The Return of Arthur

Chapter 9

[Sorry for the incredibly late update. Writer's block hit me hard.]

Wendy led the way up the red brick steps to Merlin's home. She had just turned back to warn Eris about her friends when the door flew open and two angry looking men with tousled black hair stood in the doorway.

"Wendy, where have you been?" Merlin shouted, sounding angrier than Wendy would have thought possible. Kilgharrah stood behind him looking more worried than angry until he caught sight of the girl standing slightly behind her. 

"Merlin, get Wendy." He murmured, just barely loud enough for Wendy to hear. Get me? Why? But before she could ask what was going on she'd been pulled inside the house and the door had been slammed shut behind her. In the midst of the chaos she'd done a very Wendy-like thing and tripped over Merlin's feet. 

Kilgharrah and Merlin were whispering hurriedly among themselves when she'd gathered her wits. "What on earth is wrong with you?" Roughly she pushed herself off of the floor and clumsily onto her feet. After several attempts to push through them, Kilgharrah finally spoke. "Wendy, stop."

Wendy, who was still filled with inexplicable anger, shouted. "That's my friend out there." 

"No, Wendy." The older and slightly taller man grabbed her by the shoulders and gently shook her. "That's a fairy."

She sputtered in disbelief, A fairy? Come on! That's absolutely ridiculous.

"Actually, you're wrong." The three of them whirled around to the voice. The voice of the person that Merlin had very specifically locked outside with several charms and spells was now inside. "Part fairy. A halfling, if you will." 

Wendy's jaw dropped. Halfling? Both Merlin and Kilgharrah stepped towards her, shielding Wendy from her. "Why are you here?" Merlin asked at the same time that Kilgharrah asked, "Have you been sending the letters?" With a lazy flick of Eris's hand both men fell silent. Merlin fumed and attempted reversing the spell as Kilgharrah waited begrudgingly for the effects to wear off. A spell, Wendy thought numbly, My childhood bestfriend can cast spells.

"How I do hate it when people don't give me a chance to formulate an answer." Eris stepped around the silent men and into the living room. "Nice place." She commented.

"Eris." Wendy shrieked. "Give their voices back!" That's one sentence I never thought I'd have to say. The blue haired girl rolled her eyes, "Fine," and with a delicate flick of her wrist it was undone. Eris looked between the fuming men with her hands on her hips. "You warlocks just don't know how to have fun, do you?"

"No." Merlin countered. "We warlocks don't enjoy other peoples misery."

"I'd hardly call that misery." Eris laughed. "It's fun."

Kilgharrah shielded Wendy with his body and growled, "What do you want halfling?" This whole guarding me from my friends thing is getting really annoying, Wendy thought as she stepped out from behind him.

Eris smirked, "I am in cohorts with the Shee. I serve to protect the descendants of Arthur Pendragon with my life until, during and after the completion of the prophecy."

"If you were meant to protect Wendy then why isn't it written in the prophecy." Merlin snapped back.

Eris rolled her eyes but proceeded to pull a slip of paper from her pocket. "The prophecy you have is unfinished. It was written before this was known."

The daughter of Titania and of righteous man will produce an offspring far more powerful than the mothering Queen herself. Daughter by name of Discordia or Eris; Goddness of discord and chaos; will save the young Lady Pendragon from great peril when Orion rises full over Avalon. She will serve the heir in the days following Arthur's resurrection, and ultimately will aid in defeating Morgana."  

"You've memorized the prophecy?" Kilgharrah asked in astonishment.

The blue haired girl threw her hands up in defeat. "I've revealed my true self, my part in your stupid prophecy and you're concerned that I've memorized it?" 

Merlin interjected. "If you're so powerful, do you know who's been sending us letters?"

"D'you mean the postal service?" 

"No," Kilgharrah sighed, "They've been appearing, not arriving in the mail." He produced a letter from the front pocket of his jeans, surprisingly unwrinkled, and handed it to Eris. She examined it for only a moment before her eyebrows shot up in surprise. 

"What was is it?" Wendy asked. Though the letters had been helpful she'd been worried that it was Morgana had been sending them.

Eris looked mischievously at the letter. "She'd hate it if I told you." As she opened her mouth to add more an invisible force threw her back into the kitchen. Both Merlin and Kilgharrah rushed to guard Wendy and prepared for a second blow. 

"Show yourself!" Kilgharrah yelled.

From the other room they heard Eris pull herself out of the now-broken lower kitchen cabinet. She entered the living room laughing. "I told you she'd hate it if you knew!"