Merlin bounced around on his borrowed horse following Arthur. "Here we are, just the two of us. In a dangerous forest. On a quest. Again."
"Are you complaining? Again?" Arthur asked. His bright eyes scoured the dark trees for danger.
"Of course not. Why would I complain that you always volunteer for these quests? Just once, why not let a few knights do your shopping?"
"We're not shopping, Merlin."
"Oh, I'm sorry. I thought that was what you called it when you go somewhere and pay money to get something. No wait, it is shopping that I'm thinking of. We are shopping in the dark woods of Alfindor."
"Gaius said this goldbloom extract was important."
"It is important. But why not send someone else? Why must it always-"
They both heard a woman shout and immediately rode toward her. Two ridges later, they saw a woman faced against a feral looking man. She feinted with a dagger and he circled her.
"Leave her alone!" Arthur dismounted and ran at them with his sword drawn.
The man snarled and fled into the trees. Arthur chased him enough to be sure the man was gone. Merlin went to the girl as she gathered her spilled basket. He reached down to help and had four flowers in his hands when he realized he was holding goldbloom. He looked at her in shock.
"These are supposed to be impossible to find. You have a whole basket!"
She took the flowers from him and hid them all under a handkerchief in the basket. Arthur made plenty of noise as he returned and she held a finger to her lips, asking Merlin for silence.
"Are you hurt?" Arthur asked.
The girl curtsied. "I am well, good sir. Thanks to you. What brings you and your manservant to Alfindor? These are very dangerous woods."
"I might ask the same of you."
"I live here. My village is nearby."
"Ambuscade?"
"Indeed, my lord."
"That is our destination. Will you take us?"
"As you wish."
"What is your name?" Merlin asked.
"Margarite." She curtsied again. "And yours?"
"I am Merlin and this is Pr-" Arthur gave Merlin a warning look. "Sir Arthur. A knight of Camelot."
"Impressive. Follow me."
Merlin kept pace with Margarite. "Who was that man?"
"We call them wolves. They are men who lost some of their humanity. They live in these woods."
"If you know the danger, why did you risk coming out here alone?" asked Arthur.
"My grandmother lives away from the village. I was going to visit her. She's been sick."
"Our journey can wait if you want to check on her."
"If you don't mind." Margarite was relieved. Her language and manner relaxed after they changed direction and she picked up the pace.
"She's getting on, you know, and we like to check on her every few days or so. This one woman in town fell and broke her hip and it was ten hours before someone found her and that was in the village. She hasn't fallen yet, luckily, but part of me thinks that it's just a matter of time."
"Why don't you bring her back to live with you in the village?"
"She says that her grandfather built that cottage before the village was built and if anything we should move in with her. But it's pretty lonely out there with her and I love her dearly but she can be such a hag sometimes. I'm to live with her come winter. She's an excellent cook and father says it's time I learned. It'll be lonely for me, but just for a season. And it'll be good for her. We won't have to worry about her during the winter."
They came around a bend in the trail and saw the cottage. It was a squat building with old thatching. Light shone through the windows as it grew dark. No smoke came from the chimney.
"She let the fire go out." Margarite said, troubled. "I bet she has fallen."
Margarite and Arthur ran to the cottage, leaving Merlin with the horses. He hurried too, feeling uneasy. He tied them to one of the clothes line poles and grabbed an axe leaning against the cottage.
"Mama?" Margarite burst through the door.
There was a cough from the bedroom. "In here." The voice was high pitched and hoarse.
Margarite lit a candle to take into the dark room.
"You sound hoarse, Grandmama. Are you still sick?"
"The light! It's too bright!"
Margarite left the candle in the front room and went into the bedroom. Arthur waited in the doorway. A little blue light came though the bedroom window and shone on the figure in the bed.
"I'm sorry you're sick, Mama."
Merlin ran in and looked around. "What happened?"
"The old lady is in bed. What's that for?" Arthur pointed at the axe.
"Uh… for the fire. You know… for kindling?"
Arthur and Merlin stood in the doorway and looked into the bedroom. Margarite had sat on the bed.
"Your eyes are very dilated. Let me feel your throat. And your nose is swollen. How long have you been ill? I should have come sooner. Did that hurt? You're grimacing-"
The wolf lunged for the defenseless Margarite. They wrestled on the bed as the wolf tried to bite her. The bedding tangled around their thrashing limbs, restraining them both.
Arthur drew his sword and waited for an opening. Merlin ran to the side of the bed and whacked the wolf on the head with the blunt end of the axe when the wolf had wrestled on top of her.
Margarite kicked him off of her but her legs were trapped in the blankets and she fell off the side of the bed. Merlin and Arthur checked the wolf for signs of life.
And then Margarite shrieked.
They circled the bed and watched her drag her grandmother's body from under the bed. Her skin was ashen and her throat covered with bruises. Margarite pulled her into her arms and rocked, sobbing.
Merlin delicately came close and checked for a pulse. Margarite waited but when he couldn't reassure her, went back to crying.
Arthur was at a loss for what to do. But he had Merlin help him take the unconscious wolf outside and tie him up.
"Is this the same one we chased off earlier?"
"You mean the one I chased off?" Arthur studied the wolf. "I believe so. How long do you think she'll take?"
"What?"
"We still have a quest. And we still need her to show us the village."
"She just lost her grandmother."
"So how long should mourning for a grandmother take?"
Merlin gave Arthur a disappointed look.
"I'm not saying she shouldn't grieve, but we can't stay here for days while we wait."
"We're just shopping. It can wait. What should we do about him, then?"
"He'll have to stand trial. We can take him with us to the village. It's too late to go now. We'll have to stay here the night. Go unload the horses."
