients that had arrived from the village—and borrowing Merlin’s lute to practise with. Uther had yet to request her presence for anything, but she thought she’d better be as prepared as she could be for whenever that day came.

            When the morning arrived, bringing Lancelot’s test with it, she joined both Merlin and Gwen in accompanying him to the training ground. They stood to the side once again, slightly apart from the knights that had paused their training to observe also. Lancelot and Arthur stood in the centre of the circle that had formed, both outfitted completely in protective mail. This was no light training session; Lancelot would have to fight as though his life depended on it.

            “Well, here we are,” Arthur announced, echoing his speech from his fight with Grimond. Jada wondered if Lancelot would come to the same fate. “Your final challenge. Succeed and you join the elite. Fail and your journey ends here. Lancelot, fifth son of Lord Eldred of Northumbria…”—He turned, nodding to a man holding a sand timer, who flipped it over at the prince’s signal—“Your time starts now.”

            People around the circle began to clap, and Jada joined in enthusiastically. Lancelot had to win. He had to. It was how things were meant to be.

            The two donned their helmets, and Arthur twirled his sword confidently as they approached each other. Lancelot darted forwards first, slicing his sword right and left expertly, but Arthur managed to dodge or block each blow that was aimed towards him. Nevertheless, it was Lancelot who got the first hit, striking Arthur full-force in the face and sending the prince staggering backwards.

            Merlin and Gwen cheered beside Jada, the pair of them grinning, and Merlin even punched the air excitedly as Lancelot surged forwards again. Arthur recovered quickly, his sword flashing up to meet Lancelot’s with a clash of steel, and then they were just a flurry of silver as they swung and blocked and sidestepped one another.

            Lancelot went for a second hit, but this time Arthur managed to step back out of his reach. Gwen gasped, her hand flying out to grasp Merlin’s jacket beside her and making him jump. He glanced down at her hand in surprise before turning to her in confusion.

            “I’m sorry,” Gwen breathed awkwardly, releasing him and turning back to the fray. Jada felt a small pang of pity for her.

            Her attention was quickly drawn back to Lancelot, however, who seemed to be dominating the battle now from her inexperienced perspective. Arthur seemed barely able to make any aggressive swings, having only enough time to block Lancelot’s manoeuvres as he advanced.

            The tide changed in less than a moment. Arthur swung his blade low, forcing Lancelot to block it, before swinging his fist at his opponent’s face. It connected with a sickening crack and Lancelot was knocked backwards, landing on his back once again as his helmet flew off to roll beside him. Jada felt both Merlin and Gwen deflate in the same moment that she did.

            There was some disappointed clapping from the other knights, apparently signalling the end of the fight, and Arthur stabbed his sword into the ground to remove his helmet.

            “Shame,” he said, standing over Lancelot and bending to remove his sash.

            As Arthur took hold of the fabric however, Lancelot suddenly sprang to life once again, flipping Arthur onto his back and standing above him.

            “Do you submit, sire?” he asked, holding his sword to the prince’s chest. Jada wished she could see Arthur’s face.

            The elation she felt was quickly cut short however, as two guards strode up and seized Lancelot by the arms. Arthur got back to his feet, yanking his sword out of the ground in anger.

            “On your knees,” he growled, and the guards forced Lancelot to obey. Arthur pointed his blade at Lancelot’s chest, holding it there while he fumed.

            Jada sent a worried glance to Merlin. “What’s going on? He won, didn’t he?”

            Merlin shrugged helplessly, seeming just as concerned. Then his face lit up in a smile, his eyes now back on the two men. Jada turned to look too, finding Arthur offering a hand to Lancelot and helping him to his feet.

            “He’s passed,” Merlin murmured. “They’re going to make him a knight.”

            Jada was pleased for Lancelot—she was, really—but she quickly found herself wishing that his knighting ceremony could come at a later date. As it turned out, such a ceremony was to be followed by a royal celebration, during which Uther expected his Royal Bard to perform some sort of tribute to the general nobility of knights. She had until the following evening to prepare, and was now well and truly panicked.

            Lancelot himself seemed to find her stress fairly amusing, chuckling as she flew into Gaius’ quarters past him, the physician, and Merlin to seize the lute and try to come up with something that wouldn’t get her fired on her first job.

            She was certainly no composer, that much she knew, so her best bet was just to learn a suitable song that Merlin already had the tablature for. It was a difficult task for her inexperienced fingers, but after a short while Merlin came to sit beside her and offer what help he could. Together they managed to produce something that seemed passable, and now she just had to practise it.

            Merlin stayed up as long as he could with her, but eventually Gaius declared that it was time they all went to bed. Jada took the hint and bid them goodnight, but Merlin was kind enough to let her take his lute with her to practise with in the morning.

            She was not permitted to attend Lancelot’s knighting ceremony the following morning, due to her only recently holding a position in the royal household, so she continued to practise her song. By the time she looked up from the tablature she and Merlin had transcribed, it was dark out and the braziers in the courtyard were being lit.

            She was going to be late.

            She hadn’t even given any thought to what she was supposed to wear until that moment, but she quickly decided that the dress Gwen had made for her would have to do as nothing else she owned looked even remotely suitable for a royal affair. She threw it on, pausing only to try and make her hair appear more presentable, before quickly deciding to just plait it back and hope it stayed somewhat neat. Grabbing the lute, she sped out the door and headed for the banquet hall.

            It was already full when she arrived, though she was grateful to see that people were mostly milling about with plates and tankards in their hands, laughing with each other as the jovial music played. She’d been expecting a formal sit-down meal at the term ‘banquet’, but was glad to find that this was not the case.

            Her first scan of the room found the other musicians, who were gathered together underneath the great stain-glass windows that covered the length of one wall. Jada moved towards them, set her lute down against the wall, and scanned again.

            Now, she spotted Lancelot, who was sat with Arthur on one of the tables chatting. Both of them had a tankard of ale in their hand, seeming completely at ease as the party went on around them.

            At last her gaze found the dark hair that she’d been searching for. She joined Merlin and Gaius, the last of her jittery adrenaline beginning to subside as Merlin gave her a relaxed smile in greeting.

            “Are you all right?” he asked, taking in her expression. “You look like you might pass out.”

            “Nervous,” Jada replied. “Thought I was going to be late. I’m still not sure I’ve practised enough.”

            Merlin grinned at her in reassurance. “You’ll be fine. And if anything does go wrong, just act like it was meant to happen. They won’t know the difference.”

            She nodded, trying to relax with a sigh. As she did so, her gaze dropped to the plate he was holding in his hands and she frowned. “Merlin, why do you have a giant heap of grapes on your plate?”

            Confusion passed over his face, before he looked down too. Then he shrugged. “I just like them. We don’t get a lot of fancy food like this in my village. Want some? I’ve got some bread here, too…”

            The bread in question was mostly hidden under all the grapes, which Jada was pretty certain was more than any normal human would ever need in their life. She shook her head as he offered it to her, barely holding back her laughter. “No, thank you. I’m fine.”

            At that moment, they heard Lancelot’s laugh ring out over the crowd, and looked over to find him and Arthur grinning at something between themselves.

            “Look at him, Gaius,” Merlin said, apparently continuing some other conversation that Jada had not been a part of. “Does Lancelot not deserve this moment?”

            “I never said he didn’t,” Gaius replied. “But destiny and desserts are not the same thing. You played God, Merlin. You set him on a path of your choosing. Tonight you brought him triumph, but who knows what the future may hold?”

            “Oh, trust me,” Jada interjected. “Lancelot is destined to be a knight.”

            “Yeah, I don’t know what it said on your invitation,” Merlin added with a cheeky smile, “But on mine, it said ‘celebration’.”

            Gaius chuckled, beginning to turn away. “Point taken. Don’t come back too late.”

            “All right,” Merlin grinned, inclining his head for Jada to follow him further into the crowd. They made their way closer to the centre of the room, where Merlin exchanged his plate of grapes for a tankard of mead. He picked one up for Jada, too, and she examined it hesitantly. It smelled surprisingly sweet, and to her surprise tasted just as good. She could hardly even taste the alcohol.

            Gwen joined them while Jada was examining the drink, giving her a curious look as she sipped it warily.

            “We don’t have this back at home,” Jada explained. “All our alcohol tastes pretty foul.”

            Merlin seemed to be paying attention to something entirely different, however, and turned to Gwen with a smirk playing on his lips.

            “You know what?” He licked his lips, clearly enjoying whatever little secret he was about to reveal. “I think our Sir Lancelot might have eyes for you, Gwen.”

            Gwen gave a short laugh in disbelief. “Don’t be silly.”

            “What? So what if he did? Would that really be so bad?”

            Gwen gave an exasperated sigh. “He’s not really my type.”

            “Oh, well there’s a surprise,” Merlin replied. “Sometimes, Guinevere, I wonder if you’d know what your type was if he was standing right next to you.”

            Poor girl, Jada couldn’t help but think, to have a crush on someone so oblivious. She must have the patience of a saint.

            Gwen seemed to take it in good humour, proving Jada’s theory. “You’re probably right.”

            Merlin swapped his tankard for a full one, leaving Jada to wonder just how much alcohol was in it since he’d downed it so fast.

            “So, come on,” he continued after thanking the server. “Just for the sake of argument, if you had to, Arthur or Lancelot?”

            Jada choked on her mead, making an undignified snorting sound as she tried to swallow back her surprise.

            “Are you all right?” Gwen asked, her eyes wide with concern.

            “Fine,” Jada croaked, getting control of herself. She didn’t need to explain that legend to them.

            “So, who would you pick?” Merlin asked again, apparently satisfied Jada wasn’t going to choke to death now.

            Gwen scoffed, replying in a sing-song voice. “But I don’t have to and I never will.”

            Jada was lucky enough not to be taking a swig this time, and managed to disguise her shock as a cough.

            Merlin was still unsatisfied. “Oh, you are no fun, Gwen. What about you, Jada?”

            Jada eyed the two men still sat on the table. She’d only really seen Arthur a handful of times; one of those he’d been rescuing her from her own stupidity, and the others he seemed to be a bit of a spoiled arse. But all the women of legend that had fallen in love with Lancelot seemed to have come to some horrible end. Then again, most of the women of legend full stop seemed to have come to some horrible end.

            “I guess Lancelot?” she answered. “I’m not sure I’d fancy being a queen." Now it was her turn to give Merlin a mischievous grin. “What about you?”

            Before Merlin could answer, Arthur started banging on the table, drawing all the attention to himself as he rose to his feet.

            “Ladies and gentlemen, please join me in a toast to our new recruit-” He pulled Lancelot to his feet beside him with a grin. “Our new knight of Camelot, Sir Lancelot.”

            He raised his tankard, and the room broke out into cheers and applause. Lancelot was beaming.

            “Well, that’s my cue,” Jada said, handing her tankard to Merlin. “Don’t drink it all before I get back.”

            She headed over to the other musicians, picking up her lute and facing the crowd. Stay calm, she told herself. You’ve got this. Drawing a steadying breath, she began to play, the other musicians joining in with their drums and fiddles and flutes right on cue to the familiar tune. Her shaking fingers soon grew more comfortable, and by the time it came to her to sing she was even enjoying herself. Before she knew it, the song was over and she was free to go.

            “Well done,” Merlin congratulated her as she returned, handing her back her mead.

            “Thanks,” she replied. “I think I’m starting to get the hang of this. Now I can eat.”

            He laughed as she headed off to hunt down some food, turning to continue chatting to Gwen. Jada breathed a sigh of relief that she hadn’t messed everything up. Now she could really concentrate on celebrating.

Chapter 11 ->

[jessisnotnormal]

Chapter 9: Training

Masterlist

<- Chapter 8

“Keep your sword up!” Lancelot reminded, darting around to poke Jada in the side she’d left unprotected.

            “I’m trying!” Jada complained. “God, this is so complicated!”

            She hefted the wooden sword that Lancelot had procured higher, but all this whirling around and swinging just like this, or blocking just like that, was starting to make her brain hurt.

            “You can do this,” he reassured her. “Let’s try it again, but this time we’ll do it slower.”

            Jada let out a sigh, getting back into position. Feet spread equally apart, sword at shoulder-height—was there anything she was missing?

            Lancelot’s sword tapped her shoulder in her distraction—not hard, but enough to make her drop her arms and scowl. “Ugh, this is impossible!”

            “We can stop, if you wish.” Now, Lancelot relaxed his stance, waiting for her decision.

            It wasn’t like she really had to learn how to fight. As soon as they found a way for her to get home, she wouldn’t ever have to even look at a sword again. And Merlin had promised that they’d find a way to get her home somehow.

            But who knew how long that might take? It could be days, weeks, months before they found a solution. And every day Merlin faced some other dangerous situation, whether it was witches, kings, or magical creatures rampaging through the forest. She didn’t want to have to count on another Lancelot coming to their rescue the next time he got himself into trouble.

            “No,” she answered. “No, I’m going to learn this. Let’s do it again, please.”

            Lancelot nodded, giving her a smile. “Very well.”

            He swung his sword at her, more slowly this time, but still seeming to radiate pure skill in every movement. Jada shifted her weight, bringing her wooden sword up to block his attack, twisting it just as he’d told her to do. It wasn’t a particularly amazing feat, and she was hardly ready for battle now, but she felt proud of herself. Maybe she could do this, after all.

            “Very good,” Lancelot praised. “Faster?”

            This time, Jada grinned. “Sure. Let’s go.”

            She was certainly going to have few bruises tomorrow by the time they’d finished. Under Lancelot’s guidance, she’d finally started to get the hang of some of the basics, and so now, as they returned to Gaius’ quarters, Jada was in a much better mood.

            Gaius himself was nowhere to be seen, having apparently gone out to work, and Jada noticed that he had moved all the books they’d been searching through back onto the bookshelves now that Lancelot was staying there. That was probably a smart move, she thought—there was no telling how Lancelot would react to that tale.

            Lancelot now handed her his wooden sword, making for an apple on the table as she put the two of them away under the stairs.

            “So, when do you want me next?” she asked.

            Lancelot thought for a moment, beginning to peel the apple in his hand with a knife. “I’m not certain. I don’t know what I’ll be doing, exactly, since my ambition to become a knight is…” He waved the hand with the knife about vaguely, still looking just as disappointed as he had the day before.

            Jada pitied him, but mostly she just couldn’t understand it. He was Lancelot. Of course he was supposed to be a knight. The more she thought about it all, the more this Camelot seemed to be some alternate universe version, where everything that was supposed to be turned out the opposite. She wondered what that meant for her, and Morgo’s request. Perhaps her just being here had caused the reversal?

            It was at that moment that Merlin burst through the door, holding a rolled-up piece of parchment triumphantly.

            Lancelot nodded towards it. “What’s that?”

            “This,” Merlin announced, clearly proud of himself, “Is your seal of nobility.”

            Lancelot shook his head. “I don’t understand.”

            Merlin unrolled the scroll grandly, still grinning. “Ladies and gentlemen, I give you Lancelot, fifth son of Lord Eldred of Northumbria.”

            Without a pause, Lancelot waved his finger at him. “No, Merlin. No.”

            “Oh, right, so you don’t want to be a knight, then.” Merlin gave a small shrug, before turning for the door again.

            “Of course I do!”

            Merlin paused, turning back towards them. “What? The rules don’t allow it? Damn the rules! The rules are wrong.”

            “But it’s a lie,” Lancelot pointed out. “It’s against everything the knights stand for.”

            “You have as much right to be a knight as any man. I know it.” Merlin turned to Jada, looking for support. She shrugged.

            “You’re supposed to be a knight,” she admitted. “I’m sure of it.” But did that mean that lying to get him there was right?

            “But the rules,” Lancelot insisted.

            “We’re not breaking the rules,” Merlin countered. “We’re bending them, that’s all. You get your foot in the door, but after that… After that, you’ll be judged on your merit alone. And if you succeed, if they make you a knight, it will be because you have earned it, noble or not.”

            Lancelot folded his arms, sitting on the edge of the table as he considered Merlin’s argument.

            “Can I see it?” Jada asked Merlin, holding her hand out for the seal.

            He handed it to her, and she examined the page, the crest, the archaic writing. It must have been forged, she knew that, but without seeing anything like it before she was no authority on how convincing it would look to an expert.

            “I can’t change the way things are done around here,” Merlin was continuing to Lancelot. “But you can. If you let me help you.”

            “Will they know it’s faked?” Jada asked. “What if you get caught?”

            Merlin shrugged, a hint of smugness in his smile. “Don’t worry about it; it looks exactly like the original, I promise. Except for the name, of course.”

            She eyed him suspiciously. She wasn’t sure what it was about the way he looked back at her, but it made her almost certain he’d used magic to copy the page. Which meant that if they did get caught, the punishment could quickly become much more severe.

            “What if you get caught?” she repeated.

            “I won’t.” He grinned at her, and suddenly she was no longer surprised he regularly found himself in trouble. Now, he frowned. “You’re giving me the look.”

            “The look? What look?” she asked, baffled out of her wariness.

            “The Look. The one that Gaius gives me whenever I do something like this.”

            Despite herself, Jada laughed. “Clearly you need more people to give you The Look then, if you keep doing stuff like this.”

            Despite her concerns, Jada soon found herself accompanying both Merlin and a now-convinced Lancelot to Gwen’s house. Merlin had decided that if Lancelot was going to pretend to be a noble, he’d need to at least look the part, and that meant enlisting the help of Camelot’s best seamstress.

            Jada got a sense of déjà vu as they entered Gwen’s house, but this time she leant against the wall with Merlin as Lancelot was measured.

            He cleared his throat as she measured the inside of his leg. “This is very kind of you, er…”

            “Gwen,” she said, looking up at him with a smile.

            “Gwen,” Lancelot repeated.

            “Short for ‘Guinevere’,” she clarified, standing to measure his arms.

            So Gwen was supposed to be Guinevere, then, as Jada had suspected. She regarded the girl. Yup, definitely not a princess. Her opposite theory was looking pretty promising, so far.

            “Ah,” Lancelot said. “Then, thank you, Guinevere.”

            “Don’t thank me,” she smiled. “Thank Merlin. Merlin would do anything for anyone, wouldn’t you, Merlin?”

            Okay, she definitely fancied the him, Jada thought, trying to suppress a smile. How adorable.

            Merlin waved his hand awkwardly, grinning.

            “Sorry, can you raise your arms?” Gwen asked Lancelot, who gladly obliged. “Thank you. Sorry." She quickly wrapped the tape around Lancelot’s torso, glancing at him over his shoulder at the same time that he risked a glance at her.

            Yikes, Jada thought. Everybody apparently fancied everybody in this city.

            “I think it’s great that Merlin’s got you this chance,” Gwen was continuing, wrapping her measuring tape now around Lancelot’s neck. “We need men like you.”

            “You do?” he asked.

            “Well, not me, personally, but, you know, Camelot,” Gwen stammered. “Camelot needs knights. Not just Arthur and his kind, but ordinary people like you and me.”

            “Well, I’m not a knight yet, my lady.”

            “And I’m not a lady,” Gwen giggled.

            “Sorry, I…”

            “Okay, we’re done,” she announced. “Um, I should have these ready in no time. It’s nice to meet you, Lancelot.”

            She offered her hand for Lancelot to shake, but instead he bent to press a kiss to the back of it. Merlin pushed himself off from the wall, patting Lancelot on the back as he headed for the door, and Lancelot turned to follow.

            “Oh, Jada, I almost forgot,” Gwen said. “Your clothes are almost done; I just need you to come back for the fittings whenever you can.”

            “Is tonight all right?” Jada asked. “I’ll let you finish Lancelot’s stuff, first.”

            “That’s fine.” Gwen smiled sweetly, and Jada mirrored it as she turned to follow the others out.

            “Thanks, Gwen. I’ll see you later.”

            “She seems lovely,” Lancelot said as the three of them walked back through the castle together. “Guinevere.”

            He was trying to play it off as casual interest, judging by his body language, but Jada remained unconvinced. She was almost certain Lancelot was smitten.

            Merlin, however, seemed not to have noticed, answering just as casually as Lancelot was pretending to be. “Oh, yeah, yeah, she is. And the best seamstress in Camelot, I promise.”

            “Are you two…” He gestured vaguely, but Merlin only watched him with a blank expression. “…You know?”

            Another awkward moment passed before Merlin caught on, and then he laughed. “No. No, no. Just friends.”

            Jada glanced at him sideways in surprise, but he didn’t appear to be hiding anything from them. So he didn’t know about Gwen’s little crush, then? Poor Gwen. Although, Jada realised, Lancelot certainly seemed to have taken quite a keen interest in her instead. So, Lancelot liked Gwen, Gwen like Merlin, and Merlin was utterly oblivious about the whole thing?

            She snickered, causing the other two to give her strange looks.

            “What?” Merlin asked, frowning.

            “Nothing,” she replied, trying to suppress her smile. What a tangle they were all in. Maybe they weren’t so far from their legendary counterparts, after all.

            Gwen really was the best seamstress in Camelot, Jada concluded, so much so that she wasn’t sure the girl didn’t have some kind of secret superpower. Before the day was done, she had prepared Lancelot a full outfit to match his ‘noble heritage’, complete with his supposed family’s crest emblazoned across his chest.

            He wore it now as he headed down to the training yard—accompanied by Jada, Merlin and Gwen—to present himself to Arthur.

            “Well, you certainly look the part,” Merlin said, finishing his last-minute adjustments of Lancelot’s mail.

            “Doesn’t he just?” Gwen agreed.

            Lancelot, however, was fidgeting uncomfortably. “I don’t feel it.”

            “Okay, that’ll do for today.” Arthur’s voice reached them from the training ground as he dismissed his men and began to head over to where the equipment was. “Well done.”

            “Here’s your chance,” Merlin said, patting Lancelot on the back. “Go for it.”

            “Good luck.” Jada gave him a hopeful smile as he headed towards the Prince.

            Arthur glanced up at him as he approached. “Yes?”

            Lancelot shifted nervously. “Lancelot, fifth son of Lord Eldred of Northumbria.”

            “‘Lance-a-lot’?” Arthur repeated, seeming unimpressed. “My servant mentioned you. Got your seal?”

            Lancelot bowed, offering Arthur the scroll that Merlin had produced. “Sire.”

            Arthur hit him. He struck Lancelot straight in the face without warning, sending him staggering backwards until he fell to the floor. Jada sent a worried glance at Merlin beside her, who looked a little taken aback, but certainly not as appalled as she felt. He worked for this man?

            “Sluggish reactions,” Arthur declared. “On a battlefield, you’d be dead by now. Come back when you’re ready.”

            He gave Lancelot one last dismissive glance before turning away, but Lancelot would not be dissuaded so easily. He got back to his feet, his hand on the hilt of his sword. “I’m ready now, sire.”

            Arthur turned back, an amused look to his features. “You are, are you?”

            Lancelot nodded.

            “Fine. You can start by cleaning out the stables.”

            The other men in the yard laughed as Arthur re-joined them, and Lancelot turned to send a questioning look to Merlin. Merlin gave him an excited thumbs-up, so Jada had to assume that whatever had just happened was a good thing. Somehow, Lancelot was on his way to becoming a knight.

            It seemed that Gwen had been even busier than Jada had thought. Upon returning to her house that evening, she found that she had made her not only a beautiful blue day dress, but a simple white nightdress also.

            “Gwen, this is amazing,” she said, astounded. “How on earth did you manage to find time for it all?”

            Gwen blushed, a shy smile appearing. “Lady Morgana is very kind; she allowed me some spare time to finish them once she found out what I was doing.”

            Jada raised her eyebrows involuntarily. Morgana? So that must have been the girl who sat beside the King and Arthur during her performance.

            Hers was a name that Jada knew very well from the legends, though it often took slightly different forms, so she could not help the twinge of worry that she felt at the mention of her. But if everything here was the opposite of all that she’d read, then Morgana surely was a good, kind character. Indeed; she’d gone out of her way to help Jada by helping Gwen, and she’d certainly seemed kind when Jada had glimpsed her in the hall.

            “That was nice of her,” she mused, before turning her attention back to Gwen and flashing her a smile. “And these really are wonderful.”

            “I’d have liked to add a bit more detail to the nightgown,” Gwen replied, pursing her lips slightly at the fabric, “But I thought you’d probably appreciate it being finished faster more.”

            “It’s perfect, really. Thank you.”

            Now, Gwen grinned. “You’re welcome. I can teach you how to do it, if you’d like, so that you can make more of your own.”

            Jada’s mind called up memories of her high school textiles lessons; of sewing pillows and getting yelled at by the teacher for never remembering how to thread a sewing machine properly and having to hand-sew everything instead. But sewing machines hadn’t been invented yet, she realised with a glimmer of hope.

            “Sure,” she grinned. “I’d like that. But you deserve a break, first.”

            Gwen laughed. “I’m almost out of materials, anyway, so it will have to wait a little while. But the first thing we need to do is see if these need adjusting. Could you try them on?”

            “No problem.” Jada took the dresses eagerly, but quickly came up short the moment she realised that Gwen’s house consisted of just one room. She had turned around to give Jada some privacy, but Jada still couldn’t help but feel a little uncomfortable. It’s fine, she told herself; you’ve shared dressing rooms before. And hospital rooms. And everybody feels awkward in hospital gowns. Why didn’t they make them with backs? What kind of idiot design was that, anyway?

            Her inner grumblings distracted her mind as she changed into the first dress, relaxing as the skirt touched the floor. The waist was a little large, and the sleeves just slightly too long, but other than that she was pleased to find it fit perfectly. Gwen really was a superwoman.

            She quickly got to work on the adjustments, chatting happily away to Jada as she pushed pins through the fabric. Before long, they had moved onto the nightdress, which somehow fit Jada even more comfortably than the first. She hoped she would be able to keep them both when she found her way back home, though what she’d use them for she had no idea. Maybe just to prove that she wasn’t crazy, and hadn’t imagined the whole thing.

            Eventually, Gwen finished working, and the clothes were ready at last. Tom had come home just as Jada finished changing back into her original clothes, which was particularly fortunate timing, she couldn’t help but note. She’d already undressed in front of enough people today.

            “Thanks again for everything, Gwen,” Jada said, gathering up her things. “I can give Merlin his shirt back, now.”

            “Mhm,” Gwen agreed, raising her eyebrows slightly. “How kind of him it was to let you borrow it.”

            “Yeah, bless him,” Jada replied, chuckling slightly. “I’m glad it was him that found me in the woods. And the knights, of course. I don’t know where I’d be otherwise.”

            “He seems to be just as glad,” she remarked, before her tone turned more sincere. “He’s a good person; he has a good heart.”

            “Undoubtedly,” Jada replied. She’d seen enough of Merlin to know that much.

            “I wouldn’t want to see him get hurt.”

            “Of course not.”

            Gwen seemed to be trying to get at something specific, but for the life of her, Jada couldn’t figure out what it was. “You’ll look after him, won’t you?”

            Jada frowned a little. Did Gwen know about Nimueh? “I’ll do my best, I promise,” she said, flashing a reassuring grin.

            Gwen smiled back, seeming to relax now. “Good. I’m glad.”

            Though still confused, Jada was glad that whatever worries Gwen had had had seemingly been put to rest. “Well, I should be getting back. Thanks again for all of this, I’ll repay you as soon as I can.”

            After bidding farewell to Gwen and her father, Jada headed back to the castle, taking the bundles of fabric with her.

Chapter 10 ->

[jessisnotnormal]

Chapter 13: A Remedy to Cure All Ills

Masterlist

<- Chapter 12

It was a busy morning in the castle, and Merlin was on laundry duty. He had no idea how Arthur managed to get so many clothes dirty so quickly—in all honesty, Merlin was sure there were more clothes in Arthur’s laundry pile than he himself owned—but at least none of them seemed particularly muddy today. He should be done in an hour, maybe even less, he thought as he headed through the castle towards the servants’ quarters.

            “Merlin?”

            He whirled around at the voice, soon finding the owner and greeting her with a warm smile. “Jada.”

            She wasn’t wearing any of the dresses that Gwen had given her today, instead opting for the shirt and breeches that they’d found her in, and Merlin noticed that she was holding a wooden sword. “Do you know where the Lady Morgana is?” Jada asked.

            “Morgana?” Merlin frowned, stepping closer.

            “She offered to train me; we were supposed to start today but she didn’t show up. I was just wondering if you’d seen her.”

            “Morgana’s ill,” he explained. “Gwen found her this morning completely unresponsive. Gaius thinks she has an infection of the brain.”

            “Oh my God!” Jada replied, shocked. “Is she going to be all right?”

            Merlin had no other option but to shrug. “He’s trying everything he can, but so far nothing seems to have made much of a difference. I’m sure he’ll find something soon, though.” He flashed her an optimistic grin, and the worried creases of her face seemed to smooth out.

            “Yeah, I’m sure she’ll be fine,” she agreed. “Well, thanks for letting me know, anyway. I’ll let you get back to work now.”

            “No problem. I’ll see you later, okay?”

            “Yeah, see you later.”

            It had been nearly two days since Morgana had fallen ill, and still Gaius had found no way of curing her. He had returned to her chambers that morning in order to re-examine her, and Gwen, Jada, and Merlin all waited anxiously outside to hear his verdict.

            “I’m sure she’ll be all right.” Merlin tried to reassure Gwen, placing a gentle hand on her shoulder and squeezing slightly.

            Gwen had her thumb pressed against her lips in worry, but she gave Merlin a small nod.

