Chapter 5.
After a disaster beginning, I finally started to have a handle of the horse I was riding. I lost the habits of riding, and Merlin had to teach it to me all over again. The horse was nice though. It didn’t move an inch while I was trying to go on it. And he was pretty, with his caramel shade.
Merlin and I rode over to the place I arrived yesterday, but we found nothing. No trace of magic, no clue to why I was here, nor did we know how much time I was going to be here. It was a concerning question, because I could leave at any moments, and it would be pretty hard to explain, especially if I vanished in front of people.
So, we went to the limits of Camelot, deep into the forest, to isolate ourselves as best we can. It was the time to learn a little bit of magic, if Merlin’s theory was right of course. Because even if I could acknowledge the fact that I landed here, having magic is such a hard thought to process.
“So, first you will have to listen to my every single word. Magic can be very dangerous in the wrong or beginner hands,” Merlin explained. “You will need to be very careful every time you think about using it. Magic comes with a cost. It takes your all soul and your entire energy, especially the first time. You will feel sore tonight, no matter what happen. Do you follow what I say?”
“Yes, every word.”
“Good. Let’s continue. We will start off with the basics: the fourth elements. There are the easiest kind of magic, because when you will have enough practice, it will come naturally and without any incantations.”
“Oh okay, that’s cool. Because to be honest, remembering incantations is not my thing, I can even remember a single poem I learnt in my childhood.”
“I did not understand it all but no matter. So first, do you feel any connection with an element? One that you prefer, perhaps?”
“I like water,” I said.
“Fantastic, let’s start with water. Do you know how to swim?”
“Yes, why?” I asked, not seeing the relevance of this question.
“Just in case,” he answered.
Ok, I had a wrong feeling about that lesson. What kind of dangers was he thinking about? Could he not use his magic in case I do something completely wrong? I was not reassured, to be honest. Not at all!
“The first thing to know about magic is that to conjure it, you will need its name in Latin. Water is ‘aqua’. Try it,” Merlin said.
“Okay, so I just have to say it.”
“Yes. Think about water and say the word in your mind.”
Okay, that I could do. Thinking and saying. I closed my eyes and I thought about a river, trying to hear the sounds of water dripping down. Then, I whispered the word in my mind. I opened my eyes to see what had happened, but nothing had changed.
“It didn’t work,” I said.
“Try again.”
So, I repeated the actions. Multiple times but nothing happened. I was really trying. Maybe I wasn’t meant for this.
“You are not trying enough,” Merlin replied.
“Yes, I am.”
“No. You think you have no magic, so it will not work. You need to deal with the blocking around your head.”
“Well, I can barely believe that I am here, in the past. No wonder I don’t believe I am that extraordinary. So no, maybe I have no bloody magic. Have you considered that?” I asked.
“It is not possible.”
“Why?”
“Because you time-travelled.”
“And?” I said, trying to see his point.
“And time-travel is one of the most powerful magic of all. I do not believe someone send you, so it must have come from you, which can only mean that you are a witch, and a powerful one at that.”
What he was asking me was beyond my control. I never saw magic before, how could I have done this. I know I was proof, so has Merlin standing beside me, but knowing to do that would change my life forever. The way I see the world, the way I was living it, the way I saw my family. Because, if I could manage to do it, then I would mean that either my family has magic, either I was… I couldn’t even say it. I loved my family, very much. I didn’t want them not to be in my life, or not in my family anymore.
“Listen, not a lot of warlocks can time-travel, however, you did, that means something.”
“But I didn’t even do magic before that moment, and I don’t know how I did it, if I did it. How can I do magic?”
“By believing in yourself. Breathe and focus. And believe. Without belief, nothing can be achieved,” Merlin encouraged me.
So, I closed my eyes, I took a deep breath and let every thought go out of my mind. I focused on seeing what I wanted to do with water, on believing I could manage to do magic. I kneeled down, putting my hands on the ground trying to feel the morning dew. I could sense it. So, I centered on it and imagined the drops could move and fly around us. I kept this vision going. In my head, I could see the water floating.
“Avalon, look” I heard Merlin say.
I opened my eyes. What I saw was incredible. Magical. All around Merlin and I, there was little drops of water everywhere, floating in the wind, reflecting the sun. It looked like stars shining in the sky. It was so beautiful I could not keep my eyes away.
“You did it. You did magic!” said Merlin with such enthusiasm.
At that moment, I realized that I did this amazing thing. That I could actually move water. That magic can be wonderful. That I could create such a vison, and maybe more. And I did it without pronouncing the word in Latin. I could feel my heart fill with joy.
“You could be proud of yourself,” Merlin told me.
“I am. Thank you Merlin. You believed in me, and I have succeeded. I could not do it without you,” I replied thankfully.
“Now, we will continue you training. First, you will learn word in Latin, then practice. We still have 2 hours to go.”
Great, I thought. I knew I did magic, but repeating it was going to be hard. I was already tired. But, at least, I believed now, and I was excited to learn more.
Chapter 6.
After spending hours trying to repeat what I did, we returned to the castle. I was so tired that my only thought was going to rest in my bed. But karma had other plans for me. I was intercepted on my way to my room by a young man in a weird uniform.
