Author's Note:
This is just a one chapter thing. I've been on a Merlin kick, watching and rewatching the series so many times, and I just had this idea for an episode that involved an allusion to Oedipus Rex and Antigone. Ok, so it's really just an episode I wanted to have with my OC. Anyway, this episode would take place right after the episodes WHERE Uther marries a troll (love that episode!).AND THIS EPISODE IS MEANT TO REPLACE THE LADY OF THE LAKE (not that I completely dislike it, I just like this one better for the story :3). Ok. Enough talk. Time for the episode!
~Marty
The Living Stone
A new day in Camelot was greeted with a ray of sunshine and the relentless "moo"-ing of a herd of cattle, taunting any hungry passerby that may walk the cobblestone path. One particularly starving passerby named Ismene was severely tempted by one grazing cow that lifted its head from the field and stuck its green tongue out to her. She clutched her stomach, as she licked her lips and pressed forward through the main gates after eyeing the potential breakfast for a moment too long. The owner of the cattle came out with a pitchfork yelling threats at Ismene. Frightened, she took into the morning crowd of the streets of Camelot. Confusing and busy as it was she felt the slightest bit of satisfaction in knowing in such a place with so many people and so many notches, her father could never find her. She smiled her toothy smile to herself as she took another step into the city. 'Surely,' she thought to herself, 'I can find a job to be done without my hands.'
"Merlin, I need you to muck out the stables," Arthur shrugged out a command instinctively, being able to smell the dung from the training grounds. "That smell is worse than your breath."
"But better than your socks," Merlin joked and smiled, attempting to lighten the prince's mood. Some of the knights laughed. Arthur did not. A tighter clutch on the handle of his sword showed exactly how much his mood was dulled. Merlin gave a quick bow, biting his lip, and hurried to the stables.
After a session in the stables, Merlin emerged with at least three barrels full of horse dung. He wondered aloud what kind of grain they're feeding these horses. His daily session of talking to himself was interrupted however with a crash in the merging city street that led into the open yards of the castle. Merlin sat the last of the dung down and approached the scene with caution.
"Miserable thief!" a farmer selling his wares declared at a pile of fruits that had fallen from his cart to the ground. "What makes you think you can just steal my harvest for your breakfast?! I'll have the guards on you for this!"
"No please, I wasn't stealing," replied the fruit pile. A girl emerged from beneath it, and Merlin felt a surge of his magic rush through him. He felt goose bumps on his skin even though the morning was warm and the sun still shone high with hardly a cloud to disguise it. The girl's hair was bright as the sun, and her skin looked warm as its light. "I swear I wasn't stealing. I just tripped, honest!"
The farmer kicked her out of the pile and spat at her. "And you just happened to knock my whole cart of wares down?!"
"Yes! I'm so sorry," the girl, Ismene, stayed on the ground as she apologized. "I'm sorry, please forgive me!"
"You've ruined the lot of my harvest!" the farmer continued to scream, causing the rubbernecks to look for entertainment. "Guards! Help! Thief!" he called out louder. Merlin looked back over his shoulder and saw some of the knights and Arthur rushing to answer the call. Merlin followed after Arthur at a steady pace.
"What happened here?" Arthur questioned the farmer, eyeing Ismene while she stayed in her spot on the floor.
"Sire, this girl was trying to steal from my stand, and while attempting to snatch herself some breakfast, managed to knock the whole of the wares to the ground!" the farmer started up again in anger.
Arthur looked down at Ismene. She returned his gaze with an apologetic pair of eyes. "Is this accusation true?" he asked.
"No!" Ismene exclaimed in her defense.
"Not only is she a thief, my lord, but a liar as well," the farmer replied in her attempt to get her story out. "Listen to that stomach." Her growling stomach could be heard, almost felt if you stood close enough to her. "She'd steal from the royal kitchens themselves if she got the chance!" Ismene started to panic as the crowd around them began to agree with the angered farmer and accusing her of other things. The farmer from the early morning recalled the "ravenous" look she gave one of his cows. This one she didn't deny.
"No, sire! It's not true!" Ismene tried to be heard over the crowd.
"Silence!" Arthur exclaimed to quiet the crowd before it became a mob. "Now, take her to the stalks. Since she's so hungry, maybe we should give her something to eat." The crowd cheered at their prince's decision. Merlin tapped Arthur's shoulder.
"Don't you think you're making this decision a little too hastily?" he asked the prince, but kept his gaze on Ismene. He could see the fear rising in her eyes. He couldn't stop looking at them; both were the colour of antique rubies but shined like fresh, flawless, pure ones.
"Why Merlin? Do you think you can tell who is lying and who isn't when there is no proper witness? Besides, we need a use for all that rotten fruit," Arthur said in a tone Merlin knew too well. It was the tone Arthur used when it was still early in the morning, and he was still not yet awakened fully. The night had also not been kind to him; a feast took place the night before for the knighting of a new solider, and Merlin spent most of it refilling Arthur's chalice. "Send her to the stocks," Arthur ordered the knights who had accompanied him, the new one included. They lifted her from the ground and escorted her to the wooden stocks. Arthur returned to the training grounds as they led her into the town square.
Merlin watched Arthur leave and not hearing his name called, took the chance to follow them into the square. Ismene, realizing her attempts of being heard were useless, quietly let the guards lock her up. She pulled away though when they got her hands through the holes and were putting the cuffs around her wrists. The guards eventually won, and that was the only fight she put up. Merlin stood to the side as the crowd before began throwing rotten fruits and vegetables at Ismene. Merlin waited for the crowd's enjoyment to wear off to talk to her. Though it did not happen till the sun was quite high in the sky, Merlin did eventually get the chance to talk to her.
She shook some of the tomato off her face and gave him a friendly wave accompanied with her toothy smile shown again. A rather stubborn piece of tomato did not leave her right eye, though the colour seemed to almost mimic that of her eye. Ismene stammered out, "Oh, uh, hi. Rotten fruit is over there. Um…please don't use potatoes. I know the farmer encourages it, but-"
"I believe you weren't stealing," Merlin cut her off.
Ismene smiled wider. "Really?" she asked with surprise. Merlin nodded with a smile. "Well…thank you. No one else seems to believe me." Merlin took a seat next to her stock, one that he believed was at least mostly clear of squashed rotten fruit.
"So did you really trip?" he asked.
