The Haunting

No one ever set foot in the farm. There were whispers of black magic haunting but it didn't stop young Kathryn from exploring beyond the fences of her sheltered home. It was only last night that a scream had come from the old barn and it had shook up the entire village. Kathryn though the village was boring, so boring in fact that not even as a child did she fear the monsters beneath the bed. She took a quick look behind her to see whether or not someone was watching her and slowly opened the creaking door of the barn. Her parents had forbidden her to go but it had only sparked her curiosity. The thrill of knowing you might get caught, the thrill of exploring the unknown, it was in her blood. It bothered her that her boyfriend was such a coward. He wasn't much of a boyfriend, they were betrothed but not out of choice. Sure, he was a nice guy and reasonably handsome but he was an absolute idiot and, as she had just found out, a coward too. Sixteen she was, they could've been married already but she'd managed to postpone it a couple of times. "Kath, this really isn't the time." She reminded herself as she closed the creaky old door behind her.

Hopefully no one had seen her come in, if someone were to tell her parents then they'd never let her 'run loose' again. But there wasn't any harm in looking at midday, the screams only came at night. The only scary thing that remained was that she knew the previous residents of the farm and was a good friend of theirs. One harsh winter and nothing was ever the same again. The noise of the old wheat beneath her feet pulled her from her thoughts and look around the farm. It was difficult to imagine they had played hide and seek in this barn.

There was a chill in the air only it wasn't a draft, it was all around her. Then there were whispers, soft and indistinguishable as if they were from the same person. A shiver went down her spine, she should never have come here, she should've just listened to her parents and stayed at home. She was heading back to where she had entered and looked back one last time... screaming.

Camelot

News of a girl going missing in the village of Dunwood reached Camelot. Reports of a murdering spirit had reached them long before but after a patrol had checked the supposedly haunted house, there was nothing there and discarded as a story to frighten the young. But the disappearance was new and, in Arthur's opinion, could not be ignored. The Prince spoke with Sir Leon on the matter before speaking with his father.

"You want to investigate a haunting?" The King was still left in slight disbelief. Surely his war on magic hadn't made his son a believer of superstitious nonsense, had it?
"We received new reports and personally I find it rather disturbing."
"It's an old wives tale, nothing more." Uther tried to talk his son out of that rubbish.
"But a girl went missing, surely that cannot be denied." Arthur argued.
Uther sighed. "You're right, it can't." He hated to admit it but his son might be right, something could be going on. "But you will conduct your investigation without the knights, they have more important duties than finding someone who might just be a runaway."
"I understand, father." Arthur bowed and left his father in the throne room to join Merlin who he had left outside.
"And?" Merlin asked with a bit too enthusiastically considering. Not that he was to blame. The manservant liked getting away from Camelot for a few days, even if that meant being away from Morgana. It wouldn't be a problem as long as it didn't become a lengthy investigation. The upside to it all was going to a village, the green pastures, the endless horizon and the light of dawn peeking in from behind the trees. It would be a welcome change in scenery from Camelot's white stone walls.
"Get the horses." Arthur commanded him. Despite his eagerness to leave, Merlin couldn't leave immediately.
"Just give me a moment, I need to pay Morgana a visit before we leave." He said, remembering he had told Morgana he wouldn't worry her and tell her whenever Arthur and he would leave Camelot to run into trouble.
"Whatever for?" The Prince asked incredulous.
"Her sleeping draft, Gaius might forget." The manservant answered as he ran off. He probably wouldn't be able to use that excuse again but it did for now. After picking up the sleeping draft, which Gaius might actually forget, Merlin went to the Lady's chambers and knocked before entering.

