Savior of Avalon

Chapter Six

My eyes opened and were met with the bright greeting of sunlight. Only little slivers of sunlight were shining through the dark curtains and into the room, but it was enough to see around the fairly spacious room.

I sat up, surprised and pleased to discover my ailments from last night were completely gone. There was no headache and no dizziness. My stomach rumbled loudly, though, reminding me the only thing I ate yesterday was a McMuffin.

Across the room, Merlin was sleeping one the big armchair, his legs crossed at the ankles, his head lolled to the side and his long, sandy blonde hair covering his face as he slept peacefully. For some odd reason, I couldn't take my eyes off of him. When he slept, he was so unguarded, his face that of a child.

The door opened all of a sudden and Thom stood there, his eyes wide when he saw me sitting up.

"Lucy, are you alright?" He whispered, glancing at Merlin before coming all the way inside the room, his eyes inspecting me closely.

"Yeah, I feel as good as new," I assured him, stretching a little to prove I felt fine. "I'm ready to get back on the road."

Thom nodded and opened his mouth to speak when my growling stomach cut him off.

"Take a shower and get dressed," Thom instructed, looking like he was fighting a smile. "There's a Denny's close by. We'll go get you something to eat."

I sprung out of bed immediately. Thom laughingly told me where the bathroom was and once I was inside, I promptly hopped in the shower and let the hot water wash over me.

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When I exit the shower, Merlin was already awake. He was freshly showered and—thankfully—was dressed. He was sitting on the couch in the spacious living room with a scowl on his face. I was starting to believe he wasn't even aware he was scowling, he just frowned so often that it was second nature to him.

Standing there staring at him, I started thinking about the talk we had last night. How he had said he cared for Nimue, but couldn't bring himself to say that he loved her. I thought of how he'd said he was too old to love and suddenly felt sad for him. No wonder the man was bitter, he'd never experienced real love.

"Are you going to stand there and stare at me or are you going to let Thom know you're ready? I'd like to eat sooner rather than later."

Although he was speaking to me, he didn't look in my direction. It was the way he normally acted, yet for some reason at this moment, it hurt. I couldn't explain why. All I knew was that ever since we merged our magic, I felt this pull to him. I didn't know if it was romance or friendship, all I did know was I wanted to be close to him. I wanted us to be as in tune with each other as our magic seemed to be.

Confused and slightly angry by my feelings and Merlin's usual cold shoulder, I set off to find Thom and let him know I was done cleaning up and ready to go. The primary mission here was supposed to be to find my mom, save Camelot from Morgana and then whatever happened after that happened.

But something in the back of my mind kept telling me that I needed to be closer to Merlin.

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The one thing Merlin seemed to love about this world was our food. Living with and being a great accomplice of the king had great advantages, but all they really had were meals of bread, meat, cheese and sometimes fruit.

Merlin enjoyed pancakes and eggs and smoothies. He enjoyed orange juice and milkshakes and promised when Camelot was saved, he would return to this world for its food.

Again, I was reminded how much I took for granted here. I had grown so used to these things, I barely noticed them and definitely didn't perceive them as special. Yet Merlin reminded me again that they were more special than I realized.

I had to start seeing things in a different light. For so many years, I had taken my mother for granted, too. It was only now that she was gone that I fully realized just how much I owed her.

After a big breakfast, we were on the road once again, but before we could continue our journey to Camelot, Merlin suggested we stop by one of the magic stores he was getting strong vibes from. Before I knew it, we were parked outside of a small store with dark tinted windows and purple curtains. To the naked eye it looked like a phony magic store made to lure in suckers with cash, but it was like Merlin said: there was magic here. I could feel the magic seep into my bones, spreading a warmth that was almost as powerful as when Merlin and I merged our magic.

"It's like this all the time in Camelot," came Merlin's voice from behind me.

I started in surprise. I'd been so mesmerized by the magic flowing from this place, I had completely forgotten both Merlin and Thom.

"The feeling you feel here. Camelot's always like that," Merlin explained. "Since Arthur's claim to the throne, magic has been practiced freely there. Camelot feels like this all the time. In Avalon, where magic has been practiced for centuries, the feeling is even stronger." Merlin looked over at me, his eyes meeting mine. "You'll like it."

We held each other's gaze for a long while. For those moments that my eyes were locked with his amber ones, I completely forget about Thom who was shifting from foot to foot uncomfortably before clearing his throat loudly.

We turned away from each other instantly. My face was flushed, but when I looked over at Merlin, he seemed perfectly composed. I wanted to kick myself. Of course he was composed. He thinks of me as a kid. He didn't see me as a woman at all.

I then kick myself further because Merlin was an asshole and I shouldn't want him to see me as a woman. I should want to knee him in the balls or punch him in the face. I'm convinced now that us merging our magic is having a terrible effect on me.

We entered the magic store. Around us were trinkets and spices and necklaces that all clearly had magic in them. At the counter was a grey haired woman with eyes like emeralds and who's eyes crinkle at the corners when she smiled at us.

"What exactly are we looking for here, Merlin?" Thom wondered, picking up a necklace with a sparkling topaz jewel.

"I can't do magic here and using too much magic will tire Sibyl out, so we're doing things the way sorcerers of the Old Religion did things." He looked at the woman and began calling out the things he would need.

