Chapter 1: A missing memory and a poisoned Chalice
Cold and black, no feeling, only blackness. What happened…? I don't remember… wait there is a light. Does that mean I'm dead, should I move towards it? Can I even move? Weird the light is getting bigger I need to find out what it holds, maybe it will help me remember... something, I can't remember what was so important. Closer... have to get closer. Wait… I think I see something, no that's the wrong word not see, hear, "Maera" one word what does it mean? Is that me? Is that my name? Does it even matter? Suddenly white hot pain shoots through her at the base of her skull where it connects to her neck. Oww! No black... come back, I don't want the pain, it hurts! But it was too late now …
Slowly the darkness fades and she clung on to that one word, Maera. If she let go the world might collapse. She heard sounds, Clinking and she realized that she was no longer cold. A rough surface rubbed against her arm as a weight settled down beside her. Warmth covered her forehead for a few moments.
"Good your fever has gone down," a soft kind voice informed her as the weight left again. She felt the warm air on her face and slowly inhaled the scents around her, which tasted of dust and staleness. The smells were vibrant with wood smoke and different herbal smells. As she slowly blinked her eyes open adjusting them to the light she saw a rafted ceiling with stone arches, directly above her was a small walkway with a wooden staircase. She flicked her eyes to the side and saw a table with various objects strewn about. Sitting on a stool with his back to her was an elderly man who was doing something with a bowl on the table.
"Hey look who's awake." A voice said from above and she turned to look as a boy's head disappeared from the side of the stairs and reappeared coming down the stairs. He looked to be about sixteen or so with dark hair and a long awkwardness that came with adolescence. He smiled and walked over to the old man, "Gaius look she's awake." He said again smiling at her as the old man turned.
"Well that's certainly good news, Merlin go and inform the prince that she has woken, he wanted to be informed the minute she woke."
"Yes Gaius," the boy smiled once more and then left through a door. The old man, Gaius, turned back to her and smiled kindly. "When the prince brought you in you were quite a mess, however did you come to be in that river in the first place?" as he was talking Gaius gathered up the bowl and its contents,
"I, don't remember really," she said softly. So that must be why I was so cold I was in a river.
"Hmm that can sometimes happen with head wounds" Gaius sat the bowl on a small side table next to the cot as he sat on a small stool, "here," he bent forward and propped her up with a pillow when she tried to sit up. "You should try to drink some of this," he offered her the bowl, "it will help with the dizziness"
"Thank you," she took the offered bowl and brought it to her lips, the broth was slightly bitter and tasted of some sort of herb, she winced but drank it anyway.
"So you don't remember being in the river, what was the last thing you do remember before being here?" Gaius asked as he took the bowl back and set it on the side table again waiting patiently for her to answer.
She thought back trying to remember something, anything at all, but every time she got close to a foggy half memory it would vanish almost mockingly and slip through her fingers.
"I can't, there's only black and… foggy shadows."
Gaius seemed troubled by this and mumbled almost inaudibly, "complete amnesia, how rare." He looked up at her, "do you at least have a notion of you name?" he raised an eyebrow quizzically and her mind went back to that one word that she had managed to hold on to,
"Maera…" she half whispered uncertainly. Gaius smiled then,
"Well Maera, welcome to Camelot"
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Maera sat alone in the strange room, Gaius had left to attend to some duties for the day and left her to her own devices for the day. Her lack of a past bothered her and her brow furrowed as her eyes scanned the room nothing was familiar to her. Her eyes dropped to her outfit, the tunic was a dark grey and fell to her knees showing the white chemise she wore underneath. Both looked very finely made and she again wondered who she was.
The past few days she had spent getting stronger, she was now able to walk around the room and help Gaius with simple tasks the older man was good company and she could tell he cared a lot about the boy merlin, the prince seemed an ok sort of prince although merlin consistently disagreed and said he was a total prat. There also seemed to be some sort of secret between merlin and Gaius that she wasn't privy to. She often saw them whispering just out of hearing and sharing pointed looks that she didn't understand.