"Merlin." She spoke upbeat. Ever since they were together hardly a day went without him giving her one of his big, goofy and infectious smiles. The evenings were still the highlights of her days and even more so once Merlin got better at kissing her. The kisses hadn't remained on lips but wandered onto cheeks, jaw and earlobes. Merlin noticed that Morgana and he were not alone in the room, Gwen was tending to the Lady's wardrobe.
"Milady, Arthur and I might be gone for a couple of days." Merlin spoke, the formalities in place not so much for Gwen but for Arthur or another servant that might enter the room. But Morgana didn't really pay attention to it, she merely enjoyed the fact Merlin had kept his word and informed her of their plans.
"I heard, something about a haunting?" She asked.
"They say there's a spirit killing people and now a girl has gone missing." Merlin explained and a pained expression came over Morgana's face. In the past, most investigations were aimed towards the what or how but rarely dit the subject of death come forward. And it worried her.
"Stay safe, alright?" She whispered out of earshot for Gwen. Before she uttered those words Merlin had doubted whether or not he should tell her. Now that doubt was gone. Her words were full of love and care unlike others'. Gaius had always cared but either they sounded monotone, the words being spoken too regularly, or they sounded more like a warning.
"Of course." He whispered back. Then he handed her the sleeping draft and carried on keeping up appearances. It was a shame things had to be like this but if it meant being close to Morgana, he would endure.

Dunswood was a village not quite like Ealdor. There was something of a village square which adjoined several homes and the tavern. There were three large farms on the outskirts and of the size Merlin had never seen before, but only one of them had livestock.
"I hate the smell of cattle." Arthur commented as they came upon the village.
"But you prefer killing them." Merlin joked referring to the Prince's favourite pastime.
"It must remind you of home." Arthur reminisced.
"No, it reminds me of Ealdor." Merlin replied. Arthur was dumbstruck by this as it didn't make much sense.
"Camelot is my home, Arthur." The manservant explained. Arthur smiled because somewhere hidden beneath all the pratness, he was touched. Not that he'd let on, a smile was the most he'd give his servant.

The two turned their eyes back to the path before them and towards the village square. Everyone they passed set their eyes upon them. Arthur prodded Merlin with his elbow, the Prince found the people's reaction rather unnerving. Merlin had to tell His Royal Pratness that the village probably didn't receive many travellers, not even passing through, so their arrival was an event already. To calm Arthur down, Merlin suggested they first visit the tavern.

The tavern was easily found, marked by the village drunkard sitting against one of its walls. Arthur let Merlin take care of the horses while he went inside and rent a room for the night. From the stables behind the tavern, or rather what was left of it, Merlin could see the three farms surrounding the village. He could also see that one of the farms was in decay, probably abandoned some years ago. Entering the tavern he saw Arthur sitting by a table close to the extinguished fireplace and sat down opposite of him.
"I don't see how you do it." Arthur stated and, when Merlin looked at curiously, he clarified "Spending all day in the tavern? Really, I can't help but find this place rather dull."
"Well, this isn't Camelot." Merlin had played with the idea of revealing he didn't spend that much time in the tavern but then he'd have to think up something else to go in its place.
"Any ideas on how we're going to find that missing girl?" Arthur asked but then the strangest things happened. The barmaid - there was only one - shouted at them.
"She never really went missing!"
Arthur gave Merlin a funny look, with all his etiquette the Prince hadn't the faintest idea of how people behaved in situations like this. He was well aware of shouting in taverns but when one is a tavern as empty as this, did one shout back? Merlin answered it for him. The manservant got up and walked over to the maid, eliminating the reason to shout.
"What do you mean?" He asked.
"She went missing for 'bout a day, we just couldn't find her when the spirit screamed." The maid explained.
"What was her name?" Arthur, who overheard the conversation, shouted. The maid gave the man an unimpressed raised eyebrow which answered his previous, unvoiced, question.
"How is she?" Merlin asked, completely ignoring the Prince.
"Kathryn is fine. She said she saw the spirit at the old farm and fainted." She said but with a tone of voice that implied she found it a bit petty.
"Is that really what happened?" Merlin asked slyly. The maid looked around and moved a bit closer to the warlock.
"I think she wanted to run away. Her betrothed is a complete idiot." The maid gossiped. Merlin smiled, not because of the gossip, but because of the way he found out. The same trick worked in Ealdor. You simply pretended you already knew the secret. Merlin smiled and nodded before sitting back down at Arthur's table.
"What did she say?"
"Kathryn might just have wanted to run away." Merlin hated to admit as it meant proving Uther right.
"Well, I'm not riding back to Camelot just yet." Arthur said as he began to slouch in his chair.
"We could visit the old, haunted farm. Might make for a good story... for Gwen." Merlin stated. Arthur sat upright, now there was an idea he liked. He wasn't one much for stories but this had a good ring to it. Merlin brought it up so he might as well help make up a story. So when they would come back, they wouldn't just get an 'oh' in disappointment but an 'oooohh' from the chill of the story.
"We'll do that tonight then." The Prince caved. The rest of the afternoon was spent talking, a rare occurrence but they didn't really have anything else to kill the time with.

