Chapter 12

Merlin's feet could be heard as he pattered down the empty hallway he could feel his books slipping but he couldn't stop to fix it. He turned hard around the corner and ran right into Master Renault.

"Merlin!" he growled lowly.

"I', so sorry but Mistress Kate called me into her office and wrote me a note so you wouldn't get upset about it." The words gushed from the boy's mouth as the largest of the four books he was carrying slipped from his grip.

"Give it here." Renault held out his palm as Merlin did acrobatics trying to hold the other three books in one hand while he reached around with his other hand for the note Kate had given him. He put the slip of paper in Master Renault's outstretched hand. He unfolded it and read the neat handwriting of the head mistress. He gave a grunt and refolded the paper and put it in his own pocket.

"You have one hour. I'm only giving you this extra time because Mistress Kate told me to though. In the future I expect better punctuality skills out of you."

"Yes sir it might not even take that long." Merlin bent down to pick up the fallen book and rearrange his load so that it wouldn't slip.

"Well what are you waiting for? Go! I won't have the rest of the class waiting up for you."

Merlin didn't answer. He was to busy running down the hall towards his rooms. Renault shook his head at the still small boy and he turned back to get the rest of the class organized.

As soon as Merlin got in his room he threw the books on the bed and grabbed his bag and started throwing the items he would need for the trip into it. Then with a quick mental check to make sure he'd packed everything he changed his robe to his pants and shirt. Then he ran back out of the room and down the hallways to the field where the rest of the class was waiting. One of the other boys sneered at him as he came out onto the field.

"And once again we are graced with his majesty's presence. I do hope you did not go through to much trouble to join us today."

"Thello!" Renault growled in his direction. Roise Thello snapped his mouth shut and turned away.

"Good you're finally here. Now Merlin get your things onto your horse and we'll be off." Renault said to Merlin before turning to help another student with her horse's saddle. Merlin found his horse already lined up and saddled for him and he stood up on a stool set up for his convenience so that he could check his horse and pack his bags up properly.

When he was done he went back over to Master Renault.

"I'm ready."

"So fast? Are you sure you checked everything?"

"Yes sir, I don't want to hold everyone up this time."

"Well at least you have your assets straight, but I don't want to find that you've over looked something later when your saddle isn't on correctly."

"No sir I promise I haven't over looked anything." Merlin continued to stand there wishing they would just go so that the other kids wouldn't tease him like last time.

"Did you eat this morning?" Renault asked.

"I wasn't hungry this morning sir, and besides I'd already promised Mistress Frediune to come early and do something with her."

"Okay but no complaining about being hungry got it?"

"Yes sir."

"Good then lets get started." Merlin started back towards his horse as Renault called for all the students to mount up.

As much as Merlin liked the horses and some of the things Renault taught in his class he couldn't stand the teasing. Roise was the leader of most of the teasing but most of the kids got on his case about him still being so small. After a full year at the school Merlin still hadn't grown more that an inch and so that hadn't helped him any.

The group of first year students all mounted up and at Renault's command they headed down the road leading out of the school grounds. Merlin hadn't left school property since he had arrived and so the sights that filled his eyes as the group began their ride outside of the Mage City.

As they approached the gate with whom he had spoken with upon his entrance, Merlin couldn't help saying hello.

"Well if it isn't my little friend Merlin. And how's school?" the spirit asked. Merlin was the last in line and so he stopped for a minute to talk so no one would hear him.

"They tease me a lot. But everything else is okay." Merlin answered.

"That's good, you'd better hurry though because you'll get behind, and you don't want to get too behind outside the gates." The spirit's voice went low and Merlin felt a chill.

"Is there something out there?"

"Yes, and that is why you'd better get going. Hurry now and listen to Master Renault, he knows what he's doing."

"Good bye then." Marline waved and then trotted up to the end of the group.

As the gate slowly closed behind the group the spirit looked on at the small child following the group. He didn't fit in with them, that much was quite obvious. There was something about him that set him off from the other students.

"Arisha!" a voice on the wind called.

"Majesty?" she called back in surprise.

"I said there was to be no interaction with him!" Jaleen screeched.

"But he spoke to me!"

"You didn't have to answer him! Am I now loosing my own people? Surely you would no better than to go against my orders. There will be punishments from now on if anyone disobeys my orders." Then the voice died down and all that was left was the silent threat.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Merlin hummed to himself as he sat easily in his saddle. His horse, Calivina a chestnut stallion, held up the seemingly nonexistent weight easily as they walked along behind the rest of the class.

"Cal have you ever been out of the Mage City?" Merlin asked his horse. Cal jerked his head up causing Merlin to grip a bit tighter on the reigns.

"So I guess if we get lost you might be able to get us back to the school?" this time Calivina stopped and turned his head up at his rider and nipped his leg.

"Hey stop that! Okay fine so you don't know the way home. I guess we'd better keep up then huh?" Merlin urged Cal back into a walk and made him go a bit faster so that they weren't too behind.

"Merlin!" came Renault's commanding voice from the front of the line.

"Coming!" he called back. "Come on Cal let's go." He whispered to Cal who started a fast walk towards the front of the line.

"Merlin I need you to talk with me for a minute." Renault said as Merlin came up next to him.

"Yes sir?"

"What were you doing back at the gate? You stopped there and I was hoping I wouldn't have to stop and wait for you." Renault spoke in low tones knowing about how Merlin didn't like others hearing about his personal affairs. Even at five he had a clear personality.

"I was talking with the gate spirit. I haven't spoken with her since I first arrived at the school." Merlin spoke back.

"All right then. But I'm not comfortable with you so far behind, there are things in this forest and even I could not save you from them." Now that scared Merlin into staying with the group at all times. If Renault could not stop a creature than it must be really big and bad.

