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“Stay quiet.”
Wizards had longer memories than humans, so she remembered a few things from before then. She remembered grandfather’s soft hands as he taught her to walk, as he showed her how to properly hold a staff. She remembered his smile and the funny voices he would use when he read her stories. She remembered the dark shadows that would sometimes crawl across the tower walls. She remembered the whispers in the night, the fires in odd places, red eyes looking over her, the scent of death in the halls.
Merlina was used to it.
She was almost three years old, then, when her grandfather told her to stay in her room, and that she would have a new little brother to play with tomorrow morning. He told her to sleep, but the excitement was keeping her up. She sat on the ground, drawing pictures on empty scrolls to hang in her new brother’s room, grabbed the toys she was “too old” for and put them in a basket for him, swung around her pretend staff and pretended to make spells that would make pretty lights for him.
That night, she had snuck out of her room, just once. She leapt down the tower’s spiral stairwell, each step almost as big as her, almost tripping over her dress many times as she did. She made it to the castle door, which she creaked open, and then she raced down two lefts, then straight down the main stairwell, jumping all the more, and out the side door into the tiny garden. It was overgrown, still awaiting the arrival of one who could wield Excalibur, who would make it was it once was.
Grandfather didn’t like how the castle looked. He said that it used to be better, that it would be again. But personally, Merlina liked the flowers. There were so many wildflowers, she could have her pick of the best ones, of any color she wanted. So she spent several minutes scampering under vines and over thorns, picking out a bouquet for her new brother, not noticing the dark clouds overhead, or the smoke coming from the tower window.
She raced back up to her room, then, which was harder than going down, because she was carrying as many flowers as she could and thus couldn’t use her hands to help her go up. But she managed, and she made it to her room, and began to arrange the flowers in a pretty bouquet. She wanted it to be organized like the rainbow, but it was hard getting the flowers all in order, especially when their leaves and loose petals kept falling off. She sat on the ground, arranging them by color and shade, until her yawns became more frequent, and she ended up passing out in the middle of the stone floor.
Then she was blinking herself awake, her eyelids heavy and her limbs sore, her mind a little fuzzy from her dreams of shadows. She moved to pull herself up, her little hands getting a jolt of cold as her sleeves fell away and she was pushing herself up from the stone. She sat up, rubbing her eyes and yawning again.
She glanced to the window– still night, with the stars shining down on them. There was no moon tonight, but she could see alright just the same. There were a couple of plink, plink, plinks, as she realized that it was now raining. Oh, huh, it was raining quite a lot. She’d seen storms before, and while the loud noises weren’t so great, she’d always found the lightning pretty. Maybe she could stand on a chair and watch it, and try to remember what Grandfather said about where the light came from.
Her eyes then drifted to the door, across from the window; still closed, no shadows moving under it. Grandfather must still be in the tower. She strained her ears, and... yes, there was some kind of commotion upstairs. Upstairs? No, it couldn’t be, that must be the storm outside, Grandfather was never that loud. It must be thundering.
She then looked around herself, on the floor, from her stack of drawings and basket of toys, to the scattered flowers. She let out an upset huff as her eyes fell on one of the chrysanthemums (though of course, she was too young to know what it was called). It had already begun to shrivel, its color browning against the gray rock, its stalk wilting over. She crawled her way over to it, rubbed her eyes once more, and then lifted the flower, reaching out to spread the petals a little more, trying to scratch off the brown, to straighten the stem.
Another peal of thunder, and another, as she worked. She jumped as she heard a thud from above her– probably just a branch falling on the tower, it was fine. A few more thuds... maybe it was hailing. It had hailed a little while ago, and she had thought that was a bit fun. It was like rain, but sparkly, and she could touch it, so long as it landed first, Grandfather didn’t want her getting hurt by stepping out into any storm. She turned to the window, then back to the flower, trying to peel off the dying petals without making it look bad.
Thud, thud, thud, thud. Fast hail. Alright. Wait... no. Merlina stopped, cocking her head to the side and lifting a pointed ear. Thud, thud, thud, thud. Oh! It was from the stairwell. Like footsteps, but fast. Perhaps Grandfather was running to her to show her her new brother. She should finish the bouquet, then! She looked down at the dying flower, shrugged, and figured it must not be good enough for the bouquet. She then proceeded to eat it. Because she was two years old.
She then let out a long, tiring yawn, and glanced around at the other flowers, reaching towards one and then giving up. She slouched, putting her head on her knees, and shutting her eyes...
BAM.