"Yes," Ismene said with relief that someone was actually willing to listen to her side of the story. "I was looking at the apples; that was true, but I wasn't trying to steal any. I was going to continue walking around, trying to find some place for work, but I seriously doubt anyone would hire me after that display. Well," she shook her head again trying to get the stubborn bit of tomato off her eye, "and this one."
"Sorry about this," Merlin said.
"No need for you to be sorry. It's not like it was your fault," Ismene reassured him.
"Yeah, but I could have tried to talk Arthur out of it."
Ismene looked down at him confused. "You know the prince?"
Merlin laughed a bit at this. "Yeah. I'm his manservant; Merlin."
Ismene took a moment to think about this then kicked Merlin playfully. "Then yes, you should have talked him out of it!" she joked. Merlin laughed, and she joined him. "I'm Ismene."
"If it makes you feel better, Ismene, he's sent me to the stalks too," Merlin confessed. "He and his father. Like father like son I suppose."
"Are you anything like your father then?" Ismene asked, beginning to enjoy their conversation, a new experience for her.
Merlin's smile faded a bit as he looked down at his wringing hands. "I never knew my father." Seeing that she'd upset him, Ismene apologized. "Don't be sorry. You couldn't have known. What's your father like?" he asked.
Though Ismene would always try to keep a smile on her face, that toothy smile, she couldn't keep it when asked about her father. "I despise my father," she said with a cold stare at the cracks in the cobblestone streets. Merlin looked at her. He felt that surge of magic running through him again. "My father is a cruel, horrendous, naturally maleficent man. There's no place that I could be that would get me far enough away from him," she aggressively mused aloud feelings she'd only allowed herself to express inwardly.
A silence overcame the two of them. Merlin noticed the scars on Ismene's skin, from her neck to her chest and a few on her face. Her arms and legs were completely covered even though it was a hot autumn day. He thought she might have even more scars under her coverings. He began to wonder if his own father was anything like hers.
"Merlin!" Arthur yelled to get his manservant's attention. Merlin looked over to Arthur, catching Ismene's eye. She followed his eyes and looked at the prince. "What are you doing?" Arthur asked as he approached the stocks.
"Oh uh, um…" Merlin stuttered.
"He was grabbing some lunch," Ismene replied with a slight laugh, her smile returned and thoughts of her father erased, unlike the scars.
"I know that's a joke, but I can't help thinking there's some truth behind it," Arthur said. "Come on, Merlin. I need you to prepare my bath."
"Um, sire, do you think you could let Ismene out of the stocks first?" Merlin asked with a great big smile, hoping to win Arthur over. Arthur sighed, not looking at Merlin. The chains of his armor matched the sounds coming from the cuffs around Ismene's wrists. "I promise to polish your armor and clean your room by the time you wake up tomorrow," Merlin negotiated.
"It must be a great day indeed if Merlin's offering to do his job," Arthur said and pulled the keys off his belt and walked up beside the stocks. First he unlocked her wrist then the actual stocks. She stretched her back, releasing several pops, and her stomach growled. She hunched over and as she cringed a little in pain.
"When was the last time you had lunch?" Merlin asked and got up from his seat to check on her.
"I want to say four days ago," Ismene murmured. "I'm a bit dizzy after the second." She continued to stretch, and removed that pesky bit of tomato off her eye. Merlin looked to Arthur with that coy smile again. Arthur looked back at him, unamused, but thinking the same thought Merlin had been trying to convince him to consider.
"Well, uh," Arthur began but realized he didn't know what her name was.
"Ismene." Merlin filled in the blank.
"Ismene. I suppose I could have rushed in my decision to send you to the stocks. Will you allow me to make it up to you by giving you a meal?" Arthur asked, trying to sound sincere, but still only managed to branch a little from his earlier tone.
Ismene smiled bright at him. "Do you mean it?!" she asked excitedly. Arthur gave a curt nod. "Thank you so much, sire!" she said but when she went to step off the stocks to walk beside the two, she tripped over her left foot first and then a tomato, the same bit that given her eye trouble before, and crashed on her back. Merlin and Arthur rushed to help her up.
"I believe your story now, Ismene. You definitely tripped," Arthur said as each boy took one of her arms over their shoulders. Ismene thanked him quietly as they helped her walk to the castle.
Gaius was examining Ismene's back as she ate one, two, three plump purple grapes at a time. Her vest corset lied on her lap and her shirt was pulled up to her neck from the back. Gaius refrained from asking about the deep scars that remained much more prominent on her torso than her face. They looked fresher and deeper than the others. "Give my thanks to Arthur again, Merlin," Ismene said between inhalations of the fresh fruits. Merlin let her use their wash bucket to get most of the mess off. Some fruit still stuck in her hair though.
Merlin smiled. "Will do."
Gaius let her shirt down as he took his glasses off and set them on the table. "Well it doesn't look too bad. The bruising should be gone in a few days," Gaius diagnosed. He looked over a set of potions formerly prepared on the table beside his glasses. He picked up a blue bottle and put it beside her silver platter, still adorned with a full roasted chicken and an apple. "Take that with a full stomach. It should help with the pain." Ismene thought he only meant the bruises, but he also meant for it do some good to the scars.
Ismene nodded. "I suppose toppling over the cart was really a thing of luck," Ismene said with a smile to Gaius who looked at her curiously in return. "I mean being fed such amazing food and being treated so kindly by strangers." She wanted to add, 'when my own father had been so cruel to me,' but simply stated, "Thank you, Gaius."
"You are welcome," he replied and stood from the bench. He approached Merlin who was leaning against a post with a smile stuck on his face. "Merlin, I need you to make some deliveries for me."
"But I have to go back to Arthur after this," Merlin tried to explain with a faded smile. He was going to make good on his promise to Arthur that he would do as he said, least Ismene or he be sent to the stocks again. "I have no time to deliver the potions."
"You'll just have to make time," Gaius said and gathered a small basket of remedies.
"I could deliver them!" Ismene chimed and stood with a green apple in hand. Gaius turned to face her. "I may not know my way around the city yet, but I can ask around, and I should be back by sundown," she said, trying to persuade Gaius to let her repay him for the remedy he'd given her.
"Are you sure?" Gaius asked.
"I came to Camelot looking for a job anyway," she replied with a smile. "This would be a good way to get my face around too. Not covered in tomatoes that is." She laughed a little and was slightly surprised with herself. 'Where had this demeanor come from?' she thought to herself, 'I had never made jokes like this before.'
"Well alright," Gaius said. Ismene relished at the opportunity to repay him for his kindness and almost leapt of the bench to retrieve the basket of potions. Her foot got caught on the bench though, and she fell over, knocking the food up into the air, then back down on the platter, but she did knock some potions off the table, and they broke when they hit the stone floor.
