Chapter 21.
After magic, sword, and archery training (I had just started archery lessons), I was exhausted. But for some mysterious reasons, I wasn’t able to find sleep. Maybe I had too much on my mind. Ok, it was surely that. I was thinking of Morgana and the grail, wondering what she would do next, who was the traitor that gave her information, and how was everything going to end. Would we win? Or lose? Because the only way to win was for Morgana and Mordred to die.
I had to stop thinking about it. I couldn’t do a thing about it right now. So, I got up and went to stretch my legs. Since I loved gardens, I headed in that direction. I loved walking around at night, watching the moon shine in the sky and feeling the wind on my skin.
Then someone bumped into me, bringing me back to reality.
“Avalon, I did not see you. I must apologize,” said a familiar voice.
I looked up to see who had spoken. Arthur was standing there, worried that he had hurt me somehow.
“Do not worry, I was deep in my thoughts,” I replied.
“Something troubling you?” he asked me.
“The usual. I was thinking about the Grail, Morgana and Mordred,” I confessed.
“Yes, I get it. It is hard to think about something else these days.”
“Yes, that is why I wanted to clear my head in the gardens. What about you?”
“It was the garden of my mother, I like to spend time here,” he explained.
“It is beautiful,” I replied, looking at the flowers nearby.
The silence fell. But it wasn’t an awkward one. We just walked side by side, looking at the magnificent blooms along the way.
“I wanted to talk to you,” blurred out Arthur after this moment of silence.
“Yes, my lord?”
“Loose the lord, please. I just want to be Arthur with you,” he said with so much seriousness that I raised my head to look at him.
He gazed at me with such intensity I couldn’t put my eyes away from his. He took my hand, and I could feel every nerve of my body waking up at his touch.
“Arthur,” I whispered.
“Avalon,” he murmured back, his eyes still plunged into mine. “I need to confess something.”
“Yes?” I said breathless because he was so close to me.
We could breathe the same air. I could feel my heart racing with every touch we shared.
“When I saw those stones falling on you the other day, I thought you were going to die. And I was terrified. The thought of losing you is intolerable. You see I... I...”
I was captivated by his words. I hadn’t seen Arthur this vulnerable before. It shook something in me.
“I know it is strange, but I feel like I have known you forever, even if we did not spend a lot of time together,” he admitted. “It feels like a link between us two.”
I didn’t know what to say to him, except that I understood. I felt it, the link between him and I, but I thought it was only me who was feeling this way. I thought it was because I loved the Arthurian legend. And it started the day I arrived here, in Camelot.
“You do not have to respond. It is a strange thing to say, I am aware. I just wanted you to know,” the young man continued. “I can feel this connection every time you are near me because my heart races and…”
And I kissed him. I put my lips on his and one thing after another, we kissed as if our lives depended on it. It was sweet and deep at the same time. His touch was soft and gentle. His kisses were like billions of butterflies exploding in my stomach. It was wonderful and magical. And I wanted more. I needed more. His kisses were like magnets, pulling me for more, again and over again.
But reality overtook me. I couldn’t kiss him. It wasn’t right. We weren’t from the same era, and I lied to him every day. If he knew I had magic, he would have had me killed, I reminded myself. No matter how good it felt, I had to stop this. So, I did the only thing I could do. I broke up the kiss.
“I am sorry, I cannot do this. I am truly sorry,” I said, leaving with tears in my eyes.
Because for the first time, I wasn’t lying to him. I was telling the truth and it was crushing me.
Chapter 22.
The day after, the king convocated all of us for a war meeting. Apparently, he had some important information to share. Thus, I followed Lily to the Round Table room, which was already full of knights. I found Merlin at his place on the table and like the other day, I stood beside him.
But then, I looked at Arthur and guilt rushed over me. I could see in his eyes that I had hurt him. And I was so pissed at me for it. But he couldn't find out why I had done all that. For all our sakes.
That was why I didn’t want to come to this meeting. I couldn’t face him. However, I went anyway because, well, the war was coming. And we needed everyone and every force possible to win it.
“We will establish our camp on Camlann. It offers us the advantage of seeing our enemies come from miles away. We will take cover under the mountains and wait for them to come to us. Then, we will attack,” explained the king.
The knights were all listening carefully to every word Arthur spoke. They were establishing the best strategy for the battle to come. I had to say that it startled me. It was making it so real. I have never been in a fight before, not along a war, and I was really scared.
“We will need to divide into groups, one on each end to cover and encircle them as soon as they arrive on Camlann,” added Arthur, showing his strategy on a map.
