DISCLAIMER: I do not own any of the characters mentioned other than Ailis and Yda Atwood and their family. Merlin is the property of the BBC.
The sun was beginning to set over the White Mountains in the distance, the sky ablaze with deep crimson and burnt orange tones, welcoming the night with an eerie silence that spread throughout the village and surrounding forest. The usual pleasant atmosphere in the town had been replaced with that of sorrow and mourning since the sickness had spread. It had crept up on the people of Alnwick like a predator in the forest, taking down its prey one by one, slowly and painfully, leaving no witnesses behind. The healer of the town had long since passed, she too, taken by the miserable sickness, leaving the people with little hope of escaping their deadly fate. A mother watched from the window of her cottage, cradling a small child balanced on her hip. A feeling of anxiousness washed over her, but not for the reason that one might think. Gently depositing the child down in her bed, she placed a kiss on her head, pulling the warm wool blanket over her small body before stepping outside into the cold evening air.
"We need to leave this place Raolin", she whispered to the man standing beside her, fear etched in her words.
"We have nowhere else to go my love", the man responded with a sigh, "but I fear you are right, people are already beginning to suspect us, with the sickness not taking our household as it has all others".
"Our power can only protect us for so long, and I fear that will not be much longer. I will try to heal as many as I can, and then we must leave", she stated, an air of determination in her words, "gather provisions and get the girls things ready".
With that, she started on what might be her last walk around the small village. Strolling solemnly through the streets, she made sure to take in all of her surroundings. The earth under her feet crunched as she crushed some fallen leaves. Breathing in the delicate smell of rain in the air she glanced around her. The sun had now retreated behind the towering mountains, a silver glow emanating from the bright moon, lighting the dark night sky. She continued on her walk, passing a stable where a dark horse whinnied at seeing her. She reached her hand out to stroke the smooth muzzle of the animal, smiling at the innocence of the creature. She closed her eyes, taking this moment to bask in the happy memories she had of living in this town, before opening them once again, and continuing to her destination. Approaching a small cottage, she knocked gently on the door, waiting patiently for an answer. The door opened slowly with a creak, revealing a pale, sickly looking man.
"Mathilda?", he queried, his voice hoarse, "my dear what brings you here?"
"I am here to help you Elyot, and Isabell. Might I come inside?" she asked politely, offering a kind but nervous smile.
"Of course, but you are blessed to have escaped this sickness, you would risk your health to help us?", he asked, opening the door and leading her inside. "You should take the girls and leave Alnwick as soon as possible"
"That is the plan", Mathilda responded, kneeling beside the sleeping woman in the cot beside the fireplace. Her skin was pale white, her life leaving her; her forehead painted with beads of sweat and her breath shallow. "However, before we leave, I will help all that I can. It is my duty".
The man took a seat beside his dying wife, placing a hand on her own. He watched intently as Mathilda placed a hand on Isabell's forehead, closing her eyes and murmuring words under her breath that did not belong to a language he understood.
"Butan þæt cwalu. Hrðe þon aidlian. Hrðe þon eðian. Bot ond tile." As the words left Mathilda's lips, the colour slowly started to return the Isabell's skin, the ghostly white and grey replaced with light peach, and a pink flush forming over her cheeks. Her breathing began to gain strength and steady to a normal rhythm as she slept.
"I fear I will not be able to help save many", Mathilda sighed weakly, lowering her shaking hand to her side. "But I will do all that my power allows me".
"You have magic?", the old man gasped, unable to hide the shock clearly visible on his aged features. "This is very dangerous Mathilda… if word got back to Camelot…"
"Then I will surely die", she cut him off sharply, finishing his sentence for him. "I trust that I can count on you not to betray me?"
"Of course, you are my friend, my family", he responded quickly, Mathilda's expression softening at his words, "I would never put you, Raolin or the children in any danger".
"I am glad that I can trust you Elyot", she smiled, reaching out her hand to grasp his, "now, let me heal you my friend".
Once again, she uttered the words that she had before, bringing life back into the sickly man who's hand she held tightly. Once she was finished, she bid the man farewell before continuing on her mission around the village.
*One week later*
Horses hooves trampled the ground beneath them, their thundering rumble echoing throughout the small village, bringing life to the silence of the night. Stopping in the middle of the village, one of the riders jumped heavily from his steed, his red cloak billowing behind him, power and authority radiating from his very being.
"Search every house", he called behind him to the rest of his retinue. "Find the sorcerers and bring them to me".
Without hesitation, the knights of Camelot began their mission, violently kicking down doors to the previously pleasant cottages. They were brutal in their search, a great determination to find their targets fueling their actions.
