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“Alright. Got the new runestones from the cave, so check that off the list.” Douxie said to himself, arms loaded with fist-sized rocks marked with archaic-looking symbols. “Archie should be waiting with the other ingredients and then this big “illusionary” trick Merlin wants on his cave should be ready for testing.” He grunted once and stopped next to an open clearing to catch his breath. “Oof! I sure wish Merlin could have picked ingredients that were closer to town… or that weighed a little less.”
SNAP!
There was a rustle suddenly as a small twig cracked across the clearing and Douxie spent no time flipping around the tree to hide, back pressed up against the trunk as he squeezed the stones closer to his chest and held his breath.
“Oh fuzzbuckets…”
Was it a stray troll? A wild boar? A bear? Something that would sooner see him eaten and turned to bones right here in the middle of the eternal forest where none dared to venture, and none would hear him scream?
He waited there, panicking to himself as he sifted through the many hundreds of possibilities before realizing a few moments later that no additional sounds of danger had ever followed. In fact, now there was just a soft humming coming from the clearing, and upon hearing the light, sweet melody, the young apprentice peeked ever so cautiously around the protective bark to investigate.
There was a short figure in a purple hooded cloak, not quite fit for the condition of nobility, but it was far from a peasant’s typical garment. Bits of rose-colored dress were peeking out from the bottom, as well as a small pair of simple shoes. Judging by the overall figure, and the lovely voice, this mysterious figure could only be a girl, and Douxie furrowed his brows at the realization.
Civilians rarely ever left Camelot after what happened to Queen Guinevere. Partially because of the strict travel laws of King Arthur, but the other part in fear of the creatures residing in the woods. Now that the King was gone, Camelot was in ruins, and many of the trolls both good and bad all scattered after the great battle, there were some people who had done a small bit of travelling or relocating, but it was still a rarity to see someone this deep into these woods. Many of the bravest knights dared not enter for fear of magic, and it was stranger still, seeing somebody in here all alone.
Well… somebody who wasn’t on a magical errand like he was at least? Douxie thought. Was she lost? No, she seemed far too calm to be lost.
Pressing his face closer into the tree, he could only watch and mutter to himself.
“Then what is she doing all the way out here, I wonder?”
He got his answer as soon as the girl splayed out her arms, her fingers stretching before two bright bursts of pink magic exploded from her palms, drifting down in little sparkling flecks like snowfall.
“She's a wizard!” He gasped, his mouth a huge gaping smile as he watched this figure in the purple cloak maneuvering alongside her newly formed pink wisps of energy.
Another wizard!? He never thought he'd meet another wizard in Camelot.
She moved gracefully, her hands coming to brush against tall blades of grass, wildflowers, and the trunks of trees as she hummed a sort of working tune to match each movement. As her fingers parted, the energy followed her like a string of fireflies, collecting near her hands, and as soon as all of it was swirling ahead of her, she reached into her satchel and pulled out a small glass bottle, directing the current into the vial before capping it and taking a breath.
“That should do for a while,” she said, wiping her brow with the back of her hand.
Judging by her voice and her size, Douxie came to the conclusion that she could even be around the same age as he was, and without a second thought decided to follow behind her as she made her way out of the clearing with her newly obtained— erm— well, whatever it was?
What was she doing?
He had a million questions. Though in all his years, he’d never seen any sort of magic like that before. It was something so gentle and beautiful, not at all like the raw power and flair of one of Merlin’s spells, or the eerie coolness of one of Morgana’s.
It had been quiet in Camelot without them. Morgana had gone insane, injured Merlin, and killed the king, he was told that much. Other memories of those final weeks with his master were fuzzy. He wasn’t there at that final battle with Merlin, though a lot of people claimed that he was? It was very confusing. Still, Douxie could remember that his master was busy a lot in those last few days, as if he knew this whole thing was coming, and had even gone out of his way to write up a centuries-long list of chores for him to do while he was gone, but still… Douxie couldn’t help but miss them. Both of them.
Morgana was a lot, but she was still Merlin’s apprentice just like he was, and in those first few months after Merlin had plucked him and Archie off the streets, she had been pretty kind to him, and had taught him with far more gentleness than Merlin's more harsh "by the book" methods. He couldn’t forget that despite all that she’d done after. No matter how hard he might have tried to.
Blinking up from his reverie, he suddenly realized that he could no longer see the woman in the purple cloak. In fact, the woods were eerily silent as he stopped suddenly and tried to listen around for any footfalls or sounds of nature. There was suddenly a very chilling sensation shooting up his spine and down his arms before—
FWAM!
