"You and Merlin need to practice on how you address Royalty."
"I promise you, your highness, I try, but it's never done me any good in the past."
"Its Prince Arthur..." He paused, likely realizing he didn't know my name. "And you are?"
"I'm but a co...
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ECHOES Known also as... {TALES BETWEEN TIME :: Part Three}
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I don't remember much from my conversation with Merlin. I know we talked pleasantly, that I thanked him for all he had done and chastised him for the idiocy of trying to convince the court that he was the sorcerer.
In turn, he eagerly retold his journey of slaying the elemental that had been poisoning the water system under the city.
When asked about my own experience, I retold the emotional tale from the perspective of someone who had came face to face with death for the first time. I told him I had been absolutely terrified, worried about my sister, and overjoyed to see them rescue me.
If Merlin saw a flicker of falsehood in my face, he didn't point it out. I didn't deserve his curtesy.
On the other hand, Rulf tried hard to get me to talk with him, but I stood firm and shared only the bare minimum. I told him about the feeling of impending doom, yet acceptance. How I had reflected over my life. The sick he had apparently discovered in my cell, had been from nerves- not from the nightmares of my past.
There was a part of me that, out of everyone, wanted Rulf to know the truth. But... as much as I trusted my new friend, he was the last person I could share my life with. Whether or not he likes the Crown, he swore allegiance to the King. That cannot be over looked.
Long ago I had made up my mind to keep my experiences to myself. Had I forgotten that? That I swore to bring my past- my present- to the grave if I needed to? My relief might have gotten the better of me for a moment- but I will not let it happen again.
The days that passed after my imprisonment were harder to bear than I thought they would be. But at least they were mine- and no one else's.
The echoes of my phantom pains rattled within my mind. They conjured figures from my past and living dreams that sent me reeling, having me question if I had finally lost it.
Whenever I tried to clear my head and walk the castle corridors in the quiet evenings, I was often met with the high-pitched laughter of two young girls. They would fly past me, sending servants and guards alike to the side. The girls' heads of brown and blonde streamed behind them as they ran and disappeared around a distant corner.
A moment later I would blink and it would all fall away. Back in the present I stood frozen- my heart the only thing moving. The colors and shapes around me were sharper than they were a moment before... but faded and colder as well.
