Merlin Fairytale Series

Chapter 3: On Board the Good Ship Misery

Misery? Don't think I'd wanna be on that ship!
Above picture is the grouchy Arthur.
Summary: Merlin wakes on a ship. He meets Arthur, a grouchy empath, and they work together to escape.

     Merlin woke up to the sound of voices all around him, all of them muttering that he seemed to be alright and finally waking up. When he opened his eyes, he found a number of people all around him, each one in cages.
     In the cage nearest him was a pair of beautiful women both looking extremely powerful. One had long black hair pulled up into a fancy ponytail and wore a black and red dress. The other had carrot-colored hair pulled on top of her head and wore a a black and green dress. Next to them, in a rather large cage, was an old man in long red robes. He looked to be an authoritative figure. Next to him was another girl who looked really young. She had long black hair that was all tangled up and wore a red dress that was ripped up. She had a kind, child-like face.
     Next to her was a man who looked like a thief and next to him was another man in a long red robes holding onto a child in a blue cloak that had hair as black as Merlin's. Another pair of girls stood off in another cell. They both had fair skin, hair as black as night, and looked ready for a fight. One wore an all white hunting outfit that looked like a dress. The other wore a dress of leather and lace and a long red hood.
     One very large cage housed 7 women who all looked like princesses. The one next to that was full of men and women who looked like outlaws. Next to that one was a cage with a teenage boy. The cage next to him was empty.
     Merlin was curious about the number of people in cages all around him but first he had to ask, "Where am I?"
     The old man who seemed to be in charge replied, "My dear boy, you are aboard the good ship misery."
     "You've been asleep for 3 days now." One of the women offered.
     "3 days?!" Merlin was worried. This meant he only had 2 and a half weeks before the Full Moon Marriage Ceremony was over. Just 2 and a half weeks to get home and marry his beloved Rose. "I have to get back to Rose?"
     "Who's Rose?" One of the boys asked.
     "My girl back home."
     All the women began to aww at his words. After that, everyone introduced themselves. The two women nearest him were Regina and Zelena. They were both witches. The old man was Gaius and he was a retired warlock. The young girl was Freya and she was too terrified to tell him much else than that.
     The thief was Cedric and he was a sorcerer, just like Merlin. The man and child in the cage next to Cedric were Aglain and Jason. They were druids. The twins next to the druids were Snow and Red. Snow was an immortal and Red was a lycan.
     The 7 princesses were Aurora (a seer), Jasmine (a gypsy), Belle (an elemental), Ariel (a mermaid), Ella (a fairy), Merida (a shapeshifter), and Vivian (a siren). The men and women next to them were the Merry Men and they were all different things like spirit walkers, spirit warriors, immortals, lycans, shapeshifters, sirens, elementals, etc. The boy next to the empty cage was Daegal and he was a druid.
     Merlin then introduced himself and named his powers. After this, Regina​ and Zelena explained to Merlin that they were on board, what they dubbed, "The Good Ship Misery".
They explained how, on this ship, your life was made to be tortured and abused. Food was of a poor quality at best and the Warden, Lord George, was a tyrant of a fearful sort.
     Still, despite all this, none saw a need to leave. While they were explaining, a noise sounded from above and Cedric called out, "It's the Warden!" They all scrambled to stay far away from him.
     George was a tall man, an old man, dressed in robes the color of blood and had a sort of air about him that made you fear for your life.
     Three goons raced in behind him, dragging a tall man into the room. This man was struggling with all his might and shouting at the group as they shoved him into the empty cage. He yelled at them as they left, back up the stairs, and hit the cage door as if that would help him.
     Now Merlin had a clear view of the man. He was tall, about Merlin's height, maybe more, and looked like he might have been a prince of some sort. He had blonde hair, blue eyes, tanned skin, and wore a red tunic, black breeches, and black boots. He looked formidable, Merlin had to admit, but he wasn't afraid of this man.
     "Come back here you cowards!" The man yelled.
     Gaius replied, "Calm yourself, my boy. It'll do you no good anyhow."
