An Unlikely Visitor
She's a What?
“Is that really a tree? Are these rocks? And those things in the sky; birds right?”
“Yes, that is a tree, those are rocks, and that is indeed a bird.” Merlin replied, amused at the girl’s newfound curiosity.
Gwen rolled her eyes. “You would have thought she’s never seen any of these things before.”
“Maybe because she hasn’t.”
Gwen snorted. “Who hasn’t seen trees, rocks, and birds before? It’s not like they’re that hard to miss.”
The now threesome made their way back to the castle, stopping every few minuets to answer the now very chatty girl’s questions.
After what seemed like the billionth time they had to stop to answer a question, Gwen glared at Merlin.
“For goodness sakes, why did you have to bring her with us? At this rate we’ll arrive at the castle after nightfall!”
“What was I supposed to do? Leave her there?”
“She would have made her way back home at some point or another.” Gwen said as she began to walk again.
“But she’s obviously a foreigner.” Merlin replied. “Home might not be as close as the castle is to us.”
“How do you know she’s a foreigner? She speaks the same language as us.”
Merlin gathered his thoughts for a moment. “But, when I was trying to explain to her that her money wasn’t good, she looked at me like I had horns coming out of my head. It was as almost if she couldn’t understand a word I was saying.”
“Well, you wouldn’t get that impression now, would ya?” Gwen said. “Asking all those questions; it’s rather odd.”
“I’ll take her to see Gaius. Maybe he can make sense out of all of this.” Merlin replied. He and Gwen looked over their shoulders to see if the girl was following them. Sure enough she was still behind them, marveling in her new cloak. She noticed their gazes and flashed them a brilliant, almost unearthly, white smile.
“My, my Merlin. You go to the market to purchase cloth and you come back with a young girl! How inconceivable!”
Merlin rolled his eyes. Now wasn’t the time to question Merlin’s moral standards. “Gaius, we found this girl in the market place. She doesn’t seem to be from around these parts.”
“I could have told you that.” Gaius returned with a joking tinge in his voice. “Just look at her. She’s the palest creature I’ve ever laid eyes upon. And those eyes; marvelous!”
Gwen snorted again. She was propped up against the left far wall in the cramped quarters that Merlin and Gaius shared. Her arms were crossed and her eyes were narrowed. Every person in the room could feel the hostility radiating from her; all except the girl who was sitting in a stool in the middle of the room.
Gaius paced around her, never taking his eyes off the curious creature. The girl followed him with her emerald eyes, a slight brightness in them. Almost as if she was enjoying watching the old physician as much as he was enjoying trying to figure out whom exactly she was.
“She was trying to pay for that lovely cloak with a shell, you say?” he asked Merlin, still never moving his eyes away.
“That’s right.” Merlin replied.
“And her skin is rather cold, correct?”
Merlin paused. “Yes.”
“Hmmmm.” Gaius paused and thought hard. “And she kissed you?”
Merlin blushed, Gwen snorted, and the girl smiled. “Y-yeah.”
“Well then. Had a little bit of fun with our boy Merlin here, didn’t you?” Gaius said smirking.
The girl tilted her head. “’Fun?’ I needed to absorb the language.”
Gaius’s face suddenly became serious. “Absorb the language?”
The girl nodded. “I couldn’t correspond with the vendor and the boy appeared. I took advantage of a good situation.”
“You most certainly did, my dear.” Gaius replied, the smirk returning to his face. “Gwen?”
Gwen stepped forward. “Yes, sir?”
“Gwen, would you please find a dress for our little miss here? Preferably something blue or green? Correct, my dear?”
The girl smiled widely and shook her head in agreement.
Gwen pursed her lips. “Of course.”
Merlin gave Gwen a fleeting ‘I’m sorry’ glance as she walked out of the tiny room. She quickly shot back with a ‘save it’ scowl.
“Merlin, close the door.” Gaius instructed. Merlin obeyed and joined Gaius.
“And you said that her hands were rather odd, correct?”
Merlin nodded, not quite sure at what Gaius was getting at. Gaius held out a withered hand to the girl.
“Your hand, my dear?”
The girl hesitated, but eventually placed her smooth white hand in Gaius’ hand. He gently spread her fingers. Merlin’s eyes widened.
“What is that?” he asked in a hushed voice.
“That, my boy, is webbing. She has webbed hands and feet as well I presume.” Gaius replied.
“Wait. Webbing; like a duck?” Merlin asked, still in disbelief.