The group rode on down the darkened road until the insufficient light had completely vanished. Renault called the halt and began setting up torches around an area where they would spend the night. Merlin didn't exactly enjoy this sort of trip but he decided not to complain for fear of the others getting on him about it.

He, with the help of Renault, unloaded his bags and began to spread out his bedding. He set it away from the main cluster and also away from the glow of the fire. Renault watched in interest as he sat upon his bed with a candle and read from book while the others children were socializing around a fire ring they were creating.

"Merlin, don't you want to go help them?" he asked looming over the huddled figure. The forest had its own chill and so Merlin had put on his coat.

"Not really, I promised to finish this work for Mistress Frediune and I won't have time when we get back." Merlin looked back to his reading.

"You work to hard Merlin." Renault muttered as her turned back to supervise the others in building a fire.

After the fire had been built and everyone had eaten Merlin still hadn't moved from his spot on hid blanket. Renault started to tell everyone to settle down so that they would be fresh the next morning and they slowly peeled away from their groups to get their stuff ready for bed.

Once everyone was settled in Renault set up his own blanket near the edge of the cluster of children he dared not sleep for fear something might come and drag one of his students off into the darkness. The darkness seemed to swallow up any noise that should have been present in any other forest.

Renault felt some odd feeling coming over him as his eyes drooped closed.

Meanwhile up above in the trees Arisha sat on a tree limb beside her queen.

"But majesty he is but a young human child! Surely you do not wish him to suffer?" Arisha said as the two looked down at the boy who slept quietly.

"Someday all of you will understand that sometimes the path to wisdom and strength requires suffering." Jaleen answered in her low voice.

"Even for one so young and small?"

"If you saw him as I did you would not see his outward appearance. I see his heart, and his soul. And deep inside that small, young boy lies a power the world has never seen in centuries. And it is the suffering and sorrow in his life that will bring that power out."

"Yes." Arisha was interrupted by a rustling noise below her. The two goddesses looked down to see what was happening. Three older boys were quietly sneaking towards the edge of the camp where Merlin slept peacefully.

"Shhh, you wake up Master Renault!" Roise whispered harshly. They continued as quietly as they could towards Merlin, a large spider in their hands.

The crept up next to his bed and placed the large spider gently on his chest. Then they hurried back to their beds and jumped in. the large black spider began its climb towards the boy's face.

"Majesty!" Arisha cried pointing at the black creature now on the boy's neck.

"Hush, let it be. The spider will not harm him, watch." The queen commanded.

Arisha watched horrified as the spider stood on Merlin's face. It turned back towards the boy's neck and raised its head to bite. A scream cut the thick air like an axe as Merlin sat up from the excruciating pain in his neck. The fate of the spider was a bit different that what Arisha had expected though. As soon as Merlin's blood touched it the thing burned to ash.

It started as a smoke coming from the spider's mouth. Then its body burst into flame as it ran off into the forest. A small snicker escaped Roise's lips as he watched Merlin jumping around trying to find the source of the pain.

Renault was shaken awake by the sound of someone screaming. He was instantly awake and up. He mentally slapped himself for letting him fall asleep. The scream had come from where Merlin had set up his own bed.

He rushed over to find Merlin sweating and jumping around shaking out his blanket.

"Merlin? What is it?" Renault demanded as he took hold of the boy's shoulders and shook his gently. Merlin stopped but he still shook slightly.

His face was turning red from the poison flowing through his veins. Blood flowed freely from the bite marks on his neck.

"OH Goddess! Merlin can you hear me?" Renault shouted shaking Merlin hard.

"Renault?" he whispered as his eyelids began to fall.

"Merlin stay awake! If you go to sleep you won't wake up!" Renault called over the oldest of his students and gave quick instructions.

"He's been bitten by a Srent, I have to get his to the City immediately or he'll die! You stay awake a watch the other and I'll be back as soon as I get him to help." Renault gave his directions while mounting his horse with Merlin in front.

"Yes sir I will." He answered as Renault sped away as fast as he could go.

Renault bent low and shouted in Merlin's ear for him to keep awake. It took nearly an hour for them to reach the gates to the City. The gates opened within seconds of their arrival and he rushed down the road as fast as he could to find a physician. He raced to tall building in the center of the city and leaped off with Merlin still in his arms.

"Doctor! I need the doctor!" he cried through the hallway. A man came up the hall and asked Renault what was wrong.

"A Srent bit his neck! And he's falling asleep." Renault held the boy out for the man to see. He examine the bite, which was still bleeding, and then the boy's eyes and temperature.

"It's pretty bad. Come with me and we'll get the head physician to come look at it." He led Renault down the hall to a room with a single bed in the center and told him to put the boy down and wait for a moment while he went to fetch the head physician.

It was only a few seconds before the doctor rushed into the room with a small jar in his hands. He opened the jar and smeared the salve inside it on the bite. The bleeding continued but it began to flow black instead of red.

"The salve will pull out most of the poison." He explained to Renault who was watching on in horror.

"Master Ferrell I hate to have to do this but I left all my other students in the forest." Renault said to the doctor.

"Well then you'd better go! We'll contact Mistress Kate immediately and we'll do our best. But you really shouldn't leave them out there alone for too much longer."

"Thank you sir." Renault bowed and hurried back to his students. The two doctors fussed over the boy trying to stop the bleeding after the majority of the poison had flowed out.

"His body has absorbed too much of the poison for him to recover in time." Ferrell commented.

"So what will happen?" asked his assistant.

"You'd better fetch Mistress Kate and someone from the council, hurry!" he gave the man a shove out the door as he turned his attention back to the bleeding.

~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~

A/N: Well how is it going? I skipped a year so things would get off to a better start. But the spider was just beginning of what's to come.