Well, here is the first chapter of You Can't Escape Destiny. I hope you all like it! Please don't forget to review!
*Annabelle's P.O.V., Night*
"How do you think he died?" I asked Gaius as Merlin knelt down by the dead man. We were now in a tomb underneath the castle that Uther ordered to be searched in case there was any treasure to be found. Arthur ordered Merlin to come down and tell the workers to stop the excavation, seeing as the noise restricted everyone in the castle from getting a good night's sleep. As Merlin came down here, the workers all ran away in panic, and Merlin found one of them dead in the tomb. But the man was killed in an unnatural way; it looked like the life was drained out of him. His skin was gray and slightly wrinkly, his eyes were bloodshot, dark veins were visible all over his face, and his expression was one of horror, "Gaius?" I asked again after a moment of silence, only to see Gaius staring at the stone grave in the middle of the tomb.
"Hmm?" Gaius gave an answer as Merlin stood up, and he and I looked around the tomb as Gaius continued to stare at the grave.
"Do you know whose tomb it is?" I asked.
"Not sure," Gaius replied, but I couldn't help but feel like he wasn't telling us the truth.
"Do you think it might be cursed?" Merlin asked as he looked down at the dead body.
Without giving us an answer, Gaius took a step towards the stone grave, but my eyes widened as the brick beneath his foot lowered, and I realized it was one of the traps as a dart shot out from a stone bird's mouth, flying right at Gaius. Reacting as quickly as I could, my eyes flashed gold and one of the golden plates decorated with jewels on the edge flew up and stopped in front of Gaius's face, shielding him from the dart. The dart hit the plate, and the fell to the ground, leaving Gaius unharmed, which made me give a sigh of relief, while Gaius looked at the stone bird with wide eyes before turning to look at me.
"You just saved my life," he said, but I was too busy staring at the stone bird with wide eyes to answer, "Thank you," he breathed out, just as voices sounded from outside, which made me whip around and drop the plate, which rolled on the ground towards the entrance, with Merlin chasing after it. He managed to catch up with it and pick it up just as it stopped rolling at the King's feet.
"Idiot," Uther said, glaring down at Merlin, which made my jaw clench as he stepped around my brother.
"Were you born clumsy or do you work at it?" I heard Arthur murmur to Merlin as he entered the tomb and walked towards the grave.
"It's just one of my many gifts," Merlin answered with a small grin as Arthur gave me a small smile in acknowledgement, to which I curtsied in return.
"Well, this is quite a find," Uther smiled as he looked around, not seeming to care that one of the workers was killed, "You see, Gaius, I was right," he spoke as he and Arthur walked around, "There is treasure to be found under Camelot. Which of my predecessors do I have to thank for all this?" he asked as he picked up a golden ring, before putting it down and walking over to the grave with a marble outline of the body that was buried inside. What surprised all of us was the glowing blue jewel in the shape of a heart that was placed in the spot where that person's real beating heart once was. "Gaius?"
"Uh, I'd have to look into it, Sire," Gaius replied as he also looked at some of the treasure in the tomb.
"How did he die?" Uther asked, not seeming to really care that one of the workers is dead, as he barely noticed the body.
"He seems to have unwittingly triggered a trap here," Gaius answered.
"To deter grave robbers," Arthur nodded.
"Well, there's plenty in here people would want to steal," Uther nodded as he looked around with, what seemed to be, greed in his eyes, and picked up one of the larger jewel cases, "Have them secure the tomb. Guarding it is your responsibility, Arthur," he ordered.
"Yes, Father," Arthur nodded, though he didn't seem happy with the idea.
*The Next Day, Evening*
Gaius and I both looked up as the door to our quarters opened, only to see Merlin entering. I finished work only about ten minutes ago, and was chatting to Gaius for past five minutes as he studied something in one of his books.
"What's wrong?" I asked as I saw the sad and slightly annoyed look on my brother's face.
"I saved Arthur's life on the hunt, someone else got the credit," Merlin answered, "Just the usual," he said, before turning to look at Gaius. "What are you doing?"
"I found this inscription on the scepter," Gaius replied as Merlin took off of the bag that was throne over his shoulder and I walked up to stand on Gaius's side, with my brother standing on his other.
"What language is that?" I asked as I looked at the writing on the piece of paper Gaius was holding, not understanding a singe word. I couldn't even make out the letters!
"I don't know," Gaius said. "Sigan would've known many languages,"
"'Sigan'? Merlin asked, not knowing whom Gaius was talking about. I didn't know either.
"It's his tomb,"
"Who was he?" Merlin asked as he grabbed a stool and pulled it over so that he could sit down, while I settled for standing.
As soon as Gaius heard my brother's question, he looked over at him in slight disbelief.
"Merlin," he began, disbelief and surprise clear in his voice. "He was the most powerful sorcerer to have lived,"
"Really?"
"You and Anna didn't grow up in Camelot, but for those of us that did, Cornelius Sigan was a figure of nightmare," Gaius said.
"Why?" I asked, seeing that he was deadly serious.
"Sigan's powers. He could change day into night, turn the tides, and legend has it, his spells helped build Camelot itself,"
"What happened?" I asked after a moment of silence.
"In the end, he grew too powerful and the king at that time ordered his execution," Gaius explained.
"If he's dead, why are you so worried?" Merlin asked.
"Sigan couldn't bear the thought that his wealth and power would die with him, so he became obsessed with finding a way to defeat death itself,"
"You think he might have succeeded?" I asked, afraid of what I was going to hear next.
"Let's hope not," Gaius answered after a while. "For all our sakes,"
*1 Hour Later*
I walked down the corridor towards Morgana's chambers in order to make sure that she was alright for the night, but before I even made it to the door, I heard a scream come from her chambers. Without a second thought, I ran inside, only to see Morgana sitting up in her bed, great fear in her eyes as beads of sweat glistened on her forehead.
