@merthurmicrofic | Change | 271 words
BINGO: Excalibur + Mythical Creatures + Present Tense + Magical Object + POV: Third Person + Episode Fix-It + Future Tense
“One chance,” the spirit says. “One choice. You will relive the past as if it is the first time, but only once may you turn down a different road. What branches thenceforth will be unknowable. Wiser men than you have failed to find the gift within this curse.”
Merlin’s voice thrums thick with blood. “And I cannot bring him back?”
The spirit shifts, treetops crowing to the wind. “An act of nature once transpired cannot be reversed, and you may not wish away the convictions of another man. But there are other means to change the future, warlock. Perhaps you would allow the druid boy to burn, slay the witch before she comprehends her power, or enlighten your prince to the origins of his birth.”
“No,” says Merlin, stepping forward. “I would make every choice I made for him again.”
The vision of the spirit flickers, the crystal glowing hot in Merlin’s palm. “Then why have you summoned me?”
“One choice,” Merlin repeats, to the moonless forest. The boat still burning on the lake. “One chance. I wish never to have met Kilgharrah.”
The thing’s lips curl into a sneer. “You would have me send you so far back? To pluck a stitch so early in your tapestry might disentangle it entirely, or fail to warp even a single thread. You may not prevent the young Pendragon’s death.”
Merlin grips Excalibur, hilt lingering touch-warm at his hip. “I understand.”
The spirit eyes him, gaze calculating, thin. “You would choose this just to spite an enemy?”
“No,” says Merlin. “To unlearn the prophecy. Let me try again loving Arthur on my own.”
2087
ellievsbear
annaxmalina
origamiaround
