Discoveries

Geoffrey blew on the wet pages before carefully setting his quill on the parchment strewn desk. He stood with a sigh and a dull twisting in his stomach that barely registered after twenty-six years of danger; you could instill fear in others, but after so long, resilience began to take hold.

Some called it bravery. He called it weariness.

No one was likely to enter the library for some time - Merlin was here, but he had disappeared into the recesses of the shelves hours ago and was unlikely to reappear any time soon. The lords were preoccupied with the grand tournament, as were the king and his son. No one would miss his presence.

He walked slowly to the unremarkable bookcase and stood on the stack of books prepared for just such a purpose. He touched the trigger book, the small spark of magic at his fingertips barely enough to open the door, and stepped into the hidden alcove of magical study and lore. The enchantment was important; it meant that no one without magic or knowledge of the place would easily discover the last haven of magic within the castle walls.

He froze.

So did Merlin.

They remained frozen for some time, Geoffrey at the entrance and Merlin with a spellbook on his lap. Neither was willing to breathe, let alone move.

At last, Geoffrey broke the silence. "I should have expected as much from Gaius' student," he said softly. Merlin shrugged awkwardly.

"You won't . . ."

"No."

"Me neither," Merlin finished. Geoffrey stepped forward, letting the door swing shut behind him.

"What are you reading?" he asked; Merlin wordlessly held up an ancient, druidic book of prophecy.

"Why are you reading that?" Geoffrey said, stunned and apprehensive at the particular set of prophecies Merlin had chosen. Merlin flinched, looking unusually pale.

"Curious," Merlin mumbled.

"Did you find what you were seeking?" Geoffrey inquired. Merlin laughed shakily.

"Too much." He surged to his feet. "Arthur will be waiting. I - I have to go," he stammered, slipping past Geoffrey and quickly disappearing. Geoffrey, his breathing only now returning to something manageable, carefully picked up the discarded book. It was written in the magical tongue, but despite his tenuous grasp of the language, the words were familiar enough; anyone with the slightest knowledge of the druids knew the significance of this tome. Emrys norðêast sb wægn forðrihte mid uferra dryhten.

Emrys and the Once and Future King.

Geoffrey stood there for several minutes, lost in thought and swirling lore, before gently placing the book back on the precarious stack of books Merlin had assembled. A quick glance at the rest of the titles confirmed his suspicions - the books were nearly the complete set of the Albion Cycle.

Prophecy was rarely what it first seemed, although he suspected Merlin knew that only too well.

He walked slowly back to his desk and reopened the half-finished History of the Kings of Briton. He picked up his quill and began a new heading, carefully inscribing the words. Emrys and the Once and Future King.

Druidic lore speaks one named Emrys, wreathed in mystery and secrets. His names are many, but all speak of him as one who guides a figure known only as the Once and Future King to the unification and rising of Albion . . .

Welcome to this collection of Merlin drabbles! These drabbles are not exactly a hundred words; rather, they are approximately 100 - 500 word snippets that take place in canon up to the end of season four, then diverge with a magical revelation soon afterwards.

This is not the original chapter one. Rather, I am coming back about 120 drabbles in to update the first chapter, as I feel my writing style has improved over the almost two years I've been writing these drabbles. Over the course of the series, the tone shifts from purely "everyday" moments to a more introspective look at the series as a whole, so if the first few drabbles don't catch your interest, feel free to skip to later chapters. The magical reveal for this series consists of chapters 100-111, if you're interested in reading them as a basis for post-reveal chapters, although all post-reveal chapters can be read without them.

As a final note, "The Albion Cycle" is a name I borrowed from the brillant canon-divergent series of the same name by AntaresTheEighthPleiade.