She Who is King

4 | buried in earth

THE MAN standing in the entryway was unlike any man I had ever seen before.

For one, he was very, very old, and didn't look as though he should be up and about walking on his own. For another, his snow white beard trailed down in wisps to his chest, and he had a curious purple hat patterned with stars on top of his head. His swirling robes didn't seem to quite touch the ground, and I assumed that he was flying, because of the way he was so gracefully moving across the room, before he took a seat on the other side of the table.

"Well," he said, "we can start now."

I finally found my voice, and I looked down the table. I mustered my best imposing king impression, and said, "And you are?"

The man chuckled, his eyes glowing with mischief and joy. "Ah, my dear, haven't you a memory? I am Merlin."

Alfred looked confused, his head turning rapidly to look at me, and then at Merlin, and then back at me. But he seemed to have caught on to the greatest shock of all.

"My dear?" he asked. "That doesn't seem like a very masculine name."

Merlin laughed silently, and I glared at him down the table. I knew I would have to tell Alfred at some point, but I was planning to wait until after the coronation. 

Instead of confirming that, yes, I was female by using words, I simply took off my hat, and pulled the pins out of my golden hair. I waited with baited breath as Alfred took in the real me.

"Dearest me," Alfred's eyes looked about ready to pop out of his head at such a sight. "And you're the one that released the sword from its stony prison? This is not good. Not good at all."

Merlin waited a moment, all the while smiling. It seemed this man would be trouble. "But, my friend, she carries Uther's blood, and Igraine's spirit. She is the One True Queen of England by blood, and you have not even seen what merit she may possess. We will keep this away from the public for a time, which means we will have to limit the public appearances, but that is simply formality. The people will need to see that the queen can preform her duties to them before they will accept anything less than a king to sit upon the velvet throne." 

I was taken aback by how much the man had known about me. But I still didn't understand what he meant by Uther and Igraine. they were the late king and queen, yes, but I could not hold their blood in my veins. I had been a simple squire who could not even attempt to wear a ballgown my entire life, let alone be the daughter of a beloved king.

"I am no daughter of Uther," I said, and Alfred looked at me with widened eyes. "Sir Grummore picked me up off the side of the road. I was a nobody before I began disguising myself to be his squire. There must be some misunderstanding."

"Denial is the death of dreams," Merlin said, a challenging look in his eyes. "Do you never dream, my dear?"

I simply looked ahead, at the space on the wall right above Merlin's head. I wanted to stop discussing such personal matters in front of Alfred. But at least my closet would be filled with gowns and tiaras now, instead of pants and hats. 

I had no idea who Merlin was, or who he thought he was, but I didn't want him to keep talking to me like he knew me. There was no way he knew me.

"Are we to move forward, then?" I asked, looking at Alfred. He seemed just as confused as I was, and that was reassuring. It was good to know that I was not the only one bothered by this old man.

"Yes, of course, Your Majesty," Alfred replied quickly, all too happy to go along with the subject change. I risked a glace at Merlin. He was simply smiling softly and twirling his beard in between his fingers.