            Their attention was drawn sharply away, however, at the sound of the door opening above them. Gaius descended the stairs, his expression grave, and Gwen looked to him hopefully.

            “Is she any better?” she asked.

            Gaius shook his head, and Gwen hurried past him up to her mistress’ chambers. The physician waited for her to disappear before moving closer to Merlin and murmuring, “She’s all but dead, Merlin.”

            Merlin shook his head in denial. “No, you’re going to cure her. You have to.”

            “Don’t you start,” Gaius replied. “I’ve tried everything.”

            “I was wondering…”

            “What?”

            “Maybe I could…” A guard appeared at the end of the hallway, causing Merlin to cut himself short with a nervous cough. The guard disappeared again, continuing his patrol, but nevertheless Merlin lowered his voice. “…Help?”

            “If you are suggesting magic…” Gaius scolded in a hushed tone. “Have you forgotten what happened with Gwen’s father?”

            Merlin shifted uncomfortably. It wasn’t as though he’d meant to cause any harm by curing Tom of his illness, but his actions had almost caused Gwen’s execution.

            “This is not a magical illness,” Gaius continued. “It must be cured by conventional means. We keep trying. See if you can find me some fresh rosemary.”

            He knew that Gaius was just trying to keep him away from the situation so he couldn’t inadvertently cause any trouble. “There must be something more I can do.”

            “And yarrow.”

            Getting nowhere, Merlin sighed in resignation. He nodded, and Gaius headed back up the stairs.

            “What happened with Gwen’s father?” Jada asked. She’d been sitting on a chair next to the wall, but now she rose and came to stand by him.

            Merlin gave her a sheepish smile, rubbing the back of his neck. “You remember I told you about the afanc? And how Gwen was nearly executed for it?”

            She nodded. “Yeah?”

            Merlin lowered his voice again, beginning the walk back to Gaius’ chambers. Jada fell in step beside him, waiting for him to explain. “I may have been the reason Uther blamed her…”

            Shock filled her features, and for a moment Merlin was sure that this would be the moment she realised he really wasn’t as amazing as she seemed to think. “Merlin!” she scolded, but then her expression softened. “How?”

            “I just wanted to cure her father. He got sick, so I used my magic to make him better. I didn’t want Gwen to have to lose him. I didn’t realise that Uther would blame her for the entire plague.”

            To his surprise, Jada gave a soft laugh. “Bless you. So Gaius doesn’t want you to cure Morgana in case it happens again?”

            Merlin shrugged. “It would seem so.”

            “Although, I’m not sure Uther would even question it if it was Morgana getting miraculously healed,” she mused. “He’d probably just throw a banquet or something and not give it a second thought.”

            Merlin chuckled. “You’re getting the hang of how things work around here, then.”

            “Finally. Although I’m not sure I’ll ever completely get used to it.”

            He saw her face fall suddenly, and knew that she was thinking about her home. “You won’t have to. I made you a promise, remember?”

            “Yeah,” she said, smiling slightly. “But you shouldn’t make promises you don’t know you can keep.”

            “I promise we’ll find a way to get you home.”

            She laughed a little. “Merlin.”

            “I promise.”

            She turned to look at him, then rolled her eyes, though he could see that the corner of her mouth was turned upwards. “Fine.”

            “But first,” he said. “Rosemary.”

            “And yarrow.”

            He nodded, smiling. “And yarrow.”

            By the time they’d returned to Morgana’s chambers with Gaius’ supplies, the physician himself was nowhere to be seen. Even the King, who had hardly left his ward’s side since she had fallen ill, was absent, leaving only Gwen to care for her.

            “Where’s Gaius?” Merlin asked her.

            “He’s gone to the throne room,” Gwen explained. “Arthur mentioned a man who’d come to the castle claiming he could treat Morgana. Uther summoned him to the throne room immediately.”

            “How does he know he can cure her?” Jada frowned. “He hasn’t even seen her, has he?”

            “I don’t know…” Gwen admitted. “You’d better go and find out. I’m going to stay here and look after her.”

            They nodded, bidding Gwen farewell before hurrying off towards the throne room. The others were already engaged in conversation when they arrived, the two of them slinking through one of the farther doors so as not to draw attention to themselves.

            “-So when I heard of the Lady Morgana’s sickness,” the man in the centre of the room was saying. “I felt honour bound to offer my services.”

            He must have been the man Gwen had talked about, Merlin noted. He didn’t particularly look as though he had some kind of miracle cure; he had curly golden hair and shoulders that hunched slightly, though he didn’t look to be too far past thirty. The only notable thing about him, really, was the scarring that covered the entire right side of his face and turned one half of his smile into more of a grimace.

            “You say you have a cure for all?” Gaius asked. “An antidote for everything?”

            “Yes,” the man replied, before attempting to wave Gaius off. “Although it is not quite as simple as that.”

            “Gaius is the court physician,” Uther explained, seating himself on his throne.

            The stranger seemed immediately more welcoming to Gaius, a smile lighting the one half of his face. “You are indeed a legend, sir. I am delighted to meet you.” He gave a small bow, though Gaius did not seem particularly impressed, so he turned his attention instead back to the matter at hand. “I am curious to know what it is that has affected her.”

            “An infection of the brain,” Gaius replied.

            “And your treatment?”

            “Yarrow.”

            “Yes, yes.”

            “Rosemary, to stimulate cerebral circulation.”

            The man’s face changed. “Interesting.”

            “Why? What would you suggest?” Arthur asked.

            “No, no. No, no, no, that is all fine. All good,” the stranger replied, backtracking. “If that is… the right diagnosis.”

            Uther rose from his throne, approaching the man curiously. “What would your diagnosis be?”

            “Well…” The man exhaled. “Without examining the patient…”

            “He should examine her,” Arthur suggested.

            Uther regarded his son, then turned back to the man expectantly.

            “I would need my equipment,” the man stated.

            “Of course,” Uther nodded, sitting again. “You’ll have use of one of the guest chambers.”

            “And consider my manservant at your disposal,” Arthur offered.

            Beside Merlin, Jada gave a quiet snort, just loud enough for Merlin alone to hear. He gave her a look, but she only smirked in response.

            “I will start work immediately,” the man declared. He bowed, before spinning on his heel and leaving the room, his cloak flowing dramatically behind him.

            “Looks like you’d better get started, too,” Jada murmured.

            “It never ends,” Merlin replied, shaking his head in mock exasperation. “I’ll see you later.”

            He hurried after the man, soon catching up to him as he strode through the corridor.

            “Uh, hi, I’m Merlin,” he said, offering his hand. “Prince Arthur’s manservant.”

            “Ah, Merlin.” The man smiled, taking his hand firmly and shaking it. “My name is Edwin Muirden. It is good of the Prince to send you to help me.”

            They began walking again, and Merlin gave a shrug. “We all want the Lady Morgana to be well again, the Prince included.”

            “Of course,” Edwin nodded. “And I promise I will do everything in my power to cure her for you. First, I will need your help bringing my equipment to my chambers.”

            Edwin’s equipment turned out to be a rather large and heavy group of boxes, each containing some strange and arcane-looking apparatus that Merlin had the job of arranging on Edwin’s new table. He couldn’t help but marvel at it; he’d never seen anything like it all before, even including the time he’d lived amongst Gaius’ own strange contraptions.

            Edwin had apparently noticed him ogling the equipment. “Yes… it was all originally designed for alchemy.”

            Alchemy? Merlin had only ever read about it once or twice in Gaius’ books, and even then, the practise was usually dismissed as impossible. “Making gold?”

            “You have an interest in science?” Edwin seemed surprised.

            Merlin gave a soft snort, recalling all the lectures that Gaius had tried to give him about his beloved art that Merlin had only ever half-listened to. “Well, science is knowledge,” he recounted, half-joking.

            “It has the answers to everything,” Edwin replied seriously, seeming to miss Merlin’s sarcasm.

            “Maybe,” he replied, his attention already drifting off as he turned to look out the window. Suddenly, a thought occurred to him. “It can’t explain love.”

            Edwin chuckled. “So you are in love.”

            Merlin gave a choked laugh, shaking his head. “No.”

            Hardly. Who would he even be in love with? His mind suddenly recalled the memory of Arthur announcing to the entire royal court that Merlin was in apparently love with Gwen, and had to stop himself from making a face. Gwen was fantastic, and the sweetest soul he’d probably ever meet, but she was definitely just a very good friend. She’d only kissed him out of excitement that he wasn’t dead.

            “I mean… feelings, emotions,” he clarified.

            “You seem too bright to be just a servant,” Edwin marvelled.

            “Oh, don’t be fooled, I’m not that bright.” He picked up a small, wooden box that was lying on the table, beginning to examine it curiously.

            “Yes, we will need that,” Edwin said, taking it from him and adding it to the pile of equipment he’d already prepared for Merlin to carry. “Now, we must hurry to the Lady Morgana… before it is too late.”

            They made their way to Morgana’s chambers, Merlin carrying all of the equipment and Edwin stopping every so often to hold the doors open for him. Of all the extra jobs Arthur had given him, Merlin thought that working for Edwin was probably going to be one of the more pleasant. It was nice to work for someone who wasn’t a pompous, entitled lord, for a change.

            They found almost everybody else already waiting inside Morgana’s chambers; Arthur was leaning just inside the doorway, whilst Uther stood at the foot of Morgana’s bed, and Gaius and Jada waited together to the side. The only person missing was Gwen.

            “Put my equipment over there,” Edwin said, pointing towards the table. Merlin obeyed. “Sire, I would be grateful if you could have everyone leave the room. I require peace and privacy.”

            Uther nodded. “Certainly.”

            He and Arthur began to head out immediately, followed by Jada and Merlin. Gaius, however, made no sign of movement, so Merlin paused in the doorway, watching.

            “That includes you, Gaius,” Edwin said.

            “But I am eager to learn from your methods,” Gaius protested.

            “Now is not the time for giving instruction. I will need all my concentration.”

            Uther’s voice spoke out suddenly beside Merlin, making him jump. “Gaius…” he warned.

            Reluctantly, Gaius obeyed, following everyone else out of the room. Merlin gave Edwin one last look before he, too, departed, and shut the door behind him.

            They all waited nervously outside the room for what felt like hours, not a single one of them daring to break the silence. Merlin hadn’t even realised he was bouncing his knee until Jada nudged him, giving him a reassuring smile. He sighed, feeling his anxiety calm just a little, and nodded back to her.

            When at last Edwin burst out of the room and came hurrying down the stairs, they were all so on edge that everyone immediately jumped to their feet.

            “Great news, Your Majesty,” Edwin announced. “You will be glad to hear it is not an inflammation of the brain.”

            A hint of relief flashed in Uther’s eyes, but he seemed to be holding back his hope with caution. “What is it, then?”

            “It is a cerebral haemorrhage.”

            Gaius, who had been looking rather unimpressed until that point, unfolded his arms suddenly. “Haemorrhage? I don’t think so.”

            “I found this trace of blood in her ear,” Edwin argued, holding up a small scrap of cloth splattered with blood.

            “God in heaven!” Uther cried.

            Edwin turned back to him, a physician’s seriousness now in place. “The severity depends upon the site and volume of the bleed. If not treated, it can lead to coma…”—He glanced at Gaius for a moment, then turned back to Uther—“And eventually death.”

            Uther was stunned, and turned to Gaius. “How could you have missed this?”

            “I didn’t see any blood,” Gaius defended.

            “Please,” Edwin interjected. “Just thank the fates that you did not administer more rosemary to stimulate the circulation. Can you imagine what that might have done?”

            Once more, Uther turned to Gaius for explanation.

            “It may have increased the bleed,” Gaius admitted.

            Now Uther turned his attention to Edwin. “Is there a cure?”

            Edwin smiled, gesturing up the stairs to Morgana’s chambers. “See for yourself.”

            Uther immediately turned and swept up the stairs, closely shadowed by Arthur. The rest of them followed more slowly, arriving to find Uther embracing a fully conscious Morgana with a delighted grin on his face.

            “Morgana!” he gasped. “I thought… I really thought…”

            Morgana gave a weak laugh, her voice hoarse with disuse but her sense of humour still unshaken. “Oh, you won’t get rid of me that easily.”

            “What exactly did he give you?” Gaius asked, incredulous.

            “I’ve no idea,” she replied, and Gaius turned sharply to look at Edwin. “But thank heaven he did.”

            They soon left Uther and Arthur alone with Morgana to celebrate her recovery, and Edwin swept back to his chambers the moment he was out the door, leaving just Gaius, Merlin, and Jada to marvel over the turn of events as they walked back.

            “Strange…” Jada remarked, once they were a fair distance away from Morgana’s room.

            “Hm?” Gaius asked, drawing himself out of his own thoughts.

            “It just seems a bit weird that everything got sorted out so quickly,” she said. “You wouldn’t even be able to guess anything had been wrong with her now, I reckon.”

            “And yet she was all but dead only yesterday…” Gaius mused.

            Merlin shrugged. “You must have just missed it,” he suggested. “I’m sure it happens to everyone.”

            “I’m no doctor,” Jada spoke up. “But I’d have thought a haemorrhage would take longer to recover from.”

            “It usually does,” Gaius replied. “Whatever Edwin did to her, it has had near-miraculous effects.”

            “He did say it was ‘a remedy to cure all ills’,” Merlin argued. “Isn’t that a bit of a ‘miracle’ in itself?”

            He couldn’t understand their apparent suspicion; whatever method Edwin had used, he had used it for good. He’d brought Morgana back from the brink of death. Surely that was the important thing?

            Gaius didn’t seem convinced, but he didn’t argue. “Indeed…”

            “I’d better get back to Arthur now, anyway,” Merlin said. “I’ll see you both later.”

            Arthur’s chambers were a complete mess, as usual, since apparently he was incapable of basic human functioning whenever Merlin was away. It took him longer than usual to sort through everything and put all the clutter back where it belonged, but once he had finished, Arthur sent him out on a new errand: to deliver Uther’s official dinner invitation to Edwin. Merlin was grateful he’d never been rewarded with that privilege himself.

            There was no answer from the other side of Edwin’s door when he knocked, so after glancing up and down the corridor, Merlin eased the door open and stepped inside. He could probably just get away with setting the invitation down on the table and leaving, he thought, but there was something about the apparatus on the table that he just couldn’t stop fiddling with.

            He wondered which it was that Edwin had used to cure Morgana and how exactly, the earlier conversation with Gaius and Jada re-entering his mind. The kingdom’s scholars seemed to have been unable to decide whether alchemy was a magical art, but looking at all the tools now, Merlin had a hard time believing that it didn’t tread into magical territory in some way.

            His gaze fell once more on the little wooden box, the runic marking on the lid capturing the rest of his attention. He stopped fiddling with the other equipment to pick it up, popping the latch to open it. Inside, he found it was full of dead beetles, all inky black in colour and slightly shiny.

            He’d seen Gaius grind up various insects for his potions before, but he’d never come across any that looked like these. He closed the lid again, tracing the runes with his finger as he read them aloud. “Berbay odothay arisan yeldo.”

            A strange scratching sound began to arise from inside the box, so Merlin opened it again with a frown. To his surprise and horror, the seemingly dead beetles had come back to life, scuttling and scurrying round their container as if they’d always been able to do so. Merlin slammed the lid shut again quickly.

            “Very good.”

            He whirled to face the voice, knocking over a vase filled with sand, to find Edwin watching him from further in the room. He started to walk towards Merlin, whose mind was now racing to find a convincing excuse to cover up his blunder. With a nervous smile, he handed the box back to Edwin, who opened it and held his hand over the scurrying beetles.

            “Sfeffin…” Edwin commanded, and the beetles stilled, returning to the dormant position Merlin had found them in. “You have magic.”

            “It wasn’t me; I didn’t do anything,” Merlin denied immediately, his heart hammering in his throat. Gaius was going to kill him, if Uther didn’t get to him first.

            “Then how else did you bring them to life?” Edwin challenged. “Only magic can do such a thing.”

            He turned his attention back to the box, looking on the sleeping beetles with a strange wonder. “These little angels are how I cured Lady Morgana. They repaired the damage to her brain. They saved her life.”

            He shut the lid and returned the box to its place on the table.

            So he had been using magic, Merlin realised. Gaius and Jada had been right: there was something else at work.

            “Magic can be a force for good,” Edwin stated, beginning to round the table.

            “I know,” Merlin replied.

            “Then why do you fear it?”

            “Uther has banned it, it’s not permitted.”

            “Should I have let Morgana die?”

            Merlin gave a small shake of his head. “No.”

            “People like us… we have a gift,” Edwin said. “Do you not think it should be used to make this a better world?”

            Merlin wasn’t sure anymore how to proceed. He’d had this same debate with Gaius on more than one occasion, though it had always been himself arguing for the use of magic to help people when Gaius insisted on using ‘conventional’ or ‘scientific’ means. He was surprised to find that Edwin shared the same ideas that he did—that he lived those ideas, even—and for a moment Merlin was given a glimpse of a completely different way of life than the one Gaius was leading him down. He couldn’t tell if he was intrigued or terrified.

            “Perhaps,” he said.

            Seeking a distraction from his conflictions, he set about cleaning the spilt vase up, sweeping the dust together with his hands.

            “Don’t waste your time picking that up,” Edwin told him. “Formien doost ronane.”

            The dust swirled into the air as if swept up by a tiny whirlwind, then deposited itself back into the vase. Merlin watched, entranced, then turned to smile at Edwin. Gaius would never have let him use magic for such a small task. Gaius would have insisted he clean it up by hand.

            Edwin was grinning back. “Why waste a talent like that? And I can teach you.”

            He began to approach Merlin, nodding to him encouragingly.

            Merlin turned his attention to the vase, giddy with the knowledge that he’d never get away with this with Gaius. “Readan ax giotan.”

            At his bidding, the vase began to float through the air, then tipped the dust into a nearby bowl. Once empty, it returned itself to its original position.

            “What do you use this for?” Edwin asked.

            Now came the truth of the matter. “Gaius doesn’t like me to.”

            “A gift like yours should be nurtured, practised, enjoyed,” Edwin insisted. “You need someone to help you, to encourage you.”

            Merlin couldn’t keep the smile from his face at the unspoken offer. “Perhaps.”

            “Imagine what we could achieve, if we shared our knowledge.”

            They could help people like Merlin wanted to help people, he thought with delight. No more ‘science is the only answer��. If someone was hurt, they could heal them. If they fell sick, they’d have a cure. It was a simple thing, such a simple thing, but at last Merlin would be able to use his talents properly, for things that mattered. No-one need ever suffer again, because Merlin and Edwin would help them. They’d have a remedy for all ills.

            “I should be getting back,” he admitted.

            “Of course,” Edwin smiled. Just as Merlin was turning to leave, he added, “You must promise to keep our secret safe.”

            Merlin couldn’t help but grin. “Of course.”

            “People like you and I,” Edwin said, “We must look after each other.”

            People like you and I. Edwin was just like him. They had the same talents, the same goals, the same secrets. Merlin didn’t have to be alone anymore. They’d look after each other.

            He nodded, turning to leave.

            He wasn’t alone anymore.

Chapter 14 ->

[jessisnotnormal]

Chapter 11: The Griffin

Masterlist

<- Chapter 10

It was early the next morning when Jada was awoken. It took her a moment to determine the cause of the disturbance, but the clamour of voices outside her chambers could not be ignored for long. Confused, she slid out of bed and headed for the door.

            Outside, two guards were holding Lancelot firmly by the arms and marching him away down the hall. Not long had they passed before Merlin appeared, his expression deeply worried as he followed in their wake.

            Jada stepped back inside and shut her door. So they’d been found out, then. What was the punishment for forgery, anyway? A fine? A prison sentence? Then again, she was considering a king who happily put people to death. Maybe she shouldn’t count so much on a normal punishment.

            Probably best to put trousers on, then, in case she was about to take part in some sort of prison break.

            After dressing as quickly as she could, she headed to the throne room. She figured that this was probably the place where they’d pronounce their royal judgement, and her theory was proven right as she rounded the corner to find Merlin pacing anxiously outside.

            “Merlin? What’s going on?” she asked.

            It was then that another thought dawned on her; if they knew Lancelot’s seal was forged, did they know who did it? Would Lancelot tell them? Would they figure out how? Suddenly a fine was looking like the least of their problems.

            “I don’t know,” Merlin replied. “They didn’t say anything when they came to arrest him. I think they must have found out, about the…” He sent a glance cautiously towards the guards at the door. They seemed far enough away not to hear, but he lowered his voice just to be certain. “About the seal.”

            “Do you think they know how Lancelot managed to…?” Managed to get his hands on such a flawless forgery, she didn’t dare say.

            Merlin must not have considered this angle, as his eyes widened. He opened his mouth to respond, but in the same instance the doors were opened, and Lancelot was led out. He was still being marched by two guards, and his expression certainly did not look cheerful. He’d been found guilty, of that Jada was sure, but of how much?

            She and Merlin followed them down into the dungeons, which were dark and dank and hidden away below the more civilised portion of the castle. Each step echoed, and somewhere off in the distance Jada could hear something dripping onto the stone floor. The whole atmosphere of the place made her shiver.

            They’d put Lancelot in the first cell opposite the door, and he was sitting morosely on the ground when Jada and Merlin arrived. He looked up as they approached.

            “I don’t know what to say to you, Lancelot,” Merlin began, leaning against the door.

            Lancelot’s reply was immediate. “You’re not to blame.”

            “Yes, I am,” Merlin insisted. “I pushed you. I made you lie.”

            Lancelot was shaking his head. “The choice was mine. My punishment is mine to bear, and mine to bear alone.”

            Jada wondered how she could have even considered that he might tell Uther about Merlin’s involvement in the crime. Even locked in a godforsaken dungeon cell, he maintained his noble character. She couldn’t help but think it ironic, really, that Lancelot should prove to be the most noble of all Uther’s knights.

            “I wish there was something I could do,” Merlin said.

            “There is,” Lancelot replied. “You can stop blaming yourself.”

            “Do you know how long they’re going to keep you down here?” Jada asked.

            Lancelot only shrugged. “Uther did not say.”

            She let out a sigh, turning to look at Merlin hopelessly. It seemed that there really was nothing they could do.

            One of the guards stepped towards them, signalling that it was time for them to leave. They bid Lancelot farewell, before returning to Gaius’ quarters, where they found the physician himself poring over an ancient-looking book at his bench.

            “Merlin? Jada?” he called as they entered.

            “Whatever you do, don’t say ‘I told you so,’” Merlin replied, sitting down.

            “I’ve no wish to gloat, Merlin. What’s done is done.” His attention returned to the book before him. “Here, come and take a look at this. I’ve realised my mistake. I’ve been looking for the creature in the wrong place, in the records of all known living things in the kingdom. And then I thought: but what about creatures only recorded in legend? In myth? And I discovered this.”

            He spun the book around to show them, revealing a drawing of a winged beast on one of the pages.

            “That is it!” Merlin exclaimed. “That’s the monster!”

            The castle’s warning bells began to toll, and screams arose from the direction of the courtyard. Gaius, Merlin and Jada hurried over to the window that looked out into it, where people were running in all directions as the creature swooped down on them. In a surge of red and silver, Arthur and the knights raced out to face the beast, distracting it momentarily from its pursuit of the common folk.

            Even from Gaius’ chambers, Jada could hear Arthur’s shouts of “On me! On me!” prompting the knights to surround him in a defensive formation. The creature screeched, beating its great wings just above them. “Defence!”

            The knights crouched behind their shields, spears pointed upwards. The creature descended on them, knocking several men aside and scattering their formation. As the creature landed some feet away, the knights took the opportunity to scramble back to their feet, forming a wall of shields that edged towards the beast.

            “Charge!”

            A clamour of yells broke out as they rushed the creature, which shrieked at them in response. Arthur, ever at the forefront of the fray, thrust his spear towards it as he advanced, though it took him several attempts before the blow landed. Then, the spear shattered against the creature’s shoulder, splintering beyond use in Arthur’s grip. The beast surged forwards, screeching, and Arthur fell back against the cobbles as it reared over him.

            “Arthur!” One of the guards that stood watch at the castle gate had joined the fray, tossing the prince a flaming torch.

            Arthur seized it from the ground beside him, swinging wildly at the beast as he got back to his feet. Seeing that the tide had now turned against it, the creature leapt into the air and wheeled away.

            “I hope that book tells us how to defeat it, Gaius,” Jada remarked as they turned away from the window.

            Gaius scanned the page, his eyes darting over the words before they suddenly grew wide. “We must go to Uther. Quickly.”

            The three of them had only just arrived at the Great Hall when Uther entered at the opposite end, followed by Arthur and several of the knights.

            “You said your knights were the best in the land,” Uther was saying. “You proved that today.”

            Arthur seemed less triumphant. “All I know is it’s still out there.”

            “Let’s not wait for it. The kingdom has been menaced by this creature for too long. We finish this now.”

            “Sire, if I may?” Gaius interjected.

            Every face in the room turned towards him, but he waited patiently.

            “Gaius?” Uther prompted.

            “I’ve been researching this creature, sire. I believe it to be a griffin.”

            “A griffin? What’s in a name?”

            “The griffin is a creature of magic.”

            Uther’s face grew stern. “I don’t have time for this, physician.”

            “It is born of magic, sire, and it can only be killed by magic.”

            “You are mistaken. It’s a creature of flesh and blood, like any other.” The king placed a hand on his son’s shoulder proudly. “Arthur proved that today.”

            “I’m not so sure, father,” Arthur disagreed, shaking his head. “I think there may be some truth in what he says.”

            “What truth?”

            “The griffin was unharmed, sire. Our weapons seemed useless against it.”

            “Useless?” Uther scoffed. “I think not. No, it’s tasted our steel once. The next time will be its last. When will your knights be ready to ride again?”

            “An hour, maybe two.”

            “Good. We finish this tonight.” Uther turned on his heel, striding out of the room without pause. Arthur gave Gaius a helpless look, before trailing after his father with the other knights. Gaius turned to Merlin gravely, but said nothing.

            When the three of them returned to Gaius’ quarters, it was Merlin that broke the silence at last.

            “Is it true?” he asked. “The griffin can only be killed by magic?”

            “Yes, Merlin,” Gaius replied. “I’m certain of it. If Arthur rides out against it, he’ll die.”

            “Then he must be stopped. Uther must see reason.”

            “Where magic is concerned, our king is blind to reason.” He stepped closer to Merlin, wearing a pointed expression. “And yet, magic is our only hope.”

            “You’re not suggesting…?”

            “It is your destiny, Merlin. The true purpose of your magic.”

            “You saw it, Gaius. I can’t go up against that thing.”

            “But if you do not, then Arthur will surely perish.”

            “Woah there, hang on a minute,” Jada interjected. She had been watching the discussion unfold in confused horror, but now her silence was broken she intended to shatter it completely. “How is that any form of fair? You can’t pin all this bullshit on Merlin; he’s eighteen! If Arthur does face that thing and die, it’ll be because his father’s too bloody stupid to listen to any kind of common sense, and not because poor Merlin didn’t want to risk his life on some fool’s errand. And as for ‘the true purpose of his magic’, I hardly think that you—or anybody else for that matter—is qualified to decide what that is except Merlin himself. He wasn’t born to babysit some asshole prince, so he certainly doesn’t have to die for one, either.”

            Gaius’ eyebrow had shot up almost the moment she had begun speaking, and it certainly wasn’t coming down again anytime soon. “Excuse me?”

            “Sorry, I didn’t mean that to come out quite so harshly. But my points still stand.” She folded her arms, refusing to budge.

            “And I suppose you have a better idea?” he frowned, just as stubborn as she was. “The griffin can only be killed by magic. There is only one person capable of facing it.”

            Merlin had begun to pace behind her, shaking his head. “No, no, no, no. This is madness. I don’t have magic that powerful. There must be another way.”

            “This is the only way,” Gaius insisted.

            “Do you even care what happens to me? ‘Oh, just do this, Merlin! Do that, Merlin! Go and kill the griffin, Merlin! I’ll just sit here and warm my feet by the fire!’”

            “Merlin!” Gaius cut in, stepping closer. Then, in a softer voice, he continued, “Merlin, you are the only thing I care about in all this world. I would give my life for you without a thought. But for what? I cannot save Arthur. It is not my destiny. You know.”

            There was a silence, before Merlin relaxed slightly. “I’m sorry.”

            Jada felt the scowl that darkened her face. He was still going to have to go out there, wasn’t he?

            “I don’t know what else I can say,” Gaius replied.

            “Then I’ll say it for you,” Merlin said, suddenly growing determined. “We have two hours to find a way to kill that thing.”

            The world outside was growing dark as Gaius dug through his books. Eventually, he spread one out on the top of the pile, patting the page triumphantly.

            “There,” he said, turning to Merlin. “You must do this for Arthur.”

            Merlin examined the page, running his fingertips over the words. “I’ve never cast a spell of enchantment this powerful.”

            “Nothing less will kill it. Here,” Gaius picked up a rusty dagger from the cluttered bench, handing it to Merlin. “Try. You have it within you, I know you do.”

            Merlin held the dagger up before him, obviously concentrating. “Bregdan anweald gafeluec.”

            The three of them stared at it, hardly daring to breathe. Jada wasn’t sure what was supposed to happen, but she kept her eyes focused on the blade for any sign of a change. “Is it supposed to do something?”

            Merlin turned to Gaius, who wore a grave expression.

            “Don’t worry, Merlin,” he said. “We’ve plenty of time.”