There was silence in the room till Ismene spoke. "Sorry."
With Ismene gone, on a mission to deliver all the potions by sunset, Merlin was able to talk to Gaius about the surges of magical energy he felt when he was around her. He felt another wave when Ismene fell over the bench. He felt a little bit when he looked into her eyes, those ruby like eyes.
"So what do you think of her?" Merlin asked while cleaning up a bit of the leftover broken glass on the floor. Ismene had tried to clean it up before she left, but Merlin convinced her that he could take care of it.
"She seems very nice. A little clumsy, but that might just be nerves," Gaius suggested as he picked up the bottle of blue liquid he'd given Ismene. She'd forgotten to take it. She also left behind the roasted chicken. Gaius picked at it a little, and smiled at the savory taste. "I do wonder how she got all those scars though. Did you see them?"
"Yeah," Merlin said and a pause entered the room. "She has magic," he said plainly, picking up the last of the glass.
Gaius looked at him with astonishment. "That girl?" he asked in disbelief thinking of the klutzy girl tripping over things left and right. "Are you sure?"
Merlin nodded. "It's very powerful," he added, "maybe even more powerful than mine."
"That must be quite powerful indeed," Gaius said. "Do you think she knows?"
Merlin took a deep breath as he thought. "I don't know."
They were silent while Merlin cleaned up the remaining glass and liquid. When he was done, Gaius handed him the blue draft meant for Ismene and instructed him to get it to her as soon as he was done with Arthur's chores. With a heavy sigh Merlin agreed and went on his way.
The sun had set. Ismene held her basket, nervously picking at the wicker as she walked the darkened streets of Camelot. She didn't mind the dark, but darkness in an unfamiliar place frightened her. She considered herself lucky though that she'd gotten all of Gaius's potions delivered in time. She paced herself on her walk back, but she knew she was lost. She sighed a sigh of defeat, seeing the same well she'd passed twice before already. She sat herself down on the steps of the same well, giving up and deciding to wait till some stranger was to walk by and ask for directions. She saw no guards though, and it seemed that the people were taken to holding themselves up for the night. She thought this for the best anyway. She had no place to stay for the night. She felt she had no right to ask it of people who'd already shown her so much kindness.
Sinking into the shadows, she held herself tight. The warmth the sun had shown earlier was quickly fading as a steady cooling breeze ran through the city; she felt its affects heavily, hoping the wall and well would provide as some protection.
Passing in through the city gates was a lone horseman with a hell-bent desire to find the lone urchin called Ismene. He rode through the streets, nearly in silence except for the clicking of his horse's hooves as he weaved in and out of closed market stalls and housing. Ismene could hear this movement in the city; she stood herself up from her station in hopes of catching the rider as he went, unknown to her that the rider was seeking her out and with wicked intent.
The rider came onto the street she was on. She stood in the light of the moon to get a better view of him. She recognized the face immediately even from the distance she was at, even with the shadow it hid under given by a dark cloak. The rider stood still and looked at Ismene. His gaze was hidden, but she could feel his eyes upon her as she had many times before. The breeze that moved throughout the kingdom was not the cause of the blood in her veins running cold, colder than usual, but she willed it to move, as she walked backwards and focused intently on not tripping. She turned herself around quickly and took off at a full run. A sharp pain was sent through her legs, a sting she often felt when running or entering in any activity that struck a heavy force on her feet.
The rider followed close behind her, sending his horse at a full gallop. She suddenly considered her helpless wandering hours earlier to serve her some purpose now as she ran from her pursuer. She knew where dead ends were and could thus avoid them, and she also knew where the most concealed notches were and how to best enter them. She took down a narrow street and cut through a channel to another street. She couldn't keep this up forever though. The horse was fast and he a skilled rider. Both of these made a quick pursuit, and her capture, she thought, imminent.
Merlin was descending the steps of the palace. He'd finished scrubbing the tiles of Prince Arthur's floors one at a time. He'd checked back with Gaius to see is Ismene had returned, when he replied in the negative, he also suggested that "the poor girl may have gotten lost." Merlin thought this entirely possibly and set out for his own pursuit for her. He took the blue vial out of his pocket and held it tight. He took towards some of the more popular streets of the city, hoping to see her or vice versa.
Ismene was running out of places to hide. It seemed as though the rider knew each step she was planning to take before she even looked in the direction she had intended to lose him in. 'He's cast a charm,' she thought to herself, out of breath. 'He must have had a spare vial.' She listened for the clicks of the hooves and planned a course out in that affect. She thought back to the well. She thought it a good idea to return there; perhaps some decent person had come out to investigate the horseman.
Merlin had been wandering for quite some time; at least it appeared so to him. He wanted to take a draft of water and a break before continuing his search. Ismene slid herself quickly along the wall and around the corner, but she ran into Merlin. The vial from his hand fell to the floor and shattered. The confrontation and the breaking glass startled her, but she was able to keep on her feet. She looked at him, trying to recognize the face, but somewhat hoping she wouldn't.
"Ismene?" he asked, able to see her form in the moonlight that shown in from the archway.
"Merlin," she said taking a moment to breathe, feeling comforted by his face and voice. That moment of calm was immediately revoked within her by the remaining noise of the hooves, and she heard them coming her direction. 'He must have heard the glass breaking,' she thought and became panicked again. She started to run again, but Merlin grabbed her arm to stop her. She pulled herself feverishly from his grasp, breathing heavily and rapidly.
"Ismene, what's wrong?" Merlin asked. She couldn't answer, but tried to make herself meld into the shadows, a task she could never accomplish with her sun like hair that shimmered even in the dark. Merlin heard the hooves assault the ground. "Is someone chasing you?" he asked in a hushed tone and joined her in the shadows. She nodded twice, only permitting herself that much in fear that the rider would hear the slightest movement she made. "Come," Merlin said and held out his hand, remembering the reaction she had when he grabbed her. She hesitated. "You can trust me." He smiled at her.
She took hold of his hand, and he led her away. He surprised her at the swiftness of his movements and how well he was able to keep not only himself but both of them in the shadows. He led her towards his chambers where Gaius had decidedly retired for the night. Merlin motioned for her to remain silent as they crept towards his room. Merlin closed the door behind him, and they were both silent while Ismene took a moment to catch her breath.
"Are you alright?" Merlin's question startled Ismene. She jumped against the wall she leaned against. "Sorry," Merlin said and picked a blanket from his bed and handed it to her.
