A/N: I apologize if this chapter isn't that great. But make sure you review and let me know what you thought of it.
Anna was brushing her hair in Morgana's room when she heard the door open. She knew it was Gwen because of how light she walks. Putting down her brush she turned towards the door and listened as Morgana made her way over to the girl talking in a cheerful voice.
"You look happy" She implied.
"I picked these for you and Anna..Something to brighten the room." She answered handing them to Morgana.
Anna smiled even wider and stood up making her way over to them. She gently took the flowers and pressed them to her nose to smell the sweet scent. "What kind are they?" From what she could remember, she believed they were lavender. Gwen confirmed her suspicion.
"The other reason I picked them was because I know you haven't been sleeping well, and I was hoping it'd cheer you up." Gwen said a moment later. Morgana kindly thanked her and watched as Gwen took the flowers from Anna to go put them in water. Anna carefully sat back down and went back to brushing her hair. Once she was satisfied that it was fully brushed and untangled, she set it down and had Morgana help her to a more comfortable chair.
"Gwen..Do you think we could go on another outing soon? I would like to pick some more of those flowers for myself." Anna asked curiously as she leaned back in her chair.
Gwen came back over to the two with a smile and nodded, "Of course, I'd love to join you. Perhaps Morgana could join us this time?" She asked turning to the other woman. Morgana only shook her head though.
"Oh no that's quite alright. I don't want to intrude on your special day you two have together. I'll just go and annoy Arthur and see what the latest gossip in Camelot is." She answered with a laugh.
Their fun day was interrupted by a knock on the door. All three turned their heads and two smiled at who they were greeted by.
"Hope I wasn't interrupting anything but I just wanted to come by and see how you were all doing. Also I was hoping I could escort my sister to her room tonight." Arthur said walking further into the room.
Anna smiled and stood up. "It would be a pleasure Arthur." She reached for his hand and when she felt the roughness of it she gripped it lightly and moved to stand next to him. Turning she nodded at her friends and bid them goodnight before Arthur led her out of the room, down the hall and towards her room.
"So what's the occasion? You only used to escort me around when we were little, then it only happened because you needed to talk about something important." Anna mused as she made her way inside and to her bed.
Arthur sat next to her and continued to hold her hand before sighing. "There's some stuff going on in the town. People are...dying..I just want to tell you to be careful wherever you go, and make sure someone is always with you. I'll have a knight outside your door in case you need anything or something happens." He explained with a tone of seriousness and concern.
Anna put a hand to his cheek in reassurance as she replied to him. "Don't worry Arthur, I'm sure you and father will catch whoever is causing all this trouble." Arthur wondered when his little sister became so insightful and confident. She really had grown over the years and was now a beautiful woman. He could say he was a proud big brother. Leaning forward he placed a gentle kiss to her forehead and bid her goodnight.
As soon as he left Anna sighed and laid down. To be honest, she wasn't as fearless as her brother thought she was. The moment she heard people were dying and the cause could be sorcery, she became nervous. Would this person come after her father next? Or her brother? What is the reason behind it all, and what would the outcome be? Anna could only hope that the mystery was solved soon and the person behind it all is brought to justice.
The next day brought no such comfort for Anna as she heard two servants talking about the new deaths that happened this morning as they walked by her room. She decided she needed to talk to her father and find out if they were any closer in finding out who was causing all of this, so she dressed and using a hand against the wall, she felt her way down the hall using her memory of how many turns to take. She knew she was close when she heard her father's voice.
"And I can't stand by and watch our people die."
Anna stood a few feet from the door with a frown. She was about to enter when she heard approaching footsteps.
"Anna? What are you doing? Who brought you here?" Arthur's voice sounded startling her. She was hoping he wasn't in the room but knew better than to hope for things like that. She gave a light smile as he wrapped an arm around her and led her away from the room.
"I came by myself..I wanted to talk to father and see how it was going with finding the person responsible for the death's." She replied with the same seriousness he gave. Arthur sighed as he walked with her.
"I'm afraid the only progress we made was that we found the source of the sickness. It's the water" Anna felt a slight feeling of relief.
"Well at least now we can prevent further death's." Anna replied.
Arthur could only nod as he waved forward a servant. "I have some things to take care of, I'll try and find you later if I can." He said as he then walked off leaving Anna without a chance to say goodbye properly. She sighed as the servant, Janine was her name, wrapped their arm around hers and began to walk.
Anna didn't feel like returning to her room so she had Janine escort her around the castle. She was deep in thought the whole time, wondering why this was happening so suddenly and who would want to bring harm to Camelot. She could only hope that her family and friends stayed safe enough until it was all over. Another turn down another hall, she was so focused on the thoughts in her head that she had forgotten how many turns they had taken and wasn't sure what part of the castle they were in. She was about to ask when she heard the sound of footsteps heading down the same hallway.
