Daughter of the Lake

“I stirred in the bed. I did not remember how I got there or what had happened. Then like a wave her memories came rushing back.
Strong arms carrying her, and then lightly placing her on the bed…
Merriman sitting in a chair by the bed…
Someone placing…
Waking from a nightmare to the sound of singing…
I opened my eyes for the first time to find myself in a small room with bare stone walls. My bed was pushed against the wall opposite the door, with a chair next to it, a wash bowl to the left and a small table next to it.
On the chair was a dress. It was a turquoise dress with long fitted sleeves that would come to a point on the back of the hands. It had a floor length skirt with white at the base of the bodice. There was also white at the top of the bodice that seemed to fall over the top of the sleeves.
I got up with no hint of the weakness I had showed in the past few days. I changed into the dress and found a brown leather belt underneath the dress. As I put it on, I noticed that on one side it had a sheaf for a knife and on the other a pouch. When I looked inside it, I found my brooch. After put it on, I looked to the table and found a brush, some coloured ribbon and a silver circlet with a turquoise set in the centre. I brushed my hair and put the circlet on before leaving the room to explore.
It didn’t take long to find out that I was still in the hall. After just turning twice I opened a door and came out on the left of the fireplace.
“Happy Birthday” Merriman said. He was sat in a chair by the fire. “I see that you are feeling better. Come, sit”
I came and sat at his feet. “Thanks. Is it really Christmas Eve already? I’ve been gone seven days.” I paused, “Did Ottah tell you what happened?”
“Yes, we found Ottah. He seemed to be worried about you. He is back home with his mother.” He said, “Now, I think I would like to hear what has happened since the last time we spoke. That is, if you wouldn’t mind?”
“Of course.” I said. I started from my dream and how I had gotten to the hill, and continued up until I had walked into the hall. Just recounting it made me wonder how I had done such things. Seven days, it felt more like seven years!
When I had finished, we sat in silence for a time while Merriman sat starring into the fire. Sitting there at his feet by the fire made me feel at home. It was something I had never really felt, a feeling of belonging and contentment. I looked up at Merriman and found myself looking at his eyes. They looked more gold than brown in the fire light, more like the eyes of a bird of pray.
“Hawk” I said, not really intending it to be out loud. Merriman looked up as if someone had called his name. He looked at me and laughed slightly, and then went back to staring into the fire.
“Well, it seems you have been through a lot since we met, and I’m afraid that there will be more to come. Do you know who tried to poison you?” He eventually asked.
“Well, it could have been Donovan, but I’m not sure.” I replied, finally voicing my suspicions.
“If so you have made a very powerful enemy. You had better be careful if you should cross paths again. Before you ask any questions of your own, I would like you to do something.” With that Merriman got up and led me to the candle ring I had seen when I first came in. I now noticed that there was one place empty, with a candle waiting to be put in place.
“Take the candle from the stand” Merriman commanded.
I walked over to an iron candle stand. It was about five feet tall, with three arms. Two of them had five pointed stars on, but the middle held a thick candle. I took it out of the stand and carried it over to the ring. I placed the candle in the empty slot which I took to be the seventh one along. Then I lit it using the magic I had learnt with Ethne; I took a little of the flame from the candle next to it and placed that at the wick. Once it was lit, I looked around the ring and saw that there where five other slots for candles on the arms of the cross and at its centre. But, one thing bothered me about the candles.
“Hawk,” I said, “why do the candles burn with different colour flames?”
“What do you see?” he asked, a slight smile on his face at being called Hawk.
“You can’t answer a question with another question!” I protested, but then gave in and answered. “Each flame burns in different colours”I turned to what I guessed was the start, “This one burns a mid-night blue with gold tips.”
I walked around the circle, skipping my own candle, saying each of the colours that I could see. Some where red or green, other sliver and one was the colour of rose gold.
“…And this one is pure gold.” I said finishing back next to where I had started.
“What about yours?”
Again, another question! “Mine is different, it keeps flicking between purple, turquoise, silver, green and red. All the others are constant, but it won’t stop changing.” I said “Is your candle the first one?”
“Yes, cariad, it is.” He answered. “Now, I’m sure you have other questions.”
