My limbs freeze, the white light sends currents of pulsing sparks through my vessel. The white light blinds out the world around me, the white world beginning to spin at an unnatural pace. As quickly as this starts, the ringing gets drowned out by screams and howls of horror. Soon, many of the voices begin to chant my name and other things, all in different tones and intensities.
"Edythe!" A voice shrieks in pain.
"Edythe", another hiss in loathing.
"Well, well, well, look who it is!" a more inviting voice greets.
"Eeeeeedythe..." Another voice taunts.
"Help me! Please!" a woman screams.
Soon the words become mingled, overlapping one another, coming from every direction at once. I try to crane my neck around to see where the voices come from, but my neck is just as stiff as the rest of my body. The voices speed up, spiralling down on me like a hurricane. They beat into my skull like hungry seagulls as though trying to invade my mind, trying to grab hold of me.
"Stop..." I whisper, now feeling my limbs begin to work again, immediately bringing my hands to cover my ears. "Stop! Shut up!" I yell, shrinking down to my heels, closing my eyes whilst the voices intensify even more than before.
"I said, shut up!" I scream now, my voice echoing out as if in a long stone cave.
The voices fall silent instantly. I finch at the sudden silence, a ringing now in my ear. I peel my shaking hands from my ears, squinting my eyes open in expecting the light.
As I crack my eyes open, I find it dark, a small pale light shining overhead.
Confused, I cautiously rise, taken aback as the scenery begins to change before my very eyes. Trees sprout from the ground in many shapes and sizes. The soil beneath my feet turns to a damp forest floor riddled with dead leaves. I look down as a weight appears in my arms, a bucket of water moulding into my hands, pulled tightly against my chest.
I'm dressed in old worn leather clothing, a dark green cloak clinging to my small frame, which is now childlike. I'm shorter, hair longer, limbs weaker, and frame barer.
A scream catches my ear, eyes wide to see a camp, wagons spread across an open plain in the forest. Tens of people gather around, some standing, others seated, the scream catching their attention as well. Another scream fills the air, followed by another, and another. Soon there are screams from every direction, bouncing through the trees. In a blink, the camp becomes chaos, people scattering in all directions.
Men on horses crash through the camp with crossbows and swords in hand. They're dressed in attire I'm not familiar with, a crest on their chest I've never seen before. They show no mercy, throwing lit touches into tents, cutting down any man, woman or child in their path. Bloodstains the ground as an older woman tumbles, an arrow in her back. A bag of apples in her grasp scatter over the forest floor.
My hand releases the bucket in horror, the water flooding across the ground like a stream. My knees feel weak under me, the shocking sight paralysing me.
"Please!" a voice next to me screams. I feel a tug on my cloak.
I leap to the side in fear, eyes darting down. A woman crawls across the ground, her light green cloak torn and covered in blood. She is in distress, hair tangled around her pale face "take him, please!" she cries, pleading to me. A small boy in her arms, barely older than three years old, looks up at me with eyes wide in horror. Tears stain his red cheeks.
For some reason, I stare at her blank-faced whilst she continues to plead and push her reluctant son toward me. I see the wound on her side, which is too horrific to look at, causing me to look away in disgust and nausea.
An arm sweeps under my own, lifting me from the ground. Shrieking in shock, I catch Iseldir's features as he hurls me over his shoulder. He rushes through the camp as more men charge down into the opening.
"Please!" the woman screams in agony, fear pulsing through her.
The agony hits me like a boulder, forcing the memory into my head, sweeping into the darkest points of my mind. The scene before me begins to feel familiar, the screams, the men. The terrifying day of my life that will haunt me forever. The first time I ever saw the truth of the world, the day my childhood died, and I was forced to grow up.
I never knew if Iseldir had heard that woman's pleas. He may have been too busy saving me, or he had chosen to ignore them and keep us safe. I'll never know, and I would never dare ask him, knowing that day had left him with as many scars as my own, if not more.
