This is How it Could Be
There is pain. And fear. And suspicion.
There are secrets. And pacts. And betrayal.
There is grief. And bitterness. And seclusion.
There is no way they can survive this. It will be the end.
Chapter Two
Fear
Uther Pendragon is on the warpath, in his own court, and there is no one who can be considered safe, except for perhaps Arthur and he will be put through hell before reaching the finish line.
The rumours of a sorcerer, and possible accomplices, actually residing in Camelot are supposedly from an anonymous, yet highly reliable, source. It hasn't escaped anyone's notice, however, that Percival's pockets are fuller than they have been in years and he no longer shies away from paying for his round at the Rising Sun. Arthur notices and Percival returns battered and bruised from training that day.
Uther grills his son and makes some not so subtle threats and then sets him to investigation. Arthur spends most of his time marching his guards off in one direction and hurrying off in the other himself, intent on warning someone against his father's orders.
Gaius was a sorcerer and has won Uther's trust through hard work and betrayal and lies. But this trust is tenuous and has never been absolute. He has been imprisoned and sentenced to execution before; it wouldn't be a stretch to imagine it happening again. Old age and frailty are no protection against a King's wrath.
Gwen is in a similar position, easily sentenced without trial, several years ago but it is a cloud that never clears. And she doesn't have the reassurance of being valued by the court, not by Uther in any case whatever other members of his court may feel. To the king, she is merely another servant, who is useful for now but could easily be replaced if the occasion should arise.
Jocelyn is the King's ward, but this is far from enough to raise her above suspicion. It seems that anyone who has ever opposed the King and his law is assumed to also be practicing magic and her chambers are searched more than once. She really does have nothing to hide, but vociferous demands of just what Uther thinks he is doing doesn't help her cause.
Merlin has been under suspicion more times than can be counted, only just escaping time and time again, through the quick thinking, lies and sacrifices of his friends. He does have things hidden in his chamber that would result in his immediate death if they were discovered and subtlety has never been his strong point. To find himself in the cells, yet again, would be unsurprising, to say the least, and he is all but resigned to his fate, almost determined to abandon Camelot before Camelot abandons him.
Morgana is the most scared. Pale and sleep deprived, jumping at the smallest noise, she is hard pressed to greet yet another inspection by Uther's guards with the cold contempt it deserves. She can feel herself slowly crumbling and drifting out of control. It has been years since she has trusted Uther and she has been waiting for the time he finally betrays her and she is forced to flee. Where she doesn't know, anywhere but here.
When Uther is campaigning so fiercely, people are right to be scared, and no one has seen him this determined since he started his war on magic.
This leads on to the next chapter which should be up soon.