„Rise and Shine."
Arthur stirred in his sleep. The voice was familiar. Like it had woken him for years. So familiar in fact, for a second he thought someone was actually here to wake him up.
Only for a second though. Because this has happened every morning for at least a year.
Arthur wasn't sure why. Or who this voice belonged to. But it was there.
Burned into his memory.
He sighed - as indeed - the sun shone through the window directly at him. How nice would it be, if he could just keep on sleeping.

But Arthur had work to do. He couldn't just lay low until the day had passed half way. He needed to get up. The fields didn't plow themselves.

Slowly, and frustrated for having to leave his poor excuse of a bed, he stood up.
He washed his face with the water of the bowl he had filled up the previous evening and made himself some quick breakfast.

Arthur's room was small. Wooden furniture. A bed made of straw and hey that he had to renew whenever he had the chance, so it wouldn't start reeking foul and musk and attract too many bugs.
A window, about the size of a big painting illuminated the dust that flew freely through the air. So Arthur opened it and welcomed the cold fresh morning breeze.

He wore peasant clothes. Some of the few possessions he had. He had some other, more finer wear. Or rather, he used to have them. Moth's had bitten right through them. It also was no use on the fields, where he helped his landlady and friend, Guineviere.
Her and her husband Lancelot, by the way.

Arthur hadn't lived here for long. Neither had his landlord and lady. They had all moved here about a year ago.
Before that they had been -
Arthur shook his head. He still didn't remember.

He filled up his flask with some water and went downstairs. Gwen and Lancelot were discussing something urgent. As they usually where.
Arthur frowned. Hadn't that been the wedding planning, usually? Those talks should be over now. They had gotten married two weeks ago.
It had been a wonderful feast. Arthur wasn't sure he had ever attended a wedding before. But he was certain none of them had ever felt this inviting. This happy and grand and beautiful.

"Arthur - you're awake!", Gwen smiled at him.
She immediately stood up. Sometimes she forgot that Arthur made his breakfast in his room. Or rather, his small apartment. He liked the solemnity of his room. He liked to be alone. Not that he knew why. Maybe he was just used to it.
Maybe that was a sad thought.

"Yes, of course.", Arthur smiled back and ruffled his own hair so it looked even messier than before. Just to make perfectly sure that they knew he was tired. Arthur didn't enjoy talking to people when he was tired. It made him agitated. And tended to ruin his day.

"Oh good. That's good.", she said and went to grab him a cup of tea.
Alright, maybe he could endure the torture of morning talks for that. Arthur loved tea. It was such a simple drink, and yet - it calmed him down.
He was glad he had his little garden, where he grew leafs they could use for this.

Arthur had a surprisingly green thumb. He had been surprised himself. But apparently, gardening was his fortune.

"What were you talking about?", Arthur asked and winced at himself. He felt like a child, invading their conversation like this. Asking, without knowing anything.
Then again - they had taken care of him since the day they found him. He didn't know why they did it. He was pretty sure, they didn't either.
Which is why he was eternally grateful.

Gwen's smile turned upside down.
"Nothing - just.", she sighed as she filled his cup with the steaming liquid. Still tired, Arthur sat down next to Lancelot. Whom he would consider his best friend. If it didn't feel so - out of context.

"What is it?", Arthur asked. But looked at Lancelot, who was also the one to answer.
"Knights of Camelot are on their way through the village.", he explained.
Arthur frowned disgusted.
"Oh fuck.", he said, burying his face in his hands.

Frankly speaking, Arthur wasn't exactly fond of the Camelot knights. Or knights in general. They usually marched through towns and expected special treatment. They expected to be cheered on - to be welcomed in the various houses.
They never knew how much havoc their travels costed the people.
The few rations they had were given to the soldiers, just like their money and the few valuable items they possessed. 'Taxes.' They called it. Just a fancy word for stealing, Arthur thought.

It was horrible. They were like bandits but with better claim to their names.

Arthur thought deep down that he understood their desire to be honorable. To fight for glory. For their people. That - him and Lancelot spoke about often. And they mostly had the same opinion. Who needed the knights when Camelot's shadow fought the wars.

"They say, the shadow is with them."

The shadow. Camelot's shadow. Other's knew him by the name of Emrys. The most powerful warlock to ever walk the earth.
He was dangerous. He followed the kings every wish without a second thought. Rumor says he just needed to stare at you intently before you fall. Your body limp, your life gone before you even hit the ground.

