Merlin has discovered that the royal seal is magical, but while this is surprising, it's not exactly earthshaking. Merlin is expecting to just go back to work.
Disclaimer: I do not own Merlin.
The Royal Seal of Camelot
Chapter 2 - Missing
Taking his leave of Gaius, Merlin realized that he had better hurry back to Arthur before the prince began to wonder why he'd been gone so long. As he neared the prince's apartments, Merlin could hear voices through the door. Peeking in, he found the prince in his rooms talking with the little dark-haired page Merlin had seen earlier and the venerable records keeper, Lord Monmouth. The page seemed near tears, and Monmouth looked disturbed and irritated.
Merlin tried to enter quietly, slipping inside and closing the door softly behind him. Arthur glanced up, saw Merlin, and gestured absently for him to wait. The remainder of the conversation that Merlin heard made the hair stand up on the back of his neck. The seal, apparently, was missing. The page, whose name turned out to be Ewan, was sure he had returned it, just as usual, to its alcove in the Hall of Records. Monmouth was insisting that the child had returned a little while later to get it back again. Ewan was tearfully denying having returned, maintaining that he had not been sent to get it again.
Arthur was hard to read at the best of times, but it was Merlin's impression that he was being particularly noncommittal as to what he believed truly happened and not particularly worried about the seal itself. Merlin's knowledge that the seal was magical put a sharper edge on the matter. A magical item, tied intrinsically to the Pendragon line, was missing? This was worse than Arthur knew, and the confusion about exactly what had happened made Merlin suspect magic had been used to get to the seal.
The interview seemed to be winding down, with little Ewan transparently grateful to be believed, or at least not punished, and Monmouth looking tolerant of the prince's indulgence toward a servant. Arthur handed Ewan off to Merlin with orders to return him to the servant's hall, and also loaded Merlin down with an armload of scrolls to be returned to the Hall of Records.
At the lad's request, Merlin dropped Ewan off in the kitchens rather than servants' hall, receiving an explanation when the child immediately darted over to a portly assistant cook and buried his face in her apron. Mother, probably. Considering the first part of his orders complete, Merlin turned and headed for the stairs down to the Hall of Records. Having forgotten to return the scrolls that morning was turning out to be a boon. Merlin would have a chance to see if he could gather any information about the theft of the seal, which was usually kept in the alcove behind the record keepers' desk.
When he arrived at the doorway to the Hall, Merlin was surprised to see a guard on duty, and no Monmouth. Lord Monmouth seemed to live in the Hall. Merlin had had cause to come to the Hall of Records many times before, and Monmouth had always been there. Most of the time, Merlin had simply been sent by either the prince or Gaius to get or return materials. Twice he'd had to sneak in at night, and even then Lord Monmouth had been there, asleep and snoring with his head on his desk. But now, blessedly, Monmouth was not on duty.
There remained the guard, however. If he could distract the guard, Merlin might be able to find out who had stolen the seal. Merlin pretended to bobble the stack of scrolls he held, and the guard automatically reached to help. Under the guise of an apparent panicked grab at a falling scroll, Merlin made sure that all of the scrolls went flying, and that one of them bounced off the guard's foot and down the flight of stairs beyond him. Somewhat surprisingly, the ploy worked. The guard grunted in annoyance and plodded off down the stairs after the errant scroll.
Grabbing a scroll in each hand in passing, and darting into the Hall, Merlin went directly to the alcove behind the Record Keepers' desk. Merlin knew he had only a very short time until the guard returned. Chanting the spell that would open the past to his gaze, he focused on the place the seal was usually kept and the space between it and the door. A kaleidoscope of images rushed past him, moving at breakneck speed. A stranger entering the room, being greeted by Monmouth as if he were a familiar face. Monmouth nodding, turning to slip the seal's box out of its alcove and hand it to the stranger. A flash, like lightning through the spell, and a voice speaking.
The thumping of the guard's feet coming up the steps shook Merlin from the spell's grip just in time. He turned quickly to slide the first scroll into its place just as the guard appeared at the door, scroll in hand. The guard, who clearly did not feel that picking up the rest of the scattered scrolls fell under the category of his duties, handed off the errant scroll and went back to sentry position by the Hall door.
Distractedly, Merlin finished collecting the rest of the scrolls, while mulling over what he had seen and heard in the vision. The stranger had been wearing an amulet that glowed lightly to Merlin's magical senses. Probably that was why Monmouth had responded as if he were a familiar person. Monmouth had seen not the stranger, but the page. The voice was even more instructive. That voice had been Morgana's! Morgana, who Merlin had last seen struggling for breath in Morgause' arms. Merlin set aside the sudden upwelling of guilt and struggled to remember the sorceress' exact words.
"Get the seal and bring it to me here. When you return it, they will be none the wiser, and I will know Uther's plans as soon as he does."
I have always wondered what Morgana did during the time she was with Morgause. Maybe she messed with Uthur from afar! Reviews and constructive criticism are welcome - I want to make this story as strong as it can be!