            Two hours later, Merlin was no closer to completing the spell successfully. Jada could see that he was growing frustrated; pinching his nose and giving exasperated sighs each time the spell failed, pacing back and forth still clutching the dagger, and even reciting the spell from different positions, all to no avail.

            “Bregdan anweald gafeluec.” Nothing. He dropped to one knee, holding the dagger aloft. “Bregdan anweald gafeluec.”

            He collapsed onto the stairs beside Jada, rubbing his temples. She put a hand on his back sympathetically.

            “Don’t worry, Merlin, I know you’re trying,” Gaius tried to reassure him.

            “And I’m failing, and if Arthur dies because I’m not good enough-”

            “Merlin!” Both Gaius and Jada said at the same time.

            Before they could say anything else, however, Gwen burst through the door, her cloak billowing out behind her. “Merlin! Lancelot’s riding out to kill the griffin!”

            Merlin rose to his feet. “He’s what?”

            Gwen only gestured helplessly in response, and suddenly Merlin was sprinting for the door.

            “Merlin!” Gaius called after him, but Merlin paid him no mind, already disappearing down the hall.

            Jada glanced at Gaius and Gwen only once before darting after him, unsure exactly what she intended to do, but knowing that she certainly wasn’t about to let him face whatever was about to happen alone.

            She caught up to him at the stables, where he was already debating with an armour-clad, lance-wielding Lancelot.

            “Merlin, you’re not a soldier,” Lancelot was arguing.

            “You said it yourself, Lancelot: Arthur needs all the help he can get. Now, let’s go," Merlin insisted, then spun on his heel, almost running into Jada in his haste. “Jada?”

            She really had to get in shape, she thought, trying to cover up her panting. “I’m coming. I’ll help.”

            “Jada, you can’t ride,” Merlin pointed out.

            “Then I’ll run, I don’t know. But I’m not letting you face this on your own.”

            He looked as though he wanted to argue more, but the longer they stood there debating, the more danger Arthur was likely to be in. “Fine. Let’s go, come on.”

            They raced back to the other horses, and Merlin tacked one up expertly, wasting little time.

            “Come on, then. Up behind the saddle,” he instructed, giving her a boost before climbing up himself in front of her. “Hold tight.”

            He trotted out of the courtyard to join Lancelot, before the two of them turned their horses after Arthur and his men.

            If Jada had thought that her ride into Camelot had been bumpy and uncomfortable, she was certainly unprepared for the terror she felt as Merlin urged his horse to move faster now. He’d probably have some bruises on his ribs tomorrow morning from how tightly she held on, burying her face into the back of his jacket and squeezing her eyes shut, but he didn’t complain. She thought he was probably too worried about Arthur to notice.

            She heard the screams and clashing of metal start up in the distance, and lifted her head in their direction. Merlin and Lancelot shared a glance, before they both turned their horses towards the sound and set off at a gallop down the slope. Jada buried her face again quickly.

            It didn’t take long for them to find the carnage that the griffin had wrought. The first Jada knew of it was Merlin tapping her hand, wanting to be released, and as he dismounted she took in the sight around them.

            The knights of Camelot were strewn all across the ground—whether unconscious or dead, Jada could not tell. Not a single one of them responded to their arrival, and as Lancelot and Merlin quickly began to check the bodies she saw little movement in any of them.

            Tearing her gaze away, she slid off the horse, absently patting its flank. She didn’t want to check the bodies. She couldn’t even bear the thought.

            “Arthur!” Merlin’s voice broke the silence, drawing her attention to him as he raced towards a body slumped against a rock.

            Lancelot was soon by his side, as Merlin checked the prince over. “Well?”

            “He’s alive.”

            A collective sigh of relief seemed to pass among them, but it was short-lived. From somewhere nearby, the griffin’s screech could be heard, though Jada could not determine where exactly it came from in the fog that had now settled between the trees.

            Lancelot raced back to his horse as Merlin bent over the prince, retrieving his lance and mounting quickly. At the end of the road, the griffin appeared, its enormous body emerging from the fog like a waking nightmare. Jada gasped as Lancelot galloped past them, only now realising that he intended to ride against the beast, with no hope of defeating it alone.

            Merlin stepped forward, having seemed to realise the same thing. “Okay, Merlin. It’s now or never,” she heard him murmur to himself.

            Lancelot had reached the end of the road, and turned now to face the griffin. His horse reared, whinnying, and for a moment Jada felt like she was looking directly at a legend in the mist. Sir Lancelot, facing down a griffin atop a white horse, all clad in silver mail and shrouded by the fog.

            “Bregdan anweald gafeluec.” Merlin’s voice brought her back to the present, reminding her sharply of the peril Lancelot now faced. If Merlin couldn’t get the spell right before he reached the griffin…

            Lancelot began to charge, his lance aimed at the beast.

            “Bregdan anweald gafeluec.”

            The horse thundered past where Merlin was standing, flying towards the griffin. Jada darted forward to watch, stopping just behind where Merlin still stood.

            “Bregdan anweald gafeluec.” He was louder now, growing more desperate as the griffin began to charge at Lancelot, its terrible wings beating the air.

            Jada’s eyes were darting rapidly between Lancelot and Merlin, and so her gaze managed to land on Merlin just as a curious change came over him. He drew himself up, as though he were calling on the very earth surrounding him to do as he bid, and this time his voice was no longer loud or desperate, but confident and commanding.

            “Bregdan anweald gafeluec.”

            Lancelot’s lance sparked, a blueish flame suddenly springing up from it as he barrelled towards the griffin. Jada heard a gasp, though she couldn’t tell whether it came from her or Merlin beside her as they watched Lancelot close the distance. The griffin seemed undeterred by the glowing lance, but as it swooped down over the horse Lancelot thrust upwards, piercing the creature’s chest and sending it crashing into the ground behind him.

            Merlin suddenly began to laugh, throwing his hands into the air and beaming. “Yes!”

            “You did it!” Jada cried, grabbing him by the shoulders and practically jumping for joy.

            Merlin looked ecstatic, a mixture of relief and pride in himself lighting up his entire being as he grabbed hold of her too.

            Lancelot had turned his horse now, though he was still a fair distance away from them, and lifted up his visor to look at them both. Jada released Merlin with one hand to cheer for him, still barely able to keep her feet on the ground, but Lancelot seemed to still be in shock.

            Behind them, Arthur groaned, causing Merlin to look over at him in panic. Seeming to make a sudden decision, he took hold of Jada’s arm before turning and bolting around the corner, out of sight.

            “Sorry,” he whispered, peeking around her back down the road. “I just thought it’d be easier for Lancelot to take the credit if we weren’t there.”

            Even as he finished speaking, she heard Arthur’s incredulous voice. “You did it. You killed it, Lancelot!”

            “Come on,” Merlin grinned. “Let’s go back and tell Gaius.”

            Gwen had disappeared by the time they returned, but they found Gaius waiting for them. He took one look at the two of them before his face broke into a grin. “You did it?”

            Merlin grinned. “I did it.”

            He was quickly pulled into a hug as Gaius chuckled. “Thank God!”

            “You should have seen it, Gaius,” Jada said, shaking her head in awe. “It was amazing.”

            Merlin pulled out of the hug enough to turn back to her, regarding her with a soft smile.

            Gaius clapped him on the shoulder. “I don’t doubt it, but I’ll have to take your word for it, I’m afraid. I’m too old for such excitement. Where are you going now?” The latter was directed at Merlin, who was already making towards the door again.

            “I’m going to go and find out what’s happening with Lancelot. He and Arthur should be back by now.” He turned to Jada with a grin. “You coming?”

            “As long as we’re not riding. I’ve had enough of that for a lifetime, I think.”

            Merlin giggled, still giddy. “Come on then, I promise we’ll have a nice steady walk up to the throne room.”

            Jada smiled. “Sounds good to me.”

            Lancelot was waiting outside when they arrived at the throne room, while two guards blocked the doorway.

            “Well, what are they doing?” Merlin asked, looking between him and the door.

            Lancelot shrugged. “Deciding my fate.”

            Raised voices came from the opposite side of the door, causing the three of them to look towards it grimly.

            “They’ll restore your knighthood. Of course they will,” Merlin stated, though Jada couldn’t decide whether he was trying to convince Lancelot or himself. “You killed the griffin.”

            “But I didn’t kill the griffin,” Lancelot replied, stepping away from the guards. Both Merlin and Jada followed. “You did,” he nodded towards Merlin.

            Merlin laughed nervously. “That’s ridiculous.”

            “‘Bregdan anweald…?’” Lancelot repeated in a murmur, causing Merlin to send a panicked glance towards the guards. “I heard you. I saw you. Don’t worry, your secret’s safe with me. But I cannot take the credit for what I did not do. There’ll be no more lies. No more deceit.”

            “What are you going to do?” Merlin asked.

            “The only thing I can do.”

            Before either Merlin or Jada could stop him, he had moved past them to burst into the throne room, much to the king’s annoyance. Jada and Merlin peeked through the open door, confused.

            “What is this?” Uther demanded.

            Struggling with the guards, Lancelot held up his hands. “Let me speak!”

            “Wait!” At the king’s command, the guards ceased trying to drag Lancelot from the room. “I’ll hear him.”

            Lancelot readjusted his mail before giving a small bow. “Forgive me, sire. I’ve come to bid you farewell.”

            Arthur frowned. “What is this, Lancelot?”

            “I lied to you both, and now there is conflict between you. I cannot bear that burden, as you should not bear mine. I must start again, far from here. Then, maybe one day, fate shall grant me another chance to prove myself a worthy knight of Camelot.”

            “But, Lancelot, you’ve already proved that to us,” Arthur insisted.

            Lancelot was undeterred. “But I must prove it to myself. Your Highness. Prince Arthur.” He bowed to each of them in turn, before backing out of the room as the guards closed the doors behind him.

            “You’re leaving?” Jada asked. “But…”

            That wasn’t right. He was Lancelot. He was supposed to be a knight, to fight by Arthur’s side. He couldn’t leave.

            “I’m afraid I must,” Lancelot replied.

            “You can’t!” Merlin protested. “Lancelot, Arthur needs you. Camelot needs you.”

            Lancelot gave a small smile, stepping forward to clasp Merlin’s shoulder. “I know that I am leaving them in good hands. I hope that one day we will all meet again, but for now”—He nodded to the both of them—“Merlin, Jada; it has been an honour to know the two of you.”

            “The honour’s all ours,” Jada replied.

            Lancelot stepped back, adjusting his armour, and Merlin gave him a resigned smile. “Goodbye, Lancelot.”

            “Perhaps you were right, Gaius,” Merlin said. “Perhaps I should never have got involved.”

            It was the next morning, and he, Gaius and Jada had gathered atop one of the castle’s outermost walls to watch Lancelot depart, his orange cloak billowing as he rode away.

            “No, Merlin. I was wrong,” Gaius replied. “Lancelot needed you and you needed Lancelot. Your destinies were entwined.”

            “Will he ever return?”

            “That I cannot say.”

            Merlin looked out at Lancelot riding away again, smiling slightly. “‘Til next time, then… Sir Lancelot.”

Chapter 12 ->

[jessisnotnormal]

Chapter 8: Nobility

Masterlist

<- Chapter 7

Merlin trotted after Arthur through Camelot’s streets, his arms full of the Prince’s discarded armour.

            “Grimond’s the third to fail this month,” Arthur was saying, clearly unimpressed. “How am I meant to defend Camelot with rubbish like that?”

            This was his chance, Merlin realised. Time to repay Lancelot. “Well, I think I might be able to help.”

            Arthur gave him a look of disbelief. “You, Merlin? You haven’t the faintest idea what it takes to be a knight – courage, fortitude-” He turned to toss his sheathed sword onto the ever-growing pile in Merlin’s arms. “Discipline.”

            “No, no. No, of course I don’t,” Merlin replied, realising the confusion. “But I do know someone who does.”

            Arthur actually seemed interested. “Yeah?”

            “Saved my life.”

            His interest failed then, and he snorted. “That’s blown it, for starters.”

            “No, no, no. He’s really good, honestly.”

            “That’s great, Merlin. I’m sure he’s terrific,” Arthur replied with all the enthusiasm of a parent placating a small child. “But you forget the first code of Camelot.”

            They stopped walking then, and Merlin frowned. “The what?”

            “The first code. Only those of noble blood can serve as knights. So, unless your friend is a nobleman…” He pulled his gloves off, tossing them onto the pile too.

            “Oh, uh, he is… a nobleman,” Merlin lied quickly. Maybe Lancelot was secretly a lord? Maybe if he scrubbed up a bit…

            “Is he?” Arthur’s interest was back, mingled with a hint of surprise.

            “Absolutely.”

            “Very well.” Arthur nodded. “Bring him to the training ground tomorrow. Make sure he brings his seal of nobility." He turned and continued walking back to the castle.

            “Thanks, Arthur!” Merlin called after him. “You won’t regret it!”

            He couldn’t wait to get back to tell Lancelot the news, and the would-be knight seemed to be just as eager. He came running over as Merlin burst through the door into Gaius’ quarters, with Jada following at a more reasonable pace.

            “Well?” Lancelot asked, his face full of hope. “Did you speak to him?”

            Merlin nodded, an idea coming to him. “Yeah, I spoke to him.”

            “And?”

            “And…” He trailed off, shaking his head sadly.

            “No,” Lancelot guessed, shaking his own head in disappointment.

            Merlin couldn’t keep up the charade any longer, bursting into a grin. “He said he would like to meet you.”

            The hope returned to Lancelot’s eyes, his whole being lighting up. “Yes! Thank you.” He seized Merlin’s hand, shaking it, as Jada nudged Lancelot proudly with her elbow. “Thank you!”

            “Hey, it’s no problem, really. It’s nothing,” Merlin dismissed, then awkwardly cleared his throat. “You’re not a nobleman, by any chance, are you?”

            “A nobleman? No.” Lancelot laughed, gesturing at his clothing. “Good Lord, no. Why do you ask?”

            Ah. He’d have to explain this delicately. “It’s just that, there’s this-”

            “The first code of Camelot states that only those of noble blood can serve as a knight,” Gaius interjected, dashing Lancelot’s hopes to the floor. “Uther created the knights to protect this kingdom from those who wish to destroy it. He knew he would have to trust each of his knights with his life, so he chose them from the families that had sworn allegiance to him.”

            “The nobility,” Merlin explained.

            “And thus the first code of Camelot was born,” Gaius continued.

            Lancelot, looking utterly dejected, sat down, and Jada patted him sympathetically on the shoulder.

            “And ever since that day, only the sons of noble families have served as knights.”

            “That is not fair!” Merlin blurted.

            “Surely Uther can see it’s outdated?” Jada agreed.

            “Fair or unfair, that’s the way it is,” Gaius replied. “I’m sorry, Lancelot. Truly, I am.”

            He turned away then, but not without giving Merlin a stern look. That was the look, Merlin knew, that warned him not to get involved. He’d have to pretend he hadn’t seen it, he decided quickly.

            Merlin didn’t bring it up again until that evening. Both he and Lancelot had retired to his room, and Merlin busied himself with lighting the few candles he had there while he thought of how to broach the subject again.

            “Why do you want to be a knight so much?” he asked at last.

            Lancelot looked up, though there was no hesitation before he answered. “When I was a boy, my village was attacked by raiders from the northern plains. They were slaughtered where they stood—my father, my mother, everyone.”

            Merlin moved to sit on his bed, stunned by the weight of Lancelot’s story. As he continued, the conviction in his eyes grew stronger. “I alone escaped. I vowed that day that never again would I be helpless in the face of tyranny. I made swordcraft my life. Every waking hour since that day, I devoted to the art of combat. When I was ready, I set forth for Camelot.” He laughed once without humour, his face falling. “And now it seems my journey ends. Everything I’ve fought for—wasted.”

            He sat beside Merlin, all determination disappearing. Merlin, however, shook his head. “I give you my word, whatever it takes, I will make this right.”

            He owed Lancelot his life, helping him become a knight was the least he could do. He’d just have to make sure Gaius never found out.

            It was this conviction that caused Merlin to find himself in the royal archives first thing the next morning. During the night, he’d concluded that if Uther would only allow members of the nobility to try out for the knights, then that was what Lancelot had to become. How exactly they were going to achieve that was another matter entirely.

            Geoffrey was giving him suspicious glances as Merlin eyed the records on the dusty old shelves, though he was obviously trying to be subtle about it.

            “Homework,” Merlin lied, hoping his face looked innocent enough to pull it off.

            It wasn’t a completely far-fetched story; he could have been researching something for Gaius, or maybe Arthur wanted him to check something about one of the nobles of the court.

            Either way, Geoffrey didn’t comment, allowing Merlin to haul one of the ancient tomes off the shelf and examine it more closely. He flicked through a few pages before smiling and nodding to himself, but when he slammed it shut again a cloud of dust burst out right into his face. He sneezed, the sound echoing throughout the library, and he thought he caught Geoffrey rolling his eyes.

            Merlin hauled the book to a table between the aisles, plopping it down on the surface with a dull thud. He began flicking through the pages, looking for any record of a larger noble family. If they already had several children, Merlin thought, Uther would be less likely to notice another one being added to the list.

            Before too long, he found what he was looking for. On the page before him lay a crest of one Richard, fourth son of Lord Eldred of Northumbria. Merlin had never heard of the man; Northumbria was farther away than he had ever cared to venture before, and he hoped that Arthur also was less interested in this particular house.

            He glanced behind him, checking that Geoffrey was still seated at his desk scribbling away on a piece of parchment, before turning back to the book. He wondered vaguely what the punishment for forgery was, but quickly decided that he didn’t intend to get caught, no matter what it was. He pulled a blank page out from underneath his jacket, spreading it neatly next to the official seal, then concentrated all his energy on getting this right the first time.

            He felt his magic answer him, bubbling just under the surface of his skin. “Icuis bisan raditani huhnan,” he whispered, waiting impatiently for the image to appear on his own parchment. “Come on, come on. Yes!”

            What had originally been just a blank sheet now held an identical crest, accompanied by the words ‘Lancelot, fifth son of Lord Eldred of Northumbria’. Not daring to dwell for too long on his success, Merlin hastily rolled the parchment back up and tucked it beneath his jacket, just in time to jump guiltily as someone cleared their throat behind him.

            Looking back, he found Geoffrey’s suspicious face again, though from his manner Merlin guessed that he hadn’t managed to actually see any of what he was doing. He’d have to be more careful, he decided. For now, he slammed the book closed and stood to hand it to Geoffrey, patting its cover in a manner he hoped looked genuine.

            “It’s a… um… real page turner,” he said, trying not to let out a snicker at Geoffrey’s utterly baffled expression as he turned away.

            Now he just had to tell Lancelot about his new noble status.

Chapter 9 ->

[jessisnotnormal]

Chapter 7: Lancelot

Masterlist

<- Chapter 6

Jada’s first night in her new chambers could have gone better. She’d never really thought about it before, but she found that she had gotten so used to having somebody else sleeping in the room with her that the silence now was suffocating as she lay wide awake in the dark.

            She’d soon found herself missing home again; missing waking up to Emily’s smiling face, or even her crying in the middle of the night. She remembered nights when she’d have given anything just to be able to sleep undisturbed, but now she was being kept awake for a wholly different reason.

            She wished she wasn’t so alone.

            It was the knock on the door that woke her, jarring her out of her uneasy sleep despite the sound being neither particularly loud nor forceful. Jada flailed, realising how late it must have been, before almost falling over herself in her dazed and sleepy haste to reach the door.

            She must have flung it open with far more force than she’d initially intended judging by the startled look from Merlin on the other side, but before his brain could catch up with her no doubt frazzled appearance, she was speaking—though her words were directed less towards him and more at him.

            “I’m really, really sorry!” she blurted. “I overslept. Just give me a minute and I’ll be ready!”

            And with that, she’d slammed the door closed again and hurried to organise herself in a frenzy.

            After making herself look as close to presentable as she could manage in just a few frantic minutes, Jada stood behind the door once more. She drew a breath, trying to calm herself after her hectic start, before opening it up again.

            Merlin was standing exactly where he had been the first time, still wearing the same startled expression. Jada wasn’t sure he’d moved a muscle.

            “Sorry,” she mumbled, laughing sheepishly. “Took me ages to get to sleep, so…” She gestured vaguely, hoping it was enough to explain the situation.

            “Sorry, did I wake you?” Merlin asked, brows furrowing in concern. “You can stay here if you want, and get some rest?"

            “Oh, no, no,” Jada blurted. “I want to come. If you still want me to, that is?”

            She couldn’t stand the thought of being alone again, with nothing but her darkest doubts. She’d get home somehow—she would. She just had to keep telling herself that.

            Merlin’s face lit up with a grin. “Yeah. Yeah, I’d like you to.”

            She stepped out of her room beside him, closing the door. “Well then, let’s go. I wouldn’t want to make you late again, but I’ve been dying for an adventure.”

            “Ah, yes, the Quest for the Golden Mushroom,” Merlin joked. “I’m sure they’ll sing songs about our noble deeds for centuries.”

            Jada laughed, nudging him with her elbow. “Hey, I bet there really is a legend about a golden mushroom somewhere. There’s all sorts of crazy quests.”

            They walked for some time before Merlin found what he was looking for, and bent to toss the mushrooms into his basket. The sun was warmer that morning, so he’d left his jacket back at the castle, opting to wear just a simple red shirt.

            “What was keeping you up, then?” Merlin asked.

            Jada sighed. “Thinking about home,” she admitted.

            “Ah." She hoped he would drop the subject, but it seemed she would have no such luck. “Do you know what you’re going to do yet?” he asked.

            “No. I guess I just have to wait here until something comes up.” She changed her tone then, trying to lighten the mood. “At least Camelot’s not so bad. I could have gotten stuck in much more terrifying fictional worlds.”

            “Oh really?” He plopped another mushroom in the bag, smiling. “Like what?”

            “Well, I could have been dumped in Westeros. I don’t think I would have survived that. Too many magical, mythical creatures hell-bent on death, and that’s not even mentioning the people.”

            She had hardly finished speaking when there came a piercing shriek from the trees ahead. Both she and Merlin turned towards the sound, a ‘What the hell was that?’ ready on Jada’s lips, when the creature galloped into sight. It had the body of a lion, with the wings and head of an eagle, and it was approaching fast, screeching as it went.

            Merlin shot quickly to his feet with a gasp, abandoning the mushroom basket without a second thought. After a moment of surprised hesitation, he spun on his heel, grabbing Jada’s arm without a word as he began to run. Her brain was frozen in shock, but her feet moved instantly to follow him, her blind terror making them seem far too slow.

            She could hear the creature bearing down on them, it’s heavy footfalls growing rapidly closer, and Jada begged her feet to run faster, to save her.

            Merlin fell.

            She saw him trip out of the corner of her eye, felt his hand slip from her arm before he hit the ground, and immediately she slammed on the brakes. Part of her brain was screaming at her to keep going, to save herself, but she ignored it as she whirled around, hurrying to grab him and haul him up as the creature advanced with a hiss.

            She wouldn’t make it. She wasn’t fast enough. She’d stopped too slowly, too far ahead. Jada reached Merlin as the creature reared up over him, a victorious shriek tearing itself from its beak. Before her brain could think to do otherwise, her feet planted themselves in front of the boy on the ground, her wide eyes staring up at the claws that would surely rip her to shreds.

            A yell suddenly sprang up beside her, and less than a second later a man lunged between her and the beast. His sword glinted in the sunlight, sending the creature staggering backwards in surprise, but his advantage did not last long.

            Jada did not look to the man’s fate as the creature charged back at him, a match of steel against claw beginning between them. She turned again, this time to find Merlin just opening his eyes. Now she grabbed his arms, pulling him quickly to his feet before giving him the briefest ‘All right?’ look she could. He gave a small, quick nod, and then the man had grabbed Merlin's shoulder, dropping the hilt of his shattered sword.

            “Run. Run!” he urged, dragging Merlin with him.

            Jada followed, the three of them sprinting full-pelt away from the creature. The two in front of her vaulted a fallen tree, suddenly dropping to hide in its shadow as she copied only a second behind them. To their great relief, the creature leapt into the air above them, spreading its wings and soaring away with a final screech.

            “It’s gone,” Merlin panted after a moment, before turning his attention to the man beside him. “You saved my life.”

            The man gave no response between his own gasps for air, but, undeterred, Merlin offered his hand. “I’m Merlin.”

            “Lancelot,” the man responded, shaking Merlin’s hand.

            Jada felt her eyes pop. Lancelot? The Lancelot?

            Before she could ask even one of the million questions buzzing round her head, the man slumped suddenly against the log with a groan, his eyes drooping shut. As his hand fell away, it revealed a dark patch of blood on his side.

            Merlin’s face grew grave, his worried eyes turning to Jada. “We need to get him to Gaius.”

            It certainly wasn’t easy for the two of them to carry Lancelot all the way back to Gaius’ chambers, even between them, but Jada and Merlin managed it. They lay him in Gaius’ bed, the physician beginning his examination immediately, but not once did Lancelot stir.

            “The wound itself is superficial,” Gaius concluded as Merlin sat beside him. “The fever will pass. He should be fine by morning.”

            Merlin nodded, seeming relieved. “Is there anything I can do to help?”

            “Not much, I’m afraid,” Gaius replied, getting to his feet. “Just watch and wait.”

            He shuffled away to dispose of some bloodied bandages, and Jada moved to stand beside Merlin.

            “Hey,” she greeted, giving his shoulder a light squeeze. “You okay?”

            He glanced up at her. “Hm? Oh, yeah, yeah. I’m all right.” There was a small frown creasing his brows when he looked back at her a moment later. “Why did you do that?”

            “Do what?”

            “You stood in front of me. You could’ve gotten yourself killed.”

            Jada shrugged, not entirely sure of the answer herself. “I don’t know. I didn’t know what else I could do, really. I couldn’t just stand there and watch.”

            He studied her for a moment, gaze fixed intently on her face. Eventually, he turned back to Lancelot. “Well, thank you.”

            She didn’t know how to respond, so she changed the subject. “So much for not having to worry about mythical creatures, eh?”

            Merlin gave a short laugh. “I know. I’ve never seen anything like it.”

            “What did it look like?” Gaius asked, returning now.

            “It had the body of a lion, and the wings of an eagle,” Merlin explained.

            “Don’t forget the beak. It had an eagle’s head, too,” Jada added.

            Gaius hummed thoughtfully, apparently no more knowledgeable on the creature than they were. “I’ll have to have a look in one of my books later.”

            “I just hope that this is the last time we see it,” Merlin said.

            The three of them arranged to watch over Lancelot in shifts. Gaius took the first, milling about at his work stations for the rest of the morning, until Merlin came to relieve him when his lunch break began. The afternoon watch fell to Jada, and then Gaius would resume his duties in the evening and overnight.

            She was just heading down to relieve Merlin when she heard the music. It was soft and slow, and sometimes a little disjointed, but Jada found her feet following it all the way up to the infirmary door as if in a trance. She pushed it open quietly, not wanting to disturb the player, but fortunately for her he was too focused to notice her creeping into the room.

            Merlin sat on the steps that led up to Gaius’ extra bookshelves, his head bent over the lute he was plucking so intently. His fingers were inexperienced, that much Jada could tell, but whenever they stumbled over a note he’d simply go back and correct himself, before carrying on with the piece.

            Jada waited by the door for some time, just listening and watching him. Then all of a sudden he jumped, his startled fingers hitting several strings at once before landing dramatically over his heart.

            “How long have you been there?” he gasped. “Give me some warning next time, will you?”

            Jada couldn’t help but smile. “Not that long. I wanted to listen. You never told me you played.”

            “I don’t. Not really, anyway,” he replied, setting the lute on the window ledge and standing up.

            Jada was free to move into the room now, and she sat on the stool beside Lancelot. He was still out cold, though he looked less feverish than before. “You seemed all right to me. How long have you been playing for?”

            “Only a couple of weeks.” He shrugged. “I thought it might give me something that wasn’t life-threatening to do in my spare time. Do you play?”

            Jada shook her head. “Not the lute, no. I play guitar though, which I’d imagine would be kinda similar? And then I had violin lessons when I was younger, but I haven’t touched a violin in a good while.”

            “I’ve never heard of either of those,” Merlin admitted, pulling up his own stool to sit beside her.

            “The guitar’s basically descended from the lute,” she explained. “It has less strings, though. And a violin…” She trailed off, unsure how exactly to explain it to him. “Kinda like a fiddle? You hold it under your chin, like this,”—she gave him a demonstration with the lute, though it was certainly uncomfortable—“And then you have a bow that you run across the strings, and play like that.”

            “That seems kind of uncomfortable,” Merlin remarked, watching her demonstration sceptically.

            “You get used to it,” Jada replied with a laugh. She set the lute back where he’d put it. “And it’s smaller than a lute, so that helps.”

            Merlin laughed too, before rising to his feet. “Well, I’d better get back to work, then.”

            “Merlin?” Jada asked, stopping him in his tracks towards the door.

            “Yeah?”

            “Would you teach me sometime?” She glanced at the lute on the ledge.

            “I’m not sure I’d know where to start,” he replied, shifting his weight a little nervously.

            “Please? Even if it’s just the basics. You can’t really have a bard without a lute, can you?” she laughed.

            Merlin considered it for a moment, before nodding. “Okay, if you want. But I don’t know when I’ll have the time to…”

            She smiled. “That’s fine, just whenever you have chance.”