The king was on a rampage. Fighting wars with as many kingdoms as possible. The Shadow always his first knight. Ready to kill every army, every man who stood in his way.
People said he had no soul. They said his magic had corrupted him and made him a puppet of the king.

And Arthur had hoped they would be happy as soon as news came out king Uther had died.
But the executions hadn't stopped.
They weren't reserved for sorcerers anymore. But for everyone. Everyone who defied the new king.
In some ways it was worse than before. Because no, nobody was safe anymore.

"So I assume, we won't be on the fields today.", Arthur asked. Almost disappointed.
He liked the mundane work on the fields. With the plants.
Where he could watch everyone help their families and friends to do the work they needed to do to survive.

"No. We all need to barricade our homes.", Gwen nodded.
So - standard procedure for the visit from the shadow it was. What a great day. Whom was he kidding. His day was already ruined.

Arthur still thought it was stupid. The shadow was not an actual shadow. He wouldn't just slip through the cracks in the walls and invade your dreams. He was just a man.
A sorcerer yes. And one of the few who survived the purge and become powerful with rage and power. And okay, maybe he was the most powerful warlock to ever walk the earth. But that didn't change the fact that he was human.

Arthur shook his head. How much must that sorcerer have lost to Uther Pendragon, that he ended up murdering him?

Oh yes. That was the one fact Arthur knew for certain. He didn't know why. But that was the one fact he couldn't play off as imagination. Or a rumor that went awry through the weeks they were passed on.
No. Arthur knew it. He felt it in his heart that this sorcerer had killed the former king.
The worst part was - he didn't know what he was supposed to think of that.
It was like his mind was blank for that opinion.

"Why here? I thought they were still plotting against Mercia?"
Mercia was a neighboring kingdom to Camelot. But it was on the other side of the map. Invading Mercia from here was bound to be impossible. Or simply a waste of time.

"They are still searching for Uther's son.", Gwen explained weakly. "I believe the king feels threatened by his very existence. He wants him gone for good."

Arthur sighed. Oh yes. Uther's son. Who hadn't heard of the tales of the one and famous Arthur Pendragon? Arthur had. He had heard from traders and bandits what kind of person that prince was.
How some of the knights referred to him as the most honorable knight of them all.
But Arthur was pretty sure the man must be a coward. And a prat for disappearing right when the kingdom needed him the most.
When they needed a new king. Instead they got a blood thirsty sorcerer and his lap dog. Who was also a sorcerer.
Arthur hated the prince. The more he heard of him, the less he liked him.
And the more he hated the fact that he had chosen his first name as his own for lack of a better one. Because in the beginning, he had thought this Arthur was a great man who would free them all.
Seems like the idiot had just run off.

Well - when you loose your memories, you are ready to take everything that his handed to you, just to make your life a little easier. Including the names of a certain cowardly prince.
You are also ready to take the hand of the next peasant girl and let yourself be lead into a different village. To start a new life as a farmer. And become a gardener at the side.
And stay with her when she married the other man that had come with. Who wanted to be a knight, but wasn't allowed to due to his heritage.

Not that Arthur was mad at Lancelot for marrying Gwen. They were friends. That was all Arthur wanted to be. And maybe it was already more than he deserved.

"If we had the prince here, we would hand him over right away.", Arthur sulked.
The world may not be better off without him. But it wouldn't be off worse, either. And the people certainly would be happier, when their houses were searched less. And their farms be left alone.
Gwen sighed and shook her head. But she didn't try to convince him otherwise.

-------------------------------------

Despite everything. Arthur was a very curious person. He had always wondered what the shadow may look like.
He always believed the man would be tall. At least taller than Arthur. Lanky. Probably dressed in a black cloak. His face unreadable. Maybe he would wear a mask, so nobody could see it?
And yellow eyes. All sorcerers had yellow eyes.
The man would be powerful. He would radiate anger and power and Arthur would find it easy to feel intimidated by him. And to hate him of course.
The man would be old. He would be strong and probably also very handy with a sword. Elegant, graceful. Not honorable, no. But definitely ready to fight everything and everyone in his path.
One could almost say Arthur was excited to see him. He also dreaded it. But mostly he was excited.

Gwen, Lance and Arthur lived in the center of the village. In a small hut that had still been abandoned about a year ago. But was now lived in by the three of them.
They had windows from the kitchen to the roads in front. And it was the path the knights and the shadow took, when they passed through the city.

The sun had already risen to the highest point in the sky, when the small troop of foot soldiers moved passed them.
It were about two dozen men. Not much for an army. But a lot for such a small village.