I often wonder if I could have said something, or perhaps I could have saved that young boy instead of staring at her. I never knew what happened to him, his little pink stained cheeks and watery green eyes beading after me in pure terror as I fled to safety.
It was my greatest regret, the thing that haunted me for so long. I still crush under the weight of wondering what I could have done. I try to tell myself I was only 10. What could I have done? But that only makes the regret worse.
Regret...
With that thought, the world around me begins to change again, morphing in darkness.
I remember where I was, helping the Knights of Camelot, saving King Arthur, fighting King Olaf, destroying the mind-controlling stone and stealing back the hell stone. I gasp as I recall running across the room, adrenaline pumping through me as I pushed Arthur out the way, snatching the stone from his hand.
Once again, I find myself standing in that field, holding the bucket, staring into the distance as the first scream echoes through the forest.
The stone traps souls and makes them relive their biggest regret in a never-ending loop...
The woman's pleas fill my ears, my gaze being forced down on the young woman on the ground, a child clinging to her weak frame.
I'm trapped in the hell stone!
***
Third Person POV
The knights stare in horror as Edythe becomes still in the salt circle, bluestone pulsing in hand. Arthur stumbles to the ground a few feet from the circle, letting out a groan of pain as he connects with the floor. Ivo's body is now still, limb in the circle's centre, hunched over at Edythe's feet. The hall falls silent, a distant ringing sound disappearing into space.
"Edythe!" Gwaine calls, leaving Leon's side to rush over to the woman.
Leon protests as Gwaine reaches the circle, "Wait, Gwaine! The circle!"
Gwaine comes to an abrupt stop with those words, his toe only but an inch from entering the salt circle. His eyes fall to the symbols on the floor, which still pulse blue light on the walls like flowing water. Gwaine looks at the salt, understanding with Leon that they don't know what it would mean to be in that circle. Gwaine follows the circle round, looking at Edythe, who stands like a statue, arms outstretched with the bluestone in hand.
Leon rushes over to their King and who lets out a moan of discomfort. Leon reaches down to Arthur, sweeping an arm under his, pulling him to his feet. The two sway for a moment as Leon helps Arthur get his footing, seemingly drained after being under an illusion.
"What happened?" the King asks, rubbing a hand on his throbbing forehead.
Gwaine lets his eyes run over the lifeless woman before him, the bluestone sending bright jolts of blue flares through her hands and into her veins. The blue light spreads across her body, turning into a bright, intense ocean blue glow in Edythe's eyes. Her face is stone-cold, face pale whilst her expression is in horror. Heavy breaths escape her as if she were panicking.
"I think...I think Edythe saved you, Sire," Leon answers, his voice unsure.
Arthur lightly pushes the knight from his side, now standing himself. He approaches Gwaine's side, observing how the same blue light from the symbols across the room is now flooding Edythe's veins.
"You don't think-" Gwaine cuts himself short, not wanting even to say the words.
All three men suck in a breath at the thought, not even wanting to wish the horrors of that stone upon anyone. The doors burst open in their moment of silence, Olaf limping into the hall. He now looks full of life, eyes less crazed and more himself. Gwaine draws his sword in defence, preparing for an attack despite this.
"It's okay! He's here to help!" Merlin's voice booms, his figure appears in sight, rushing into the hall past Olaf. Percival and Elyan follow close behind. The three men rush over to their King, embracing Leon and Gwaine in reunion.
"Where is he?" Olaf growls, sword in hand as he marches into the hall, army close on his heels. "Where is that filth?"
He's cut short of his quest for vengeance as he sees the scene before him. The King's face softens at the sight of Edythe still and Ivo dead at her feet. Olaf slowly enters the room, his eyes running over the magical ruins scattered throughout his screed halls.
Memories of his strong and fair kingdom rush through his thoughts. The mere glimpse of what devastation has occurred within his kingdom, his home, saddens him to no end. Guilt takes Olaf's mind as he remembers the large blank hole in his memory. The idea of letting his people down crush him.
