Who Would Ever Want to be King

The Sword in the Stone

A young boy stood under the burning sun. Two huge guards on each side, holding his arms so tight, he thought the circulation might be blocked. Moving slightly, the guards just put him back into place. Looking ahead, the boy saw King Vortigern standing in front of a collapsed fortress on a hill. "Why have your guards brought me here?" the boy named Merlin demanded.

"So you may be put to death." the king said bluntly, approaching him, "So that the ground my citadel is on will be sprinkled with your blood." Merlin's anger at the king boiled inside him, but he had to remain calm.

"But why, though?" Merlin asked, "Who told you that this was a good idea?"

"My wise men." the king said calmly, "They told me to sprinkle the blood of a child without a father, so my fortress would stop collapsing." Merlin was taken aback. The comment hurt, a lot. Nevertheless, he knew it was a stupid plan that and needed to be proven wrong.

"Ok," he said, "Is it too much to ask for you to bring your wise men to me?" The king gave him a skeptical look, asking him why. "Because I know the real reason why the fortress doesn't stand."

"Tell me, young one. Why?" Vortigern asked. Merlin looked at the ground for a bit.

"There's a large pocket of air underneath your fortress," Merlin explained, "It makes the ground really unstable and could collapse in on itself." Vortigern stared at the boy, then at the fortress, then back at the boy.

"And what if this was all hyperbolic?" he questioned.

"Ask your men to dig and see for yourself." Merlin responded. Suddenly, a strange feeling came over the young boy, as if he was sensing something. "Also..." he said, "There is something down there. A-A prophecy, I think."

****************************************************************************************************

Arthur walked back, scanning the woods carefully, scanning for any semblance of something off. Right as he heard a slight russell, he turned to see a flock of birds flying away. That's when he barely heard a twig snap. Next thing Arthur knew, his and Merlin's sword clashed into each other. Thinking quickly, he went for his teachers side and right when he dodged, Arthur ran to the other side and turned to deliver a blow. Until Merlin blocked it, of course. After they kept clashing swords for a long while, Arthur went deep into the other swords handle and flung it out of Merlin's grip.

"Wow." Merlin said, impressed, checking his hand, "That was actually really good." Arthur put the sword back in it's scabbard.

"It was alright." he said, "Still think I need to improve on my footing or my agility or something." He went over to pick up the other sword.

"Oh, don't be so hard on yourself." Merlin said, "In my opinion, your skills are mighty impressive for a fifteen year old." Arthur shrugged it off with an apathetic "I guess" before quietly passing it to him.

Taking the sword, Merlin sensed something was off. "Is this about you being an orphan?" he asked. Arthur flinched, spooked by the man's accuracy.

"Dammit. Merlin, can you stop reading my mind?" he said.

"Not when you're in this state." Merlin said in a serious tone. He put his hands on Arthur's shoulders and stared directly into the teens eyes. "Listen, Arthur." he began, "Don't ever feel like you're useless or unwanted in this world. Take it from me. I was born from a virgin, made to be a destroyer. I'm not supposed to exist, and I should've been something impossible. But you know what? I'm here and I dealt with it. Tried to at least do something in my life. I suggest you do the same, but it's your choice in the end."