Short Story

Enzalie sighed sadly, loose pebbles crunching beneath his feet with every step. He could see his destination in the distance, it was a miracle that the old place was still standing after all this time. Two decades had past, twenty long years. He should have come back sooner, he paused. He should have been back here sooner, with his brother. His hand clenched around the hilt of the old dagger in his pocket.

The day’s fine drizzle had broken and the sun gleamed on the cold, sodden village with its mud-slicked square and dark-stained wooden and clay buildings. Alyn remained in his battered and dented mail and plate, with a thin and billowy pale surcoat belted above in addition to sword and dagger which he had also borrowed from Lord Porter for the occasion. Rose had conjured up yet another dress, bright white and of thick, sturdy weave with a high

Merlin shuffled the load of clothing he carried in his arms and met the king’s eye. “I’m honored that you trust me, sire.”

"I understand, young warrior. This journey has been one of great peril and tragedy, but you must take heart," I

Gwen nodded and strode a step forward. “Thank you, Princess Mithian.” She summoned up every bit of her own royal manner. For a minute, she could well understand Merlin’s feeling of inferiority in that regard. She exchanged looks with the resident Prince.

I sighed. "You can do whatever you want with the blade of justice, but it won't work against me." I have trained to defend myself against any kind of magic. To defend demon hunters who want to eliminate me. I was boring, so I started thinking about my past, where all the things happened.

"Which brings me to why I called you here. We have known each other a long time, and I trust your judgment. I would like you to become one of my advisors and, as my first act as Queen, I would also like to name you "First Knight of Camelot". Will you agree to take on these roles?"

Merlin heard his mother 's gasp resound across the near silent room. He grinned, wondering what she was going to think of the next part.

"Merlin. You aren't here to die. Arthur brought you here to-" Gaius started to explain to him but stopped when he saw the boy shaking. Gaius hugged the boy as he started to cry. Arthur looked at Gaius and Gaius just gave him a look that said 'You do something!'

He looks at Corus. “I know. I made Corus tell me when I woke up and you were gone. I followed you. Sorry, I didn’t want to tell you, you know, that I saw my birthday present. Almost jumped on that man who fixed your sword, but you didn’t seem too uncomfortable, so I waited,” he says. “If it hadn’t been for the soldiers I would have been there, especially when you just handed your sword over to him.”

"Oh but Arthur wanted me to remind you that you still have to clean out the stables in the morning." I feel Merlin's arms drop and I started laughing even harder, overwhelmed with happiness of getting to be with my brother again and seeing the beginning of my new

“Thank you for all you’ve done to bring us back together,” said Guinevere into Merlin’s ear. “If not for you, this day wouldn’t have been possible.” The king and queen released Merlin from the tight embrace.

"I put too much trust in him," Gwen cried. "Merlin was the only one that saw me off when you—banished me." That stabbed at both their hearts, but she could not stop the flow of words so long not uttered by her. "I will never forgive Morgana for this. Never! But that doesn't change the actions of my friends; those I thought had cared for me. Not even my brother had shown any faith. Everyone had abandoned me. I was alone."

“What I’m trying to say if we’re careful about what we do. The king might treat us much better than the others.”

Marco gave a small sigh, pushing down the bits of resentment he felt. "We 're in this situation together," he said, looking back with a kindly smile, "we 'll get through it just like everything else." His mind wandered to Ludo 's castle, "besides, we 've definitely been through worse." He straightens his gaze, "any how, it 's a long walk to Bulwark."