The Wreck of the Royal Pendragon
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gilli_ann
Title: The Wreck of the Royal Pendragon
Rating: G
Character/s: Merlin, Gwaine, Percival, Arthur
Pairing: Future Arthur/Merlin
Summary: Merlin is a new Coast Guard trainee the first time he sees the phantom ship of local legend
Word Count: 450
Prompt: 471 'Wreck'
Author's Notes: Spooky Modern AU
The Wreck of the Royal Pendragon
The sudden fog moving in from the sea had an eerie quality to it, blanketing the ragged coastline in dense roiling white with patches of translucence.
Merlin strained his eyes. Even when using their best binoculars, it was impossible to be sure where the sea ended and the shore began.
"Your first time experiencing the dreaded Fyrien fogs?" Gwaine asked, coming up next to him. "Spooky, isn't it?"
"Yes," Merlin admitted.
Clammy tendrils wrapped around the both of them on the dock outside the Coast Guard's headquarters.
Percival was the other experienced guard on duty. "The fogs are unnerving to every new recruit," he told Merlin reassuringly. "It's almost a rite of passage. You'll get used to them in time."
A nearly supernatural quiet had settled along the foggy shore. Merlin felt as if he had cotton in his ears, as if he would be compelled to speak only in whispers.
Percival pointed, lowering his voice. "These fogs frequently bring us a visitor - look!"
A shape had emerged amid the roiling white. It was a large ancient galleon with a lofty quarterdeck and all sails set on three tall masts, her bow-sprit sporting a fine figurehead in the form of a golden dragon. The entire ship was bathed in a bleak, crimson-tinged light.
Merlin gasped, transfixed by the unsettling sight.
"The Royal Pendragon," Gwaine muttered, awe in his voice. "I've never seen her this clearly. I hope that's not a bad omen."
Riveted, Merlin studied the magnificent vessel and her ghostly glow. "Is — is she really just an apparition?"
"Indeed she is," Percy confirmed, his tone sad. "The Fyrien fogs herald her presence, and sometimes she can be glimpsed sailing towards the Camlann shoals where she was wrecked, centuries ago. She was a proud royal ship, but it's not known if any royals were aboard at the time of her wreck. All souls and all records were lost in the mysteriously violent storm."
"Oh," Merlin whispered. The silent ship was enveloped by fog so dense that she seemed to be gliding on air, floating above the water and waves. "I thought that was just a folk tale."
"Now you know differently," Gwaine said.
"She'll soon disappear," Percy added. "She never reaches the shoals."
"But what about the tall, blond man at the helm? Is it known who he was and why he is waving?" Merlin asked, his heart beating faster.
"What man?" Gwaine asked, confused.
"There's no man," Percy said with certainty. "That's part of the ship's mystery. She always looks deserted."
"But—" Bewildered, hardly trusting his ears and eyes, Merlin kept quiet.
"And there she fades," Gwaine soon stated, content. "She's gone. The fog will lift now."
gilli_annTitle: The Wreck of the Royal Pendragon
Rating: G
Character/s: Merlin, Gwaine, Percival, Arthur
Pairing: Future Arthur/Merlin
Summary: Merlin is a new Coast Guard trainee the first time he sees the phantom ship of local legend
Word Count: 450
Prompt: 471 'Wreck'
Author's Notes: Spooky Modern AU
The Wreck of the Royal Pendragon
The sudden fog moving in from the sea had an eerie quality to it, blanketing the ragged coastline in dense roiling white with patches of translucence.
Merlin strained his eyes. Even when using their best binoculars, it was impossible to be sure where the sea ended and the shore began.
"Your first time experiencing the dreaded Fyrien fogs?" Gwaine asked, coming up next to him. "Spooky, isn't it?"
"Yes," Merlin admitted.
Clammy tendrils wrapped around the both of them on the dock outside the Coast Guard's headquarters.
Percival was the other experienced guard on duty. "The fogs are unnerving to every new recruit," he told Merlin reassuringly. "It's almost a rite of passage. You'll get used to them in time."
A nearly supernatural quiet had settled along the foggy shore. Merlin felt as if he had cotton in his ears, as if he would be compelled to speak only in whispers.
Percival pointed, lowering his voice. "These fogs frequently bring us a visitor - look!"
A shape had emerged amid the roiling white. It was a large ancient galleon with a lofty quarterdeck and all sails set on three tall masts, her bow-sprit sporting a fine figurehead in the form of a golden dragon. The entire ship was bathed in a bleak, crimson-tinged light.
Merlin gasped, transfixed by the unsettling sight.
"The Royal Pendragon," Gwaine muttered, awe in his voice. "I've never seen her this clearly. I hope that's not a bad omen."
Riveted, Merlin studied the magnificent vessel and her ghostly glow. "Is — is she really just an apparition?"
"Indeed she is," Percy confirmed, his tone sad. "The Fyrien fogs herald her presence, and sometimes she can be glimpsed sailing towards the Camlann shoals where she was wrecked, centuries ago. She was a proud royal ship, but it's not known if any royals were aboard at the time of her wreck. All souls and all records were lost in the mysteriously violent storm."
"Oh," Merlin whispered. The silent ship was enveloped by fog so dense that she seemed to be gliding on air, floating above the water and waves. "I thought that was just a folk tale."
"Now you know differently," Gwaine said.
"She'll soon disappear," Percy added. "She never reaches the shoals."
"But what about the tall, blond man at the helm? Is it known who he was and why he is waving?" Merlin asked, his heart beating faster.
"What man?" Gwaine asked, confused.
"There's no man," Percy said with certainty. "That's part of the ship's mystery. She always looks deserted."
"But—" Bewildered, hardly trusting his ears and eyes, Merlin kept quiet.
"And there she fades," Gwaine soon stated, content. "She's gone. The fog will lift now."
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