Crash Landed In Camelot

“Look she’s coming around,” I heard a woman’s voice say; I think it was Gwen’s. I didn’t want to open my eyes, it hurt my head. But when I remembered what happened I bolted straight up.

“Arthur!” I called out. I looked around and realized I was no longer in the hallway but in my chambers.

“He’s fine. He’s with his father right now,” responded Gaius as he checked my vitals, he avoided my gaze. “But you need to be careful; you may have a concussion from the blow to your head.”

“That wasn’t all it was though, was it?” I questioned. I could tell Gaius wanted to ask more but couldn’t because Gwen was in the room and there was something else he was hiding.

“Gwen, why don’t you go get Arthur and Morgana? I’m sure they’ll want to know she’s awake,” Gaius said softly. Where was Merlin? After Gwen left the room, Gaius continued, “You were hit with a very powerful spell but you have no injuries. I’m sure that your magic protected you as best it could but it left you very weak.”

“How long have I been out?” I asked, sitting up straighter.

“A few hours,” he replied still avoiding my gaze.

“And what happened to Tristiana?” I questioned.

“She escaped. I’m going to let Arthur explain when he gets here,” Gaius answered.

“Gaius, where’s Merlin?” He looked towards the door, waiting for Arthur. Why didn’t he answer? Where was Merlin? No. He couldn’t be. The door opened and in came Arthur. He looked flustered and angry. Who could blame him, he was about to marry someone that wanted to kill him and his father.

“Cadi, you are okay?” he looked to me and then to Gaius.

“I am happy to say she will make a full recovery,” Gaius answered.

“Where’s Merlin?” I asked, this time directing my question to Arthur. He did not break my gaze.

“I’ll start from the beginning,” Arthur took the seat that Gwen had been in when I woke up. I looked at him expectantly. “What do you remember?” he asked.

“It looked like Tristiana was about to use magic and so I jumped in front of you. I passed out and woke up here. But what happened after?” Did I screw up?

“Tristiana became outraged that her spell missed its target. She tried to attack again but this time Merlin tackled her. The guards and I reassembled, she was outnumbered and she knew it. She cast another spell that caused smoke to appear and she disappeared. With Merlin,” he spoke his thanks and condolence but I never heard him. She had taken Merlin.

“She has him?” I repeated.

“Yes. I’m sorry. But there isn’t much we can do,” Arthur said, softly.

“Yes there is. I’m going after them, whether you help me or not,” I stated getting out of my bed.

“My father will not allow us to go after him. Merlin is just a servant to him and not worth the men,” he answered.

“He’s your father. Not mine! I’m going after Merlin. I know you think of him as a friend whether you care to admit it or not.” I replied.

I shooed them all out of my chambers and quickly as I could, changed into slacks and a belted tunic. I took my book and hid it with my backpack under the bed. I left my chambers heading for the armory and the kitchen. Even with my magic, I wanted reassurances and I wanted to use my magic as a last resort. Before I reached the armory, I was joined by Arthur.

“If you’re here to stop me, you’re in for a fight,” I said without stopping.

“No. I have to help. You saved my life and though I won’t admit it to his face, I owe this to Merlin,” Arthur said offering his help.

“And your father?” I asked as I picked up a sword from the armory. Arthur put it back. “Hey!” He shushed me and handed me another smaller and lighter sword.

“This will be easier to wield. Have you ever used a sword before?” he asked, avoiding my question.

“Only a little,” I admitted.

“How do you plan on finding them?” he asked. I hadn’t thought of that. I could scry for them but not with Arthur around, he’d ask too many questions. I’m sure I could track them but how do I explain it the Arthur.

“I don’t know yet but I’ll feel better out looking for them rather than sitting idly.” Arthur nodded his head in understanding. We headed for the kitchens for food and then to the stables, we saddled our horses, and left the castle. Shortly after leaving the gates, a crow flew up to Arthur with its leg sticking out. On its leg was a note. Arthur took the letter and read it aloud:

My dear Prince Arthur, if you wish to see your friend alive again, come quickly. My patience wears thin. The crow will guide you.

Arthur folded the note and tucked it into a saddle bag before looking again to the crow. The crow took to the sky and began to fly away. We urged our horses to follow.
“It’ll be dark soon. We’ll need to make camp,” Arthur stated.

“But the note said to come quickly,” I half whined.

“I know but we won’t even be able to see the crow in the dark. Surely she does not expect us to follow something we cannot see.” His logic made sense. I decided to compromise.

“You know these woods well, when it becomes difficult to see the crow, we will make camp. Deal?” Arthur thought about my offer and agreed shortly after. When it became difficult to see, we made camp like I promised. He left to gather firewood as I took out my blanket and some food to warm by the fire.

