Merlok's Nephew

Watching Clay Day 1

Later that day as Clay took a nap, Aaron went to Dnullib and told the major about their thief. He didn't tell him everything but told him just enough to put him and the village at ease.

The first day Clay was there was somewhat easy. He took a liking to Robin and Macy quickly to everyone's surprise. It could have been because Macy was the princess of Knighton. After Clay ate Axl's mac-and-cheese, he took a very long nap. It was obvious that Clay severely needed some rest. While Clay was sleeping, Macy wanted to check on the fever he had when he arrived. It seemed to disappear. It was probably just from exhaustion and fear from that day.

Clay stayed asleep till the next morning. He woke up not only feeling hungry but he felt more refreshed then he had in a long time. 'That was the best sleep I've had since...' Clay stopped in his thoughts. 'Since mommy and I left our home.' Clay misses his mother a lot. He didn't know if his mother was okay or where she was. 'Maybe the knights can help me. They can help me find my mom.'

Clay got out of bed and went to the kitchen. There he saw Axl making breakfast. Axl was making waffles, pancakes, bacon, and eggs for everyone. Axl heard the door open and when he turned around, he saw Clay. "Good morning, Clay. How'd you sleep?" 

"Good. Better than I have in a while," Clay said as he sat down.  Axl noticed Clay's silence and him fidgeting in his seat. He knew from his own experience of watching his little sister and other kids in his village that Clay wanted to ask something. "Is something wrong, Clay?" Axl asked as he put a plate of waffles and pancakes in front of him. "Umm... could you and the other knights help me find my mommy? Please? The last time I saw her, she and I were surrounded by a scary talking cloud with fangs, a scary blue, electrical clown, and a bunch of stone monsters." This caught Axl attention. Merlok mentioned that Clay probably ran off when he woke up. Axl sat down with his own breakfast and continued to talk to Clay. "What happened after that?" Clay shook his head. Neither of them noticed the syrup bottle starting to glow a bright blue.

"You don't have to tell me, Clay," Axl told him quietly. It was obvious that Clay was trying to hold back his memories. "I left my mommy behind," Clay said with tears falling down his face. "I left her behind with those monsters! Now, it's my fault that we turned to stone for 13 years!" The syrup bottle exploded leaving a sticky mess all over the kitchen, Clay, Axl, and Lance who had just walked into the kitchen. "My hair!" He shouted in despair. 

Macy and Aaron ran into the kitchen when they heard Lance shouted. "What happened in here?" Aaron asked baffled. Macy shoved him in his arm when she saw Clay crying in Axl arms. "It's a long story," Axl told them. "I'm going to get Clay cleaned up." Everyone nodded then Axl and Clay left to get cleaned up. "How did the syrup bottle blow up? It ruined my hair," Lance said clearly upset. "I can explain," Merlok said appearing just a few minutes after Clay and Axl left for the bathroom.

"Clay may know how to use his magic a little but it can still be unpredictable. A young wizard's magic is tightly connected to their emotions. Clay must have gotten upset about something and his magic caused the syrup bottle to explode," Merlok told them. "So, we have to keep Clay happy all the time?" Aaron asked a little confused. "Not exactly. While it is good to keep him from having negative emotions, it's also good to make sure he doesn't have strong positive emotions. If he gets too excited or to happy, he could do something or create something that is positive, like turning a chair into a marshmallow." Now they understood. They had to watch Clay and be careful of his emotions otherwise his magic would get out of hand. 

"So, how did Clay control his magic when he was hiding from everyone?" Macy asked. "That... I am unsure of. It seems to me that Clay's magic is much stronger than my own and even his mother because we weren't even that powerful at his age. I fear that watching Clay is not going to be easy. You must be cautious. I fear that Clay's magic is much more powerful then what we have seen so far and I fear that if his mother or Monstrox got a hold of him then all of Knighton would be in danger."

In the bathroom, Axl was helping Clay get cleaned up and calming him down. It took Axl about 20 minutes to calm him down and tell Luckily, they got Clay new clothes, mostly used clothes from Aaron's home. It's a good thing he has a lot of brothers. "Clay, we got you some new clothes. Would you like to change into them than get something to eat?" Clay nodded silently. 

"Axl, am I a bad son for leaving my mommy with those monsters?" Clay asked quietly. Axl went down to Clay's level as best as he could and said, "No. Your mother would want to protect you. She loves you and cares for you. I'm sure your mother is just worried about you just as you are worried about her." Tears started to fall down Clay's face and Axl knew that he had to calm him down quietly before they had another syrup bottle incident. "Clay." Clay looked at Axl. "It is not your fault that you and your mother turned to stone. What happened was an accident. I know you're scared and worried about your mother but the other knights and I promise that my friends and I will help find your mother." Clay jumped and gave Axl a big hug. "Thank you, Axl."

Later, a clean Axl returned with a clean Clay with new clothes on. The kitchen was cleaner then it was and Clay blushed in embarrassment when he remembered what happened. "Sorry about the mess from earlier. My mommy said that my magic is really powerful and can cause accidents sometimes."

"It's not a problem, Clay. We know it was an accident, just promise to be careful next time okay?" Clay nodded. "Now, why don't we eat some cereal with some fresh fruit?" Clay nodded happily. "Do you have apples? Those are my favorite!" Clay said happily. Axl nodded as he set Clay down on a chair at the table and proceeded to get Clay some cereal and an apple. 

Clay happily ate the cereal and apple. "Thanks, Axl. Are Princess Macy and her friends still upset about the mess from earlier?" Axl shook his head. "No, I think it is just hard since we haven't had someone as young as you to watch over besides our own siblings." Clay nodded. It was quiet between the two for a few minutes as Axl picked up Clay's dishes and cleaned them. "Clay, would you like to watch some cartoons?" 

"Yes, please." After Axl finished cleaning up, he and Clay walked to the TV room and Axl turned on a kids cartoon about elemental ninjas. He seemed to enjoy it and then Axl left Clay alone to meet with the other knights and discussing their turns of who will be watching him each day.

In the end, it was decided that Axl would watch Clay for the rest of the day. Macy would watch him tomorrow. Aaron would be after that and Lance after that. It would be hard getting Clay to open up about everything that happened the day he woke up but they needed to work together to help him trust others. Axl didn't have any more problems watching Clay, which he was grateful for. After the syrup incident that morning, everyone just wanted to keep Clay happy. And Lance didn't want his hair to get ruined again. It took him hours to get the syrup out of his hair.

Axl took Clay to bed around 7:30 since he started to get tired around that time. They all agreed that 7:30 would be Clay's bedtime and 8 would be the time they all met with Merlok to tell them what happened that day. Everyone just hoped that their day would go almost as smoothly as Axl's did.

BAM! Another chapter, done! Whew! I'm in a roll. Anyway, thanks for reading and I will see Y'all next time. Bye! :)