Disclaimer: Merlin, Nimué and all references to Camelot are not owned by me. I am making no money from this. Also, I have included some notes at the end if anyone doesn’t understand some parts of the story. If you need me to explain anything else please don’t hesitate to ask.

In the heart of Camelot all slept peacefully as that mistress of night, sleep and her maidens did their work. All except one.

The lake deep under that ancient castle’s foundations lay still. Only the above skylight gave a reflection of the moon upon the vermillion waters.

Footsteps approached. First one bare foot, then another padded down the rocky stairwell. The moon saluted the figure in white as she approached the silent waters. Moments passed in silence. The maiden laid her wand upon the damp earth and took her post next to it. No-one witnessed the ancient song that fell from the maid’s lips nor the rippling of the water as it bubbled and frothed. Steam rose from the lake and enveloped the maid’s dark head in silvery smoke. She inhaled deeply and fell into a trance.

“Daughter.” A woman clad in armour beckoned her closer. Her voice was as hounds in that moment before the hunt begins. The maid could feel power and fury, freedom and wisdom, clarity and expectation within her. This was the Queen of all those women who lived free and wild, never paying tribute to any man. It thrilled the maid to be near her once more.

“Mother.” The maid replied, bowing low in reverence.

“It is time for you to gain your destiny. Camelot‘s years are nearing their close and it must be you who finishes this era.” The maid’s eyes widened. Not now! Her mind cried. Never! Her heart echoed the sentiment. Conscience was called to counsel. With firm hands she held the reins of both passion and reason vowing that she would do her duty to Camelot, to her mother, to him. She owed him that much.

A few tears fell but she wiped them away.

“I understand Mother. Tomorrow is Ostara, will it please you for the deed to be done then?” The Huntress inclined her head.

“This pleases me daughter, though I fear for you. While the wheel has turned to this path I now it is not what your heart desires. I pray you have the strength for this task.”

The maid turned away from the Huntress and walked back to her body. No Goodbyes were necessary, for how do you bid farewell to a Goddess?

“Nimué ! Nimué where are you?” The maid stirred in her sleep. The moon had long since vanished and now the bright Lord Sun shone down upon her. She greeted her brother silently as her mentor’s footsteps grew closer.

“Nimué ! You have spent the whole night here? All of Camelot has been looking for you!” His tone, while scolding, held no malice within it. If one read between the lines it was easy to see he had been genuinely worried for her. She smiled and brushed the dried mud from her gown.

“I am sure that Camelot has not missed me Merlin. I am merely a humble apprentice and you the teacher.” Merlin laughed and held out his hand. Nimué smiled and accepted the simple chivalrous gesture. Trust Merlin to try and imitate those Knights when around her. While his attempts were…sub-standard to say the least, he did possess a clumsy charm that made her smile.

“Well then will you accept that while they have not been grieved at your absence I certainly have?” A knowing smile was his reply.

“I am sure you missed having my help in preparing for the Ostara festival. The Goddess must be glad of her wedding feast that you have prepared. I am also sure” She continued in a slightly mocking tone, “that she will not be offended by burnt food.” Merlin groaned while the pair walked through Camelot together.

“We are gathered here today to celebrate the wedding of the maiden Goddess and the Sun God. It is this wedding that will bring about the warmer summer and the renewal of our crops. So I say now, enjoy the feast and enjoy the love the Lord and Lady bring.” Nimué tried to suppress a yawn at Merlin’s long-winded speech. His eyes had never failed to seek hers during the speech but her mother’s words reverberated in her mind. Instead of remaining by the Warlock’s side as a dutiful apprentice she left the crowds for the solitary woods. A Raven cawed overhead as she picked her way through the woods. Nimué watched the bird fly away back to the gathering and sighed; of course Merlin had sent his brothers to watch her.

Still, she mused. There was one definite way for her to slip the net.

It took but a moment of concentration for Nimué to drift into the form of a hare. Scratching her long ears the Sorceress bounded through the forest without a care in the world. She ignored the cawing of the hawk behind her. While it may scare the other creatures she knew the bird would do her no harm. Inwardly she rolled her eyes affectionately. It was so typical of her teacher to take the form of a Merlin-hawk.

Nimué paused by a small stream. She had come this way many years before, long before she had been claimed by Merlin as his apprentice. The black stones had risen out of the earth many millennia ago. Nimué had often cast her spells around the stones and felt comforted by the presence of the ancient ones. One stone stood out from the others though. It was upright, not flat and instead of being a jet black seemed to resemble the colour of freshly spilled blood.

Secretly Nimué felt a little intimidated by the stone. In her inner eye the stone appeared to be the monarch of all the others, the black stones bowing their rocky heads to the regal monolith. Instinctively she knew that her mother had placed the stone there and thanked her silently. At least Diana had known she would not be able to kill the one she loved.

But, Nimué mused, was imprisoning him any better? She tried to block conscience from her mind and leapt onto the first of the stones. It warmed under her feet as it recognised it’s mistress. Merlin was not the master of this place, she was the more powerful here. It was the perfect place to enact her plan.