She didn’t look up immediately as the door flew open; instead, she shoved her head more into her lap, hoping to block her ears from the loud noise. She barely noticed the quick footsteps, the squish of wet feet, and then... another SLAM, as her door closed again, and then a thud as someone pressed against it. Heavy breathing, then, and... muffled cries?
Merlina looked up. Standing against her door was a... hedgehog. At least she thought. Some kind of mobian, she wasn’t good at telling animals apart right now. She was bathed in shadow, but seemed to be pink, or perhaps red. She was dressed in a large blue skirt, and held a bundle of blankets to her chest, from which the sound was coming from. Merlina had never known blankets to cry, but she supposed anything was possible.
The hedgehog’s ear was pressed to the door as she shook slightly, listening. Merlina lifted her head slightly, listening as well... the shadows. She could hear the shadows outside the door. They must have come to visit. They were moving much faster than normal, though, and there was almost a screech of wind from the hall as they rushed past. Then, the eerie silence that always came after the shadows went somewhere else. A beat of that, and then the pitter-patter of the rain again, a peal of thunder breaking their pause.
The hedgehog sighed, then, looking down to the blankets, letting out a quiet shh. Then she looked up, and saw Merlina.
She stared. Merlina stared back.
“Oh s...” the hedgehog began, before cutting herself off. She pulled the blankets closer as the cries slowed, quieted. Her eyes darted around the room, and then back to the girl.
Merlina hesitated, and then pointed to the blankets.
“‘s ‘zat my baby brother?”
The hedgehog paused, glancing from her to the blankets. She hesitated, and then held out her hand. Merlina gasped with excitement as she saw a glow begin to form– oh! She knew magic like grandfather. She must be a wizard like them. Merlina felt a tingle inside of her and let out a giggle, but the feeling faded as the light did. The hedgehog then sighed.
“Ma'am? ‘zat my brother?”
The hedgehog’s ears perked up again, and she hesitated. Merlina was beginning to get frustrated. She crossed her arms, huffing, and the hedgehog clearly sensed a tantrum coming, because she quickly said, “Yes! Yes, he is.”
She crept closer, kneeling down in front of her. She then cautiously shifted the blankets, and Merlina looked down at a tiny black nose, poking out from the fabric. She sat up and peered closer, pushing aside the sheets, until she saw a little hedgehog, its tiny eyes scrunched up as it tried to sleep, letting out the occasional huff of displeasure, threatening to cry once more if it was annoyed.
“He’s little.” Merlina said finally.
She then leaned back, and looked up at the hedgehog’s sparkling green eyes. It didn't look like her blue, or Grandfather’s red. They were magical, though, like a leaf that floated down a clear stream.
“Are you our mama?” she asked.
The hedgehog stared at her for a good, long time. It didn’t occur to the toddler how unusual it would be for a hedgehog to birth a human, or for her mother to have been gone the entire time Merlina was alive only to return when giving birth, or why her Grandfather wouldn’t be with her, why she would hide from the shadows that so often traveled their home.
But after a moment, the hedgehog slowly said, “Yes?” she glanced down at the little hedgehog, then, and her green eyes narrowed, hardened. She looked like Grandfather, whenever he made an important decision. “Yes.” she said again, and then looked to the little girl. “Listen, sweetie, what’s your name?”
“Merlina.”
“Of course.” the hedgehog muttered to herself, before turning back to the girl. “Listen, Merlina, your little brother is in danger. We need to get him out of this castle as soon as possible. I don’t know how to transport mortals, do you know a way out?”
This was an odd request. “Why’s he in trouble?”
“It’s complicated. I can tell you later, but I need you to get us all out of here. Do you think you can do that?” When Merlina was still silent, the hedgehog leaned in. “Please. Your brother needs you, the world needs you.”
“The world?”
“If we don’t get your brother to my lake by dawn, bad things are going to happen. Scary things. I don’t want to frighten you, but this is serious. Do you think you can get us out?”
“Grandfather–”
“We can’t get your grandfather. He’s helping the– he made– he...” the hedgehog shook her head. “I don’t know if I can find my way out without the Knights of the Underworld finding us first. We need you, Merlina, can you help us?”
Merlina blinked at her, and then looked back to the little hedgehog in the strange lady’s arms. She didn’t like the idea of leaving with someone she didn’t know, Grandfather had always told her not to travel with anyone but him. But... she was Mama, wasn’t she? She was magic like them.
“Ok-ee.” she said. “The garden’s closest, but I don’t have th’ key to get out.”
“Don’t worry about that.” the hedgehog said. “But listen very carefully: in order to get out of here, you have to stay quiet. Stay quiet. Can you do that?”
Merlina nodded. She was used to being quiet.