     "Save it old man! Nobody locks up Arthur Pendragon!" Arthur snarled.
     "Seems like those boys just did." Cedric butted in.
     "When I get outta here you're shark bait!"
     Merlin decided he'd better calm the guy down and at least try to get to know him. "Hey, you must be Arthur. I'm Merlin." He extended his hand in friendship.
     "Merlin? What a stupid name!"
     "No stupider than Arthur!" Merlin retorted, hotly.
     "You must have some kinda nerve to speak to me that way!"
     "Yea. I do. I'm sick of bullies and you're nothing but a bully yourself!"
     Merlin turned away. At this, Arthur turned to the others. "What's his deal?"
     "Poor Merlin has a broken heart." Regina said. Zelena added, "He was taken away from his true love, poor boy."
     Arthur scoffed. "Poor baby lost his girlfriend. Get over it! We all lose someone at some point!"
     At this, Arthur changed topic, asking about the boat. The group gave him a run-down much like with Merlin and when, he heard it, Arthur began yelling that he wasn't staying on that boat any longer. He asked he wanted to bust out with him but everyone looked like they either didn't want to or weren't sure. Meanwhile, Merlin's mind was miles away.
     He saw what was happening in Paradise, right in his mind's eye. Rose, Callista, Elsa, and Gwen were sitting in Rose's private garden together. Rose seemed to be sewing something except he couldn't make out what it was.
     The four were conversing about the Full Moon Marriage Ceremony. Merlin noticed none of the girls were married just yet, not even Rose, much to his relief. He picked up on Elsa speaking as he saw the vision appear.
     "Rose, Merlin is gone! You need to face that fact and forget him! You should just marry Karayan instead!"
     "No, Elsa." Rose stated firmly. "There's no proof that Merlin is gone and so I refuse to believe it. Besides, I just know he's coming home to me so we can marry."
     "You wanna marry him?" Callista asked in her fangirly voice. "Aww how romantic!"
     "Of course I want to marry Merlin. I'm in love with him!"
     Merlin's spirits lifted as he heard those words. Rose loved him! She wanted to marry him!
     But then Elsa's voice cut back in. "But how could you possibly choose a wimp like Merlin over a complete god like Karayan?" She seemed to fangirl at that.
     "Because I love Merlin. He's good-looking but he's also sweet and brave. He's generous and kind and loyal and thoughtful and caring. He's every- thing I ever wanted. What reason shouldn't I-?"
     Rose didn't get to finish her thought because at that moment, Karayan appeared, his goonies, Nimueh, Sophia, and Eira, following behind him. The moment he said, "Good morning," to the four women, Callista, Gwen, and even Elsa all fainted! Rose, however, seemed unaffected by the king's charms.
     Karayan knew he needed to step it up a notch. Knowing this, he got down on one knee and said, "Rose, my pet, I want you to be my wife."
     "Karayan," Rose fluttered her eyelashes, "I love Merlin."
     Karayan scoffed. "Merlin?!" He grabbed ahold of Rose, making her drop her project. "I deeply sympathize, Rose, but...seeing as he is nowhere to be found, I think you ought to give up on him. Find someone else."
     "Merlin's not dead! He will come back for me! He's the one I want to marry!"
     "Rose, you need to give up on these foolish dreams. He's gone and never returning! And, so, I offer my own hand." He handed her a beautiful ring that also looked expensive. She tossed it behind her.
     "My answer is still no, Karayan. I'm marrying Merlin!"
     "Stubborn girl." Karayan muttered. "Here. I'll make you a little deal and you can give me your answer later."
     "But I already told you-"
     Karayan interrupted. "Just remember, you must choose a husband before the end of the Full Moon Marriage Ceremony or...be banished. And I'd hate to have to banish you, love, so choose wisely."
     With that, Karayan disappeared into thin air. At this, the three women disappeared as well, following Karayan. As they did, Elsa, Gwen, and Callista woke up.
     The vision ended with Rose looking just the slightest bit worried. Merlin was pulled out of the vision by the worried voices of Regina, Zelena, and Gaius.
