Two Sides of The Same Coin (Merthur)(Discontinued)

The Sand of a Soul

Ten minutes later, I found myself in a wooden chair at the end of Merlin’s bed, right above his head, surrounded by candles and incense in the darkened room. It smelled nice and all, but I did not understand why it was completely necessary.

“You must have an environment to focus, Sire, this will help you,” Personally, if anything, i thought all the extra… decorations would distract me. I was, however, not very willing to say such to Gaius, who bustled around like an anxious mother.

“Are you sure you don’t need anything else, Sire? I could get you a glass of water so that you don’t get thirsty… or a sandwich in case you get hungry. Do you need some cushions on your chair? Are you too cold? Too hot? Why do you look annoyed, Sire?” Well, maybe Gaius hadn’t asked that last one, completely, but he surely would have had I not shooed him out.

Gaius was acting as a parent, Arthur could understand that. Although the old physician may not have shown it, Arthur of all people knew that Merlin was like a son to him. He almost felt a little sorry for Gaius. The man probably trusted Arthur’s summoning abilities just as much as said king did. In other words, none at all.

Arthur looked down at his friend’s sleeping face. The other soulless boy they had rescued from Morgana’s fortress was in the main chambers, while Merlin had been moved to his own personal bedroom, where he would feel more comfortable if he were to wake.

Merlin looked so calm, so peaceful…. So grimm. He wasn’t smiling or laughing and it just wasn’t right. “Are you listening, you idiot?” I let the words hang for a moment, hoping, just in the back of my mind, that Merlin’s face would twitch and he would answer. It did not, he did not, “Merlin… I care about you. If you don’t come back… I… I don’t know what I would do anymore. I know you. You won’t leave me alone here, you’re not that selfish. Just… please listen to whatever gibberish the druids have me saying… and come back for me. Please Merlin,” Finished with my admittedly cheesy little speech, I read over the foreign letters on my scroll. I didn’t understand any of them, hopefully, Merlin’s soul would.

“Well, here goes nothing…. sáwol sylfum se mín ea-eaxlgestealla, gescéadnes ne álíefednes behinden se ærworuld of se…. andleofa. Unc, sylfum dr-drýcræft and ealdorlegu, bist níedhús eac ús. Merlin Emrys, unc fón be mec nú, swá  cuman a mec. Cierr éaca, ríce abiron eac... úre body. Ic bedician…. Merlin Emrys.”

Practically slamming the script into the ground in haste, I waited for Merlin to show any sign of anything. For the longest moment, nothing happened. What if I messed up? Oh god, what if i ruined everything? What if he never woke up and it was completely my fault. I couldn’t. I couldn’t hold that inside of me. No, no Merlin had to wake up.

It was only then that I noticed my friend’s breathing sped up. The boy’s chest was rising and falling unevenly, quickly, and heavily. It looked like he was having trouble getting oxygen into his lungs or… something. I had to help him. He couldn’t die now! Not after all of this!

Maybe he needed some extra back support, I had grabbed another pillow and was about to put it behind him when the boy shot up, staring straight ahead. I was thrown back by the unexpected motion and didn’t dare come forward again, I had to leave Merlin to do this by himself.

But he had stopped breathing. Merlin’s mouth was hanging open, and his eyes were uncovered by his lids. His eyeballs were completely white, though, as if they had rolled back in their sockets. Another moment and Merlin began to shake. I wanted to help, so badly, but I was so clueless as to what to do now. I was at a loss. Merlin could do this. I had to have faith in him, like he always had in me. Merlin could do this. He could do this.

Merlin looked like a victim of a horrible earthquake, while it was still happening. He was shaking so hard. Jolting back and forth, left and right, I really began to think I should hold him down.

Before I could even take a step towards my friend, everything was still again. Probably the eye of the storm. Because the beautiful thing that happened next was the most terrifying part.

A gold dust began to sift through the windows and floor boards. It came from every known corner and cranny, that dust, until there were piles upon piles of it in the room. The moment all dust settled, a gust of wind, coming from absolutely nowhere, blew through the walled in space. Golden dust was unsettled, rising into the air, circling the room, landing absolutely nowhere, and the candles Gaius had set for him went out.

The room was not dark.

Each grain of dust, each individual particle of what I now supposed was Merlin’s soul, lit up like a tiny sun. The wind had stopped, but the soul still floated around me like some beautiful piece of art, or some storybook I would read when I was little. This was too beautiful to possibly be something of the human world.

Swirls of gold filled the air, and they were beautiful. I had never seen anything quite like it, but then again, never before had i stared into a pure human soul.

I wanted to touch it.

A strange childish urge to touch everything you laid your eyes on, but I had to, this was too gorgeous.

Slowly, carefully, I raised my hand into the dust, only to have particles swirl around my palm. Every grain of soul was suddenly headed in one single direction, towards the center of the room, towards the bed, towards Merlin.

And I already knew this would be hard.

The gentle, calm light suddenly transformed. It was something angry, something determined, and something horrifying. Something unstoppable that was headed straight towards Merlin. I couldn’t protect him.

Merlin screamed, but the sound of the dust penetrating every cranny in Merlin’s body. It stabbed his eyes, gagged his throat, stuffing his nose, and, of course, the rest. And I could hear Merlin screaming.

It was difficult to notice the ground shaking, even when it sent the world spinning and had me tumbling to the floor. I stood up again, trying to get to my friend, to comfort him. This had to be over soon. Merlin was in pain! It had to stop! This was lasting to long already. It had to! It had to stop.

I was finally close enough to reach Merlin when a particularly hard jolt threw me off balance. I heard something crack as I fell, and a sharp pain split my skull. Nearly instantly, the dark fog that I had felt many times before was threatening to overtake me. It  coiled around my body, trying to force itself into my eyes and ears.

The last thing that fog let me feel was the ground stilling. The last thing that fog let me hear was the cutoff of Merlin’s screams and the dust’s roars. The last thing that fog let me see was the last of the soul being returned to its rightful owner, and Merlin closing his eyes before he flopped into his bed.

Then, all I felt, heard, or saw was silence.

Author's Note: O.o I liked that chapter... What i liked doesn't matter though, did you guys enjoy reading it? Personally i thought that was awesome. 

Tiny author's note today. Please comment! Your comments make my day and make me want to update sooner. Love you all!