That night they went to the abandoned farm merely for curiosity's sake. Entering the room Merlin immediately felt sick. It wasn't that the room had been torn apart, he wished it was, it was that it seemed like the inhabitants never actually left. The plates were still on the table though whatever had been on it had long since been claimed by fungus. The floorboards creaked but, unlike the chairs, they held.

Arthur began poking around the belongings while Merlin only looked and something caught his eye.
"A book." Merlin held it up in victory.
"So what, Merlin?" Arthur complained.
"It's the only book here and... it's a diary." Merlin made it sound like a big deal, and it was considering few people could write.
"No one's lived here for years." Arthur tried to refute.
"Doesn't mean it's not important." Merlin said as he opened it and began reading.
"Then stuff it in your bag, I need your eyes for more important things." The Prince just kept on complaining and Merlin read aloud.
"It's been six years since I last saw daddy. Mummy said we're better off without him but for the third year in a row, master Donald is threatening to take the farm."
"Merlin, do we have to do this now?" Arthur was getting to the edge of his patience.
"Fine." The manservant answered annoyed as he put the diary in his bag. Merlin felt something was off but when nothing interesting could be found, their 'investigation' was over.

They went back to the local tavern where they would stay for the night. They sat at the table closest to the fireplace and talked a bit over the comfort of a jug of ale. Arthur couldn't refrain from snarky remarks such as "So this is what you do all day" before he turned in for an early night, leaving Merlin in the taproom. Merlin took out the girl's diary from his satchel, convinced the answer might be in there. The story was becoming a tale of suffering, the girl couldn't feel her toes anymore and wrote all about how it felt, how it hurt. It was saddening to read about a little girl's fear of death as such thoughts should never be on the mind of one so young. Hearing the screeching from a chair being pulled he looked up to find a woman sitting down before him. She had long brown hair but wasn't very tall or short, she was rather average and he estimated her to be in her late teens.
"Hi." She said rather nervously clinging on to the jug of ale in her hands.
"Hi." He returned not knowing what to think of her.
"You're here with-"
"Arthur, yes. I'm his servant." Merlin filled in the blanks.
"Servant? The Prince drinks with his manservant?" She was a clever girl. They hadn't mentioned 'Prince' in their conversations though 'Pendragon' and 'Royal Prat' were.
"How..." Merlin wondered and now it was her turn to fill in the blanks.
"I've been to Camelot some years ago, he hasn't changed much since then."
"You don't think of him very highly, do you?" Merlin smiled. The girl looked down at that, the manservant knew the Prince well enough to have a drink with him and she had almost insulted him.
"Your secret is safe with me." Merlin grinned.
"I'm Kathryn, or Kath." The girl finally introduced herself properly
"Merlin. Aren't you the girl the spirit 'took'?"
"I sort of fainted." She admitted somewhat ashamed.
"But you saw it, didn't you?" Merlin asked, he felt something strange at the haunted farm and he was convinced there was something more to it.
"Not that anyone believes me."
"You don't have to, but can you tell me what you saw?" Merlin asked.
"It... it looked a person only it wasn't. It was a woman but her face was... wrong. Like skin on bones, nothing in-between."
"What about her eyes?" The manservant kept asking.
"Completely Blank."
"Black?"
"No, white."
Merlin pulled out another book from his satchel, a bestiary, and began flipping through the pages.
"You're taking me seriously?" Kathryn asked amazed.
Merlin turned the book around to show the Wraith like they had encountered before.
"That..." Kathryn mumbled nervously.
"Is it, isn't it? Only the eyes are wrong." Merlin finished her sentence as he turned the book back to himself and now flipped through the pages more carefully, actually looking for something old and something new.
"She looks like someone I used to know." Kathryn mumbled.
"Who?"
"There was a woman who lived there with her daughter. The spirit looks like the mother. I used to be friends with the girl but she died in the winter and a year later so did her mother."
"How long ago did this happen?"
"The mother died six years, the girl seven."
"And when did the ghost first scream?"
"About a year ago, so it can't be her, it wouldn't make sense" Kathryn knew what he was thinking.

