The Rise of Arthur Pendragon

CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO

"Merlin I'm so sorry I wish I could have told you but you know that that wasn't possible and that Kilgara would have hated me! I knew one day I could tell you so I held my tongue and now you know, so it's alright and-" "Alia stop it." Merlin spoke in a calm, deliberate voice that immediately shut her up. Alia shrank back at the harshness in his voice. "I trusted you, Alia. And that means a lot. I've never been able to trust anyone as much as I have you. Not even Arthur or Gaius." Alia heard a tone she had never heard Merlin use before. His voice was full of bitterness and resentment. "You knew all along that we share the same father, that you're my half sister and that you're a dragon lord and you didn't tell me." Alia wished he would scream at her because the cold in his usually so warm, kind voice was terrifying her. She lowered her eyes to the floor but said nothing. "Look at me." When the young girl didn't move Merlin took her chin in his hands and forced her to look straight into his startlingly blue eyes with her equally bright ones and they widened with fear. "I have been beaten, tortured, poisoned, bewitched and betrayed. I have been through so much you could never, ever understand.", his eyes flashed with a sudden anger,"And do you know what? It's never hurt this much. I will never forgive you for this." Merlin let go of Alia with a jerk of his hand and stood up. This was not like him at all. Alia saw the hurt and anger in his face and shrank back even more. She had never seen such fury. Merlin turned his back on Alia and began to stride towards the door. "No Merlin wait! Please! I'm so sorry... Merlin!" Alia leapt up and grabbed the young warlocks arm. Merlin turned with one swift movement. Before she knew it Merlins palm had collided with her cheek with such force that she was knocked backwards onto the floor. Her cheek stung and her eyes filled with tears of pain and hurt. Alia stared up at Merlin, who had turned white as a sheet and was gaping at his hand, his eyes wide. "Alia... Alia I'm sorry. I don't know what came over me I-" But the Druid girl had gotten up and was running towards the door, hand to her face. With one last look of pure misery she swung the door open and fled. The last thing Merlin saw was the tip of her chestnut hair disappearing around the corner.

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Alia ran. She didn't know where she was going but she didn't care. All she wanted was to get away from there. Away from Camelot and Merlin and all the memories she had made there. Blinded by her tears she tore through the woods, ripping her blood-red dress as she ran, before finally collapsing in a heap on the forest floor. Minuets passed, then hours and yet she didn't not move. The young girl just lay there, tears streaming down her cheeks, wishing it would all end. If it were up to her she never would have moved again but hunger made her decide to get up and find something to eat. So she wandered aimlessly through the forest picking berries for food and drinking from streams. When it got dark she curled up under a boulder and soon fell into an uneasy sleep. Night turned into day and back into night and then into day once more. She wondered wether anyone was searching for her, or if they just didn't care that she'd disappeared. That evening, the by now filthy and utterly exhausted Alia made camp in the shelter of a large tree where she had managed to start a fire. She lay there, staring at the sky and thinking of all the mistakes she had made, wishing she could undo them. With those thoughts, Alia drifted slowly to sleep. She awoke with a start a few hours later, a hand pressed against her mouth. It was still dark and she couldn't make out her captor. Instinctively, her eyes flashed gold and the man was hurled backwards onto the ground. "Owwww! What was that for??",the figure groaned, as he sat up. "Arthur?" Alia gasped and shot up, barreling towards her friend. "Arhur!!" "Yes it's me, who did you think it was?" Alia opened her mouth to say something but Arthur cut across her. "Never mind that. You, young lady, have some explaining to do."