"It was my honor, Sir - uh, Wizard," Lancelot said, as he bowed his head solemnly.
"You deserve a reward, young Lancelot," replied Merlin, his smile making his blue eyes seem warm.
"You know my name..." Lancelot breathed in awe.
"Why of course, you introduced yourself in the hall. I have an excellent memory," he chuckled, tapping his forehead gently.
Speechless, the teenager simply nodded yes.
"Now, about that reward. Follow me," Merlin said, as he ascended the stairs.
Lancelot followed, and soon found himself in a cluttered room.
The most prominent object was a massive ball, which looked much like a clear Cat's eye marble, with thin white streaks swirling within.
There were jars with various labels on them, none of which he could read. But one was looking back at him, in the form of thousands of eyes.
Averting his own eyes, Lancelot said "I really don't expect anything, anyone would have done the same."
"Nonsense, you acted with the utmost bravery. I just need to decide what fits you," Merlin replied, stroking his long beard.
Lancelot continued to look around. "Are those real whales?" He asked in amazement, as something no bigger than a grain of rice breached happily. A whole wall housed a miniature sea, full of life.
"Yes. I found each of them washed up on shore, and returned them to the ocean several times before I just decided to keep them here, for their own good. I was afraid that one day they would wash up somewhere else, so I created a home for them, without any shoreline," replied Merlin solemnly.
"Incredible..." Lancelot said, staring at the miniature world through a magnifying glass.
"Thank you. Ah, this is perfect," Merlin said as he picked up a small, thin white candle.
Lancelot frowned, then quickly remembered his manners.
"Thank you, Wizard. How did you know?" he asked, in what he hoped was a sincere voice.
Merlin responded with a long, hearty belly laugh.
Lancelot stood still, unsure of how to react.
"I'm sorry, Lad. That was the funniest thing I've experienced in a long time," Merlin said, wiping his eyes.
"The reward isn't the candle, but what it will be able to do. Now let's see... I think you are likely to get into a lot of trouble, especially if you keep going around poking dragon tails. If that big lizard had been real, wouldn't it have been useful if you could disappear?" asked Merlin.
"Yes, I very much would have wanted to be gone," he admitted, as he felt heat spread across his face.
"There's no shame in that, Lad. I know of several of our knights who would have run the other way in your place," Merlin said with a little sadness.
The great wizard took the candle over to the crystal ball, and set it carefully on top.
"Young Lancelot, I will have to ask you to please step outside for a minute. I have the utmost faith in your integrity, but a wizard needs his secrets," Merlin said kindly.
"Yes, of course," the young man said, hurrying to comply.
A few minutes later, Lancelot saw a brilliant dark blue light flash through the cracks in the door. Then the door opened of its own accord, and Merlin beckoned him in.
"Wow," breathed Lancelot, as the candle slowly lost its blue glow, once again becoming a normal white color.
"This should help keep you a little safer. If you want to become invisible, simply light it and say invisibilis.
At that, Merlin disappeared.
"Wow! Thanks so much! How do you undo it?" Lancelot asked, almost jumping up and down in his excitement.
"With the candle lit, you say visibilis. It can also take you anywhere you have been before. Use the word itum and then think about where you want to be," Merlin replied, as he slowly faded.
Lancelot looked around, but the wizard was nowhere to be seen. "Merlin?" he enquired.
The door opened, and Merlin entered holding the candle.
"Oh, and don't worry. This candle will never melt away, even if you use it all night for reading," smiled Merlin, as he looked at the astonished expression on Lancelot's face.
"I don't know how to thank you," whispered Lancelot, as he reverently took the small candle.
"You already did that, when you helped to expose the sorceress Zinnia as a thief. I think it's time we go back to the courtyard, and check on your fair lady friend," he replied as he escorted Lancelot out of his lair.
The awed young man took one last look around at the fascinating objects, then walked out of the legendary room.
To read the whole series, click here
Describe what you see:
I see a thin white candle, which could be very common, or very magical.
Describe what you feel:
I feel like this candle is special!
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