Olaf approaches the circle, a frown growing on his lips, recognising the woman at its centre. "Edythe?" He joins the Men of Camelot, eyes burning into the woman's now bright ones in shock and sadness. "What happened?"
"She saved my life, Sire", Arthur acknowledges, just as shocked by his own words as Olaf.
"Yes...she is a thief, but one of my closest allies", Olaf murmurs distantly. He reaches forward, taking a step forward to enter the circle.
"Wait, the circle, My Lord!" Arthur protests, leaping forward to stop Olaf, who halts.
"I believe the circle is safe to enter", Merlin observes, running a hand over one of the ruins on the floor. "But I wouldn't advise touching that stone."
Arthur frowns down at Merlin. "Merlin? Has Gaius ever spoken of such ruins?"
"Something like that."
Gwaine is already in the circle, concern on his face to everyone's surprise. Before Merlin can call out to him in warning, Gwaine reaches for Edythe's arm, making sure not to touch the stone. His gloved hand contacts her bare wrist, a quick jolt of tingles running up his arm. Gwaine jerks his hand away out of reflex, shocked as he looks down at his hand. Merlin joins the knight in the circle, looking into the intense glow.
"Can we help her?" Gwaine asks, looking to his friend for confirmation.
"I don't-"
Merlin is cut off by a loud shriek of horror, followed by a croaked cry of pain. Everyone's attention is now on Edythe, her body still but limbs weak as though an unseen force is holding her up. Her face becomes riddled with fear, and her lips parted as she lets out moans of distress.
"Edythe!" Merlin calls both hands-on Edythe's shoulders.
"What's happening?" Arthur asks, appearing next to Gwaine as he watches on, concerned about what the magic could be doing.
"I-I don't know!" Merlin confesses, panicked as he tries to think of a way to save Edythe. Especially without having to reveal his long-kept secret. With Merlin's words, the room falls dark, guilt filling the atmosphere as the men are forced to hear the wails of Edythe. Arthur watches on, his eyes sad in uselessness as he's forced to watch the woman who saved his life suffer in his place.
***
Edythe's POV
"Please!" The woman screams in agony, "take my son!"
"I'm sorry!" I cry, tears falling down my face as Iseldir carries me into the forest. The armed men barrel down on the druid camp, ripping apart everything in their wake.
"Please..."
"Forgive me. I'm so sorry!" I sob, fighting against Iseldir as I try to go to the woman's aid, save her son's life as she pleas of me. My gut twists into knots, refusing to let me breathe as the guilt rips through me.
The world around me morphs again, my sobs growing as I enter my regret again in a never-ending cycle. I've lost count of how many times I've relieved the memory, all-time disappearing from my recollection. The bucket of water begins to appear in my arms again, the weight feeling like a boulder forced into my grip. My tears fall into the water.
The bucket vanishes. I leap backwards, looking around in confusion as the world around me morphs once again. But this time, it fades to black.
I stumble back as a dark mass of smoke floods toward me like a towering wave, crashing down to the earth where I stand. I turn to run but find my feet falling through the ground like quicksand, trapping me as the smoke surrounds me.
I take a gasp as if after being underwater, unable to breathe, a hazy bright blue light blinding. The smoke disperses, blue light dancing around me like glistening water. It moulds around me into strange shapes, becoming intense enough to see that a large ball rounds me. I seemingly float in mid-air in the centre of the light, looking around dazed by the beauty.
"Edythe."
I shriek, defensively turning in the direction of the voice. I'm taken aback by surprise when I see Ivo standing in the ball of light only a few meters from me. His skin is less pale, cheeks fuller with a faint colour. He smiles as if a friend.
"Finally, the time has come", Ivo gushes, water in his eyes as he peers back at me.
I stare at the warlock in confusion. "What are you doing here? How are you-?"
Ivo raises his hand to silence me, his sudden movement forcing me back a few steps in caution. "Time is short, and destiny beacons. I have waited two lifetimes for this moment."