“So this is where you have been going!” Merlin sounded too cheerful for her mind to comprehend. Didn’t he know? She inclined her head in greeting and transformed back into her normal form. Biting her lip she steeled herself for the inevitable.

“Do you want me to stand near that stone for this?” Nimué’s eyes widened. Merlin smiled wanly and gestured to the bloody stone. Idly he walked up to the stone and spread his arms wide.

“But…how? I mean-” Merlin touched his finger to her lips, quieting her protests. Blue eyes met brown with an understanding gaze. No pity was within them.

He cupped her face in his hand. “Last night I had a strange dream. The Huntress came to me and told me of my future, specifically my immediate future. Oh Magelet, I wish you didn’t have to do this. Yet I can‘t see any other path.”

Nimué stepped forward and wrapped her arms about Merlin’s waist. Resting her head against his chest she listened to his heartbeat. Maybe one day their paths would converge again but for now this was the end.

“One day our paths will join again. I‘ll wait for that day.”

Nimué kissed her love deeply. He reached out and held her close. Both knew that this may be the end of all they knew and loved but somehow it didn’t matter. Nimué shut her eyes and pushed with all her power. Deep inside she felt him being torn away from her.

“Forgive me.” She whispered to his rapidly-fading mind. His hand stretched towards her, still trying to touch her before it disappeared into the stone, the surface rippling like water before stilling once more. There was no trace of the world’s greatest mage. Nothing but her memories and his kiss. Nimué kissed the stone briefly before walking into the future with a hollow mind and body.

Stonehenge.

One of the world’s most infamous magical sites. No one knows why it was built or who built it. No one knows what significance the stone in the centre, the sunstone has or why they built the stones around it. No one with a normal lifespan anyway.

The guards of Stonehenge didn’t notice the wraith walking across Salisbury plain one lonely evening. All they felt was an overwhelming sense of peace, of things coming to their true end. The wraith laughed faintly and took out her wand. Once more Ostara had come around and at last it was time.

She sang softly to herself as the circle was thrice drawn around the sunstone. Sprinkling herbs and flowers about the stone her voice took on a mystical air. The wind picked up as the sunstone began to glow softly. It shivered and rippled like a stormy lake. Her eyes widened as a hand appeared from the stone.

“Merlin…” He gathered her into his arms. She stared at him, he still looked the same.

“I told you that one day our paths would come back together.” The taller man laughed and hugged his Magelet tightly. Behind them the sun rose, saluting the strength of their love.

The end.

Authors notes: Okay, there are some points that I think most people would need to know to understand the full story so I’ll put them here.

In the traditional version of the story Merlin is trapped by Nimué who he’s fallen in love with. She evilly tricks him into teaching her all he knows and then she tricks him into a cave (though in some versions, as above a stone is involved). She then seals the cave/stone and leaves him and Camelot to be destroyed.

I had some problems with this as if Merlin is the world’s greatest Magician then surely he would know what Nimué was trying to do? It wouldn’t make sense for a mage at the height of his power to be tricked so easily so I think that the part where he’s tricked is merely a part put in by some Christian to try and cast Merlin either as a Paedophile who wants to have Nimué (and she‘s therefore justified to trap him) or as a man who is tricked by an evil woman who is the “root of all sin.” So I have instead given Merlin a much pleasanter end by showing that he understood what his destiny was and willingly let Nimué seal him into the stone.

The Goddess Diana also appears in this story to both Merlin and Nimué. Her connection is stronger to Nimué though. This is found in an early text about Nimué where her father was said to be devoted to that Goddess. The Goddess therefore blessed Nimué saying that “she would be beloved by the wisest of all men and surpass him.” Referring to Merlin. Diana was therefore the most likely deity to talk to Nimué and call her as daughter. Nimué also calls Diana mother in return.

In this story there is also the mention of the pagan tradition of the wheel and the day of Ostara. The wheel refers most obviously to the seasons but it can also refer to a person’s good or bad luck, as in a person can have a period of bad luck but it will change to good luck again. In this story the Goddess knows that it is the wheel that has changed to this fate and no-one can fight it. Nimué also knows that while the wheel has turned to the bad luck I.e. The trapping of Merlin it will turn again to the good luck and she will be able to free him. Ostara is called “lady day” and is the day of the maiden Goddess, who was sometimes called Diana. This seemed like an appropriate day where the power of one who followed the God (Merlin) would be weaker than one who followed the Goddess (Nimué).

The final point is the addition of Stonehenge. This is one of the most famous magical sites in the world and yet no-one knows who made it. There is also one most important stone in the centre that the sun hits. While I am not sure if it’s referred to as the Sunstone it is this stone that Merlin was sealed into (called the Bloodstone in the earlier part of the story). During the years following his entrapment Nimué is the person who has built Stonehenge as a tribute from the stones around the blood-stone and would know how to free Merlin once the wheel has turned again.