Mathilda listened from her garden where she had been collecting their drying clothes. She had managed to heal the vast majority of the town, her powers surprising even her. She had managed, for the most part, not to reveal her powers to those she was healing, instead claiming it was down to a potion she had concocted. This turn of events had allowed them to stay in their home, however it seemed as though fate had other ideas for them, tearing away any last hope they had clung to. Suddenly aware of what was unfolding around her, she rushed back into the cottage, thankfully situated on the far side of the village from the current commotion, hurrying through the door unseen.
"Mathilda?", Raolin questioned at her flustered state, "what is happening?"
"We have been betrayed", she maintained her composure, shaking her children gently awake, "we must take them to Elyot and Isabell's cottage, we can trust them".
"They have discovered our secret?", Raolin questioned, throwing various items of clothing into a small bag, gathering anything they might need.
"I fear we are not destined to escape our fates this time my love", she whispered, careful that her words avoided the ears of the two sleepy girls now sitting up in their cots. Placing a chaste kiss on her husband's lips, she reached down, scooping the children into her arms, before the family left their home for what would be the last time.
Checking that none of Camelot's knights had reached the cottage yet, Mathilda knocked on the back door, careful to remain quiet. The door opened to reveal Elyot peering out into the darkness.
"Mathilda?", he questioned, worry apparent in his tone.
"Elyot, we need your help, we have been betrayed", she whispered in a panic, "I would trust no one more than you and Isabell".
"Of course my dear, we will help in any way we can", he confirmed, pulling the family into the cottage. "I promise you it was not I or Isabell who betrayed you, I heard the commotion in the town"
"I believe you Elyot. You must take the girls, we have packed a few things that they may need", she explained, Raolin handed the bag to the old man. "There is a druid camp in the forest of Escetir, they are allies and friends to us, you must take the girls to them, they will take care of them".
"What will you do?", he questioned in response, although he feared he already knew the answer.
"This is not a fate we are destined escape from a second time", Raolin sighed, "I fear our luck has run out".
The old man nodded sadly, understanding the fate of the situation.
"Mummy", one of the little girls whispered, rubbing the sleep from her eyes, "Where are we going?"
"Yda darling, you and Ailis are going on a journey", Mathilda explained, tears forming in her eyes. "Daddy and I wont be able to come with you, but Elyot and Isabell will take good care of you".
"Okay mummy", Yda replied with a frown, "Will we see you and daddy soon?"
"Take this my darling", Mathilda kneeled down in front of the child, avoiding answering the question directly and slipping her wedding band from her finger. She found a small piece of string on the floor and slipped the ring onto it before tying it securely around the child's neck. "Keep this safe for mummy, and we will always be with you".
She wiped a tear from her eye, pulling both girls and her husband into a tight hug.
"Take care of each other my darlings", Mathilda smiled, addressing her daughters, "there is nothing more important than family".
With those final words, Mathilda took the hand of her husband, watching the elderly couple carry their babies out the back door and away into the night. Their hands remained entwined as the door to the cottage was thrown off its hinges.
The knights of Camelot stood together in the centre of the village. People gathered around to watch the unfolding tragedy, the mood somber throughout the crowd, tears shed for the couple they had become to know well. Reaching down to his belt, the knight pulled out a small scroll, unrolling the paper and holding it high in front of him before speaking.
"By royal decree of the King of Camelot", he declared to the by-standing villagers, and the couple stood before him, a hint of sadness in his golden eyes, "That you, Mathilda and Raolin Atwood, are charged with the crime of witchcraft, as laid out in the laws of the kingdom, and consequently, will be sentenced to death".
The small child momentarily turned her blue eyes back towards what was once her home. Filled with only innocence and love, as of yet unaware of the hatred and prosecution of her kind that would surely follow her throughout life. Far behind them, in the centre of the village, flames licked the sky, bringing an unwanted and deadly light to the dark night. She quickly whipped her head back away from the sight, burying her face into that of the old man she was huddled against on the back of the horse. Closing her eyes, she held tight to the ring that hung around her neck, whispering a silent prayer for her parents before drifting off into a dreamless sleep.
Author's Note: this prologue takes place 14 years before the main story begins, at this point Ailis and Yda are 4 years old. The story will jump forward to this in the first chapter. Please please let me know if you like the sound of the story and enjoyed the prologue, reviews are what motivate me to keep writing and i promise this will be a good one ;) I'll aim to update a new chapter once a week at the least, possibly a couple of times a week, depending on the response i get and my motivation 3