Prologue
Arthelia carefully slid out of the room as Ellice finished writing her letter. They were supposed to be going to another etiquette lesson once she finished. The second Arthelia was out of the room, she made a run for it.
Arthelia heard the sound of the door slamming open, but she was already jumping down the stairs. Arthelia held up the bottom of her dress, trying not to mess it up too much. She had already torn 3 dresses in the past month and her father always made Ellice sew them up.
Arthelia rushed out of the building, trying to stay hidden while moving fast. She knew exactly where she wanted to be. Luckily, it wasn’t a far walk.
Arthelia slid to a stop at the edge of the courtyard. She peered her head around a corner to watch as Morgan sparred with Bedivere. She giggled as Morgan kicked Bedivere off his feet.
Arthelia mimicked each movement Bedivere made, pretending that she was the one sparring with her brother. Her father would never allow her, no matter how much she begged. Luckily, Bedivere didn’t mind breaking any rules for her.
She and Bedivere had both seen nine winters, yet she was not allowed to learn to wield a sword. Bedivere was encouraged to be Morgan’s sparring partner while Arthelia was encouraged to learn how to sew with Ellice and take etiquette lessons all day long.
It wouldn’t be so weird to allow her to wield a sword. Arthelia had heard that other parts of the world allowed their women to be knights. Her father just didn’t want Camelot to follow that path.
On the other side of the courtyard, Lord Blaise made his way into the castle, little Merlin following after him. Arthelia knew it was wrong, but she hated Merlin. Merlin had everything. She was a girl too, but since she was a sorcerer she was worth more than any other girl. Worth more than even Arthelia.
Merlin gets to train with Blaise on being a royal advisor and one day she would get to stand at Morgan’s side with that role. It was something women never got to do. A position women were told they couldn’t hold. But Merlin could. Merlin would live a meaningful life while Arthelia remained the useless princess of the kingdom.
“Art!” Morgan called, knocking Arthelia out of her daze.
Arthelia walked over to where Morgan stood with Bedivere. They both had wicked grins, so they were up to no good. Arthelia prayed they weren’t going to send her back to Ellice.
“Want to try?” Bedivere asked, holding his sword out to her.
Arthelia’s eyes grew wide. “Try?” she murmured.
Bedivere rolled his eyes, a gesture that would get him stoned if he weren’t Arthelia’s friend. “Better grab it before Ellice gets here.”
Arthelia quickly nabbed the sword from him. It was heavier than she anticipated, but it felt right, like she was always meant to wield it.
“Your grip is all wrong,” Bedivere said. He quickly adjusted Arthelia’s hands on the hilt and kicked her feet out a bit wider, “You want a balanced center. Your feet are very important. The second your feet slip, you’re done for. Stay balanced, stay quick.”
Morgan laughed, “Yeah, you would know.”
Bedivere elbowed him before stepping back from Arthelia to allow her to hold the sword by herself. Arthelia nodded and looked at Morgan. He was smiling down at her, holding his sword defensively.
“Want to give it a swing?” he asked.
Arthelia smiled and prepared to swing when she heard a deep cough. The sword tumbled from Arthelia’s grasp as she quickly bowed to her father. Ellice stood by his side, an apologetic frown on her face.
“What is going on here?” the king barked.
“I’m sorry, father-” Arthelia started.
“It was my idea,” Bedivere declared.
Arthelia looked at him and shook her head. “Please don’t. You’ll be thrown in the dungeon for weeks!” she whispered.
Bedivere smiled softly at her. “It’s okay. It’s just the dungeon, right?”
Arthelia and Morgan watched as two knights came to take Bedivere away. Arthelia supposed the dungeon was better than death, but it was still unfair. He didn’t deserve the dungeon just for Arthelia’s curiosity.
Their father stopped in front of Morgan. “Don’t encourage this behavior,” he snapped.
Morgan nodded, but didn’t look at their father. The king grabbed Morgan and Bedivere’s practice swords. “You’ll earn these back at the end of the week,” he told Morgan.
Once he was gone from the courtyard, Morgan rolled his eyes. “What a dullard!”
Arthelia shook her head. “He just wants what’s best for me,” she murmured.
Morgan scoffed, “He just wants to marry you off to some neighboring Kingdom since he can’t forge any alliances himself! Selfish prat!”
