The Pearl of Avalon

Well, I could swear it took no longer than five minutes to cross the island. Avalon magic. I had walked side by side with Arthur most of the way. My emotions were mixed. I was thrilled about the thought of soon being able to go home, yet sad about the thought of leaving Arthur. Merlin used his staff key to open another entrance. The rock dissolved, revealing a short stone stairway with light at the top. As I walked up I could see the pond.

When we were all above ground, a large stone materialized over our exit. We were in the mini stone circle. Merlin hesitated slightly, then whispered something to Vivian. I noticed now, in daylight, that she had an older look to her face than the others did. Mostly due to the fact she had left Avalon a few times to run errands for Nimue. That was my guess, anyway. After he whispered whatever to her, she nodded and walked back to the stone we had just come from. Merlin unlocked it, it dissolved, and she walked back down.

We walked up through a narrow pathway that led to the well. I had not noticed this path the day we started on the pearl quest. Arthur was up, leading the way with Merlin. Both of them holding back the dead tree branches to make it easier for the Sisters to carry Morgana through.

I stayed behind, taking my time. The closer we got to Nimue’s well, the more agitated I got. Maybe agitated was not the right word to use. Excited? Anxious? I don’t know. I just felt strange.

The Sisters of Avalon placed Morgana near the well when we arrived. Merlin leaned in over, “Nimue?”

“Merlin!” Nimue’s voice echoed, “Is that really you?”

“It is me, my love,” he replied wiping a tear away, “It has been too long!”

“Seeing you here brings me great joy,” Nimue said, “And it also means that the pearl has been found, yes?”

Merlin lifted the pearl onto the edge of the well, “Indeed it has.”

“Return it now, so that all will be restored,” she said. I could hear the relief in her voice.

Arthur and I followed Merlin through the vine covered entrance way that lead down to the pearls pedestal. The Sisters stayed by the well. As the three of us circled the pedestal Merlin handed the pearl to me, “If it was not for you, then this would not have been possible. You shall have the honor of restoring Avalon.”

The pearl was very heavy. It took a lot of effort to lift it into the claw grips of the pedestal. Almost as soon as the pearl fell in place, the broken claws that had been crumbled on the ground flew up and reconnected. All the claws then lengthened to hold it securely in pace. The pearl glowed brightly. Almost a blinding light. Even brighter than the flash it made when Merlin restored its white color.

I felt tremors. The room started shaking. Earthquake? Arthur took both Merlin and I by the arms and we ran up out of the room.

The tremors were fierce! I had a slight urge to find a table to hide under.

All the fallen stones were shaking and being pulled upward as if a magnet beckoned them. Small, crushed stones were being fused back together with little tornadoes. The Sisters were all crouched down, protecting each other and Morgana from being hit by the flinging stones.

The temple was rebuilding itself! It was a spectacular sight.

Merlin took shelter near the well, but Arthur seemed to be fascinated. He leaped over some debris and ran to the front of the temple. I followed, “Where are you going?” I sang out, trying to catch up. The walls were almost ten feet high now.

“I know this!” Arthur shouted back to me.

What did that mean?

He was a fast runner! I finally caught up with him when he stopped to watch the temple entrance re-form. To me, this looked way to big to be called a temple! I’d call this a castle! “Holy shit!” was all I could think of to say.

It was magnificent! Several stories high for sure, with towers, banners depicting the golden dragon, and many, many cathedral style windows.

I glanced around and saw that the trees were no longer dead. They were lush and green and full of apples. The ground was now a rich green and flower bushes sprang up everywhere. Roses. Daisies. Tulips. So many flowers! Bright and beautiful flowers!

When the trembling finally stopped, Arthur pushed open the huge wooden doors and entered. I stayed close behind him. Another set of doors was just ahead of us. These doors were engraved with beautiful designs. But Arthur didn’t open those. Instead, he took off running to the left. Oddly, he seemed to know where he was going. No hesitation at all.

We stopped at a small set of carved out, double doors, and he pushed them open. “Camelot,” he said, his voice soft and shaky.

I stood speechless. The room we were now in had a huge, round table, dead center. I saw Arthur wipe away a tear, so I put my hand his shoulder. “The decor is slightly different,” he said, “but the layout is identical.” He walked over to the round table and ran his hand along the edge, “Now I know where Merlin got the idea for Camelot’s design.”

“So, Merlin designed Camelot?” I asked. I was pretty sure I had heard that in some story, but there is nothing like getting the truth clarified.

“He did,” Arthur replied, then started walking again.

I followed him through a small archway that lead down a narrow hallway. We came out through a door into a large room. This room had two carved doors at one end. I’m thinking they were the doors we passed when we first entered.

The size of this room reminded me of a basketball court. Several pillars, each with dragon banners, supported the high ceiling. A deep reddish-brown carpet stretched from the double doors all the way to an elevated platform. Two thrones sat atop the platform overlooking the giant room. “Wow,” was the only word that came to my mind. A real throne room!

As we walked out to the center of the room, I saw Arthur drop to one knee. I had been admiring the banners, so when I saw him bow down so quickly I was startled. I then spun around abruptly, nearly tripping over my own feet.

I faced the thrones, and Nimue was standing between them.

What a sight! She was tall and very slim. Her long, white hair was flowing around as if a steady draft of wind was coming up around her. Her gown was floor length, sparkly white, and had pale blue, embroidered accents. It, too, was flowing, but not like a breeze was blowing it. It was folding into itself as if it were made of liquid. It kind of reminded me of a lava lamp.

