𝕭𝖔𝖔𝖐 𝕿𝖜𝖔
𝔖𝔲𝔪𝔪𝔞𝔯𝔶: From trolls to dragons to foreign princesses, Astraea Aphelion grows stronger as she
continues to navigate medieval Britain using her wit and heart, standing unshaken beside Merlin and Arthur as they face every threa...
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📍 Camelot
⏳February, 506 AD
An iron-y taste in my mouth startled me awake. I blinked as I tried to adjust my eyes to the darkness I was in. Only faint rays of sunshine filtered through the boarded up windows, but the light that came in was enough to allow me to notice the cobwebs and grime surrounding me. Attempting to move my arms, I realised that they were bound in chains, hanging over my head.
The remaining sleepiness quickly left my body as my eyes landed on my best friend beside me, also chained to the ceiling. He was still passed out.
"Merls, wake up!" I whisper yelled, kicking my leg out to nudge him. Fortunately, he instantly gasped and opened his eyes. He seemed to go through the same trouble of adjusting as I did, but eventually, his widened eyes landed on me.
"Astra, you are bleeding!" he seemed angry, though not at me. "Ah, so that's what I was tasting," I replied with a forced chuckle. He shook his head at me in disapproval. "Y'know, I can finally cross another thing off my list of things I never thought I'd experience – kidnapping!" my dry humour refused to die down. The corners of my friend's lips drew upwards momentarily, but did not reach a smile.
My stand-up comedy was cut short when the door to the shed opened, revealing Morgause. She was wearing different clothes to the ones she had the previous night, meaning that enough time had passed for her to have gone home and changed. I could only imagine what Morgana had told Gaius, Arthur and Uther about us, if she'd returned to Camelot.
How long had we been out?
The woman's servant/apprentice, Thanata, whom I remembered from when they'd been at Camelot; stepped in behind her and leant against the door, watching us with a smirk.
"You intrigue me, Merlin," the Wicked Witch of the West – I'm sorry, Morgause – began. "Why does a lowly servant continue to risk everything for Arthur and for Camelot? You know the answer, but you are not telling me. Why?" she asked, but was met with crickets. "What about you, Astraea?" more crickets. "Come on. Time and again you put your lives on the line. There must be a reason," she creeped closer to us, her evil smirk on full display.
"Loyalty, friendship, care, morality...but I'm guessing you're not familiar with any of those terms?" I smirked at her, earning a slap to the face. Worth it. "I believe in a fair and just land," Merlin answered through gritted teeth, drawing her attention to himself once more. She let out a cold laugh. "And you think Arthur will give you that?" "I know it."
Morgause shook her head, she seemed darkly amused.
"And then what? You think you will be recognised, Merlin? Is that it? All this so, one day, you can be a serving boy to the King?" she scoffed. "No. There is something more. Something you are not telling me – is there not?"
