Woven Magic

Chapter 4

I stood at the stables awaiting Merlin’s arrival. My palms began to sweat and I began to fidget, pulling at loose strings hanging off of the fabrics I wore. My mind was racing, trying to think of just what to tell him after my little slip up the previous day. How could I have been so stupid as to reveal my knowledge of him as the prophets perceive him? He was going to want answers, that I was sure about. But the question is could I lie to him? Should I? All I knew is that how I interacted with Merlin now affected our destiny, and the future of Albion. If I screwed this up, I would be to blame. But how was I supposed to know the right answer?

I was pulled out of my thoughts and I stopped pacing to look up out into the practice field in the close distance. It appeared that two of Arthur’s knights were in a duel, metal armor clashing and swords scraping and all. It instantly sparked my interest and I decided to leave the stables to investigate the terms of the match. I had a gut feeling that it was one of the Dames from yesterday. If they were battling one of Arthur’s knights, well… let’s just say that this was a show I simply could not refuse.

I took off towards the battle field, avoiding holes in the terrain sculpted from tent pitching during tournaments of the past. Finally I reached the scene and one of the knights swung their sword at the other, zipping over their head, nearly taking it off. In the process, the sword caught the tip of the knight’s helmet, knocking it to the ground to reveal Sir Gwaine looking frazzled as he fell backwards on his hind end. His opponent advanced on him, pressing a boot to his stomach and directing their sword to his chest, readily prepared to easily glide through his body to the other side had this been actual combat.

“Who…who are you?” Gwaine said, narrowing his eyes at the knight who had bested him.

“You mean you don’t recognize my combat style?” A female voice broke through the victor’s helmet, tilting her head to the side as she spoke. I knew it had to be one of the Dames.

“No… it can’t be.” Gwaine said, his eyes widening as the Dame reached for the neck of her helmet and yanked it off, shaking her long fiery auburn hair loose from its imprisonment within her armor as it fell around her shoulders, gleaming beautifully in the sunlight.

“Did you miss me Sir Gwaine?” Dame Jocosa asked him as she sheathed her sword and held out a gloved hand. Gwaine refused to take it and rolled over on all fours, pulling himself up from the ground. There must be some history between the two since the tensions were strong with this one and all hopes for a knight’s gallantry had just been assassinated.

“I had heard the army was going to gain new captains but I was unaware it would be you, Jacosa.” Sir
Gwaine spat out her name like it was foul. It made me even more anxious to find out just what this history was between them. Their energies were angry and yet almost intimate. I couldn’t help but feeling that though they appeared to resent one another, they cared more deeply for the other than they were even able to conceive.

“Well Gwaine, it seems you’re just going to have to get used to answering to girl… and being bested by one.” Jacosa retorted, grumbling the last part of her statement, though everyone could still hear what she had said.

“I will not yield to you Jacosa. Nor will I take it easy on you in the future.” Gwaine replied heavily.

“Well by the looks of your skills Sir Gwaine, you may not have a future in my army for too long.” She smirked at him. A low ‘ooooh’ sprang up amongst the small crowd of knights and servants. Arthur began a slow clap and everyone looked over at him and silence befell them all. Arthur’s clapping faded out and he shifted his eyes around and threw his hands up in surrender.

“What? The lady made a good point.” Arthur said, taking a step back. “Merlin! Get out here, it’s time for drill. Everybody form a line.” Arthur shouted, calling out his servant. Merlin came out of a tent that sat up near the castle with a large wooden shield in tow. My heart began to pick up pace and suddenly my stomach felt weird, doing flips and fluttering around as if a butterfly had made its nest within. I didn’t understand this strange feeling. My cheeks went hot and my palms began to sweat.

“Coming! Don’t get your armor in a twist.” Merlin commented as Arthur began to rush him, sword at the ready and he yelled his battle cry. Merlin flinched and threw up his shield in front of him, bracing himself for the impact. Arthur hammered the shield and Merlin stumbled backwards a few steps. He demonstrated this strike several times, causing Merlin to pant once he had finished. The knights lined up and one by one they laid waste to Merlin and his shield. Though he was pummeled by some very skilled swordsmen, I was quite impressed by the ground he had managed to hold. All the Knights of the Round Table only took him back by three feet, which was an accomplishment in my book.

“Nice job Merlin. You’re doing well.” Lancelot said after he had finished his turn beating Merlin mercilessly with his sword.

“Thank…thank you.” Merlin said between gasps for air, lowering his shield slightly only to quickly raise it again once Royse, Jacosa’s sister and co-captain of the army began her segment of the drill. She led with her wrist instead of her elbow, executing the move perfectly the first time around as the sword came down on the top of Merlin’s shield, just barely missing the top the of his head. I clapped my hands over my face, peering through my fingers in fear that he might get wounded out there.

“Very well done Dame Royse.” Arthur called out from the sidelines and Royse held up her sword in the air once she was finished in thanks for the king’s acknowledgement.

Gwaine began his portion of the drill as Royse stepped over to the side next to Arthur. Merlin shifted his wait, causing his target to move slightly. When Gwiane’s sword sliced down, it just barely grazed Merlin’s shield. Gwaine grunted and fixed himself, aiming for the middle of the shield once more, only to completely miss as Merlin took a step back to brace himself from the harshness of the upcoming blow.

“Would you quit moving, Merlin!” Gwaine growled, swing heavily and quickly at him once again, finally landing his target, causing Merlin to stumble backwards.

Gwaine stormed off the field in a frustrated manner as Dame Jacosa was the final knight to take her swing at poor Merlin. She lurched out, slicing Merlin’s upper arm with her sword. I gasped as I heard Merlin cry out in pain.