“Why did you jump in front of me?” Arthur asked, breaking the silence. I wanted to say I knew my magic would protect but I wasn’t suicidal. Ironic, eh?

“Because you were in danger. If you were to die, Camelot would lose their heir and your father would be devastated and Camelot would fall,” I explained. And I genuinely wanted to save him. He was the future King Arthur after all!

“So you were protecting Camelot?”

“And you also.” I answered. After a while I continued, “I want you to promise that if this turns out to be a save yourself or risk your life mission, I want you to save yourself. I know you are a soldier and you don’t leave your men in trouble but this is my mission, you’re just here for the ride. Merlin and I could never live with ourselves if you were killed because of either one of us,” I begged. If I got the future King Arthur killed, I would die. Arthur looked at me with a look of determination and replied, “I can’t make that promise.”

“As expected. But consider it,” I begged again. We continued eating again in silence. After dinner, Arthur decided he wanted to see my skill with the sword. We took out stances and began to spar. This time it was surprisingly easier than it was with Merlin. My movements were smoother; it was like I was a ballerina. The sword knew where to go to protect myself from Arthur’s blows. I knew he was not fighting at full strength, I didn’t say anything.

“Where did you learn to fight like that?” Arthur asked, shocked, after we called a truce. Apparently, I can match anyone in battle. Awesome. Weird. But awesome. Chalk two up to magic.

“Uhm, beginner’s luck?” I teased.

“That’s not beginner’s luck. There are men that have been train since birth that do not have your skill, myself not included,” he added at the end.

“My father taught me at young age, to protect myself from danger. After my brother was killed by bandits, I doubled my training efforts to avoid that fate,” I answered. Arthur nodded. Why had not I not gotten the lead in the school play? Not only am I good at acting, I’m good at improv.

“Your family has strange habits,” Arthur replied. I nodded and poked at the fire with a stick.

“You really care about Merlin, don’t you?” I asked.

“He risked his life to save me. I have to repay him,” he answered.

“But he’s just your servant. You treat him as poorly as one,” I pointed out. Arthur paused a moment to explain.

“I do because he is my servant. You’ve seen him. He acts like a complete idiot half the time. But I do admit on some occasions he is useful and sometimes even wise.”

“I see,” I said nodding.

“If you say any of this to him I’ll deny it,” he snapped. I threw my hands up in surrender.

“Whatever you say boss,” I winked.

“What’s your attachment to Merlin?” Arthur asked.

“What do you mean? He’s my cousin,” I answered. That lie was from a time so long ago.

“I don’t believe you,” he replied.

“What is there to believe? He is my cousin; of course I care about him.” Where was he going with this?

“Come on. The way you two act around each other? Then there’s the fact that you two are always disappearing alone together,” he suggested. “If you can explain that, then explain why you had to come all the way from the north just to inform your cousin of your parent’s death.”

“Those are good points,” I paused to collect my thoughts. “I was not aware I acted that differently around Merlin. I suppose it is because I feel close to him,” I answered and quickly added, “because of our relations.” Arthur saw the mistake and gave me a questioning look. I was beginning to tire of lying so much and his gaze was distracting because of the honesty in it. He just wanted to know the truth. I sighed and spoke, “What do you wish to know?”

“Only the truth,” he answered, giving no hint of to his suspicions.

“What truth?” I asked. “The truth of what?”

“Your relationship with Merlin. Are you or are you not cousins?” he asked with a stern voice.

“And if we are not?” I countered.

“It would explain the strange behavior and looks,” he answered. “You two are on very friendly terms.” I could see his hinted wording. The truth was, I didn’t know how I truly felt for Merlin. He was the one that saved and helped me when I first arrived. It was fate that I ended up in Camelot, part of me knew that I belonged here. And when Merlin was around, I felt whole and safe. Could I be...? No. I’m just worried about him and feel extra concerned because of our friendship.

“The truth is, no we are not related. The night you met me was the night I first met Merlin. I was lost, he found me and offered to help me. I was lucky he found me because I had no idea how I got there or where I was from. I barely remember anything from my past life.” There. That should satisfy him and it’s close enough to the truth and the best lies have a little bit of truth in them.

“Why did you two lie?” He looked confused.

“I don’t know. I guess it was easier to just say we were related. There were fewer questions that way. I only knew my name, where was I going to go? Then you made it even more confusing when I had to make up the story about my family to your father and the royal court. Then it just became easier to believe that story. For all I knew, it was close to the truth,” I explained. I expected him to be mad that I lied but he wasn’t. Or it didn’t appear so. Instead he just suggested that we get some sleep for tomorrow.