"How is this possible?" I shout. "Camelot isn't real!"

My hands quiver, the realization of my fate hitting me like a car crash. If not for the pain I felt moments ago, I would say this is a dream.

Merlin looks around, raising his eyebrows. "It looks quite real to me."

I pinch my arm. Ouch, that hurts. I click my heels together thinking, There's no place like home. Nothing happens. An idea crosses my mind. "If you have magic, you can send me home."

"And where is home?"

"The future, I think. Or some futuristic realm. I'm not sure." Maybe I hit my head too hard when I fell in the castle.

Merlin's eyes spark. "Lady Santa Claus, I will help you on your quest if you help me on mine," he proposes.

"What do you need my help for?"

He snatches a book from his satchel, flipping through pages. When he finds what he is looking for, he hands me the book. A drawing of a sword like Excalibur occupies the page. "I created this sword to help our future king lead Camelot through an age of light—"

"Do you mean Arthur isn't king yet?"

He narrows his eyes, calculating. "How do you know that Arthur is our future king?"

"Well, he is Uther Pendragon's son. Heir to Camelot's throne."

"Indeed, he is. But no one besides Uther and I know that he is his child."

I kick the floor, cursing under my breath for giving away too much information. Dirt stains my blue Converse. With my bloody and ripped jeans, I look like a hot mess. "Let's say I've heard a lot about him."

"Yes, Uther and I have an agreement that Arthur Pendragon will be our future king when he turns eighteen, which happens in a few months. I need you to help me keep him safe until the time comes." He takes the book from me, shoving it back into the satchel.

I nearly choke. "You want me to stay here for months? I can't! My family needs me."

"If you want to return home, you need my help, and I need yours."

I tilt my head, wondering why a powerful sorcerer would need a simple girl like me. "What makes you think I can help you?"

He picks up a twig and draws a sword in the soft ground. "The sword—I named it Caliburn—has unimaginable magical powers." A dark shadow crosses his face. "And at the exact moment I placed it in the stone, a flash of light blinded me, and you materialized," he says.

I snort. "You think an inanimate object brought me here on purpose?"

He throws the twig away, placing his hands on his hips. "It chose you as it will choose our future heir. And it seems you already know a lot about our history."

I purse my lips. I know everything about their history. I'm no time traveling expert, but changing the facts in the past will probably affect the future. And a change like this . . . well, it could have disastrous consequences.

"You got the wrong person," I say.

"Camelot needs a savior, and Caliburn pulled you from your time for a reason."

"I'm no one's savior," I hiss. A flash of my father's feeble breathing comes to mind. I couldn't even save him. "Where I come from, magic doesn't even exist. Now please just send me home," I beg.

"If you can't help me, I can't help you either." He crosses his arms, his light mood darkening.

I think of mom and imagine her face when she finds out I disappeared. She's suffered so much. I shiver at the image of her desperate sobs. And Ana, what will she think when she discovers her sister vanished? I can't put her through that. I must return home—they need me.

I throw my hands up. "Ugh, fine. I will help you. But promise me when Arthur becomes king, you will send me back home."

"I give you my word." He presses his lips together, extending his hand. A glowing golden cuff appears around his wrist.

I flinch at the sight. "What is this?"

"Your promise must be sealed with magic."

"Can't you just take my word?" I shield my eyes from the bright ring of light.

His eyes darken. The almost transparent sapphire blue turns gray. "Words play tricks, and so do humans."

With my heart sinking in my chest, I take his hand.

The ring of light expands, forming a barrier around Merlin and me. All sound disappears, besides our own breathing. My hands tremble.

His chin quivers, and he grips my hand tighter. "We seal our promise with the golden circle of trust. When we fulfill it, the circle will break, and the fates will release its grip on us." The air turns cold, but my hands burn. Merlin continues, "Lady Santa Claus, repeat these words: I promise to help Merlin secure Arthur's kingdom."

I gulp and repeat after him.

Satisfied, Merlin finishes his spell. "And I promise to send you back home when you fulfill your promise." He clears his throat. "May the trust be sealed, and may the fates own our destinies."

The golden circle explodes and rockets through the woods until it fades, leaving nothing behind besides an ice-cold feeling in my gut. When I look at Merlin, he is staring at his feet with drooped eyebrows.

"Are you all right?" I ask.

He wipes his hands on his vest and flashes me a small smile. "Yes. The spell just required more of me than I anticipated."

"What do you mean?"

He waves a hand. "Don't worry about it." He pulls a dark-green weed from his satchel and chews on it.

I narrow my eyes, measuring whether he is telling me the truth. I push the cold doubt away, focusing on the next step. "So where do we start?"

"We need to find The Great Ancient Book of Spells and Enchantments."

"What for?"

"Time traveling requires a complicated spell." He fidgets, picking dirt from under his nail. "And I don't know how to perform it." The top of his ears turns red.

I close my fists, leaning toward his body. "You what?" I ask through clenched teeth.