            “All right. Now, I’ve really got to…” He gestured towards the door.

            “Sure, yeah. I’ll see you later.”

            “See you later,” he replied, giving her a smile before he disappeared through the door.

            As Gaius had concluded, Lancelot had already awoken by the time Jada arrived at the infirmary the next morning. She found Gaius tidying the last bandages up, who informed her that the man was up with Merlin in his chambers, so that was where she headed next.

            She knocked on the door at the top of the stairs, and immediately Merlin called for her to enter. He was seated in a chair by his bedside, hugging a thick fur blanket to himself, while Lancelot stood looking out of the window. His shoulder-length brown hair was no longer matted from his travels, and his face looked a healthy colour now that it was not damp with sweat. He looked perfectly fine.

            “Ah, Lancelot,” she greeted him with a smile, offering her hand for him to shake. “I’m not sure I was able to introduce myself properly before. I’m Jada.”

            Lancelot stepped down from the ledge, taking her hand in his before nervously bending and kissing it. “It is an honour to meet you, my lady.”

            Jada gave a surprise laugh that sounded half-choked. “I could say the same, but I’m afraid I’m not a lady.” She gestured down at herself; at her dirty, at-least-second-hand clothes that she was still wearing. “Not even close, I’m afraid. But I appreciate it all the same.”

            “My apologies,” Lancelot said, giving a strange little bow. The man was possibly the politest person Jada had ever met.

            “No harm done,” she replied with a reassuring grin.

            “So what brings you to Camelot?” Merlin asked.

            With a dreamy, far-away look in his eyes, Lancelot hopped back up onto the ledge, turning to gaze out the window at the city again. “Ever since I was a child I… I’ve dreamed of coming here. It’s my life’s ambition to join the knights of Camelot. I know what you’re thinking. I…”—Hesitation entered his features then, coupled with doubt—“I expect too much. After all, who am I? They have their pick of the best and bravest in the land.”

            “Lancelot?” Merlin interjected, a wide grin on his face.

            “Yes?”

            “They are going to love you.”

            Lancelot looked surprised. “They are?”

            Of course, Jada wanted to say. Of course you’re going to be a knight. You’re Lancelot! Who ever heard of the Arthurian legends without the great Sir Lancelot? But she didn’t think that would be particularly helpful, or even if it would be allowed. Maybe she’d throw the universe off entirely if she revealed parts of the future like that. She’d have to start being more careful, she realised.

            Merlin, however, was laughing, seeming to find Lancelot’s doubts as unfounded as Jada did. “Yeah. I’ve seen you in action; you could shame the great Arthur himself.”

            Now Lancelot laughed. “I hardly think so.”

            “In fact,” Merlin was continuing regardless. “You know what I’m going to do? I’m going to talk to him right now.” He rose from his chair, already making a beeline for the door.

            “You know Arthur?” Lancelot asked, stunned.

            A secretive smile touched Merlin lips. “Oh, yes.”

            He ducked out the door without another word, leaving Jada and Lancelot standing stunned in his wake. After a moment, Jada shrugged with a grin, gesturing for Lancelot to follow as she headed after Merlin herself.

            They ended up at the training yard just outside the castle walls, where several men clad in armour were gathered. Arthur stood in the centre, facing a man who wore a blue sash around his belt.

            “Right, you jumped-up dung beetle, this is it—the final test,” Arthur announced to the man.

            The people that had been milling around the edge of the yard began to gather around, eager to watch whatever was going on. Merlin, Jada, and Lancelot watched from behind one of the knights’ sword racks.

            “Pass this, and you’re a Knight of Camelot. Fail, and you’re no-one. You face the most feared of all foes, the ultimate killing machine.” Arthur turned, a challenging smirk on his lips. “You face me. Your challenge: to last one minute, free combat. Grimond, second son of Wessex-” He gave a nod towards a man standing off to the side, who flipped over an hourglass. “Your time starts now.”

            The man with the sash—Grimond, apparently—seemed a fairly formidable foe, to Jada. She watched as he twirled two swords dramatically, almost arrogantly, and began to advance on Arthur. Suddenly, he swung at Arthur with a yell, but before the gathered crowd could fear for their prince he had ducked expertly under the blow. He hit Grimond in the stomach as he dodged, kneed him in the face, and sent him sprawling onto his back as the spectators cheered.

            Seeming displeased with his easy victory, Arthur removed Grimond’s sash. “Take him away.”

            “I’m going to go talk to him,” Merlin said, straightening up from where he had been leant over the sword rack. “I’ll see you both later, yeah?”

            He jogged off to the Prince’s side as they nodded, gathering bits of his master’s discarded armour along the way. Jada, meanwhile, turned to Lancelot. “Think you’re any better than Grimond?”

            Lancelot seemed unsure, eyeing the man as they carried him away. “I don’t know…”

            She laughed, elbowing him teasingly. “Come on, Lancelot, have more faith in yourself! I doubt Grimond’s ever faced a giant, hulking, hybrid beast in the woods and lived to tell the tale.”

            They’d begun walking back towards the castle, following the procession of the other spectators. Lancelot held up his hands. “But I did not defeat the creature.”

            “No,” Jada admitted. “But you were more use than I was, at least. I swear, I’ve never felt more useless. All I could do was watch.”

            “That is untrue,” he argued. “I saw you run back for Merlin. Not many people would have had the bravery to do such a thing.”

            Jada laughed. “Yeah, well not many people would have had the bravery to try and save a pair of complete strangers.”

            “I’m sure you both would have done the same.”

            “Merlin probably would have,” she conceded. “But I still would have been completely useless. We’d both just end up being eaten.”

            “Then perhaps it is time for you to learn how to defend yourself.”

            He said it light-heartedly, probably not even meaning anything by it, but suddenly realisation seemed to hit Jada straight in the face. She grinned. “Of course! Would you?”

            “Would I, what?” Lancelot asked, bemused.

            “Would you teach me? Please?”

            “You want me to teach you how to fight?” Now his expression seemed amused.

            “Please?” She gave him her best puppy eyes, making him laugh.

            “All right, all right. I will teach you.”

            “Thanks, Lancelot!” Jada beamed, before realising the absurdity of the situation. Sir Lancelot was going to teach her how to fight. She’d be ready for epic questing in no time.

Chapter 8 ->

[jessisnotnormal]

Chapter 6: Gone

Masterlist

<- Chapter 5

The Great Dragon was going to have a fit when he found out. The one thing he’d told Merlin, the one thing he’d specifically commanded him to avoid, was allowing Jada to figure out how the veils between the worlds worked. And yet, here Merlin was, not even a day later. He wasn’t just allowing Jada to figure them out, he was helping her.

            But who was to say the dragon was right? After all, he never gave any indication as to how he knew the things he claimed to, and just because he'd been aware of who Merlin was when he'd first arrived in Camelot didn't mean he necessarily knew everything, right? After all, Jada wasn’t allied with Nimueh, and though she’d never stated it outright, Merlin had noticed that she didn’t seem to be Uther’s biggest supporter, either. So what danger could she possibly pose?

            He hugged his jacket tighter to him as he crossed the courtyard, the first hints of an autumn chill beginning to cling to the air. The particular path he walked now had become familiar, and the groan of the iron door welcomed him back to the dark tunnels beneath the castle that he trod so regularly after nightfall.

            Torch in hand, Merlin made his way through the darkness, careful to navigate his way around the heaps of rubble and slippery, moss-covered steps, until the narrow passageway opened up into a vast cavern that stretched farther than his eyes could see.

            “Ah, young warlock.” The Great Dragon was seated on his usual rocky vantage point, his golden eyes regarding Merlin without sympathy or sentiment.

            “I need your help,” Merlin stated simply.

            The dragon sighed, his tone flattening to one of boredom. “I’m sure you do. What is it that troubles you this time?”

            Merlin chewed his lip, unsure how exactly he should proceed. “There’s a girl.” Gods, where to start?

            “I may not have been outside of this prison for more than twenty years, but the last time I saw, there were many,” the dragon remarked drily.

            “She’s, uh, different.” Merlin paused, scratching the back of his neck. “She thinks she’s travelled through time; a man named Morgo tricked her and she ended up here. She knows about my magic. I need to know how to get her back home, to her time.”

            The dragon’s eyes grew darker, his face moving closer to the ledge on which Merlin stood. “Merlin, heed my words, and heed them well. This woman is as dangerous as she is deceitful. You must not allow her to gain the knowledge that would enable her to open the veils between the worlds at will.”

            Merlin was taken aback. “What? Why? What’s she going to do?”

            “Such powerful magic has not been practised since the time of the Old Religion. If you allow her to gain such abilities, the entire kingdom will stand in peril.”

            “So what am I supposed to do?” The warlock frowned. “Just go back and tell her that she’ll never see her home again? That she’s stuck here for the rest of her life?”

            “You must find a way to stop her. No matter what it takes.” The dragon looked gravely at the boy before him, but Merlin’s jaw had already set itself against such a suggestion.

            “I will not hurt her.” In a flare of anger, he spun on his heel, the torch blazing in a semicircle around him. As he ducked back into the narrow passageway, he heard the dragon’s final warning following him into the darkness.

            “Then she will enchant you, and you will lose everything.”

            The dragon’s warning still rang in his ears, but even that made no sense to Merlin. Jada didn’t have magic. If the dragon wanted him to start listening, he was going to have to be a lot more specific, Merlin decided.

            They’d walked for quite a while, Merlin leading the way at first back to where he and Arthur had found Jada. Then she took over, trying her best to remember from which direction she had wandered. Eventually, she brought them to a halt.

            “I think…” she said, her voice quiet. “I think it was here. But it doesn’t look any different…”

            Merlin had to agree; the particular clearing she’d stopped in seemed to him to be no different from any other they’d passed on their way. “Are you sure?” Surely he’d be able to sense something as powerful as a portal to another dimension?

            “I… I don’t know…” She took a few steps forward, looking around. “I’m not even sure what it is I’m looking for.”

            “Well, what did you see when you first woke up? Is there anything different?”

            She turned to face him now, frowning. “No. When I woke up, it just looked like any ordinary clearing then, too. Maybe they brought me through somewhere else, and just dragged me here?”

            “We can look around, if you want to.” Arthur was already going to be mad at him for disappearing without notice, what difference would another half an hour make?

            “Yes please,” Jada nodded, already setting off into the trees again. Merlin followed, casting one final glance back at the clearing before they left. He hoped they’d find some answers soon.

            It must have been closer to an hour later that they finally stopped again, having walked until Jada’s feet were sore and Merlin’s ideas were exhausted.

            “It’s gone, isn’t it?” she said sadly, her shoulders visibly slumping.

            Merlin moved closer to her, unsure of what he could possibly say to make this better for her. “Are you sure it was around here?”

            If possible, she looked even more defeated. “No. I don’t have a clue anymore. Every idea I’ve had so far has been wrong.”

            “Maybe we should go back, get some rest, and then try again in the morning?”

            She shook her head. “Gaius said they’re only open for a limited amount of time before they disappear. If it’s not here now, it’s gone.” She covered her face with her hands, her breathing suddenly growing harsher. “It’s gone. I can’t believe I’m- God, what am I supposed to do?”

            “Hey,” Merlin cut in softly, bending down just a little to look into her face. “We’ll figure something out, okay? I promise.”

            She moved her hands just enough to look at him, smiling without joy. “You shouldn’t make promises you don’t know you can keep.”

            Merlin laughed quietly. “Yeah, well, I intend to keep it. We’re going to get you home, Jada.”

            “How?”

            “I…” He hesitated, then gave her a crooked smile. “I don’t know yet. But we’ll find a way. We’ll go back to Gaius and see if he can find anything else, maybe some way to open the veil again. There’s got to be something.”

            There must be a way, he thought, because the dragon had specifically told him not to find it. Or, more accurately, he’d told Merlin not to let Jada know it. But if he could learn it himself, then he could get Jada home without needing to tell her how, and everybody would be happy. Probably not, because there always seemed to be somebody complaining, but he could hope.

            She was looking up at him now with a strange expression on her face. There were tears on her lashes, though she was stubbornly clinging on to them, and when she spoke her voice was hoarse, but in her eyes there was almost a hint of… amazement? “Thank you, Merlin. I really, really mean it. Thank you.”

            “It’s no problem,” he said automatically, a little awkward at the intensity in her voice. He really didn’t deserve such gratitude; he was sure anyone else in Camelot would have done the same. “And you don’t have to worry about anything while you’re here. Just come to me or Gaius.”

            She started forwards, before jerking herself to a halt suddenly and holding up her hands. “Sorry,” she said, laughing a little. “I forgot you’re a bit… well, uncertain of me. I was going to hug you, but I thought I’d better ask if you were okay with that, first.”

            “Oh,” Merlin responded, before laughing a little too. “Um, sure, I guess.”

            He opened his arms slightly, and Jada moved forward again, though she was much more cautious this time. She watched his face, looking for some kind of signal that he’d changed his mind, Merlin presumed, and then her arms were around him. She hugged him tightly, but not uncomfortably, and Merlin swore could feel her heartbeat against his chest. She was very warm, he noticed, so much so that the air around him suddenly seemed to have a chill to it, making him shiver.

            That made her turn her face to look at him, her semi-tamed, curly hair brushing his cheek—no, wait, it was definitely in his mouth, somehow. He spat it out, and she burst into laughter, stepping back and covering her mouth to try and stop the mortified giggles.

            “Oh my God, I’m so sorry!” she laughed, her face turning red.

            Merlin rubbed the back of his neck, more than a little embarrassed himself. “Uh, it’s all right. No, I mean, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to…eat…”

            Gods, stop, he told himself, suddenly feeling even the tips of his ears burning.

            Jada was grinning at him, shaking her head. “Well that was embarrassing. I’m sorry my hair tried to attack you.”

            “It’s… it’s okay?” He bit his lip, face still burning.

            “Maybe this is one of those things we just agree to never speak of again?”

            “Um, I think I can do that. What thing?”

            Jada caught on immediately. “Right. I don’t even know what thing we were talking about. This trip has been entirely unevent…ful…” Before she’d even finished talking, her face had fallen again, her smile vanishing.

            “Hey, come on,” Merlin offered, placing a hand on her back to guide her to walk with him. “Let’s go back home, and we’ll figure out what to do tomorrow. All right?”

            “You know, I don’t even think I’d mind that much if I just had Emily with me,” she said, watching her feet as they walked. “Like, sure, I miss Izzy and Jim, but it’s not like we’ve never been apart before. Izzy goes back to Spain for weeks every so often to visit people, and Jim’s always off visiting his boyfriend for weekends.”

            Merlin found himself caught a little off-guard.

            “His boyfriend?” he repeated.

            “Yeah,” Jada said casually, before looking at Merlin’s face. Merlin thought he was doing a very good job of looking indifferent, but whatever she saw there made her add, just as casually, “He’s bi.”

            “Bi?” He didn’t know when his conversational skills had been reduced to repeating phrases dumbly, but his brain was following so many different thought patterns it didn’t know what else to do.

            “Yeah, so’s Izzy.” She looked at his face again, but this time her mouth made a little ‘O’ of understanding. “Bisexual. It means that they’re attracted to two or more genders. So, y’know, men… women… people who don’t identify as either of the binary genders…”

            “Oh,” was all Merlin could think to say. He wondered if she could hear his heart pounding. “Bi…sexual.” He tasted the word, examined it, turned it over. Then, he felt his face light up in a grin. “That’s me. Bisexual.”

            He gave a giddy laugh, and the hint of panic that had been on Jada’s face disappeared entirely. “We don’t have a word for that, here. It’s nice. Bisexual.”

            Jada had a grin now that almost matched his own. “Really? God, I thought you were gonna go all medieval on me for a second there.”

            “What do you mean?” Merlin asked, but she only shook her head and shrugged. “What about you, then? If you don’t mind me asking, of course.”

            Her grin was back. “Me? I’m demi. That one basically means that I’m not attracted to anyone sexually until I’ve formed a really close bond with them. And even then, sometimes it doesn’t show up. I still get romantic attraction, though.”

            “What’s the difference?”

            “Romantic attraction is when you want to take someone on cutesy dates and cuddle them and kiss them and stuff. Sexual is when you wanna take them to bed.”

            “Oh right,” Merlin nodded, laughing. “You have a lot of names for things.”

            “Oh, we love labels where I’m from,” Jada laughed. “Everything has a label of some kind. Sometimes it’s helpful, sometimes it’s just incredibly frustrating. For example, my full collection of labels is ‘heteroromantic demisexual’. Let me tell you; that’s fun to try and explain to your friend when drunk.”

            Merlin snorted. “I can imagine.”

            Far too soon, Merlin found that he’d walked Jada all the way back to her chambers, where she now leaned against the open doorway as they finished talking.

            “Thanks for keeping me company all this way,” she said at last, when their conversation died down.

            “No problem,” he grinned, before adding more seriously, “Do you think you’ll be okay by yourself tonight?”

            Jada sighed. “Yeah, I’m sure I’ll be fine.”

            “You can come and get me if you need anything, you know. I’m sure I can give up my bed for one more night,” he added with a smile.

            Jada smiled too. “You really are something special, aren’t you, Merlin?”

            He felt the blush creeping up his neck again. “I’m really not.”

            She laughed. “Whatever you say.”

            With a sigh, she stood upright again, taking hold of the door. “Well, I suppose I’d better let you go get some rest. I’m sure I’ve already put you in Arthur’s bad books enough already.”

            Merlin flashed her a crooked grin. “I’m always there, anyway. Goodnight, Jada.”

            “Night, Merlin.”

            He turned to leave, and she to step inside, but he only took a step before spinning back on his heel.

            “Actually, um…”

            She was just about to close the door, but looked up again at his voice.

            “I was wondering if you wanted to come with me tomorrow? I’ve got to gather supplies for Gaius, so you could come for a walk, if you wanted.” He’d gotten the feeling from her earlier response that she wasn’t too thrilled at the idea of being alone right now.

            Her face lit up again. “Sure. When do you want me?”

            Suddenly, he felt nervous. Perhaps she’d change her mind at the time? “Well, I’ll have to go before work, so I could meet you here around dawn? It’s all right if that’s too early. I understand.”

            She considered it for a moment, before nodding. “All right, I can do that. Just don’t mind the first few minutes of Zombie-Jada. I promise she doesn’t bite.”

            Merlin laughed. “All right. I’ll see you tomorrow then. Night, Jada.”

            “Good night, Merlin.”

            He waited for her door to close, before turning with a grin and heading for home.

Chapter 7 ->

[jessisnotnormal]

Chapter 5: Bold Street

Masterlist

<- Chapter 4

Jada hadn’t realised she’d fallen asleep until she was awoken by the pale light of dawn creeping through the window. Merlin must’ve forgotten to close the shutters last night, she thought, stretching and rubbing her eyes.

            She recoiled quickly as her foot bumped into something soft and warm, propping herself up on her elbows to examine it. To both her surprise and amusement, she found Merlin curled up at the other end of the bed, sleeping soundly despite the foot to the stomach. His boots were still on, though his long legs were dangling off the side of the mattress, and his hair was all mussed with sleep. It made her happy to see that the wary, cautious edge he’d had last night had apparently faded in his sleep.

            They must have stayed up for quite a long time, she realised, though they’d never found a single truth spell. It comforted her that he had at last given her a glimpse of the Merlin he’d been hiding, and he was certainly proving to be a light that she had not expected to find in the midst of all her homesick misery.

            The tranquil mood was soon broken, however, when she realised that dawn had already broken and Merlin was still asleep. She was almost certain that he had told her he had to be up at dawn in order to get to Arthur’s chambers on time, and she now felt guilty that she’d kept him up so late and caused him to sleep in.

            Shifting carefully closer to him, she placed a hand on his thigh to gently shake him awake.

            “Merlin?” she called, voice hushed. “Merlin, wake up.”

            Merlin hummed, giving a sigh as he nuzzled into the blanket.

            Making an attempt to resist smiling, Jada tried again. “Merlin, you’re going to be late. I’m sure Arthur won’t be very happy.”

            This time he gave a small groan, one hand moving up to rub at his face. When he moved it away again, his eyes were open, blinking blearily at her like some sort of baby deer. Apparently having managed to focus now on her face, he gave her a sleepy grin. “'Morning.”

            “Morning,” she answered. “Have you been there all night?”

            He sat up, rubbing his eyes again. “Must’ve. Whoops.”

            He gave a laugh, before turning his gaze back to her. “How long have you been awake?”

            “Not long,” Jada replied. “I thought I’d better save you from being late, though.”

            “Thanks.” He stood, unfolding his long limbs and stretching. “Are you getting up or staying there? I’ve got to get changed, that’s all.”

            “I’ll leave you to it, then,” she smiled, slipping out of the bed and pulling her boots on. “Since I’ve not got anything to change into. How’s my hair look?”

            Merlin gave a shy laugh. “You’ve got- just-”

            He gestured towards a specific spot on his own head, waiting for her to copy the movement. Jada did so, smoothing the hair down from its wild stance with her fingers.

            “You know, I could lend you a shirt, if you wanted? Just until Gwen’s finished making you your own clothes.”

            Jada smiled. “Really? You wouldn’t mind?”

            It would probably be a little too long for her, but it couldn’t be any worse than wearing Ubi’s loaned rags for another day, and thankfully Merlin seemed to prefer shirts that were more than a little baggy on him, so likely to fit Jada's larger form comfortably.

            “Not at all,” Merlin replied, turning to his wardrobe. “Do you want red or blue?”

            “Um, red, please.”

            He handed it to her, opening his wardrobe for just long enough that she could see several shirts in exactly the same cut and style, all in either blue or red, save for one white one that she thought looked like a nightshirt.

            “Dude, maybe you should ask Gwen to make you some clothes,” she teased.

            Merlin frowned just as playfully. “What’s wrong with my clothes?”

            “Nothing,” she laughed. “Thanks. I’ll let you get changed first, since you have to go. I’ll see you in a minute.”

            She descended the steps down into the main room, where Gaius was already dressed and preparing for the day ahead.

            “Good morning, Gaius,” she greeted him cheerily, heading to pour herself a cup of water from the pitcher on the side.

            The physician looked up from arranging his vials and potions. “Good morning. You seem in good spirits today.”

            Jada took a mouthful of water before answering. “I feel much better today, thank you. Ready to face that mountain of books again.”

            “You’ll want something to eat first, I imagine.” He nodded towards a large cooking pot. “There’s some porridge in there. You’ll have to sort it out yourselves, though; I’ve got deliveries to make.”

            “All right, thank you, Gaius.”

            Jada was moving towards the pot as he headed for the door, when suddenly there was a flurry of footsteps on the stairs behind them before Merlin appeared at her side.

            “Bye, Gaius!” he called as Gaius exited, startling Jada into almost dropping her bowl.

            Geez, she thought; he was tall when he stood next to her like this, and she wasn’t exactly short herself.

            “Sorry,” Merlin laughed cheerily. “In a rush; it’s later than I thought. Arthur really will kill me if I’m not there soon.”

            “Sorry,” Jada replied, moving to allow him to get the first bowlful himself. “I didn’t mean to keep you up so long.”

            “Don’t worry about it.” He set his full bowl down on the side, taking hers and filling it for her. “Are you feeling any better?”

            “Much better, thanks.”

            She was quiet for a few seconds, looking him over. He seemed to have had a change of his own during the night, and she was surprised to find that his guarded walls seemed to have softened somehow. “You seem pretty cheery yourself.”

            He grinned at her. “I feel much better, too.” There was a pause before he continued, “You’re pretty interesting, as well, you know.”

            Jada couldn’t help but laugh, following him over to the table. “Thanks. So you thought I was boring before?”

            “No, no,” he shook his head, sitting down. “I just meant that, well… I like you. More than I feel wary of you. Which could be really stupid of me, but…” He shrugged. “I guess we’ll have to wait and see.”

            Jada smiled. She supposed she should have been at least a little offended by his apparent distrust of her, but she just couldn’t bring herself to be. Here was a boy so used to pushing people away in order to protect himself, so used to keeping himself hidden behind so many layers that the thought of having someone he didn’t have to hide from seemed to be completely alien to him.

            She hadn’t lied the night before; Jada found him fascinating. And if she could give him even a little taste of the freedom of not having to hide himself away that was so usual to most other people, then she wanted to do so. It would not be easy, she knew. She’d have to earn it. But if it made Merlin feel any less alone, then it would be worth it. Nobody deserved to feel alone their entire life.

            Merlin had to leave for Arthur’s chambers before long, after probably burning most of his taste buds off at the speed he ate, and Jada was left alone. She changed into Merlin’s shirt—which, as she had guessed, was too long in the arms but accommodating enough in the body, and smelled much better than the filthy thing she’d been wearing—then dove back into the books that Geoffrey had given Gaius. She passed her time by sifting through tales of portals to the spirit world and sorcerers who had tried to defeat time itself, but never found anything that related to her own situation; she hadn’t come from the spirit world, and she’d only passed through time, not defeated it. She was no closer to figuring out how to get home.

            Sometime later, though Jada was certain that it was not yet noon, Merlin returned. He burst through the door excitedly, a wide grin spread on his face, snapping Jada out of her concentration.

            “You’ll never guess what,” he announced, still bounding into the room.

            “What?” Jada responded instinctively.

            “Arthur’s managed to convince his father to see you. He wants to speak with you in the throne room.”

            “Now?” she asked, dumbstruck. She hadn’t expected Prince Arthur to agree to see her perform, let alone the King. “Where am I supposed to go? What am I supposed to sing? I haven’t even had time to think of anything!”

            “Better decide on something quick, then,” he laughed, guiding her quickly out of the door. “I’ll show you the way. Just remember to only speak when spoken to, be as polite as possible, and don’t do anything out of turn.”

            “How will I know something’s out of turn?”

            “His face’ll get really red after you’ve done it.”

            “Great. Thanks,” she replied sarcastically.

            Merlin chuckled. “You’ll be fine. Just try and pretend it’s not the King of Camelot you’re performing for.”

            “Again: thanks, Merlin. You’re such a great help.” She was almost sure he was getting some sort of kick out of making her more nervous.

            Softening a little, he assured, “No, really, you’ll be fine. And even if it doesn’t work out, we’ll just find something else for you.”

            She sighed, feeling her nerves calm slightly. It was just another audition, really. She’d performed on stages in front of entire audiences; just one man was hardly a challenge now, was it? Even if he was the King. She’d be fine.

            “Well, here we are,” Merlin said, far too early for Jada’s liking. She still hadn’t managed to decide on what she should perform, but it seemed that now she was suddenly out of time. “Good luck. I’ll be right there if you need me.”

            “You’re coming in, too?”

            He nodded. “Arthur’s in there.”

            Three men, Jada corrected herself mentally. Three still wasn’t a frightening number. It was fine. She would be fine.

            The guards opened the doors then, the old hinges groaning from the strain, and both Merlin and Jada stepped inside. The throne room was magnificent, with great arching windows of stained glass that cast rainbows across the room and stone pillars leading the way towards the dais on which three thrones were set. In the centre sat King Uther, his face hard and impassive underneath his golden crown. On his right was Prince Arthur, his golden hair appearing like a crown of his own in the light of the late morning. Finally, on the King’s left, there sat a girl whom Jada did not know. Her face was young, somewhere in age between Merlin and the Prince’s, and behind her Jada was surprised to see Gwen standing, her hands clasped before her. Her audience was certainly growing, Jada noticed drily, as Merlin took his place behind the Prince and mirrored Gwen.

            The walk from the doors to the dais seemed to take forever, and Jada’s palms were sweating by the time she completed it. She glanced to Merlin for reassurance, who made a small bowing gesture, and hastily Jada sought to copy him and gave her best curtsey before her audience.

            “What is your name?” The King asked, his voice seeming just as indifferent as his face.

            “Jada, my lord.” Was that the right term of address? Should it have been ‘sire’, or ‘your highness’, or ‘your majesty’? Why hadn’t anybody told her this?

            “My son, Prince Arthur, tells me that you wish to become Court Jester, is that correct?”

            She felt her throat go dry. Should she correct him? He was the King; he could have her head in an instant. “Um, the Royal Bard, if you prefer, sire. I’m afraid I’m not very funny.”

            To her surprise, he barked a laugh at that. “Very well. You sing, then, I take it?”

            “Yes, sire.”

            “Sing us a song.”

            She panicked, searching desperately through her mind for one song, any song. Given the circumstances, she wasn’t too surprised afterwards with the choice she grasped, the scene before her echoing one that she’d known since childhood. Her rendition of Edge of Night seemed to cast a sombre shadow over the hall, her words floating through it like ghosts.

“Home is behind, The world ahead, And there are many paths to tread Through shadows To the edge of night Until the stars are all alight. Mist and shadow, Cloud and shade, All shall fade! All shall… fade.”

            The final word lingered, seeming to hover darkly in the air above them. She hoped it wasn’t prophetic. Jada looked to her audience; the dark-haired girl was smiling and looking towards the King, though he was as stony-faced as ever. After a long moment, he nodded.

            “Very well,” he said, drawing all the eyes in the room towards him. “You will be awarded the position, and will be required to perform at all formal gatherings, unless stated otherwise. You will be given your own chambers, but your privileges will last only as long as you continue to perform well. Is that understood?”

            Stunned, Jada gave him a shaky nod. “Yes, sire. Thank you, sire.”

            He rose from his throne, waving his hand. “Dismissed.”

            Jada curtsied, before turning to make a beeline for the doors.

