Chapter 10

From horizon to horizon there was nothing but lush green fields broken up only by the dashes of poppies and a multitude of coloured flowers glittering under the pink sun that shone brightly in the purple sky. The sky flashed brighter as the sun was temporarily blotted out before 8 bodies dropped into the grass disappearing from sight. They groaned before one by one they climbed to their feet and searched the area.

“Where are we?” Lila questioned as she stepped towards her brother, taking time to avoid the flowers that looking ethereal in the strange sunlight. Simon wrapped an arm around her as the others approached but didn’t get time to respond as a voice responded for him.

“You are in my domain, welcome children.” The voice came from mid-air and a second later a man appeared before them. Lila, Simon and Colton let out a gasp as they recognised the man instantly.

“Merlin,” Colton whispered wide-eyed as he stared at the white bearded man that looked somewhere between Dumbledore and the Disney interpretation of the man. He pressed his lips together to keep from laughing at the man who was wearing a set of 3D glasses on the end of his nose like they were his spectacles whilst his long navy coloured robe had been tucked up slightly to reveal his nobbled knees that were ghostly pale.

“You know my name and yet I don’t know yours but alas, we need to get on with business, I’m sure we can do introductions as we walk, but step fast children, the valley will soon be in darkness and it does not do well to dwell in such a place at night.” He chirped the words happily as if they weren’t ominous and scary which had the teens exchanging looks as they stared at the back of Merlin’s head. He started walking away but when they didn’t follow he glanced over his shoulder and beckoned at them. “Are you coming or not?” With that merlin continued onwards but not without muttering under his breath, “damned modern kids.” As he muttered he shook his head in disdain but carried on walking, leaving them to follow after him in his wake.

They teens exchanged glances before shrugging their shoulders and following after the strange man.

In a matter of minutes they were out of the field and were instead in front of a huge rock face in which a crag opened up a little away from them only to be blocked by a door a little way in. Merlin strode up to the door and placed his palm on the solid stone so that it glowed before turning to a wooden one with a handle. He smiled over his shoulder at the little group before swinging the door inwards to reveal a large and spacious house, light coming through the far wall that was made completely out of water, cascading past the missing rock so that rainbows of light shone onto the floor. Despite the place being made out of rock and water, the place was warm and steam emitted from where the water splashed up onto the stone.

“How is it so warm in here?” Emily questioned stepping forward to look at the humble but at the same time amazing home that Merlin had created for himself. The old man grinned before pointing to the floor.

“Under floor heating,” he said proudly but the twinkle in his eyes told the teens that there was a lot more to it than that. Colton stared at him for a moment before shrugging it off when he lead then over to a large table surrounded by cushioned chairs and gestured for everyone to take a seat.

Merlin sat at the head of the table while Colton and Simon took seats on either side, Lila sitting next to her brother leaving everyone else to get seated. Merlin watched all of this with his elbows resting on the table and his fingertips pressed together as he stared with much curiosity at the people before him.

“Would you like some tea?” he questions when they finally stop chattering and look towards him. A few of them scrunch up their noses at the strange old man but when he waves his hand and a teapot appears  on the table as well as a cup for each of them, they reluctantly grab the cup as it is filled and take tentative sips.

“So how come we ended up here?” Colton asked as he finished the small cup which he was surprised to find tasted like honey and lemon instead on the usual taste of bitter unsweetened tea that his mum liked to drink. The others nodded in agreement at this as they too finished off their tea with smiles on their faces though all of them looking just as confused as Colton at seeing the legend before them.

The old man chortled and set his own cup down.

“Avalon has many levels and layers, the part you were in before was the first layer, essentially the realm of dreams. Excalibur the intelligent essence that she is, sent you here, to me because I am the only one that can send you to the arena.” He held up both of his hands up at the sudden questions that were on all of their lips as they leant forwards on the table in anticipation. “The arena is where you have to prove your worth and gain your totems. I cannot tell you what is there only that you need to rely on each other as well as your own strengths. Get past the guardian and you will know which totem is yours, you follow your heart, do not choose it by looks, it will not work properly for you if you do it that way.” He looked at his bare wrist and then up at us looking suddenly rushed and harried. “Oh look at the time, come on children your ride is here.”