"Anna?!" she called out, and I immediately ran over to her, "Anna!"
"Morgana?" I called quietly as I ran over to her, but she quickly pulled me down to sit down and next to her and wrapped her arms around me tightly, burying her head in the crook of my neck as she shook slightly in fear, "It's alright, it's alright. I'm here," I soothed as she breathed heavily, "There's nothing to be afraid of. Shh, shh," Now, I couldn't help but become afraid myself. A worker died in an unusual way, I just learned that the most powerful sorcerer to have ever lived might have succeeded in defying death itself, and now Morgana had a terrifying nightmare. If this all is connected... we are all surely in danger.
*The Next Morning*
"What was this dream about?" Gaius asked Morgana after he quickly checked her. After I managed to calm her down, which took about an hour, she was too afraid to go to sleep, so I left her for only a moment to tell Gaius that I think her nightmares are returning. He promised to check on her in the morning, but I was too afraid to leave her alone for the night, especially since she was still shaken up, so I stayed with her over the night, not sleeping at all, trying to take her mind off of the nightmare. Once the sun rose in the sky, Gaius came over to her chambers, and now we were all sitting on her bed, my hand on Morgana's as tears built up in her eyes while she remembered the nightmare.
"A bird," she said.
"What kind of bird?" Gaius inquired.
"A raven," Morgana answered, avoiding our gazes. I squeezed her hand in comfort, knowing that it was difficult for her to talk about her nightmares. That's why I never questioned her about them unless she told me herself.
"A raven?"
"It was terrifying, Gaius," she said quietly, and I squeezed her hand again. "What do you think it means?"
"Probably nothing," Gaius replied, though I could see that he was hiding something.
"It's happening again, isn't it?" Morgana shook her head as her voice trembled.
"Morgana, one raven doesn't mean that your nightmares are returning," Gaius assured, but Morgana didn't look convinced as more tears built up in her eyes, "Are you taking the sleeping draughts I prepared for you?" Gaius asked, and Morgana nodded, "I'll get Anna to give you something stronger tonight," Gaius said as he patted her knee, knowing that I wasn't going to leave her right now.
"Like a blow to the head?" Morgana asked, making me and Gaius both give her a look. "I'm sure she wants to," she said, and Gaius just sighed and shook his head with a small smile before leaving. As soon as the doors closed, I gave Morgana another look. "What?"
"I know what you're thinking," I said, and she opened her mouth to speak, but I cut in, "Morgana, you're not troubling me with your nightmares. I mean, maybe a little bit, but that's only because I'm worried about you. It's no trouble for me to stay with you over the night or to help you," I said, and though she still didn't seem convinced, she nodded. I sighed and pulled her in for another hug, knowing that she hates being a burden to me. But she's not a burden. All I want is for her to get better, because I love her like a sister.
*Early Evening*
"What's that on your face?" Gaius asked Merlin as my brother entered the quarters with, what appeared to be, dunk on the right side of his face and his shirt covered in filth.
"Nothing," Merlin replied, not even looking at us.
"What's wrong?" I asked, now concerned.
"Nothing," he repeated, before walking into our room and closing the door behind him. I shared a concerned look with Gaius, before we both got up and I grabbed a piece of cloth from the table while he took off his glasses, before we followed my brother into the small room. As soon as we entered, my brows furrowed in concern as I saw Merlin sitting on a stool, staring off into space with a sad look in his eyes.
"Here," I said, walking over to him and tilting his head to the side before gently wiping the dunk off his face with the cloth I was holding.
"I'm not an idiot," Merlin said, and Gaius walked over to stand next to me.
"What happened?" I asked softly, but Merlin just shook his head and sighed.
"I just want Arthur to trust me," he said as I continued to wipe his face. "And to see me for who I really am,"
"One day he will," Gaius said softly.
"When?" Merlin looked up, making me take the cloth away from his face. "Everything we do is for him, and he just thinks I'm an idiot,"
"Not everyone thinks you're an idiot," I said as I started wiping his face again. "I don't. Neither does Gaius. And I'm certain neither does Gwen," I said, before pulling away, "Although, looking at your right now..." I trailed off, and Merlin couldn't help but chuckle, which made me and Gaius chuckle as well. I then handed Merlin the cloth and let him wipe his face himself now that he was in a bit better mood, while Gaius and I walked over to sit on his bed in front of him.
"Now is not the time to be questioning these things, Merlin," Gaius said. "I believe that you, Anna, and Arthur are destined for greatness, and that your calling is to serve and protect him,"
"It's hard," Merlin whispered, shaking his head.
"I know it's hard," Gaius said, "But Camelot is in grave peril," he said, which made both me and Merlin look at him questioningly. "I've translated the inscription: 'he who breaks my heart, completes my work',"
"What does it mean?" Merlin asked.
"Do you two remember the stone in the tomb, how it glowed?"
"Yeah," I shook my head. "I've never seen a jewel like it,"
"That's because it's not a jewel," Gaius said. "It's the soul of Cornelius Sigan,"
"You think he's alive?" I asked as my and Merlin's eyes widened.
"His soul is," Gaius nodded. "But in order to truly live, a soul needs a body,"
"So, if the stone... is removed from its setting... then the heart is broken and the soul is released?" I asked, fearing of what I was going to hear next.
"That's what I fear,"
*Third Person's P.O.V., Night*
As Cornelius Sigan's soul entered Cedric's body, Annabelle's eyes snapped open and she sat up in her bed with a gasp as she heard a loud screech of a raven.
Well, what do you all think? Please review and let me know!
