The Flower Stand

Camelot was teeming with life. Vendors were all about yelling and waving their products back and forth in front of everyone that went by. There were also several people sitting on the sides of the streets either asking for money, playing music, or juggling. The amount of people alone made me feel as if I was drowning. With all of the commotion I had to wonder how these people could sit in the heart of it all everyday.

Yet, when I look up and see the castle of Camelot, I get this odd sense of security. It was simply a building, but a building where I could find my brother, and maybe this emptiness I feel will be filled. My brother, Emris... Merlin. Someone like me. I could hardly contain the huge grin that spread across my face.

"Miss, miss! You need a flower!" Turning around I saw a fairly gangly man, dark circles nestled under his eyes, holding out a flower in my direction, hopefulness gleaming in his eyes.

"Oh, no, i'm good, thank you." The flower was really lovely, a light shade of purple and yellow at its tips, but I had to save the money I had for a new dress, and if anything is left over shoes would probably be a good investment.

The flower seemed to droop as the hope in the man's eyes seemed to fade. "But it's such a lovely flower."

I froze, the voice I heard did not come out of the disappointed man in front of me. As I turned slowly towards the voice, the face of king Aurelius stared back at me.

"Just couldn't stay away, could you?" he said with a smug grin on his face. "I'll pay for the flower, Marcus." Aurelius handed the man some coins and I realized that the commotion of the market place had fallen uncharacteristically silent. Not far from where we stood were three men clothed in red, a lion crest on each of their chests, and swords on their hips. I looked  up into Aurelius' eyes as he handed me the flower. "So, should I be offended or flattered by your presence?" He leaned forward against a wooden support beam, his face getting closer to mine, and gave me another half-smile.

"I... I thought about going home..." I fidgeted back and forth a little, messing with the leaves on the flower. "But I decided to visit my family here instead." I wasn't sure if I should mention Merlin, but anyone could be my family, so perhaps this was the best way to go.

He looked at me a little skeptically so I nervously bit my lip and looked down. "I see... well, who are you here to see? I know my people well, I could help point you in the right direction." He said, raising an eyebrow.

My stomach felt like it was going to burst with nervousness, getting worse with every second. I don't know what is with this guy. He causes my mind to be so foggy, I can't even form proper sentences with this guy around. I started to wonder if being invisible may have been the better alternative.

"Are you all right?" he asked, to which I simply nodded, not daring too look back up at him in my confused state. He reached out and touched my wrist, causing me to automatically jump back, dropping the flower and holding my wrist to my chest in an odd attempt at protecting myself. "Merlin has a bracelet similar to that."He murmured. My breath caught in my throat as he straightened back up, folding his arms behind his back. I searched his face for some kind of hint as to what he was thinking, but he expressed nothing. His face was set, his stare blank and hard; no doubt this is the kind of stance he learned during his battle training. "Are you here to see Merlin?"