Arthelia stayed quiet. As much as she agreed, speaking up was never a good idea. It was one thing for the prince to say it, but if it were the princess, it would be treason.
Morgan kneeled down and put a hand on Arthelia’s shoulder. “I don’t care what he says. I’ll teach you to fight. You’ll be the best knight the kingdom’s ever seen!” he announces, “Well, besides me, of course!”
Arthelia laughs, “Yeah, besides you.”
Morgan pushed Arthelia’s shoulder, turning her back around towards Ellice. “We can work on movements later since we don’t have the swords anymore,” he whispered to her, “But after your lessons.”
Ellice was red and her eyes were filled with tears. “I’m sorry,” she whispered.
Arthelia grabbed Ellice’s hand. “It’s alright. Today’s lesson is in deference, right?”
Ellice smiled and nodded. Arthelia let herself be pulled away from Morgan and trailed along for her next boring lesson.
***
Merlin followed behind Blaise as they made their way to the kitchen. Blaise often brought the royal family dinner and Merlin was forced to come along. Whenever she did come along, she was forced to ensure that the food wasn’t poisoned.
Merlin was a creature of magic. She couldn’t hide her magic even if she tried. Blaise often tried to help train Merlin, but there wasn’t much that needed training. Magic was an instinct for her. She knew what to do when she needed to do it. Blaise had taught himself magic, so his magic would always be different than hers.
Blaise had told King Uther of Merlin’s existence as soon as he saw the extent of her power. Her mother had given her to Blaise thinking he would take care of her as his own child. Instead, she feels like an investment. Blaise only used her to get closer to the King.
King Uther was excited to have someone with such power working under him, so after only 5 winters, she was forced to practice magic for the King. It started as small magic tricks for entertainment, lightening up the court jester’s performance. Then it became sensing magic in cursed objects and creating “blessed” objects for the royal family. After that was detecting poison in the royal family’s food. Now, after 12 winters, it was chores for the crown prince. She was essentially the boy’s personal servant, though she did a terrible job.
Every day as Merlin passed the Princess’s room, she grew more jealous. The Princess had an amazing life. She wasn’t some lowly servant. She got to relax each day and was treated as a true lady. She had friends and a family. Merlin had Blaise, but it would never be the same.
Merlin placed the plate she carried in front of Prince Morgan. Blaise placed the other two plates for the Princess and the King.
“It’s not poisoned,” Merlin said.
It was never poisoned. If it was ever poisoned, Merlin would likely know weeks before it happened. Something as important as the death of a royal family member would surely cause a vision for her. There was really no reason for her to check at all, but it made the King and Blaise happy.
Blaise knew of her visions and made sure to keep track of each one she told him about. Years ago, she had tried arguing against checking for poison at all, but Blaise had refused to listen to her. Even if he wrote down her visions, he didn’t fully trust them. He didn’t fully trust her.
Blaise and Merlin were dismissed from the castle for the day. They would return to their home before returning again early in the morning.
Blaise smiled as they walked down the halls. He stopped for a second to glance out a window. “One day, you’ll help guide the future King, as I have helped King Uther,” he said.
Merlin bit her lip. She refused to ask what Blaise really did to help the Kingdom. She refused to say that she was the one actually helping the king. No matter how much she wanted to, she could never say it.
“I’d rather not,” she muttered.
She refused to say there would be no future king. She refused to say that she saw a vision of Camelot in ruin. She refused to say that having Prince Morgan next in line for the throne would be Camelot’s end. No matter how much she wanted to, she could never say it.
Even if Blaise wrote it down, he wouldn’t believe her. He wouldn’t let her tell the King about such a cruel vision. As much as they all claimed to trust Merlin, she could see the doubt in their eyes. They treated her as an adult until she said something they disagreed with. When she needed them to understand and trust her, she became some unruly child to them. She was stuck.
Blaise rolled his eyes and put a hand on Merlin’s shoulder to drag her along. “You’ll see. Just give it time.”
As soon as they were home, Merlin rushed up to her room. She locked the door and searched for her personal notebook. Ever since she realized Blaise didn’t trust her fully, she kept track of her visions by herself. She wasn’t as eloquent a writer as Blaise, but she was able to draw her visions out perfectly. She flipped to the drawing of the lake and kept her notebook open to that page. Merlin quickly opened her window and jumped out.