“We still need to discuss the matter of the Grail. Morgana will be more powerful than she had ever been. It will be hard to face her,” replied Merlin. “And with Mordred by her side, who knows what they intend to do. Mordred is less powerful than her, since he has less magic, but he is still a great warrior and sorcerer.”
“I will take care of them,” said Arthur.
“Alone?” I let out without thinking.
I saw every head turn in my directions. My cheeks started to burn under their look.
“Of course not, it would be suicide. I will be accompanied by my best warriors and Merlin, of course,” the king responded angrily.
Ok, he was really mad at me. But who could blame him?
I let him continue his battle strategy without saying anything else. But I listened carefully. I didn’t even know if Arthur would let me join the fight. Yes, I was afraid, but I couldn't stand by and do nothing either. I wanted to fight by his side even though at the moment I wasn't his favorite person.
They continued on for hours, overseeing every possible detail about what could possibly happen. It was all very meticulous. But that could save lives.
At a certain point, Arthur dismissed the council. And I was about to leave as well, along the other knights when the king called me back. To be honest, it frightened me. I started to imagine what he wanted to tell me. Maybe he intended to banish me from Camelot. Or worse, to throw me in prison. Oh my god, I wouldn’t stand a day in there.
But as I turned toward him, I saw that Merlin was here too. I released a sigh of relief.
“As you are the only one aware of it, we need to discuss the matter of the traitor,” said Arthur in a harsh tone.
“Well, we can already establish a list since it happened during the quest,” replied Merlin with calm. “It can be either the knights who accompanied us or Milady Iseult.”
“It cannot be her,” I said with conviction. “Not after what his majesty did for her. She told me about it.”
“We cannot know for sure. But I agree, she is less likely to pull it off, and so is Tristan,” acknowledged Arthur.
“Then it only leaves Sire Galahad, Sire Bohort, Sire Perceval and Sire Gwaine,” pointed the warlock.
God knew I had my suspicion on one of them.
“Yes, and at any moment, one of them can reveal to Morgana our plan,” added Arthur. “That is why we are here today. To counter the plan.”
“How?” I asked.
“We will let the knights encircle the enemies, but they will be less than expected. Each of us has to lead a group and confront Morgana’s army while Merlin and I will face Morgana and Mordred with some other knights. I am the only one who can alter her spell.”
“Really?”
“Yes, it is the magic in Excalibur that protects me. And Merlin has also a certain resistance to magic, do not ask me why. Even he does not know,” said Arthur with laughter in his voice.
“Ok, so we keep an eye on the knights while you both face Morgana and Mordred,” I repeated.
“Exactly,” nodded Merlin.
“Perfect, we shall win the war!” exclaimed Arthur.
Chapter 23.
We had set up camp at midnight. We travelled to Camlann fast, so as not to be seen. It was cold outside, just like the general mood. We all knew what was to come. For some, it was their last days. And I wondered what would happen to me if I died. Would I return to the present? Would I die here without my family ever knowing? Oh god, that was horrible to think about.
We didn’t sleep much and at dawn, we were all ready to confront whatever threats Morgana and Mordred had prepared. We were just waiting for them. And that was the most awful thing to do. The waiting was getting on our nerves, making us all anxious and weary. I was keeping myself busing, watching out for the traitor but the four knights were here, waiting like the rest of us.
“Here,” yelled someone.
We all turned in the direction the man was pointing. And indeed, we could see a cavalry rushing towards us with all kinds of weapons. I took my bow, (I had made good progress since my first training) and shot a few arrows. Most of them found their targets. But soon, my bow was no longer of any use to me. The enemies were too close for me to reach them. So, I drew my sword. I had been training with a real one since I got back from the quest. I just hoped it would be enough.
Arthur shouted his orders, and he and Merlin went into battle, each with a group of knights in one direction. Soon everyone was fighting, and I couldn't see where my friends were. I could only hear screams and sounds of struggle and swords. I fought as best that I could, but I had to face it. Without magic, I would have already died.
I needed to find Arthur. The prophecy and Merlin’s warning in mind, I pushed my way through the crowd with determination, using spells to help me.
There were bodies and blood everywhere. It was already a carnage without even Morgana or Mordred on the battlefield. But Merlin was powerful too, I reminded myself to calm my nerves. I had to keep faith.
And then, I saw her. Morgana. I had have heard she was pretty, but her description was not proper. She was the most beautiful woman I had ever seen. She had a porcelain skin, with a flamboyant hair of a copper color which suited her perfectly. Her emerald eyes glowed with anger as she unleashed her power. In some ways, I could see the resemblance with Arthur. They had similar features like strong cheekbones and a luscious mouth.
