Breaking Curses

Tenth Chapter

"How is it?" Merlin asked as he flopped on his bed.

"Too much for someone like me." You noticed that the window and the door towards the balcony were newly made. "Jack sure did make a lot of effort on this."

"You helped us break our curse. It only makes sense that he would." He got up and went to the balcony.

"Still, this is too much." You said, following him outside. 

"Hey." He made you face him. "Be proud of yourself for once. That's a lot of work breaking the curses of more than ten people."

"More than ten?"

"You were also the reason why the curses made by Regina broke. You haven't realized that?"

"I couldn't have done it without your help."

He rolled his eyes. "Trust me, you would. You're greater than you could ever imagine. You're already strong enough to protect those you treasure and yourself."

Your memory wandered back to when he asked you why you wanted to be stronger that night after the disaster that Prince Average caused.

"Thank you, Merlin." Your lips curved into a genuine smile.

"I was just stating facts." He smiled back. "You should take a rest. You look tired from traveling." 

"How about you?" 

"I'm used to traveling a lot. You, on the other hand, rarely do that. So you should rest." He guided, more like pushed, you towards your bedroom. "Sleep well, Y/N. I'll wake you up when it's time to get ready." He said, closing the door without giving you a chance to reply. 

You listened to his footsteps walking to where you assumed outside the room, hearing the door open and close. You sat down on the bed for a bit before lying on it. It was more comfortable than you expected. It felt warm as well. And soon enough, without your notice, you fell asleep. 

"Y/N, wake up. You should get ready for dinner." Merlin woke you up without even trying. 

He knew that you were not a heavy sleeper and could easily be woken up because of your defensive instincts. Sleeping alone for years made it sharper than ever. The only reason you could sleep peacefully at Risky Rock was because of the sound-concealing charm. 

"I'll wait for you outside." He said when you finally got up. 

When you were done getting ready, you and Merlin headed downstairs towards the dining hall. You both were greeted with smiles as soon as you entered the hall. 

"Merlin, you've grown." The Queen approached Merlin, kissing both sides of his cheeks. She then turned to you and did the same gesture. "You must be Y/N. You truly are pretty, just like Jack had mentioned." 

"Thank you." You bowed to give respect to the royalties. "It's an honor to receive such an invitation." 

"We are much more honored to have you, the great witch who helped break the curses of the Fearless Seven along with King White and the others who Regina cursed." 

"How---?" 

"Jack won't shut up about how great you are." Jack's older brother, Sebastian, joined in. "I also heard it from Blaise." 

All throughout the dinner was endless talking. The topic went from the story of you, Snow White, and the Fearless Seven, to how each family of the Fearless Seven is somehow connected. In fact, most of them met on formal occasions and eventually built their relationships over time. The topic then wandered to the actual reason why you were here.