Chapter 2: Welcome to Camelot, part two
Later that night Juliana tossed and turned trying to fall asleep but she just couldn't get comfortable. Just as she was finally starting to doze off, Juliana heard a voice inside her mind calling her.
"Merlin, Juliana…. Merlin, Juliana"
Juliana frowned in confusion but she decided to just ignore it, and she as doing a pretty good job of ignoring the voices until she heard knocking on her door. When she answered the door, it was Merlin standing there, "Merlin? What are you doing here? It's the middle of the night."
"Did you hear that? That voice in your head calling our names?" he questioned breathlessly as though he had been running.
Juliana nodded her head, "Yes I heard it, but I thought I was just imagining it."
"No I heard it too; I've been hearing it every night since I got here. Come on let's find out what it is." Merlin answered pulling her out the door, not even giving her time to change out of her night dress.
"Merlin, Juliana." They heard it again. It got louder as they got closer.
They descended down the Wrought Iron Stairway inside the castle. Once they got to the bottom they found a pair of guards paying dice Merlin distracted them by magically rolling their dice away from them. Once they were out of sight he grabs a torch, lit it, and they began heading down the Tunnel Stairway with Juliana and Merlin laughing the whole way down about the poor guards and how confused they looked that their dice was running away from them.
"Merlin, Juliana… Merlin, Juliana" They had finally arrived, whatever was calling them was on the other side of the door they were in front of.
They walked through the door and were face with a beautifully massive cavern.
Suddenly they heard laughing, "Merlin, Juliana."
Looking round they didn't see anyone, "Where are you?" Merlin questioned.
It was quiet for a few seconds, and then there was a loud roar and the sound of wings flapping. The siblings looked up and caught sight of a dragon; a huge, magnificent, beautiful, dragon. He landed on the rock directly in front of them with a loud thud, making them both jump in shock. Merlin pushed Juliana behind him slightly as they both started at him in amazement.
"I'm here." The dragon replied, and Juliana couldn't help but stare at him in amazement, "How small you both are… for such great destinies."
Juliana was still in shock and all she could reply was, "You're a dragon."
The dragon laughed at her, "Indeed I am."
She smiled, "You're beautiful." And the dragon's chest seemed to puff up at her words.
But they were interrupted by Merlin, "What did you mean? What destinies?"
"Your gift, Merlin, was given to you for a reason, as was yours, Juliana, as small as your gift may be."
"So there is a reason." Merlin said hopefully
The dragon smirked, "Arthur is the Once and Future King who will unite the land of Albion."
Juliana's eyes widened and her smile grew. She always knew Arthur was destined for great things.
"Right." Merlin's voice interrupted her thoughts with his sarcastic tone.
The dragon continued as though Merlin never spoke, "But he faces many threats, from friend, and foes alike."
"Okay, so what does this have to do with Merlin and me?" Juliana questioned curiously
"It has everything to do with the two of you." The dragon explained, "Without your Brother and you, Arthur will never succeed. With out you two, there will be no Albion."
"No," Merlin spoke up, "No you've got the wrong guy. Juliana might want to help since she actually likes the prat, but not me."
"There is no right or wrong. Only what is and what isn't." That dragon stated calmly
But Merlin was adamant, "No, I'm serious if anyone wants to kill, that can go ahead! In fact I'll give them a hand!" He exclaimed.
Juliana leaned forward and smacked her brother upside the head, "Merlin do not say things like that about Prince Arthur. He had the potential to be a good man, with a little help." Merlin glared at his big sister
The dragon chuckled at the sibling's spat, "None of us can choose our destiny, and none of us can escape it."
"No, Now way, no, no." Merlin shook his head, "There must be another Arthur because this one is an idiot."
"Perhaps it is your sister's destiny to change that." The dragon replied looking to Juliana.
Juliana looked up in shock, "Why would it be my destiny to change Arthur? I don't have powerful magic like Merlin. I'm just a healer."