While he did that, a gorgeous necklace caught my eye. In most stores like these, their objects typically looked cheap, but this necklace was clearly expensive. The chain itself was made of what was obviously solid gold and on the chain was a tastefully cut, heart shaped emerald.

Unable to help myself, I reached out to touch it in awe.

"It represents love."

I didn't have to turn to know that voice, but I did anyway. His voice was as cool and detached as his expression, he eyed the necklace speculatively.

"For our community, we represent our feelings with gems and flowers alike," Merlin continued. "Emerald is for love, normally very passionate. Amber is for marital love, kunzite is for unconditional love, so on and so forth. That is a necklace you would give to a lover you feel passionately for."

Looking at him, I said, "You still have a lot you need to teach me magic wise."

"I know. We'll study again at the next stop."

Then, he walked away and back up to the counter.

Once Merlin had all of his tools, we climbed back into the car and drove into a Food Lion parking lot. It was a lot more discreet than the street we had just been on, which had been filled with shops and restaurants. Here, it was mostly mothers who seemed to be juggling five things at once.

Merlin took out all of the things we bought. He sat the mortar and pestle in his lap, then proceeding to pull out the herbs he had gotten. He wasted no time in mixing it all together until it turned into a bland colored powder.

Looking at me he said, "I just need you to put a tiny bit of a cloaking spell on this. All the herbs need is just a little and then they'll do the rest."

I closed my eyes and let the magic build up in me until there was nowhere for it to go but out. Each day, I could feel myself getting better and better at spellcasting. It wouldn't be long until I was as good as the stories said Merlin was.

"Abscondite nos abinimicis nostris," I called out in the old language, feeling the too familiar warmth spreading from my fingertips to the contents of the mortar. There was the immediate feeling of being drained, but it wasn't as bad as yesterday.

When I opened my eyes, the contents were no longer bland colored, they were now golden and shimmered in the sunlight. Thom was looking at it mesmerized, murmuring to himself about how impressive it was.

When Merlin and I made eye contact, all he did was nod once, taking a handful of the now golden power and tossing it into the air around us. Once it was thrown into the air, the powder vanished. Merlin, closing his eyes, nodded.

"I can feel it working," he said. "But it will only give us a couple of hours. Eventually it'll wear off."

Thom patted the hilt of his sword which he'd placed back on his waist after we left the magic shop.

"If they decided to come for a fight, we'll give 'em one," he said, grinning. "You don't become a knight of the Round Table without knowing a thing or two about slaying monsters. I've faced worse than a few of Morgana's lackeys." He looked at Merlin in the review mirror as he started the car up. "We both have. And one of these days, so will you, Lucy."

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At exactly ten thirty, Thom stopped us at a hotel in the outskirts of Iowa.Like always, we got one room, agreeing that—since we didn't know when the spell would wear off—we'd all be stronger together if some of Morgana's men did come for us.

"I'll take first watch," Merlin said once we were settled in.

I threw away the bag of Cheetos I'd just finished off and looked over at him in mild surprise. He didn't seem like a very accommodating guy.

Seeing the look of faint surprise on my face, Merlin rolled his amber eyes and said, "He is driving us, you know. I've watched what the people in this world call the news. I know how fatal those car crashes can be. I've lived five hundred and seventy years and I'd like to like five hundred and seventy more."

My eyebrows shot up into my hairline upon hearing that. I figured he'd lived a long time, but five hundred and seventy years was...wow.

"You're really old," I gasped, wide eyed.

"Yes, I suppose I would be to a child like you." His tone was biting, but there was something unreadable in his voice.

"Cool your jets," I snapped, glaring at the side of his head. "I just meant it's shocking, that's all. You look like you just turned twenty. Who in their right mind would suspect you're actually five hundred and seventy years old."

"All sorcerers live for a long time, little girl," he responded, moving so he had a clear view of the entire parking lot and everyone coming and going. "You'll live to be this old, too."

"Then you won't be able to call me little girl anymore," I grumbled under my breath, heading to the bathroom.

I don't know why it irked me the way it did when Merlin called me a child or little girl. Thom called me kid all the time. Mom told me numerous times that no matter how old I got, I'd always be her little girl. Yet, when Merlin said it, it was like he was just stating the weather or the color of my shirt. To him, I was just a little girl and for some reason unbeknownst to me, it pissed me off that he didnt view me as a woman.

The way I was sure he viewed Nimue.

Splashing cold water on my face, I glowered at my reflection. Dark brown skin, brown eyes and a wild, curly mane of black hair. I suppose my face was on the youthful side. Although I was seventeen, people often mistook me to be younger than I was. I was short and my cheeks were a little chubby, all in all I was baby faced. My baby face had never bothered me before, but now I was cursing myself for not being as gorgeous as my Mom was. When she was my age, I'm sure no one ever called her a child.

When I headed back to the room, the lights were off and Thom was in the bed adjacent from mine, fast asleep. Merlin was sitting with his back to us both, staring out into the parking lot.

Climbing into bed, I stared at his back. For some stupid reason, I had been unable to take my eyes off of him all day.

"Make sure you get some sleep, Merlin." My soft voice carried in the darkness, reaching his ears.

For a long while, there was no response. A sigh escaped my lips and I turned to my side, facing away from him and closing my eyes, determined to go to sleep.

"I will," he finally said as sleep engulfed me.

I wasn't sure if I imagined it or not, but I could have sworn I heard a smile in his voice.