Her words touched a chord in Merlin's soul and he smiled, gently squeezing her shoulder as he walked with her. "I am glad you had them when you needed them. Each book is a new treasure to me, for there is so much to learn and so many books now made. From the novels that seem endless to the guidebooks and textbooks of modern learning, it is hard to decide where to start first! Though the modern language was hard to read at first, I must admit, and the language hard to understand. A few spells and a few weeks of reading and listening solved that. Now I simply feel overwhelmed sometimes."
He smiled at her,a wry warmth in his eyes. "But it is a comfortable overwhelming, a good kind." He relished it, for it promised great things for his future.
He nodded again, smiling, at her answer. "History. Mmmm, a good choice, I think. Though I have noticed that many history books... contradict one another."
And he smiled to her, listening. "Mostly they are far from Earth now, in their own realms, but some few do live there. Far more than live among the people as they once did. And the days will come when none live among the people except the few outcasts. And the world would be stripped of that magic."
Then he glanced around, and a small smirk arose. "But only for awhile, I think. Only for awhile."