Sighting
Title: Sighting
Author: Amata le Fay
Story: Force-Benders
Flavor(s): Chocolate Chip Mint 30 (innocent), Peach Pie 17 (I have found it), Dark Chocolate 4 (cruelty)
Toppings: Butterscotch, Sprinkles, Hot Fudge
Extras: None
Rating: PG13
Word Count: 403
Notes: Second in a series revolving around Nimuë, though I hope each piece is able to stand alone. First part here. Basically, in this 'verse, Merlin is evil and the whole Camelot situation is... complicated.
The man's eyes are immediately drawn to her and, for once, he doesn't know why. It's not that she isn't pretty-her physical appearance manages to surpass his standards, which he has been told are quite high. But that in and of itself doesn't account for it. More romantic people would probably categorize it as love at first sight, but that idea is so ridiculous as to be laughable. He doesn't love anything, never mind a mildly attractive woman he has never met before.
It's his seer sense acting up, he realizes after a moment of contemplation. He has always been able to pick out the people who would influence his world and thus be able to acquaint himself with them early in order to shape their thoughts and decisions to his liking. This young lady must be one of those.
And yet something still seems out of place. He glances at her again as she sweeps across the ballroom with the utmost poise. Her sudden appearance at court. Her incredibly graceful manner of carrying herself. The sharp gaze through which she observed the world. All of it spoke of training, very specific training for a very specific job. He rifles through her mind but finds no memories of the conspiracy he knows is being planned against him. She is completely innocent. But Morgan le Fay and her associates definitely led the girl here, if not in a way obvious to her.
The corners of his lips twist themselves into a smirk. Because Morgan just made a fatal mistake by leaving her in the company of the universe's greatest manipulator. Whatever this girl's purpose was, he would find a way to undermine it, and then he would turn the pawn on its masters. Sure it was cruel, using her to move forward in this endless game of his, but he'd done it many times before and wasn't about to stop anytime soon.
He moves in next to her and murmurs, “Hello.” She returns the greeting courteously, with a curtsey thrown in for good measure. “What's your name?” he asks, being sure to use his most charming tone of voice. He wants this girl to be so enamored of him that she would follow his every command.
“Nimuë,” she says with a blush. “Nimuë Vivienne du Loch.”
“Pleasure to make your acquaintance, Nimuë,” he replies, smiling. “My name is Merlin Ambrosius.”
Your move, le Fay.