“Please, Merlin. Don’t compare this lovely lady to a duck! Have some respect. You may or may not believe it, but we are in the presence of an ancient being of great intellect. Isn’t that correct my dear?”
The girl smiled. Merlin stared at her. “Ancient being of great intellect? Her?”
Gaius smiled. “A mermyd. Never in my years would I have ever thought I’d be seeing a live mermyd!”
“Mermaid? Like the things with half the body of a human and half the body of a fish?” Merlin asked.
“Hardly!” the girl suddenly cried. “Those self absorbed man eaters! How could you compare someone like me to something like that?”
Merlin’s mouth dropped opened. “I’m really very sorry, but I’ve never heard of a mermyd.”
“I’m not surprised.” Gaius replied, carrying a giant book over to where Merlin and the girl sat. He placed it close to Merlin and pointed at a drawing.
“Mermyd: A human like creature that varies in appearance and behavior. They are considered avid learners and they have an above normal intellect. They are attracted to green and bluish colors along with shiny objects. Mermyds live at the very bottom of the oceans and hardly ever come near the surface.” Merlin read aloud.
“Until now,” Gaius said smiling. “This is brilliant; absolutely brilliant!”
Merlin closed the book. “But that doesn’t explain…”
“The kiss?” the girl finished.
Merlin could feel his face turning red again. The mermyd must have noticed because she gave a small giggle. “The one thing that book didn’t specify is how we can attain all of that intellect. We absorb information.”
“So, when you kissed me…?”
The girl nodded. “I was taking a little sample of your language. And, I forgot to say, thank you for being a more than willing volunteer.”
“Sure; anytime.” Merlin replied scratching at a nonexistent itch on the back of his neck.
The girl seemed to revel in Merlin’s awkwardness. A sudden knock emitted from the door and Gwen entered the room.
“I found this dress in the storage rooms. I hope it’ll fit her.”
Gaius took the dress from Gwen and examined it. “I’m sure it’ll be perfect.”
“So, what’s with her then? You get any information?” Gwen asked.
“Yeah, more than enough.” Merlin replied looking bashful.
“Oh my goodness!” Gaius suddenly exclaimed. “How horribly rude of us. Here we are asking all of these questions and never inquiring your name.”
The mermyd smiled warmly. “It’s quite all right. Eilwen. My name is Eilwen.”
“Yes, that is a tree, those are rocks, and that is indeed a bird.” Merlin replied, amused at the girl’s newfound curiosity.
Gwen rolled her eyes. “You would have thought she’s never seen any of these things before.”
“Maybe because she hasn’t.”
Gwen snorted. “Who hasn’t seen trees, rocks, and birds before? It’s not like they’re that hard to miss.”
The now threesome made their way back to the castle, stopping every few minuets to answer the now very chatty girl’s questions.
After what seemed like the billionth time they had to stop to answer a question, Gwen glared at Merlin.
“For goodness sakes, why did you have to bring her with us? At this rate we’ll arrive at the castle after nightfall!”
“What was I supposed to do? Leave her there?”
“She would have made her way back home at some point or another.” Gwen said as she began to walk again.
“But she’s obviously a foreigner.” Merlin replied. “Home might not be as close as the castle is to us.”
“How do you know she’s a foreigner? She speaks the same language as us.”
Merlin gathered his thoughts for a moment. “But, when I was trying to explain to her that her money wasn’t good, she looked at me like I had horns coming out of my head. It was as almost if she couldn’t understand a word I was saying.”
“Well, you wouldn’t get that impression now, would ya?” Gwen said. “Asking all those questions; it’s rather odd.”
“I’ll take her to see Gaius. Maybe he can make sense out of all of this.” Merlin replied. He and Gwen looked over their shoulders to see if the girl was following them. Sure enough she was still behind them, marveling in her new cloak. She noticed their gazes and flashed them a brilliant, almost unearthly, white smile.
“My, my Merlin. You go to the market to purchase cloth and you come back with a young girl! How inconceivable!”
Merlin rolled his eyes. Now wasn’t the time to question Merlin’s moral standards. “Gaius, we found this girl in the market place. She doesn’t seem to be from around these parts.”
“I could have told you that.” Gaius returned with a joking tinge in his voice. “Just look at her. She’s the palest creature I’ve ever laid eyes upon. And those eyes; marvelous!”
Gwen snorted again. She was propped up against the left far wall in the cramped quarters that Merlin and Gaius shared. Her arms were crossed and her eyes were narrowed. Every person in the room could feel the hostility radiating from her; all except the girl who was sitting in a stool in the middle of the room.