She took it hastily. "It's alright," she replied softly into the sheet. "I'm fine," she answered his first question.
Another moment of silence passed between them. "Who was chasing you?" he asked.
"A friend of my father," Ismene replied equally as soft but more relaxed.
"Why have you come to Camelot, Ismene?" Merlin asked and sat opposite her against his bed.
"I wanted to get away from him, and I knew Camelot had a law against magic and enforced it harshly, and," she took a moment to compose herself. Tears were starting to swell in her eyes. "I thought I'd be safe here."
"Why would the ban on magic keep you safe?" Merlin asked this as gently as he could, seeing she was beginning to feel troubled.
Ismene stayed silent for a while. She thought of her situation. She thought it didn't matter what she told Merlin; she knew she'd be moving on soon since she'd been found in Camelot. She took a breath and used the sheets to touch the tears from her eyes. "My father and his friend are sorcerers, but they need me to do their magic," she admitted.
"Why?"
She took another breath as she considered how to explain what she scarcely understood herself. "I, or I should say what's in me, makes their magic work. No that's not right…" A pause. "It amplifies their magic well beyond what it should be capable of."
"What do you mean 'in' you?"
"It's a long story," Ismene said and curled into the blanket more.
Merlin stood from where he sat. Ismene jumped and looked up to him with tired eyes. He smiled to her. "For another time," he said seeing she didn't want to talk anymore about that for the remainder of the evening. "Do you want some water?" he offered.
She smiled to him, remembering that he was kind and that she had nothing to fear from him. She figured there was no way he was a sorcerer (of course reader, you know this to be false). "Yes, thank you," she said. He continued to smile at her and nodded as he left the room.
She felt a hard pulsing in the ankles of her boots. Her feet needed relief after her run. She took her boots off and set them to the side. She began soothing her ankles, the cause of much of her daily pains and blunders. Two red wounds were painfully noticeable on her ankles.
"What are those from?" Merlin asked on returning to the room with a cup of water in hand.
"My father," she simply stated and took the cup from him. He sat beside her now on the wall. She took a long draft of the water. Feeling replenished, Ismene let out a sigh with a content manner.
"Good water?" Merlin joked. She laughed and nodded.
Another pause.
"Are you sure you're alright?" Merlin asked with concern.
"Yes. Just tired."
"Well, feel free to stay here as long as you like," Merlin offered with a smile. Ismene looked at him amazed.
"Do you really mean that?" she asked trying to disguise the hopefulness of her question. Merlin nodded at her. She took a moment to let herself be taken by the idea of having a safe home and be surrounded by kind people who never would grin for any reason other than genuine happiness.
Then she recalled the horseman. He'd already seen her in Camelot, and he obviously still had some of her power in reserve. It wouldn't be long before he found her. "No I can't stay," she said aloud but meant to convince herself among other things.
"At least stay here till you're alright to travel again," Merlin tried to encourage her.
"That man will find me. I need to put as much distance between myself and him as I can."
"Let me help you. We can tell the king. He'll have the man arrested and executed-"
"And he'll tell the king about me. We'll share the same end," Ismene said.
"Then maybe we can tell Arthur," Merlin went on. "He can have you protected. He can get you a horse. He'll listen to reason-"
"Don't entertain the idea for too long, Merlin," Ismene said and looked into the cup of water. "I appreciate the offer; I do…so much so but…" She sighed inwardly. "I'm sorry."
"What are you apologizing for?"
"I'm sorryfor getting you caught up in this, I suppose." She took a sip of the water.
"I deal with this sort of thing all the time," Merlin said with a laugh.
"What do you mean?" she asked.
"Like with magical things, I deal with them maybe once a week," Merlin mused over his previous adventures.
"Why?" she hazard to ask. She looked at him curiously and cautiously.
He met her gaze with equal emotion behind it. "Because I'm a sorcerer," he said once he'd removed his stare from hers.
Her heart stopped for a moment. "No, but…but…" 'sorcerer's are evil,' she meant to finish the sentence, but couldn't get the rest out feeling it no longer true. She took a moment to think only about breathing and what she thought was evil and good and cruel and kind. Merlin was the later of each, but he has magic. Ismene couldn't wrap her head around it.
"You should get some rest," Merlin said when she'd gone silent for quite some time. "You can take my bed."
"No I'm alright here," she said quickly to reject his offer.
"I insist," Merlin said. His smile was continuously welcomed by her, and it made her smile in return.
The horseman rode towards the shattered blue vial just moments after the two had fled the scene. He looked down towards the well and saw the broken glass on the floor. He leapt from his saddle and took it from the ground. He held it up to the light and smiled to himself.
Midmorning came before Ismene woke up, though she felt she was still dreaming. She'd never woken up warm before and it took more than a moment before she remembered where she was and that she was safe to get awake and didn't have to pretend to be asleep.
Ismene stood from the bed but sat almost immediately once the soreness of her ankles became oppressive. She shot her stare upward when the door opened. It was Gaius; she took a moment to release a breath she'd involuntarily been holding. "Good morning," he said to her.
"Good morning," she said in return. "Do you think you could hand me those," she asked, pointing to her boots that lay against the wall in the same spot they'd been when she'd taken them off last night. He nodded and gave them to her. While putting them on, he noticed the wounds on her ankle.
"How did those happen?" Gaius asked.
"It's an old injury," she said hoping to satisfy him, but a scientist is never completely satisfied.
"Are they causing you any pain?" he continued to question.
"Yes." She finished putting one on with great difficulty.
He stopped her before putting the other on. "Can I examine it?" he asked tenderly.
"Um, I suppose," she said. Gaius sat beside her on the bed and asked her to put her leg up for him to see. He asked her what caused the injury. "When I was a baby, I had a spike dug into my ankles," she said calmly.
"A spike?!" Gaius exclaimed, setting her foot down. "What ever for?"
"I assume you know about Merlin, yes?" she asked before telling her own tale. Gaius looked to her with surprise than nodded slowly. "My father did it to serve as a means to keep me from leaving." She laughed. "A lot of good that did him," she mused.
"And why would he do something like that?" he asked.
"The short of it is that I'm a tool he used for his magic, one he'd hate to lose," Ismene admitted.
"A tool? But you're a living being."
"In the strictest sense of the definition."
Gaius looked at her curiously as she slowly slipped her second boot on. "You're a curious girl, Ismene," he examined. She shrugged and slowly stood on her feet. "I'll have something prepared by lunch."