Arthur felt his stomach drop. Of course they wouldn't be able to feed them all. Surely the men knew that! Right? Whom was he kidding.

He saw one of the men point in front of them.
Arthur, alarmed, looked in the pointed direction. He stood up immediately.
That was the small girl from down the street! Katie was her name. Arthur's breath hitched.
The girl stood there, like a warrior in the middle of the road. Her stance wide, a fire in her eyes, as she spoke a few words and a small fire began to flicker in her hands.

'She's gonna die.", was all Arthur thought.
He knew she was a sorceress. She had been born as one. And since magic was not illegal anymore, she had been free to practice it.
Arthur sometimes watched her. She was gifted. Talented too. But not nearly powerful enough to fight a man. No less an entire army.
Without thinking, Arthur ignored Gwen's fearful gasp, as he already sprinted out the door.

He didn't know why. This wasn't about the glory. This wasn't about honor or pride. This was about a girl whose bravery admired but also worried about. Arthur sometimes taught her how to read - though he didn't remember where he had learned it himself.
She was his friend in almost the same way that Lance was. He couldn't let the shadow get to her!
Where were her parents?
Safe at home? Were they worried? Did they even know what she was doing?

Arthur didn't make it in time. There was a man already with her. Dressed all in bluish black tunics. Not too different from the ones that Arthur had to throw away a couple of weeks ago. (He didn't really throw them away. He gave them to Gwen to mend it. Because Arthur was a lost cause when it came to sewing.)
The man wore no sword as he bent down to the girl who threw a small fireball at him.

He merely blinked and soon the fireball was gone.

It was only then that the girl seemed to realize what kind of man stood in her way.

Arthur, too, was instantly afraid. He, himself, had no weapon either. He had simply forgotten.
The knights however, had grabbed for their own immediately.

"Let her go!", Arthur exclaimed. Breathing heavily as he approached the man. Who was crouching down to the girl and cupped her hands in his. He ignored Arthur, like he was a nosy fly.

"Blosdme.", the man said. And Arthur feared for the worst as he returned to sprinting to shield her from the impact of whatever spell this man had just used.

But the girl was unharmed. Nothing ever hit her. But her eyes were wide like plates as she stared at what the man held between her hands.
She looked up, the fear momentarily forgotten. The man smiled, before he spoke.

"You shouldn't be out here, milady.", he said in the softest voice Arthur had ever heard. And yet, it sounded familiar. Arthur froze once more, breath burning like ice in his lungs.
It was a flower. She held a flower in her hands. A blue, single small flower.
The man ruffled her hair. "I think your father is worried about you.", he said and nodded in Arthur's direction.

She turned around. Only now noticing Arthur standing there.
She blinked. "He's not my father. Arthur is my friend.", she said. Her fighting spirit was gone now.
Like it had never been there.
"Arthur?", the man frowned. And then he stood up and turned around.

Arthur stopped breathing. To just stare.
Never in his life had he seen someone so - beautiful.
How that was the first word that came to mind, he didn't know. The next were: "Do I know you?"

The man tilted his head. "Your name is Arthur?", he asked, instead of answering. And Arthur cursed. Why - oh why had he chosen that blasted name?
"Yes.", Arthur nodded.

The man nodded, as he send off the girl with a ruffle through her hair. She beamed at him, flower still in her hands as she run over to be shielded by Arthur, as he picked her up.

"You're not the prince, are you?", the man asked. He was pale. Incredibly pale. With dark shaggy hair and cheekbones sharp as knifes.
His dark outfit only contrasted the paleness of his skin and made him look sad. Almost painfully so. There were dark shadows under his eyes.
Arthur blinked. 'Shadows?', he wondered and then he realized who this was.

"Not that I knew, no.", Arthur responded honestly. What idiot just asked people who they were and simply believed it? The man walked closer, holding his hand up as a signal. For the knights to put their weapons down.

His eyes flashed gold for just a second. Then he nodded. Oh - so he was checking his intentions with magic. Good. Very good. Not creepy at all.
"He speaks the truth.", the man said to the knights. But he looked at Arthur strangely anyway.
"There is something about you, Arthur -", he said and tilted his head, like something was nudging at him. A faint memory perhaps. "You look familiar."

Arthur frowned. 'Didn't I just ask him, if we knew each other?'

"So do you.", Arthur gave back, while the girl in his arms grew heavier with every second. Ten year old's... heavier than you think.

The man frowned.

