Watching the Future: Merlin

Prologue

"Merlin!" Arthur Pendragon seethed. The king of Camelot was fed up with his manservant. Merlin had managed to scare away a deer that the knights had been tracking for the past 2 hours. The manservant just gave the royal prat an innocent smile. "What? It's not like we need another deer; you've already got a big enough waist as it is," Merlin argued playfully. Lancelot walked over with a smile and patted Merlin on the back. "Arthur give Merlin a break; he isn't a hunter like you." Lancelot said in defense of the secret warlock.

Arthur was about to bite back with a snarky comment about his weight, but was thrown off when a girl appeared out of nowhere. This girl had hair that was black as a raven and her eyes were light blue oceans. She was no older than 16 winters, and she was wearing a royal blue cloak with a black waist piece. The emblem on her waist piece was a silver crescent that aligned itself perfectly with the girl's amber trinket that hung around her neck. Leon almost drew his sword on the girl, but Mordred stopped him from doing so after seeing a Druid symbol on the girl's wrist.

"May I ask who you are and what your business is here?" Arthur asked. "My name is Eleanor, and I was sent to retrieve you, Arthur Pendragon, as well as your manservant and your knights. You have a great destiny, Arthur; one that's been written long before the time of men. It is time for you to face that destiny." Eleanor claimed. "No, I believe you're mistaken," Merlin said. "I am not mistaken Merlin." Eleanor said calmly. "You should leave... before I have my knights arrest you," Arthur said as he got dangerously close to her face. Eleanor sighed heavily. "I so wish you wouldn't be so stubborn." Eleanor said.

"Anfon y dynion hyn i'r coed gyda grym mawr*," Eleanor spoke and her eyes flashed a golden color before the king, Merlin, and the knights felt themselves knocked off their feet. Their heads came into contact with nearby trees and darkness clouded their vision.

~~~~~~~~

No more than 3 hours later, Merlin began to stir. He opened his eyes and sat up carefully to see that everyone — and surprisingly Gwen as well — were inside a cabin in what appeared to be the Forest of Ascetir. "Arthur? What happened? Where are we?" Merlin asked as Lancelot helped him to his feet. "I have no idea Merlin. But that girl brought us and Gwen here," Arthur stated. "Indeed I did. I apologize about that; you wouldn't listen to my words. You are smarter than others give you credit for." Eleanor said as she walked into the main part of the cabin.

Arthur walked up to her and drew his sword, but Eleanor was not fazed. "You brought us here. I demand you let us go!" Arthur declares. "Unfortunately I cannot. As I said earlier, Arthur Pendragon, you didn't listen to my words; you are here for a reason," the girl stated. "What reason is that? You are guilty of using magic in Camelot! You are a sorceress!" Leon stated loudly from his position next to the king. Eleanor was calm and collected; she showed no fear and no malice towards these men and the queen.

"Sir Leon... I can assure you that I am not a sorceress. I am a Wiccan, and I am much different from a sorceress. Where sorceresses learn magic, the power of the Wiccans comes naturally. Wiccans use their powers for healing purposes and are much more powerful than a common sorceress," Eleanor clarified. "That doesn't change the fact you still practiced magic in Camelot; you are guilty of treason," Arthur said. "Arthur, she means no harm. Listen to what she has to say," Gwen said as she tried to calm her husband down. Arthur listened and withdrew his sword, placing it back in its sheath.

Eleanor nodded gratefully towards the king. She was about to address him when Mordred spoke up, "That symbol on your wrist. I have it too. Are you a Druid?" Eleanor smiled kindly at the youngest of the knights. "I'm a half Druid. My mother's a Druid," she explained and then turned her attention back to the king of Camelot. "As I said before, you have a destiny that's been written long before the time of men. It is imperative that you learn the great importance of your destiny through the memories you see here," she said and walked over to the bookcase. Each shelf was aligned with 13 memories that were all labeled.

"Why?" Merlin asked suddenly. Eleanor raised an eyebrow and answered. "Arthur has been living in oblivion of his destiny for far too long. He must know the truth and the time is now." She was about to speak again when Gwaine interrupted. "And whose memories will we be viewing? Surely not Princess's," he stated with a small smirk. "Sir Gwaine, it is not Arthur's memories you will be viewing. I have decided to keep this person's identity a secret because all will be revealed through their memories. But I can tell you is that these memories belong to someone very close to Arthur," Eleanor answered.

"Why should we believe anything you say? You consult with sorcery and practice magic," Elyan spoke. "There is no evil in sorcery; only in the hearts of men." Eleanor stated which earned her a questioning look from Merlin. "I understand. It's just like using a sword," Percival said. "Yes. The blade itself is not evil and it is not good; the handler of the sword has the power to use it for good or for misfortune." Lancelot explained. Everyone is as dumbfounded by what was said until Arthur spoke up.

"Alright. We will watch these memories. How long will it take?" Arthur asked the girl. "There are five sets of memories, each set has 13 individual memories within it. It will take at least 5 days to get through them all," Eleanor answered. Arthur gave a sigh and looked to his friends. "Everyone make yourselves comfortable. We're going to be here for a few days." Arthur stated. Eleanor made sure that everyone had somewhere comfortable to sit or stand before she walked over to the case of memories, selecting the first memory from the top shelf. "Let's get started shall we?" Eleanor said. The others nodded and Eleanor opened the bottled memory. "Dangos y cof rydw i eisiau ei weld**," she spoke of an incantation before the memory planted itself on an empty wall in the cabin.

It was now on full display for everyone to see.

~~~~~~~~

* This spell's translation is 'send these men into the trees with great force'

** This spell's translation is 'show the memory I want to see'