“Milady, the king is expecting you in the great hall,” delivered the servant.
“Oh, okay,” I replied, a little caught off guard.
“I will see you tonight, Milady,” said Merlin, taking my hand in his, to do a baisemain. “Would you accompany Miss Avalon, Nicolas?”
“Yes, it will be my pleasure.”
I said my goodbyes to Merlin and followed the young man. He must have been 14 or 15. How could a teenager end up working in a castle? I wondered.
“How did you end up here, Nicolas?” I asked him.
“His majesty hired me.”
“But you are so young,” I said.
“I am 15, Milady. Usually, servants start working at 13, or 12,” he told me.
“Really?”
“Yes, Milady. And the king is the kindest. He recruited me, and other fellow orphans, to work here and gave us a place to sleep and eat. And I like working in the castle,” he explained. “We have arrived, Milady.”
Then he bowed and left. I didn’t even had time to say anything else. He was already gone, doing another chore, I guessed.
Indeed, I arrived in front of a beautiful wooden door, guarded by two men. They were wearing an armor and a sword on their hips. They were really focus on guarding the gate.
“You can enter, Milady. The king awaits,” say one of them, before opening the door.
I entered the room. It was a big place, made of rocks like most of the castle. But this hall breathed majesty. It was full of tapestry in gold and velvet, of nice and clean furniture and of course, a magnificent throne. But the king wasn’t sitting on it. No, he was waiting for me, pacing up and down in front of me.
“You ask to see me, sire?” I asked in a shy voice.
“Yes. I wanted to see how you were accommodating to your new situation,” he answered, stopping his pacing.
“Oh, everything is fine, sire. More than fine. Thank you for your kindness,” I felt obligated to add.
“Is miss Lily taking care of you?”
“Yes, she is very nice, sire. Thank you again.”
“Stop thanking me, please. The friends of Merlin are friends of me,” he said. “Miss Lily will serve you as servant and chaperon. She will accompany you for every occasion that you seek. Do not hesitate to ask her for anything.”
“Oh, that is very kind of her, and you, sire.”
“She likes you, I can sense it. I wanted to talk to you about this morning. Did you find any clue during your search?”
“No, unfortunately. There was nothing to see. Everything seemed normal, sire,” I responded.
This interrogation was making me very nervous. I didn’t know what to say, or how to say it without giving away my discomfort or the fact that I was not from this period.
“I am sure we will figure it out. But in the meantime, I would like to be part of my court, be there at my table, for the balls and any events organized in the city. Can I count on you?”
“Sure, absolutely sire. I will be delighted to be part of the Camelot court,” I said.
“Great. It will start tonight, with a ball in your honor,” he declared casually.
“What?” I let go. “Do not worry, my king. I do not need a ball.”
I really didn’t need to be dancing at a ball where I didn’t know any traditions or behaviors. I was so screwed. People will see right through me when they will see me dancing.
“It is not everyday that I get to welcome a lady from the Franc kingdom,” he replied. “The question is settled. Everything is prepared for tonight. I will present you to the court, to the other lady and my knights. I will let you prepare.”
I let me go, so that I could get ready for tonight, but I could hardly move. How could I when I was in shock? How could I think that I could stay here without anyone noticing that I don't fit here?
As I was walking out of the throne room, I searched for a way to counter this ball. I needed a plan. But as I thought more and more about it, an idea popped into my mind. I didn’t need a plan. No. I needed to find Merlin.
Chapter 7.
After endless hours of rehearsing the protocol, the etiquette and, of course, the danse of the court with Merlin, I was finally ready to put up with this masquerade. Hopefully, I will make no mistake, and no one will think I am a strange person coming from the future.
As I entered the ball, with Lily next to me (she was following my every move since I returned to my chamber, and I was not accustomed to it), I could see lights everywhere, people with dresses like mine, full of ribbons and frills. The room was even bigger than any other I’ve visited. I could see beautiful candelabras everywhere, large windows to the outside and … food! Unfortunately, Merlin didn’t say anything about that. Should I eat? Or is it against the etiquette? Since I didn’t know, I continue walking around the room.
“Milady,” I heard of voice behind me.
I turned back to find the king addressing to me. He was handsome with his royal attire, full of red velvet and gold ornaments. He was standing next to a crowd of knights in chain mail.
“Yes, my lord,” I answered. “Thank you for this beautiful evening.”
“I am delighted of your appreciation. I wanted you to meet my most courageous knights,” he said turning to his men. “Here is Sire Perceval.”
A tall man took a step forward. He was nice looking, but did not have the charm of the king, though. He had blond cut short hair, an elongated face, and a body full of muscle.
“Milady,” said the knights, taking my hand in his to give me a baisemain.
“Nice to meet you, sire,” I replied.
“As well.”
“Sire Gwaine,” introduced King Arthur.
A second man came to give me a baiseman. He had brown hair, with electric blue eyes. The way he stood made me think of the way stood Arthur. In some ways, the two men resembled each other.
“Finally, here is Sire Tristan.”
