Merlin: In Modern Times

Chapter 1.10: Combat

Merlin turned in his sleep with droplets of sweat stuck to his forehead.

The flare of the emerald green cloak.

The blowing wind and the threatening figure.

She was haunting him again with a cold smile, close enough to kill.

She was ready.

Merlin screamed and his eyes flashed. The bulb in his nightstand was blown to pieces in something that sounded like a huge explosion. Merlin covered his face, but the pieces of broken glass did not hit him. A little stunned he opened his eyes and found that all the pieces were lying in a perfectly shaped Triquetra on the floor. Merlin's eyes went as wide as they would go. For minutes he stared at it without making a move. For hours he lay awake, deeply shocked this time, wondering what was wrong with him. The entire thing had not awoken Mr Gaius for which Merlin was thankful. He couldn't take his eyes off the symbol. He compared it to his necklace and they were identical. He pointed a lightly shaking hand towards the symbol and closed his eyes. When he opened them again, the symbol had changed into a spiral and Merlin jumped back. He was shaking all over now, certain those 'happenings' were not coincidences.

Of the hundreds of theories swarming in Merlin's head one face kept haunting him. Elly was one of the most beautiful girls Merlin had seen in hid life, but there was something cold about her. It was almost as if a cold mist would fill the room every time she entered. It was invisible, but Merlin could feel it very clearly. He didn't like to suspect her since she had always been very friendly. Yet her face fit so perfectly in that nightmarish dream Merlin had at night. She could be the face of that woman. She fit the warning. That emerald green and those colourless eyes. Beautiful, but poisonous like a snake. Those were not Merlin's only worries.

Another question remained; how would he be able test this theory? Merlin knew he needed to be absolutely sure before going to Arthur with this. Without proof the prince would slay this accusation as if it was a wounded enemy. It was the knight against the dragon. Mr Gaius had Merlin for dinner several times and the other way around and the old man noticed how Merlin could not seem to let go of his ideas. To Merlin himself, these things were much more than ideas; they were real dangers. Inside he felt like the entire world was about to explode or he was. He felt angry because there were so many things he did not know yet. Angry because it would be cruel to let Arthur loose another family member and Merlin knew exactly what that felt like. The loss of his mother had weighted down on him hard and the new knowledge about his father had reopened an old wound Merlin wasn't aware he had. It was not that he had lost all over again, but the remembrance of it was every bit as painful. Especially now when Merlin wanted to scream because he felt so lost. What he needed was answers. Answers no one was willing to give. Answers that perhaps no man had the answer to.

Merlin took a deep breath and assembled all his reasons to doubt Elly; she was smart, she was the closest Arthur had to a sister, she fit the legends and she seemed to have a secret no one, not even her best friends seemed to know about. She was the woman of his dreams, Merlin was sure of it. It had to be her.

But how was that proof to give to Arthur? 

Taking a deep breath, Merlin took another look and tried to run through all the possible explanations until he ended up with the only plausible one. Jumping out of bed, Merlin dressed and wrote Mr Gaius a note saying he would be gone until the tournament would start.

Walking off, Merlin took out his cell and dialled Arthur's number hoping for a response. 

It rang four times before Arthur's voice sounded on the other end. "This better be important," he said, sounding tried and irritated.