A high-pitched scream filled the air and Merlin was sure that was the spirit. He went to the corridor adjacent to the rooms and called the Prince loudly who shouted back in reply. Merlin quickly stuffed the book and the diary into his satchel and followed Arthur who just paced through the taproom.

Arthur saw light burning within the haunted farm and barged in without a second thought, followed by Merlin. There they stood, eye to eye with the wicked spirit. The head was rotting, skin sagging out of place but its most prominent features still shown by the bone underneath. Her hair had decayed and seemed more like strings of rope. Kathryn was right about the eyes, the Wraith had none but the spirit still had them and they were completely white, not even the iris was showing.

The spirit seemed wary of the stranger but the Prince lost his patience and took a swing at it. The spirit opened its mouth, seemingly dislocating it to make it that big, and a savage scream blew them back. Merlin was blown against the wall while Arthur was sent through what little was left of the door.

Merlin took a quick look at Arthur who was lying on his back. The warlock made haste to check if he was alright, he was merely unconscious, and went back inside.
"Who are you?" Merlin asked. The Spirit cocked its head, seemingly interested in what the sorcerer had to say.
"You were somebody and you died, why are you still here?" Merlin reasoned that was what had happened, spirits were people who weren't at peace and the key could be the reason why.
"Justice." Its voice was hushed but loud and echoing all around the place. But then it seemed to fall on its back only it fell through the floor. Merlin turned his back to where the Spirit had stood and moved towards Arthur who was being helped back on his feet by Kathryn.
"Merlin, what the hell was that?" Arthur asked.
"I might've found out if you weren't so eager to swing your sword at it." Merlin said rather annoyed.
"It's hostile, we have to get these people to safety, to Camelot. Round up the villagers, Merlin." The prat commanded.
"One moment." Merlin spoke up.
"Sorry?" Arthur asked incredulous.
"The spirit screamed, so who died?" Merlin stated. Arthur looked down at that, slightly ashamed he hadn't thought of that.
"I'll ask around." Kathryn told Merlin and not Arthur who, being ignored, felt slightly hurt in his pride.
"We'd best get our things from the tavern." Merlin told Arthur who could only agree with him. After doing the little packing necessary, Merlin ordered ale and sat down at one of the tables. Arthur sat down before his manservant, empty handed, and had half a though of giving the man a piece of his mind.
"Someone's dead and you're drinking ale." Arthur stated, to him it felt like Merlin was being insensitive like he himself had been not long before.
"You want to speak to the villagers." Merlin stated, he understood that the Prince would want to guide them to safety as soon as possible but there was something bound to stop him.
Merlin just had to make the Prince see it as well. "Arthur, someone died. If we tell them to follow us to Camelot right now, half their minds are with the deceased. Besides, I'm waiting for Kathryn to tell me who died so I can perform an examination." The physician's apprentice explained.
"You, perform an examination?" Arthur asked, questioning his experience as a physician's apprentice.
"You shouldn't be surprised seeing as you provide most of the bodies." Merlin joked. Arthur's chuckle was interrupted by the door opening and Kathryn entered the room. Merlin could see she'd been crying and got up to meet her halfway.
"I'm sorry." He gave her his condolences.
"It's alright." She tried to brush it off and beckoned him to follow her. Arthur followed her as well but kept his distance. He and Gwen might not have been together for very long but already the Prince knew it was best to avoid a woman's wrath.
"Who was it?" Merlin asked softly.
"My betrothed." She replied.
He didn't know what to say, was there anything to be said at all?
"He wasn't bright or courageous but he was kind, caring and gentle. I might not have loved him but he didn't deserve this." Kathryn almost sobbed. After that none of them talked until they came upon the home of the deceased.
Kathryn turned to the Prince, finally she had something she had to say to him. "What are you going to ask them?"
Arthur shook his head, she wasn't quite aware of their plan.
"Merlin is the apprentice of the court physician, he is to examine the body."
Kathryn flinched and Merlin immediately jumped at what might be implied.
"I don't need to cut him." He explained. The girl nodded and went inside with him. The family was brought outside and Arthur did what he did best, being a prat.
"I'm Prince Arthur Pendragon." He declared which made quite a few heads turn around. He went on about how Dunwood was no longer safe and they should prepare to leave for Camelot.