The light coming through the waterfall dimmed and with a crack, a door appeared in one of the walls. Merlin pushed up from the table and hurried over to the door, beckoning to the eight teens with his hand. They tried to move as fast as they could but it only resulted in a few of them tripping over each other and landing in a heap on the floor.

Colton and Lila who had managed to step out of the way just in time, laughed at Simon who was barely visible under the bodies that were piled on top of him. They stopped abruptly however when Simon pushed himself up on his knees with the others still on his back. He paused as he stared at his arms which usually shook under his own weight when he did press ups yet now he was holding up the weight of five extra people.

“Whoa, this is so cool.” He murmured before tipping his body to the side slightly so the others rolled off of him, forming a groaning heap as he pushed himself to his feet. He brushed off the invisible dust before holding out his hand to help Emily up from where she was tangled beneath a few people and looked like she was a little short of breath. She smiled gratefully at him as he tugged her out from under the bodies, her hand lingering in his a moment longer than necessary before she dropped her hand to the side.

“Come on children, we don’t have all day, other people need to use the arena you know.” He chided as he stood beside the now open door, the sounds of whistling winds and roar of spectators reached their ears. “You can either go in one by one or you can hold hands and go through together, won’t make the slightest bit of difference. I am glad I got to see you all, good luck, I hope that you will be the ones to finally end this legacy that Morgana and I left behind.”

The teens looked at him and then one by one, they grasped each other’s hands, Lila firmly between her brother and Colton as they stepped past Merlin, though she shivered slightly at the intense look that he gave her. She glanced over her shoulder at her friends, each of whom had the same look that she was sure was on her face, a mixture of determination and fear, shown by the furrowed brows and their mouths that were pulled into a tight line.

“Ready?” Colton asked from up front as he looked down the line, his free hand running through his shock of red head. When everyone nodded he looked up at Merlin. “it was nice to meet you…so we just step through?” He nodded his head towards the door not knowing what else to say to the man, he felt himself blushing as he remembered what Xandria had shown him of the legend and yet here he was, talking to the kooky old man in Avalon, a place that even he had thought was a myth until he arrived here.

“Yes, and good luck Colton, you are going to need all the help you can get if you are to save her in the end.” Merlin gazed into Colton’s eyes and it seemed as if he was trying to convey some hidden meaning but it was lost on him as he was too startled by the sudden smile that lit up the older man’s face, clearing out all of the wrinkles so that he looked about ten years younger.  “Well good luck children!” he waved them towards the door and then stood back with his hands folded in front of him and they stepped towards the door.

Colton glanced back once more trying to discern if there was a catch of some sort but a moment later he shrugged and walked towards the doorway. He paused on the threshold but then straightened his shoulders and marched off into the unknown with his closest friends in tow.

Merlin watched as the last of the teens disappeared and the door snapped shut behind them. He watched as the door faded from view before looking down at the floor and pulling out a ring with a ruby inlaid in the buttery gold band. He kissed the stone as he surveyed his lonely afterlife with a sigh.

“Oh my love, why did you have to fall so far?” He gazed out into the air around him before looking at the space where the door should have been. “Good luck children, you have my blessing.”

His words were carried on a scented breeze that carried his words to the deepest realm of Avalon. Merlin surveyed the room once more and then with the clap of his hands he was gone, the only reminder that he had been there, was the ring that dropped to the floor, wobbling a moment as is spun on the band before settling on the hard stone.

If he had stayed there a moment longer he would have seen his old love step from the shadows. Her long hair was braided and broken up by streaks of grey yet she still looked relatively young. She glanced around the empty space and let tears drip down her face only for them to flow more freely when she spotted the ring on the floor.

“I’m sorry my love.” She whispered as she bent down and held the ring carefully between her fingers before her head snapped side to side and all emotion was drained from her face as her eyes turned black, any hint of the young beautiful woman gone. The face of Morgana snarled and glared at the ring before curling her hand around it and then with a shake, opening her hand so that a pile of dust fell to the floor. “Merlin will pay.” The voice echoed around the room in a hiss before her body dissolved into dust and blew from the cavern on an unnatural wind.

So what did you think about the extra bit about Merlin and Morgana? Does it work or not, I wasn't going to have it originally but it just came out as I wrote. Thanks for all of your support so far. I've got 13 days to write the rest of the 30 pages. I'm going to write at least two pages a day but we'll see how that goes.