Lessons

Arfa stood on the cliff-edge, arms spread like she thought she could fly.

Below, the waves beat the Cornish coast into sharktooth spikes.

Merlyn rested her hands on her staff. “Scared yet?”

“No.” The wind whipped at Arfa’s hair. “I’m not scared of anything.”

“Ah, of course. The only thing to fear is fear itself, yes? Stand firm! Never run! This is what people say you must do, to be a king. Though this also reveals an interesting fact about people.”

“What?”

Arfa felt Merlyn’s staff rest in the small of her back.

“They’re often wrong,” Merlyn said, and pushed.

—–

This happened some time later than Once and Future – there’ll be a few more tales of Arfa, but I kinda doubt they’re going to come out in chronological order.

It’s from the prompt ‘phobophobia’.