"I suppose - you are Emrys. The shadow everyone keeps speaking of?", Arthur asked and wondered how this man could defy his expectations so vastly. This man was too young to be the shadow. He was younger than Arthur. Maybe a bit taller, if he wasn't slouching so much.
He was also skinnier. More tired. Maybe they called him the shadow because of that.
Because he was so tired and looked so starved, he was merely a shadow of himself. He looked strangely small and weak. No pride, no honor guiding him. Just loyalty. And maybe that was all there was to him.

The man nodded.
But it still felt wrong. It felt wrong to think of him as Emrys. As the murderer of a king. This man was merely a boy. A child. Too young for any of his reputation.
Arthur thought that - knowing that this man was supposed to be powerful. But he magicked Katie a flower.
How evil could this man be? Magic didn't equal evil. Arthur knew that. Had known that since the day he met Katie. And she hadn't been the only sorcerer who had taught him that.

He bit his lip. "Would you like to come in?", Arthur asked despite himself. "You look hungry."
The shadow looked up at him in surprise.
"I -", he began.

If he was a knight he would have accepted right away, Arthur knew that.
"I should probably stay with my king's men. Make sure they don't - wreck the place.", he smiled uncertainly.

Arthur felt a pang in his heart. This boy was taking responsibility! Who would have thought.
There was respect growing in Arthur for this boy. The kind of respect the powerful vision Arthur initially had of the shadow could never have reached.
Arthur knew that he should know better than to trust him. But something told him he could. And that he always would. Never mind the circumstances.

"Then -", Arthur wondered what he could do. The man could have hurt Katie. But he didn't.
He knew that wasn't necessarily a behavior that demanded a reward. But compared to all the raids Arthur had lived through - all the children he had seen hurt during such patrols ...

"Wait a second.", he said and turned to walk toward his home in fast strides.
Gwen was waiting at the door. Her hands clasped upon her mouth, as Arthur finally put down the girl, so Gwen could make sure she was really alright.
Arthur went for the breakfast Gwen had made him. Despite knowing he usually didn't eat in the morning. And wrapped it up in a small basket.
Then he went out once more, glad that the man hadn't run off yet. Instead he was watching Arthur curiously, as he went back outside. The basket in his hand.

"Here.", Arthur said and pushed it into the other man's arms. The man blinked in surprise.
Nervously he opened the basket.
"The king isn't with us.", he said and frowned. "And if it's poisoned, I can assure you -"

"It's for you.", Arthur said and took a deep breath. He knew he was making a show of this. Kind of. At least a lot of people were watching. The knights for example. Or Arthur's neighbors.

The man stared up and tilted his head in confusion. He seemed to be doing that a lot.
"Why?", he asked.

Arthur frowned. "You look hungry.", he said. Hadn't he said that before? Or had he just thought it?
The man nodded. Then flashed his eyes again. "It's not poisoned, is it?"
Arthur smiled. "Not unless my landlady secretly hates me."

The man nodded and looked inside the basket. And then he smiled. An actual crooked smile, as he looked up. "Thank you.", he said earnestly. And beamed.
His name wasn't Emrys. Someone with that smiled couldn't be named the shadow. He was too bright for that.
'Merlin.', his head offered. It sounded right. It sounded incredibly right. But Arthur couldn't place why. Or where his head had gotten that idea from.

"No problem.", Arthur gasped. A bit taken aback by the sincerity of this man's gratitude.

"If you need anything. Or found the prince. Our camp for the night will be in the forest.", the shadow said and kept smiling. It made him look younger. Less burdened.
He pointed into the direction where you could barely see the tops of the trees over the small houses.

Arthur nodded slowly. He kind of wanted to go with them.
No idea where that thought came from.

The man seemed to recognize something, as he tilted his head once more.
"Or, maybe if you just want to say hello."

Arthur nodded again, biting his bottom lip. What an odd invitation. Was this boy flirting with him or was he trying to gather information through him?
Something told Arthur that it was neither. At least not yet. Maybe if he visited he would know.

After that, the shadow waved for the knights to move forward. And ordered them to politely knock on the doors, if anyone had seen Arthur Pendragon.
Arthur himself was left standing on the road. Watching silently, as the boy took a sandwich from his basket and bit hungrily into it.

Arthur couldn't help but smile.

This was probably the first time the town hadn't been robbed of all their possessions, just because a group of knights had passed through.

"Merlin.", Arthur whispered to himself and went back inside. It was strange. Even the name tasted familiar on his lips.