He drops his shoulders. "I'm sorry. But I really needed you to stay."

"You made me do the circle of trust when you were the one lying?" I yell. He winces and I breathe deeply before adding, "Isn't it just point and, boom, magic?"

"I'm still perfecting my skills." He scoffs. "It's not just point and magic."

I press the bridge of my nose, controlling the impulse to strangle him. If I kill him, I'll never return to my time. "Great, so let's get the great book with a long name."

He straightens up, rubbing the back of his neck. "Of course. If I knew where it was." When I growl, he raises his hands and adds, "I'm sorry, but the book disappeared centuries ago. Many tried to look for it and failed."

I always thought of Merlin as this great, wise, old man, who knew everything about life. He just proved me wrong. "We need this book! Do you have any idea how my mom will feel if I just disappear?"

He heaves an exaggerated sigh. "An old tale says that The Great Book of—"

"Let's just go with The Great Book," I say.

"That the . . . Great Book"—he rolls his eyes and continues—"was last seen in the hands of the great sorcerer Elias. I don't quite remember the details of the story, but I will do some research back at the palace."

"Or, we find this Elias right now and get it."

He frowns, shaking his head. "First of all, he has been dead for over a hundred years. And if we will venture through Albion searching for the book, we need to be prepared. These treacherous lands can trick you. And you are a lady." Now I roll my eyes. Sexist. He is so medieval.

"Can't you protect us with your magic?" I ask him, rubbing my temples.

"I can't focus on me and you at the same time. Magic requires a great deal of energy and focus. It's too risky."

I look around this alien territory. I'm not used to woods like these, where trees intertwine so densely they hide the sky. It's hard to see even ten feet ahead of me. Animal noises burst from all corners. Crickets sing a sweet lullaby, but other sounds blend together, making it difficult to distinguish one from another. All the stories of Camelot's strange creatures come to mind. Merlin is right. I don't belong here.

"I will learn how to fight," I say.

He laughs. "You will learn how to swordfight? A woman?" He cocks his head.

"Yes. Where I'm from, women are equal to men." I throw a daring look at him, challenging him to test me.

He bites his lip for a moment and dips his chin. "It's settled," he says, rubbing his hands together. "But no one can know you came from the future. People would kill to control you and your knowledge."

I let out a quick sigh and nod, kicking the dirt. He's right about this.

"Second, you must not tell people I have magic."

"Why not?"

"Magic has almost vanished in Albion. A few people are born with it, me included. The king knows about my magic, but if anyone outside Camelot knew about it, the kingdom and I would face grave danger. Can I trust you with this secret?"

I cross my arms. "I trust you to send me home, don't I?"

"True. Now, third: you need to blend in." He looks me up and down, closes his eyes, and waves his hands while saying a spell. My blue Converse sneakers turn brown and transform into a pair of turn shoes like his. My jeans stretch sideways and turn into a long blue skirt. My T-shirt grows long sleeves and connects with my new skirt.

By the end of his spell, he's transformed my modern clothes into a grayish-blue peasant's dress. Merlin nods, approving my new look. "Much better."

I quickly grasp at my neck, searching for my dad's key. I'm relieved when I find it still there.

"Those were my favorite jeans, by the way." I stretch my legs, but the dress restricts my movement. "How do women walk in these things? No wonder men rescue them all the time."

Merlin chuckles at my statement, shaking his head. "You'll get used to it. Now come on, we need to reach Camelot before it gets dark." He motions me to follow him through the woods.

The fresh air fills my lungs and my feet sink into the soft soil as I walk. Drops of water fall from honeysuckles as if it's rained the night before. I smell the dirt, the trees, and the wildflowers. I glance sidelong at Merlin, who hums agreeably as we stroll side by side. He is so young, younger than what I've imagined.

He notices me watching. "Is there something wrong?"

"You know, my name isn't actually Lady Santa Claus. It's Olivia." A noise snaps from behind a bush. I freeze. A rabbit dashes out.

He raises an eyebrow. "Not used to seeing animals in the woods?" I sense a hint of playfulness in his voice.

"Not that often, no. We cut down a lot of the forest where I'm from."

He gasps, clenching his fists. "That's barbaric! Why?"

"For progress." I shrug, keeping my distance from him. "The population got too big, so the city expanded."

"I can't imagine a population so large that you need to make more space for people by destroying nature."

"I agree. But technology has improved a lot since your time, so people live longer. And we need more and more space."

A few streaks of the sun penetrate through the tall branches. A dance of light and shadows in our path. It's a natural beauty, so different from what I'm used to. In Rio, beaches with soft sand, green hills, and blue sky paint my city. But here the green covers the land like a carpet, with high mountains and untouched land reaching all the way to the horizon.

"What is technology?" he asks, knitting his eyebrows.

"It's based on science. Our scientists have created tools to help us stay healthier and avoid disease—like vaccines."

He whistles. "I've never heard of anything like that."