Gaius paced around her, never taking his eyes off the curious creature. The girl followed him with her emerald eyes, a slight brightness in them. Almost as if she was enjoying watching the old physician as much as he was enjoying trying to figure out whom exactly she was.
“She was trying to pay for that lovely cloak with a shell, you say?” he asked Merlin, still never moving his eyes away.
“That’s right.” Merlin replied.
“And her skin is rather cold, correct?”
Merlin paused. “Yes.”
“Hmmmm.” Gaius paused and thought hard. “And she kissed you?”
Merlin blushed, Gwen snorted, and the girl smiled. “Y-yeah.”
“Well then. Had a little bit of fun with our boy Merlin here, didn’t you?” Gaius said smirking.
The girl tilted her head. “’Fun?’ I needed to absorb the language.”
Gaius’s face suddenly became serious. “Absorb the language?”
The girl nodded. “I couldn’t correspond with the vendor and the boy appeared. I took advantage of a good situation.”
“You most certainly did, my dear.” Gaius replied, the smirk returning to his face. “Gwen?”
Gwen stepped forward. “Yes, sir?”
“Gwen, would you please find a dress for our little miss here? Preferably something blue or green? Correct, my dear?”
The girl smiled widely and shook her head in agreement.
Gwen pursed her lips. “Of course.”
Merlin gave Gwen a fleeting ‘I’m sorry’ glance as she walked out of the tiny room. She quickly shot back with a ‘save it’ scowl.
“Merlin, close the door.” Gaius instructed. Merlin obeyed and joined Gaius.
“And you said that her hands were rather odd, correct?”
Merlin nodded, not quite sure at what Gaius was getting at. Gaius held out a withered hand to the girl.
“Your hand, my dear?”
The girl hesitated, but eventually placed her smooth white hand in Gaius’ hand. He gently spread her fingers. Merlin’s eyes widened.
“What is that?” he asked in a hushed voice.
“That, my boy, is webbing. She has webbed hands and feet as well I presume.” Gaius replied.
“Wait. Webbing; like a duck?” Merlin asked, still in disbelief.
“Please, Merlin. Don’t compare this lovely lady to a duck! Have some respect. You may or may not believe it, but we are in the presence of an ancient being of great intellect. Isn’t that correct my dear?”
The girl smiled. Merlin stared at her. “Ancient being of great intellect? Her?”
Gaius smiled. “A mermyd. Never in my years would I have ever thought I’d be seeing a live mermyd!”
“Mermaid? Like the things with half the body of a human and half the body of a fish?” Merlin asked.
“Hardly!” the girl suddenly cried. “Those self absorbed man eaters! How could you compare someone like me to something like that?”
Merlin’s mouth dropped opened. “I’m really very sorry, but I’ve never heard of a mermyd.”
“I’m not surprised.” Gaius replied, carrying a giant book over to where Merlin and the girl sat. He placed it close to Merlin and pointed at a drawing.
“Mermyd: A human like creature that varies in appearance and behavior. They are considered avid learners and they have an above normal intellect. They are attracted to green and bluish colors along with shiny objects. Mermyds live at the very bottom of the oceans and hardly ever come near the surface.” Merlin read aloud.
“Until now,” Gaius said smiling. “This is brilliant; absolutely brilliant!”
Merlin closed the book. “But that doesn’t explain…”
“The kiss?” the girl finished.
Merlin could feel his face turning red again. The mermyd must have noticed because she gave a small giggle. “The one thing that book didn’t specify is how we can attain all of that intellect. We absorb information.”
“So, when you kissed me…?”
The girl nodded. “I was taking a little sample of your language. And, I forgot to say, thank you for being a more than willing volunteer.”
“Sure; anytime.” Merlin replied scratching at a nonexistent itch on the back of his neck.
The girl seemed to revel in Merlin’s awkwardness. A sudden knock emitted from the door and Gwen entered the room.
“I found this dress in the storage rooms. I hope it’ll fit her.”
Gaius took the dress from Gwen and examined it. “I’m sure it’ll be perfect.”
“So, what’s with her then? You get any information?” Gwen asked.
“Yeah, more than enough.” Merlin replied looking bashful.
“Oh my goodness!” Gaius suddenly exclaimed. “How horribly rude of us. Here we are asking all of these questions and never inquiring your name.”
The mermyd smiled warmly. “It’s quite all right. Eilwen. My name is Eilwen.”