Merlin sat on the low, thick branch of an old oak tree, his back against the trunk. He just stared up at the darkening sky, watching the first stars prick through the deep blue. He didn’t have a care in the world, or at least, he was trying very hard not to.
He sighed. A long, heavy exhale. Then another a minute later. His thoughts were a jumble—the crazy priestess, her wild story, the feeling of walking through solid stone like it was mist...
One last sigh. "Alright," he mumbled to himself. "Enough moping. Mom’s gonna kill me."
He swung his legs down and dropped lightly to the soft forest floor. He’d taken two steps towards home when the air above him ripped open.
Not a sound, but a tearing sensation in reality itself. A jagged hole of swirling, unstable light appeared, hovering ten feet above the clearing.
"What now?" Merlin muttered, already exasperated.
Then a figure tumbled out of the portal, falling fast.
Merlin didn’t think. His body reacted. A surge of warm, green energy—the same color as new leaves—flared around him. He didn’t run; he pushed off the ground, launching himself upward. He caught the falling stranger in mid-air, the impact jarring his arms, and landed with a soft thud, his knees bending to absorb the shock.
He set her down carefully. The girl—woman, really—stumbled, then straightened. She was... unlike anyone he’d ever seen. Her clothes were strange, elegant in a way that spoke of a different world. Her beauty was sharp, regal. She carried an aura of power and authority that felt almost tangible, like the air before a lightning strike.
"Wow," Merlin said, the word slipping out before he could stop it. He wasn’t trying to flirt. It was just a statement of fact. "You’re... really something."
The woman blinked, brushing a strand of hair from her face. She looked more annoyed than distressed. "Kid, what are you—?"
"Merlin," he interrupted.
She paused. "What?"
"My name. It’s Merlin. Who are you?"
She studied him, her gaze sharp and assessing. After a moment, she sighed, a hint of frustration in it. "Elizabeth. And I think... I’m in the wrong world." She looked around the clearing, the ancient trees, her expression one of profound uncertainty. The energy here felt different. Thicker. Older.
"Well," Merlin said, a slow smirk spreading across his face. "Might as well make yourself at home. I don’t think you’ll be leaving anytime soon."
Elizabeth’s eyes narrowed at his smirk. "I don’t think so," she said coolly. She clasped her hands together, closed her eyes, and her voice took on a commanding tone. "Adam? Alex? Rebecca? Can you hear me? Where are you guys?"
Silence. Only the chirping of evening crickets answered her.
"You might as well add my name in there," Merlin said, grinning now. "Merlin. Just in case they’re checking a list."
He laughed, a light, genuine sound. Elizabeth just stared at him, utterly baffled by his amusement.
"How did you get here?" Merlin asked, his curiosity finally getting the better of him.
Elizabeth let out another sigh, this one laced with weariness. She sat down on a nearby tree stump. "I was in a... private realm. A pocket dimension. A friend of a friend’s brother created it so I could... meet someone. When I tried to leave, the exit didn’t take me back. It brought me here. It has to be a mistake."
"Must be some powerful friends," Merlin mused, impressed despite himself. He stretched his arms over his head. "Well, you should probably wait here for them. I’m already late for supper, and my mom’s gonna have my hide."
He turned and started walking back towards the path.
"Wait!" Elizabeth called out, a note of real alarm in her voice. The regal composure cracked, revealing a flash of fear. "You can’t just leave me here. Alone."
Merlin paused, looking back over his shoulder with that same infuriating smirk. "I’m just a kid. You said it yourself. And I’m scared too. So how am I supposed to protect you?"
Elizabeth rolled her eyes so hard he thought they might get stuck. "You have power. I felt it when you caught me. That green energy. Don’t play dumb."
"I’m not playing. I’m just—"
"MERLIN!"
The shout ripped through the clearing, furious and frantic. Morgana burst from the treeline, her hair wild, her chest heaving. She skidded to a halt, her eyes wide as she took in the scene: Merlin, and the impossibly elegant stranger sitting on a stump.
"There you are! You insufferable—!" Morgana began, her tirade already building.
Merlin held up a hand, cutting her off. He pointed a thumb at Elizabeth.
"Before you start yelling again... she fell out of the sky. A portal opened up and she dropped right out." He looked from Morgana’s stunned face to Elizabeth’s wary one, a new, mischievous thought dawning on him. "So, tell me, oh wise High Priestess... if a girl falling from the sky makes someone a ’Chosen One’... does that make her one too?"
He grinned, enjoying the sheer, bewildered horror dawning on Morgana’s face.
Morgana’s furious words died in her throat. She stared at Elizabeth, who was now standing, her posture defensive and regal even in confusion. The forest clearing seemed to shrink under the weight of the moment.
"She... what?" Morgana managed, her brain struggling to process Merlin’s casual statement.
"A portal," Merlin repeated, as if explaining the weather. "Right up there. It went brrrrt, opened a hole, and she fell out. I caught her. So? Does she get a prophecy too? ’The girl who drops in uninvited shall unite the kingdoms’ or something?"
Elizabeth folded her arms, her gaze shifting from the smirking boy to the stunned, disheveled young woman. "I am not part of any local folklore," she said, her voice cool. "I am Elizabeth. And I am lost. That is the extent of my drama."
Morgana ignored her, her mind racing. A portal. A stranger from beyond. The timing was too precise, too catastrophic to be coincidence. The ancient texts spoke of the Star-Born arriving from the heavens... but they never mentioned a second. Were there layers to the prophecy she’d never been taught? Contingencies?
"You two can bond."