It seemed like the Dragon was smiling at her, "Your destiny is not defined by how much power you have. You and Merlin have different paths. Merlin's is to protect Arthur's body and make sure he lives long enough to become King, while your destiny is to protect his heart and make him into the great king he is meant to be. Your destiny is to become the Once and Future Queen of Albion and rule by Arthur's side."
Merlin looked at his sister in shock while Juliana was staring at the Dragon, "How is that possible, I'm no one special, I'm a peasant. I wasn't even born into nobility. You must be mistaken! Uther will never allow us to marry!"
The dragon just stared at the siblings before flying away.
"Wait, wait." Merlin called running to the edge of the cliff, "No stop, we need to know more!"
They stood there staring after the dragon for a while, then Merlin turned to Juliana and muttered, "There's no way I'd ever let you marry that ass."
Juliana chuckled at the sullen look on her brother's face before they turned and walked out of the cavern. Oh how she wished what the Dragon said was true.
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The next morning Juliana had been asked by Gaius to go pick him some herbs, then to deliver Morgana's medicine to her.
When she arrived at the chambers the door was open, so she walked in just in time to see Morgana walk behind her changing screen and begin to undress, "You know I've been thinking about Arthur. I wouldn't touch him with a lance pole. Pass me that dress, will you, Gwen?"
Juliana grabbed the dress, "You know, before you start to undress, you should probably make sure that the person entering the room is who you're expecting it to be."
Morgana's head popped out from behind the screen, her green eyes widened as she and Juliana stared at one another, then they both began laughing, "What on earth are you doing here, Juliana?"
Juliana held up the bottle, "Gaius asked me to deliver this to you. You're door was open by the way. Are they getting worse?" she asked, referring to Morgana's nightmares.
"Thank you, yes they are horrifying. Some nights I can't even get back to sleep" she replied sadly.
Juliana walked forward and handed Morgana the dress she had asked for, "Don't worry Morgana, I'm sure the potion will help you, and if not you can always come to me."
Morgana looked up at her from behind the screen with tears in her eyes, "Thank you Juliana, you're a good friend."
"Anyway," Morgana began as they pulled apart, "About Arthur. The man's a total jouster. Just because I'm the king's ward, that doesn't mean I have to accompany him to the feast, does it?"
Juliana shook her head, "Of course not, It's common courtesy for him to ask you and if he's not going to then screw him." Juliana knew that many people expected that Arthur would Marry Morgana, but Juliana also knew that the two didn't see each other as anything more than siblings.
"If he wants me to go with him, then he should have invited me." Morgana continued, "And he hasn't, so do you know what that means?"
Juliana though for a minute before answering, "That he's a rude arrogant brat and obviously not good enough for you?" she guessed and the girls giggled together
"Yes, but it also means that I'm going by myself."
Juliana smiled at her, "Good for you Morgana, show them that you are a strong young woman and don't need a man."
Morgana nodded, "Exactly, Could you help me with this fastening?" she called from behind the screen.
Juliana nodded and walked behind the screen herself, she fastened her dress and they stepped back out, "Thank you Juliana, for being such a good friend."
Juliana nodded, "Always my lady."
"So, it's between whether I wear this little tease," she said showing Juliana a purple dress, "or, give then a night they'll really remember." She finished pressing the other dress to her body. It was a sleeveless, maroon gown that was tied on the neck with accentuated golden lace woven into it.
Juliana appraised both gowns before grinned at Morgana, "I think you should really wow them. You're going as an independent woman so you might as well go with the daring risky one."
Morgana nodded, "I completely agree. So Juliana, what are you going to wear to the party?"
Juliana looked horrified, "Oh no! I haven't even picked out my dress for the evening yet, I'm sorry Morgana, but I've got to go home."
The two friends said goodbye and Juliana rushed out the door, saying a quick hello to Gwen as she passed.