“Your target it the shield Jacosa, not Merlin!” Gwaine shouted to her.

“Oh shut it, you blind elderly man!” Jacosa yelled back to him, readjusting her stance and taking another swing at the shield. She hit it, but it grazed off the edge upon impact since she had hit Merlin’s injured side, causing his arm jerk back. Jacosa let out a battle cry and charged merlin but she completely missed the shield all together. Lancelot stepped away from the sidelines and came up behind her.

“My Lady, if I could, allow me to demonstrate a more effective execution in the highest respects.” Lancelot told her, coming up from behind and she stared intently at him, her cheeks growing crimson from exhaust and embarrassment. He wrapped his arms around her, placing one hand on her waist and one on her own hand holding her sword. He fixed his stance by weaving his feet through hers and this time when he guided her she nailed the target, causing Merlin to stumble once again and fall flat on his back and he shoved the shield off of him, laying there in pain.

I rushed to his side, holding in a giggle because the scene really was quite humorous. I kneeled down next to him, placing my hand beneath him, supporting his head. He looked up at me, his crystal blue eyes lighting up for a split second and then his expression changed to worry.

“Mystra? Why are you here? You’re not supposed to be here.” He questioned.

“Well, I heard the duel between Dame Jacosa and Sir Gwaine from the stables and I came to check it out. Is it so horrible to see me, Merlin?” I asked him and his eyes softened.

“No… no, don’t ever think that. I was just hoping to avoid you seeing me like this.” He smiled up at me and we both laughed.

“There, now that was better wasn’t it?” Lancelot asked Jacosa as she peered over her shoulder to meet his intense dark brown eyes. Her face turned a deeper shade of crimson and she shyly nodded without responding with any form of words. I could hear Gwaine scoff from the sidelines and I stood up, holding out a hand to help Merlin up. He smiled lightly at me, taking my hand and I pulled him to his feet. It appeared that I had pulled a little too hard and he was thrown off balance, knocking into me torso to torso. I was thrown off of balance as well and I found myself grabbing at Merlin for support and he caught me before I fell. He pulled me up against him and we paused for a moment, transfixed by the other’s gaze.

“Well Merlin, I didn’t know you and your apprentice had become… so close.” Athur’s voice broke through our concentration and we broke apart and I pursed my lips turning away and Merlin cleared his throat, rubbing the back of his neck in nervous fashion. “Perhaps Sir Lancelot, you may be able to aid Dame Jacosa in her techniques. I feel she would benefit greatly from you council. Would you be willing to practice with her a few times a week so that she may improve? While Jacosa may be a co-captain of my army, she has a ways to go in a few of these techniques as they are quite new to her.” Arthur said, turning to Lancelot who let go of Jacosa and took a few steps toward Arthur.

“My Lord, it would be an honor.” Lancelot bowed in acceptance to Arthur’s wager.

“She’s going to be taught by a knight who is below her rank?” Gwaine asked, chuckling at the very thought. Arthur turned to him with a chastened eye.

“And you Gwaine, will be taught by Royse since you need practice on that technique as well. You should glad, since she outranks you. You’ll meet here on this practice field, the four of you, multiple days a week, understood?” Arthur glanced back and forth between the four of them. The all bowed to him and the knights cleared the field, ending the day of practice. Merlin and I were the only remaining souls on the field. We stood there in silence before Merlin spoke.

“So… before we get started with training, we need to discuss the name you called me yesterday morning.” He said, taking a step towards me and adopting a serious expression on his face.

“Y-yes… well, I… I-“ I began but Merlin cut me off.

“You called me Emrys Mystra. How did you know about that name, or that I was he?” he asked me.

“I… well I… You see, I’m a druid. As you discovered yesterday, I do have magic and I was told of the prophecies through a dear friend.” I said, not lying to him, but not completely telling him the full details.

“A dear friend? Who was this dear friend? More importantly, why have you come to Camelot? What are your intentions while you are here?” Merlin asked, advancing on me I nearly tripped over the shield that lay on the ground from backing up out of intimidation. I didn’t fear Merlin, but he had a strong personality indeed.

“Kilgharrah. He’s …he’s known as the Great Dragon.” I replied.

“You know Kilgharrah?” he questioned.

“I’ve known him since I was a child. He used to tell me stories of the prophecies. And he would tell me that among those prophecies of you aiding Arthur in building Albion, I was supposed to be your partner. You are… my destiny Merlin, just as Arthur’s is yours.” I finally told him, practically shaking once I had finished my brief explanation.

“I’m your destiny?” Merlin’s eyes widened. In return I nodded and he turned his back to me, walking away. I was so scared of what could possibly be running through his mind right now. I hope he didn’t take me as a liar since I had not actually lied to him at all.

“Yes Merlin… I don’t know how or why the prophets chose me to help you help Arthur. But if I am to aid you in bringing about the world we all dream of, I had to come and seek you out. To tell you the truth, I had no idea upon meeting you that you were the one I sought. Don’t you see Merlin? It was fate that we ended up meeting on such terms.” I told him, hoping to coax him into accepting what I was telling him.

“How am I to be sure of any of this?” He fired off at me, turning around to face me.

“Well if you don’t believe me, perhaps Kilgharrah may be able to clear things up.” I said to him, letting out a quiet sigh.

“Yes… perhaps he may.” Merlin agreed before tilting his head back and shouting a powerful incantation to the sky. He then lowered his gaze back on me. In the distance I could hear a low flapping sound and I could tell it was Kilgharrah answering his call. He had summoned the Great Dragon?

“I had thought that only a true Dragon Lord was capable of summoning a dragon?” I questioned, looking into his eyes. He smirked at me before spoke.

“I am the last Dragon Lord.” He answered.