            Once finally safe outside, her heart began to slow its pounding, though her hands were still trembling as she held them up to examine them.

            “See, I told you you’d be fine!” A familiar voice rang out cheerfully, and Jada turned to find Merlin approaching, followed closely by Gwen. “Well done.”

            “Congratulations,” Gwen smiled sweetly, and Jada gave her a nod.

            “Thank you. God, that was terrifying.” She held up her hand again, which was still shaking.

            “Well, the good news is that you only have to do it every time he asks, now,” Merlin teased. “Or whenever we have a visitor.”

            “Thank God,” Jada laughed. “I’ll be all right once it’s a normal thing. I just kept thinking about what would happen if I messed up.

            “You’ve got your own chambers now, at least,” he noted. “That’s another thing taken care of off your list.”

            “True. You’ll be able to sleep in your own bed now, instead of on the floor,” Jada teased. She saw Gwen’s eyebrows raise delicately, though she said nothing.

            Merlin, however, laughed. “Maybe my back won’t be so sore tomorrow.”

            “Hey, I told you you couldn’t complain about that,” Jada scolded light-heartedly, pointing a finger at him. “Not after you insisted you’d be fine on the floor.”

            Merlin held his hands up in submission, but before he could come up with his own retort one of the guards had approached them.

            “The King has instructed me to show the Royal Bard to her chambers,” he said from inside his helmet.

            “That’s gonna take some getting used to,” Jada laughed. “I’ll see you guys later, okay?”

            “Before you go,” Merlin began. “Gaius wanted me to ask you to come see him when you can. He thinks he may have found something that could be of interest to you.”

            Jada nodded, bidding the two farewell before turning to follow the guard.

            He led her through the corridors, climbing a set of stairs before they halted in front of a wooden door that looked to Jada exactly like the countless others they had passed on the way.

            Inside, Jada was surprised to find a rather grand four-poster bed to her right on the farthest wall from the window that filled the room with a golden glow. There was an antique-looking trunk at the foot of the bed (though she couldn’t quite tell whether it only seemed antique to her and appeared quite normal for her medieval neighbours), and two large wardrobes on either side of the room. She didn’t think she’d ever have enough clothes to fill them all, but she appreciated them nonetheless.

            With no belongings to unpack, she decided after exploring the nooks and crannies of the room for a short time that she should visit Gaius and see what it was he had discovered. The walk back to the physician’s quarters was a great deal more confusing by herself, but fortunately she managed to find the place after only having to double back on herself twice. And ask one of the maids for directions. She was sure she’d get the hang of it soon enough.

            She was unsurprised to find Merlin sitting with his guardian when Jada entered the room, the two of them bent intently over one of Gaius’ many books.

            “Ah, Jada,” Gaius greeted her, straightening up.

            “You wanted to see me?” she replied.

            “Yes. I was looking through Geoffrey’s old texts again, when I found this.” He whirled the book around so that she could see.

            “Liminal zones?” she read. “What’s that?”

            “Spaces where reality—or, perhaps, what we perceive as reality—is slightly altered. In the days of the Old Religion, many people believed that there were places one could go where the veils between the different worlds were thin enough to pass through. How many worlds there were, no-one knew, but every so often people would come back with wild stories about what they had seen, only to find that when they returned to that very same place, ‘reality’ seemed to have restored itself.”

            “Sounds like Narnia,” Jada noted. “Or…" She frowned, recalling an old urban legend from her home. Suddenly, she smiled. “Or Bold Street.”

            “Bold Street?” Merlin asked.

            “It’s a street in the city where I grew up,” she explained. “It’s famous for its… weird, kinda magical stories. People say that sometimes if you walk down it, you can end up in the ‘50s. That’s, like, sixty years in the past, for us. They called it a time slip. I never really expected it to be true…”

            “That sounds a lot like what we’re dealing with here…” Merlin observed, turning back to Gaius.

            “Did anyone ever explain how they got back?” Gaius asked Jada, his gaze intense.

            “No, most people only said they glimpsed the past for a few seconds, and then it was gone. Does it say anything here?” She turned her attention back to the book, skimming over the pages.

            “Most of the time the zones were largely unexplained,” Gaius replied. “They appeared of their own accord and disappeared in the same manner. There are accounts of people never making it back, but some report simply walking right back through.”

            “Then we’ve got to find mine, right? Before it disappears.”

            “It is possible that it could already be too late…” Gaius began, but Jada shook her head.

            “I’ve got to at least try. Merlin, do you remember where you and Arthur found me? I don’t think I could find my way back on my own.”

            Merlin looked startled, his eyes wide as he glanced worriedly to Gaius. “I don’t know…”

            “Please, Merlin. Even if you can only give a vague guess, it’s better than nothing. This could be my only chance.” She used her eyes to plead with him, begging him to help her.

            After a long moment, he nodded, though his brows scrunched themselves together. “I can try.”

            Jada shot to her feet, hardly giving him chance to finish talking. “Come on, then. Before it’s too late.”

            “Will you come up with something to tell Arthur?” Merlin asked Gaius, standing far too slowly for Jada, who was practically bouncing where she stood.

            The physician nodded. “Yes, I’ll think of something. Now go. And good luck.”

Chapter 6 ->

[jessisnotnormal]

Chapter 14: Choice

Masterlist

<- Chapter 13

“Morning, Gaius!” Jada greeted cheerfully as she encountered him in the corridor. “Is everything all right?”

            Gaius had been wearing a dark expression before he noticed her, his heavy brows furrowed at whatever thoughts he was entertaining. Upon recognising her, however, he pushed his frown back, trying for a smile. “Ah, Jada. Yes, I’m quite all right, thank you. Good morning.”

            “Are you sure?” Now it was Jada’s turn to frown. “You looked like you were thinking very hard about something, and whatever it was, you didn’t like it.”

            Gaius sighed, seeming to be debating whether to give in or not. “I’ve just been thinking some more about Edwin. I’m still not sure I trust him.”

            “Really? Do you think he’s here for something other than healing Morgana?”

            Gaius balked, his eyes going wide for just a second before he recovered. He glanced behind him, then stepped closer to Jada with a low voice. “You should be careful what you get yourself involved in.”

            “But if he is here for something else, something more sinister, then surely we should figure it out so we can stop him?”

            “I fear that that will only cause more trouble.”

            Jada felt her eyes narrow in confusion. “Gaius? Is there something you’re not telling me?”

            Gaius cast his eyes downwards, looking anywhere except her face. Eventually, he gave a laugh. “I’m sure everything’s fine. You shouldn’t listen to a foolish old man like me. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I must be getting back to work.”

            He shuffled off, hardly giving her another glance, and leaving Jada standing in the corridor feeling confused and suspicious. Gaius clearly didn’t trust Edwin, but had he discovered some proof that the stranger was bad news? Or maybe he was just on edge, she thought. He probably felt as though everybody was gearing up to replace him since they all seemed so enamoured with Edwin, so maybe that was what was causing him to act so strangely.

            Either way, thought Jada, Edwin was hiding something. Even with modern medicine, she’d never heard of a haemorrhage clearing up without a trace in minutes, so she was damn sure that Edwin couldn’t achieve such a feat with medieval science alone. She was practically certain he was using magic—the only thing keeping her from declaring it an undeniable truth was that she had no solid evidence.

            But that didn’t necessarily make him a bad person. The only reason any of them had to dislike him so far was that he was practically snatching Gaius’ job out from underneath him, but even that seemed to be mostly Uther’s doing. The King just would not stop lavishing praise on the man. No wonder Gaius was feeling so unappreciated.

            She wondered as she headed through the castle how it would all turn out. If Edwin did steal Gaius’ job, what would Gaius do then? Would Uther still let him live in the castle—they were supposedly old friends, after all—or would he have to give his chambers up to Edwin, too?

            Maybe they were worrying about nothing, she thought. Maybe Edwin would simply take his reward and move on from Camelot, and they could all go on as normal. She hoped that would be the case as she knocked on Morgana’s door.

            It was Gwen who answered, and she greeted Jada with a smile. “Jada! What are you doing here?”

            “I just wanted to come and ask how Morgana is doing,” she replied.

            “Much better, thank you.” Morgana herself appeared behind Gwen, fully dressed and looking as healthy and regal as ever. “It was sweet of you to come and visit.”

            Jada smiled. “It’s no problem. I’m just glad you’re feeling better. My, uh…” She couldn’t stop her face from falling. “My uncle had a brain haemorrhage a few years back.”

            “Oh,” Morgana said. “I’m sorry to hear that.”

            “I didn’t know him very well or anything, but he couldn’t walk afterwards. They even had to teach him how to speak again.” She pulled herself back into the present, giving a shrug. “Wish we could have had whatever Edwin did, but what can you do, eh?”

            Jada watched Morgana’s expression carefully, but her features only conveyed pity. “Well, I’m sure once Edwin’s remedy is perfected, he’ll release it to the people. It may not help your uncle, I know…” She gave Jada a comforting smile. “But at least it will stop anyone else from suffering.”

            “Of course,” Jada agreed, smiling in return.

            “I’m afraid I must be off, now,” Morgana admitted. “Apparently Uther’s sent Edwin on some sort of investigation, and he wants Arthur and I to be there to listen to his findings.” She didn’t look particularly thrilled by the prospect, but Jada supposed that she probably had little choice in the matter.

            “Of course,” she replied, stepping out of the way of the door. “I’ll let you go to them, then.”

            Morgana flashed her a devilish grin as she stepped out of her room. “Oh, and don’t think I’ve forgotten about our training session. You won’t be getting out of it that easily.”

            She headed off down the corridor with her head held high, leaving Jada grinning after her. Jada nodded a farewell to Gwen, before turning and heading off in the opposite direction.

            Her guess that Morgana might know what Edwin had used was a long shot, but at least she was certain now that she wasn’t hiding anything from them in that regard. Her next best guess was probably Merlin; he had been helping Edwin lug his equipment about after all. Maybe there was some proof that Edwin was using magic there.

            She wasn’t sure what exactly she’d do if she did manage to find proof. Maybe they could induct Edwin into their little sorcerer’s support group, in which Merlin was currently the only sorcerer while Jada acted as the support. Merlin would probably appreciate having a magical buddy, she thought. It’d be nice for him.

            She’d have to wait until tomorrow to find out what he knew, however, as with all the running about between Arthur and Edwin he usually wasn’t home until late. But, if she caught him whilst he was doing the laundry, they’d be able to have a good long chat away from any prying ears. It was the perfect plan. She just had to get up early enough to execute it.

            The next morning, Jada headed straight for the servants’ quarters, hoping to catch Merlin before he left them and returned to Arthur’s chambers. She was running later than she’d planned, but as she rounded a corner into a new corridor, she spotted Merlin hurrying towards her from the opposite end. He didn’t appear to have noticed her, seeming deep in thought from the furrow between his brows, but he was moving fast and without any form of laundry on him.

            “Merlin?” Jada called. He glanced up, but his frown didn’t soften much as he recognised her. “What’s up?”

            “Uther’s sacked Gaius,” he replied. “He’s replacing him with Edwin.”

            “He’s sacked him?”

            Merlin nodded. “I’m going to see Gaius now.”

            Jada nodded, wordlessly falling in step beside him. She accompanied him all the way down to Gaius’ room, where he burst through the door to find Gaius busy packing his things into bags.

            “Gaius!” Merlin exclaimed. “Uther cannot do this to you. You tried to save Morgana.”

            Gaius seemed to have resigned himself to his fate, a strange sense of calm hanging over him. “Uther’s not to blame.”

            “I will speak to Edwin,” Merlin offered. “You can work together.”

            “No, you mustn’t do anything.”

            “I can’t stand by and do nothing!”

            “Uther’s right. It’s time I stepped down.”

            Jada frowned; Gaius loved his work. She couldn’t imagine him giving it up that easily, after just one mistake.

            Merlin seemed only just to have noticed that Gaius was packing. “What are you doing?”

            “I cannot stay when there’s no longer a use for me,” Gaius stated simply.

            “You’re not leaving.”

            “I believe it’s for the best.”

            Merlin suddenly stood up straighter. “Then I will come with you.”

            Jada turned to him sharply, but Gaius gave him a small smile. “Merlin, you’re like a son to me. I never expected such a blessing so late in life.”

            Merlin softened. “And you are more than a father to me.”

            “Then, as a father, I must tell you; you must remain here,” Gaius said. “Camelot is where you belong.”

            “But you belong here, too.”

            “Not anymore.” He stepped forwards, placing both hands on Merlin’s shoulders. “Merlin, you must promise me you will not waste your gifts.”

            Merlin shook his head in frustration. “My gifts mean nothing without you to guide me.”

            “You have a great destiny. If I have had a small part to play in that, then I am pleased.”

            “There’s so much I’ve yet to learn. I need you to teach me.”

            “I’m afraid I’m leaving here tonight, Merlin,” Gaius answered, returning to his packing. “And there’s nothing you can do or say that can persuade me otherwise.”

            A stubborn determination hardened Merlin’s features. “I will not let this happen.” He spun on his heel, sweeping out the door as quickly as he had entered.

            In the quiet that followed, Jada turned to Gaius, her arms folded. “Where will you go?”

            He sighed. “I do not know. Perhaps somewhere far from Camelot, where I may live out the rest of my days in peace.”

            “What about Merlin?”

            Gaius looked after his ward, worry evident in his eyes. “He has a wise head on his shoulders. He just has to remember to use it.” He turned his gaze back to Jada, serious now. “Promise me you’ll look after him? You’ll be the only one in Camelot who knows his secret, now. You’ll have to protect it with your life.”

            She felt the weight of such a promise hang over her. “I can’t teach him anything. Who is he supposed to learn from with you gone?”

            Once more, Gaius looked to the door. “I fear that advancing his magic will be the least of his worries in the coming days.”

            Jada frowned, leaning in. “Gaius? What do you mean?”

            Gaius looked as though he considered giving in to her, but at the last second, he reconsidered. “It does not matter now; the decision has already been made. But he will need someone to protect him from those that would do him harm.”

            “I will. I promise, I will,” Jada swore, no less confused. “But Gaius, you’re giving me more questions than answers, here.” She looked to the door, then back at him. “There’s nobody else here. Whatever it is, you can tell me.”

            Still, Gaius looked reluctant, so Jada leant in closer, dropping her voice so that it would be impossible for anybody eavesdropping to hear. “Gaius, I can’t protect him if I don’t know where the danger’s coming from.”

            Finally, Gaius’ resolve gave way. “I fear that Edwin may not be as benevolent as he seems.”

            “I think he’s using magic. But what would he have against Merlin?”

            “Merlin is but a means to an end,” Gaius explained. “His real target is Uther.”

            “Revenge? I wouldn’t blame him, if he does have magic.”

            “Jada,” Gaius scolded. “People’s lives are in danger. If Edwin finds out that I have mentioned even a word of this to you, he will tell Uther that Merlin has magic.”

            Jada inhaled sharply, feeling the anger build inside her. “Does he have proof?”

            “I don’t know. But if he does go to Uther, it will be almost impossible to prove Merlin innocent. Once the King hears ‘magic’, his mind is already made up.”

            “Then what can we do? How do we stop Edwin?”

            “I’m afraid we cannot. That is why I must leave.” He plopped another folded robe into his bag.

            Jada straightened up again. “We leave Edwin to kill Uther, so that Merlin won’t get hurt?” Gaius didn’t nod, but from the look on his face she knew she was right. “Then what? Will Edwin just leave after he’s done what he came for? Or will he move in here, with Merlin, and carrying on posing as an actual physician?”

            “I’m afraid I do not know,” Gaius admitted. “That is why you must look after him.”

            She squared her shoulders, nodding once. “Does Merlin know?”

            “No. I’ve managed to keep it from him. If he were to find out, Edwin would tell Uther.”

            “I’ll figure something out,” Jada said. “Don’t worry.”

            If Edwin thought he could threaten her friends and get away with it, he was sorely mistaken.

            Jada spent the rest of the day in the courtyard with her lute, plucking the strings absently as she watched the people pass her by. Music always helped her think, and there was something soothing about watching all the other people in the castle potter about around her.

            She had to figure out a way to get Merlin out of Edwin’s reach, but that was proving more difficult than she had anticipated. If she told anyone about Edwin now, he’d expose Merlin, and even if she went straight to Uther himself Edwin would have the chance to drag Merlin down with him. She didn’t trust Uther not to simply sentence them both to death, and that was a chance she most definitely was not willing to take.

            She could tell Merlin, but she wasn’t sure how much that would achieve. If Edwin found out he knew, he’d tell. If Merlin told Arthur or Uther, Edwin would tell. The only way they’d be able to silence Edwin for good would be to kill him, and Jada certainly wasn’t about to do that, nor would she put Merlin in a position where he had to in order to save himself.

            It seemed then that she would have to wait for Edwin to enact his plan—whatever that may be—and kill Uther. She’d never have admitted it out loud, and certainly not to Gaius, of all people, but Jada wasn’t sure she’d lose much sleep at night if she looked the other way. Not when Uther was so happy to execute so many innocent people. Not when Merlin risked his life every day just by being in the same kingdom, let alone the same castle. She wouldn’t cry for the King, at any rate.

            But the problem then lay with what Edwin was planning to do after Uther was dead. If he was in Camelot solely to enact his revenge and disappeared into the night once the deed was done, then Jada wouldn’t have a problem. He could leave the city, and then Gaius could come back, and Arthur would hopefully prove to be a less-genocidally-inclined ruler and they could all be happy. She’d expected to find King Arthur on her arrival to Camelot, anyway. Even Lancelot could come back and be the knight he was supposed to be.

            But what was she to do if Edwin remained? She couldn’t expose him even then; he’d just change his threat to telling Arthur instead of Uther. Unless…

            Unless she exposed him for something else entirely, something he couldn’t relate back to Merlin or Gaius. If she managed to find proof of his using magic, and never let on that Gaius had told her everything, he wouldn’t be able to threaten her with spilling Merlin’s secret. For all Edwin knew, Jada had no idea about Merlin having magic. So she could go to Uther with her evidence, say she grew suspicious after Morgana’s miraculous recovery, and let whatever happened, happen. She wondered whether Edwin saving Morgana would save him from execution, or whether Uther’s hatred of magic would completely overrule any gratitude he felt.

            But could Jada knowingly condemn someone to a death sentence? She stopped plucking, setting her lute down and putting her chin in her hands with a sigh. Did she have a choice? Edwin was quite happy to sentence Merlin to the same fate if she didn’t. She could either turn a blind eye and hope he went away eventually, thus choosing to let Edwin kill Uther, or she could try and do something and let Uther kill Edwin. Either way, she was complicit in a man’s death. But if she messed up, that death could be Merlin’s.

            She ran her hands through her hair in frustration, wondering if this was what Merlin felt like every other day. He definitely deserved more breaks, she decided. This stuff was stressful.

            The sun was beginning to set now, a reminder to Jada of just how long she’d been out here with almost nothing to show for it. She’d come to no conclusion, made no decision, and she certainly didn’t feel any closer to making one. She stood up, turning and heading back up the stairs to the castle with her lute in hand. Maybe if she slept on it all, she’d be able to come to a decision by the morning.

            She’d just made it to the first floor of the castle when a body slammed into her, rounding a corner and knocking her backwards from the force of the impact.

            The air was knocked out of her with an “Oof” sound, quickly followed by a confused, “Merlin?”

            “Sorry!” Merlin exclaimed, pausing only long enough to steady her before beginning to dash off again.

            “Merlin? What’s going on?” she called after him.

            “Uther has Morgana’s sickness!” he shouted back over his shoulder. “I have to find Edwin!”

            He sprinted off again, moving fast for someone so gangly, and leaving Jada frozen with horror. Edwin? Whatever was going on, she would be damned if she let Merlin stumble into the man’s grasp alone. As quickly as she could, she set off after him.

            Merlin had only just burst into the room when she arrived, and as she rounded the corner onto the corridor where Edwin’s chambers lay she heard him demand, “What are you doing?”

            Jada skidded to a halt just behind him, finding Gaius trapped in the centre of a ring of fire and Edwin smirking off to the other side of the room.

            “He was trying to kill the King! I couldn’t let him,” Gaius cried.

            “I can rule the kingdom now, with you at my side,” Edwin said, turning to Merlin with a voice like honey. Jada felt the disgust rise within her, quickly turning to anger. “We can be all-powerful.”

            “Release him!” Merlin ordered, casting aside Edwin’s proposition without a second thought.

            Edwin gave a small shrug. “Your loss, Merlin.”

            His gaze turned to a pair of axes displayed on the wall, and as they all watched, one of them began to float out of its holder. With no warning, it turned and hurled itself towards Merlin, heading straight for his head.

            On instinct, Jada grabbed him from behind to try and pull him to safety, the two of them staggering backwards in a panic and the lute falling noisily to the floor, but the axe only followed Merlin’s movements. With a flash of gold, he managed to halt it mere inches from his face.

            Edwin’s voice was unfazed, though Jada couldn’t take her eyes off the axe that hovered so close to them.

            “Svelt Merlin,” he commanded.

            The axe shuddered, the magic of the two opposing wills fighting for dominance over it, and then suddenly it was hurtling back through the air towards Edwin. It struck its target with a dull thud, and Edwin fell to the ground, motionless. Dimly, Jada’s brain registered the fire surrounding Gaius shrinking before it vanished completely, but her gaze remained fixed in horror on Edwin’s form.

            Merlin turned to Gaius, his voice shaky. “Are you all right?”

            “Yes,” Gaius replied breathlessly. “Thank you, Merlin.”

            Merlin turned back to the body and straightened up, his jacket slipping through Jada’s frozen fingers. All of a sudden, he seemed to remember why he had come in the first place, springing back into action and rifling through Edwin’s equipment.

            “What are you doing?” Gaius asked.

            “Uther’s ill, the same thing Morgana had.” He picked up a small wooden box and opened it, showing the contents to Gaius. “Edwin said he used these to cure Morgana. Maybe we can too.”

            Gaius crossed over to stand beside Merlin, his voice incredulous. “Elanthia beetles.”

            “Are they magical?”

            “Yes,” Gaius replied. “They can be enchanted to enter the brain, feed on it until they devour the person’s very soul.” Suddenly, his voice became urgent. “We must go to him.”

            The two headed immediately for the door where Jada was still standing, so she turned and followed behind them in a daze. She could hardly feel her limbs moving, but before she knew it they had arrived at Uther’s chambers. The three of them gathered round the bed, watching the King’s still form uneasily. His only movement was the shallow rise and fall of the blankets over his chest.

            “How do we get the beetle out before it kills him?” Merlin asked, his voice hushed.

            “It can only be magic,” came Gaius’ reply.

            Merlin turned to him in fear. “We can’t use magic on Uther; he’d kill us!”

            “We don’t have a choice.”

            “Gaius!”

            “There are times when it is necessary.”

            Suddenly, Jada was angry, her daze shattering around her. “Necessary?” she snapped. “To what? Risk your life to save someone who would happily burn you alive?”

            Gaius’ eyebrow raised slightly, but he decided instead to ignore her, concentrating his efforts on convincing Merlin. “It is your right.”

            “What does that even mean?” Jada cried, refusing to be ignored so easily.

            By contrast, Merlin’s voice was quiet. “I don’t know how.”

            “If you don’t…” Gaius turned to look at Uther gravely. “He’s going to die.”

            “Why don’t you do it then? Merlin-”

            “Jada.” Somehow, Merlin’s soft voice was enough to check her blazing anger, and he gave her a small, quick smile as she turned to him. “It’s all right.”

            Her fury died in her throat, and Merlin moved around the bed to stand by Uther’s head. He set the box down on the bedside table, then knelt beside the King on the mattress. Merlin placed both of his hands carefully on either side of Uther’s head, closing his eyes in concentration.

            “Berbay odothay arisan yeldo,” he murmured, scrunching his face up in concentration. “Ablinan.”

            Gaius leant forward. “What’s happening?”

            After a few quiet seconds, Merlin moved his hands, slowly bringing them away from Uther’s head as he stood up again. He held his right palm out, revealing a small black beetle lying still in the centre of it.

            Gaius looked incredulously at the beetle, then up at Merlin’s face. “Has anyone ever told you you’re a genius?”

            Merlin grinned. “You certainly haven’t.”

            The two of them began to laugh in relief, until Uther let out a groan. His eyelids slid open, and he looked at them in confusion for a few moments before suddenly bolting upright.

            “Edwin,” he said, though whether it was a statement or a question, Jada could not tell.

            “He released an Elanthia beetle to devour your brain, sire,” Gaius explained.

            “Luckily Gaius was able to retrieve it,” Merlin added hastily. Gaius looked at him for a moment in surprise.

            “Lucky, indeed,” Uther nodded. “But where is Edwin now? He must be brought to justice.”

            “Uh…” Gaius gave Merlin another look, seeming to decide somehow on a story with no external communication. “We’ll look into it, sire.”

Chapter 15 ->

[jessisnotnormal]

Chapter 12: Poetry

Masterlist

<- Chapter 11

It had been a mere two days since Lancelot had departed when Jada grew bored.

            While she was grateful her new position as Royal Bard consisted of conveniently short hours, she soon found herself all but twiddling her thumbs whenever her services were not called upon. There were only so many hours she could spend practising the lute, or trying her best to read some of the old tomes she’d borrowed form Gaius’ library, and since Lancelot had gone she hadn’t the faintest idea how to go about practising with her sword, either. Everyone she’d met so far in Camelot worked full-time, so she couldn’t even go and bother them with her boredom. She’d have to seek a solution elsewhere, she decided.

            And so, when the next morning dawned with a clear sky and bright sunshine, Jada seized the opportunity to go exploring in the city itself.

            She found the markets first, though that hadn’t taken too much effort. They were the centre of life in the city, after all, where it seemed that people of every class gathered to mill about and chat to their friends while perusing the various stalls. Jada still had very little money—and what she did have, she owed to Merlin—so she merely wandered through the stalls, admiring the trinkets on one or grimacing at the ‘medicinal’ remedies on another. She was happy enough just to be out of her room, amongst the people bustling energetically about.

            Down one street she discovered a travelling musician, stamping his foot along with the tune from his whistle as several young children in plain tunics and skirts danced and skipped about him. On another there was a storyteller recounting some dramatic tale of nobility and chivalry to the small crowd gathered around. At a crossroads she found a preacher atop a wooden box, his hands raised to the heavens as he called the people to repent their mistakes and dedicate their lives to the worship of whatever deity he stood in the name of. Jada didn’t spend too long listening to him, her curiosity flat-lining as he praised Uther for purging all those who remained unrepentant with ‘glorious flames’. With clenched fists, she turned quickly back towards the castle.

            She had almost reached the courtyard when she heard a loud clatter from the direction of the stables, followed by a familiar yet clearly exasperated voice demanding, “Now, was that really necessary?”

            Smiling, Jada followed the sound into the barn, soon finding Merlin in one of the stalls. He was stood with his back to her, his hands on his hips like a parent scolding a child, and facing down a large grey horse which looked neither intimidated nor repentant over the overturned wheelbarrow that lay between them. If anything, Jada thought the horse looked pleased with itself.

            “Having fun?” she asked, leaning with both arms atop the gate.

            Merlin jumped, his hands dropping as he turned towards her, before a smile lit his face. “Jada. What are you doing here?” He stepped over the horse’s carnage to walk closer to her, but threw a scowl back over his shoulder as he did so. “This isn’t over,” he warned the horse.

            It flicked its ears at him, sneezed, and turned to nibble lazily at its hay.

            Jada giggled, and Merlin grinned too.

            “I came to see what all the noise was about. Actually, I wanted to give you this, too, while I remembered.” She plonked her coin-purse down on the top of the gate. “I don’t know how much those dresses were, so you’ll have to just take however much I owe you.”

            “Jada, you don’t have to-”

            “Just take it. I owe you.”

            She shook the purse at him, the few coins inside making a dull clinking sound, and finally Merlin gave in. “Fine. I’ll take what you owe me, and then we’re even, all right?”

            He tugged the pouch open, counting out the coins carefully before pulling the string tight again and handing it back to her.

            “Sorted,” she grinned. “Now we’re even.”

            Merlin gave her a smile back, but as he bent to pick up the wheelbarrow his face seemed to drop.

            “Are you all right?” Jada asked. “You look a bit worn out.”

            “I’m fine” he replied, “Just a busy day, really. Arthur’s had me running round all day after him trying to get all the new recruits in gear.”

            “New recruits?”

            “Yeah, after the griffin attacked it thinned the army down a bit. They’ve got some new people to fill the spaces, but it takes a while for them to settle in properly, apparently. And then I had to walk his dogs. I hate his dogs; they just refuse to listen to any kind of reason. And I was almost finished mucking out until this donkey here…”—He cast an accusatory glance back at the horse, which seemed now to be ignoring him—“Decided to flip the wheelbarrow. Now I have to clean it all up again, and I still have to polish all Arthur’s armour before he starts training them all again tomorrow.”

            He sighed, turning to fork the muck back into the wheelbarrow again. “Sorry, you probably don’t really care. It’s just been a long day.”

            “No, I don’t mind,” Jada said. “Is there anything I can help with? I could help you with the armour, if you want? I’m sure I could handle some polishing.”

            “Really? You don’t have to, I’m sure you have better things to do.”

            Jada laughed. “Please don’t make me go and play the lute again. I think my fingers are going to bleed if I practise any more. I’d be grateful for the change, honestly.”

