Merlyn's Only Hope

Le Morte d'Arthur P2

Merlyn had just finished saddling her horse, or at least, the one she'd 'borrowed' from the stables. She stroked its long nose almost absentmindedly, admiring the black colour, the fur shining like the night sky absent of stars. It was a strange thought, that even as she headed to her fate, the sky would live on. These people would live on, even her horse. The world wouldn't stop just because her blood had run cold.

"Here, you'll need this." Gaius' voice broke her away from her thoughts. He handed her a map, the edges singed, the brown paper obviously ancient. Merlyn wondered how the physician had kept it hidden from Uther for so long.

"And I came to give you this." It was a small package, wrapped with brown twine. "My mother gave it to me."

The physician placed the small item in Merlyn's palm, saying nothing as she unwrapped it.

"It's a rabbit foot." he stated, a wisp of a smile on his lips.

"To keep you safe. It was said to protect you from evil spirits." Merlyn examined the foot, folding it back into the packaging.

Gaius nodded. "It's rubbish, I don't believe in superstition. I don't know why I gave it to you." he became flustered, trembling slightly, as if trying to hold in whatever emotion wracked through his body.

"No, I want it." she smiled weakly, tucking the foot in her jacket pocket. She mounted her horse in one fluid movement, her eyes fixed on the physician.

"You've got to keep Arthur alive until I get back." she said, trying to keep the desperation out of her voice. Merlyn barely saw Gaius' hesitant nod, taking one grim look at the citadel around her before she kicked the black mare, guiding it through the city gates without so much as a backwards glance.

∆

Through the Valley of the Fallen King's, to the north of the Great Seas of Meredor, she found a misty lake, the waters barely visible through the gloom. Through the electric mystery and bare trees, an old fishing boat, empty but for a ragged flag, was concealed in the gloom. Her horse wouldn't take her any further. She tied it to a spindly tree praying that it would be there when she returned. Quite frankly, she didn't fancy the walk.

Merlyn stood in the boat, realising that there was nothing to propel herself forward, the oars rotted away a long time ago.

"Astyre."

A shadow of a smile played on her lips as the small boat lurched forward towards the centre of the lake. Ruins of what could have once been a castle to rival Camelot's white walls crumbled in the distance, like some eerie metaphor of the lost gods. The stones, covered in green moss, seemed like something out of a forgotten fairytale, an aged version of something that could have once been very beautiful.

The wooden vessel came to a halt outside of a narrow archway, its markings faded, a faded whisper of something akin to holy grandeur. As her brown boots planted firmly on solid ground, Merlyn washed no time in exploring the grounds, quickly finding herself in a large courtyard, a stone alter standing eagerly in the centre. It was strange, almost out of place against the picturesque landscape, a reminder of some bad omen hidden in Merlyn's lost memories. She walked up to it, running her fingertips along the surface, a sense of foreboding causing goosebumps to appear on her skin.

"Hello, Merlyn."

The witch turned, recognising the voice.

"You." she sneered, suddenly unable to believe that she'd thought it a good idea to come here. She should've listened to Gaius. The man she saw was nothing like the calculating servant she'd met all those months ago, dressed in a tattered shirt and trousers, he seemed far more sinister, far more powerful.