Misty Merlin

Some strange things have been happening around here lately. It all started on a rainy, gloomy day during spring break. My mom came up to me. "Lilith, I know you don't want to see that new movie, but I do. You want to come with me to the mall so you can shop? You can invite Allie if you like." Allie is my best friend. Her name is short for Allison. She's 13, like me "Great. I'd like that," I replied. I called Allie. "Hey, Allie. It's me. Do you want to come to the mall with me?" I asked. "Sure. What time?" She asked. "Give me about fifteen minutes. Okay?" "That's fine. Bye." I hung up the phone. I grabbed my wallet. My mom and I got in the car and drove off to Allie's house. Allie ran to the car and got in. "Hi!" She said. We immediately started talking and laughing.

Finally we arrived at the mall. "Okay girls, I'll meet you in front of the movie theater in a couple hours." My mom said. "All right. See you then." I said. Allie and I window shopped until I spotted a large sign that said "SALE!" "C'mon! Lets go!" I exclaimed. So we did. Almost immediately we ran wild grabbing things off racks. The cashier looked at us wearily. After buying my finds, I had a quarter left. "Great. I'm broke," I said. On my way out, I saw a rack that I hadn't noticed before. It had one long nightshirt on it. It was black and had a blue and purple teardrop on it. Underneath the teardrop were the words "Misty Merlin." Weird. Cool. Amazingly, it was my size and cost only 25 cents! I went up to the front of the store and paid. Then, both of us completely out of money, Allie and I left.

Slipping the Misty Merlin shirt over my head, I sighed. It had been a long day. I settled into bed and looked out my window. Like a giant crystal ball, a blue and purple eye rose silently to my window looking at me.

I screamed. My mom came running in. "What is it?" She asked. I pointed to my window, unable to speak. "What?" My mom asked. I looked out the window. The eye was gone. "Nothing." I muttered. "It must have been a nightmare." "Ah. Well get some sleep. Goodnight." I fell into a restless sleep.

"Good morning, Mom." I said. "Hi, sweetie." She replied. I poured myself some cereal and sat down. "I had the weirdest dream last night. I saw an eye out the window and when you came in it was gone." I said. "Yeah, you did say something was wrong with your window when you woke me up last night. What was that about an eye?" "Nothing." I said quickly. So it really happened, I thought.

As soon as I finished with breakfast, I called Allie. She was the only one I could trust. "Allie! There's something important I want to tell you." I spilled out my story. "Yeah right." She said. "It's true!" I insisted. She must have sensed the urgency in my voice. "Okay." Allie said. "I'll be right over."

Allie came in through the door. "So you're saying..." She started. "Shh! Not here!" I interrupted. "Outside." We walked out back. "That's where I saw it." I pointed. Allie gasped. "What?" I asked. "Th-th-that" She stuttered nervously. I turned around and screamed. Everything went red. Then black.

"Will she be okay?" I recognized Allie's concerned voice. "I don't know." A beautiful mystical voice said. "My head hurts." I moaned. I sat up. My arms were black like charcoal. I moaned again. "What happened?" I asked. "My name is Merlin. I am sorry that I scorched you. I was startled." "You're a dragon!" I gasped in awe. Merlin nodded his big head proudly. "Anyway Lilith, we were wondering about how we should tell your mom about your being burnt." Allie said. "Lemme see." I said trudging to the birdbath. The blackened face I saw was far from my own.

A bloody black mess, I flopped on the grass. "Perhaps I can be of some assistance." A horse said trotting up. No, it was a unicorn! "I'm Misty." Said the unicorn. "How did you get so hurt?" Misty looked at Merlin. "Merlin, you didn't!" Merlin hung his head in head in shame. "Misty, I didn't mean to hurt the child. She startled me. " "Well, now I have to fix it. Come here, my child." Misty said. She put her horn to my head. A strange sensation swept through my body, and in an instant, I was fully healed. "Thank you, thank you!" I said. Allie ran over to me to see if I was real. "Thank God you're back." She said as if I hadn't been there a moment ago. Then something clicked. "Wait a minute. How did you get here?" I asked Misty and Merlin. "Someone summoned us with the teardrop. The summoner." Merlin said. I looked from the dragon to the unicorn. Both had those blue purple eyes. "Merlin. Misty. Misty Merlin! It all makes sense! My shirt!" I exclaimed. "Where did you find it?" Merlin asked. "At the mall." Allie replied. "Let us go!" Said Misty. "How will we get there?" I asked. "I mean my mom is cool, but she would freak if I asked her to take me, Allie, a dragon, and a unicorn to the mall. Plus, you guys wouldn't fit in the car." I added that last part to Misty and Merlin. "We can fly, of course." Said Merlin looking annoyed. "I have wings you know."

We flew. We were above the clouds so no one could see us. Allie and I held tightly to the spikes on Merlin's back to stay upright. Misty was sitting in front of us near Merlin's head, as much as a unicorn can sit. I squinted my eyes and saw something gray in the distance. "Hey! I see an airplane!" I said. "It's coming straight at us!" "What are we going to do?" Allie wailed.