            The corner of Merlin’s lip quirked upwards. “All right. Well, I’m nearly done here, and then we can go and collect it all from the armoury, if that’s all right?”

            “That’s fine,” she replied. “I don’t mind waiting.”

            As soon as Merlin was finished, the two of them headed to the royal armoury. Jada had never been down to this part of the castle before, but Merlin seemed to know the way with perfect ease, so she had no concerns about getting lost.

            Once Merlin had counted up all the various pieces, they divided the load evenly between them, carrying it back to his chambers with a quick ‘Hullo’ to Gaius on the way past. Before long, Arthur’s armour was sprawled across Merlin’s floor with the two of them sat amongst the mess, vigorously polishing.

            “So, go on then,” Jada began. “How exactly did you manage to end up as the royal babysitter to the great Prince Arthur?”

            Merlin chuckled at her sarcasm, before giving a slight shrug. “I saved his life.”

            “Really?” she asked. “I guess I shouldn’t be surprised. Is there anybody in Camelot whose life you haven’t saved?”

            Merlin laughed again, but cast his eyes humbly back to his work.

            “Did Arthur know about this one, at least?”

            He nodded. “Some sorceress threw a knife at him; she wanted to get revenge on Uther for executing her son.”

            “And you stopped her?”

            “Only just. I managed to pull Arthur out of the way just in time.”

            Jada regarded the boy before her. He was still scrubbing at the metal in his hands, his knuckles red and rough and flecked with dirt. His boots were muddy, his clothes frayed at the edges and worn at the knees, and she was astounded with just how unassuming he seemed from the outside when the inside held something so awe-strikingly great.

            “So, what?” she said, trying for a joke. “Now you get to save his royal ass for the rest of eternity?”

            Merlin gave a soft laugh. “Apparently. It’s my destiny.”

            “Who told you that?”

            He glanced up at her, brows furrowed slightly, before he shrugged. “Everyone. Ever since I came to Camelot, people having been telling me that’s what I’m supposed to do.”

            “Is that what you want?” She was trying to understand him, trying to figure out the person behind all the legends and the destinies. She couldn’t imagine how it must feel to have so much responsibility thrust on him for the rest of his life.

            “What do you mean?” he asked.

            “Well, when you first came to Camelot you must have had some idea of what you wanted to do, right? If you’d have been given the choice, would you have been happy to pick this?”

            He stopped polishing, his forehead wrinkling as he thought it over. “I… I don’t know. I’m happy now, it’s just… I don’t know, it’s not like I have a choice anyway, so it doesn’t matter.”

            “I think it does.”

            Merlin looked at her, then fell back into his own thoughts as silence crept in between them.

            “I think you’re very brave, you know,” Jada said at length.

            Merlin looked surprised, his laugh tinted with disbelief. “Me?”

            Jada couldn’t help but smile. “Yes, you. I’m really not sure how you manage it all.”

            She thought for a moment, before setting the helmet she’d been polishing down into her lap and looking Merlin straight in the eye. “If you ever need help with anything, you know I’m here, right? I might not be very useful here in Camelot; I can’t use a sword very well and I don’t have magic, but if there’s ever anything you need, anything at all”—She paused, her smile softening—“I want you to know that I’m here to help. You don’t have to do it all by yourself.”

            Merlin was quiet for a moment, just looking at her. “Thank you, Jada,” he said at last, before a warm smile spread across his face. “It’s good to know I can count on you.”

            Jada grinned in return, scrubbing at the helmet again. “Any time.” She flashed him a mischievous glance. “As long as you don’t try and get me to muck out Arthur’s horses for you.”

            Merlin laughed. “Wouldn’t dream of it.”

            She thought again for a moment. “Do you ever get any time off?”

            “Depends,” he replied. “Arthur usually lets me go once I’ve done all my chores, if there’s nothing special going on. Why?”

            She shrugged. “It’s just… we could do something, if you wanted? I don’t know, you just seem like you could use a break from time to time.”

            Merlin glanced at her, seeming surprised but interested. “Did you have anything in mind?”

            “Maybe we could get out of the city for a bit? I used to go out into the garden to read back at home; being out in the sun always seems to help me relax a little. Not that we’d have to read, or anything.”

            “No, that sounds nice. You can read if you want; I should really practise some more of the spells Gaius gave me, so being away from Camelot would give me the perfect opportunity.”

            Jada chuckled. “All right, but remember the point is to relax. We could take some food, make it a picnic sort of thing.”

            “Sounds good. I know just the cook to steal from.”

            “Merlin!” Jada nudged him with her foot, giggling. “Just don’t get in trouble.”

            “I won’t,” he grinned. “If you meet me in the courtyard tomorrow afternoon, I think I know a place we can go.”

            “Secret sorcerer’s club?” she teased.

            Merlin laughed, but shook his head. “I can’t let you in there yet, I’m afraid. You have to have at least three recommendations from other members.”

            “Ah, right. I guess your other place will have to do, then.”

            He smiled, warm and bright. “I guess so.”

            It was mid-way through the following morning when Jada left the castle, wooden sword in hand. She wanted to train, to keep practising her sword craft, but with Lancelot gone she found that she didn’t really have the faintest idea on how she should be improving.

            Nevertheless, she tried her best to hack and slash at imaginary monsters, hoping that if she ever did end up facing one, the universe would be kind enough to give her a small, dumb beast rather than something as terrifying as the griffin had been. Maybe Camelot would have a nasty infestation of particularly large snails. She could probably manage that.

            “New at this?”

            The voice came from behind her, soft and velvety but still tinted with amusement. Jada turned to find herself facing a girl who looked to be in her late teens, her dark hair plaited back and one delicate eyebrow raised.

            “Lady Morgana?” she realised with a jolt.

            She had hardly recognised the lady without her flowing gown, as now she wore a loose-fitting shirt and breeches and bore her own—much deadlier-looking—sword.

            “That’s correct,” she replied. “You’re Uther’s new bard, no?”

            “That’s me. Uh, Jada,” she offered her hand to the lady, who glanced at it quizzically before clasping it with her own. She seemed strangely pleased when Jada shook it, her expression smoothing out.

            “So, what exactly is a royal bard doing swinging a wooden sword about by herself?” Morgana asked, with no small amount of amusement.

            “Uh,” Jada laughed sheepishly, fiddling with the end of her sleeve. “I was trying to practise. Sir Lancelot was teaching me, but then he left, and…”

            “Sir Lancelot?”

            “Um…”

            “I can see he’s tried to cover the basics,” Morgana noted, moving swiftly on. “Here. Stand more sideways. It makes you a smaller target, which makes you harder to hit.” She demonstrated it herself, and Jada did her best to copy her positioning. “There you go. But why would a bard want to know how to fight, anyway?”

            “I, uh…” Jada hesitated, wondering whether to tell her the full truth or not. “I ran into the griffin in the forest, before it started to attack Camelot. I didn’t like how helpless it made me feel, how there was nothing I could do to protect…”—She glanced up suddenly, before continuing—“To protect myself. It doesn’t matter whether I’m a soldier or not, I can still be killed just the same.”

            A curious expression passed over Morgana’s face as she regarded Jada, almost as though she were impressed.

            “But what about you? Why did you come here alone and armed with your own sword?”

            Morgana smiled. “It appears that we have something in common. I, too, refuse to be helpless in the face of danger. I was coming here to practise myself.” She thought for a moment, her brows furrowing slightly. “Perhaps we should train together. After all, you’re never going to learn anything if you keep swinging like that,” she added with a mischievous smirk.

            Jada laughed at her teasing. “I’d appreciate it, thanks. I clearly have a lot to learn.”

            “Certainly. But, first we need to find you a proper sword.”

            “Sorry I’m late,” Merlin panted, racing down the steps outside the castle. “Arthur had me scrubbing the floors again.”

            “No worries,” Jada said. “I’ve not been here long.”

            “I wouldn’t mind, but I’ve already scrubbed them once today, but then he went to training and he just has to traipse mud all over the place, doesn’t he?” He shook his head in exasperation. “I really don’t know why I bother, sometimes.”

            Jada smiled. “Well, it doesn’t matter now. We’re going to have fun, and you’re going to relax. Got it?”

            “Yes, Your Majesty,” Merlin teased, giving an ungainly bow.

            “Oi,” Jada laughed, elbowing him in the ribs. “Did you get the food?”

            He patted the bag at his hip proudly and nodded. “Ready to go.”

            “All right then, lead the way.”

            Jada followed Merlin through the winding streets of the city and out the gate, into the jade-green light of the forest underneath the leafy canopy above. They didn’t walk too far, travelling just until they were a safe distance away from the roads, where the birds were in full song and the brush around them seemed to be teeming with unseen life.

            “It’s just here,” Merlin said, heading down a slight incline. His features already seemed to Jada less tired in the afternoon sun, the golden light that peeked through the leaves highlighting the angles of his face and smoothing out the stressed creases.

            She followed him down until the ground evened out again, where they came upon a small brook that danced over a bed of pebbles. The trees had thinned here, enough that Jada could see the pale sky above them, which was unexpectedly clear for a September afternoon.

            “Here.” Merlin halted, turning to face her with a smile. “Is this all right?”

            “This is lovely,” Jada replied, taking in their surroundings with awe.

            “I’m glad you like it.” He beamed, sitting himself down on the ground and beginning to dig through his bag.

            Jada sat beside him, drawing her knees up to lean the book that she had brought against them.

            “I wasn’t sure what kind of food you liked, so I just tried to get a mix.” He pulled out a white cloth, and spread it out to reveal an assortment of bread, cheese, and fruits.

            “That looks pretty good to me,” Jada said, reaching over to pop a blackberry into her mouth. “Thanks.”

            She opened her book, flicking through the first few pages. Merlin stretched out on his stomach, setting his own book out in front of him as he munched on one of the pieces of bread.

            They read in comfortable silence for a while, every now and then reaching for a piece of food off of the cloth absently. Occasionally, Merlin would murmur a spell, his voice soft as it shaped the foreign words. Whether his magic answered him or not now seemed to be mostly up to chance, as Jada saw it, but she imagined that with practise it became easier—like learning to play a melody from memory.

            His eyes glowed suddenly, the brilliant gold flaring up as a gust of wind breezed across the brook and over the two of them, ruffling clothes and hair as it passed. Merlin grinned, clearly proud of himself, and glanced over to Jada, who suddenly became aware that she’d been watching him for quite some time.

            She gave a sheepish laugh, fixing her windblown hair, before returning his grin. “Well done.”

            “Thanks,” Merlin replied. His expression changed to curiosity as his gaze fell on her book, and he twisted round a little to get a better look at it. “What are you reading?”

            “Hm? Oh, um…” Jada had almost forgotten about the book in her lap. “It’s a book of poetry. I found it on Gaius’ shelf and wanted to have a look, y’know, being a bard and all now. The only problem is that I can’t understand half the poems that are in here.”

            Merlin chuckled. “They can’t be that bad. Read me one of them.”

            Jada made a face. “All right, but I warned you:

            As she finished stumbling over the verse, her tongue clumsy and her voice broken, she heard Merlin give a soft chuckle.

“Bytuene Mershe and Averil

When spray beginneth to springe,

The lutel foul hath hire wyl

On hyre lud to synge:

Ich libbe in love-longinge

For semlokest of alle thynge,

He may me blisse bringe,

Ich am in hire baundoun.”

            “Let me see.” He sat up, moving closer to her to peer at the page she was holding until his chest brushed her shoulder. “Ah, no, see, like this:

            “Baundoun?” Jada frowned.

“Between March and April

When spray—that’s kind of like a branch—beginneth to spring,

The little fowl hath her will

In her tune to sing:

I live in love-longing

For semlokest—I think that means ‘most beautiful’—of all things,

She may me bliss bring,

I am in her baundoun.”

            “Power,” Merlin explained. “Thraldom. It’s sort of like saying, ‘I am bound by her.’”

            “Ah,” Jada nodded. “How do you know all that?”

            He grinned, holding up his spell book for her to see. On the pages, Jada saw not a single word of English—or modern English, at any rate—and she felt her eyes widen. “You can understand all that?”

            He was still grinning as he flicked through the pages, not answering her for a moment. Then, he looked back up at her, eyes glinting. “Monegum léoht.”

            Out of nowhere, dozens of tiny glowing orbs appeared in the air around them, swirling and spiralling in the breeze as they twinkled. Jada gasped, awestruck, and just managed to turn back in time to see the starlight in his eyes fade back to a cool blue. “That’s amazing.”

            He let out a laugh, dropping his gaze for a moment.

            “Do you like this?” Jada asked suddenly.

            Merlin’s brow creased slightly. “What do you mean?”

            “This.” She gestured at their surroundings, before laughing at her own vagueness. “Showing me. Sharing your secret.”

            His expression cleared, his lips parting for a second. “It’s…” He hesitated, before licking his lips and letting out a nervous laugh. “It terrified me at first. I suppose it still does, a little. I think I must get a weird thrill from it, or something.” Another shaky laugh. “But I like it. I like having someone who knows, who sees the real me, and…”

            Jada tilted her head slightly. “And?”

            He gave another chuckle, though she noticed his glances were darting. “Well, you always seem so… impressed. It’s not really a reaction I tend to get a lot.”

            He’d pulled his knees up to his chest, wrapping his arms around them, but he seemed to want to push himself to continue speaking, so Jada waited. “I like having someone who sees me for who I really am, and who… who likes that.”

            Without thinking, Jada wrapped her arms around him and pulled him into a hug. He seemed surprised at first, but after a moment he relaxed, dropping his knees and hugging her back.

            “I do like you,” she agreed, wanting to soothe the hammering of his heart that she could feel against her own chest. “All of you. You’re right.” She wanted to hug all the worry out of his lanky body, to give him a place where he felt safe and valued and wanted. “I’m glad you feel comfortable being yourself with me.”

            “I’m glad you haven’t turned me in,” he joked, most of his nerves seeming calmer now. He sat back, pulling out of the hug, but his mouth wore a soft smile.

            “Do you think we could do this again sometime?” she asked. “I’ve really enjoyed it.”

            “Me too,” Merlin replied. “I’d love to do this more often.”

            “Just let me know the next time you need a break, then,” Jada said, absently nudging his knee with her fist. “I’ll be there.”

            His eyes still held the tumult of emotion of the past few minutes, but his smile grew warmer as he regarded her. “I have no doubt.”

Chapter 13 ->

[jessisnotnormal]

Chapter 4: Trust

Masterlist

<-Chapter 3

Jada was happy to spend the rest of the day poring over piles and piles of dusty old books that Gaius had managed to retrieve from Geoffrey. Gaius himself accompanied her from time to time in between visiting his patients, searching through the texts that were written in some old and arcane language that Jada had no hope of understanding. Merlin was out for most of the day working for Arthur, but he finally returned in the late afternoon.

            “Find anything yet?” he asked, drawing both Jada and Gaius out of their focused trances as he stepped through the door.

            “Nothing yet,” Jada replied, looking across at Gaius.

            “I’m afraid that travelling through time is a phenomenon that has rarely even been speculated about before, let alone actually studied and documented,” the physician sighed, closing his book in defeat and turning his attention to Jada. “Are you sure there are no more details that you can give us?”

            Jada shook her head. “No, sorry. I’ve told you everything I remember.”

            She wished Morgo hadn’t knocked her out; things would have been so much easier if she could have seen how he’d got her there.

            “No matter,” Gaius tried for a reassuring smile. “I’m sure something will come up eventually.”

            “For now,” Merlin began, calling their attention to him, “We should probably start walking to Gwen’s. She’ll have finished work by now, and we’ll want to be back by nightfall.”

            Jada nodded, rising from her seat and moving to stand by his side. “All right, then. Ready when you are.”

            The two of them headed out of the castle and into the evening together, with Merlin leading the way through the streets of Camelot. Jada couldn’t help but keep looking back over her shoulder at the castle as they walked, almost afraid it might disappear if they got too far away. Strange, she thought. She hadn’t expected to feel any sort of attachment to the place.

            Merlin was giving her odd looks each time she turned, and finally caught her eye long enough to send her a quizzical expression.

            “Sorry,” she laughed. “I just don’t think I’ll ever get used to this place. I mean, look at it!”

            She gestured dramatically back at the castle, all lit up with candles in the windows and braziers blazing in the courtyard.

            Merlin chuckled, shaking his head at her, but he turned to look back at the castle too. She thought she saw a hint of the same wonder she felt in his face, though it had been dimmed over time. She wondered if she’d be here long enough for her own amazement to fade so.

            They reached Gwen’s house in good time, and Merlin stepped forward to give a light knock on the door. It was answered by a man a few decades older than the two of them, who introduced himself as Tom, Gwen’s father, and invited them in with a friendly smile.

            They found Gwen setting up her supplies neatly on the table, and she greeted them just as warmly as her father had, getting to work almost immediately.

            “So do you know what type of dress you’ll be wanting?” Gwen asked Jada, measuring her outstretched arms.

            “Um, I don’t mind, really,” Jada replied. “Whatever’s easiest for you. I don’t want to take up too much of your time.”

            “Oh, it’s no problem. Really,” Gwen insisted. “We want to make you something you’ll look beautiful in, don’t we?” She suddenly blanched, her face turning red. “Not that you don’t look pretty now, I just meant-”

            Despite Gwen’s nerves, Jada was laughing. “It’s all right, I know what you meant. Although really, if you tilt your head just right and squint at me a little, I look pretty much like a boy.”

            “You don’t,” Gwen replied, but it had the effect Jada had intended, and Gwen couldn’t keep the smile off her face for long.

            Their gazes turned to Merlin then, who was squinting at her with his arms folded, his head tilted to one side.

            “Merlin!” Gwen scolded, mortified.

            Jada couldn’t help the giggle that burst from her then.

            “You see it, right?” she said to Merlin, but turned to Gwen before he could answer. “At least you’ll make me look like a pretty boy.”

            Gwen tried to hide her smile again as she crouched down to measure Jada’s legs. “I’ll do my best.”

            “So when do you think you’ll have this done by?” Not that she wanted to rush Gwen, it was just that Ubi’s clothes were already beginning to smell a little weird.

            “Maybe a few days,” Gwen replied, stepping back and jotting some numbers down. “You’ll have to come here to check the fittings, but after that they’re all yours.”

            “Great,” Jada grinned. “Thanks, Gwen.”

            “My pleasure. And it looks like we’re just about done.”

            Merlin pushed himself off the table where he’d been leaning, nodding to Jada before turning back to Gwen. “Thanks, Gwen. We really appreciate it.”

            “It’s no problem at all. I’m just glad I could help. I’ll let you know when everything’s finished.”

            Both Merlin and Jada nodded, heading towards the door as Gwen followed them. Tom bid them farewell as they passed, and they turned back to wave as they stepped out into the cool evening.

            “Oh, Jada?” Gwen called from the doorway.

            “Yeah?” Jada stopped, turning.

            Gwen smiled sweetly, her brown eyes warm. “Welcome to Camelot.”

            Jada thanked her, and Merlin gave one final wave before they headed off, back to the castle.

            By the time they returned to Gaius, night was falling. Gaius had made them dinner, even having the kindness to prepare a portion for Jada, and they sat around the table to eat it gladly.

            “It’s all right if Jada sleeps here for now, isn’t it, Gaius?” Merlin asked over his bowl.

            Gaius pondered the question for only a moment before answering. “I don’t see why not, just as long as it’s not my bed you’re intending to give away.”

            “No, no,” Merlin laughed. “I said she could have my bed.”

            “We agreed to take it in shifts,” Jada interjected, still feeling like she was taking advantage of poor Merlin.

            “All right, then. Are you going up now?” Gaius asked as Merlin pushed his empty bowl away.

            Jada thought it seemed pretty early to go to bed, but she supposed that there wasn’t much you could do without electricity after dark. Merlin looked to her for confirmation, before nodding.

            “Well, goodnight to you both, then,” Gaius said, rising from his seat and beginning to collect all the dishes together.

            Jada followed Merlin up the stairs to his room, but she had only just reached the doorway when he turned back to her nervously. “I… um… just give me one minute.”

            Though bewildered, she nodded, and in the next instant he was gone, shutting the door between them. She heard what sounded like wardrobes opening and closing, drawers sliding themselves shut, and his footsteps hurrying back and forth, and then he was back, looking slightly flustered but holding the door open wide for her now with a smile.

            “Sorry.” He gestured for her to enter. “You can come in now.”

            “Thanks,” Jada laughed, stepping inside and looking around the place.

            It wasn’t a particularly flashy room by any stretch of the imagination, but it was sort of… cute, in its own way. Quaint, almost. There was a simple bed in the middle of the room with a few thin blankets thrown across it; a desk in the corner with some odds and ends on; a plain bedside table; and a small wardrobe still with the end of a sleeve sticking out between the doors. Merlin hastily stuffed it back inside on his way past.

            “Sorry about the boxes,” he said. “They’ve been there since before I moved in.”

            She noticed now the pile of crates stacked precariously in the corner. Maybe Gaius had used this as some sort of storage before Merlin arrived.

            “The bed’s all yours tonight,” he said, “So make yourself comfortable.”

            Jada moved to sit on the bed, which was honestly a little harder than she would have liked, but when she looked back over to Merlin spreading a blanket out on the wooden floor she felt a little guilty.

            “Are you sure you don’t mind me sleeping here?” she asked.

            He looked up at her with a kind smile. “It’s fine, really. I’ll let you sleep here on the floor, tomorrow.”

            “Thank you, Merlin,” she said sincerely. “For everything you’ve done. I don’t know what I would have done without you.”

            “It’s nothing, really.”

            He laughed shyly, and Jada thought she could see a hint of pink in his cheeks. Then he stood again, eyes more serious. “I’ve just got to run out and take care of one last thing. Will you be all right here?”

            “I think I can manage by myself for a little while,” she laughed. “Do you know how long you’ll be?”

            He shrugged. “I’m not sure, but I wouldn’t bother waiting up for me. I’ll see you in the morning, okay?”

            Her smile grew as she nodded. “Sure, see you in the morning. Night, Merlin.”

            She hadn’t meant to stay awake as long as she did. In truth, she hadn’t meant to stay awake long at all. She’d lain down, a little miserable at having no other clothes to change into to escape Ubi’s rotten rags, and then all of a sudden she was thinking about how much she missed her home. She wanted clean pyjamas, central heating, and toothpaste. She wanted a hot shower, and Jim’s cooking, and Izzy’s hugs. She wanted Emily; she wanted to hold her little body in her arms and never have to let go again. She wanted to hear her babble in the morning, or even just to hear her soft breathing in the room with her as she fell asleep.

            Instead, all she got was silence.

            She didn’t realise she’d been crying until she heard footsteps on the stairs, and then she did her best to silence her already quiet gasps. She heard Merlin open the door, and was glad her back was to him as he crept across the room towards his makeshift bed.

            He stopped before he reached it, however, his quiet footfalls hesitating. “Jada?”

            She would have pretended to be asleep, would have ignored him in the hope that he’d just let her be, but there was something off about his voice. His question had been just a murmur, but his voice had seemed harder somehow, more tense, and it made her turn to look at him without another thought.

            They both studied each other for a quiet second, both asking “What’s wrong?” in almost the same instant, but only Jada gave a watery laugh at the mirroring. Merlin looked tense, guarded even, his eyes shifting uneasily.

            “You’re crying,” he pointed out, nodding towards her tear-stained face.

            “It’s nothing.” She tried for a smile. “I’m just a bit homesick.”

            He nodded, arms remaining stiffly at his sides, so Jada nodded towards him. “What about you? Has something happened?”

            “No,” he replied. “I’m fine. Goodnight.”

            Without a pause, he got down under his blanket, turning his back to her.

            Jada watched him for a moment before letting out a sigh. She wondered about the boy inside the walls, hidden underneath all the secrets.

            “It must get lonely.”

            She hadn’t exactly meant to speak her thoughts out loud, but she thought she saw the slightest turn of Merlin’s head.

            “Sorry. I didn’t mean it as, like, an accusation or anything. It’s just, well…” She stuttered, but had no clue what to say to ease the situation. “I guess I just thought I might know the feeling. Sorry.”

            She lay back down, hardly expecting any more to come of it than perhaps a very awkward morning tomorrow, but after a few minutes Merlin spoke again in a quiet voice.

            “Tell me about your home.”

            Jada gave a soft smile, though he couldn’t see it. “What do you want to know?”

            “I don’t know. What’s it like?”

            “It’s…” she hesitated, looking for a place to start. “It’s bigger than we can afford, for one thing." She laughed fondly, shaking her head. “It’s got three bedrooms, and Emily has to share with me because there’s no room for her anywhere else.”

            “Emily?”

            Her smile was sadder now. “My daughter.”

            “Oh. How old is she?”

            “She just turned one last week. Although you’re supposed to use, like, a ‘corrected’ age because she was born four months premature, and it takes them a while to catch up. So, for that she’s almost nine months.”

            There was silence for a little while. Then, “How old are you?”

            “Twenty-one.”

            “Oh.”

            More silence. She was beginning to think he’d fallen asleep, when he said, “I’m sorry you’re stuck here.”

            Jada tried to ignore the pang of despair in her chest. “It’s not like it’s your fault. In fact, without your help I’d probably be sleeping somewhere on the streets right about now.”

            “Mhm.” It was a short sound, certainly not bashful like he had been earlier, and it made her wonder if she was getting closer to whatever had caused him to act like this.

            “Y’know, if you wanted to talk about anything, I wouldn’t mind,” she tried. “In fact, I’d be happy to help. And it’s not like I have anybody I could tell, is it?”

            “How do I know that?” This time his voice was so quiet she wasn’t sure he’d intended to say it out loud, let alone have her hear it. He immediately fell silent again, as if bracing for her response.

            Was that the crux of it, then? He didn’t trust her? Did he think she was some sort of spy? But who would she even be working for?

            “Merlin?” she said softly, and after a moment he turned just enough to look at her. “Who would I tell?”

            His eyes darted away, though his jaw remained locked and his features hard.

            Jada sat up, leaning forward subconsciously as a different realisation slowly dawned. “Wait a minute; people don’t normally assume someone is spying on them unless they have someone they think might send a spy. Who would want to spy on you?”

            It couldn’t have been Uther, surely; if the King suspected Merlin of any crimes he would have been arrested the second he’d shown her his magic. At least, if she really had been a spy. So that meant that there was someone else, someone that wanted to hurt Merlin somehow for something she didn’t understand.

            Merlin had sat up himself in response to her sudden movement, looking almost as though he were bracing for an attack. “No-one. It doesn’t matter. Just leave it, okay?”

            Jada slowed, trying to make herself seem as unthreatening as possible. She held her hands up in what she hoped was a reassuring gesture, but she couldn’t just leave the issue there.

            “Somebody wants to hurt you.” She made her voice soft again, though it wasn’t quite a question or a statement. This realisation made her feel… sad. Sad that he had to live life constantly on guard; sad that he had to question every passing person’s motives; sad that he felt he had to shut himself off from the world or get himself hurt. Sad, and angry. Because he was just a kid—eighteen!—and somebody wanted to hurt him.

            “Who?” Her voice had a sharper edge to it than she had intended, and she saw surprise pass over Merlin’s face, then confusion. She softened. “You think I want to hurt you?”

            He didn’t reply, so she flicked her feet out from under the blanket and crossed the room to sit down by his feet. “I don’t want to hurt you, Merlin. Believe me, it’s the last thing I want.”

            He studied her face for a while, his own still painted with confusion. “Then, I don’t understand,” he said at length. “What do you want?”

            She almost wanted to cry again, then. This poor boy, she thought to herself. “I want to go home. I guess that’s my primary objective.” She gave a short laugh. “And, right in this moment, I’d like to find out whoever it is that wants to hurt you and go ask them who the fuck they think they are. And maybe kick their ass.”

            He actually laughed then, and the sound made Jada feel less heavy. “That could be interesting.” His face fell. “No, actually, that would be incredibly dangerous.”

            Jada snorted. “Oh, please. I’ll have you know I did a whole three months of taekwondo.”

            “You know I have no idea what that is, right?”

            “Self-defence. Basically fighting.”

            “Right. Either way, it wouldn’t do much good, not against Nim-” He caught himself at the last second, eyeing Jada nervously. “Uh, I mean-”

            “Nim?” Jada repeated. She skimmed back through the legends, but she couldn’t think of any notable character called Nim. There was Madam Mim, from The Sword in the Stone…

            Merlin sighed, finally defeated. “Nimueh.”

            Nimueh. She knew that name. But that didn’t make any sense.

            “I don’t understand, I thought you and Nimueh were supposed to be… you know…” She made a few vague motions, but at Merlin’s clueless expression, she gave up. “All romantic, and stuff.”

            The surprise hit him first, quickly followed by disgust. “What? No! She tried to kill me!”

            Okay, Jada thought, Nimueh=bad. It seemed there really wasn’t much the legends had gotten right. Then her brain caught up properly with what Merlin had said. “Wait, she tried to kill you? When?”

            Another sigh of defeat. “A few days ago. She poisoned me.”

            “What? Why?”

            After studying her for a moment, Merlin at last gave up his tale. He told her about the plague that had swept through Camelot, about how Gaius had discovered that it stemmed from the water, and how they’d found the afanc—some monstrous, magical creature—in the city’s well. He told her how Gwen had been blamed for conjuring the plague after her father miraculously recovered from it, and even admitted that he had been the one responsible for curing Tom. He told her how he, Arthur, and Morgana had headed down and defeated the afanc, and how Uther had freed Gwen once Gaius had discovered Nimueh’s hand behind the pestilence.

