Merlin's Choice (Stand Tall 2)

Part Twenty-Two: The Eve of War

He did not want to leave his comrades on the eve of war - but there he stood, on the threshold of adventure, heart heavy in his chest. Every passing moment seemed more real and alive as the threat of death loomed closer. His eyes picked out new details around the rooms he'd lived in for the past seven years. The mismatched hinges on his bedroom door. The fracture spreading through the floor.

"Are you ready?" asked a kind old voice. Merlin turned to see his uncle giving him a sad, remembering sort of smile.

"Yes," the warlock said quietly, taking one last look around the physician's rooms. He told himself that he would be coming back. Of course he would. By the time he got to Camlann, his magic would be restored. He would have nothing to fear from the battlefield. Even so, there would be something different about this place. Something was, after every great and terrible adventure.

The old man turned the younger one's head, and looked him over with a glint of approval in his eye. "What happened to that young boy who stumbled into my chambers just a few short years ago?" Gaius asked.

Merlin smiled upon his guardian, his teacher, the man most like a father he'd ever known, and answered. "He grew up."

The old physician wrapped his nephew in a tight hug. He was so, so proud of all the boy had done - all the lives he'd saved, and all the lives he'd changed for the better. Tears welled up in his eyes as he stepped out of the embrace.

Merlin's attention slid to the figure waiting patiently near the door. A bittersweet smile replaced the usual smirk. The stars in her eyes shone like beacons, beckoning him closer. "I have something to give you before you leave," Braith spoke softly, and held a giant round Viking shield out to him. It was thing of simple beauty - the whirling grain of the dark wood, the brilliant silver of the stud at its center. The girl gestured for him to hold his arm out, and he stuck out his right. She snorted at his ignorance. "The other one."

"Oh. I knew that," he smiled out of embarrassment. She raised an eyebrow. After strapping the shield to his (left) forearm, she clapped her hands to his shoulders as if to appraise his appearance.

"There. You almost look like a proper Saxon," she smirked, not quite as wide or mischievous as usual. Suddenly, a thought leapt back into Merlin's mind.

"I have something for you too, actually." He fished around for a moment in the pocket of his jacket, and pulled out a gold ring. The young man held it out to his lover, heart skipping a beat as a hope of the future crossed his sights.

Gaius glanced over to see his nephew holding a ring out to his beloved, and in that single instant a thousand thoughts wailed their worry in his head. Marrying the girl? Now?

"Oh! I was worried it was gone forever. Thank you," Braith beamed, slipping the little golden snake back onto her middle finger. The old physician took a second to regain his bearings - so it wasn't a proposal after all. Just a kindness. Phew.

"No problem," Merlin smiled at his lover, unaware of his uncle's mental panic. The warlock stared at the Dane for a moment, and his smile fell at the edges. These little moments were spent trying to forget the bad ones ahead.

War cost so many lives on both sides. So much bloodshed. And that blood, as they both knew, could be anyone's. "I... I guess this is goodbye."

The Viking frowned, and shook her head. Her stars were beginning to drown. "I'd much prefer to say 'see you soon', under the circumstances."

"Right then." The dark-haired servant covered the space between them with a single bounding step, and practically crushed her in an embrace. The young queen didn't care that the squeeze was tighter then a British bodice; she didn't care how small she felt in his arms beneath the giant shield. They just held on, savoring the comfort of another's touch.