The plane slowed down a bit. Merlin later told us the pilots' conversation. "What is that thing?" One pilot asked the other. "I dunno. Maybe it's an alien!" Said the other. "Let's try to talk to it." All this time Misty and Merlin had been conferring silently. "All right. I'll do it." Merlin said sighing heavily. He swung his tail, wrapping it around the plane. Misty gently touched her horn to the nose of the plane. Merlin put the plane back and flew on. "What was that?" Allie asked. "I stopped time for them. When we pass, they won't remember a thing." Misty said. "Look, we're almost at the mall." I said. "Okay. I'll land behind this mall of yours. No one will see us there." Merlin said. So he did. We all climbed off his back. Misty and Merlin changed. Misty to a girl and Merlin to a boy. "We thought we might fit in better this way." Misty explained. "Definitely." Allie agreed. "C'mon, let's go." So we all walked into the mall. Allie and I led the way to the store where we found the shirts. A sign on the door read "Out of business." No one was inside. I tested the doorknob. Unlocked. I motioned for the others to follow me and sneaked inside.

We looked around. The racks were all gone. We went to the back room to see if anyone was there. I gasped. A blue and purple spinning thing like a wormhole in the middle of the room. "The portal!" Misty cried happily. "Wha?" Allie asked. "The portal is how we came here. Your shirt summoned us." Merlin said nodding at me. "But while we were away we have been needed. The Gray Knight is trying to take over the kingdom. He is succeeding. We must get back to fight them. Will you help us?" Misty asked. Allie and I looked at each other. Merlin put in quickly, "No one will notice you are gone. Misty will see to this." "Well..." Allie started. I cut her off. "Let's do it!" I exclaimed.

Misty and Merlin turned back to dragon and unicorn. It was really cramped with Merlin's bulk filling up nearly the whole room. "Can you move out of the room? I'm going to jump." Merlin said. So we did. Merlin walked through the portal. The tip of his tail stuck out, and was instantly sucked in. "Go on through." Misty urged. "You first." Allie insisted nervously. I took a deep breath and jumped through the portal.

The impact of the ground stunned me. I looked behind me. I saw the portal about ten feet in the air. It suddenly disappeared. I looked around. I was in a lush meadow. I saw Misty and Merlin conferring a few feet away. But where was Allie? Shakily, I stood up. "Allie!" I yelled. No one answered. I walked toward where the portal had been. The grass sloped down, and I walked to where it did. I saw Allie lying dead on the ground.

I ran over to her. She was only unconscious thank goodness, but breathing normally. However, it didn't look like she would be waking up any time soon. I remembered Misty's power that healed my burns. Maybe, just maybe she could help Allie. "Misty! Allie's hurt!" I yelled out. A moment later, Misty came trotting up. Merlin serpentined behind. Misty looked at Allie. Silently, she knelt beside Allie and touched her horn to Allie's head. Allie stirred, and her eyes fluttered open. "Huh?" She asked. "The fall from the portal caused you to pass out." Misty said. "Where are we?" Allie asked me. I shrugged. "I was going to ask them the same thing." "We are on the border of the kingdom of King Edward IV." Merlin said. "You mean..." Allie said searching for the right words. "Yes." Misty said. "We have traveled back in time.

Misty and Merlin lead us to the kingdom. After a long time, we reached the castle. The guards at the drawbridge looked startled. Misty whispered something into one guard's ear. He bowed and motioned for us to proceed. We started into the castle. "Are you hungry?" Merlin asked. I then realized that the time travel had literally left my stomach empty. "Famished." Allie said. So Misty led us to the kitchen. Merlin went back outside to "get an ox." Poor ox! But everyone has to eat. In the kitchen Misty told a surprised cook "Please give the children a proper lunch. If possible, I would like to have some apples, carrots, and oats." "Yes miss unicorn, right away." The cook bowed. "I guess unicorns are rare even in this time." I muttered. Allie nodded in agreement.

We took the food outside. Merlin was finishing off his ox- ugh. Allie and I sat down and took the cloth off the wicker basket. Hot rolls, fresh meat, fruit, and pastries. Plus Misty's carrots, apples, oats, and some sugar as an extra treat. We ate everything hungrily. In only five minutes Misty was licking sugar from her lips, Allie and I were wolfing down pastries, and Merlin was using an ox rib as a toothpick. "When the portal was invented we found that the food you consumed earlier disappears. We could not fix that fact." Misty tried to explain our abnormal appetites. "I'm tired." Said Allie. "Okay. You take a rest. I'll walk around." I said. So Misty, Merlin, and I walked around the perimeter of the castle.

When we arrived again at the spot Allie had been, no one was there. "I should have known. One of the Gray Knight's men took her," Misty said darkly. "But do not worry. The Gray Knight has some strange phobia of hurting women. No one knows why. Perhaps he was afraid of his mother. So Allie will be fine. You must fight the Gray Knight. Then he will give in to all of your demands." Merlin explained. "We would have killed him, but we would not be able to get our supplies and people that he has held hostage." But I was still focusing on that first part. Can't hurt women? Like a spring bud opening, an idea blossomed in my brain.