“Glad to finally meet you,” said Sire Tristan, with a smile. “The king could not keep quiet about you”.
I could definitively see that Sire Tristan was the funny one of the band.
“Stop talking nonsense, Tristan,” replied Arthur, walking towards me. “Let’s open the ball, shall we?”
“Wait? What? With me?” I asked, astonished.
“Yes, you are the lady of honor, tonight. It is the tradition to open the ball with me. Shall we?” he repeated.
“Yes, we shall your highness,” I replied, completely bewildered.
I reached my hand and draw me closer to the center of the hall, where people made room for us to pass. I could sense every eye on my back, which made me very uncomfortable. Once we arrived, Arthur turned to face me, and I heard a beautiful music starting in the back. And we danced. At first, it was a little awkward but finally, I let myself get loose and enjoy. Dancing with Arthur was incredible. I stared at his magnificent eyes.
“I am very glad you like the ball,” he said. “Merlin told me you like dancing.”
“Oh really,” was all I can say.
Yes, I told Merlin I liked dancing, but I also told him I didn’t know the kind of dance they were doing here. Because dancing in 2021 is completely different from what I was doing now.
“What else did he say about me, if I may ask?”
“Nothing much. He said you are very kind and funny, that you used to play with him when he travelled in the Franc kingdom,” Arthur replied.
I didn’t know what to answered to that. Luckily, a strange noise resonating in the room kept me from responding.
“What is that awful noise?” I asked.
“Milady, I must go,” said the king. “We are under attack.”
What? Under attack? By whom?
“Merlin! Merlin!” he shouted. “Take Miss Avalon with you, and the other ladies. You know what to do.”
It was a rush. People were running around while the knights and the king went out to meet the danger. Meanwhile Merlin was pushing me forward to another room, where he barricaded the rest of the court.
“Merlin, what the hell is happening?”
“We are under attack,” he answered.
“Yes, but by whom?”
“Morgana!”
“How is this even possible? Don’t you have guards to prevent this situation?” I asked.
“Yes, but she is very powerful, do not ever forget that.”
“More powerful than you?”
“That I do not know,” Merlin said sadly.
That wasn’t reassuring at all. I never lived that kind of situation before. Were we just supposed to sit and wait? What about…
“Lily? Where is Lily?” I shouted.
“I am here, miss,” I heard a voice say.
“Thank god,” I said once I saw her.
I hugged her, relieved she was here with me. She was my only female friend. And let’s be honest, without her, in this era, I wouldn’t stand a chance to survive.
“What are we going to do now?” I asked Merlin. “Aren’t you supposed to be with Arthur?”
“He specifically asked me to watch over his people and you.”
“But…”
I was not able to finish my sentence. Why? Because the door was being pushed from the other side. We could all hear it crack. Soon, we would be invaded by Morgana’s men, and it would be a slaughter.
“Run!” screamed Merlin. “Avalon, you have to run.”
Chapter 8.
It was absolute chaos. The doors were wide open, with men coming out of it and killing people of the court. And I could do nothing. Merlin told me to run, but run where? I didn’t know the castle. The enemies were everywhere. And I lost both Merlin and Lily. Clearly, I didn’t know what to do, but I couldn’t stay in this room. So, I ran.
There were bodies on the ground. I didn’t know if they were alive or dead. My heart was pounding, I could hardly breath. This was a nightmare.
I turned a corner and with my chance, I fell upon Morgana’s men. I wanted to turn around and run but by the time I came with this idea, I was surrounded. To be honest, I was really scared. But I couldn’t stay like this, doing nothing. If I had to die, I would die fighting. Except, I had no weapon beside my legs and my arms, which could not match to their swords. To their big bad shinning swords full of human blood. Oh my god, I was so going to die!
Well, maybe not. I could think of something. And I really, really hoped it would work.
“You want to fight!” I yelled at them. “Let’s fight!”
That had for effect that they rushed towards me, pointing me with their weapons.
“Please work, please work, please work,” was I praying.
I had to wait until they were close enough for it to operate. And then…
“LUX!” I screamed.
And light came pouring out of my hands, just like I imagined it. Thanks to Merlin, I knew a few words in Latin. However, it worked a little too well. The warriors were starting to burn. And as for me, I was taken aback. I tried to undo my spell with water but no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t make it happen. So, I ran. Again. Far from here.
I ran until my legs were sore. And then, I fell on my knees and cried. I stopped when I heard a scream in the room next to me. My surviving skills catching up to me, I stand up and approached toward the noise. I saw Sire Tristan fighting two men at once, with a third coming up behind him. Without thinking, I took a sword laying on the ground and slayed the third man. He fell on the ground the second after. Sire Tristan turned to me, looking surprised.
“You saved me!” he said, thankful.
I didn’t have time to respond, as other enemies were arriving to face us. Sire Tristan was a really good swordsman and he took care of almost every foe, without having a single injury. He was graceful in his gestures, knew when and where to attack. It was compelling.
“Avalon, behind you!” he screamed, looking at me with fear in his eyes.
But I was too late, and the only thing I remembered before completely blacking out, was an elbow in my face.
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