"What do you mean?"
"Long ago. Many decades before your birth, I was gifted with a vision," Ivo begins, his mind in thought as he speaks. "This vision gave me but a glimpse of what is to come for magic in a time and land not yet born. Even now, that world is still being moulded, the very fabrics that will create it, still interacting, still growing."
"And?" I demand, confused and impatient.
Ivo is taken out of his world in his head when hearing my voice, his gaze now entirely on me. "I have worked hard to get to this moment, doing many regrets and giving up much to have this conversation with you, Edythe."
"Wait...so, you tried to kill Arthur Pendragon so that you could talk to me?" I question, shaking my head. "And you trapped me in a hell stone?"
"It was the only way."
"But...Olaf? Morgana? Arthur? Why?"
"Olaf was a regrettable casualty. As for Morgana, she is nothing to me. I knew to get to the right moment, in the right place at exactly the right time. I needed to craft my plan perfectly. Unfortunately, that meant working with the witch," Ivo hisses. "Arthur was but a tool in a much bigger plan, and still, he shall be."
My head begins to hurt, taking in the sudden confusing information given by the warlock. "So...you weren't meaning to hurt anyone?"
"No."
"Why go to so much trouble? What is so important that you must make a villain of yourself and hurt others?"
"You, Edythe", Ivo answers, tone stern. "The path that you lead after this is important to all who abide by the old religion."
"What do you mean?"
"I can not tell you, for I fear the outcome. But know that you must go to Camelot. You must follow Arthur."
My eyebrows knit together, the words Iseldir had told me over a week ago playing in my mind. It can't be a coincidence that Ivo and Iseldir have said the same thing. There is no way Ivo could have known Iseldir had told me of Camelot being my destiny. But I'm still yet to figure out what it means.
"For the world, I have seen, you must go there. You won't understand now. But I promise you will know. And I feel honoured to be able to give you that of which I have seen. To have the privilege of giving you something so close to your soul that you have not had the gift of knowing yet."
I can see that there is no lie in his face. It is confusing as not so long ago; I had wanted to kill this man for making me go through so much pain and torment. I can't understand why he would have constructed the whole predicament to talk to me and set me on the right path for whatever this 'future' is.
I know he has given me no reason to trust him, but I also know that it would be very wrong of me not to heed his words. Someone with the gift of vision is often true to what they share and show.
"The spell...it was all to talk to me?"
"Yes."
My mind wanders back to the moment I had saved Arthur, sacrificing myself for him, the most selfless thing I've ever done. The image of Ivo lying lifeless on the floor invades my thoughts, which causes me to look at the warlock. How is he standing here right now?
As if reading my mind, he answers, "Yes, I am dead."
"Then how-?"
"The stone."
I look around, only now just remembering the location I have found myself in.
"I chose this", Ivo continues, looking around with me. "The spells I did. It wasn't to trap Arthur's soul or even yours. No. It was to free my own."
"You put yourself here?" I gasp, shocked by the thought of wishing this place upon anyone.
Ivo chuckles ."It's not just a stone for eternal torment, Edythe. It's also a place of memory. Of past, present and future. I have made myself a guardian of the stone. A soul to protect all the secrets held within.
"You aren't really in the stone, Edythe. The circle is the only thing tethering you here. I can release you whenever I see fit. You had only but a taste of what the stone offers for the tormented souls trapped here. I only meant for you to learn a lesson."
I scoff. "How could you give up your own life for this?"
"Like I said. When you see what I have for yourself, you will understand."
"So, this world can only happen if I change my ways? That is such a cliché."
Ivo chuckles. "That's the way it is."
"Typical."
"Think about what you've learnt from this, Edythe. Use it wisely. Go to Camelot, and see the future done."
Before I can respond, I feel as though the earth shifts beneath me, and I begin to fall through the bright blue light. Bright white light blinds my vision as a large white wave engulfs me.