The royal stable wasn’t far from Blaise’s home and Merlin was given full access to it. Merlin grabbed a horse and quickly set off. She raced off into the forest, looking for the lake in her drawing. She knew it was far, but she had no clue just how far.
After a few hours of searching, Merlin finally found what she was looking for. Hidden by the trees and nestled into the side of a mountain, just as she had drawn. The lake was beautiful, shining from the moonlight.
Merlin sat down at the edge of the water and dipped her hand into it. She wasn’t sure if the lake would speak to her as it had in her vision. It hadn’t truly spoken to her in her vision, but it had spoken to someone.
Bubbles began to rise in the lake, startling Merlin from her seat by the edge of the lake. She quickly rose to her feet and watched the water carefully.
Out of the water rose the Lady of the Lake. She was hauntingly beautiful. Her long hair trailed behind her in the water as she moved closer to Merlin. Her dress was the same shade as the water and her smile was as welcoming as it was horrifying.
“My dear Merlin… You look quite different than I remember,” she said.
Merlin frowned, “Have we met before?”
The Lady chuckled and waved Merlin off. “Well, I suppose not in this realm,” she murmured, “Why have you come to see me?”
Merlin sighed and went back to sit down at the edge of the lake. “Well, I had a vision… It was here at this lake. The lake, you, were giving a gift,” she explained.
The Lady of the Lake hummed, “You are quite early for that gift, nor are you the recipient.”
Merlin nodded, “I am aware. It was a Pendragon.”
The Lady of the Lake did not respond. She watched Merlin closely as she paced around the surface of the water.
“In years to come, a boy is supposed to come here to retrieve that gift from you,” Merlin said, “I do not wish to let that happen.”
The Lady of the Lake raised an eyebrow at Merlin. “And what do you wish to do with that gift?” she asked.
Merlin frowned. She hadn’t thought of what to do with it. She hadn’t expected to find this lake, nor the Lady of the Lake.
“I will trap it. No one will be able to retrieve it,” Merlin decided.
The Lady of the Lake shook her head, “One will be able to retrieve it.”
Merlin tilted her head. “Who?”
“There are some things that are destiny. No matter what fate throws in the way, it is simply meant to happen,” the Lady explained, “Should you trap my gift, only one will be able to retrieve it. Destiny will not keep them apart.”
Merlin frowned but nodded. No matter what she did, the gift would find its way into Morgan’s hands. Merlin’s small attempt to prevent Camelot’s ruin had failed.
“You may take it,” the Lady of the Lake said.
Merlin snapped her head up. She hadn’t expected to be allowed to take the gift. She still was unsure of what the Lady was giving in the vision.
Out of the water, a sword rose to stand beside the Lady. Merlin felt the magical energy as soon as the tip of the blade emerged from the water.
“Trap it where you may, but its owner will find it,” The Lady told her.
Merlin smiled as the sword was placed in her hands. “Thank you for trusting me with this,” she whispered.
The Lady of the Lake smiled and began to sink back into the lake. “The world has big plans for you. I suspect I’ll see you again, one day. Farewell, Merlin.”
Merlin gripped the sword tight as she watched the Lady disappear. She had never been one to care for beauty, but there was something about the Lady of the Lake that drew her in. She never even got to know her name.
Merlin went back to her horse and began searching around. She needed a safe and secure place to trap the sword. Somewhere that the Prince wouldn’t find it on a hunting trip, but too close to Camelot for another nation to cross by it.
Merlin found the perfect place. It was a small clearing in the forest, with a large stone near the trees. Merlin hopped off her horse and inspected the stone. It was strong and sturdy. Too big to be carried, but not big enough to cover the entire sword.
Merlin would have to make do with the stone. The sun would rise soon and Merlin was still needed at the castle. She lifted the sword above her head and struck it down as hard as she could. She used her magic to add power to the strike, allowing it to slide cleanly into the stone.
Merlin used her magic to fix the stone around the sword, capturing the entire blade. She made sure the sword was completely stuck by trying to pull it out herself. Even with her magic, it wouldn’t budge.
Merlin knelt down in front of the stone. Slowly and carefully, she carved out an inscription on the stone:
Whoever pulleth this sword be the true ruler of Camelot
