Savior of Avalon

Chapter Fifteen

There were many things I'd seen in movies and television shows, that I never—not once—imagined I'd ever do in real life. Having my mom kidn*pped was one, meeting a wizard was another. Hell, being on the run from the police after they witnessed us doing magic was in a whole other league. But, sleeping in the woods while hiding from Morgana's men was something I don't think I ever could've pictured.

This past week had been crazy and now, as I lay in the still darkness, gazing up at the stars while everyone around me slept, I really let myself process it all.

I'd wanted adventure. All those times when I'd be locked in those houses with Mom and Thom, watching kids and teens my age goof around with their friends, I would retreat to my books to forget the sadness.

I loved Mom and Thom, but there were sometimes you just needed to be around people your own age. Be with people you could relate to.

In those books, though, I found friends. I found people—albeit fictional—who I could relate to. They went on incredible adventures and did incredible things, fell in love with incredible people. I would wish, almost every night, that I could have an adventure of my own.

Now here I was, surrounded by knights and warriors, on our way to the Isle of the Lost to retrieve Excalibur, defeat Morgana and save my mother and this land. Oh yeah, and I was supposed to fall in love.

For whatever reason, when I thought of love, Merlin's face flashed in my mind.

I shook my head vehemently, slapping my cheek lightly. I was relieved no one was awake to see how utterly insane I looked.

I had to stop this... whatever this was I felt for Merlin. The first time we had merged our magic, I knew that I felt something for Merlin, but I was unsure what it was. Was it me falling for him or was it friendship? But now I knew the answer.

For whatever reason, Merlin was gradually moving his way closer to my heart and it wouldn't be long before he held it in his hands completely. When that happened, he would crush it because he couldn't love me back. One, he thought of me as a child and two, he had said he was too old to love.

And honestly, if Nimue—with her long red hair and her unparalleled beauty—couldn't get him to fall in love, I was fairly sure I couldn't either.

"Stop over thinking things, kid," Thom's voice spoke out in the darkness.

Startled, I turned over to him. His eyes were closed and he was breathing evenly. For a minute, I was positive I was going insane, then he opened one eye to peer at me in the darkness.

"You're over-thinking things again. It's what you do." He closed his eye back and sighed. "You're so much like Nicole in that way. She was always over-thinking things. She always has." He smiled fondly.

"I can't help it," I finally admitted after a long silence. "There's so much that can go wrong. The prophecy... in it, I'm supposed to be this big bad ass who just knows the answer to everything, but in reality I'm a seventeen year old girl who just wants to save her Mom." I blew out a large breath.

"That's the thing about fate, kiddo," Thom said, opening both eyes to look at me seriously. "You don't know what to do until the time comes. When it does, suddenly all your insecurities melt away and right then, what you're supposed to do becomes clear. So clear, you wonder how you didn't see it before."

While I contemplated his words, he placed one hand on the top of my head and rustled my hair the way he used to when I was a kid.

"Thom, stop it, you know I hate that," I whined, swatting his hand away.

He laughed quietly and murmured, "Get some sleep, Lucy. Tomorrow will be a new day and who knows what we'll run into. We'll need a powerful sorceress on our side."

I rolled my eyes, but in reality, Thom had made me feel a lot better. It was a lot like when I'd talked to Merlin in the stables. The way Merlin's belief in me had made me believe in myself, even if it was for a few short minutes. I wasn't sure I'd ever stop being afraid. How could I not be afraid of filling the shoes of this goddess-like woman in the prophecies? But it did make me feel a lot better knowing there were people who believed in me. As corny as this sounded, knowing my friends and my family believed I could achieve this made me want to prove to them I could.

My eyes closed and in the end, sleep came over me like a thick cloud.

☪ ☪ ☪ ☪ ☪ ☪ ☪ ☪

When the sun rose and we were all awake and had cleaned up with a nearby lake, we started off to the town Arthur had told us about.

Arthur suggested we leave Aurea and the other horses tied to their posts and two of his knights would look after them and alert us if Morgana was on her way. I hugged Aurea's long neck and left with the others.

Merlin and Arthur walked side by side and again, I knew things had always been that way. Merlin must have been a good friend to Arthur and vice versa. You could see it in the way they conversed. The coldness on Merlin's face was gone and there was a kind of fondness there. Almost like Merlin had a fatherly affection for Arthur.

It was odd, because Arthur looked older than Merlin, but in reality, Merlin had probably known Arthur since he was a child.