Ismene looked at him surprised. "Oh, uh…Thank you, Gaius, but you don't have to. I won't be staying long."
"Oh? Why's that?"
"I need to be moving on soon," Ismene said and joined Gaius in the main room. He'd prepared a spare breakfast for her and though it'd gone cold, she still smiled at the gesture. "Merlin seems to be having a tough time understanding that however. Perhaps you could convince him to let me go with at least less of a fight."
"I'll see what I can do, but the boy is very stubborn."
"I've gathered," Ismene said with a smile as she sat down to eat. Gaius laughed and turned to his station to brew a draft for her.
Merlin came in smelling distinctively like the foul end of a horse. Ismene still smiled at him though, and he smiled back. "You're awake then? Sleep well?" he asked.
"Very," she said with a wider smile before taking the last bit of porridge into a hearty spoonful.
"Good." Merlin walked in further, than prompted by Gaius, went to wash some of the stink off. When Ismene had nearly licked the plate clean, she'd gotten up with it to wash it. Ismene took a step back though and exclaimed sympathies with Gaius's feeling on Merlin's hygiene. "Oh yeah, alright, gang up on the stable boy, real fair," Merlin said washing more thoroughly.
The three laughed, enjoying each other's company. Gaius looked around his work station. "You wouldn't happen to know what happened to my basket, would you, Merlin?" he asked aloud, while looking under books and parchment.
"I'm sorry, I think that's my fault." Ismene's smile faded as she confessed to this. "I dropped it last night when…"
"I'll get it," Merlin said and headed towards the door. Ismene held his arm tight and looked at him concerned. "Don't worry. I'll be fine." She let him go, surprised with herself at the action in the first place. She nodded silently and went to wash the plate. Merlin patted her back before leaving.
Merlin started walking down the hall, towards the well. He was not alone in the hallway though; he shared it with a stranger. Merlin didn't know this man, and he couldn't have guessed at who he was. The stranger wore a black cloak to cover his face and deliberately walked in the shadows. Merlin thought of just walking past and not thinking anything of it, but when the man stopped him, he felt a deep distrust for the man. "This is the hall that leads to the physician's chambers, yes?" he asked with a harsh rasp in his voice.
"Yeah," Merlin said, unsettled. "But Gaius isn't in right now," he lied. "He's making runs."
The man looked Merlin in the eyes. "Do you know when he'll be back?" he asked impatiently. Merlin shook his head. The man stared harder into Merlin's eyes. "Have you seen a girl with blonde hair and purple eyes? Young, only about 20 or so. She'll only have been in the city for a day or two."
'Ismene,' Merlin thought to himself and avoided his gaze. 'He must be the one she was running from last night.' "No, I-I haven't seen any girls like that," Merlin said aloud and started to walk away from him. "Let me know if you find any though. Sound pretty." He flashed a smile before taking at a jog towards the hall. The cloaked man continued down towards the physician's chambers. Merlin didn't let himself look back until he'd rounded a corner. When he'd gone out of site from anyone who'd still be in the hall, he looked back around the corner and saw the man checked over his shoulders. Merlin retreated as the man made sure that no one could see him. He rapped on the door three times.
"Ismene, can you get that for me?" Gaius asked her as he used a gentle hand to pour what remained into a vial.
Ismene nodded with a smile, glad to be helpful and went to open the door. She opened it in one motion, and in one other motion the man grabbed her. He held her mouth shut with one hand and restrained her arms with another, though she struggled with her whole body and as hard as she could. She bit hard on one of the fingers over her mouth. He pulled his hand back in pain and disgust allowing her just enough time to scream for help. Gaius turned to see what the commotion was, but the man uttered a spell to seal it shut. "Help!" Ismene screamed again, and Merlin went to her aid at a run. "Merlin!" Ismene cried in desperation before the man got his hand across her mouth again.
Her cry alerted him to Merlin's presence and with one word put the boy from his mind, sending him back, crashing Merlin into a wall and knocking him out. Ismene cringed at the sight. Her only hope, her only salvation was lying motionless on the ground. Tears rose to her eyes as the man knocked the air out of her. As she gasped for air, the man took a damp cloth from his back pocket and put it over her mouth and nose. She soon went limp and was thrown over the man's shoulder. "Wretched thing," he huffed out as he walked down the dark side of the corridor.
Merlin woke up when a servant was walking down to the hallway to light candles. He started up quickly and looked for Ismene but didn't find any sign of her. He went back to check on Gaius but found the door still held shut. A quick glance to make sure he was alone, let Merlin know it was safe to use a spell to unlock the door. "Gaius!" he said with worry.
"I'm alright," Gaius replied. "Where's Ismene?"
"I couldn't get any trace of her." Merlin ran his fingers through his hair and as some sort of last resort, he took a quick turn around the room, hoping to see her somewhere in the room. "I have to find her," Merlin said and took towards the door.
"Merlin," Gaius said to calm him down. "Merlin, wait a minute," he said again and caught his arm.
"We don't have a minute, Gaius!" Merlin said and walked away from his grasp. "You've seen what they've done to her; they're going to do it again!"
"I know you want to help her, but how do you even expect to find her?" Gaius asked, stopping Merlin in his tracks.
Merlin stopped pacing and hunched himself over a table. A book lay before him on the table. "Maybe there's some spell or…" Merlin gazed into a rock that lied on the book; it served as nothing more than an ornament, but it reminded Merlin of Ismene; the colour of the stone was remarkably similar to her eyes. Gaius replied in the negative. He said he knew of no spells that could locate any person at any given time. They agreed though they needed to ask help from the only other creature that may have felt Ismene's presence before she'd gone; the dragon.
"Yes, young warlock, I have felt the presence of that magic since it'd taken a step within the city," the dragon said.
"Do you know where she is now?" Merlin asked.
"She?" the dragon asked in confusion. "The force I felt came from no man or woman, but a stone."
"Stone? What stone?"
"The most powerful stone to ever be conceived by the hands of the priests and priestesses of the old religion," the dragon explained. "The stone is called Cinhatch, simply meaning in the old religion 'Power.'"
"So Ismene has this stone, Cinhatch, inside of her?" Merlin asked.
"If it is inside the girl, then she has no control over its power. She has no magical powers to use the stone for her own means, though it would give the weakest of wizards unimaginable strength. Many such wizards have searched for this stone in vain, and I'd been hoping you'd gotten your hands on it."