He was looking up at the sky a second later, his back sore and the runestones clattering all over the grass around him.
“Who are you and why are you following me?!”
What was once a very calm voice was replaced now with someone much louder and angrier, her ire directed down at him as a pair of glowering bright blue eyes burned icy fire down into his own. Even furious, they were still bluer than the sky on its best day, and the poor lad was instantly mesmerized by them, fury and all.
She was a girl his age for sure, her skin fair and framed by soft locks of brown hair that twisted into a crown of braids around her head, a pink ribbon woven into the strands. Even as his eyes came back into focus, and even though the world looked upside down, he saw her very clearly and forgot everything about anything as he just laid there and blinked.
Was this what love felt like? He wondered suddenly. It hurt a lot more than he would’ve thought, but his heart was pounding and despite the new pain in his back, the rest of him was numb, completely enchanted by the person hovering above his face, no matter how mad she looked.
“Oh wow…” he muttered, though probably not loud enough for the girl to hear because the next thing Douxie knew, there was something shiny and sharp aimed directly over his neck and he made an extra attempt not to swallow as he stared dumbfoundedly up at her face.
“Listen here, pal! You didn’t see anything back there, you got that? If you tell anyone what you saw, I’ll cut your throat!”
“You’re beautiful...”
He breathed the words out before he really processed their meaning, unable to think of anything else, much less anything that was probably a safer response to avoid being stabbed in the neck. Something told him her threats were genuine, but even still, those two words were the only ones that managed to slip out.
The girl’s blue eyes widened to twice their current size as she stepped back and tightened the grip of her dagger. Her anger was replaced with more of a cautious confusion now as she allowed him to sit up and turn her way.
She was even lovelier upright, though it was only now he realized how small she really was. Despite the knife, the threats, and the overall feeling she might actually hurt him, she was almost a complicated version of adorable? He wagered he should probably keep those feelings to himself if he also wanted to keep all his blood inside his body though.
“Do you have a death wish or something?” she asked, nose scrunching into a scowl as she spoke.
“N-no…” He replied, fumbling a little as he did. “I just— umm…”
“Why are you out here? Nobody ever comes out here?”
“You—” He choked a little and laughed awkwardly as he stood up, keeping his distance as the girl debated whether or not she wanted to sheath her small blade. “I mean, that’s what I wanted to ask you. What you did back there was wild! I— I mean beautiful! It was beautiful! What sort of magic even was that?”
Eyeing him harder, she looked around the ground and noticed his runestones strewn about before finally pocketing her weapon.
“You’re collecting runestones? Like… For a spell?”
“Right!” He fumbled with his hand before holding it out. “I’m a wizard too! Sorry, I probably should have led with that, shouldn’t I? My name is Hisirdoux Casperan.”
She took it with a bit less reserve and shot him a crooked smile and a sideways glance as he placed an awkward introductory kiss on the top of her hand.
“You can call me Zoe.”
“Zoe…” He repeated, a goofy grin spreading as he did.
She chuckled, amused despite herself as she retracted her hand, and gestured back to the runestones.
“So... the spell?”
“Oh right! I'm on an errand for my master. He told me I could find these runestones in a cave nearby. They’re supposed to help with some sort of illusory magic.”
“That’s pretty advanced spellcasting, and pretty unique knowledge to know so much about the old druid caves.”
“Druid caves?” He looked back. “Well that explains a lot!”
“I take it your master doesn’t teach you very much history, does he?”
“He’s always been a more “look to the future” type of wizard.” Douxie chuckled. “What about you?”
“Oh, I don’t have a master, I’m a hedge witch. I teach myself mostly.” She bent over beside him as they kneeled into the grass and began to recollect the stones. “Though, that spell you saw back there was an old one the druids perfected a long time ago that I picked up on. It helps to revitalize nature, but gives me a bit of useful energy in return. I need it like an anchor of sorts if I want to keep doing complex spells. Out there by the old camps are some of the few places with a strong enough aura to manifest any magical energy like that.”
“Wow! I’ve never met anyone with that sort of magic before! I mean, I’m sure Master Merlin could do it if he wanted, but I—”
“Wait, wait.” She paused suddenly mid-motion, the glare slowly returning. “Merlin… Ambrosius?”
He nodded eagerly.
“Greatest wizard of all time! Right, he's my master. So you’ve heard of him?”
