#91 - Rusting - Lost Legacies -Tekia - Original

[tekia.livejournal.com]

Title: Lost Legacies.
Fandom: Original, sequel (prequel?) to prompt 88's With Wings
Prompt: #91 Rusting
Warnings: None.
Rating: G
Summary: Merlin’s two students are at it again. This time, they sneak off to find the sword of legend.



When we arrived at the site, darkness had stolen across the sky, blacking out the stars, making our path dangerous. We didn’t mind as we stumbled along, being attacked by branches and roots. Our hands were firmly clasped, and I tugged Rurik behind me. He was really hopeless when it came to navigating in the dark.
Navigating in general.
The site we were searching out that dark night was a field in the center of our land’s largest forest. Nobody had been there in ages upon ages, but I figured if anybody could find it, it would be us, the students of Merlin.
It was worth a shot, at least.
Again, Rurik stumbled, pulling us to a halt while he regained his footing, cursing softly under his breath. I took that moment to look around.
At some point or another, the forest had been a lot less eerie that it was now. I knew for a fact that the largest creature in this forest was a deer. There was nothing to fear from this dark, spooky forest, and yet chills sent shivers up my spine.
Maybe that was a taste of Merlin’s magic.
Rurik suddenly clasped a hand on my shoulder and pointed. “What was that, over there?”
“I don’t see anything.”
“Just for a moment I thought I saw something glimmering in the light.”
“What light?”
We both looked up at the little patch of sky above us. While we both knew it had to be daylight outside the forest, no light from the sun made its way past the canopy. The sky had turned a dull red, hinting at the late hour. Dark shadows reached all around us, engulfing us in solitude. I felt as if we were the last beings on the surface of the earth.
Tilting my head to one side, I held a finger to my lips and listened. Rurik shot me a questioning look, but I ignored him.
All around us we could hear birds, small game, even critters rushing about. We hadn’t gone that far away from the city, but we could hear nothing of human life. I pointed this out to Rurik, who just shook his head.
“It’s Merlin’s magic,” he stated simply. I shrugged, agreeing. Suddenly he pointed again. “There it is again!”
This time, I did see a tiny glimmer. We both rushed toward it, Rurik quickly falling behind. Only a short distance away, we stumbled upon a lake. I stopped at the edge, which came right up to the forest line, gripping a sapling. Rurik tried to stop as well, but slid in the mud, sinking in the water up to his knees.
“Lady Melinda is going to kill me!” He ran his hands through his hair, moaning over his soiled boots.
I laughed out loud, “You’d better hide them until they get cleaned.”
“Saya, they’re new. You know Lady Melinda is going to ask me to wear them for the Hunt. She’s see this mess and sentence me to washing pots for weeks.”
That made me swallow my laughter. I knew what it was like, washing pots for weeks upon weeks. I’d been in trouble with Lady Melinda often enough in the past.
“Maybe we can bribe Merlin to fix them up right for you.”
Rurik nodded before turning his attention to the lake. “I never knew we had a lake in this forest.”
“Neither did I. What’s that in the middle?” I carefully lowered myself into the water. I was smart enough not to wear anything new, instead garbing myself in Rurik’s old, outgrown clothes. The water came to my thighs, sending more chills up my back. I rubbed my arms and waded toward the center of the lake.
“Wait, Saya! It could be dangerous.”
I grinned at him over my shoulder. “Well, what adventure isn’t?” There was loud splashing as he raced to catch up with me. The sounds of the water echoed off the trees that surrounded the small lake, making me feel as if we were inside a cave, rather than out in the open. The sky above us was still that odd shade of red, bleeding into the water.
In the center of the lake, was a small statue on a pedestal, carved from one block of granite. Moss had grown over much of the base and was touching on the foot of the statue.
We both stared in wonder at the beautiful workmanship of the statue. It was a woman, sitting. She had one knee drawn up, hiding her nudity, the other laying against the pedestal. Her head was lowered, hair falling over her shoulders. In her hands she held a sword, propped over her shoulder. As she was sitting, there was no way to remove the sword without breaking the stone.
“This - This is . . .” Rurik said in a near whisper, his hand outstretched.
I nodded. I was speechless.
“Is - Is this really?”
I nodded again. We both stepped close, and Rurik reached out to touch the mythical sword Excalibur.
My eyes drifted down the blade of the sword. I hissed a breath, catching Rurik’s hand just before he touched the hilt.
“What?”
“Look,” I said, pointing with my other hand at the part of the sword hidden behind the Lady’s hands. “It is rusting.”
“What!?” Rurik said, his brow curved into a frown. “That’s not possible. The sword is indestructible.”
“Tell that to the sword. And look there, the Lady is crumbling.”
We stared in shock at our dreams, our history fading before us. There was silence all around us for a long moment as we learned to accept these new facts. I hated to admit it, but I felt a swelling in my chest, tears in my eyes. I rubbed at my eyes roughly.
Rurik placed a hand on my shoulder. “Come on, then. We saw what we came here to see. We might as well go back before it gets too dark to see at all.” His grip turned me away from the elderly Lady of the Lake and her rusting sword. “After we hide my boots, we’ll see if we can’t sneak some treats from the kitchens and visit Merlin before he turns in for the night.”
I nodded, sniffing. He was right. While there was nothing we could do, we could tell Merlin. He’ll make everything better.