Garden Talk

We walked out amongst the garden's of the castle. The wind seemed to tiptoe through the air, carrying soft murmuring from the bustle of town-square as it went. We walked slowly, allowing all the different scents from the different flowers to reach our senses. Aurelius made no sound, not even his foot steps would give him away. In the midst of all the flowers I could not even make out his scent, which usually smelled like a musky tree right after a rain storm. Most may not appreciate its smell, but it reminds me of nature, that Aurelius is grounded and strong.

Aurelius sat on a stone bench next to a rose bush with roses that have yet to bloom. He made no motion to me, but simply stared off into the distance. He seemed very heavy.

I sat next to him and gazed at his sullen posture. "Does something trouble you, Ari?"

A smile broke across his face and he looked over at me. "Did you just call me Ari?" He asked. I nodded. He paused for a minute and gazed again towards the trees of the forest. "I feel very troubled, but I will not burden you with such things." He straightened up, losing his sense of brooding for simple seriousness. "You should know I will leave in a week's time. The saxons are approaching, just as we have predicted, and will reach the border within a week or so. I suppose I may feel troubled that I have been scolded for training, but Merlin knows how necessary it is, I can't just sit here!" He stopped himself and took a deep breath. "Sorry, that was irreverent of me." He gave me a half-smile, filled with so much sorrow I thought it to be contagious.

"Do not fret, you are the strongest and bravest man I know. The saxons will flee the moment they lay eyes upon you, I am sure of it."

Aurelius gave a real smile that time. "You do know how to cheer someone up." He looked away again. "Hmm. I suppose if I must rest, I shall not mind spending that time with you. You really are quite fascinating." He chuckled. "Plus I do not have to sit through hours of unnecessary details like I do when I speak with Merlin, or that rabbit friend of his... what was his name? Edger? He really needs to be more careful, if a servant sees him no one will be able to protect that oddly dressed rabbit." My eyebrows furrowed at his words. "I met him when I visited you yesterday, my how he goes on.... But as I was saying, about others finding him, it really would not be good. Magic may not be punished like it is in most places, but a talking rabbit would not go over well with the people. I have no doubt they would either go after your brother or Edgar himself." Aurelius shook his head, "Enough about me, I would like to hear about you. I have decided to learn as much about you as I can before I depart."

I did not know what to say to this man. It would seem Merlin has told him a lot, so surely I could trust him by now. After all, he saved my life, he deserves to at least know the person he saved. Yet, there was something I knew well, and that was that he was keeping something from me, but what it was I haven't the slightest clue. You could just see it in his eyes, the way they seemed downcast, even when he smiled.

"So, tell me miss Fia, what kind of things do you adore?"

What did I adore? "The way the earth smells after it rains." I said, it being the first thing to come to mind.

"Ah, so you like the smell of earth after it rains, but not the rain itself?" He asked.

I looked at him for a moment, trying to put my thoughts together of what I know of myself. "The rain makes me weak, therefore it is unfriendly to me. Yet, sometimes, I wish to dance in it, and do not even know how to dance." I said, a strange kind of smile crossing my lips.

Aurelius smiled. "Tell me something else."

"I do not care much for dragons..." I started slowly. "I feel they haunt me, in the woods and in my dreams.... I do not understand what it is they want, and my brother wishes to protect them. I do not care much for dragons, and I do not think they care much for me."

"Yes, I do not think they care much for you, not in the way everything and everyone should."He murmured.

Doctor's Orders

I rested for a while under Merlin's watch. Occasionally Edger would come out to lecture me about something, but Merlin always sent him back to the room. We never knew when a servant would come in and did not want evil rumors to be spread about us. I eventually got so bored I started reading merlin's book of herbs, non of it sticking of course, yet it was slightly more interesting than staring at the stone ceiling. After I got about twenty pages into the book a knock came upon Merlin's door.

"Come in." Merlin chimed.

Aurelius came striding in, a smile spreading across his face as he glanced my way. "Well, look who finally woke up." Aurelius came over to me and sate near my feet. "I thought for sure you would never awake. Things were just starting to settle down." He smirked at me and I felt a slight blush. "Here, I got this for you." Aurelius handed me a brown packed wrapped in string. I ripped away and the paper and found a red cloak. "Your purple one was kind of ruined, so I got you this red one, it goes better with my kingdom anyway." He winked.

I smiled at him. "Thank you, I am very grateful."

"Aurelius..." Merlin's tone was a bit worrisome. "How is your wound, you haven't gone and opened it again, have you?" Merlin walked to Aurelius, pointing at the spot where Aurelius had been injured that night I treated him. "How many times must I patch you up for the same thing? Surely your training can wait a day or two."Merlin prepared a paste for Aurelius while Aurelius removed his dark blue tunic.

