Dreams of Hardovia and The Green Throne (Part 1)

3: Lost in Someone's Body

Lost in Someone's Body

A purple light emerged beside a tree. The light quickly dwindled, and it cast off a man. He stumbled down the slope, yelping at the tree growing in a mound. He hardly stood from the ground — enduring the pain from almost his entire body. After he got back to his senses, he observed the place.

"Where am I?" He asked and gazed to his side. "Where are we, Mer —"

He paused out of shock when he realized he was talking to no one. He turned back and jerked his head in every direction, but still — no Merlin could be seen. He started looking around, but then he realized he was moving on his own. It wasn't Arthur who was in control of the body. It was Philip.

"Oh my god! Where am I? Who am I?" Philip yelled in panic.

He gaped at his hands as if he had never had those before. Philip started clenching his fist and tried punching it in the air. He slapped his face, and it hurt him. He's now satisfied that he is truly in control.

"Okay, this isn't a dream. These are... real. The whole damn dreams are real. So it means I'm Arthur? Or living inside Arthur? But I'm in control, so Arthur is living inside me." Philip murmured while still in panic mode. "

The situation bewildered Philip. He even placed his right hand on his chest's left part and felt his heart.... beating. But how? How could this happen? Those are the few questions that Philip asks himself. After the moment of realization, the young man rambled on. The blue and sunny sky he can see, the scent of something edible he can smell, the warm breeze of the winds Philip can feel, and the indecent chattering he can hear are all absolute.

"Oh no, please. This can't be real. I can't be here. Please take me back. The wizard! That's right, Merlin. He should be here. We are together... in the woods... at a... cliff. My dream was blurry at that moment. Merlin said we have to jump... I mean, Merlin said it to Arthur as Arthur. Did we jump? Shit! This can't be happening. If I happen to be here, it's... it could be the teleportation. Yeah, that's it. It means Arthur and Merlin teleported, or Merlin teleported me. But why am I alone?" — Philip thought hard — "Oh my god! Merlin doesn't know how to teleport yet. Arthur mentioned it in a dream... at the library."

The teleportation wasn't as successful as Merlin believed it would be. Because of the pressure from the scene back in the woods and it was the young wizard's first time casting a teleportation spell — they landed in different spots. Never knowing where would each other be?

"Merlin, where are you?" he yelled out of nowhere. "I'm in the body of another man... and alone. Yeah, this is a great way to start a journey in a magical world, damn it." He mumbled.

Philip followed the noise, walked through a dusky alley, and found himself in an open space. He stood to the side and observed the people who were all busy. They wore no typical dress — for Philip's world. Buyers ambled in each stall, but most were on the ground. Full of foods such as fruits and vegetables placed on a rack of each kind. Fresh meat like pork, chicken, lamb, fish, and many more were hung on hooks. There was processed meat that looked salted and placed on the table. He noticed most consumers and the sellers carried a brown pouch tied on their waits with a straw or clothing piece. It was where they put their money. They used gold coins as their payment. All coins have the same size, so the variation in the charges depends on the amount of gold.

"It's a market.... Like a medieval market. And I don't have any money with me. I'm starting to feel like I'm in a curse." he mumbled as Philip noticed nothing was dangling in his waist.

The tiger in Philip's stomach roared as he saw those foods, but the feeling amazed him again. A loud yell from a trader calling out his wares shocked him, and he began stepping ahead. He had no knowledge of where to go, but one thing was for sure — he must digest something edible to stay alive. The discomfort wrapped around Philip when people started jerking their heads to him and away as he passed. They shoot deadly glares at Philip as if he did something awful. After a while, Philip noticed that his clothing differed from the others. He wore a knee-length royal blue tunic with a short slit in the leg, buckled by a leather belt, and barely visible white trousers because of his high brown leather boots. Philip's clothing was much more decent than the other males, only a brown tunic paired with worn-out-looking leggings and funny-looking shoes — not knowing what it is called. Women wore long simple gowns with sleeveless tunics, and they mostly carried small baskets with goods hooked by their arms. He didn't notice his outfit in the first dream. Maybe because that was Arthur in control.