The morning sunlight spread across the room. Merlin, lying on the bed Sera had let him have, covered his head with a blanket as he shifted under to avoid the light. But halfway through, he spotted a figure—someone watching him.
"Have you always had a habit of watching your guests sleep, or do you just like to watch me in particular?" Merlin asked from under the blanket.
"I came here because I could hear you snoring from the other room," Sera replied with a yawn, rubbing one eye. She was seated at the edge of the bed, one knee folded to her chest. She wore a plain black shirt and shorts that stopped above the knee.
Merlin took a second too long looking at her.
"What is it?" Sera asked.
"What?" Merlin snapped back, caught.
"You were staring."
"No I wasn't!"
"Yes, you were."
"Hey! You're the one finding excuses to stay in the same room with me. So even if I was staring, I don't need permission to do it." Merlin jumped off the bed like a kid trying to win an argument.
"I said you were snoring loudly, that's why I came here," Sera muttered, hugging her leg tighter and turning her gaze away.
"You say that, but it looks like you've been sitting there for a while now," Merlin teased.
Sera's jaw dropped, though she kept her face turned so he wouldn't see it.
"Ah, so you have been watching me." Merlin grinned.
"Don't flatter yourself," Sera said quickly. "I was just making sure you weren't sick from last night."
"Next thing you'll say is you sat on the bed to make sure it was cozy enough."
That was enough for Sera—she grabbed a pillow and threw it at him. "You're insufferable."
Merlin caught it and held it carefully, as if it were fragile. "And yet… you can't do without my company," he said with a smirk of confidence.
"Keep telling yourself that," she said, a small smirk tugging at her lips that she didn't let him see.
The room went quiet after that, uneasily so. Merlin sat on the edge of the bed, still holding the pillow with surprising care. His voice softened as he broke the silence.
"Thanks for checking up on me… even though you didn't have to."
Sera froze for a second, then quickly masked it. "Someone has to. You're too much trouble." She stood up and walked toward the door, her tone lighter than her eyes.
"So what's for breakfast?" Merlin asked, deliberately breaking the moment.
"You don't get breakfast," Sera said, puffing her cheeks and lifting her chin in mock pride.
"What? Oh, I see how it is—you just want to get back at me for being right." Merlin stepped closer.
Sera ignored him completely, still holding her head high.
"Hey! Look at me when I talk to you," Merlin called after her, half-frustrated, half-amused.
"Oh, so that's how it is. You want to starve me into submission. Well, let me tell you, I've endured harsher tortures." He stood up, dragging the blanket dramatically around his shoulders like a cape. "But denying me breakfast? That's low even for you."
Still nothing—Sera walked out.
Merlin flopped backward onto the bed, hugging the pillow. He hadn't meant to smile, but his face betrayed him, a quiet grin tugging at his lips.
The door creaked open again. Sera stepped in, holding something in her hand. Without a word, she tossed it across the room. Merlin barely caught it against his chest.
He looked down and unwrapped the cloth—it was a bread roll, still warm.
"So you weren't planning to starve me," he said, narrowing his eyes playfully. "Took you long enough. So what does this symbolize? Forgiveness?"
"Just eat it, so I don't have to hear your whining anymore," Sera said.
"I was kinda expecting something," Merlin muttered.
"Don't get ahead of yourself," Sera replied. "That's the same thing I feed stray dogs."
"Harsh," Merlin said, taking a bite anyway.
"Be ready by nine," Sera said, dusting her hands, her tone suddenly more serious.
"Wait, what happens by nine?" Merlin asked.
"Really? You've forgotten already?" Sera groaned, dragging a hand down her face as she tilted her head back. "It was just yesterday. You really are hopeless."
"Aw man, not today," Merlin complained. "Do I really have to go to that ummm—" He dragged it out, as though stalling for the right word. "—place?" He finally said, sounding unsure.
"Place?" Sera echoed.
"Yeah, you said it wasn't a school, so I used the next best thing."
"What happened to the word academy?" Sera asked.
"It still sounds like school that way," Merlin replied.
"Well it's a school, but not a school-school," Sera muttered, sounding a little lost herself. "You know what? Just forget it. Just make sure you're ready."
"Yeah yeah, whatever," Merlin said.
"You sound like my—" he began, then stopped. His words caught, his gaze fixed on nothing. He even stopped chewing the bread.
After a long second, he snapped back, chewing again like nothing had happened.
"You had something to say. Why did you stop?" Sera asked quietly.
"It's nothing," he said, his tone walking the line—firm enough to warn her not to pry, soft enough to keep her from worrying.
Sera lingered in the doorway. For a moment she almost said something, but instead she turned and walked out silently, the faintest crease on her brow the only thing she let show.
A few minutes later, Merlin stepped into the classroom doorway Dragging his feet through the door. He scanned the room—everyone looked tense, like they were waiting for something. Have your seat. The teacher said, cutting through the silence and soft chatter.
Merlin walked over to the empty seat that he had sat on the previous day, but this time he had a partner. A small timid looking boy with grey hair. The boy stared at Merlin and Merlin stared right back, before taking his seat and acting like he wasn't even there.
Merlin could still feel the tension in the air, so he looked towards Sera's seat signaling her. Sera saw but ignored. There was a brief pause then the teacher's voice .
Looks like our schedule has been changed. Today I'm going to test all your abilities from start to finish, he added. Hold on, Merlin thought to himself just what is this place? he asked . This isn't a school,he concluded I think it's more like a classified training ground considering how shady it is. Just what have you dragged me into? he thought, eyes flicking to Sera as though she could hear him.
The teacher stood tall at the front, voice sharp enough to cut through the whispers. His hands clasped neatly behind his back, posture rigid as if carved from stone.
"First test endurance," he announced, scanning the room with a cool, measured gaze. "You'll be running laps. Each lap completed earns you points depending on your time. The faster you finish, the higher your score."
He paused, letting the words hang. Then his lips curved into a thin, mocking smile.
"But…" His eyes narrowed, glinting with something close to amusement. "The room will get colder with every lap. Run too fast, and the cold will seize your muscles." He lifted a hand slightly, as though tightening an invisible grip in the air. "Stop halfway, and you lose nearly everything."
He let his gaze drift slowly across the rows of students, making them squirm under the weight of it, before finishing with deliberate calm:
"Finish a lap, and you decide whether to continue… or quit.
Great, Merlin said to himself. Yet Another test made by someone with too much free time he said rolling his eyes.