Destiny Begins: The Forgotten Tale: Book One

A Woman's Ire, Breathes Fire

"Merlin, you're going to be late," I groaned, curling up around my cramping stomach, whimpering in pain as my body, devoid of a baby, took its revenge. I knew I should heed Giaus's warnings, but at the moment, the thought of moving seemed a lot more deadly than dealing with one annoyed prat.

"Merlin, whatever is ta..." Giaus began, only to freeze mid-sentence as he caught sight of my pitiful state. Not sure if it was the constant whimpering emitted every few seconds or the revealing bloodstain on the back of my nightdress. Either way, Giaus took one look at me, sighed, and disappeared from the room, returning moments later with a vial.

"Sorry, my dear, this is the best I can do for you. I wish I could say to just stay in bed, but we both know how Arthur will feel about that," I grimaced at that, not really looking forward to listening to his whining today.

"No, I will be fine. Just... give me a moment." Downing the tonic in one go, I winced at the awful taste and slowly pried myself from my bed. Rummaging through my pitiful selection of clothes, I pulled out the shirt Will gave me before I left (which is slightly two sizes too big but super comfy) and a skirt. So what if the colors and styles clash? As long as it's comfy, I honestly couldn't care less.

Once dressed, I slowly made my way to the kitchen, wishing for death to claim my soul every step of the way.

"Hello, Merlin. How are you today?" Please, please just go away, Gwen. I so cannot deal with your peppiness today, I thought, plastering a smile on my face and slowly turning to face the Energizer bunny.

"Hello, Gwen. Heading to Morgana's?" I asked, ignoring her question.

"Yep, she definitely keeps me hopping," she laughed, her green eyes twinkling.

"I can imagine. Well, I really should be going. Would hate to be late for the prat. See ya, Gwen," I forced my dead voice to become more lively. I was just about to make a quick retreat when I felt her thin, cold fingers clasp around my wrist, holding me in place.

"Are you sure you're okay? You seem a little upset," Breath, Merlin. Morgana won't like a maidservant without a head. Just breathe. I silently calmed myself, struggling to hold back the temptation to rage. Swallowing my temper, I threw a forced smile over my shoulder at her.

"Of course, just busy as a beaver. That prat doesn't like me sitting idle," I fake laughed, breaking from her grip and quickly making my exit.

"Okay, I guess I will see you later. Bye, Merlin," she cheerfully called after my retreating form, a hint of confusion in her voice.

---

"Up," I snapped tiredly, yanking open the bedroom curtains before puttering around his room. After a moment of silence from the prince and cramping to cause even a dragon to cry, I decided to forego being nice, going straight for his bed. I yanked off his covers and pulled him ungracefully from the bed, leaving him in a pitiful heap on the floor.

"MERLIN!!" He screeched, tossing a goblet at my head, which promptly smacked me. I was too tired and in too much pain to try to dodge. Tense, earth-shattering silence fell across the room as I slowly turned to face the prince, eyes blazing in barely suppressed fury, glaring down the suddenly frightened prince. An internal debate raged in my head. After a moment, I turned away, deciding it would take far too much energy to kill the prince.

"Hurry up, your breakfast is getting cold." Pure, unfiltered relief spread across his blue eyes, as if knowing he barely escaped with his life. Quietly getting to his feet, he compliantly sat down at the table and began to eat. He must have sensed he was walking a very fine line because for the rest of breakfast, he stayed silent.

Only once we arrived on the training field (with tons of witnesses with sharp, pointy objects) did he begin pushing his luck again, by making me the target.

"Come on, Merlin. You can do better than that. What, can't handle a little training?" He teased, whacking the shield I held with his sword, over and over again. I yelped, startled, as he swept my feet out from under me with the handle of his sword. Groaning from both the impact and the cramping, I slowly rolled over onto my knees as the prat cackled arrogantly above me.

Glaring up at him, I was just about to throw caution to the wind and scream at him when I noticed he had stopped laughing, adopting instead a look of horror as he gazed at the ground behind me. Glancing back, I frowned at the bright red blood adorning the grass. I froze, immediately wanting to disappear as I realized my makeshift rag pad no longer held back my blood, letting it smear the back of my skirt and now the grass.

"Why didn't you tell me you were bleeding?" He asked in a strangled, horrified voice. Rolling my eyes and getting to my feet, I placed my hands on my hips, staring him down.

"It's fine, prat. It's not the end of the world. Let me go change really quick, and I will be back to serve you lunch." If anything, that only served to horrify him more.

"WHAT! NO WAY! YOU ACTUALLY WANT TO WORK DURING THIS... THIS THING!" He practically yelled, panicked, frantically waving his hand in the air.

"Honestly, Arthur, it's not a big deal. It's just a little blood. It's not some contagious disease," I sighed, folding my arms in front of my chest.

"Just a little blood?! Are you nuts? You could practically fill a lake with that much blood. Just... take the rest of the day off. In fact, take the week off. I'll have George take over your duties while you are... indisposed," he awkwardly coughed, avoiding my eyes.

"But..."

"No. Until you are no longer... Ahem. Anyway, you are dismissed." With that, he swiftly turned away from me and headed inside the Palace, leaving me standing there utterly baffled by his reaction.

"O...k..." Turning toward home, I slowly headed back to Giaus. Upon entering, Giaus glanced up from the herbs he was grinding and gave me the eyebrow, indicating he wanted to know why I was back so soon. Sitting down in the chair across from him, I shrugged my shoulders, just as confused as him.

"Arthur gave me the week off. Okay, more like ordered me to take the week off."

"Oh, and why did he do that?"

"Bleeding."

"Ahh. He always has been a bit squeamish about that. He nearly passed out the first time Morgana had it and accidentally walked around the castle unaware that she had bled through. Poor boy went into a panic thinking Morgana was bleeding out. Anyway, since you don't have anything to do...." I groaned