"It will take a few centuries to develop." I shrug, desperate to change the subject. Giving him too much information about the future could be dangerous. "So, why do we need to guarantee Arthur becomes king?"

"Many prophecies speak about a king who will lead Camelot back to an age of light. But wherever light appears, so does a dark counterpart. Think of the world as always in balance—you need dark and light, good and evil. Which means if the prophecies are correct, and Arthur will be a king of light—"

"Then an evil counterpart will rise as well." Knowing exactly who the counterpart is, I shudder. The fight between the two sides will soon begin. It's imperative I leave before that happens.

He narrows his eyes. "I sense the darkness getting stronger."

The muscle of my neck tenses as I remember every single detail of the stories. Not so long ago, my father and I spent time in his study, reading and speculating about all the outcomes of King Arthur's legend. He would've given anything to experience what I'm going through right now.

Merlin notices my momentary sadness and says, "Don't worry, Lady Olivia. Good will win, I'll make sure of it. After all, it's my destiny, and yours now, too."

****

After several hours of dragging myself through the woods, earning a few blisters on my feet along the way, we arrive in Camelot. The great stone castle lies on top of a hill, overlooking the land. A humble village spreads out below, fields of yellow crops extending into the distance. We reach the fortress gate and a guard opens it, recognizing Merlin. My eyes widen at the size of the castle.

"It's beautiful."

"Stay close and speak as little as possible," Merlin whispers, and I nod.

Villagers move around us with hunched shoulders—their eyes never leave the floor. Small children help their parents carry the market's groceries. Their tiny bodies are dirty and skinny, and their sunken faces remind me of famished children in war zones.

"Why do they seem so miserable?" I ask Merlin.

"Uther's rule is based on fear." Merlin clears his throat, adjusts his posture, and lowers his voice. "He always says, 'I don't need their respect, only their fear.'"

"But isn't respect earned?"

"Not here. Respect comes based on your position, and being the king is the highest position below God himself."

I wrinkle my nose. "Seems to me he's a bully."

"A bull?"

"Ah, never mind."

We arrive at the castle grounds, and another set of gates opens for us. Guards can be seen everywhere: on top of the high walls, near the gates, on patrol. They wear heavy silver armor, large wooden shields, and silver swords. On top of their armor, red and gold vests shine with the same bright colors as the castle flags. As I recall, Uther made many enemies during his rule and needs the extra protection. If he is anything like the legends, I might want to avoid him as much as I can.

As we enter, I swing my head left and right, absorbing my surroundings: the high towers, training grounds, stables, and jousting stadium. My head feels light, and I trip on my own dress. Losing my balance, I bump straight into a man, dragging both of us to the ground.

"I'm so sorry," I say, then bite my tongue for speaking up.

His forest-green eyes look me over, and he pushes me away, doffing off his clothes and curling his lips. Outraged, I stand up and return his disgusted look.

"You should watch where you're going," he barks.

"Well, I wasn't the only one not looking, or else you would've avoided me," I hiss.

He narrows his cold eyes. "What did you say to me, peasant?"

Merlin steps between us. "I'm sorry, my Lord, she is my cousin and new to this land."

"Then you should teach her how to respect her superiors." His stare pierces Merlin. "She has a strange accent. Where are you from?"

Afraid to give myself away, I say nothing else. "Oh, so you are mute now?"

I clench my jaw and cast my eyes to the floor, feigning submission. But honestly, I wish I could kick him in the groin.

"She spent her life traveling with her gypsy parents, so her accent is a bit from everywhere."

"Make sure she learns good manners if she is going to stay here." He throws a last warning glance at me and turns to leave.

Merlin bows low. "Yes, Sir Arthur."

My mouth falls open. A dizziness overtakes me, and I hold Merlin's arm to steady myself. It can't be possible that this arrogant little prick is the future King Arthur. When he's out of hearing distance, I blurt, "You've got to be kidding. That can't be Arthur Pendragon!"

Merlin claps a hand over my mouth and pulls me into an alcove. "Someone might hear you," he hisses. He scans the room before dropping his hand. "He is Arthur, whether you like it or not, and no one can know he is a Pendragon." His voice is barely a whisper.

"But he is so . . . full of himself." I taste the words in my mouth. "How can he be the one who brings light to the world?"

"Well, I may know a lot of things, but that is a question I can't answer. I only know the conclusion, not how he gets there."

I watch as Arthur struts to the training grounds, shoulders squared, chin up. So stiff he might break in two. "It must be something big, to change him into a worthy man."

"Let's hope so." Merlin follows my gaze, a puzzled frown on his face. "Hope is our best ally here. Come, I will show you the castle and hopefully get you a job."

He strolls toward the castle, but I clutch his shoulder and force him to spin and look at me.

"Excuse me, a job?"

He smirks, lifting one corner of his mouth. "You didn't think you would stay here for free, did you? You need to work so you can eat."

"But where will I work?" I wince, afraid of the answer.

"Don't worry, I have the perfect job for you."