Turning to Pebble, I reach out my other hand to pet his head. “Hey, buddy. Pebble, it’s alright. I got you. Who’s the good boy?”

Pebble easily nudges my palm, slowly easing out as he whimpers. It surely is painful, but I really need to earn more of his trust to make this faster.

I twine my fingers onto his mane. “Yes, yes. Easy, Pebble,” I assure as I trail on through his furs, making him aware that I am meant to save him and I understand that he really wanted to get this serpent out. When I draw closer to his back and tail, wherein the serpent still has its fangs onto the tail, hissing slightly than it will make its threat back to me or whatsoever, I resolve myself to steel my courage that there is no turning back this time.

The serpent immediately unclasps its mouth from Pebble’s tail and makes the threatening hissing sound at my direction, about to attack me.

But I will say that despite all my unluckiness and clumsiness, there remains the times that such turns out to be on my favor. And I am faster to fall into such mistakes. That despite tripping in between my legs, with the serpent heading straight to attack me, I slash helplessly in front of me, until I feel the bade hitting and cutting through the soft flesh of the serpent. At that moment that I am already kneeling on the ground, my hands easing my fall somehow, I see the serpent’s corpse in half.

Blood splatters on the ground, causing me to immediately move back in all fours and to the direction farther away from that sight. I pull myself up, shaking and breathing heavily with what just happened. I am still gripping the Swiss knife, its blade trickling with blood. Before the blood itself lingers on to my hands and fingers, I drop it hastily and take another step away until my back hits a nearby tree. Only then that I allow myself to sit down.

I am still shaking. Countless scenarios play inside my head about what could’ve happened if I haven’t been so lucky to kill that serpent at all. What if I stagger a second back there? Perhaps I’ve been thrashing myself, just like Pebble does, trying to remove the serpent from sinking its fangs onto my skin. Or worse… I almost died at that moment.

Tears prick my eyes just as the quiver on my heart seems to turn from the adrenaline rush to fear. But then, Pebble draws closer, settling back next to me as he nudges my hand with his head. I force myself to blink away the tears and look at him, realizing that he is actually thankful of me saving him despite him licking away the small cut on the back of my hand that I didn’t realize at first.

Pebble whimpers a low thanks and concern as he continues licking the wound to stop the bleeding. He really wants to inform me that he owes me his life and how brave I’ve been.

I smile softly as I lean to him at the moment that the cold wind starts to send shivers. I will say that being close to Pebble had offered, at least, some warmth and comfort, and I twine my uninjured hand’s fingers onto his mane, whispering, “It’s alright. We’re both fine. We’re both fine. Thank you.”

I know I need to say those words, no matter how soft I speak them. For me, it is already an assurance that both of us are alive. I need that form of assurance somehow.

I wake up to the sound of birds chirping, the rustle of grass, and the approached of steady footfalls against the ground. I immediately blink the sleep away and rub my eyes with my closed fists to see who is drawing closer to me. My senses seem to have been much more alert ever since the incident last night; but in all my exhaustion of what happened yesterday, I didn’t realize that I’ve fallen asleep leaning against Pebble.

Pebble also opens an eye of his to ensure that it is not danger which is drawing closer to the two of us.

As it appears, it had been Merlin himself who approaches us with a gratified smile. He remains the same, still the same clothes from yesterday with his familiar calm and kind features. The only difference is that he is carrying a bag, or is that a sack?

“Ah! Good morning, Merlin!” I greet, beaming and standing right away in front of him. I almost slip backward at my sudden action but I easily straighten myself up, keeping the backpack on.

“Well done, Eira. Though I musts say that this is too far from the worse things that are yet to come that had been entwined with your destiny,” he comments before he looks on at the clearing, easily hinting the dead serpent and the bloody Swiss knife that remain undisturbed since last night’s encounter. “I will assume that it had been a cruel night for the two of you.”

My smile drops and I bite my lower lip. “It is more of me freaking out and being absentminded with the possible dangers.”

Merlin didn’t hesitate to take my hand onto his own, surprising me. “I’m sorry with my abruptness. But this surely hurts last night,” he says as he brushes his thumb onto the cut at the back of my hand and it instantly closes, healing in a blink. “It is better to have it as good as new.”

“Thank you!” I say as I watch him draw closer to where Pebble is, and also does the same with his wounded tail.