She raised her arms up and stretched groaning as she stood to start her daily movement, she would walk around the room tidying up and getting her exercise she was going crazy just sitting there. Her feet moved across the floor slowly shuffling as she moved about collecting all the dirty dishes, organizing bottles and straightening papers and books. Merlin was busy with his duties there was a feast that he had to prepare the prince for and then attend himself, Maera was invited as well but she wasn't quite strong enough to make it that far into the castle yet. In fact just moving about this one room was taxing on her strength if she did it for a long period of time. The day was coming to a close as she reached up to place yet another book back in its place on the shelf when the door slammed open and she jumped dropping the book with a thud onto the floor. She turned and saw Prince Arthur carrying an unconscious merlin through the door, 'What happened!' She thought in dismay.
"Lay him on the bed quickly; he's struggling to breath," Gaius said as he and the girl named Gwen followed Arthur, "Gwen, fetch me some water" he told the girl and she ran off to get it as Arthur laid Merlin on the bed, he was sweating and tossing.
"Maera fetch a towel from the back would you" Gaius asked her as she stared, her feet moved by themselves and she found herself handing the towel to the old man.
"What happened" she finally asked timidly, it was Arthur who answered
"He was poisoned, is he going to be alright?" the last part was directed at Gaius who was taking the water from Gwen who had just returned.
"He's burning up" Maera said as she placed a hand on his forehead
"You can cure him, can't you Gaius?" Gwen asked as she stood there fretting.
Gaius frowned and said "I won't know until I can identify the poison, pass me the Goblet." Gwen picked it up gingerly and handed the ornate drinking vessel to Gaius who inspected the inside, "ah, there's something stuck on the inside"
"What is it?" Arthur asked as he moved to look over the old man's shoulder.
"It looks like a flower petal of some kind" Gaius said examining it.
Gwen moved over and sat by Maera and Merlin reaching out and brushing her hand over his sweating brow then pulled her hand back in alarm, "his brow's on fire!" she exclaimed and turned to look at Gaius.
"Keep him cool;" he said looking back from his search for a book on the shelf, "it will help control the fever"
Maera looked over and handed Gwen the towel as she stood walking over to where she had dropped the book earlier, it was a book about plants. "Is this what you need Gaius?" she asked holding up the book and walking forward. Gaius looked up at her and smiled appreciatively "yes that is the one, now where was it." He said to himself as he looked.
Arthur fidgeted as he waited and Maera could tell he cared quite a lot about merlin even if he was just a servant.
"Ah" Gaius said, "the petal comes from the Mortaeus flower, it says that someone poisoned by the Mortaeus can only be saved by a potion made from the leaf of the very same flower."
Maera raised a brow, 'well that's convenient', "it can only be found in the caves beneath the forest of Balor, the flower grows on the roots of the Mortaeus tree" Gaius finished
'ok maybe not so convenient' she thought as Arthur said "that's not particularly friendly" pointing at a picture in the book, Maera moved to get a closer look at the picture of a frightening beast,
"A cockatrice, it guards the forest, its venom is potent, a single drop would mean certain death few who have crossed the mountains of isguard in search of the Mortaeus flower have made it back alive." Gaius looked pale and Maera knew it was because he was afraid of what would happen to merlin he needed that cure but it was almost impossible to get, then Arthur spoke up
"Sounds like fun" she looked at him like he was crazy and Gaius looked reproachful
"Arthur it's too dangerous," he warned but Arthur retorted "if I don't get the antidote what happens to merlin" he raised a brow to make his point, Gaius sighed " the Mortaeus induces a slow and painful death" Maera flinched, " he make hold out for four, maybe five days but not much longer eventually he will die " Gaius finished looking grave,
Arthur looked down at Merlin and Maera could see the pain in his eyes and also the determination he's going anyway she thought as he tuned and stormed out of the room
ok so I know I said I would Update fast but... I totally didn't my bad hate me if you want but here is the first actual chapter of Heart and soul I hope you liked it please let me know how it is and if something is wrong (ie typos, grammatical errors etc) please let me know I don't have an editor so I have to try not to miss anything thanks