In town, there was a lot of hustle and bustle. Carts carrying hay and wood, people buying goods and everywhere you looked, people were moving. There was no escaping any of it.

For some reason, though, I liked it. I liked that no one seemed to know who we were. No one knew I was Sibyl and we were passing through before we rescued the land that had been poisoned with Morgana's magic.

"We can only stay for a few minutes," Arthur told everyone as we stood in the middle of the shopping square. "Get whatever you need to get quickly and head back to the woods. The faster we get to the Isle of the Lost, the faster we can get back what we've lost."

After a few murmurs of agreement, everyone split up. Of course, Thom and Aengus stayed by my side. Those two hardly let me go anywhere alone. To my surprise, though, Merlin sidled up with us, his face completely impassive.

When he realized Thom, Aengus and I were just staring at him in surprise, he sighed and looked at us with thinly veiled annoyance.

"What? She can sense Morgana's presence and if it should come to that, I can use my magic to warn everyone else. I'm not here because I want to be." He huffed and turned away, his cheeks looking suspiciously flushed. "Can we just go?"

Aengus laughed loudly and slapped Merlin on the back. Winking at me he said, "No man in Camelot can resist yer charms, m'lady. Apparently the great sorcerer Merlin is no exception."

I blinked in surprise and Merlin just walked ahead of us, his shoulders tense. I wish I could have seen his face. I had no doubt his expression was an interesting one.

Sure enough, Calem and Lhun had given me a small pouch filled to the top with gold. I bought apples for Aurea and I. I was also able to get peaches and strawberries. I was a big lover of fruit and these ones were so ripe, I couldn't resist buy them.

Aengus, Thom and even Merlin—surprisingly enough—carried the things I bought for me.

"Is this all you wanted, Luce?" Thom asked, carrying the bag of peaches with ease through the crowded marketplace.

I nodded. "I figured this should last us a day or two. Hopefully this way we can keep the stopping to a minimum. We all know we need to hurry up and get to the Isle of the Lost."

Thom nodded once and Aengus grunted in agreement. Merlin said nothing, but I could... sense his approval. Ever since we had combined our magic for the second time, we seemed to be on the same wavelength. On one hand, he was as confusing as ever. On another, I felt as if I was coming to understand him a little better.

We stopped by a nearby well. The man who was in charge of it—a short, balding man with wisps of grey hair—dropped the bucket in and pulled it back up with nimble hands. Clearly, he had been doing this for a long time. We gave him three gold pieces and went back on our way.

On the way back to the forest to meet the others, I noticed there was a large gathering. People were huddled together, whispering amongst themselves. Mothers were ushering their children away, glancing back in fear and pity.

"What's going on over there?" I wondered, coming to a standstill.

Merlin and Thom looked at each other, saying nothing although they seemed to know the answer. Aengus looked in the direction I was looking a muttered an Irish curse under his breath.

"They're putting some poor soul to death, m'lady," he said. The serious expression on his characteristically cheerful face really nailed down how serious this was.

"What?" My voice was loud, but lost among the chattering of the onlookers. "Why?"

"Most likely for choosing to still follow Arthur and pledging allegiance to you," came Merlin's unwilling answer. "In the past couple of months, she's been killing more townspeople—trying to intimidate them into following her."

"And it's only gotten worse," came Arthur's voice from behind us.

The three of us turned to see him and his knights behind us. His face was twisted in disapproval as he looked forward. None of us could see what was happening, but we could hear the sound of a drum beating and the nervous whispers of the people.

"She's started killing many of the warriors who won't pledge themselves to her and her only for the rest of their days. Especially since Aengus chose to follow you. That's probably what she's doing now."

Frowning at this information, I pushed myself forward, ignoring the quiet calls of Merlin, Thom, Aengus and Arthur. This was something I had to see for myself. Morgana was a terrible person, but murdering innocent people because they refused to follow her? That was too much.

I made up my mind as I pushed my way to the front, that I would save this person. Too many people were dying by Morgana's hand. I wouldn't let her take another person's life. She had taken sisters, brothers, fathers... mothers...

Now that I was here, she wouldn't take anymore.

In the center was a pyre and as I came to a stop, the ominous drumming ceased. A man stepped forward, dressed in armor and a green cape hanging from his shoulders. He was clearly one of Morgana's men.