Merlin chuckles a little as he takes the Swiss knife the next and with magic, instantly cleans its blade and hands it back to me. The blade had already been safely secured back when I take it from him. He places a comforting hand at Pebble’s forehead and mumbling something underneath his breath, Pebble just disappears into thin air, causing me to blink in surprise.

“W-What…”

He smiles. “I’ve just conjured him to protect you for the night. Since I can’t just march back with you without any head start to the people back in the palace.” He kneels and takes down his bag, opening it. “I’ve brought you breakfast and a dress for a change. And I’ve already talked with Sir Hector about you last night, so now that we head there, he’ll realize you as the one I believed to be part of Arthur’s destiny.”

Still can’t believe that Pebble is just one that Merlin had conjured and everything that he is explaining now, I somehow manage to grasp a portion of his explanation. That he’d prepared that my appearance will be as smoothly as possible. I take the breakfast that he had given me and as I eat, he continues with explaining.

“There’s only a few of us who are truly aware of the prophecy of your arrival to our world, Eira,” he says, “And explaining the matter to Sir Hector last night, he seems to believe the same thing that I do believe in. That you, Eira, are the one that we’ve been waiting for. The Unknown Seer who is meant to walk beside Arthur to make him the greatest king the world had ever known.”

“Hmm… I didn’t remember stories mentioning about one. In my world, I mean,” I tell him as I munch on the made sandwich.

He chuckles. “History depends on who wrote it down to be remembered by the next generation. But, in reality, we are expecting you.”

“And in my time, you’re supposed to be an old, comical man. Being Arthur’s teacher. Not his manservant.”

“Well, believe me, I am much older than I look. And for some reasons, I appear this way.” He shrugs. “How could I teach Arthur if I look like I am a few years younger than him? A manservant who seems to stick like glue to him can do the job of giving advice.”

“So whatever destiny I have here is also like that of yours. Having to deal with the choices that Arthur is to make.”

“Well, there’s a difference. I am a guide, Eira. Yours, however, is to be a companion,” Merlin corrects me before offering a leather flask. “From here on until the end.”

“But… you are his manservant, right? That means you’ll also be with him all the way,” I say, trying to understand the depth of his words.

He smiles softly. “Arthur turns out to be a friend, Eira. But it is not in the lines of my destiny to be always there for him. The very reason that I turned out to be his manservant is because of his father’s wishes. As an apprentice to the royal sorcerer, I am to guide Arthur and be one at the time that he becomes king. I am to serve him with my knowledge, wisdom and magic. Then, again, my destiny is to be a guide. A guide for him and the Unknown Seer.” His smile seems to sadden a little. “To Arthur and to you.”

I don’t think that I completely understand but Merlin’s eyes tell me that one day, I will understand what he means by those words alone.

By the time that I finish eating, he hands me a dress that he had asked for me to wear. As a gentleman as he is, he allows me to find a place to change my clothes, keeping them on my backpack as I struggle a little bit on how to wear the dress. And I blush when I’ve asked him if he can help with the laces behind the dress, and I can say that he is indeed skillful in serving.

“Ever since I became Arthur’s manservant, he is a little of a prat,” he explains once he’s done. “Making me a workaholic. But I got used to it. One point that I am not always with him as it appears to be.”

I chuckle a little and once I’m done, keeping my rubber shoes on, we head on our way. I pay attention with my walk right now as the trees start to grow thicker. Not to mention that their roots had been sprouting from the ground that will lead for me tripping much more of a likely chance. The grasses at this point hadn’t been completely cleared unlike from that clearing, and the ends of the forest doesn’t seem to end. But I do not mind, for Merlin is here, occupying the silence with his continuous explanation. And though he’d offered to take my backpack earlier, I insist for me to carry it.

“Forgive me if I’ll also be saying this,” he starts. “But I am still unsure of what had led you here on this world of ours, Eira. Your arrival, as I’ve said, had been one that I’ve seen from my visions of the future, but the reasons remain a mystery, even to me. In short, the reason of you being here is a dubious matter.”

“I don’t even have any idea why on earth I’ll be the one who’ll be here among the billions of others out there,” I tell him.

“But as I’ve also told you, there had been the prophecy about the coming of the so-called ‘Unknown Seer’,” he adds as some sort of assurance. “This Unknown Seer is given a very detailed duty to be accomplished in the future. To offer great help to the future king of Albion.”

“Arthur,” I remark.