“Where, and when, are we? Who exactly are you? How did you know that today was my birthday? What is going on? How did I get here? What happened on the hill? Who was that boy I saw? How can I do magic? Who is Cardew? How can I talk to you with my mind? How did I get to Egypt? Who is my mother? Who, what, am I?” I voiced everything that had been bothering me since that night when I sang. I wasn’t looking at Merriman, I had started pacing and looking wildly around me.
“Hawk?” I asked turning around. I found that Merriman had a startled expression on his face that it made me feel bad about shooting so many questions at him at once. “Are you OK?”
“What did you say?” he sounded hurt or as if I had picked up something he wanted to keep hidden.
“I said, who is my mother? Who, or what, am I?” she replied, taken aback. “I mean… w-when I was with Cardew the said that I looked like my mother. My mother has brown hair and eyes. We even have opposite blood types. An-and then I-I saw a woman when I was ill…” I stopped rambling. I looked up for the first time and saw Merriman’s stern expression. I felt like a child who had just broken a prized possession in that moment.
“You are Nimueh,” he said “Daughter of Vivien and Emrys ap Taliesin, Old One, Keeper of Prophesies, Rider of the Dark, High Priestess of the High Magic, Daughter of the Lake.”
I knew that I had heard those names before, but where from? I was an avid reader, so that just made things worse. Vivien and Emrys… Emrys… Emrys… Emrys! Arthurian Legend!
“B-but, that’s impossible! I can’t be!” I exclaimed backing away from him. “I have studied legends, specifically Celtic legends, more specifically Arthurian legend for year. I know those names and that make it impossible.”
Emrys, that had been the name of Merlin. Merlin… Hawk… Hawk?! As for Vivien, that was obvious now. She was the one in the legends who trapped Merlin in a cave or rock or tree. She was the Lady of the Lake. But none of this was possible. That would have been over a thousand years ago, if it even happened!
“But… tad?” I stammered
“Yes, cariad,” Merriman replied, “We must go; we have work to do.” He held out his hand for me to take.

We were in a large hallway with high ceilings painted with trees and mountains. The walls were panelled in gilded wood with gas lamps. Merriman led me into a side door that blended into the wall, making it partially hidden.
The door opened into a small passageway, which in turn led to a tiny library made even smaller by the gloom. It had an armchair, a small table, a step ladder and three wall height, glass fronted book cases. Also, I could hear the constant tick of a grandfather clock. But, one thing seemed out of place. In the room was a hunched man with a triangular face that was thinly lined, with bright eyes. He was wearing a green velvet jacket with brown trousers.
“Hawkin, this is Nimueh. Daughter, this is my liege man Hawkin from the thirteenth century.”
“It is nice to meet you Hawkin.” I said, generally pleased.
“Lady, the pleasure is mine, for we are kin even if not in blood” Hawkin said.
“I took him in when his parents died and raised him.” Merriman explained. “Hawkin.”
Hawkin moved over to kneel beside Merriman. Merriman then placed his left hand on Hawkin’s shoulder and stretched his other hand into the clock. Carefully, so as not to touch the pendulum, Merriman pulled out a black leather bound book.
“This is the Book of Gramarye. It is written in Old Speech and contains all the knowledge of our race, the Old Ones. I will come back for you when you have finished reading.” Merriman helped Hawkin up and then left.
I sat in the armchair and looked at the cover which was blank. I opened the cover and flicked through the pages. Each only contained a title and part of a verse or a picture. But, as I read them, I found herself transported into the scene.
Once, I was flying high with an eagle and souring into the stars where I could name each constellation. Then I plunged into a deep ocean and swam with dolphins and named every fish that swam by. Next I was running through the forest with deer and being able to name all of the flora and fauna that were just blurs as I run past. Then I was standing on a mountain, learning how to control time from the wind. Last I was going through scenes from the past of the Dark and the Light, leaning the secret things of the world known to only the oldest of the old.
Finally I tuned to the last page and found black leather and, on the opposite page, a drawing of a quartered circle. Just as I closed the cover, Merriman came back into the small library.
“Well…” he demanded
“I think…” I started, then my voice changed, sounding more confident, “I think that I have waited a long time to read that, and finally I know what I must do.”
Merriman nodded as if I had answered as he expected. He took the book from my hands and once more Hawkin was kneeling by his side so he could return it to the clock.
“There is one more still to learn.” Merriman murmured. “There are things I must do, so I will meet you back here at about eight o’clock. In the mean time, go back to the hall and refresh your self, you will meet the others later this evening.”