long black evening dresses

Chapter 2: The Apprentice
Here's the new chapter! I really like this
one and I think it turned out really well.
AN: This chapter has been edited since
original posting and a few things may
have changed.
"Margaret. Her name's Margaret." Merlin
smiled, grateful for the change of subject.
"She can be difficult at times but she means
well. And she has a good heart, even
though it can be hard to see at times. You'll
see. She grows on you," he explained.
"She sounds great. A bit like you actually."
Arthur commented with a small smile. "So,
how long has she been your apprentice?"
he asked, still trying to wrap his head
around the idea. For Arthur, a few days ago,
Merlin was his servant and just found out
about his magical abilities and then died in
his arms. Now, over a thousand years had
passed in the blink of an eye and Merlin
seemed to have a completely different life.
Even an apprentice. It was all a bit much to
be honest but he figured he'd have to try
and adjust to everything.
"A few years." Arthur gave a small nod. In a
way, he was still trying to accept magic. He
had already accepted it with Merlin. But
other people? Sure, he's seen others use
magic for good but those were few and far
between. The majority of his life has been
attacked and betrayed by those with magic
and Arthur couldn't help but to feel a little
apprehensive about the idea of Merlin
teaching someone magic.
"And you trust her?" The question fell from
his lips before he'd had a chance to think
about it. Arthur turned to look at Merlin
who spared him a glance before his eyes
went back to the road.
"With my life." Again, Arthur found himself
nodding and returned to looking out the
window. He watched everything pass by
with critical eyes, hoping to see something
familiar in any way. But with no such luck.
Even the street were foreign to him. The tall
metal buildings, a few were made of stone
but not many. Everyone's clothes were
drastically different than what he was used
to seeing. Instead of horses pulling carts
there were other 'cars' as Merlin called
them, all different shapes and colors.
Nothing was the same. The only thing
remotely familiar was Merlin. And even he
was different.
The silence between them was suddenly
screaming at him. Even at the worst of
times, Merlin had something to say. Most of
the time it was something stupid or
obvious, but at least it was something.
Looking at him now, Arthur could tell that
his friend was lost in thought. But more so,
he could see the slight differences in Merlin. long black evening dresses
First of all, he wasn't smiling. In fact, he
looked almost worried. The way he was
seated looked relaxed but Arthur could tell
that he was tense. His raven black hair was
a bit longer than he remembered. And his
eyes. It wasn't just the age he could see in
them, but the way they were darting
around, examining every passing car, every
person crossing the street. Arthur couldn't
help but to wonder what the hell had
happened.
Then again, it wasn't like Merlin would say.
He never did. Arthur wasn't completely
stupid. He knew Merlin would rather bottle
things up rather than say something was
bothering him.
"Idiot."
"Prat." Merlin responded automatically. A
small smile appeared on his face, sparing
Arthur another glance. Arthur let out a small
sigh of relief and chuckled.
"Good. Glad that's not changed."
"Good. Glad that's not changed." Merlin
glanced at Arthur again, raising his
eyebrow slightly. After a brief moment, he
let out a small sigh. He quickly realized how
overwhelming all of this must be and he
wasn't exactly helping matters.
"Sorry. Just…a lot on my mind."
"I can tell. I've never seen you this quiet."
Arthur commented, looking out the
window once more. The busy city was
winding down into the suburbs. Two and
three story houses were lining the streets. A
few people were walking here and there,
and one or two of them were talking into
their mobiles. "Where are we going?"
"I've got a house on the north side of
London. I live there with my apprentice.
We'll clear up one of the spare rooms for
you." Arthur couldn't help but laugh a little.
Merlin looked at him curiously with a small
smile, wondering what he found funny.
"What?"
"Just you. Owning a house." Merlin's smiled
went a little wider.
"I don't really own it. The royal family has
been housing me in different places for
centuries. It's no Buckingham Palace, but
it's bigger than what I had in Camelot and
it's free so I don't complain." Merlin
explained slowly.
"Buckingham Palace?" Merlin glanced back
at him. There was so much that he was
going to have to explain. So many things
had changed since they'd last seen each
other and he didn't really know if there was
enough time in the world to explain
everything to Arthur.
"It's where the Queen lives when she's not
at Windsor. We passed it a few miles back."
Turning left, Merlin slowed to a stop in front
of an elaborate two story home. A bed of
green grass with a stone path led up to it. A
few vines snaked up the sides and gave it a
warm and homely feel. "Here it is." Merlin
unbuckled and got out, Arthur following.
Getting the armor out of the back of the car,
he led the fair haired king up to the front
door. Not bothering with a key, Merlin's
eyes flashed gold and the door opened.
Inside, a white walled hallway led to an
open spaced living room with a large tan
two piece sofa winding against the corner
facing a flat screen TV on the wall. On the
sofa, reading a book, was a young reddish
blonde haired girl. She looked to be in her
early twenties and was dressed in skinny
jeans and a red tank top with a black jacket.
She didn't bother to look up as they entered
the room.
"Took you long enough. I was starting to
worry." she muttered sarcastically with an
American accent. Merlin rolled his eyes as he
walked over to her, tossing the armor to a
spot next to her.
"Hello to you too." Merlin smiled before
glancing at Arthur. "I've got a surprise." At
this, she looked up from her book, eyes
flickering between the two men in front of
her. Arthur was almost startled at how blue
they were. The irises were like an icy sky
with streaks of deep blue forcing their way
to the center. "This, is Arthur." Merlin held
out him hands out as if to say 'ta da', a
bright smile on his face.
"Weasley?" she responded, leaving Arthur
confused and raising his eyebrows before
glancing at Merlin. Merlin scoffed, dropping
his arms exasperatedly.
"No. Why would it be Arthur Weasley? This
isn't bloody Hogwarts!" he commented,
running a hand through his hair. Now,
Arthur was officially lost. What the hell is
Hogwarts? "It's Arthur Pendragon." Arthur
gave a small wave of greeting and she
smiled slightly, putting the book down and
standing up. She walked up to Arthur and
sized him up.
"I thought he'd be taller." she noted. Merlin
audibly sighed and walked over to them.
"Arthur, this is Margaret. A constant thorn in
my side." Margaret smiled and held out her
hand to Arthur which he gladly took.
"I'm only pulling his leg as usual. I'm his
apprentice. I've already got one of the
rooms ready for you." Merlin looked at her
for a moment.
"But….you didn't even know that he was
coming." Margaret sighed at this.
"On the phone, when I asked if anything
happened during your weekly visit to the
lake, you said you had some news." she
stated as if it were obvious. To be honest,
that did make it a little obvious in Arthur's
opinion. "There's really only one thing that
could mean. Sometimes it amazes me that
you're the greatest wizard to walk the
Earth, because there's moments when
you're just bone dead stupid."
Arthur smiled and laughed, looking at
Merlin. "I like her."