     "I'll go with you!" Merlin yelled.
     Arthur shook his head, "You only wanna go to get home to Ms. Wonderful."
     "Yes! Yes! You're right! There's another guy who's after my girl!"
     "No."
     "Let him go." Daegal spoke up. "And we'll all go."
     "But I can't-" Gaius began to protest.
     "We'll help you." Regina and Zelena cut in.
     Merlin added, "Plus, if we all go at the same time, the guards will be rushing around, trying to grab us but we can all escape!"
     Arthur thought about it. "I guess I don't have anything to lose. Ok then. Listen up everybody! Here's the plan."
     And then Arthur proceeded to lay out his plan.
     Sometime later, George came back to feed the prisoners. When he did, they waited until the last moment, when his guard was down then they all broke through their cages with magic and then...the world went mad! Soon the boat was in mass hysteria as all the prisoners began to escape. George and his assistants raced to stop them but they either disappeared on the spot or jumped overboard.
     Merlin was helping some escape then Arthur threw him over the side of the boat, jumping in himself. George raced over only to find that all the prisoners had escaped during the confusion.
     Meanwhile, Merlin followed Arthur as they swam as fast and as far from the boat as they could. Arthur was yelling at Merlin but he couldn't hear over the sound of the wind and the waves.
                        * * * * *
     The next morning, Merlin and Arthur woke up on a beach. The two stretched and groaned, their limbs sore from all the swimming they'd done as well as sleeping in a tree. The beach they were on was utterly deserted. The two got up and began looking around.                      
     Finally, Merlin asked, "Where are we?"
     "Not entirely sure. Fortunately for us, I know the general area that we are in."
     "How far are we from Paradise?"
     "Well, if I'm right, it's  about 5,000 miles in....that direction." Arthur pointed behind him. "It's far and the road is dangerous. There will be plenty of times swimming or boating is necessary and even on land, there are plenty of dangers including bandit-infested lands. I highly doubt you will survive the journey alone."
     "I think I could."
     "Trust me on this one- you can't."
     "Then come with me."
     "Why should I?"
     "I need your help." Merlin said, hopelessness reflected in his eyes.
     Arthur saw the look and, despite his better judgement, he felt sorry for Merlin. But then he thought of something and his demeanor changed. He scoffed. "You just wanna get back to your girlfriend."
     "Why are you so against the idea?"
     "None of your business, Merlin!"
     Merlin suddenly realized something. "You lost someone you care about, didn't you?"
     "No!" Arthur yelled, defensively, running off, an angry expression on his face.
     Merlin followed him. "You know what you need? A dream."
     "I got one."
    "What is it?" 
     "I'm not gonna tell you!"
     "You can trust me!"
     "I don't even know you!"
     "PLEEEEEAAASEEE?"
     "If I promise to bring you home, will you please quit asking?"
     "Sure."
     "Fine. Follow me."
     With that, the two jumped back into the water to set off on their journey, leaving the island far behind.
                          * * * * *
     Meanwhile, Karayan paced inside a secret room beneath his palace. Two beautiful women watched him, their eyes glistening with malice. The women were sisters- Morgana and Morgause. Morgana had long black hair, green eyes, and wore a floor length green dress. Morgause had long blonde hair, brown eyes, and wore a floor length red dress. They were both powerful witches and shapeshifters who lived on the island in a high-security house.
     Karayan finally stopped pacing and growled out, "Only two weeks until the end of the Full Moon Marriage Ceremony and Rose still won't agree to be my wife!" He began to pace once more. "Merlin is dead! I saw him die! And yet, Rose is being stubborn! Why does she still insist on depriving me of a wife?!"
     "Worry not, Master." the twins said in unison. "Rose isn't stupid. If Merlin doesn't return before the end of this month, Rose will choose to marry you rather than to be banished."
     Karayan smiled. "And Merlin will never return. Rose is as good as mine!"
     With that, the three of them began to laugh, with evil smiles on all their faces.
     To be continued....