Merlyn's Only Hope

The Labyrinth of Gedref P1

Merlyn couldn't be mad at Arthur for long, and seeing as he hadn't been stupid enough to broach the subject of magic since their return from Ealdor, things had quickly got back to normal. Naturally, upon their return, Arthur had instantly decided to leave, thinking that a hunting trip with some of the stupidest knights Merlyn had ever met would be a good idea. Then again, his wits had never been his strong point.

They'd heard a muffled noise, accompanied by the shaking of a few bushes around twenty feet from where they'd made camp. After a rather unsuccessful day, which had absolutely nothing whatsoever to do with a touch of sorcery, the knights seemed glad to chase whatever manner of creature lay in the clearing obscured by flora.

"Merlyn." Arthur hissed, beckoning his servant towards him. He'd sent his men to surround the area in an attempt to stop the beast from bolting.

"What is it?" she whispered nodding towards the bushes. Subtly, she shuffled her feet, stamping on a few twigs, hoping to make a noise loud enough to scare the creature away.

"I don't know." the prince glared at her pointedly, apparently seeing through her plan. "We'll surround it; I want you to go in there and flush it out."

Merlyn had never been a coward, but she wasn't as stupid as the men Arthur was used to training. "You want me to go in there? You just said that you don't know what it is; it could be dangerous."

"Let's hope so." the prince smirked, patting Merlyn on the back. "Now go." he pushed her, forcing her towards the clearing. Never had the rustling trees sounded so sinister as she carefully approached whatever monster could live in the virtually untouched parts of the woods. She unsheathed her sword, knowing that travelling through into the unknown without a proper weapon was practically suicide. Eventually, she made it to the clearing, still stomping on the ground in the hope that the creature would be scared off or, in the worst case, give her reason to kill it.

She certainly hadn't been expecting a unicorn to bow its head towards her, his horn shining a brilliant silvery colour in the fading light.

She dropped her sword, mesmerised by the sheer beauty of the creature. His white skin gleamed, his mane the colour of fresh snow. Merlyn reached out a hand, stroking his long, elegant snout. For a few precious seconds, everything in the world seemed right, in balance with the rest of the universe. Merlyn didn't want this moment to be ruined, but the snapping of wood alluded to the imminent danger.

"Go, go."  she tried to shoo the unicorn, but it refused to move, stubbornly remaining in place.

"They're going to kill you, please, go." she hoped that the creature would understand the urgency in her tone, but instead, it remained still, determined to meet its fate.

"Arthur, no!" she shouted, turning to her prince. But it was too late. The bolt she'd heard click into place was already in the air, hitting the unicorn and causing it to stagger and fall, dead upon impact to the ground.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry." Merlyn mumbled, dropping to her knees beside the poor beast.

"Ha ha, a unicorn." Arthur seemed gleeful, as if he were amazed with his luck. Merlyn looked up at him, tears streaking down her face.

"What have you done?" she asked him, not expecting him to know the answer. Even she wasn't quite sure how deep her dread had hollowed into her chest.

"Don't be such a girl, Merlyn." he sneered, rolling his eyes.

Even in her grief, she managed to raise an eyebrow. "A little hard." she gestured to her body, one which certainly didn't belong to a man. She glanced up at a rather flustered Arthur, ready to lecture him, when she saw an ancient figure, cloaked in white robes, standing behind him.