The Daughters of Merlin

“ZANA!”

Zana took off running up the stairs to where her and Grace’s shared room was. Merlin was taking a nap, regaining his energy. Grace had still been unconscious when they arrived so Zana had put her little sister in her bed where she could rest but now it looked like she was awake.

“What is it? Are you okay?” Zana asked worriedly, rushing to her sister’s side.

“Wh-wh-wh-what h-h-h-hap-p-p-pened?” Grace asked, wrapping her blanket around herself as tightly as she could, her teeth chattering as she shivered, her usual red lips now purple.

Zana sat down on the bed, gathering Grace in her arms and setting the girl on her lap. Grace took off her blanket as Zana began to glow a soft purple. Grace sighed in relief, snuggling her face into Zana’s chest, causing her sister to chuckle. Whenever Grace got sick, she would often become very cold, so cold that nothing could warm her. Nothing but Zana’s special fire.

“Where’s Papa?” Grace asked as she began to stop shivering.

“Sleeping. Morgana tried to kill you with a spear.” Zana sighed. “I don’t know what happened; it was like you had gotten possessed. I didn’t ask dad about it though because he seemed really tired from preventing you from getting impaled.”

“Papa said she was his cousin.” Grace said.

“She called him Grandson.” Zana replied, furrowing her brows together in confusion.

“That’s because I am.” Merlin said, surprising his daughters as he entered the room.

With a simple wave of his hand, a stool appeared in front of Grace’s bed where the two girls were sitting. Merlin walked over and he sat down in the stool, facing his daughters, sighing as he did so.

“Papa, what’s going on? I keep having these weird dreams and I’m scared.” Grace said, biting her lip as her eyes began to water.

“What dreams?” Zana asked worriedly, slightly tightening her grip on Grace.

“I killed a boy. I freeze him and then he shatters into pieces. . . Then there’s this red haired girl that tries to get me to run but I can’t move. She calls me Jynx. . . A crowd comes and they throw a spear at me but the girl gets in the way. . . Roots and flowers grow over her body. . . The crowd keeps coming towards me and I finally move so I run off into the forest. It feels so real.” Grace hugged her arms around herself, resting her head against Zana’s chest, taking comfort in her older sister’s presence.

Merlin reached out and he grabbed ahold of Grace’s hand. “How long have you had this dream?”

“Forever.” Grace answered quietly. “The dream is getting more vivid though. I didn’t remember me running off into the forest until just now.”

“What does it mean?” Zana asked, recognizing the expression on her father’s face to know that he knew exactly what Grace was talking about.

Merlin sighed. “I hoped that I wouldn’t have to tell you girls this. These memories caused you a lot of pain. You seemed so happy.”

“Dad, stop being so vague!” Zana shouted, getting frustrated which caused her hair to ignite with a purple fire, the soft glow around her becoming brighter which caused Grace to wince slightly. “Just tell us!”

“Do you girls remember the legend of Stonehenge? When I brought you there? I didn’t allow you to go into the circle because I said it was too dangerous.” Merlin replied.

“I remember.” Zana answered, followed by Grace nodding in agreement.

“I didn’t tell you the whole story. You see, the powerful witch’s name was Lilith.” Merlin began.

“And she had three daughters who could control the elements. The first born could control fire, the second was water, and the third was Earth. Fire was kept at home, while the other two could go into the village. The people hated Water and she was bullied. She accidentally killed a boy and Earth was killed. Water ran away, swearing off all magic. When the Witch and Fire found out, they were horrified. Fire ran after Water but never found her. The Witch destroyed the entire village, turning to black magic.” Grace said, recalling the rest of it. “The part with the boy and Earth sounds like my dream.”

Merlin nodded. “Fire’s name was Zanabelle, Water was Jynx, and Earth was Marielle.”

Zana’s eyes widened. “Morgana said that name! Are you saying that it was us in that story?!”

“Yes.” Merlin nodded again. “There’s still more to the story though; stuff that’s important.”

“What?” Both Zana and Grace asked in unison.

“After swearing off all magic, Jynx changed her name to Calian and became a knight. You girls never saw each other again until the Great Imagicia War. Lilith was with the Warlocks, Zana was with the Mages,” “And I was a knight.” Grace finished which earned a nod from Merlin as he continued. “Before you could reunite, Lilith killed you both. During the fighting, Lilith took your bodies and brought them to Stonehenge where she buried you next to Marielle in the center.”

“We stood next to our bodies?!” Zana exclaimed, a disgusted look on her face.

“What does Morgana have to do with this?” Grace asked, not disgusted by this new information nor confused.

“Well, Lilith had another child, this time with a . . .” Merlin paused, noticing Raven standing in the rafters in the corner of the room. “A shapeshifter named Mercury. Lilith had a daughter who she named Morgana le Fey.

“Morgana knew who I was and what I was meant to do. My parents were close to you girls before you died. They killed Lilith, but not in time for her spirit to have already bonded with that of Morgana’s. Morgana killed them right after they killed Lilith.

“Instead of just naming you Jynx, I decided to add Grace before, so it would better confuse Morgana.”

“So she was never after Zana. She was after me, wasn’t she?” Grace asked, tears welling up in her eyes, one successfully falling down her cheek.

“None of this is your fault.” Zana assured her, hugging her close, knowing what her sister was thinking.

Merlin got up and sat down next to his daughters as Grace began to fully cry, wrapping his arms around them both. “She’s right. It was never your fault. Even then, there’s nothing you can do to change what happened.”

Merlin kissed the top of Grace’s head. “I won’t let her win again. That I can promise you.”