“Oh I’ve heard of him alright. Biggest sellout of all time more like it.” She stood, letting any and all of the stones she collected drop back into the dirt as she brushed off her dress. “Figures you’re one of those privileged Camelot sorcerers. You’re too much of a moppet to understand what it’s like out here for the rest of us all because of your precious King Arthur.”
“Now wait just a minute!” He stood quickly, towering over her now as the insult started to set in. “I do know what it’s like! I was almost killed for doing magic in Camelot, but Merlin saved me, and then he gave me a place to belong and a purpose in life. I owe him everything!”
“Well the Merlin I know has let dozens of sorcerers die thanks to Arthur’s misguided rage, and has never done a thing to stop him lest he go against his own master, a foolish and privileged tyrant! Merlin is a dog, only doing what he’s told! He harbors the heart of Avalon in that mortal kingdom and has offended more than one druid camp with his treachery. At least, he would if any of those druids were left alive to tell about it!”
“Oh yeah? And how do you know so much?”
She opened her mouth, but clipped it shut before shaking her head and turning her back.
“I don’t owe you any explanations. Enjoy your rune-magic, Casperan. You tell Merlin to stay out of these woods if he knows what’s good for him. The last thing we need is to have what little history and magic left here being sullied by knights and other clueless mortals crashing about. Especially clueless apprentices.”
“Hey!?”
“And tell Arthur all you want about the witches in the woods. He’ll never find us, not that he’s ever been brave enough to come looking himself.”
“I wouldn’t!” He started, his voice angry, but slowing as he processed his own response. His arms flopped halfheartedly at his sides as he shook his head after her and said in a calmer tone, “I wouldn’t… you know. I wouldn’t tell him. Besides you don’t have to worry about the king.”
She turned back to him unimpressed by his heartfelt response.
“And why is that?”
Douxie clapped his hands together nervously, his fingers dancing around each other as he broke eye contact to try and find his words.
“Well he’s kind of... sort of... dead... for starters?”
Now she was silent, a complicated swirl of emotions blending around on her face before she looked him straight in the eyes and lifted her brows.
“Arthur is really dead?”
“He is. There was a battle not too long ago...” Douxie trailed off. “A lot of knights, most of Camelot, the King... and Merlin...”
“Merlin’s dead too?!”
“Not dead!” He corrected quickly. “He just exhausted his magic and won’t wake up for a while. Honestly, I thought I was going to be the last wizard left around here, but then I met you. ”
She hummed a thought to herself until her mouth was a thin line.
“Hmm… You know, you probably shouldn’t be so loose lipped about the crumbling infrastructure of Camelot, you never know who would want to abuse the vulnerability of a fallen kingdom without a ruler.”
“Y-you wouldn’t do that, would you?”
He suddenly had a couple dozen regrets, but those melted a little as she merely chuckled and shook her head in response.
“I’ll tell you what. I give you my word that I’ll keep Camelot’s destruction to myself, so long as you give me your word that you’ll keep this part of the woods a secret from whoever else is left in that kingdom.”
“Umm, sure? But… w-wait, can I tell Archie? Oh! Archie’s my familiar and my best friend, kind of my only family to be honest.”
“An apprentice with a familiar? Now that’s a rarity! You must have a lot of potential in you. No wonder Merlin spared you from the knights.”
“Thank you?”
Was that a compliment? It felt like a compliment.
She chuckled again.
“You’re not so bad, you know... for a sellout’s apprentice and a moppet.”
That one felt less like a compliment, but she seemed happier when she said it.
He made a face and shrugged.
“Well, you’re not so bad for a hedge witch… even though you are a little intense.”
Now she laughed wholeheartedly.
“I’ll take that as a compliment, Casperan.” She turned to go back into the woods, but shot him a look over her shoulder and added. “Maybe I’ll see you again sometime?”
“Y-yeah?”
A final amused hum and with that, she wandered away, leaving the young wizard alone with his runestones. He was unsure on whether she liked him or hated him, but feeling kind of good about the entire conversation all the same as he watched her go.
Was this what love felt like? He asked himself again, more confused now than ever.
“Oh, Archie is going to love this! But wait, she never said if I could tell him or not. Oh, fuzzbuckets! No... I'm sure its fine?” He gathered up the rocks and started back towards town, a sudden flash of her knife at his throat bringing back a feeling of both excitement and fear as he shook it off and shrugged. “It’s probably fine?”