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Juliana walked into the banquet hall and though she had been to several of these over the year, the sight never ceased to entrance her. Off to the side she saw Arthur horsing around with a few of his knights, he looked so handsome, he always did. Juliana could hardly believe that her destiny was to become his queen.
Arthur caught sight of her as she walked in, and stopped talking to his men. She was truly the most beautiful woman in existence. No matter what she wore, Juliana always took his breath away. He tried to mask his amazement by giving her a smile and a simple once over before talking with his knights once more.
She felt her heart flutter as he looked her over. Juliana had admitted a while ago that her feeling for the prince had begun to change, but she never thought anything would come of it. Her gaze was so focused on the prince that Juliana failed to notice the many other men staring at her. She didn't even realize that she could have her pick of any man.
Juliana searched for a moment before he eyes came to rest on her brother and Gaius. She walked over and stood beside them, "So what do you think of your first Camelot ball?"
Merlin smiled at her, "It's amazing, is it always this lively?"
Juliana laughed, "Most of the time yes, but this one is even more so because everyone is excited to hear Lady Helen sing. She's supposed to be the best in the land."
Merlin smirked, "No one is a more beautiful singer than my dear sister."
Juliana blushed at her brother's praise but did not reply.
They stood in silence for a moment just watching the festivities until the king stood to his feet and began speaking.
"We have enjoyed twenty years of peace and prosperity. It has brought the kingdom and myself, many pleasures. But few can compare with the honor of introducing… Lady Helen of Mora."
As the woman in question entered the room everyone began to clap as they turned to watch the show. Her voice was truly beautiful, but not long after she began singing Juliana started to feel… off. She began to have the hardest time keeping her eyes open. The last thing Juliana saw was Lady Helen step off her platform and make her way for the royal family. She tried to keep her eyes open, tried to move her limbs and make her way towards Juliana to protect him; but Juliana eventually succumbed to the spell.
When she opened her eyes once again it was to see Lady Helen, now the old woman from the square, dead and her brother and Arthur on the floor with a dagger imbedded in the prince's chair. Juliana jumped to her feet and ran for her prince.
"My Lord, are you alright?" she questioned as she began to check him over for any injuries. Arthur continued to reassure her he was fine and once Juliana had made sure that he wasn't hurt she backed up and looked at her brother, checking him as well.
Uther stepped forward and asked Juliana, "Is he alright?"
Juliana nodded, "Just a few tender spots, that will likely turn into bruises from the fall. Other than that he is relatively unharmed."
Uther nodded before turning to look at Merlin with something akin to awe, "Who are you?"
Juliana stepped forward, "This is Merlin, My Lord, my younger brother."
Uther chuckled, "Heroism must run in your family." He then turned back to Merlin, "You saved my boy's life."
Merlin scratched the back of his neck, "Well…"
"Don't be so modest. You shall be rewarded." Uther insisted
"No honestly, you don't have to, your Highness." Merlin was just as adamant
"No, absolutely, this merits something quite special."
"Well…"
"You shall be rewarded a position in the royal household. You shall be Prince Arthur's manservant." The king announced and by the look on her brother and Arthur's face Juliana had to hold back her laughter.
"Father!" Arthur exclaimed, "I don't need a manservant, I have Juliana, she takes care of everything I need."
Uther shook his head at his son, "Juliana is your personal healer, not your maid. She is not meant to clean up after you. I have already decided." He announced before walking away.
Arthur huffed and walked over to Juliana, "Can you believe that, my father just gave half of your job away."
Juliana smiled, "I have to confess, sire, I'm not completely disappointed. As much as I enjoy taking care of you, I do not enjoy cleaning up after you. You are rather messy."
Arthur pretended to look disappointed before smiling back at her, "Have I told you how absolutely lovely you look tonight?"
"No your grace, but it's always nice to hear." Juliana tried to contain her blush, "Goodnight my lord, try not to be too hard on my baby brother."
And with that she walked out of the banquet hall.
Hey Everyone, here's the second half of episode one.
Don't forget to leave me a review.