"Well it's not an 'it,'" Merlin corrected him hotly. "She's a girl." He took a moment to breathe. "Do you know where she is?"
"The stone has travelled to the north," the dragon replied, but with resistance at being corrected. Merlin thanked him before turning to leave, but the dragon bid him to hear one more word of wisdom, "I advise you to take the stone for yourself. A power like that is more than extraordinary, and I doubt running across it- her," the dragon looked back on himself, "is not something of mere coincidence."
"I will not use her," Merlin stated simply.
"But if she offers this power to you?" the dragon asked.
Merlin walked from the dungeon in silence, giving no answer, not having one at the ready. The hums of the dragon's laugh were felt as Merlin ascended the staircase. Merlin was able to ignore them easily enough though; the only thought in his mind was getting a horse and riding out for Ismene.
Ismene's head felt thick and heavy as she awoke. She already missed the warmth of a bed and comfort of a kind "good morning." As her head cleared though of the drug she'd been forced under, she began to realize she'd never have either of those things to look forward to again.
"Hey, Bertram," the horseman said to another man poking at a fire. "It's up."
The man turned from the fire and smirked at Ismene. She had her hands tied behind her back and a cloth was tied across her mouth to keep her quiet. "My sweet angel," the man, Bertram, cooed to her, "did you sleep well?" He laughed as she struggled to back away from him but found herself cornered against the base of a large tree. "Oh my daughter," Bertram kneeled down to move some stray golden hair from her face. She moved her head away from him, but found a harsh strike replaced by his tender touch. She slammed her head against the tree, though she thought, 'better that than him.' Bertram's faint resemblance of a smile left without a trace with a hateful glare as he stood. "You know you had me worried, Ismene. I mean a young girl alone in such a large city. And your dear Uncle Creon says he saw you with a boy." Ismene's heart sunk; her brow furrowed. Her father smirked again. "So there was a boy."
"Merlin, I think it said," Creon, the horseman said. "Perhaps we should pay a visit to this boy. As your guardians, I feel as though we should show our personal gratitude to him for taking care of our dear Cinhatch while we were indisposed." Ismene tried to yell out at this suggestion, but no plea she uttered was to any avail. Creon shut her up with a harsh strike to her face. A bold streak of burgundy red blood fell from her cheek just below her left eye. Creon put his finger to her cheek to catch the blood as it fell. He spread it across his hand, delighting in the warmth it gave; it didn't emit literal warmth however, only in the sense of its power. In truth Ismene's blood was often colder than most stone in a dark cave. It chilled her as it ran down her face to her neck.
"If you wish us to leave this Merlin boy alone, I suggest you keep yourself close by," Bertram warned her. "No more stabbing us and running away." He wagged a disapproving finger in her face as he said this. She swallowed tears she felt rising in her eyes, from the blow on her face and the fear the two men, her only family, instilled in her. She nodded her head slowly. Bertram smirked. "Good," he said. "We set course for home in the morning," Bertram announced to his party. "As for tonight, we shall rest." He knelt beside his daughter again and wiped the blood from her face. "Sleep well, Ismene."
'No,' she thought to herself as Creon and her father took to a tent they'd set up for themselves. They left Ismene tied by her hand to the tree. She closed her eyes as she let her mind continue to speak. 'I shall not sleep well. You take me not to my home but away from it. You take me from the only place I have ever felt at home, but I shall let you. As long as Merlin is safe.' Ismene let out a simple sigh out through her nose as her gaze went upwards through the trees. A bright moon shone its way through the canopy. It shined on her skin as a single tear fell from her eye and cleaned through the blood still dripping down her face.
The same Merlin Ismene thought of rode hard and fast to the north. With each hard push of the horse's hooves to the ground, he grew closer to the camp where Ismene was held. A sharp surge of magic flew through him as he rode. He halted the horse and stepped from saddle. He looked around his surroundings in search of some sign of her till finally he looked towards the sky and saw a trail of black smoke coming from the fire at the camp where Ismene and her father and uncle rested. He walked in silence towards it, careful not to make his presence known, remembering how poorly that played out for him last time (though not entirely his fault.)
He walked quietly through the woods and listened intently for any noise other than his own breathing, and his efforts proved not to be in vain. To his right he heard the crackling of the fire and the whinnies of two horses. Merlin smiled to himself at this discovery. He treaded carefully though. He remained unseen as he crept behind a tree. He saw the fire, two docile horses, a tent crudely assembled, and, to his relief, Ismene. She was not asleep though laid still as if she was.
He approached her cautiously, and when he reached the thick tree, he slowly came into the light of the fire. Tapping her shoulder gently, he caused her to jump. "It's okay," he said in a suppressed whisper. Her eyes went wide when she'd recognized his face. She didn't believe, or rather, she wouldn't allow herself to. She attempted to speak aloud, to convince herself that he wasn't really there. He motioned for her to be silent, and she did so after a moment of searching his face. She finally admitted that he was real and was really there. He untied the cloth from around her mouth.
"What are you doing here?" she asked almost in silence. She was smiling at him; he was smiling back at her.
"I came to get you," he answered and put a comforting hand on her cheek. She leaned into it. Without either of their knowledge though, this caused a fair amount of her blood to be spread onto his hand. He pulled away from her. "I'm going to untie you," Merlin told her. She bent forward to give him better access. He pulled at the rope for a while with no effect. He held out his hand to undo the knots with a spell. The hand he extended was coated with Ismene's blood. The spell's power was magnified without either of their control. With the spell's power unchecked it took to agitating the flame, causing a major burst of fire to erupt from the campfire. The horses became spooked and stood to their feet. The horses' noise caused the men in the tent to stir.
"What are they up about?" Creon demanded still within the tent.
"Go settle them down," Bertram told him.
The stirring inside the tent panicked Ismene. The spell had done what it had originally intended to do as well, and she was free. Merlin helped her stand, and they both left the scene at a run. Merlin had her by her hand and led her towards the horse he had waiting.
Creon emerged from the tent, saw Ismene gone and loudly altered her father to this discovery. "Come on," Merlin said when he felt her slow at this sound. She allowed herself to be pulled by him, knowing her fear was weighing her down.
"Cinhatch!" Creon yelled into the night sky. "Fifula Opluca Nimua!" shouted two simultaneous voices once the cry for the stone had completed its reign.
Ismene fell to her knees once this unified incantation had been completed. "What's wrong?" Merlin asked.
"My feet, they-they won't move!" she replied in horror. Merlin took her over his shoulders and moved beside her to pick her up. He did so with difficulty. Her legs felt heavy has boulders, but he was pushed to move forward by the noisy movements of the two men who'd captured her.
