It really was a beautiful morning. The birds were chirping and the plants were all radiating with life. Merlin knelt down at the root of a tree, gathering mushrooms for Gaius and placing them in a basket.
SCREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!
Merlin looked up at the strange sound. She turned around to see a large, winged, creature charging towards her. Forgetting her basket, Merlin made an attempt to outrun it, but she tripped on a tree root. She cursed her clumsy self and closed her eyes in anticipation, knowing that she was about to be eaten.
Instead, Merlin heard a battle cry as a man jumped in front of her, swinging his sword at the creature. Unfortunately, the sword broke the moment it hit the creature. "Run!" The man cried. He grabbed Merlin by the arm and they ran to a fallen tree, jumped over it and hid behind it. The creature flew away.
Out of breath, Merlin looked over the tree. "It's gone. You saved my life. I'm Merlin."
"Lancelot," the man said before falling unconscious. Lancelot's hand, which was holding his side, fell, revealing a growing blood spot.
-
Somehow, Merlin was able to drag Lancelot to Gaius' chambers. Together, they lifted Lancelot onto the patient bed. Gaius immediately got to work. "The wound itself is superficial," he said. "The fever will pass, and he should be fine by morning."
Sure enough, Lancelot was up and moving the next morning.
Lancelot looked out of the window in Gaius' chambers. "Ever since I was a child, I dreamed of coming here. It's my life's ambition. I know that I expect to much. After all, who am I? They have their pick of the best in the land."
"Lancelot," Merlin interrupted.
"Yes?"
"I'm sure they'll love you."
"I would not be too sure, Merlin," Gaius interjected.
"What do you mean?"
"The first code of Camelot is that every knight must be of noble blood. Are you of noble birth, Lancelot."
Lancelot hung his head. "No, I'm afraid not."
"But that's not fair," Merlin protested.
"Fair or unfair, that's the way it is. I'm truly sorry, Lancelot," Gaius said, before leaving his chambers to run some errands.
"Perhaps we could create a fake seal-"
"No, Merlin."
"But Lancelot-"
"No. I cannot become a knight through a lie. It's against what the knights stand for."
Merlin's shoulders slumped. "Alright. But I could always-"
"Merlin."
"Fine. I better get to work, but I'll see you later?"
"Yes. I will just be here."
-
As Merlin did her daily chores, her mind kept on wandering back to Lancelot. It was not fair that he could not be a knight just because of the circumstances of his birth. If Lancelot had allowed her to, she would have created a fake seal using magic so that Arthur would think that he was a noble. Although, it probably would not have ended well.
Merlin's thoughts were interrupted by the warning bells. Merlin ran to the square to see what was going on. Merlin helped an injured woman sit while Gaius attended to another villager. Lancelot ran over to see what the matter was.
"Their village was attacked by a winged monster," Gaius said.
Lancelot and Merlin exchanged a glance, knowing exactly what Gaius was talking about.
-
After attending to the wounded villagers, Gaius, Merlin and Lancelot went back to Gaius' chambers to try and figure out what the creature was, and more importantly, how to kill it. It was not until hours of searching when they finally discovered the creature was called a griffin.
Merlin looked over at the page that Gaius had found that talked about the griffin. "It's a magical creature!" Merlin exclaimed. "But that means that the only way to kill it-"
"-Is with magic," Lancelot finished with a thoughtful look on his face.
"I will go inform the king," Gaius said. "You two try to find a way to stop it without magic."
"Yes, Gaius," Merlin sighed, returning to the books.
Lancelot and Merlin continued their research, but it was no use. The only thing Merlin found was a spell to enchant a weapon to allow it to kill a magical creature, but Merlin could not practice it with Lancelot still there.
Gaius entered with a solemn look on his face. "Did you find anything?" They both shook their head in response. "Arthur and the knights ride off in two hours."
"Then he must be stopped," Merlin said, rising to her feet. "Uther must see reason."
Gaius sighed. "Where magic is concerned, our king is blind to reason. And yet... magic is our only hope."
The three of them sat in silence for a few moments, each lost in their own thoughts, trying to find a solution. Merlin knew that there was only one way that she could save Arthur. She had no other choice. "Lancelot?"
"Yes, Merlin?"
"What kingdom are you from?"
"Cambia, why?"
"Is magic legal in that kingdom?"
"Yes."
"And what do you think of magic?"
"Merlin," Gaius warned.
"Lancelot, what do you think of magic?" Merlin repeated.
"I believe it depends on the person for whether it is evil or not. Merlin, what are you saying?"
Merlin took a deep breath. "Can you keep a secret?"
"I can."
"I have magic. I was born with it."
"Merlin!" Gaius exclaimed.
"I trust him, Gaius!" Merlin said.
"I am honored that you have trusted me with this secret," Lancelot told Merlin. "I will guard it with my life."
"Thank you, Lancelot. Now that that's over with, I found a spell that will allow any weapon to kill a magical creature. The only problem is that I've never done anything as powerful before."
"We have just less than two hours to practice," Gaius said. "Let's get to work."
-
Merlin tried, she really did. The spell was too powerful and their time was up. Merlin banged her head against the table. Why would it not work?
Lancelot stood up. "I am going to go help."
"I'm coming with you," Merlin said, following suit and also standing up.
"No, you're not."
"Just try and stop me."
"Merlin-"
"I have to try. Let's go."
By the time they got to their destination, all the knights were either dead or unconscious. Merlin quickly ran over to Arthur and checked his pulse. "He's alive," she said, relieved.
"Good," Lancelot said. He grabbed a lance from one of the fallen knights and mounted the horse that they had brought to the area.
"Okay, Merlin," Merlin said to herself. "It's now or never." Lancelot began charging at the griffin. "Bregdan anweald gafeluec!" Merlin said, repeating the spell until finally a blue flame encased the lance. The lance went right through the griffin, killing it. "Yes!" Merlin cheered.
Out of nowhere, Arthur groaned, beginning to come back to consciousness. Lancelot rode back to Merlin and jumped off the horse, still holding it's reins. They both ran over to Arthur. "What happened?" Arthur asked.
"Lancelot killed the griffin," Merlin told him.
"Lance... a lot?" Arthur asked.
"Yeah," Merlin grinned. "True to his name, he used a lance to do it."
Arthur turned to Lancelot. "Thank you, Lancelot. Are you a knight?"
Lancelot bowed his head. "No sire. It is my greatest dream, but I am a mere commoner."
Arthur shook his head. "When I am king, I will make you a knight. You saved Camelot today and you deserve recognition."
"Thank you sire, but I do not seek recognition. Though, being a knight one day would be nice."
"You shall be a knight when I am king, and that's a promise. Knight's honor."
"That means everything to me, sire."
Merlin smiled to herself, happy for her friend, and happy that Arthur agreed that anyone should be a knight.
-
The next morning, Merlin and Lancelot stood in the citadel. "Must you leave?" Merlin asked.
"Yes. I will continue my journey through the kingdoms and better my skill with the sword. I will return one day when Prince Arthur is King, and I may visit from time to time."
"Alright, Lancelot. But I will miss you," Merlin admitted.
"And I will miss you as well."
Merlin stuck her hand out to shake, and Lancelot took it. Instead of shaking it, Lancelot turned it so that the back of her hand was facing up, bent over and kissed it gently. Merlin felt her cheeks heat up. "Farewell, my lady," Lancelot said.
"Goodbye," Merlin said quietly, slightly in shock. Lancelot smiled at her and then turned around, making his way out of Camelot.
Merlin never saw Arthur watching from his window with a furrowed brow and a slight frown.
So... what do you think so far?