"May God have mercy on my enemies. Because I won't."
~
England.
18 year old Lyra disguises herself daily to pass as a boy to fulfill her duties as Sir Grummore's squire. Content where she is, Lyra doesn't have anything to wish for.
When Grummore go...
A FIGURE IN hooded black stole away into the night, the bundle pressed to her chest no more remarkable than a rock on the side of a forgotten path.
Merlin watched in bewildered amusement as Lyra attempted to sneak out of her own palace unseen.
The wizard had not been as affected by the betrayal as the young princess had been.
The figure traced its way through the courtyard, and through the gates, before sneaking off of the palace grounds.
Merlin could understand her recklessness, her need to be somewhere else.
The night before the coronation was always the most riddled with nerves: excitement and anxiety smeared into one big painting of feeling.
When Merlin was sure Lyra was far enough away, he launched into the air to follow her. Though she needed to learn responsibility, Merlin could not allow her to do something rash before her big day.
Arthur be damned.
Wind whipped through the wizard's beard and threatened to sweep his hat away, but Merlin merely held on to his head gear a little tighter, his eyes following the young woman following nearly the same path that Merlin had followed sixteen years before.
It was then Merlin knew where the young queen was going, that she would want her privacy.
On his way back to the castle, Merlin turned Nimue's foreboding words over in his head once more.
How blind they had been, to not understand that the betrayal she spoke of would be right under their noses.
The wizard landed with a soft thud on the stone floor of his room, and he placed his hat on the bedside table next to his spellbook.
"She'll be alright," he spoke to himself as he was tucking into bed. "What could a visit to a childhood home possibly do?"
Lyra would be a good king, he knew.
The wizard drifted off into the oblivion of sleep.
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Word Count: 325
Final Word Count: 36371
Thank you so much for sticking with this book until the end! My loyal readers & commenters- you know who you are- thank you so much for your support, without which I don't think this book would have been completed on time. <3
More thanks to come in the Outro!
And final questions: what do you think Lyra was doing? Was Merlin's decision a good one?
