Never Free ~ Merlin x Reader

7 - The Truth

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~Merlin~
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No. Onyx! I go to dive in after her but Arthur holds me back.

"Dwarves can't swim," he reminds me. "You'd drown."

"But Onyx!" I protest. Red Shoes leaps into action and off the cliff. I rush to the edge, praying that I see their heads pop out of the water.

Seconds pass but it feels like hours. It's been too long. Onyx has been under for way too long. Just as I decide to jump, I see a pair of red shoes float to the surface. A few seconds later, I see a big girl carrying a limp Onyx out of the river. I sprint downstream until I reach the shore. The girl grabs the shoes and paddles her and Onyx to the shore.

One close enough, I wade in up to my hips and help pull her out. Arthur rushes in and helps us. Onyx is unconscious. No. Not again. I look up at the girl.

Is that...?

"Red Shoes?" I ask.

She nods. "We can talk about this later but Y/n is the priority," she says leaning over Onyx.

I freeze. "What did you say?" I ask quietly. Red Shoes looks up wide-eyed. She opens her mouth to say something but closes it. I stare her down. "What did you call her?" I ask again, urgency in my voice.

Red Shoes takes a deep breath. "Merlin, I'm so sorry," she whispers. I go to question her but she reaches down and lifts Onyx bridal style. She carries her farther from the shore before placing her down again.

"Red Shoes," I start again, following her. "Please, answer me."

She only looks at me with a sad expression I can't describe. I watch as she slowly takes off Onyx's mask. Onyx takes a deep breath and starts coughing out water without her mask.

When her coughing stops I recognize it. I can't move. Onyx's face registering immediately. Memories, flashbacks of my childhood zooming past in my brain. It can't be...

Onyx...

Y/n?

It... It all makes sense! Why she was so secretive! Why she kept her face hidden! Why she cried that day we went to Abedon! It was Y/n the whole time! That's why I felt so attached to her! Why I cared so much! Why we became best friends almost instantly! She's the girl I've loved since I was eight!

I can only stare at her in shock. I don't care what the other two are doing or talking about, I can only stare at my best friend. The girl I lost. The girl I love. Y/n...

"Merlin," a soft voice gets my attention. It's Arthur. I hum in acknowledgement but I don't take my eyes off Y/n. "I'm gonna start a fire." I hum again.

"I'll come with you," I hear Red Shoes say. Their footsteps recede into the distance and I feel myself grow taller.

Carefully, I reach out to her. Gently, I lift her and pull her to me so I can hold her. I take in every inch of her face. The scar Red Shoes told us about is there. From her cheek to her jugular. It was definitely a knife that made that. What happened to her? She was taken as this innocent girl but now she's haunted. Her eyes hold sadness and horror, her body is covered in scars. Her mind is plagued with PTSD.

My Y/n...

"What happened to you?" I voice my question. I hug her closer to me, tears beginning to run down my face. "What happened to you, Y/n?" I ask again, this time my voice breaking with small sobs.

I hear footsteps again and then feel myself shrink. I look up to see Arthur and Red Shoes carrying firewood, and then Bunny and three little wooden bears following them. The bears see the girl in my hands and gasp.