Suddenly I felt a strong wind blowing me away. It could have smashed me if I hadn't had the impulse to protect myself. But Morgana was too strong, and her blast still hit me. I found myself on the ground, breathless from its force. It took me some time till I catch my breathe again and stood on my legs. I felt weaker and tired, having to put effort just in doing those things. I never felt like that before.
The good news was that Morgana’s magic defeated everyone, including her army. I guessed she didn’t care.
In the distance, I could see Merlin approaching her, with some knights still standing facing guards. I sighed in relief as I was glad to see he was still alive. However, I could not see Arthur with him. Where the hell was he?
Having a bad feeling, I actively looked for him. I turned in every direction to find him, without ever seeing him. My heart began to beat harder and faster. I began to tremble with fear that something had happened. Then I saw him. He was on a hill, heading west, Excalibur in his right hand. He was alive. Tears of joy began to roll down my cheeks. Then I saw who was standing in front of him. Mordred. And suddenly my whole body tensed up.
Mordred also exuded power. He had jet black hair that contrasted with his tan skin. He was holding a pure white sword and I could hear the magic in it.
Suddenly, I had visions of what was to come. Arthur fighting Mordred, managing to fend off his magical and frontal attacks with his sword. But finally, Mordred managing to hit Arthur in the stomach. The latter collapsed, blood oozing from his chain mail.
Oh my god, it was how Arthur would meet his end, by the arm of Mordred just like in the legend. But I was here now, and I wouldn’t let that happen. I rushed to them as fast as I could, when Sire Gwaine arrived towards me, pointing his sword at me.
Chapter 24.
“Not so fast, milady,” Sire Gwaine said to me, his weapon to my face.
“Gwaine, stand aside now,” I yelled.
“I do not think so.”
“What? Why?” I asked him bewildered.
“There is absolutely no way you are saving Arthur,” he replied with anger.
And then I realized my mistake. Percival had never been the traitor, no, it was Gwaine all along. But I didn’t understand why. Gwaine was always so nice to me and to the king. Why would he ever do that?
“You are the traitor,” I said.
It wasn’t a question, but Gwaine nodded anyway.
“But why?” I continued.
“Ahahahah, it is the best question, is it not? You see, my mother has suffered enough by the hand of the Pendragons, and she wants her revenge,” he said.
“Your mother?” I replied. “Your mother is Morgana?”
“You do not understand quickly. Yes, my mother is Morgana, which makes Arthur my uncle. But Mordred is not my father. I told you the truth at the celebration dinner. My father was a knight of Camelot and my mother fell in love with him, before he was killed by Uther,” he explained with rage in his voice.
I was shocked by what I had learned. But at the same time, it explained why Gwaine look so much like the king. I had so many questions. However, I didn’t had time, I needed to rescue Arthur.
“So, you retrieved the grail. How?” I asked anyway, trying to see how to bypass him.
“With magic, of course. If Arthur was not so against it, he would have noticed. It was a simple spell really. I just made the cup invisible and took it after everyone else left. The best lies are half-truths, and the best hiding places are right under people’s noses.”
I felt so foolish not to have noticed it, that it was him all along, that he had magic. But he was always so nice, to everyone. And I couldn't believe that I had suspected dear Percival, who had done nothing wrong. I was bummed. But I wasn't going to let Gwaine ruin my mood. I had a mission to accomplish.
Thus, I struck. I couldn’t win a sword fight against him, he was a knight of Camelot after all. Well, not really anymore but he had knowledge about battles that I didn’t. So, I used magic against him, knowing he possessed some as well. However, I had been training with the best sorcerer ever and that gave me the advantage.
“Who knew you had powers too? And I am the liars!” he exclaimed. “Why do you stay with Arthur? He will have you killed!”
“I do not care,” I said to my own surprise. “You do not understand what is at stake here. Arthur needs to be saved.”
And I blasted him with all my powers. I threw spell after spell at him. He tried to block me with every way he could, but maybe it was because I was more powerful, or because he had less practice, but my magic sent him to the ground. He was breathless.
I took pity on him and decided to leave him here on the ground. As I started to go up on the hill where Arthur was still facing Mordred, I felt a cold pain on my left. I turned around to see that Gwaine had taken advantage of this moment to strike me with his sword while my back was turned. The bastard. Warm blood was starting to run down my skin and armor. The ache woke up and I let out a scream. Both of pain and anger. He was about the strike again. He left his sword up. I closed my eyes, knowing my end was near.
At this moment, I heard a huge blast. I quickly opened my eyelids to see Merlin unleashing his power, taking out every guard in front of him. Then, he turned to Morgana. Fear could be seen on her face. Good.