"You know I cannot, Merlin. The Saxon's could be heading for us right now, I cannot let myself weaken." The cut on Aurelius' shoulder had opened and was oozing slightly. I also noticed that he had a cut going from his right eyebrow to his cheek bone, practically healed from the looks of it.

Merlin began to rub medicine into Aurelius' wound, causing Aurelius to wince a little. "Well, as your doctor I refuse to let you train anymore today or tomorrow." Merlin's voice was harsh and his stare solemn. "It's risky enough going to war with perfect health, going with a festering wound is not the smartest idea."

"Merlin..." Aurelius had a groan to his voice. "What am I to do while my men train then? Surely you cannot expect me to entertain my brother's betrothed for hours. You know I do not care for wedding talk."

"Wedding talk?" I asked.

Aurelius looked at me, tiredness in his eyes. "Uther is to be married to lady Igraine. I cannot express how many painfully hokey dinner conversations and lunch conversations I've had to suffer through." He shook his head, as if it was the worst thing in the world. "I am happy for them, but I simply wish I did not have to talk about how happy I must be for them all the time."

Merlin sighed. "Yes, I find your feelings very agreeable. Why don't you take Fia for a walk while I treat my other patients. She should start getting use to walking around before she becomes sloth-like."

The Calm After The Storm

I awoke a day or two later, my mind fuzzy with thoughts of rain and dragons. Every time I tried to make sense of what happened everything would grow foggy and abstract, as if the rain was caused by the mouth of the dragon, or that the dragon was not actually a dragon. I could not find sense, and sleep pulled me back anytime I tried to find it. Chaos, destruction, and rain... that's all that rallied my being in those long hours of sleep and nightmares.

Then there was a dream, at least I thought it to be a dream. I was in the forest once more, trying to find my sense, when I heard something large moving next to me. Yellow eyes struck my soul and the dragon reached out as if to eat me, and words came from his mouth in the form of a putrid stench. "Your efforts are worthless, you cannot save what you wish to save, and surely you'll be left with only a grave. Every time an answer you seek, another falls and another grows week, but all will die... that is the rule of your magic eye."

I bolted upright from my sleeping position on one of Merlin's cots, retching at the memory of that dreadful smell. My breath came in gasps and my head was pounding, my surroundings appeared fuzzy, as if they were not really my surroundings, and I thought for a moment that the dragon would come to break down the room.

"Fia!" Merlin was at my side, grabbing my arm to check my pulse. "You should not have sat up so quickly, how are you feeling?"

"My head hurts." I muttered, reaching my hand up to my right temple. My fingers found the rough texture of a bandage that was wrapped around my head.

Merlin reached up and undid the bandage slowly. "You slammed against that rock pretty hard, we were worried you had a severe concussion that couldn't be fixed, but i'd say you're doing quite well." Merlin took a cloth to my head and dabbed at it gently. "You look much better." Merlin smiled at me, great dark circles under his eyes and a mess of hair told of his lack of sleep.

I laid back down, tired already from sitting up. "What happened?" I asked. "I can't remember."

"Well, when Aurelius came back in from his little match, he came to speak with me for a bit, as he usual does. After a while we heard the sound of thunder and Edgar came bursting out of the room, scaring Aurelius quite a bit, which I found humorous, and explained that since you are of a fire magic rain is very dangerous and could drain you until you were unable to move. Aurelius then started yelling at me for not knowing such things and we left to find you. Aurelius grabbed his bow and arrows in case of a wolf, whatever that meant, and we searched for you until we found you slammed against the rock." Merlin gave me a look which made me feel very young and ignorant. "You should have been more careful, Fia. I did not like that your carelessness caused a dragon's death."

"Are you kidding me? That thing was going to kill me and you're upset that I was a victim?"

Merlin shook his head, "No, that is not what I am saying. You were careless and wandered into the dragon's home, and dragons are territorial creatures and it was simply trying to survive, which would have just been easier if you had just come back. There are very few dragons left, and I fear their race, while given a bad reputation, will be killed out for simply being protective." I thought about the weird feeling I had after Aurelius had killed that wolf, oddly similar to the words of Merlin. "We are not human, Fia, and I expect you to act as such. Our people do not kill out of fear, and we certainly do not walk into situations like you did. I am simply grateful you survived, do not take me wrong, but you are young and also need to be educated on such things." Merlin turned his gaze downward, his eyes heavier than I have ever seen them. "Those are the kinds of things mother and father would have told you, had they have been here. I am sorry if they sound brash, I did pretty much the same at your age. Looking back I feel i'd do it again if it only meant hearing their voices... When our people turned into a people of silence I thought I would never hear them talk again... and I suppose now I never will."

I sat up slowly and rested a hand on Merlin's arm. "We will save them, Merlin. It is our destiny." The haunting words of the dragon jumped up in my mind, but I pushed them away. I knew my destiny, a dream-dragon simply would not tell me otherwise.