            His tale then turned to Nimueh’s revenge. Somehow, she’d known exactly who had defeated her afanc, and had managed to sneak a poison goblet into a feast. Merlin had ended up drinking the poisoned wine instead of Arthur, but it was Arthur who had ridden out against his father’s orders to find the antidote. He’d found Nimueh on his journey, and she’d tricked and almost killed Arthur, too, but the Prince had prevailed, and Merlin had recovered once the antidote had been administered.

            “So you’ve been waiting for her to try again since then?” Jada guessed.

            It was late now that Merlin had finished explaining, and truthfully her butt was going numb from sitting for so long on the floor, but she didn’t dare move for fear of losing this new openness again.

            Merlin nodded.

            “And you thought that that was what I was going to do? Kill you for her?”

            He shrugged, not meeting her gaze.

            “Can I ask why you thought I was working for her?”

            “I thought…” He shifted, leaning forward a little. “I started to think that maybe the whole time-travelling thing was a lie. Nimueh seems to have some knowledge of the future, so that could have explained your ability to talk about that. Then, you mentioned a ritual, though you’ve never said what it is or what it’s for. That sounds like something from the Old Religion, and Nimueh’s a High Priestess. Then…”

            He sighed again. “I don’t know. I just got this feeling that I shouldn’t trust you. But it’s been wrong before…”

            “What do you think now?”

            She turned her face up to him, keeping her expression open. His gaze searched hers, and in that instant she felt as though he was looking right through her exterior; down, down into the very core of her. It wasn’t exactly an unpleasant feeling, she noticed, it was just… intense.

            “I want to trust you,” he admitted, frowning a little.

            Jada felt the corner of her mouth quirk upwards. “What, don’t you know any truth spells?”

            She’d meant it as a joke, but she saw Merlin’s face change as he considered it. “I don’t- I don’t even know if there are any…”

            Suddenly, he hopped to his feet, hurrying over to stand beside his bed. “Um, could you… not look for a minute?”

            Jada didn’t have a clue what was going on, but in an effort to seem trustworthy, she shut her eyes and covered them with her hands. She heard some sort of wooden creak, something being set down on the floor, and some shuffling.

            “Okay, you can open your eyes, now.” He was sat on the bed, a thick, arcane-looking book in his lap, and was already flicking through the pages.

            Jada moved to sit beside him. “You’re going to tell me that’s a magic book now, aren’t you?”

            He sent her a crooked grin, though hardly turned his attention from the pages before him. They looked to Jada completely unreadable at first, written in an ancient language as they were, but as she watched the flipping pages more closely she thought it seemed oddly familiar. It took her a few minutes to place it, but finally she recalled studying Beowulf in her English Literature class, and concluded that it was probably Old English. Maybe it wasn’t so ancient after all—for Merlin’s time, anyway.

            He was eyeing her curiously now, in between page turnings. “If I found a truth spell, would you really let me use it on you?”

            Jada shrugged. “I don’t see why not. As long as you promise not to ask me anything embarrassing.”

            He laughed. “Like what?”

            Jada laughed, too. “I don’t know. I’m not giving you any ideas, though.”

            They were silent again for a few minutes, save for the sound of the pages turning. Then, it was Jada who broke it. “You’re very interesting, do you know that?”

            He gave her a sideways glance, though she thought he seemed a little flustered again. “I’m really not.”

            “I think you are. You’re the most interesting person I’ve met here, anyway. Although, come to think of it, I’ve only met, like, six people.”

            She hoped that Merlin’s laughter would become a more regular sound from now on. Jada vowed then that if she really had to stick around, she was going to do everything she could to make this mood more common than his earlier one. Nobody should have to feel so alone, and she was going to do her very best to prove herself trustworthy so that he didn’t have to be.

Chapter 5 ->

[jessisnotnormal]

Chapter 3: Magic

Masterlist

<- Chapter 2

When Jada began to come to once again, she was surprised to find herself in a comfortable yet unfamiliar bed. She desperately hoped that she would open her eyes to find herself back in Morgo and Ubi’s spare bedroom, that it was the morning after the party and she had dreamt everything since she went to sleep that night. She kept her eyes shut for several moments longer, too afraid to open them and find that it had all really happened.

            When she did eventually open her eyes, she was still in Gaius’ room, but there was a tall figure standing over her. Her breath caught in her throat as she sat bolt upright, scrambling to get away from the figure, and her shoulder sent out a burst of pain in response. Merlin wore an expression of probably equal fear, his hand shooting up to face her in some sort of warning as his wide eyes remained fixed on her.

            Jada froze, unsure of what the warning meant, but not wanting to test him and find out.

            “What did you do to me?” she demanded.

            “I didn’t want to,” he replied, his voice hard. “You gave me no choice.”

            “What did you do to me?”

            His jaw tightened. “I made you sleep. You hit your chin on the way down, but the bruising should be gone in a few days.”

            “How?”

            She was so tired of all this bullshit, and try as she might, she just couldn’t understand any of it. But she couldn’t help noticing the similarities between what both Merlin and Morgo had done to her.

            “You couldn’t have drugged me; you didn’t give me anything. And you certainly didn’t hit me and knock me out that way. So, how?”

            His eyes darted away, before he moved forwards towards her. “I think you need to rest, Jada.”

            “Stay away from me,” she warned, shifting away from him.

            Merlin halted, but he didn’t back up. They stared at each other hard for several minutes, before Jada finally gave in, her shoulders slumping in defeat and her expression softening.

            “I just want to know what’s going on. I don’t know where I am, I don’t know how to get home, and I don’t know why I’m even here in the first place. I just want to go home.”

            Merlin shifted where he stood, before his body language softened slightly too. “You said you were here to learn magic.”

            “That’s what Morgo said. But I’ve never met him before. I’ve been abducted, left in a forest, and then dragged here, and nobody will tell me why.” She pulled her legs up to her chest, hugging them tightly. “I just want to go home.”

            Merlin moved as if to sit on the bed, but at her flinching away he stood again, holding his hands out in apology. “You didn’t say you’d been abducted.”

            “You’re working for him, it’s not like you didn’t know.”

            “Jada, I’m telling you, I’ve never even heard of Morgo before today. I’m not lying to you.” His eyes were earnest, but still Jada was unconvinced.

            “What, then? Am I just supposed to believe that all of this is real? That Morgo’s somehow sent me back to the bloody Dark Ages, and you’re actually Merlin from the legends and magic is real? How stupid do you think I look?”

            Now Merlin did sit, perching on the edge of the farthest corner from her despite her uncomfortable look. His expression was serious and intense. “Are you trying to tell me you’re from the future? What year were you born?”

            “1994.”

            “Jada, it’s only 532 now.”

            “But- but that’s not possible,” she stammered. “Surely if Morgo was a time-traveller, he’d need some kind of time machine, or a portal, or something.”

            “You said you were unconscious; maybe you just didn’t see it.”

            She thought about the house, about the antiqueness of it, and how out of place both the house itself and Morgo had looked during the party. But what about Ubi?

            “So this is-” she felt her voice break, swallowed, and tried again. “This is real? It’s all real? I’m actually in Camelot?”

            Merlin nodded gently. “And you’re really from the future?”

            “2015.” After a moment, she tried for a laugh, though it sounded weak. “Actually, I guess it’s 2016 now, since we just had New Year’s. But I don’t understand; how am I supposed to get back?”

            Merlin shrugged. “Did Morgo not say anything about that?”

            Jada shook her head. “No, I don’t think so. Maybe if I just do what he wants, he’ll take me home eventually.”

            “Are you sure that’s a good idea?” Merlin frowned. “How do you know you can trust him?”

            “I don’t,” Jada responded simply. “But right now, it’s the only idea I have, since it’s not like I can walk back to the future.”

            “I suppose not,” Merlin nodded. “You’ll need somewhere to stay then. I can help you find somewhere, if you want?”

            Jada couldn’t stop herself from frowning. “Why? Why would you help me?”

            The boy gave an uncertain laugh, as if he couldn’t quite understand it himself. “I think we’ve gotten off to a bad start. I was afraid because you knew my secret; I thought you were trying to tell Arthur about me. I didn’t realise you were just confused.”

            “That was my mistake,” she admitted. “I’m sorry, I didn’t realise I was putting you in actual danger. Maybe we should try this again?”

            He chuckled, and for the first time since his sudden silence during the journey there, Merlin sounded like he had when Jada had first met him. “That seems fair enough.”

            “All right, then. I’m Jada the time-traveller, apparently.” She stuck her hand out for him to shake, and he took it with a grin.

            “I’m Merlin the warlock. Not quite a wizard, as you said.”

            “What’s the difference?” Jada asked.

            Merlin shrugged. “Gaius says that warlocks are special; they have magic from birth. Wizards have some innate ability, but mostly they have to learn and practise it, and it doesn’t emerge until later. They’re usually the ones that lock themselves away in the ridiculous towers.” He laughed again, a warm, welcoming sound. “I suppose that’s why you were expecting an old man with a beard and a pointy hat.”

            “Probably,” Jada agreed with a laugh of her own. “So there’s different types of people with magic?”

            “Yeah, there’s quite a lot. Mostly people just call us sorcerers.”

            “Can you… Can you show me? Or would that be bad?” She was intrigued now, lured in by the mysteries of this new world. Besides, if it was all a lie, he would surely be caught out now, wouldn’t he?

            Merlin looked towards the door, seeming uneasy. “I’m not supposed to even talk about it with anyone. Gaius doesn’t like me to.”

            Jada pursed her lips, leaning forwards. “Well, technically you didn’t tell me about it: I guessed. I already knew, so you can’t get in trouble for that.”

            Now Merlin shifted in his seat, leaning towards her with uncertain eyes. “Promise me you won’t tell anyone?”

            Jada smiled. “If I did, you could just tell on me, too. I’m sure if you told them I’m claiming to be from the future, they’d lock me up and ignore everything I said. But yes, I promise.”

            Merlin moved closer to her, glancing towards the door again as he held out his fist. His lashes fluttered rapidly, before his lips whispered the word “Forbearne,” and then his eyes ignited like two golden stars burning in the heavens. Jada’s breath caught in her throat at the sight, certain now that this was no trick, but almost as quickly as she could blink they had faded back to a cool blue.

            His fingers opened delicately, as though something precious and fragile were inside, to reveal a small flame flickering in his palm. It cast a warm light onto his face, though the flame reflected in his eyes now was nothing compared to the gold that had been there moments before.

            “That’s amazing,” she breathed, hardly aware of her own voice.

            Merlin’s eyes looked to her face then. “Really?”

            She gave a laugh, startling herself. “Are you joking? That’s…” She wished she could find a word to describe it accurately. “It’s amazing. Incredible. Fantastic. How do you do that?”

            Now Merlin laughed, releasing some of the tension in his shoulders. “I don’t know, it just… happens. I’ve been like this since I was born.”

            “I’m sure your poor mum must have had a right hard job, then,” she teased. She tried to imagine Emily with the ability to make small fires appear at will, and was certain that it would lead to no small amount of chaos.

            “What about you, then?” Merlin asked, interrupting her musing.

            “Me?”

            “You said you were supposed to learn from me. You have magic, too?”

            “I-” Jada frowned. She’d never felt particularly magical or supernatural in her life, with the exception of when she was ten and became convinced she could control the weather with her emotions. It was only after she’d learnt about pathetic fallacy in an English lesson that that illusion had subsided. “No, I don’t think so…”

            Merlin’s brows furrowed too. “But I thought… What did Morgo want you to learn it for, anyway?”

            Jada shrugged. “I’m supposed to conduct some sort of ritual, or something. At the time I just thought he was crazy, so I didn’t really press the issue.”

            Merlin tapped his fingertips against his leg, thinking. “So you want me to teach you magic, even though you’ve never done anything magical before, so that you can go and do some kind of ritual that you have no idea about?”

            Jada’s smile was apologetic. “…Apparently? I dunno, maybe Morgo just got the wrong person.”

            “Maybe,” Merlin mused. “But even if he did, you still have to get home somehow, right?”

            “Maybe he’ll eventually realise he messed up and come get me.”

            “How much are you willing to bet on that?”

            “Apparently, my life. It’s not like I have any other choice, is it?” She shrugged again. “If I’m wrong, I’ll be stuck here forever. If I’m right, everything’ll be fine.”

            “That’s quite a gamble.”

            “What other option do I have?”

            Merlin shrugged, clueless. “I’ll let you know if I think of anything.”

            “Thanks. Right, first things first: I gotta find somewhere to stay, then. Bearing in mind I have no money on me, and nothing to sell, I bet that’s going to be quite a challenge.”

            “You can stay here if you want, until you’ve found somewhere,” Merlin offered. “I’m sure Gaius wouldn’t mind. You can even have my bed.”

            “Thank you, Merlin, but I have no idea how long it’ll take. I’m not making you sleep on the floor the whole time.”

            “It’s fine, really,” he insisted, nodding in reassurance. “I used to sleep on the floor back at home, anyway. It’s nothing.”

            Jada leant forwards, regarding him. “The most I’m willing to accept is to do it in shifts. And that’s if Gaius even agrees to let me stay here.”

            “Oh, he will, don’t worry about it.” He seemed sure of that fact, before giving a small smile and nodding. “Shifts it is, then. But you get the first one.”

            Jada shook her head, but it was more in defeat than denial. “Fine, but don’t you be complaining about any backache in the morning.”

            “I won’t,” he grinned. “What’s the next thing you need to sort out?”

            She thought for a moment, mentally cycling through all the things she’d usually pack for a holiday. “Some clothes. I only have these, and they aren’t even mine.”

            Merlin nodded. “I can ask Gwen about that, she’ll be able to make you something. And I’m sure she’ll have something you can borrow until then.”

            “Wouldn’t I have to pay her if she’s making clothes for me? No money, remember?”

            He gave her a crooked grin. “Don’t worry about that. Gwen’s got a good heart; she’d probably do it for free if I explained the situation to her. But I’ll find a way to pay her for it.”

            “I can’t ask you to buy me anything.”

            “Then…” He shrugged casually, “Pay me back later. But you’ve got to find some way to get money, first.”

            “Well, what kind of jobs are therer around here?” She crinkled her nose at the thought of being a blacksmith or a servant, though she couldn’t think of any other job from any of the video games she’d played or books she’d read. Everybody always seemed to be of higher birth, but she knew that flouncing around as a lady of the court was out of the question.

            Merlin shrugged. “Maybe you could work in the tavern?”

            Ah, yes, that was the other stereotypical job. A tavern wench. She made a disapproving face.

            Merlin laughed, raising his hands in surrender. “All right, then; what did you do before you came here?”

            “Acting. Don’t suppose you’ve got a theatre around here?”

            “I wouldn’t know, but there’s loads of performers that arrive at court for special occasions. Maybe you could be a bard?”

            At least he didn’t say jester, she thought. She was no fool. But maybe performing for the royal court wouldn’t be so bad, if she put aside the thought that they could have her executed for a flat note.

            “How would I even apply for that? It’s not like I can give them a CV.”

            Merlin made a quizzical face, but decided instead to bypass the unfamiliar vernacular. “I can ask Arthur, if you want. Maybe he’ll be able to help.”

            “This seems to have just become ‘Here Merlin, deal with all of my problems for me,’” she laughed, but she was grateful nonetheless for his willingness to help her. “Thank you, I appreciate it.”

            “No problem,” he flashed the crooked grin again, before rising from his seat. “Right, let’s go and see Gwen, then. She’s probably working right now, but we’ll see if we can visit her after work and she can measure you.”

            “All right,” Jada agreed, standing up herself. “Let’s go, then.”

            Merlin lead the two of them through the twisting passageways of the castle until they came to a wooden door atop a stone stairway. He gave three quick taps with his knuckles, and after only a moment the door opened to reveal a girl with brown skin dotted with freckles, and flowers entwined in her curly hair.

            “Merlin,” she greeted him with a warm smile.

            Merlin’s own smile reflected hers. “Hi, Gwen. Can I borrow you for a second?”

            Gwen glanced behind her, back into the room that she had emerged from, before stepping out and shutting the door. “What can I do for you?”

            “This is Jada.” He gestured to her by his side, and Jada gave the girl a little wave.

            “Hi,” she said.

            “Nice to meet you,” Gwen greeted her with another smile.

            “Jada was… um…” Merlin glanced back at her for a second, seeming to decide how much to let Gwen in on. “Well, she was kidnapped.”

            “Oh, that’s terrible,” Gwen gasped, her warm eyes now full of concern as they regarded Jada. Jada shrugged, not wanting to ruin whatever story Merlin was going to tell Gwen with a stupid comment.

            “Luckily we managed to run into each other, and she’s safe here in Camelot now,” Merlin was continuing. “But she’s not got any money, and she’s only got the one set of clothes—which, as you can see, are not the best.”

            Jada would have been offended, but as she looked down at herself now she could see the tattered edges of the material and the flecks of mud caked into them. Merlin was definitely right.

            “I can make you something, if you want?” Gwen offered, and Jada tried to ignore Merlin’s immediate grin.

            “Are you sure you don’t mind?” she asked. “I don’t know how I’ll be able to repay you.”

            “Oh, don’t be silly,” Gwen waved her off gently. “I already owe Merlin a favour or two. In fact, probably a lot more than that…” She trailed off, her eyes flickering to him before her attention returned to their current situation. “If you come by my house after I’m done working, I’ll be able to take your measurements and get started right away. I should have it finished in no time.”

            “Thank you,” Jada smiled, at the same time as Merlin began to speak also, still beaming.

            “Thanks, Gwen. You’re the best!”

            Gwen blushed, her gaze dropping quickly between her feet and his face. “Oh, no, no. It’s nothing, really. I’m just happy to help.”

            “I really appreciate it,” Jada said, hardly able to keep the smirk off her face as she eyed the two of them.

            Gwen smiled in response, before gesturing to the door behind her. “I should be getting back.”

            Both Merlin and Jada nodded, thanking her again before she disappeared back inside the room.

            “So, what’d you do, then?” Jada asked as they turned back the way they had come.

            “What?” Merlin gave a quizzical expression.

            “Gwen said she owed you for something. What did you do?”

            “Oh, that.” Merlin was quiet for a moment. “I helped prove her innocence when Uther wanted to execute her for sorcery.”

            Jada was stunned, walking in silence beside him for a long while before she spoke again. “Gwen has magic?” she whispered at last.

            Merlin shook his head. “No. It’s a long story, really. I’m not sure I should explain it here.”

            “That’s okay,” Jada replied, and she meant it. The more she delved into the workings of Camelot, the more terrifying it seemed to grow. Strangely, she didn’t feel afraid, though she had no doubt that she probably should be. But none of it felt real to her yet, as though it was all just some big game of make-believe, or a dream where she could see the story unfolding before her, all the while knowing she could never really be harmed. She was an observer, an outsider for sure, while all the characters moved around her and brought the story to life.

            Merlin had to return to his own work, but he made sure she was safely back in Gaius’ quarters before heading out again. Jada pondered her situation long after he was gone, her knowledge of the original Arthurian legends weighing heavily on her mind. So far, the legends did not seem to be even remotely accurate; Guinevere—if she had guessed rightly—was no princess, Arthur had not been raised by Sir Kay, and Merlin was further from his legendary counterpart than she ever could have imagined. So did that mean that all of the future legends were wrong, too? Was Arthur still destined to die at the hands of Mordred?

            Mortally wounded. The distinction was important. And she was supposed to stop him dying, how? If she couldn’t use magic, then she couldn’t perform whatever ritual Morgo had wanted her to do, which meant that Arthur was going to die.

            All right then, she thought. Hundreds of fictional characters die, why should Jada care?

            Unless…

            If Mordred never wounded Arthur, there would be no need to save him. But could she mess around with the story like that? If she really had travelled through time, wouldn’t there be some dire consequence of her changing history? She could create a paradox, or the whole universe could explode, or maybe even an alternate timeline might appear that meant she could never get home again because the future would be so drastically altered. Maybe it was better if she just left well enough alone.

            One thing she was certain of, however, was that if Morgo didn’t come back for her, she was well and truly screwed. She couldn’t imagine living the rest of her life here, so far back in the past, with no showers, or internet, or even toothpaste. Worse yet, she couldn’t even begin to imagine what would happen to Emily if she never returned. Jada was the only family she had left, and she wasn’t about to just lie down and accept her fate with that in mind. She had to get back. Even if it meant learning how to bend time herself.

Chapter 4 ->

[jessisnotnormal]

Chapter 2: Lost

Masterlist

<- Chapter 1

When Jada awoke, she found herself lying in the middle of a clearing, a bed of soft grass beneath her and a clear blue sky above her. She was covered from chin to feet by what appeared to be some sort of forest-green cloak, like the kind she’d expect to see worn in a period drama, though certainly not by any member of the nobility.

            She jerked upright, the memories of her conversation with Morgo returning to her suddenly, only to find as the cloak fell away from her that she was completely naked beneath it. Grasping the fabric to her, she tried to recall just how exactly she’d gotten here—wherever ‘here’ even was. And what the hell had happened to her clothes? She remembered wearing them in the kitchen, and she was certain that she hadn’t spontaneously decided to remove them in the hallway. So that meant that either Ubi or Morgo had removed them, after she’d blacked out.

            She halted her train of thought there, too afraid of where it may lead her. Instead, she decided to focus on the present; she needed to figure out how to get out of the situation and leave how she got into it for another time, when she was safe at home.

            Looking around the clearing, her gaze fell on a small pile of material not too far from where she sat. Bunching the cloak around her, she scooted towards it to find that it was a pile of clothing, with a note left on the top. Jada,             I’m sorry this has been so hectic; I really did try to convince Morgo to let you go, but he’s just so stubborn…

            He does truly, honestly need your help though, and trust me when I say he’s not the type of man to admit to that easily. Your clothes will probably have disappeared by the time you find this (sorry about that, too), but it’s just a self-preservation method that the universe uses to try and keep its timeline in order. Can’t have people taking guns or phones back into the Stone Age, now, can we? Basically, anything that wasn’t made in this world or this time period is removed from existence. Lucky your phone was in your coat pocket, eh?

            Anyway, I’ve left you some clothes here so you don’t have to wander around the woods wearing nothing but Morgo’s old cloak. They’re probably not in the best condition, but I didn’t exactly prepare to abduct and then abandon you in the woods, so I guess you’ll have to make do.

           You should head towards Camelot, which is apparently west of where you are now. You’ll have to tell me what it’s like when you get back; I’ve never been. Morgo says Uther’d have my head quicker than I could open my mouth to say ‘Hello’. I swear he thinks I’m stupid.

            Anyway, it’s adventure time! Good luck, and remember; you have to find Merlin. The rest is pretty much up to you.

I hope you don’t hate me,

Ubi

            Setting the note aside, Jada examined the clothing that Ubi had left for her. He was right in saying they weren’t in the best condition; they looked like they’d been living in the back of his wardrobe for decades gathering dust and moths, but they would do for now, at least. Besides, it wasn’t as though she had any better options unless she wanted to get caught in a mild breeze and land herself with a hefty fine to pay, so she begrudgingly put them on.

            Still, it was hard to try and wrap her head around exactly what was going on. She’d known Ubi for more than two years now, and he’d never shown any signs of being a…whatever the hell he was. A kidnapper? A lunatic? Or just some douchebag trying to play a prank on her?

            And Morgo… Well, Jada couldn’t say she’d be above punching him in the jaw if she ever saw him again. He’d been acting creepy ever since he’d set eyes on her, and she should have gotten the hell out of there when she’d had the chance. If it hadn’t been for Ubi, if she hadn’t trusted Ubi…

            If there was one thing that she could glean from his letter of nonsense, however, it was that the two of them likely still had her phone with them. Which meant no calling anyone for help, unless she could find her way out of this forest and back to civilisation. Perhaps she could knock at someone’s door and ask them for aid.

            Jada presumed she had been dumped somewhere in the forest out the back of the house, though she certainly did not know the area well enough to determine which way she would be better off wandering. What she did know, however, was that there was no way in hell she was playing along with Ubi’s little game, so west was out of the question. She thought the house was on the south side, and though she had absolutely no desire to ever see the place again, her car should still have been there. If she could get to her car, she could get home.

            Crap, her keys! They were in her jacket pocket, which she had last seen in her hand in the hallway. All right, then, she decided. She’d have to just risk it. Grab a hefty branch on her way there and beat the sons of bitches with it. She knew Ubi; he was absolutely useless in a fight, and Morgo didn’t look too intimidating either. Grab a branch for self-defence, grab her keys, and get the fuck out of there. South it was, then.

            She’d not been walking for long when she heard the sound of hoof-beats in the distance, somewhere in the trees ahead of her. They were travelling at a quick pace, and she knew that they would soon be on her if she remained where she was. She only hoped the riders were willing to help her.

            As they drew into view, Jada noticed that each of the horses bore a man clothed in silver mail, with a cloak of deep red trailing behind them. There was only one who stood out among them, dressed all in brown as he was, though he did not look any less unusual.

            One of the men near the front of the group slowed his horse to a halt when he spotted her, signalling the others to do the same.

            “Greetings,” he called to her. “These woods are a dangerous place to walk alone; what’s your business?" He seemed to read her confusion as fear, however, and softened his voice. “I am Prince Arthur of Camelot. And you are…?”

            “Jada,” she replied curtly. She was starting to feel a little faint, and though her headache had faded earlier, it was now threatening to make a comeback.

            “Is everything all right, Jada?” ‘Arthur’ was doing a good job of seeming concerned, but now Jada knew he was just part of Morgo’s game. She needed to escape.

            “I’m fine,” she managed, doing her best to give him a smile. “I’ll just be on my way-”

            “Really?” Arthur raised his eyebrows. “Because I’m not sure you seem fine. In fact, you seem quite afraid. What is it you’re afraid of?”

            She couldn’t run; they’d be onto her in a moment with those horses. And they probably knew the land better than her, too.

            “Nothing.” She wasn’t sure she even convinced herself.

            “Maybe we should take her to Gaius,” the man in brown piped up. Though, upon closer inspection, Jada could see that he wasn’t a man—though he was certainly tall enough to pass as one, if it weren’t for the babyish face. He could only have been in his late teens, at most.

            Arthur regarded him before dismounting his horse. The boy did the same, moving around to take the other man’s reins.

            “You are in no danger here,” Arthur tried to reassure her, though she found herself taking a few quick steps back as he approached. He halted, holding up his hands. “No harm will come to you, I swear.”

            “What do you want from me?” she blurted. The whole lot of them—‘Prince Arthur’, the boy, Ubi, Morgo—they had to want something, right? They had to be screwing with her for a reason.

            “I just want to help,” Arthur tried, sincerity in his eyes. “If you’d just come back to Camelot with us, I promise to do everything in my power to help you. You will not be harmed.”

            Perhaps if she went with them, they would take her back to civilisation and she’d be able to escape. If ‘Camelot’ was anywhere near Morgo’s house, she could bolt once they arrived there, find her car, and get home. It wasn’t like she could escape on foot at this moment, anyway. It seemed her choice was already made for her.

            “All right, but you’d better keep your promise,” she warned.

            Arthur smiled, turning round to the younger boy. “Great, you can ride behind Merlin. I’m sure he won’t mind, will you, Merlin?”

            The boy gave her a kind smile. “Not at all.”

            He handed Arthur’s reins back to him, leading his own horse to stand beside Jada. Taking one look at her wide eyes, he chuckled. “You’ve not ridden before, have you?”

            Trying to regain her composure, Jada shrugged. “I’ve ridden motorbikes before. How hard can it be?”

            Merlin frowned. “What’s a motorbike?”

            “Y’know, like a bike… with an engine…”

            He shook his head, apparently still clueless. “No idea, sorry.”

            His expression cleared as he turned towards the horse, using his long, gangly limbs to pull himself up onto it. Definitely still a teenager, Jada thought.

            She had second thoughts when he offered her his hand, wondering how the hell she was supposed to pull herself up behind him. Arthur had approached behind her, however, and was kind enough to give her a boost, allowing her to swing her leg over the horse and settle against Merlin’s back. Automatically, she put her arms round his middle, and she could feel the vibrations in his chest as he chuckled again.

            “You’re not going to fall off, you know. You can relax a bit.”

            “And if I do fall?” she asked, though she loosened her grip a little.

            “I’ll catch you, don’t worry.”

            He kicked his legs and the horse began to move forwards, the movement surprising Jada enough to make her tighten her grip again. Merlin’s chuckle was a sound she was apparently going to have to get used to.

            “So, you’re Merlin, are you?” she asked, ignoring his amusement.

            “That’s right.”

            “You’re a bit… younger than I’d imagined.”

            He turned his head to the side, brows creasing. “What do you mean?”

            “Well, I thought you were supposed to be this bearded old man. Unless you’re, like, immortal, or something?”

            Arthur gave the boy a perplexed expression, which he seemed to return. “I’m sorry, I don’t understand. I think you might have me confused with someone else.”

            “Well, I figured since he’s supposed to be Prince Arthur of Camelot, that would make you Merlin the Wizard.”

            “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Merlin said quickly, at the same time as Arthur broke into laughter.

            “I think you’ve definitely made a mistake there,” the supposed prince remarked. “Merlin can hardly complete basic, ordinary tasks, never mind magical ones.”

            Merlin gave a small chuckle, though it sounded different than his earlier ones, and shook his head at the Prince. He didn’t speak to Jada for the rest of the journey.