They creaked the door open, and then they were off. Merlina stumbled down the stairs, and after a flight or so, the hedgehog lifted her up, holding her with one arm as she balanced the infant with the other. Once they reached the bottom of the stairwell, Merlina was put on the ground, and she guided the hedgehog in the right directions, trying to run as silently as possible. Left, then left again. Then straight down the hall, and then the door was open.
Merlina hesitated at the deck, whimpering a little. The hedgehog stopped in front of her, their hands still folded together, and she turned.
“’m not supposed to go out during storms.” Merlina whispered.
The hedgehog flinched at the noise the words made, but then realized clearly they were going to have to talk to get out. “I’ll protect you.” she said.
Merlina hesitated again, and that’s when they heard the screech.
It was like the quiet, shadow screech, but this was worse. Louder, angrier. Echoing from the halls behind.
“Get down!”
Merlina screamed as the hedgehog then grabbed her, pushing her down as something flew over their heads. The hedgehog looked up, angrily, and then stood Merlina up. Suddenly, the blankets and baby were shoved into her arms, the sheets blowing in the fierce wind and scratching the path below.
“Go to the gate, and hide in the nearest bush.” she said. “Do not come out until I come get you. Now go!”
Merlina felt the weight of the baby in her arms, and then nodded. She started to run, skirting around the dress and blankets that tried to trip her up, ignoring the soft cries of the baby who was displeased by either the thunder or the screeching.
The toddler found the gate quickly, and then ducked behind several dangling vines, pushing them against the stone wall and sliding down to a sitting position. She held the baby to her chest, trying to shush him as she’d seen the lady do, bouncing him slightly like Grandfather did to her when she was upset.
Her ears picked up the screeches, though. They were angry, and then furious, and then... pained. Hurt. Somehow, the screeches becoming less frequent began to scare her more, as her heart sped up in her chest. They would always sound hurt, and then stop, and never start again.
The noises got closer, still fading in and out as more shadows must have run out, only to meet the same fate. Merlina clung tighter to her little brother, and pressed against the wall, as her breathing sped up.
There was the eerie silence, then. And then a small, quiet hum beside the vines. As if one of the shadows was arriving. She peered towards the vines as they began to part, tears starting to form as she shook.
A vine was pushed aside, and she caught a glimpse of a darkness, with a red eye, looking right at them.
Then there was a scream of fury, and the shadow fell away.
“Mama?”
Merlina suddenly felt arms around her, and the hedgehog pulled the two of them out of the bushes and began to run. She leapt over the gate, which had toppled over completely, something having rammed into it hard enough to knock it from its hinges. Merlina caught a glimpse of a shadow-creature directly ahead, before the hedgehog raced to the right, rushing to the forest.
Merlina looked over her shoulder, and gasped as she saw the shadow creature melting away. Then, the smoky darkness began to creep closer to them, faster and faster.
“Mama!”
The hedgehog glanced over her shoulder, swore, and then stopped in her tracks. She put the children down, and then said, “Merlina, hold your brother, and stay behind me. Do not go to the demon and do not let him get near you.”
“Demon?”
“Stay behind me. And stay quiet.”
“He’s crying.”
“Then... try to calm him down. Okay? Can you do that?”
Merlina bit her lip and nodded, blinking away more tears, which washed down her face with the raindrops.
“Now let me handle this.”
The hedgehog turned, her skirt swishing above the muddy ground, and Merlina backed up, holding tight to the blankets.
“Shh, shh...”
The shadows rose above the hedgehog, towering above them all, taller than even Grandfather. It formed into a dark shape, with thick horns and three of those angry, red eyes. Merlina stepped backwards in fear, still clinging to her brother, still trying to shush him as his cries grew louder.
“Nimue.” the shadow spoke.
“Get out of my world.” the hedgehog said, in a dark, scary voice.
“It is yours no more.”
“You will never take the realm of the living for your own. I am giving you one chance to go back to hell where you belong, before I drag you down there myself.”
Mama’s scary.
“Release the child.”
“You think I don’t know what you plan with him? You have three seconds. Three...”
The infant cried. “Shh...” Merlina said.
“Two...”
Merlina shut her eyes, and tried to sing the lullaby Grandfather used on her. “Now sleep, now sleep...”
The shadow leapt for the hedgehog, letting out a deathly screech. Merlina stepped back, her singing growing louder as she tried to block out the fight ahead of them.
“Now sleep, now sleep...”
She backed up more, shutting her eyes, hearing the grunts and shouts and cries and trying desperately to ignore them.
“Everybody tries to be straight, but things are still unchanged...”