Merlin got Ismene to the horse and got on behind her and rode them back towards Camelot. Upon their return, Merlin took straight to his chambers. He set her down and told her to explain all that as happened to Gaius so he could examine her. Merlin then went out to seek Arthur's help.
When entering Arthur's chambers, the prince asked, "There you are. Where have you been all day?"
"Sire, forgive me," Merlin began, quite out of breath. "There are sorcerers on their way here now, and they intend to storm the castle."
"Where did you get this information?" Arthur demanded surprised by his manservant's serious demeanor.
"I saw them," Merlin said. "Please, Arthur. They're very dangerous."
Arthur ran his hand over his face and spared a sparse gaze to Merlin. "I suppose it couldn't hurt to increase security at the gates for a few nights," he said.
"Thank you," Merlin said and started a jog as he exited the room. "Thank you, my lord." Merlin left to return to Gaius and Ismene without another word and without taking a moment to breathe. When he entered the room, he brought some noise into a dead silent room. Gaius sat solemnly before a book of curses. Ismene lied in silence, motionless on a cleared off table. A vial of opaque dark red liquid lay beside her over a blanket that covered her legs. Merlin walked into this silent, somber room and was taken by its dark atmosphere. He hazarded to ask the question, "What is it?"
Ismene could not answer. She was too focused on avoiding his gaze. Gaius was left to deliver the bad news. "She's been cursed," he said.
"Yeah, so? We can break it, right?" Merlin asked being to feel anxious.
"Not this curse," Gaius went on to say. "It's a curse that reverts things to their true form."
"And?" Merlin urged him on confused.
"My blood is turning back to stone," Ismene said, finally finding the words. "I'm going to die."
"What?" Merlin exclaimed as he rushed to sit by her side. He grabbed her hand and tried to look at her face for any sign of humor or jest to prove her words and Gaius's false, but she continued in her resistance to look at him. "No," Merlin repeated to himself quieter each time. "Maybe I can do something. Some spell or-or"
"No, Merlin," Ismene stopped him. "There is nothing to do. My end is near."
"I'm making something to put her sleep," Gaius said. "She will not feel any pain when she goes."
"How much time does she have?"
"An hour," Gaius said. "Maybe a few minutes more."
Merlin's spirits sunk. He felt useless as he held her hand. It was cold. He saw her arm was bandaged to spot the bleeding of a long cut on her arm. He hadn't seen this when he'd collected her from the camp. She saw him eyeing her new wound and with her other hand, she took the vial of red liquid from beside her and held it tight. "Merlin," she said and finally looked up at him. She turned over the hand he held to leave his palm face up. She put the vial in his hand and closed in hand around it. "I want you to have this," she said to him, looking into his eyes with such somber intensity it took Merlin a moment to ask,
"What is it?"
"When I am gone from this world, it shall be the only useable fragment of Cinhatch," she said. "Unless you were to cut my corpse open, I mean," she added.
He looked at her with surprise. "This is your-" he began, but Ismene cut him off with a curt nod. "Ismene, I can't," Merlin tried to refuse her offer.
"Merlin, you're the only person I want to have this power," Ismene refuted. "And you're the only person I'd offer it to." Merlin tried to find some words to respond to this. "Please, Merlin. Please take it."
For the next moments the only sound to be heard was the tinkling of bottles as Gaius concocted the sleeping elixir for Ismene. Merlin's eyes were set on Ismene's and hers on his. Merlin finally broke the gaze and looked down to bottle of blood that matched Ismene's eyes. He held it tighter in his hand and set it on a table behind him. He then replaced its presence with Ismene's hand.
"Its power will fade each time you use it, so use it sparingly," Ismene said. Merlin nodded to her.
"If there's anything I can do before…"Merlin lost the words, then picked them up again, "just tell me, and I'll do it."
Ismene thought for a moment then nodded. "Yes, there is something you can do," she said. "They will come for me when I'm dead, my father and uncle I mean. I do not want them to ever use me for their evil magic again. Do what you can to make sure they cannot get to it or me rather… Can I ask you to promise me this?"
Merlin nodded. "I promise." Another moment of silence passed between them. "Ismene," Merlin said to break the quiet in the room, "do you know how you got like this?" She nodded and averted her gaze again, feeling even more depressed than she already was. "Can you tell me?" Merlin edged her on.
She flickered her eyes at him and then called them to retreat as quickly as they went. "I suppose," Ismene said and adjusted herself a little to get more comfortable. "I'll warn you now though that this tale is one that is not for the faint of heart." She took a moment to see if Merlin wished to revoke his curious nature. He did not. She swallowed hard and began to tell him how she was born, "My father and mother were sorcerers before King Uther ordered for the beginning of the great purge. My father had gotten hold of the stone called Cinhatch, and under the influence of my mother, previously used its power for good. He feared losing it though when an order to search his house had been given. He'd become addicted to the power it gave and wouldn't bear to part with it. At the time my mother was pregnant with me. My father saw this as an opportunity to hide the stone. He smelted it down and force fed the liquid to my mother. This is how the power came to reside in me. The search proved to find nothing. My father and mother were found innocent of the crime of witchcraft.
"Months later I was born. My mother was so attached to me that my father began to see her as a threat to his stone, so he killed her. This was when he took the opportunity to drive the spikes into my ankles so I could never leave him. My uncle, Creon, was my mother's brother. He discovered that is was my father that killed her and threatened to turn him in. My father offered to share my power as a sort of bargain. My uncle took the deal, and they raised me.
"They both treated me differently. My father would often say sweet words to me, calling me his 'precious gift' and 'personal angel' but he said these words with no true feeling behind them. He said these things to justify to himself all the awful things he and his brother-in-law did to me. My uncle did almost the opposite but for the same purpose. He only ever called me Cinhatch, this is how I know the name of the stone that lives inside me. He never called me by any other thing than 'it' when he talked to my father about me. He saw me only as an object, a tool to influence his magic. He looked me in the eyes and heard my breath and knew my only as a rock with a beating heart. He looked at me and witnessed only a living stone before him.
"I took this treatment for two decades, as they cut me open again and again to use their precious stone. Though last week I got hold of a knife and took the opportunity to stab my father. He was the only one watching me at the time, and being surprised by the attack couldn't act fast enough, and I escaped," she looked to them. "You know the story past that point," she added.
