Maia wanted off that god-forsaken rock from the minute it touched the sky.
It was never going to happen, of course. With both her parents dead, the weight of the kingdom fell to her and...that made her valuable. Or at least, that was what Merlin had told her.
She really had nothing more to go on but his word, so trust him she did.
Wanting to keep Camelot—and her father's legacy—alive, he kept her within the castle walls by sending the whole thing up into the sky.
Alone.
Well, not really alone. She had Sir Galahad and the little forest sorceress, Nari to keep her company, but...she still felt lonely. An aching pit in her gut that had her screaming at the sky more often than not, but it was useless. What good would it do her?
Nine hundred years and she still didn't know how the god-forsaken rock was in the sky.
She'd been through every book in the library at least six times, none of them had the answer. Most of the books in Merlin's study were written in a language she still didn't know, but she'd managed to teach herself some basic magic (levitation, conjuration, invisibility, slow time) to the point where she didn't even need to think about it to cast the spells.
She could also brew some pretty basic potions (invisibility again, sleep, regeneration) which led to a lot of sour comments about the kitchen blowing up.
She needed to occupy herself somehow.
But no! The concept of a floating land mass escaped her altogether. She supposed she could blame it on Merlin's magic, but that seemed too...unlikely. If it was running on magic, how did Merlin manage to sustain the connection for so long? And how had it not faltered in even the slightest?
Also, she was sure Merlin had been badly injured at the Battle of Killahead, so he couldn't have even given that much magic in the first place.
"Princess!" Gahalad's voice rumbled from somewhere deep in the castle, jolting her out of her thoughts. "Princess, where are you?"
"Bloody fuzzbuckets," she mumbled, hopping off the library ladder and gathering the skirt of her long gown, quickly heading to the main hall. "Galahad?"
"Here, Your Highness," the tired old man said from beside one of the pillars. "You should know better than to run off. Where were you?"
"Library," she mumbled. "As usual. Is something the matter?"
He nodded to the open sky at the opposite end of the hall, acting as a sort of...big road for something to land on. "I caught glimpse of the wizard's skyboat. I thought it best to inform you in case..."
"Thank you." She rubbed her hands together nervously, before moving to fiddle with her sleeves. "And Nari?"
"Outside somewhere, I presume."
She smoothed down her dress and took a seat on the steps leading up to the throne room, resting her chin on her knuckles. Merlin? Back? It seemed impossible. He hadn't been back in nine hundred years, what made today so special?
Indeed, after a few minutes of waiting, Maia could hear the steady thrum of...something. It was much like the humming of her amulet, but much, much louder.
Not even a second later, something big and boat-shaped crashes into the walk. She covered her head quickly, only waiting until the terrible screeching had stopped before getting up and having a look.
It was a massive boat—presumably the skyboat that Galahad had mentioned—and the very first person to jump down from the high railings sent an excited shiver down her spine. "Merlin?"
The old wizard offered her a tight-lipped smile before turning back to the ship. "Careful, we'll take him to my study."
Off the ship, a few more people slipped. One was a human girl that couldn't have been younger than fifteen, but the other two...
"Oh gods," she whispered. "Merlin? Wh-what is this?"
He glanced at the young human girl. "Go. I'll be with you shortly." And then he went over to Maia with his hands clasped behind his back. "Princess."
"Those are trolls," she whispered, watching as a tall six-armed blue thing ambled past her. "Why...are there trolls?"
"In short, Your Highness, they're the good ones." He scans over her. "You still have your amulet?"
Maia held out her hand and her amulet materialised in it. "Tried throwing it over the side of the castle, it followed me."
He lightly cuffed her on the back of the head. "Come. We need to help them."
"Help them? With what?" She quickly jogged after him as he started walking hurriedly to his study. "Merlin! I demand you give me answers."
"The skinny blue one is dying," he replied shortly.
"What? That's it?"
"Were you hoping for more?"
"I was hoping you'd bring your apprentice," she muttered under her breath. Hisirdoux, Merlin's apprentice. Her second friend in the castle (Morgana being first), and her favourite person. She would do anything to see him again.
"Hisirdoux is...otherwise occupied," Merlin said. "Though I feel I may need him sooner than I thought." He pointed to a little stairwell. "I need you to gather my books and bring them to my study."
Wide-eyed, Maia glanced over at him. "How did you know they weren't there already?"
"You're a very avid reader, Your Highness. It's obvious, really."
~ • ~
She sat in the corner of Merlin's study while he worked, watching him curiously. Not closely enough to learn what exactly he was doing, but close enough that she could spot out all the telltale signs of a stasis spell.
"What's wrong with it?" she asked.
The girl glared at her. "He has a name. And it's Jim."
"My apologies. What's wrong with him?" She cast the girl a sour look, her grip tightening on the amulet in her hand. The troll-boy (who looked a little bit more boy than he did troll) lying on the table had one similar, though it was red where Maia was sure it should have been blue.
This little boy is the Trollhunter?
"There is a shard of darkness," Merlin said, pointing to a little shard of onyx embedded deep in the troll-boy's amulet. "There's no telling what will happen if it reaches his heart, and if the boy is in stasis, it should hold off the attack, if not for a while."
"You got attacked?" Maia glanced over Merlin worriedly. "Are you unhurt?"
"I got lucky," Merlin muttered as he finished his spell. "Now, if you must excuse me, Arcadia Oaks calls for me once more."
"You're leaving?" the girl exclaims. "But what about Jim?"
"We have more pressing concerns at hand," he shot back. "I shouldn't be more than another week."
"Please don't leave," Maia said quietly. All heads turned to her and she put her amulet aside, wringing her hands together. "Merlin, please. I just want—"
"Soon," he promised. "Soon, Princess."
And he left. Maia groaned and slumped back into the chair, before grabbing her amulet and stomping out after him. "Merlin!"
"Princess, I don't have time for this," he said exasperated, turning to give her a look.
"What do you expect me to do, wait here? For longer?" She shook her head. "No. Please, Merlin, I'm so bored. Let me—"
"No."
"Merlin!"
"No. And that's final." He climbed back into the ship and Maia watched, heartbroken, as it left once again.
"Knobhead," she muttered under her breath, before glancing over at where Galahad was still standing beside the pole. "Sorry."
"Curse him out, Your Highness," he encouraged. "He has no right keeping you here longer."
"I'll just..." She turned to leave, glancing back one more time. "I'll be in my room."
"Would you like me to bring dinner?"
She nodded. "If it's no trouble, I would appreciate it greatly."