Gwaine was shocked too. And it gave me the time to end this.
“QUOD LUX ERAT,” I shouted my palms turned to him.
It lasted only seconds. He turned his head towards me, the terror on his face as if he knew what would happen. And a few instants later, he was gone. Only dust remained after him. I did not stay there to torment myself about the fate I had given him and continued to climb the hill, to join Arthur as soon as possible.
Chapter 25.
I put my best effort to climb and climb again until I reached Arthur and Mordred. The wind was blowing like crazy, not helping since it was against me. But I didn’t stop. I just turned to look if Merlin was alright, and I saw him fighting with Morgana, magic against magic. I hadn’t had any vision about him, so I tried not to worry too much. During the last yards, I ran as fast as I could and finally reached the top.
Knights were fighting against guards down below. I couldn’t see if we were outnumbered or not.
I had to concentrate. I had to find Arthur no matter what. But the moment I turned to him, my vision came true. I was too late.
"NO!!!" I screamed at the top of my voice.
At the same time, several things happened. As Mordred drew his sword toward Arthur to impale his belly, Arthur counterattacked, stabbing Excalibur right through his heart. The wind began to blow harder and harder as a bolt of lightning swept across the battlefield. I turned to the apparition to see that Merlin was controlling it and blasting Morgana with it. The latter was thrown away and never got up again.
Then, Arthur fell on the ground. I rushed toward him and caught him before he reached the soil.
“Arthur,” I said, holding him, tears falling off my eyes. “No Arthur, stay with me, stay with me!”
An instant later, Merlin was by my side. I didn’t know how he done it, but I really didn’t care at that moment.
“What happen?” he asked me.
“Arthur… Arthur was facing Mordred. And suddenly, he…”
I couldn’t finish. It was too hard. Arthur couldn’t die. No! Even the prophecy said he would be reborn again on the isle of Avalon.
“The Prophecy!” I yelled.
“What about it?” Merlin questioned. “We need to help Arthur right now, not dwell on a prophecy.”
“But Merlin, your prophecy said clearly ‘Arthur will be reborn on the island of Avalon’. I remembered it now. Arthur needs to go on the isle of Avalon. It is where he will heal. It is what the legend about you says.”
“Really? But the isle is far from here. By horses, it is at least two days travel.”
“He will not last that long, Merlin,” I replied, still holding Arthur is my arms, keeping his eyes open.
“Then what did the prophecy mean?”
“I do not know. It is your prophecy, not mine.”
That silenced us both. We needed to think, fast. Arthur didn’t have long. It was only a matter of minutes, just like…
“Oh my god, I know!” I exclaimed myself.
Why didn’t I think about it sooner? It was so obvious. I was dumb. So dumb.
“Prophecy cannot be read literally, Merlin.”
“What do you mean?” he asked, looking intensely at me.
“I am the isle. My name is Avalon,” I explained to him, seeing his bewildered face. “And I came here for a reason. The legend said Arthur will be reborn, and it usually happens in the modern life, during my period, my era. That is why I time travelled here. To time travelled back with Arthur, on my time, my present, and to heal him. My present can offer resources you don’t have to save his life. This is how I can help.”
“So, you need to time travel back with Arthur.”
“Yes, but you can come with us.”
“No, I cannot. Somebody needs to stay here and hold the fort. As Arthur has no heir, I must stay to Camelot. I will say Arthur is dead and you went back to the Franc kingdom,” he explained to me as I didn’t not understand.
“But people saw you use magic!”
“I know and I can deal with it. Remember, I am the most powerful wizard that ever walk the earth,” he said, echoing my words. “And Morgana and Mordred are both dead, so things would get easier now.”
“Ok, if you say so. By the way, the traitor was Gwaine. He was Morgana’s son,” I told him.
“That would explain a lot of things, starting with his resemblance with Arthur,” he only replied. “Well, hurry up. You need to save Arthur!”
“I know but… I will miss you Merlin,” I said, my voice shaking with emotions.
“Me too, I was honored to have met you Avalon,” he answered back, giving me a hug.
“A last advice before I go?” I asked him.
“Do not forget the prophecy. I have the feeling the journey will not end here.”
I smiled at him. I wanted to remember his face, full of wisdom. Then, I closed my eyes and focused on the task at hand. I thought about the present. My present, where my family was waiting for me. I thought about the day I time travelled. What I was doing just before that. I thought about Arthur and his injury. And suddenly, a small breeze touched me. It was delicate and familiar. I opened my eyelids and I saw a very recognizable place. Finally, I had returned home.
Photo Credits: Pinterest
Comments