"The guilty party is one Eir. Her crimes are refusing to obey her queen and instead, pledging her devotion to the outlaw and known conspirator against our queen, Sibyl." He paused for dramatic effect before continuing on. "For these crimes against Her Majesty, Queen Morgana, Eir is sentenced to death. Bring her forth."

A hand fell on my shoulder, but I didn't turn, I knew it was Thom. Aengus sidled up on my other side, looking forward in horror.

"Did they say Eir?" His eyes were wide and his jaw agape.

"Yes." Studying him carefully, I asked, "Do you know her?"

"I'd say everyone does, m'lady. Eir is a Valkyrie, known far and wide for her superior swordsmanship as well as her hand to hand."

"A Valkyrie is a goddess, right?"

"Indeed. They choose those who may live and those who may die. It takes an awful lot to capture one. Morgana must've done it herself. Even so, it takes an immense amount of magic." His tone of voice was reluctantly impressed.

"Well, whoever she is, we have to save her."

Thom and Aengus both looked at me as if I'd lost my mind.

"Lucy—" Thom started.

"Don't start with me Thom," I said, taking a deep breath. "This woman is about to die because of believing in me. Because she'd rather die and follow me than live and follow Morgana. I'm not about to watch her die in front of me, okay? I'm not."

Everything that I said was true. I wasn't willing to watch someone who believed in me die. Hell, I wasn't ready to watch anyone die. But if I were being fully honest, I wanted to save someone. I failed to save my mother and all those other times, Thom, Aengus or Merlin saved me and not the other way around. I wanted to know that I had it in me.

Thom, who could read my face as well as Mom could, nodded once.

"What will you do?"

"I was thinking I'd just wing it."

Before Thom could say anything else, they were pulling the Valkyrie—Eir—forward. From our front row seats, we had a good look at her. She was being dragged—obviously unable to walk—her head lolled off to the side as if she were drugged. She had bruises all over her obviously pretty face, yet somehow she still managed to give a frightening scowl. Her hair was like a cotton candy sky, with dark pink roots and gradually getting lighter and the ends. And she had wings. Dark, midnight colored wings that made the townspeople take a step back.

As the men tied her to the pyre, her eyes met mine. I don't know how or why, it was just like it was meant to happen. It was like I was in the parking lot looking at Aengus. Suddenly, I knew everything about her. That she was stern, but just. That people were fearful of her wrath, but she was actually a very nice person. I knew that she rarely laughed, but I also knew that I could make her laugh. I could make her smile. She was meant to be my friend until the end of my days.

Her eyes widened—somehow I knew they were soft grey with a violet band around them—like she recognized me, too.

"It's her..." I murmured, not even realizing I was saying it aloud.

"Luce?" Thom c****d his head to the side in confusion.

"My second warrior," I breathed, unable to look away. "It's her."

Aengus whistled and let out a low curse.

"It's one thing to have me as yer warrior, m'lady," Aengus started, shaking his head. "But it's a completely different thing to be tied to a goddess."

"How do you know she's your warrior?" Thom asked, brows furrowed.

"It's just like it was with Aengus," I tried to explain. "I just... feel it in my bones."

Studying her more closely, I realized she was coated in magic. Ice cold magic, to be exact. Thin layers of ice were covering her own magic, preventing her from fighting or moving correctly.

"She's covered in Morgana's magic," I told Thom and Aengus. "We have to remove it soon. I can feel her life force ebbing. She's a goddess so she's lasting longer than most, but the ice is freezing its way to her heart. We have to get her to Merlin."

"I told them to go back into the woods where the horses are. I knew you were going to get into some kind of trouble, so I asked them to take the things we bought back with them."

Now that Thom mentioned it, they weren't carrying around the bags of fruit anymore. I was so preoccupied, I'd completely forgot about the fruit.

"Eir," the man began, seeming to be enjoying himself. "Do you wish to change your answer? Will you vow, here and now, to serve your Queen?"

"I am serving my Queen," Eir spoke up, her voice surprisingly throaty. I could feel how difficult it was for her to talk, and yet she spoke loudly and clearly, her eyes refusing to show weakness. "My Queen is Sibyl, Queen of Avalon and Savior of the Lands."

Smirking, because he knew the answer wouldn't change, Morgana lackey readied his torch, holding it ominously over the pyre while I focused hard on what was coming next.

"Then you are hereby sentenced to death."

He dropped the torch, but it didn't land on the pyre. Instead it floated in mid-air. Focusing harder like Merlin taught me, I watched as the fire burned out before I dropped it.

It clattered to the ground and Morgana's lackey pulled out his sword.