One of us gone, we headed back to the castle. Misty and Merlin changed to human. We walked up a winding staircase. At an archway, we walked in. A guard stopped us. "Names?" "Misty Merlin. And a friend." That last part wasn't necessary, so the guard bowed and moved out of the way before Misty had finished speaking. "The king is awaiting you." He proclaimed royally. I nervously stepped into the room.

King Edward sat on his throne royally dressed and wearing a jeweled crown atop his head. "Misty. Merlin. How good to see you. Please, let us go into the other room so you can assume your original shapes." The king led us to a giant room, in which four of Merlin could easily fit. After Misty and Merlin changed back to their normal selves, the king stared at me. "Who are you?" He asked. "I am Lilith, your highness." I said bowing clumsily. "She is a friend." Merlin said. "The one who summoned us." The king smiled. "Don't worry. I'm 'cool'. That's what you future kids say, right?" I burst out laughing. "What did I say wrong?" King Edward asked. Merlin shrugged his massive shoulders. After I recovered from my laughing fit, King Edward asked me to sit down. "What did you two bring her for?" He asked. "Well there was another. Allie. They were going to help us fight the Gray Knight. But now it seems hopeless." Misty said sadly. "Well I have an idea." I said. "You know how he can't hurt girls?" Excitedly, I told them my plan.

We found some old armor of a knight in training. "You sure this will work?" I asked, suddenly unsure of myself. "I think so." Muttered King Edward. He was busy finding a sword and shield for me. "Aha!" He exclaimed. "A bit rusty, but it'll do." I examined them. They were rusty. "Sorry." The king apologized. "The Gray Knight took all our new weapons." "Don't worry. If my plan works, It won't matter." I said. King Edward led me to a changing room with the armor and weapons. As I was pulling on the metal pants, I saw something made of mesh. I fished it out. Strange. It looked almost like a.... "Medieval jock strap!" I said laughing. I tossed it aside. When I was fully clothed in armor, I looked in the mirror and lowered the visor. "Looks convincing enough." I spun around. "Oh, hi Merlin. Ready?" I asked. "Ready." Merlin said. He confidently blew a small stream of fire out of his nostrils.

I rode Misty out to the battlefield. I was good at riding horses, but she was no ordinary horse. She was going at a quick canter. "Don't wear yourself out." I whispered. I saw the Gray Knight waiting in the center of the field. "A young one, eh? You don't stand a chance." The Gray Knight sneered. I said nothing. I had to keep my cover. He lunged forward, aiming for my stomach. Misty jumped out of the way just in time. I made a feeble attempt to scare his horse, so the horse would throw him off. The Gray Knight stuck his sword into a slit in my visor, jabbing into my eye.

The pain was agonizing. I screamed. Luckily, it wasn't a girly scream. It felt like.... well it felt like a sword being jabbed into my eye, which was exactly what had happened. "Misty!" I moaned softly in pain. She understood. Misty walked away from the Gray Knight, so he would not see what was happening, and turned to face me. Weakly, I flipped open my visor. Even out of my good eye, everything was fading. The sword had pierced my brain, and I could tell I was dying. "Misty..." "Hush. I will have to heal you with my horn. This will hurt a lot." Misty warned. Out of my mostly blind eyes, I saw the clouds. One looked like a unicorn. Pretty. No wait, wasn't that Misty's head? Everything went dim. Suddenly, I felt a searing pain in my hurt eye. This time, it went really deep into my brain. I saw Misty's eye near my face. Saw? I could see? I felt a little better. Better? "Misty!" "Lilith, are you all right? I wasn't quite sure if that would work." Misty asked concerned. I nodded. "You will be weak. Better get on with your plan." Misty turned around and walked back to the Gray Knight. I took off my helmet and let it fall to the ground. His eyes widened in shock. Merlin came out of his hiding place and blew fire in the Knight's direction. "I surrender! What do you want?" the Gray Knight asked, practically in tears. "Give King Edward back anything you took from him. Release my friend. And be afraid. Be very afraid." I said.

The king declared a holiday in my honor. It lasted for days. The Gray Knight had fled, and no one had seen him since. It was rumored that he committed suicide. But soon Allie and I became homesick. So before long we decided to leave. We said goodbye to King Edward. "I will be ever grateful for you saving the kingdom." He said. It came time to say goodbye to Misty and Merlin. Allie, Misty and I were crying. Merlin was too. Big, fat blue and purple blobs of water plopped to the ground. Dragon tears. "Don't cry too much." I scolded. "You'll cause a flood." I hugged Misty and Merlin and turned to face the portal. I jumped through.

Allie and I landed in my backyard. "I have to get home. My mom will be worried." Allie said. "Allie. Did that really happen?" I asked. She nodded and left. I went inside and hugged my mom. "I missed you." I said. She looked puzzled. "You wouldn't understand." I said and laughed. "Honey. What's wrong with your eyes?" My mom asked, confused. She handed me a mirror. I looked at my eyes. They were blue and purple.