"And what will you be doing?"
"I'll guard him for now. I can't stand the sound of women crying."
Merlin kept his opinions to himself and saw to the horses. He decided to make a good dinner for her and looked around the kitchen. He opened a door into what he thought was the pantry. Instead he saw a small workroom full of distillation equipment. Bunches of drying goldbloom hung from the rafters and bottles of extract fermented on shelves built behind the kitchen fireplace.
"Find something to eat?" Arthur asked.
Merlin slammed the door shut. Arthur looked at him, waiting. "Broom closet," Merlin explained.
"At least she's quieted down," Arthur whispered. He took off his chainmail and Merlin started on dinner.
He portioned the roast partridge and vegetables into prince sized, lady sized, and servant sized meals. Then he poked his head into the bedroom.
She was still stroking her grandmother's hair.
"Margarite? Dinner's ready."
She looked up, blankly. Merlin helped her up, carefully putting the old woman down and led her to the kitchen and sat her at the table. He set out the plates and Margarite noticed the different sizes.
She stabbed a large chunk of Arthur's partridge and put it on Merlin's plate.
"He made it, he might as well taste it."
Arthur was shocked and offended. Merlin was happy that he wouldn't go hungry after preparing a meal and even more so at Arthur's expense. He grinned at Arthur and tucked in.
Margarite made it halfway through her meal before she broke down into tears. Merlin knelt beside her and hesitantly pulled her into a hug.
"If you hadn't scared him off, she'd be alive. I wish I was dead."
Arthur was about to argue but Merlin shook his head at him. Arthur tried to finish eating but the sound of her crying distressed him. He wanted to make it stop but couldn't think of anything to do. If it had been Guinevere, he would hold her, but Merlin was already doing that, and Arthur was glad for it. He wasn't sure how he would feel about holding a pretty girl. He was only familiar with romancing women, and wasn't sure how he to handle this situation chastely. But he had to do something so he took a lantern outside, found a shovel, and dug a grave.
Margarite quieted again and Merlin handed her his neckerchief. She cleaned her face and blew her nose. "Don't worry," she said. "I'll wash it."
Merlin went back to his seat and ate his (now cold) supper.
"I know it's not your fault she's dead. But it's not fair. And now he's dead, too."
"No he's not. Just knocked out. We'll take him with us to town for a trial. You'll get justice, I promise."
Margarite fell into thought.
"Thanks for dinner," Merlin said, smiling.
"Oh. I forgot. Is it always like that? Even when you cook it yourself?"
"Always. If there's a group, sometimes I don't get any."
"Princes are all like that. They're almost intolerable."
"This one is at least. I haven't met that many, though. …How did you know he was a prince?"
"I can spot royalty a league away. And if he wants to go incognito, pick another name. There's only one Arthur in Camelot. You didn't fool anyone with "sir.""
Merlin tried to be sure Arthur wasn't near enough to hear. "I found your grandmother's workroom," he said quietly.
Margarite froze. "And?"
"What's going on? We're prepared to pay a fortune for a bottle of goldbloom extract, which is supposed to be incredibly rare and I find you with a basketful of them!"
"They are rare and it is expensive for a good reason. But it's the village's only produce and to tell our secrets puts everyone's livelihoods at stake."
"I'm apprenticed to Gaius. He said that in his name we could get six ounces of pure extract."
"I don't know who Gaius is, but he's crazy to think we could part with that much. You must be prepared to pay a fortune."
"Gaius said we could get a deal. He would have come himself but he's pretty old and didn't want to travel. There was supposed to be a question and I was to answer, "as gold doth bloom.""
Margarite shrugged. "That is one of our sayings. But I guess you'd have to talk to the village leaders. They handle transactions."
"Transactions? You don't talk like a backwoods village girl."
"I'm being groomed. Our village is mostly ruled by women and Grandmama used to be a leader. I'm meant to follow in her footsteps."
"And this winter to learn how to cook?"
"Is exactly what you think it is. But now her secrets are lost. Woe to my village. These last bottles will be all the more expensive since future batches won't be as potent and therefore less valuable." She sighed. "It's hard to know that your best will cost others dearly."
Arthur returned, dirty and flushed. "Are you feeling better? I dug a grave for your grandmother."
"Thank you. I'm tired. You're welcome to sleep where you can find space." She went into the bedroom and hung a curtain in the doorway.
Merlin unpacked and laid out their bedrolls in the front room while Arthur finished eating.
"She might have offered us the bed," Arthur said.
"She doesn't know you're a prince, Sir Arthur."
"I did save her life. Twice."
They settled down and the house was quiet.
"Merlin?" Margarite poked her head through the curtain. "Can I talk to you?"
"Absolutely."
The bedroom was lit with a few candles. Her grandmother was wrapped in a quilt from the bed.
"Can you help me move her?"
"Yeah."
They each took an end and put her against the far wall.
"Good night," Merlin said and headed for the curtain.
"Wait. Sit with me?" Margarite climbed onto the bed and leaned against him. "She was all I had."
"What about your parents?"
"Mother died of sickness a few years ago. Father is busy running the town's business. My sisters are simpletons. Mama was everything. What I said before is still true. She could be a hag and it was difficult to spend two days together with her but I loved her more than anything. And now I'm alone." She turned to face Merlin. "Help me feel not so alone." She leaned nearer his mouth.
"I shouldn't. You're grieving. You're not thinking well." He swallowed and kept himself from leaning in, but did not lean away.
When she spoke, he felt her breath on his face and it gave him goosebumps. "I need comforting. I need to feel alive. Please Merlin." She gently kissed him.
"I've never…" he confessed.
"I'll show you."