"Witchcraft," he yelled, his eyes scanning the crowd. "Sibyl! Show yourself! Come meet the end of my blade."

I stepped forward, listening to the crowd gasp. Realizing that the one who had been standing among them all the time was the one prophecies had been written about.

He came to me, blade held high, but I didn't flinch. Aengus cut him off catching the man's sword with his own, a loud clang sounding.

"Go rescue the Valkyrie. I can take care of this." Aengus nodded for us to go, nodding we did as he instructed. Unable to help myself I looked back to make sure he was okay. He had cut down the first of Morgana's lackeys and as more came in, he cut them down, too.

I walked beside Thom who, with his sword drawn, looked every which way intensely, jaw clenched and eyes burning.

When we reached Eir's pyre, two of Morgana's men jumped out at us, one from Thom's side and another jumped out at me. Thom cut the man on his side down with ease and I held up my hands, using magic to knock him back a couple of steps.

He got up and came charging at me, but Thom stepped in front of me, blocking the attack with his sword.

"Go. Free her." He then turned to Morgana's lackey, engaging in a very vigorous sword fight.

I made my way to Eir. Although she was literally minutes from death, her gaze was watchful as I used my magic to untie her. She fell forward and I caught her, stumbling a bit.

"Sibyl," she murmured. "You're finally here."

"Well, actually my name is Lucinda. Or Luce. Or Lucy."

"You have many names."

I smiled a little. "I guess so."

"Can you heal me? I'd be much more useful without Morgana's magic... freezing me to death."

"I... I'm not very good," I admitted, looking at Thom and Aengus to make sure they were okay. I saw a few soldiers going for kill shots and I focused making them hit themselves with the hilt of their swords until they fell unconscious.

Trying to lift her up, I said, "We're going to get you to Merlin, though, he'll know what to do."

"Merlin cannot save me, my Queen. The only magic that can undo Morgana's magic is yours."

My eyes widened at that. "B-but I don't know how to—"

"You do," Eir said, looking directly at me, her grey eyes piercing. "You know how to heal me, m'lady. Trust yourself. Look deep inside yourself and find the answer." She looked behind me at Thom and Aengus. "And do it quickly. Your friends are good with swords, but if they'll have any chance of living, they'll need me on their side."

I closed my eyes, holding my hands over her body. I could feel the coldness of Morgana's magic, chilling me to the bone. Taking a deep breath, I focused the way Merlin taught me to, looking in deep until I could see my own magic, tendrils of pure gold energy, stronger now than they were before.

Suddenly, I knew what to say. The words were obvious, what I needed to do was clear.

The fighting around me ceased and suddenly everything became quiet. Everything just... stopped. When I opened my eyes, I was floating high in the air, on display to all the townspeople who were looking at me in awe. A golden light emanating from my skin and shining brightly, bathing the ice and the people around me in pure light.

I was calm.

For the first time in a long time, I was calm. It felt like I was back in one of my many rooms with Mom cooking dinner downstairs as I painted. There was a peace I had only felt when I drew or painted. A peace that I had forgotten.

"Vade glaciem," I called out, feeling a big burst of magic shoot from my body.

Before I knew it, my light was fading and I was falling fast. There were gasps and I heard Aengus and Thom both call out my name, but suddenly I saw Aurea flying through the sky, her golden body making its way toward me quickly.

She caught me before I fell to the ground, lowering us down softly.

Eir was on her feet, looking at me with unrepressed awe and the townspeople were doing the same. Morgana's guards had retreated, seeming unwilling to go at it with us after what they'd seen.

"Luce," Thom breathed, looking around us. "Look."

I did as he instructed and looked around us and what I saw made my eyes widen. Where there had once been falling snow and ice, there was now green grass and flowers. The leaves were on the trees and they were swaying in a warm wind as if they were dancing, happy to be alive again.

As the townspeople lowered to the ground in a humble bow, I stared at what my magic had done. I had melted the ice and bought summer back to one part of Camelot, but it was more than I ever thought I'd be able to do.

Aengus laughed and said, "I've almost forgotten what summer looks like, it's been winter for so long." But in his eyes, I could see he was proud of me.

"You did good, Luce," said Thom, coming to stand beside Aurea who stood with me on her back. His eyes held fatherly pride as he smiled softly. "Let's go find the others."

And with that, we made our way back to Arthur, his knights and the ten warriors who had chosen to join me on this mission with a goddess on our side.