Savage Ends(Permanently Discontinued)

A Nest of Snakes (Chapter 4)

 

I tell myself he is only a male version of Maleficent, but she scares me too. Sense dawn's upon me, and a flash of an unfamiliar and courageous fire stings my mouth into speaking.

"I promised myself I was finished with magic!" Fury scorches my chest. "Did my mother send you here?"

"No, but she plays an important role in your fate."

"My fate..." I say the words as if they were ducktails in a swamp of crocodiles.

"Do not make humor of this matter." Kilgarah tosses his head, "I have come here to warn you of a perilous consequence to your choice, which has been foretold since the great purge." His tone makes me jolt. I had been expecting him to speak, but one cannot help being startled by the thunder his throat emits.

"And what is that?" My hands tremor and sweat.

"It is pertinent you find Emrys and bid him farewell, or he cannot fulfill his destiny." A dragon telling me to say goodbye to a man I have never met, and apparently I am an obstruction to his ability to get things done.

"You talk in riddles." I want to hide beneath a rock when he squints at me.

"Find Emrys, speak my name, and we shall meet again." Kilgarah's wings span and whoosh winds strong enough to knock me over. He is leaving, and I am still lost and confounded.

"But where can I find him?!" My heated shout echoes against his wings; he turns his head down to frown at me. My hands clasp onto my mouth...I used magic. A tiny bit, but magic nonetheless. I don't have full control of the powers tied to my emotions, my mother always had me embrace the anger, but I refused to practice. I rejected the idea of becoming bitter like the Evil Queen, and I helped my stepsister as often as I could. I had to be careful of my mother though; she has been stalking the kingdom for Snow White's blood; for many years. All for a secret Snow White told. My mother never told me what it was, or the circumstances of what happened to her to cause the evil to bloom. Thirst for revenge, anger, malice, and the maniacal amusement when ripping out a heart. My mother would never admit it, but my eyes could see it every day -- despair.

My thoughts click back to the present.

"Where can I find Emrys?" I ask again. He hinders, before telling me the truth.

"In Camelot." Then Kilgarah is gone.

The next morning, I tidy the bed, then come out to be greeted by a sticky bowl of porridge, and it's cold. Gaius and Merlin are nowhere to be seen. I usually wake before dawn, but after seeing the dragon last night, it took me a good four hours to fall back asleep.

"Find Emrys." If this man is in Camelot, is Kilgarah saying I need to leave Camelot? It must be near on 1'oclock now; the paste sticks to my tongue. It is difficult to swallow, but I distract myself by thinking of Gaius and Merlin; Gaius must have important physician duties, and Merlin is manservant to the king. My fingers are tied into knots while woodpeckers stab my stomach. I am to meet the king today, and waking up late is a bad first impression.

I take the time to braid my ebony hair over my right shoulder, and I abandon my empty bowl.

I could begin by roaming the castle to look for this Emrys, and maybe I could find out how he is in league with Kilgarah. He takes great risk in conspiring with a creature of magic, and living in a kingdom which bans such things; precisely why I came here. I may have powers, but at least I am trying to put a stop to my use of them. Annoyance scourges me, but I did use magic last night. A common voice strengthener, but unpredictable in my case. I try to douse the frustration in my gut.