            The first time Jada’s sense of reality was harshly shaken was when their riding party rounded a turn in the road. Before them now rose up a grand city, but it was not the skyscrapers and pylons of London that she saw from a distance, nor was it the roar of engines navigating tarmacked roads that she heard.

            As they passed through the gates, she saw more men dressed in mail, emblazoned with a golden dragon and bearing spears. Civilians milled in the streets, chattering to one another—which would have been welcomingly normal had they not all been dressed like people at a Renaissance fair. The roar of engines was replaced by the sound of a wagon being pulled over cobbles and the clatter of hooves in front of it. And in the distance, on the highest point of the city, there was a castle.

            Prince Arthur led the way towards the castle, his riders following him through the streets. Along the way, they passed wooden stalls, thatched houses, and even a tavern. Jada had to admit that Morgo had put a lot of effort into whatever he was doing. It was the only possibility she could bring herself to consider.

            They rode into the courtyard, where each of the cloaked men began to dismount. Merlin swung his leg over his horse’s neck, before dropping to the ground and offering his hands out to Jada. She tried to imitate him, swinging her own leg forwards and sliding off, but the ground seemed farther away than she had first assumed. She stumbled as she hit the ground, but was saved from falling on her face as Merlin steadied her by the shoulders.

            “Thanks,” she tried to laugh it off.

            The boy shrugged. “Told you I’d catch you,” he said, but there was little of the friendliness he’d shown only a short while ago. Instead, he seemed distant, closed off, even. It made Jada frown.

            Arthur, meanwhile, appeared not to notice. “I’ll report back to my father with news of the patrol. Merlin will take you to see Gaius, the court physician.”

            He turned to clap Merlin on the shoulder, addressing the two of them now. “Let me know how you get on.”

            “Yes, sire.” Merlin gave a small bow, before turning and leading Jada towards one of the doors into a side-wing of the castle.

            They passed up one spiralling staircase and through several winding corridors—Jada marvelling the whole time at the authenticity of the castle—before arriving at their destination. Merlin swung the old wooden door open without even bothering to knock and headed inside, Jada trailing after him in bewilderment.

            “Ah, you’re back!”

            An elderly man in a long green robe stood in the middle of a room full of so many knick-knacks and odds and ends that Jada was having trouble focusing on just one part of it. There were bookshelves full to bursting with dusty old tomes, desks covered in a menagerie of manuscripts and bubbling vials, and on the walls hung even more incomprehensible pages that made her brain swim.

            “I need you to go down to the market and- ah, and who might this be?”

            Jada’s thoughts were still lost amongst the clutter of the room, so Merlin answered for her. “This is Jada. We found her in the woods and thought that you should take a look at her.”

            “Very well,” the man nodded, turning his attention now to her. “If you would like to come and take a seat over here…” He gestured to a seat beside a bench, and Jada complied. “My name is Gaius. What seems to be troubling you, Jada?”

            “Uh-” Jada began, but her thoughts were in such a disarray after everything that had happened that her voice failed her. After reorganising her brain, she tried again. “I don’t know. I feel fine.”

            Gaius glanced at Merlin, before his attention returned to her. “No lumps, bumps, or gaping wounds?”

            She shrugged. “Not that I know of.”

            “She seemed disoriented,” Merlin chipped in, before turning directly to her. “Maybe you hit your head?”

            Jada frowned. “No, I don’t think so.” She hesitated a few moments, still trying to piece the situation together. “I think I might have been drugged, though.”

            “Drugged?” Merlin’s eyebrows shot towards his hairline.

            “By whom?” Gaius, apparently the more analytical of the two, asked.

            “A man named Morgo. Don’t suppose you know him?” she added with barely-restrained venom.

            The two shook their heads. Jada wasn’t sure whether she believed them or not.

            “Do you know why he would do such a thing?” Gaius asked.

            Jada scratched at her arm, not sure why exactly she was playing along. “He wanted me to do him a favour. I refused, and tried to leave. Then I blacked out, and woke up in the woods. He gave me some kind of liquid before, though—it was supposed to help with a headache.”

            “What kind of favour?” Merlin asked, leaning forwards and crossing his arms.

            Jada examined the boy for a moment, her feelings murky. She was certain that he was part of Morgo’s game—why else would Morgo have mentioned him by name? —and yet there was something about him that made her question that belief. Finally, she made her decision. “I don’t remember.”

            “It doesn’t matter now, at any rate,” Gaius stated. “You’re safe here. Do you know how to get back home?”

            Jada shook her head. “Not a clue.”

            “Well, where is it you live?”

            “Barnsbury.”

            Gaius frowned. Not a good sign, Jada thought. “Where is that? I don’t recall ever hearing of such a place.”

            “It’s in Islington? About two hours away?”

            The physician shook his head cluelessly. “I’m afraid I’ve no idea. Can you find your way there, at any rate?”

            Worry creased Jada’s brow. “I might be able to, but I don’t know what direction it is. It’d be easier to get back to my car first, only that’s parked outside Morgo’s.”

            “Your car?”

            “Yeah.”

            Gaius hesitated a moment, seeming confused. “Is it something important?”

            “It’s my easiest way home.”

            “And you have no idea how to find this Morgo again, otherwise?”

            She shook her head.

            “Arthur may be able to help,” Merlin suggested. “Maybe he could have the guards search for him?”

            Gaius regarded Jada, but his expression was not hopeful. “No, Uther wouldn’t see the use in declaring a mass hunt for one man, not unless he was considered a threat to Camelot.”

            “But there must be something we can do?”

            Gaius frowned in silence for several minutes, before speaking again. “I’ll go and see if Geoffrey has any record of this…Barnaby?”

            “Barnsbury,” Jada corrected. “Who’s Geoffrey?”

            “He’s the court historian. Merlin, you stay here and keep an eye on her. Come get me if there’s any change, any disorientation or the like.”

            Merlin followed the elder man to the door, nodding along with his instructions. Just as Gaius was about to depart, the boy bent his head towards the physician, murmuring something unintelligible to Jada’s ears. Gaius’ eyes slid towards her, before he too responded in a hushed voice. Jada wished that Merlin’s back wasn’t to her so that she could see his face—perhaps then she could have understood what this strange discussion was about. After some more whispers, the boy shook his head, prompting Gaius to reply with a stern expression, before turning away and shutting the door behind him.

            Merlin turned back to face her, wearing a small smile that he must have thought looked innocent. He seated himself on the opposite side of the bench, folding his long limbs underneath the table and resting his chin in his hand.

            “So, what was that about, then?” Jada asked, nodding towards where the exchange had taken place.

            Merlin looked surprised, as though he’d made a great secret of it, and opened his mouth to try and defend himself. After stuttering a few syllables, he finally settled on; “Nothing.”

            “Yeah, right,” Jada replied sarcastically, raising her eyebrows. She nudged his knee sharply with her own underneath the table. “Go on, tell me.”

            The boy chewed his lip. “I’m not supposed to.”

            “Why? Did I do something awful?” she asked teasingly. “Did I forget to put pants on?”

            She felt her thighs dramatically, as though she were really checking. “No, that’s not it. Have I got something on my face? You’d tell me if I had something on my face, right?”

            As bewildered as he looked, there was a faint smile of amusement on Merlin’s lips. “Yes, I’d tell you.”

            “So what is it then?” she nudged him again, less sharp this time. “Is it something I said? You seemed to go quiet really suddenly before.”

            Merlin’s smile vanished, the amusement in his eyes gone. Bingo.

            “That’s it, isn’t it? But what did I say?”

            “It doesn’t matter.” He stood up quickly, making a beeline for another of Gaius’ desks. He began busying himself arranging the clutter on it, keeping his back to her.

            Jada stood, following him until she was by his side. She couldn’t imagine what could be making him change so suddenly, but she tried to keep her tone jovial.

            “All right, how about this: if you tell me your secret, I’ll tell you mine.”

            Merlin simply shook his head, glancing at her out of the corner of his eye.

            “I can go first, then, if you’d like?” she offered.

            He gave no response, so she shrugged, leaning against the desk. She may as well play along with Morgo’s little game while she waited for Gaius to return with some sort of answer.

            “Well, I may have missed out a detail connected to Morgo. You see, the favour I was supposed to do for him, well…”

            She frowned, but she seemed to have caught Merlin’s interest, even if he still wasn’t looking at her directly. “Well, I don’t understand most of what he was babbling on about, but there was one thing I do remember. He wanted me to come here because he said I’d find someone called Merlin, who was apparently supposed to teach me magic, or something.”

            Merlin frowned, turning now to face her. “What?”

            Jada shrugged. “That’s what he said to me. But you and Arthur both said I’d got the wrong person, so I suppose I’ve gotta go look somewhere else. You don’t look much like the guy I imagined, anyway.”

            He scoffed. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

            “Well, I was picturing some elderly bloke with a big long beard and a pointy hat sort of thing. You look like you’re about sixteen.”

            The boy’s brows furrowed, and Jada had to hide her smile. “I’m eighteen, actually.”

            “Either way, you can’t be him, apparently. Although I was supposed to find him alongside a guy named Arthur. He’s supposed to do some grand and kingly things, apparently.”

            “Where did you hear all this?”

            Once again, Jada shrugged, trying to encourage him to talk. “Some things I got from Morgo, some things I know for myself.”

            Apparently stumped, Merlin leant back against the table too, regarding her with a perplexed expression. Finally, he asked, “What do you need to know magic for, anyway? Uther banned it twenty years ago.”

            Jada felt the shock appear on her face. “He banned it?”

            Merlin nodded, now even more confused. “Anyone caught practising sorcery is executed.”

            At first, Jada only frowned, trying to reconcile the versions of the Arthurian legends she’d known at school with the ones that Morgo’s team were now presenting her with. Then, realisation dawned, and she lifted her hands into the air.

            “Ohhh, that’s why!” She put her hands on her head, turning back to Merlin. “That’s why you looked so afraid, why you went so quiet. You think I might turn you in! Actually, I suppose I almost did.” She imagined if Uther was willing to murder people for magic, then his son and knights were probably of a similar mind-set. “Sorry about that. I didn’t know.”

            “I still don’t understand how you know about me, or what you want,” Merlin frowned, crossing his arms.

            Jada grinned. “So it is you, then?”

            Fear flashed into his eyes again as his tongue sought to save himself. “No, no, I-”

            “It’s all right,” Jada soothed, holding up her hands. “I’m not going to tell anyone. It’s just…”

            She was done playing along, now. It was time for the truth.

            “What?” Merlin asked, once more looking worried.

            “Well, I figured your secret out. That’s not how the game works.” She gave a little pout. “So now you have to tell me another one. I want to know how to get out of here.”

            The boy’s frown deepened. “What?”

            Jada fought the urge to roll her eyes. “Please, you know none of this is real as well as I do. It’s all very impressive, with the costumes and the castles and the characters, but I want to go home now. I need to go home. I have a daughter I need to look after, and I was already supposed to be back hours ago.”

            Of all the confused expressions Merlin had pulled during the short time Jada had known him, this one was the strongest. “What are you talking about?”

            “Look, I don’t know what the hell Morgo is paying you to do all this for him, or what you get out of it, but I’m going to get back eventually. If you help me, I won’t report you when I call the police. Everyone else can go to hell, though.”

            “Jada, I think you need to sit down…” He was trying to move away from her, to guide her back towards her seat, but Jada was having none of it.

            “I need to go home! All I need you to do is point me in the right direction. Morgo never even has to know you helped me.”

            “Jada, I’ve never met Morgo in my life. I’ve never even heard of him!”

            “What are you getting out of this? Huh? What even is the point of it all?” Her voice was louder now, but the boy was refusing to give in.

            “I don’t know what you’re talking about; I’m not getting anyth-”

            “It’s bad enough that there’s one weirdo getting some sort of kick out of this, but there’s a whole group of you! What do you want from me?” There was a hysterical note in her voice now, and Merlin was beginning to look positively terrified.

            “Nothing! I don’t want- I don’t understand!” he insisted.

            “Will you just tell me how to get home?”

            Jada hadn’t realised how close to him she had moved until she saw his wide, frightened eyes flash gold less than a foot away from her own face. Before she even had a chance to understand what was happening, she had slumped forwards, her jaw crashing painfully against his collar as he stooped to catch her. His arms jerked her shoulder up sharply while her eyelids fought against her, closing themselves against her will, and then the world vanished.

Chapter 3 ->

[jessisnotnormal]

Chapter 1: Favour

Masterlist

“You sure you’ve got everything?” Jada asked, hurrying round the living room to pick up some last-minute items. “Make sure you give her a bottle with her tea. They’re in the fridge at the back, remember to warm it up first, won’t you?”

            “I’m not a complete idiot, you know,” Jim responded with a laugh. “I do have a vague idea what I’m doing. I help my sister with her baby all the time.”

            “You’ll phone me if anything happens, won’t you?”

            He rolled his eyes teasingly. “Yes, Jada. Now if you don’t hurry up, you’re gonna be late.”

            “All right, all right,” she sighed, crouching down to where Emily was playing on the floor. She scooped her daughter up into her arms, planting a kiss in her soft curls. “See you tomorrow, baby. I’ll miss you.”

            Emily gave a little squeal, flashing her a cheeky grin as Jada put her back onto the floor and turned to address Jim again. “I’ll be back as soon as I can. Phone me if you need anything.”

            “Stop worrying!” Jim laughed, stepping around Emily to push Jada towards the door. “You’re supposed to have fun. Everything here is under control.”

            “See you tomorrow, Izzy!” Jada called up the stairs as they reached the hallway, hoping her other housemate could hear her.

            Her fears proved unfounded, however, when Izzy's face appeared out of her bedroom doorway. “Have fun!” she called back, waving. “I expect some exciting stories when you return!”

            Jada was unsure what kind of exciting adventures Izzy expected her to have at Ubi’s New Year’s party, but she nodded anyway, turning and heading out into the cold December evening. The last December evening, she realised with a nostalgic twinge as she climbed into her car. The last evening of 2015.

            She reversed out of the driveway, pausing only to hit the start button on her Satnav before she set off. It had been five months since she’d last seen Ubi, when he’d moved out of his student accommodation in the summer and got himself a new place with a friend. The drive would take her forty-five minutes, her Satnav informed her, so she had planned to stay overnight and come home the next morning. However, it would be the longest time she’d spent away from Emily since bringing her home from the hospital eight months ago, and Jada only hoped she could last the night.

            The house was not what Jada had been expecting for a third-year university student with no job. It looked as though it had been built in the Victorian era, with great bay windows and a small wooden porch, and was nestled on the edge of a country park. Despite having donned her best outfit—a red bodycon dress complete with heels she’d not seen for so long she’d had to clear the dust off them—she couldn’t help but feel massively underdressed for such an elegant setting.

            She was soon reassured, however, by the sight of Ubi, who opened the front door wearing a fairly smart-casual shirt and skinny jeans as she was locking her car.

            “Jesus Christ, Ubi,” she began as she made her way onto the porch. “Who’d you have to kill to end up in a place like this?”

            Ubi grinned, taking her coat as she stepped inside. “Nothing to do with me. Morgo’s the one who deals with all the shady stuff. I just stand to the side and look innocent.”

            “Innocent? You?” Jada laughed. “You’re not that good an actor.”

            His smile widened. “Maybe that’s just what I want you to think.” He gestured for her to follow him into the living room, which was full of incredible antique-looking furniture to match the house’s grand exterior.

            “Fucking hell, Ubi, is your friend loaded?” she gaped, but he only chuckled. “What the hell did you have to do for him to let you stay here?”

            “Oh, you know, just the usual. Gotta help him reap the souls of the chosen, etcetera,” Ubi joked, causing Jada to smack him lightly on the arm. “You’re actually here early for once. Morgo’s gone out to get some extra drinks, so guess who gets to help me set up?”

            “Aren’t I lucky?” she replied sarcastically.

            Before long, other people had started to arrive, some of whom Jada recognised from her brief time at university, though most of them she had never seen before. The official start to the party was signalled by the music beginning to play, and soon drinks were being handed round as darkness began to fall.

            It was around midnight when Jada stumbled into the kitchen, drink in hand, to find Ubi leaning against the counter and discussing something in a hushed voice with another man. The two of them looked up as she entered.

            “Jada, come over here,” Ubi called, gesturing to her. “There’s someone I want you to meet.”

            Jada did as she was told. “All right, but you better not be trying to set me up with anybody. I swear, I’ve had enough of that from Izzy.”

            Ubi laughed, shaking his head, while the stranger gave a small smile of amusement.

            “No, no, it’s nothing like that,” Ubi assured her. “I just wanted to introduce you to Morgo. Morgo, this is Jada Thorburn.”

            He gestured between them, and the man named Morgo offered his hand.

            “It’s a pleasure to finally meet you. Ubi has told me so much about you already.”

            Jada snorted. “Nothing bad, I hope?”

            Morgo had an unusual air about him. He regarded her with an unreadable expression, though she couldn’t help but feel slightly unsettled as his eyes appeared to almost look through her. They were partly obscured by his unruly hair, which fell in brown curls across them so that she was only able to see them when he wished her to. He seemed to belong perfectly in the surroundings of such an old and obscure house, but looked positively out of place amongst the people within the current setting. Even his clothes looked wrong; his too-large shirt and rolled up jeans looked as though they must have been borrowed off somebody else.

            “You were in his drama class, yes? A budding actress?”

            Jada nodded. “Had to drop out last year, though.”

            “Oh really? May I ask why?”

            “Had a baby,” she replied, shrugging. “She was premature, so it just seemed easier to quit and focus on her at the time.”

            “A shame,” Morgo shook his head. “I imagine her father is looking after her now?”

            “Nah, my mate is. We live together, so he helps me out when I need it.”

            “Ah, I see.” Morgo nodded thoughtfully, and Jada began to wonder just how much information he was gleaning from her.

            From the living room, one of the guests could be heard shouting above the music. “Ten minutes ‘til midnight!”

            “I’m going back in there,” Ubi announced, swigging the last of his drink before picking up another. “Anybody coming?”

            “Nah,” Jada responded, while Morgo just shook his head. “I’ll be in in a bit though.”

            “All right, see you later, then,” Ubi bid them farewell, before heading back into the party.

            Morgo took a sip of his drink, wrinkling his nose at the taste. “I have a favour to ask of you,” he said after regaining his composure.

            Jada frowned. “What kind of favour?”

            “I need you to trust me.”

            Her frowned deepened, eyes narrowing in suspicion. “No offense, but that seems kind of a shifty thing to say.”

            He chuckled, almost taking another sip from his can before he pulled it away from his lips hastily. “You’re staying here until tomorrow, correct?”

            Jada was starting to wonder if that was such a good idea. “…Yeah?”

            “Good, I will be able to explain more then.” He gave her a broad smile. “For now you should just enjoy the party, I suppose.”

            Now it was Jada’s turn to drink, though she continued to frown at him over the top of the glass. “You’re a bit odd, you, aren’t you?”

            Again, Morgo chuckled. “I imagine so. Ubi seems to believe so, at any rate.”

            “You sure you can’t tell me whatever this ‘favour’ is now?”

            He sighed, waving his hand vaguely. “It would take too long, too many people around.”

            She nodded in neither agreement or approval, screwing her mouth up. “Right. Well, I’m gonna go back in there now. See you some other time.”

            “Of course,” Morgo nodded, though there was a small smile playing on his lips. “Some other time.”

            She made her way back into the living room, re-joining Ubi as the image of Big Ben on the laptop screen began to count down. Why neither Ubi nor Morgo had invested in a TV for the place she couldn’t understand, but that thought was soon pushed aside as the clock began to chime. Suddenly, the sky exploded in a burst of colour, the lights on the London Eye mimicking the fireworks in their own colourful sequence as 2016 burst onto the screen. Jada wished that one day she could see the show in person, perhaps when Emily was bigger and could appreciate it properly.

            She’d had to watch last year’s countdown from her hospital room, keeping her headphones turned low so that it wouldn’t startle Emily. They’d been able to hear it even without the headphones, though, through the window, and Jada could still remember the flashes of colour dancing across the incubator where her one-day-old daughter lay. She’d been so sensitive to loud noises back then; she’d opened her little mouth to croak a protest, though there’d been no cry. She was too little to cry, the nurses had said.

            Jada found herself crying now, watching the fireworks flash onscreen and reflecting on just how much her life had changed in the past year. When Ubi spotted her across the small crowd huddled round his laptop, his face grew concerned, at first. But after she’d explained her very legitimate reasons to him, he’d only shook his head with a smile and decided it was probably time she went to bed.

            The rest of the guests were just beginning to disband as she settled into the spare room, all thoughts of the party already leaving her as she fell into unconsciousness.

            When morning came, complete with a chorus of birdsong and sunlight filtering through the curtains and falling across her face, Jada wished it would piss off. She squinted at the traitorous gap in the fabric, before hauling the covers over her head with a groan. It had been so long since she last got the chance to go out, she’d almost forgotten hangovers existed.

            Eventually, she’d managed to pluck up the courage to face the infernal sun, changing into her spare clothes before heading downstairs to see what the breakfast situation looked like in The Manor.

            She wouldn’t have been surprised to find a professional cook slaving away in the kitchen, but instead she was greeted by Ubi’s ever-cheerful grin as he scrambled some eggs, while Morgo seemed thoroughly invested in the newspaper he held before him.

            “Morning,” Ubi greeted her, prompting Morgo to look up and give her a nod. “How d’you like your eggs?”

            She returned Morgo’s nod with a small smile, before replying. “Uh, scrambled, I guess.”

            “You were right,” Ubi grinned, turning to Morgo and depositing the eggs onto his plate.

            Morgo simply raised his eyebrows at his housemate, before returning his gaze to the paper. “Of course.”

            Jada stretched, sitting opposite Morgo at their small wooden table and rubbing her forehead.

            “Ubi, will you get the remedy I prepared from the cupboard above the sink, please?” Morgo requested, still not looking up.

            Ubi did as he was asked, handing a small black vial to his friend, who in turn held it out for Jada.

            “Take that. It’ll stop the pounding in your head.”

            Jada thanked him, taking the vial and popping the cork out of it. Immediately she was hit with the smell, which she could only guess was the scent of some kind of offal. “Ugh, what is it?”

            “Just a few herbs, really. I’d say it won’t taste as bad as it smells, but…” She thought he smirked, “Probably best to down it in one.”

            She glanced to Ubi, who gave her a reassuring smile. After sighing in resignation, she tilted her head back, trying not to think about the horrific sludge that was passing over her tongue. She spluttered when she finished, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand.

            “I hope those eggs are nearly done,” she croaked.

            She’d earnt a smile from Morgo, while Ubi chuckled, turning back to his pan. “Just a minute.”

            Morgo’s gaze remained on her, and after a moment he folded his paper up and set it down, intertwining his hands over it. “What time do you expect to be back home, then?”

            “I told Jim I’d be back as soon as I could,” she replied. “Didn’t want to be away too long.”

            “Of course. And are you planning to drive yourself?”

            She nodded. “’Soon as I can.”

            Morgo turned to glance at Ubi, who seemed to be watching them out of the corner of his eye. “Well I’m glad you gave no solid timeframe. That will make things much easier for us, I imagine.”

            Jada frowned, her headache worsening. “You what?”

            Morgo was back to leaning on the table again, his gaze becoming intense. “You’re adopted.”

            Jada snorted at the absurdity of the comment. “You know, I’m really glad you felt the need to tell me that. I’d have had no idea otherwise,” she retorted sarcastically. She caught Ubi’s smirk, though Morgo seemed unamused, so she added, “D’you think I don’t know that?”

            “Did you never wonder who your parents were?”

            “No.”

            The two seemed surprised at her answer.

            “Why not?” Morgo asked.

            She shrugged. “They didn’t want me; why should I waste a single thought on them? Life doesn’t really work like in the films, you know.”

            Morgo’s expression softened. “Your mother did want you. She cared about you very much.”

            She felt her eyebrows raise in challenge. “And you would know?”

            His eyes dropped, his fingernail beginning to scratch at the paper underneath his hands. “I didn’t know her very well. Not at all, really. I only met her once, in passing. The day I saved your life.”

            Jada scoffed again. “You what?”

            Morgo’s eyes returned to her face, his words suddenly coming very fast. “Your mother was killed in a fire. She was staying in an inn in the capital, and you were with her. We were trying to keep an eye on things, to make sure everything was all right. When I saw the blaze I knew I had to go in, that I had to do something. It was too late for your mother, and I’m sorry for that, but then I found you. She’d doused your crib in water, it seemed, which gave me just enough time to get you out. Naturally, I couldn’t keep you here with us, though Ubi tried to argue with me. So we found a nice orphanage for you-”

            “Orphanage?” she interrupted. “What is this, the Victorian era? It’s called an adoption centre.”

            “My apologies-”

            “And what am I, anyway? Fucking Harry Potter? My parents were killed, but you managed to save me in the nick of time? Yeah right, and the next one.”

            Wearing a quizzical expression, Morgo turned to Ubi, who shrugged. “She doesn’t believe you, basically. I told you it would have been easier to keep her with us.”

            “I can’t believe you’re buying into this shit, too,” Jada scowled. “Is this some sort of stupid joke?”

            “No, no,” Morgo said. “I promise you I’m completely serious. I saved your life, gave you to the authorities in this world to be properly adopted, and then Ubi’s been keeping an eye on you recently, until now.”

            “'In this world'?” she repeated. "What are you actually fucking talking about?"

            Morgo sighed in exasperation, rubbing his brows. “You were born in Albion, which is in a separate world to this one. Now, if you’d just co-operate, we’d get through this much faster and then you can go on your merry way.”

            Jada crossed her arms, still scowling, but said nothing.

            “Very good. Now, since I saved your life, you could say you owe me a favour.” Jada wasn't sure she agreed, but Morgo was looking at her expectantly, seemingly waiting for her retort. When none came, he sighed again. “What do you know of the Arthurian legends?”

            A moment passed, before he gave a sound of frustration. “You can talk now.”

            “I did a few projects on them in high school,” she replied with a bitter shrug. “But I don’t see what this has to do with anything.”

            “Well you wouldn’t, would you?” Morgo retorted.

            Ubi snickered, causing the two of them to look back over towards him, still scrambling some more eggs.

            Morgo turned back to her first. “How did they end, the legends?”

            Jada sighed. “Arthur’s killed by Mordred, at the Battle of Camlann.”

            “Not killed, mortally wounded,” Morgo corrected.

            “Fine. Arthur is mortally wounded by Mordred at the Battle of Camlann. Because the distinction is so important.”

            “It is,” Morgo countered. “‘Mortally wounded’ implies that Arthur was not yet dead when he was taken to Avalon.”

            “So?”

            “So, I need you to make sure he doesn’t die.”

            What little patience of Jada’s remained now vanished. “And how the fuck am I supposed to do that?”

            “You need to find a way to heal him. Luckily for you, I know just the right way. But you’ll have to use magic, of course.”

            “Magic? You realise that all of this makes absolutely no sense, right?” She turned to Ubi for help. “Is he on something?”

            “Nope,” Ubi replied. “Magic is real. You might not have realised, but you come from a long line of magic users, dating back for more than four hundred years.”

            Jada changed her focus. “Are you on something?”

            He grinned. “Nope. I’m surprised you haven’t noticed anything yet.”

            “She’d have had no need to,” Morgo interjected, calling Jada’s attention back to him. “But now you do. I’m sending you to study under Merlin. You’ll learn the basics of magic there, but after that you’ll have to move on to a more difficult school of study.”

            Jada laughed. “Oh yeah? And will I be going to Atlantis for dinner, as well?”

            Morgo seemed unamused, so she changed her tone as she rose from the table. “Look, I don’t know what the hell you’re on about, but I am not going to Camelot to learn how to use magic to save a fictional king, all right? Sorry to disappoint, but I’m busy.”

            She turned on her heel, ready to head out the door, pick up her keys, and never return to this house again. Behind her she heard Morgo rise, his chair scraping against the tiles.

            “Morgo, we can’t make her,” Ubi said. “If she doesn’t want to, there’s nothing we can do.”

            She was in the hallway now, about to retrieve her coat from the rack that Ubi had hung it on as the kitchen door behind her swung open again. She was grateful she’d thought to move her bag with the rest of her belongings by the door already. A smooth escape would have been so much more difficult otherwise.

            She bent to pick it up, purposely paying no heed to the figure behind her as she did so, until he said something that she did not expect.

            “Swefe nu.”

            Before Jada could turn to even frown at him, she felt her legs buckle beneath her as the floor rushed to meet her. The last thing she heard before unconsciousness took her was Ubi’s voice of indignation:

            “Morgo!”

Chapter 2 ->

[jessisnotnormal]

Masterlist

Out of the Ashes

When Jada Thorburn makes a bargain with the mysterious Morgo, her life will never be the same again. Travelling back in time, she finds herself face-to-face with the legendary Merlin and Prince Arthur, who prove to be more than just the stuff of myth. But with danger around every turn and destiny pulling her newfound friends in all directions, two questions still remain; why is she here? And what is the price?

Chapter 1: Favour

Chapter 2: Lost

Chapter 3: Magic

Chapter 4: Trust

Chapter 5: Bold Street

Chapter 6: Gone

Chapter 7: Lancelot

Chapter 8: Nobility

Chapter 9: Training

Chapter 10: Test

Chapter 11: The Griffin

Chapter 12: Poetry

Chapter 13: A Remedy to Cure All Ills

Chapter 14: Choice