During this time, Merlin was examining the body. The victim was an ordinary man and the only extraordinary thing could be attributed to his death. The white of his eyes had gone yellow and bloodshot. Already Merlin was doubting the spirit had done it because what he saw implied poison.
"Were the other victims like him?" Merlin #had caught himself from saying 'the body'. Kathryn knew the boy, he was her betrothed.
"Y... yes." She managed to utter out. Merlin moved away from the body and put a comforting hand on her back as they went back outside.
"And?" Arthur asked. The people had listened and packed whatever they needed, they were told to travel lightly.
"I'm done. Kathryn, you should pack. It isn't safe here, we're bringing you to Camelot." Merlin more or less rambled. He didn't want to report his findings in her presence. Thankfully Kathryn listened like the villagers did but not without looking back over her shoulder.
"What did you find?" Arthur asked straight to the point.
"His eyes were yellow and bloodshot. I'd say he was poisoned." Merlin reported.
"You're not suggesting one of the villagers did it, are you?"
"It's either that or the spirit tainted something they eat or drink, like the Afanc did."
Arthur nodded, it sounded plausible but that didn't mean he had to like it. The journey back to Camelot was uneventful. They travelled slowly as few of them had horses and they were used to plowing fields, not having people on their backs. Merlin and Arthur rode at the rear while a former guard rode at the front. Arthur kept an eye out for trouble while Merlin had his nose in the books, the girl's diary.

Her tale was growing darker and darker. One of the people said she was cold to the bone, not emotionally but as a diagnosis. She wrote about her tummy aching and not understanding why mummy was crying, she said everything would be alright and the sun would warm her face soon enough. To the girl that made even less sense, winter was far from over. Merlin flipped the page with a horrid feeling he could barely stomach. Her entire foot had gone numb and writing hurt her fingers. As if the words themselves weren't bad enough, Merlin could tell by the handwriting when the pain was at its worst. But then, on the next page, the handwriting had changed completely, someone else was writing.

Not a day goes by that I don't think of her. How she cried nearing the end. I just wish I had known what was to come, the things I should've told her. But it was peaceful, at least I can draw strength from that. Asleep one day and then the endless sleep came the next. I don't know what I'll do without her, I'll lose the farm but I'm not going to give up.

Merlin recognized the words as those of the mother. She kept writing after the girl passed away. The warlock tucked away the book as the emotions of the mother seemed to start reflect his own. Arthur was looking at him but whatever the Prince was thinking, he wasn't sharing it with him. With Camelot in sight, Arthur moved to the front of the group and after a short talk with the former guard, the Prince rode ahead of them to make preparations. Arthur was lucky that the night watch were more competent than those during the day, as they should be since Cornelius Sigan. The refugee camp was set up outside the city walls and consisted of tents usually used to accommodate knights participating in tournament. It took surprisingly little time to get everyone settled but the refugees themselves helped.

Arthur and Merlin parted ways in the castle courtyard and Merlin was glad he could rest on his own bed. Merlin went to bed quietly as not to disturb Gaius. Only he couldn't sleep, the damned diary kept him awake. He lit a candle with his magic and took the diary from his satchel.