I fell to one knee next to Arthur as she walked down the platform steps towards us. Her posture was perfect, and it seems more like she was floating than walking.

“Rise,” she said in her haunting voice, “there is no need to bow to me.” She came closer and we both stood up. “It is because of you both, that Avalon is restored, and I thank you.” She turned her attention fully to Arthur, “Avalon is your home, Arthur.”

“I do not understand,” he said.

“You were conceived by Avalon’s magic,” Nimue said. Arthur nodded. He knew that much. Nimue continued, “when you reached a certain age, we were going to come for you. You would live here until Briton needed you again. Unfortunately, Modred changed everything.” Nimue’s face took on a sad expression, “You were meant to come here alive.”

Arthur made no comment. He just stared blankly at Nimue for a moment then looked down at the floor, “So much to grasp,” he said, almost in a whisper.

Nimue turned her attention to me, “Lady Chloe,” she said, her voice soft, “words can never express my gratitude to you. If you have never shown up here, none of us would be standing here now.”

I felt my face flush. I had never been good at accepting thanks or compliments, “I’m sure someone else would’ve eventually washed up here,” I said. “I am happy that I helped, though.”

“Avalon chooses who sees it, my child,” Nimue said, taking my hand. “There is a place for you, here, if you wish to stay. The choice is yours.” She smiled.

Speechless. I shot a quick glance at Arthur. He was looking at me. I couldn’t really tell what expression was on his face, as it was only a very quick glance on my part. I looked back at Nimue, “I...um... I don’t really know if eternal life is for me. Really. But thank you for the offer. That’s very kind.”

“Then I will honor your previous request and send you home. Come,” she said, still holding my hand. We walked through both sets of doors to the outside.

Merlin was standing just outside the main doors. I got quite a shock, really, as he was holding Modred’s head. Vivian was standing next to him. Merlin must have asked her to go get it. He held it up, “It is best we keep the head and body separated. Perhaps on opposite ends of the island? We do not want him coming back to life!”

“No, we do not,” Nimue agreed. She motioned to Vivian, “Take it down to where the Grail had originally been. Cover it in with rocks and dirt to hide it completely.”

Vivian bowed, “Yes, Lady.” She took the head and headed inside the castle, turning right. The round table room had been to the left. I saw that. I’m guessing that the right passage leads to the room where the altar was. The one that opened the underground tunnel. I had only seen that while it was in ruins.

A large shadow passed overhead. I coward at first, but ended up in awe as a golden dragon perched atop one of the towers. It was an adult, and its scales glistened in the sunlight. Even from that distance, I could see its eyes clearly. They were not red anymore, but a brilliant blue.

The remaining Sisters came around the corner. Morgana was walking with them. “Arthur!” she called out and broke into a run. Arthur ran to her and lifted her right off the ground. “I am so sorry,” she cried, burrowing her head into his shoulder, “so very sorry! I did not realize what a monster Modred had become.”

“It is not your fault, ” Arthur said, holding her tight, “You have no need to be sorry. All that matters now is that you are alive and well again.”

“And you,” Morgana said wiping away tears.

I never heard any more of their conversation. I just started admiring Avalon’s beauty. I wasn’t going to be here much longer, so I figured I’d cram my mind with as many positive images as I could.

Several small people came out from the trees. They were slender and looked very much like a full grown adult but on a smaller scale. The only best way to describe them would be to refer to Tolkien’s Middle-earth characters. They looked like the elves but were the size of hobbits. They were the elves of Avalon. I managed to overhear one of the Sisters comment, “the elves have come.” They had an olive green tint to their skin and wore clothes that seemed to be made of brown leaves. All of them, male and female, had long, straight hair, the same color as their skin.

A tiny creature fluttered by me. A pink lady. She could easily fit in the palm of my hand. Her hair, skin, and leafy dress were the same shade of rosy pink, and she had the wings of a dragonfly. A pretty little thing. She knelt on my shoulder and gave me a quick kiss on the cheek, giggled, and started to flutter around my head.

“Shoo!” Merlin said waving his hand at her, “leave our guest be!” He turned to me and smiled as the little thing flew away and joined others of her kind. All of them different colors. “Pixies are very playful,” he said. “Especially that one. Kiera is far from shy!”

“No harm done,” I said. It was then that I lost all train of thought. I’m pretty sure my whole body went limp. I could see over Merlin’s shoulder as a unicorn trotted up the cliff towards us. When it was about ten feet away it stopped. It was magnificent! It was completely white. Body, horn, tail, and mane. All pearly white. The only part of it that was not white was its eyes. They were large and sapphire blue. “I...I...” I couldn’t say anything. Nothing would come to my lips to speak. Tears streamed down my face as two more unicorns trotted up the cliff.

“They are beautiful,” Arthur said, now standing beside me.

“They are,” I choked out. I turned to him.

His eyes were sad, but he smiled, “This is my sister, Morgana,” he said turning his head towards her.

“Along with everyone else here on Avalon, I must extend my thanks to you,” Morgana said, and gave a slight bow of her head, her raven hair falling over her shoulders.

“No problem,” I said, feeling my face flush again.

“We are ready,” Merlin said, placing his hand on my shoulder. “Both Nimue and I remember the chant to open the circle gate.”

“I’m ready,” I said, shivering inside. I was finally going home!