Lost in Camelot

Four

 "How is this possible?" I shout. "Camelot isn't real!"

My hands quiver, the realization of my fate hitting me like a car crash. If not for the pain I felt moments ago, I would say this is a dream.

Merlin looks around, raising his eyebrows. "It looks quite real to me."

I pinch my arm. Ouch, that hurts. I click my heels together thinking, There's no place like home. Nothing happens. An idea crosses my mind. "If you have magic, you can send me home."

"And where is home?"

"The future, I think. Or some futuristic realm. I'm not sure." Maybe I hit my head too hard when I fell in the castle.

Merlin's eyes spark. "Lady Santa Claus, I will help you on your quest if you help me on mine," he proposes.

"What do you need my help for?"

He snatches a book from his satchel, flipping through pages. When he finds what he is looking for, he hands me the book. A drawing of a sword like Excalibur occupies the page. "I created this sword to help our future king lead Camelot through an age of light—"

"Do you mean Arthur isn't king yet?"

He narrows his eyes, calculating. "How do you know that Arthur is our future king?"

"Well, he is Uther Pendragon's son. Heir to Camelot's throne."

"Indeed, he is. But no one besides Uther and I know that he is his child."

I kick the floor, cursing under my breath for giving away too much information. Dirt stains my blue Converse. With my bloody and ripped jeans, I look like a hot mess. "Let's say I've heard a lot about him."

"Yes, Uther and I have an agreement that Arthur Pendragon will be our future king when he turns eighteen, which happens in a few months. I need you to help me keep him safe until the time comes." He takes the book from me, shoving it back into the satchel.

I nearly choke. "You want me to stay here for months? I can't! My family needs me."

"If you want to return home, you need my help, and I need yours."

I tilt my head, wondering why a powerful sorcerer would need a simple girl like me. "What makes you think I can help you?"

He picks up a twig and draws a sword in the soft ground. "The sword—I named it Caliburn—has unimaginable magical powers." A dark shadow crosses his face. "And at the exact moment I placed it in the stone, a flash of light blinded me, and you materialized," he says.

I snort. "You think an inanimate object brought me here on purpose?"

He throws the twig away, placing his hands on his hips. "It chose you as it will choose our future heir. And it seems you already know a lot about our history."

I purse my lips. I know everything about their history. I'm no time traveling expert, but changing the facts in the past will probably affect the future. And a change like this . . . well, it could have disastrous consequences.

"You got the wrong person," I say.

"Camelot needs a savior, and Caliburn pulled you from your time for a reason."

"I'm no one's savior," I hiss. A flash of my father's feeble breathing comes to mind. I couldn't even save him. "Where I come from, magic doesn't even exist. Now please just send me home," I beg.

"If you can't help me, I can't help you either." He crosses his arms, his light mood darkening.

I think of mom and imagine her face when she finds out I disappeared. She's suffered so much. I shiver at the image of her desperate sobs. And Ana, what will she think when she discovers her sister vanished? I can't put her through that. I must return home—they need me.