Neither Merlin nor Gaius could find a word in reply to this. Gaius had stopped working, intrigued by her story. It seemed almost like fiction, the most disheartening of tragedies and even more so because it was true. Merlin finally stuttered out, "Is-Ismene. I don't know what to say."
She laughed a little. "I thought not. But since you cannot find words, allow me to express some of my own." She looked to the both of them. Their gazes were fixed on her and were widened with surprise when she smiled to them. "Thank you," she said and displayed her toothy smile once again, but both of the men were still too shocked to return the gesture. "You've both shown me more kindness than I thought anyone could be capable of. If I am to have a last moment so soon, I am glad it is with two people I can call friends."
Merlin's hand tightened on hers, and he began to slowly feel tears rising to his eyes. "I'm sorry I couldn't help you," he said. Gaius turned back to his work.
"No, Merlin," Ismene said quickly in turn to this. "You should never apologize to me for you have never wronged me, and I know you never would. Though I do hope you will accept my apology."
"What for?" he asked.
"For making you worry or any other bad feeling." Ismene looked at his face and into his eyes. "Merlin, I'm sorry to ask this, but can you make me one more promise?"
"Anything, Ismene," he replied quickly, taking the hand he held into both of his. She still felt cold.
"If you ever think of me, after I'm dead, if you do, can you promise me that it will not sadden you? I don't want to be the cause of any unpleasant feelings for you. Ever," Ismene said and forced herself to smile hoping it would encourage him to smile in return. Merlin could not return her favor. Tears instead were brought forward. She withdrew the forced grin. "Can you promise me this?"
Merlin was now the one who avoided eye contact. Instead he looked to the candles surrounding her head on different tables. They shinned equally as bright reflecting her hair. The golden locks were only now set free, previously having been tied back. They fell all around her face, framing it like a portrait. Merlin moved a stray lock from her face to complete the frame. Ismene waited in silence for an answer of whether or not he could make and keep this promise. Merlin still held her hand tight. Eventually Merlin was able to take pleasure in the sight of her. He smiled, and she returned it immediately.
His hand lingered against her cheek. Her face felt warm, the only part of her body that was warm to touch. He smiled a bit brighter at the warmth. His hand still lay on hers. He let his eyes return to hers. He thoroughly enjoyed their distinguishable colour. He knelt forward, drawn into them. Ismene's began to burn hotter as he descended. She'd never allowed anyone to come so close to her. She got pleasure from how much care he took to avoid the sore cut under her eye as he softly stroked it. He continued downwards, closing the already small gap between them. She raised her free hand to pull him closer. Both novices in this area, they moved in instinctive motions and let their lips slide between each other. Her hand slid through his hair. Their eyes shut, and each of them lost themselves in their emotions, forgetting the darkness surrounding their gesture. Among other things, they forgot to breathe leading to their heavy inhalations when they finally parted. Their fingers had become entwined without their knowledge. Tears had also begun to shed without notice.
She laughed a bit to herself once they'd released each other, and she wiped the tears from her cheeks. "I'd have escaped sooner if I'd known I would meet you, Merlin."
"I'd spend three months straight in the stocks if you could live," Merlin said and wiped his own tears away.
"I should think Camelot would see themselves with a famine on their hands if that were possible." Ismene smiled at him. He gave a short laugh to this. "Thank you, Merlin, for everything."
He smiled at her and found himself wiping more tears. "It's…been a pleasure."
"It's done," Gaius stated to interrupt their moment. He stood from his stool and walked to the table where Ismene lay. Half her body was now hard as stone and unmovable. He put a vial of yellow liquid down by her hand; hers and Merlin's that is.
"Thank you, Gaius," Ismene said to him but did not reach for her remedy immediately. "I wish I had something to leave behind for you, a gift for your kindness."
"You shouldn't worry yourself about it," Gaius told her. "You've been a joy to have." They exchanged smiles then Gaius turned to leave the room. He knew some privacy was requested without words.
Ismene looked towards the vial, and Merlin followed her gaze. He released her hand and took the vial in it. He chanted a few words to cast a spell on the elixir. It glowed for a moment but settled after a moment. "There," he said and set it back down. "Now at the last thing you taste will be enjoyable."
"Thank you," Ismene said and grabbed it. She held it up to her lips but hesitated. "Merlin," she said after moving it away from her mouth. "Since I can remember, I've wondered how I'd die. I always assumed I'd be bled out by those two wizards. I never in my wildest dreams thought I'd actually die…happy." She said this word with a thankful gaze to Merlin. "I couldn't express my gratitude in enough ways even if I had six lifetimes."
"Perhaps we'll get to see each other in another lifetime," Merlin offered as some sort of solace.
"I hope so." Ismene took a deep breath. While she raised the elixir to her mouth once again, a number of tears fell from her eyes. "Good-bye, Merlin."
"Good-bye, Ismene," Merlin chocked out.
She swiftly inhaled the potion. A tart taste penetrated her mouth, but it turned sweet almost immediately. It was like blueberries just after they'd become the ripe. She felt herself slipping away instantly. Her eyes fluttered, and her senses dulled. She only barely felt Merlin's lips on her forehead as she entered into a dream; a sweet dream where she was not destined to die so soon and helped Merlin through all his trials and stood by him when all others had shunned him for having magic.
Merlin rose from her side, feeling hot from his suppressed sobs. For this reason he was happy he'd not promised what she'd asked him to. He knew he'd break it. He rested her arms across her stomach. He pulled the remainder of the blanket over her. He sat by her for the rest of the night till day broke.
Before that time though many things happened; the warning bell sounded, and though the two put up a hard fight, Creon and Bertram were caught by the guards, and Uther immediately ordered for their execution. Gaius returned to their quarters with this news. When told this, Merlin said nothing and moved not an inch. Gaius turned in for the night and advised Merlin to do the same.
In a small boat made with dark wood laid Ismene's body covered with a blanket. The boat floated lightly on a lake. Merlin watched it bob and sway with the motions of the water. He sent the boat towards the center of the lake with a spell. Another incantation and the boat dissolved into a thick bed of white flowers. Merlin wept in silence as Ismene sunk to the bottom of the lake, sending the flowers in every direction. One found its way back towards Merlin. He picked it up as it washed onto the shore. He stood beside the bank for hours. He only returned when he absolutely had to, and even then walked so slowly he felt as though he wasn't moving at all, and he wished he wasn't.
Ismene's dream to service Merlin to the best of her abilities would prove to become true, as she became much more than a formerly living stone in death but taking the title of the Lady of the Lake and all that it entailed.