"Merlin?" She called out questioningly.
"Uhh yea..H-How did you know it was me?" The young sorcerer asked in confusion, waving his hand in front of her face earning a scowl from Janine. Anna only laughed.
"From the time you've been here I've learned that you sometimes scrape your heels when you walk. Your silent one moment, then noisy the next." She explained earning a laugh from him.
"I'm not sure if I should consider that a good thing or not." He said. Their fun moment ended abruptly as Gauis was coming towards them just as they heard a cry. All turned towards the sound and it wasn't long before the source presented itself. Arthur was walking in a fast stride, his face serious. Accompanying him were two guards who were carrying a distraught Gwen. She was pleading for Arthur to stop and to let her go.
"Arthur? What's going on?!" Anna demanded as she went after him, Janine trying to keep up with her.
"Anna! Merlin! Please help me! Please!" Gwen pleaded as they continued to drag her after Arthur. The prince stayed silent the whole way until they reached the Great Hall where his father was currently sitting, waiting for the culprit to be brought forward.
"Arthur answer me!" Anna shouted at him walking into the room. He still stayed silent as he stood next to his father who started accusing her of using magic to heal her father and that the disease was her doing in the first place. Morgana then entered and gave a reassuring squeeze to Anna's shoulder before stepping forward to defend their friend.
"I believe you Gwen! Perhaps this is a disease that is not always fatal. Maybe he recovered naturally." Morgana proposed.
"Then what of the poultice that was found?" Uther asked in return. Anna took a step forward not sure where and when to intervene.
"What poultice? I know nothing about a poultice!" Gwen defended herself.
"Undo the enchantment, end this contagion" Uther demanded standing from his throne. Anna then took her chance, "Father Gwen is the kindest person I know, she would never be capable of doing something like this!"
"Silence child!" Uther shouted at her.
"I am not a witch, I don't know how to stop the illness!" Gwen stated.
"If you do not undo this sorcery, then you force my hand and I must find you guilty. It is therefore my duty to pronounce judgement." Silence filled the room. "And under the circumstance, I have no choice but to sentence you to death." He declared. Gwen began to plead again as the knights came forward and dragged her out of the room.
Anna stood in front of her father in a last attempt to save Gwen's life. "Father please, Gwen has served us for years, why would she choose now to do all of this? Think about it!"
"I have thought about it! And without any further proof she must be found guilty!" Uther shouted at her making her take a step back. Morgana wrapped an arm around her in comfort giving an attempt herself.
"I know Gwen, she is our maidservant, not an enchantress." Her tone was soft but still had an edge of hardness to it. Uther then challenged her asking if she had ever seen one feeling confident that he could win this conversation.
"Why would she kneel on a stone cold floor morning after morning when she could make these things happen with the snap of her fingers." Morgana challenged back.
Anna listened with sad eyes as they argued back and forth. "Your a monster!" She said to him with disgust and stormed out of the room unable to hear any more, Janine once again chasing after her. She didn't stop until she was in her room.
"My lady, is there anything you need?" Janine asked nervously. Anna only shouted for her to get out.
She spent the rest of the day lying on her bed and furiously wiping at her eyes to prevent any tears from falling. She knew Gwen could never be capable of the things her father accused her for. If only there was a way to prove that to him and make him see that she was just a normal human being. All of the day's event's took it's toll on her so closing her eyes she fell asleep.
She slept through the night and in the morning heard a soft knock on the door.
"Go away!" She shouted with a tired voice. Sitting up she heard the door open and grumbled, "I said go away!" She reached around for something to throw at the intruder but stopped when Arthur cleared his throat.
"I just came to see how you were doing.." He said softly as he made his way over to her.
"How does it look like?" She replied. Arthur smiled, "Well then you'll be happy to know that Gwen is safe, she won't be executed." Anna turned to him in surprise, silently asking if what he was saying was true.
"Turns out there was a creature in the waters called an Afanc. We defeated it and now Gauis says the water is clean again. Camelot is safe again." He said with a smile, happy to see her relief. He was a bit shocked when she suddenly wrapped her arms around him in a hug. "You saved her Arthur, thank you."
He returned the hug with a chuckle, "I'm not the only one you need to thank, Merlin is the one who found out about the Afanc."
Anna nodded and made a mental note to search for him later. "Where is Gwen then? Can we go see her?"
"Her father took her home already, but I'm sure she'll be here tomorrow." He told her giving a pat on the shoulder before standing up to make his leave.
Anna bid him farewell and smiled to herself. The danger was over, everything would go back to the way it was. If only it were true.
