LITMIR.BIZ

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absently but said nothing.

      Merlin knew that he couldn’t stay silent any longer. “My Lady, what’s wrong? You’ve been this way ever since the messengers arrived with news about Uther from the siege at Dinas Emrys. You have to snap out of this. Your people need you. You’re their queen!”

      Ygerna waved her hand dismissively. “They have you, Merlin. You’re the regent. You take care of things, and leave me to grieve for my husband.”

      Ygerna stood and left the great hall.

      Weeks passed, and Ygerna continued to decline.

      One evening, two months after Galerius returned victorious, Merlin shuffled down the hallway leading to the queen’s apartments; his staff thumped loudly on the timber floors. A servant stood at the door. Merlin raised an eyebrow, and the servant shook his head. Merlin nodded and returned to the chamber that he used when he stayed at Din Eidyn.

      She’s still refusing to eat. It’s like she’s willing herself to die. Doesn’t she realize what that’ll do to Arthur and little Anna?

      Merlin’s thoughts were interrupted by the sound of feet running down the corridor. Looking up, he saw Arthur standing in his doorway.

      Merlin smiled at his Prince and gestured for Arthur to come in. “How may I serve you, my Prince?”

      Arthur looked at him with piercing deep blue eyes like his mother’s. “What’s wrong with Mama, Merlin? She won’t open her door.”

      “When did you see her last?” Merlin asked.

      “Yesterday morning,” Arthur replied.

      Merlin nodded. Thinking about it, he realized that he hadn’t seen Ygerna for almost a week. “Go back to the nursery. I’ll check on her and find out what’s wrong.”

      Merlin stood and reached for his staff. Arthur gave him a hug and then scampered back to the nursery.

      Merlin was concerned. He retraced his steps back to the door to Ygerna’s apartment. At first, the servant refused to move out of the way. Merlin glared at him ominously, and the servant finally stepped aside.

      Merlin knocked on the door and heard a voice faintly say, “Come in.”

      He opened the door. Ygerna sat in Uther’s chair by the fireplace. Her skin was pale, and her face was thin and drawn. Her eyes looked sunken. Merlin could tell that she was dying.

      “My Lady!” Merlin exclaimed rushing over and kneeling next to the chair, heedless of the pain in his left leg. He laid his staff on the floor next to him.

      She weakly put her hand on his arm. Merlin saw the outline of bones and sinews along the skin. “It’s all right, Merlin. It won’t be long.”

      “What about Arthur and Anna?” Merlin asked. “They need you. We all need you, my Queen!”

      Ygerna shook her head. “It seems that I can’t live without my husband. Uther wanted you to raise Arthur and Anna if anything happened to him. I want that, too. You’re the regent. You and Galerius will lead our people until Arthur is of age, and then you’ll serve him and help him be a great leader. Protect his kingdom for me, Merlin. Protect it for Uther.”

      “I will, my Queen.”

      Ygerna’s hand went limp and slid off Merlin’s arm. He looked up at Ygerna’s face. Her eyes were fixed and distant. He put his hand up to her nose. She wasn’t breathing. He listened for her heartbeat. There was no sound. Ygerna was gone; she had left to be with Uther.

      Merlin wept.

      Explaining to Arthur and Anna that both of their parents were now dead was the hardest thing that Merlin had ever done. Anna was too young to understand what was going on, and it took several weeks for her to stop looking around the great house for her mother. Arthur had a slightly better grasp of what was happening, and her death hit him hard.

      Ygerna was laid to rest next to Uther on the ridge overlooking Din Eidyn. A week later, Merlin’s wife, Niniane, moved into the great house to help raise Arthur and Anna. Merlin and his wife both felt that the children needed to grow up in the familiar surroundings of the hillfort, rather than on Merlin’s estate.

      Even though Merlin and Niniane could have moved into Uther’s apartments, they decided to stay in Merlin’s chamber on the other side of the great house. They felt that it was too soon for Arthur and Anna to see someone else living in the rooms where their parents had lived.

      Ambrosius and the other members of the Council of Kings sent letters of condolence to the young prince and princess. They also acknowledged Merlin’s post as regent and promised to treat him as an equal member of the Council until Arthur was of age.

      Merlin, having lost his sons during the battle with Vortigern’s guards, named Arthur as his heir, making Arthur and Anna his foster-children.

      Arthur and Anna slowly came to terms with the loss of their parents, and they came to look at Merlin and Niniane as their new father and mother. By the time the autumn leaves began changing color, life had returned to normal at Din Eidyn.

      Two years passed. In spite of having lost both parents, neither Arthur nor Anna ever felt like orphans. Merlin and Niniane went to great effort to ensure that.

      Niniane had always wanted a baby girl, but she had given birth to three sons. Anna loved playing with her, and the two grew closer and closer as time went by.

      Merlin was proud of the way that Arthur dealt with his grief. Rather than sulk or hide, he threw himself into one activity after another. He spent most of his time watching the soldiers and the hillfort guards train with their weapons and the horses. Arthur was fascinated with horses, and Merlin often found him in the stables, helping the grooms.

      It didn’t take long for Merlin to discover that Arthur had a talent for learning. Arthur spent hours every day watching the soldiers, the engineers, the blacksmiths, and anyone else who had skills that he could learn. Even though, as king, he’d have men around him to perform those duties, Arthur wanted to understand the duties for himself, and he wanted to know more about the people who performed those duties.

      Arthur’s curiosity led him to spend hours each day exploring the hillfort and the defenses that surrounded it. Merlin knew that the guards kept a close watch on their young Prince, so he didn’t worry that Arthur would get into too much mischief.

      On a beautiful spring afternoon in 473 AD, a few months after Arthur had turned eight, the Prince walked to the smithy in the northwest corner of the hillfort. The blacksmith was busy repairing several spears that were damaged during a recent raid by the Picts, and he paid little attention to Arthur, who had become a regular visitor.

      Arthur walked behind the great forge in the far corner of the smithy. Along the back wall, items that the blacksmith had made hung on pegs. Arthur was curious about these items because they were always there. Not one had ever been removed since Arthur had started visiting the smithy. Arthur wanted to know why.

      He reached up and grabbed a large hook that hung on the wall. It didn’t budge. He pulled on it, but it wouldn’t move; it was attached to the wall. He reached for a set of hinges, but they wouldn’t move either.

      Why are these things attached to the wall? Is the blacksmith afraid that someone will steal them? Who’d do that here?

      Arthur inspected item after item. Each one was attached to the wall, and they weren’t coming off. As Arthur moved along the wall, he grew more confused about why the items were displayed this way.

      When he reached the opposite side of the forge, he reached for the hilt of a small sword hanging next to the other items. At first it didn’t move, but when Arthur twisted it, it rotated in his hand and he heard a faint clicking sound. He pulled the sword again, and the section of the back wall that he had been inspecting swung out.

      It’s a secret door! I wonder where it leads.

      He looked over at the blacksmith, who stood at

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