She wasn’t sure she got the words right. She sang anyway.
“We have to resist the darkness, our hopes cannot be in vain...”
Her eyes flew open at a crash that did not sound like thunder. The shadow had thrown the hedgehog into a tree, splitting it in two. But in a flash, the hedgehog rose again, light beaming off of her, and she leapt back at him.
“Head straight for your goal by any means, there is a door you never ‘ve opened...”
The shadow turned to her, eyes narrowing, and Merlina flinched. Blood dripped from it, and then it started running, as it seemed to be running for them. She stumbled back, still singing to the calming baby, unable to think of anything else to do.
“There’s a window with a view you’ve never seen...”
The hedgehog was in front of them, then, blocking the shadow from their view.
“Get there, no matter how long it takes...”
The hedgehog then performed a magic she had never seen before.
For a moment, she thought that the storm had stopped, for rain stopped falling on her head. But, no, she could see it hitting the mud... now it stopped hitting the mud, but farther away...
She gasped, looking up, staring in wonder, as she realized that each droplet of the pouring storm had stopped midair. They spun ever-so-slowly under the sky, reflecting their surroundings, shining with distant lights. They hung in the air, like dew in an invisible web. Merlina looked back, and saw the hedgehog, arms spread out, eyes boring into the shadow that was trying to stumble back up. The hedgehog was still glowing with a deep teal. It almost seemed to change her fur, to make her shine with power.
Oh, dark, the darkness, that dozes in the dusk.
Throw it all away.
The hedgehog thrust her arms forward, and suddenly, all of the rain converged, turning pointed, turning cold, turning deadly, and heading directly for the shadow.
Merlina whipped around, dropping to the ground and holding the baby as close to her as she could as there was one last screech. She breathed deep, trying to steady herself, waiting as the silence fell over them. And then...
Plink. Plink. Plink.
The rain fell, for just a few seconds more. Then it stopped again. Merlina looked up, to see the clouds had begun to part, showing the stars again.
A crunch of leaves on the ground, the squish of mud, and then Nimue was in front of them, looking over them with concern.
“Are you hurt?”
Merlina shook her head.
Nimue sighed, her shoulders relaxing. She glanced back behind her, and when Merlina attempted to as well, Nimue shook her head, putting her hand behind the girl’s head.
“We have to go now. I can carry him. Just hold my hand.”
She reached out her palm. Merlina stared at it for a good minute, and then threw herself forwards, hugging tightly to the hedgehog. She stiffened with surprise, and then hugged her back, and lifted her up, and began to walk into the woods.
They reached the lake just before dawn. Merlina could see the sky changing colors, beginning to welcome the sun. Nimue left her on a rock and then took her little brother out into the lake, standing knee-deep and whispering some kind of spell, or prayer. Merlina wasn’t quite sure. She gasped with surprise as Nimue then dropped the baby into the water, and then relaxed again as the hedgehog lifted him back up. The baby had begun to cry again, but Nimue didn’t seem bothered by this, as she walked back to Merlina and sat beside her.
“Close one.” she sighed, beginning to bounce the hedgehog. “Lancelot’s okay now. I’m calling him Lancelot, is that–?”
“What was that all ‘bout?”
“Oh, I do not want to explain demons and their offspring to a toddler...” Nimue muttered, using a free hand to rub her temples.
“Off-spring?”
“Don’t worry about it. The demon was planning bad things but we stopped him.” She smiled down at the girl, and wrapped her hand over her shoulder. “You did a good job, Merlina. Thank you.”
Merlina didn’t feel like she’d done a good job. Her arms were tired, her legs were aching, she was covered in mud, and she had no idea where she was, or what had happened with the shadows.
“Wha’ we do now?”
Nimue sighed. “This little one can’t go back, I managed to purify him but who knows what Merlin could...”
“Wha’ about me?”
“I...” she sighed. “I won’t let anything happen to you. I said I’d protect you, yeah? So I will.”
“Wha’ about Grandfather?”
Nimue bit her lip. “He made his choice.”
“I don’t get it.”
“Nothing good comes of playing with fire and darkness.”
“I still don’t get it.”
“You don’t need to. What you need to know, Merlina,” Nimue said, sliding off the rock and kneeling down to her eye level, “Is I’m going to take care of you two. Okay? You can learn magic with me, or knighthood, I can do that, too, if you want. Or I can just... whatever you want, okay?”
Merlina closed her eyes, and still felt like she could see the red glare.
“I kinda want to sleep righ’ now.”
“Okay.” Nimue nodded. “Okay. Come here.”
Merlina slid into her arms, and Nimue lifted her up, and they went to the lake.