Britt whirled to face the speaker—who stood behind her. Cavall growled, and her guards raised their weapons.
It was Merlin. Of course. “The King of Britain paces the walls of Camelot at night like a prowling lion…or a tortured soul,” he said as the guards lowered their weapon.
Britt half smiled. “You sound surprised.”
“That is because I am,” Merlin mildly said, his hands clasped behind his back.
“I didn’t think anything could happen in this castle without your knowledge,” Britt said, patting Cavall on the side to soothe the dog so he finally relaxed his stiff stance.
Merlin ignored the comment and nodded to the guards. “Return to Arthur’s rooms. I will return him to his quarters and back into your care when we are finished talking.”
The guards saluted the wizard and left in an organized formation.
Britt watched them go, moving closer to Cavall when the wind blew across the river and straight up Camelot’s walls.
“Arthur, what is wrong?”
“What do you mean?”
Merlin gestured into the night. “When Kay told me you walked the castle walls like a desperate man seeking redemption I thought he was exaggerating. Alas, he was right, for you do look hopeless.”
Britt dryly chuckled and turned to stare into Camelot. “You have such a way with words, Merlin.”
“I am serious, Arthur.”
“It’s BRITT,” Britt snapped. She placed a hand over her mouth to hold back additional words. “Merlin, you don’t have a family, do you?” she finally managed.
“I have a mentor, an old hermit who raised me. But no, I have no parents nor siblings.”
“I have a Mom. She worked a lot when I was in school, but she made sure we did fun things on the weekend. She encouraged my passions, no matter how weird they seemed. Before I came here I talked to her just about every day on the phone. I have an older sister too. She was the one who first taught me how to ride horses. Even though I was just her kid-sister she would let me play with her and her friends. She lives just an hour away from my apartment. We would meet up for coffee or a movie every few weeks so we could catch up. I have a goldfish, and some awesome friends. One of them is my next door neighbor, Issie. She and I do our laundry together Tuesday evenings. Do you get what I’m saying?”
Merlin slowly nodded. “I do not recognize many of the activities you speak of, but I see that you mean you have a home and kin.”
“All of them are dead to me.”
“What?”
“All of them are lost. I will never see any of them again. Everything and everyone I have ever known is gone. Forever. I will never ride a horse with my sister again. I will never call my mom and laugh over my latest work fiasco. I can’t even go by the name I was given at birth. All of that is gone. I have no one and you are asking me why I seem like a desperate soul in the late hours?” Britt said, her voice was free of malice as she stared at Merlin with level eyes.
Merlin was quiet. “I’m sorry, lass,” he finally said. “I do not give you enough credit. You are strong. Your grieving is not unjustified. What would help you?”
Britt turned to look at the darkness lurking outside the castle walls. “I don’t think anything can. Just time.”
Merlin nodded before he seated himself on the ground, huddled against the parapet—the wall of the walkway. “Tell me about your sister. How did she teach you to ride a horse?”
“She taught me out of selfishness, really. When my dad left my mom we moved away from the hall that was teaching me swordplay. Mom said between my sister and I we could only have one extracurricular activity. Since I couldn’t find any swordsmanship classes at the time I was open for a new hobby. My sister wanted to keep riding, so she knew she had to win me over. She stuck me on this ridiculously fat pony named Chubby…”
“…My sister got into jumping and dressage. I thought dressage was dead boring, and jumping scared the pants off me…”
“…favorite horse ever was this beautiful black gelding named Orion. I rode him until his owner sold him, and then I finally found another place that taught historical swordplay…”
Britt talked long into the night. By the time Merlin helped Britt to her room the eastern horizon was a lighter color, hinting at the sun that would soon rise. Britt collapsed on her bed and heard Cavall sigh when he lay down near her while she drifted off into sleep, remembering her days spent riding with her sister.
“Did you get a new horse, Kay? He’s gorgeous,” Britt said, shading her eyes from the sun as she approached her foster brother outside the castle stables about a week later.
Kay held the reins of a gorgeous black horse—probably a gelding—who was kitted out in splendid tack and stood quietly behind the tall knight.
“No. This is your horse,” Kay said.