Merlyn's Only Hope

Lancelot P1

Unusually, Merlyn had some free time. Unfortunately, someone had told Gaius, which meant that, rather than a break, Merlyn was given more chores. Hence, she was wondering the woods, picking some absolutely fascinating herbs, most of them a dull green colour.

Finding the last plant, a peculiar mushroom, Merlyn smiled. She still had an hour until Arthur had asked for her to be by the stables, so she actually had a few moments to herself. Naturally, as soon as the thought passed through her head, she heard a roar.

A creature, with the body of a lion and what seemed to be the head and wings of an eagle flew towards her. Cursing herself for bringing no weapons but the daggers in her boots, she paused, dumbfounded by the sheer power radiating off of the creature. She ran towards it, doubting that she could outrun it, a dagger in each hand. Her eyes glowed gold, sending the griffin- she vaguely remembered the name from one of Gaius' books- backwards. Of course, just as she was nearing the beast, hoping to get some sort of upper hand, if that was even possible, a tree root came into contact with her foot, causing her to fly forward, sprawling across the floor.

The beast took its chance; it stood over her, pinning her limbs beneath its claws. She was about to use magic, not that she really knew a spell to help in this specific situation, but, luckily for her, a man came out of nowhere, waving his sword at the monster. It retreated slightly, analysing the new threat.

The stranger went for what should have been the killing blow, but instead, the sword shattered, pieces of steel raining down from magical shielding.

"Run!" Merlyn was helped to her feet. She had no choice but to follow the man, diving behind a fallen tree, pulling the stranger down with her. The griffin missed them, propelling itself up into the sky from the log, its talons missing Merlyn's face by mere inches.

"You saved my life." she breathed. The man stared at her for a moment, but eventually nodded. "I'm Merlyn."

"Lancelot." he shook her hand, before passing out, his shirt turning a dark crimson before Merlyn's eyes.

∆

With the help of a little magic, Merlyn was able to carry Lancelot to Gaius' chambers. She was fairly sure that the wound wasn't as bad as it looked since the warrior hadn't died on the trip to the physician's quarters, and was luckily proven correct when Gaius simply disinfected and bandaged it, all the while questioning Merlyn on what she'd seen.

"He should be fine by the morning." Gaius remarked, pleased with his work.

Merlyn smiled, but, checking the time, she realised she was late to meet Arthur. Her smile faltered; she dashed towards where the prince was waiting, looking rather unimpressed at her tardiness.

"Sorry I'm late s-sire." she panted, "I ju-just almost died."

The prince wished he could say that he was surprised, but Merlyn getting into trouble was essentially a daily occurrence. Just the other day, she claimed to be attacked by a swarm of harpies, although Arthur was pretty sure it was just some of the townswomen, people who disapproved of her behaviour. Upon reflection, perhaps Merlyn had made a correct deduction after all.

"Ready the horses, the king will be here in a few minutes." he ordered, deciding that, rather than help the girl, he would only watch her struggle to saddle a couple of horses in under two minutes. He didn't want to be accused of favoritism. She did, just as his father arrived, unimpressed as usual as he surveyed the scene. After Merlyn had helped the king onto a horse, not even bothering to ask Arthur if he wanted a leg up, she disappeared, presumably to clean his room or do the laundry.

Arthur travelled with his father for maybe half an hour or so before they reached one of the nearby villages. It was in ruins, smoke billowing from crumbling buildings, livestock running aimlessly through the broken streets.