Merlin read page after page and felt sorry for the woman. She was growing more and more desperate and she began blaming people for everything. Her thoughts, written thoughts, were becoming more and more frantic. It saddened him and he couldn't help but feel sorry for her. But there was a truth behind her seemingly incoherent ravings. There was a word that kept coming forward, murder. She was absolutely convinced someone had killed her little girl. Turning the page he found the next one missing.

Merlin's thoughts went blank. Only one person would tear out a page, especially so close to the end. Her murderer. Seeing as it was the end of the book, Merlin had no choice but to go to sleep and talk to Arthur in the morning. Yet again, sleep would not come to him. Mother and daughter had been killed and the injustice done claimed his mind. He had to tell someone. An idea came to him and it was a little bit crazy but if anyone would understand...

He didn't know if his soft knocking would be answered but when the door finally opened he was surprised to be pulled into the room.
"Why are you here at such a late hour?" Morgana asked now that they could speak freely. The manservant was a bit preoccupied by her nightgown which made her look rather angelic.
"I couldn't sleep." Merlin's answer would've left much to be imagined if his voice hadn't sounded so sad.
"What's wrong?" She asked. Merlin laid the girl's diary on the table and sat down with a sigh.
"In the house the spirit was haunting lived a little girl and this was her diary." He stated.
"What happened to her?" She asked as she too sat down and opened the book, that had to be the reason he brought it.
"She died. First they blamed it on a strong winter but later her mother was convinced she was murdered. She too died."
"That's so sad, did she find out who did it?" Morgana asked and it was exactly what he was after. He turned the diary to the missing page and answered.
"I think she did and the murderer tore out the incriminating page. I read the whole thing and now it's keeping me up."
"I can relate." She said with a slight smile.
"That's why I'm here." He returned the gesture.
"How long ago did this happen?"
"At least six years." He answered casually.
Morgana brows furrowed as she moved her hand across the blank page.
"What is it?" Merlin asked.
"This paper is rather bright considering it's six years old, it's almost like I can feel the quill's pressure." She mused. Merlin also moved his hand across the paper. She was right, it hadn't aged, not even water had tainted it. The few pieces of the puzzle that came together brought forth an idea and Merlin mentally slapped himself for being so stupid. It was obvious, how could he have missed it?
"That's it!" He exclaimed as rotated the book towards him and began chanting.
"Edhwierft se cwideas sméaung ond manede, áwréon hwæs éastríce beneoðan."
[Return the words lost and forgotten, reveal what lies beneath]
The black of ink seemed to surface to make words and symbols of the Old Religion. Magic had touched the book before and like any enchanted object, it preserved it. Merlin grinned and abruptly gave Morgana a quick but passionate kiss.
"Whatever would I do without you?" His compliment made her blush a bit. He was a powerful sorcerer and yet he valued her more than anything in the world, she merely gave a remark but apparently that had been the spark he needed.
"What does it say." Morgana asked curiously. Merlin could translate part of it himself but many nouns eluded him still.
"Don't know, but I intend on finding out." He smiled as he closed the book.

"Kilgharrah." Merlin called, his voice resonating throughout the caverns. The beast of ancient times landed on his usual rock with his head held high.
"Merlin, it's been a while since we've last spoken."
"I need-"
"No." Kilgharrah interrupted him.
"What?" Merlin asked confused.
"You've changed destiny, young warlock, things are no longer as they should be." Kilgharrah scolded him.
"Morgana and I are in love, things have changed for the better." Merlin knew that was what the dragon meant but it was not his place to tell him what to do and it angered him that he tried to. He knew he needed the dragon's help but that didn't give him the right to tell him what to do.
"Or the worse, you do not know." The great dragon argued.
"Then tell me what has changed!" Merlin shouted, no longer would he follow the dragon out of good faith, that time should've passed long ago.
"I cannot." The dragon almost whispered and there were traces of sadness in his voice.
"What? Why not?"
"I..." The dragon hesitated, he had never done that before. Merlin had never seen him worried, actually worried about something. Kilgharrah didn't want to tell, to him it was downright humiliating.
"Ever since the Purge began, we knew it would take someone special to bring magic back. Some of us dragons could see destinies, but the future is like a tree with many branches."
"Then why give me a destiny fighting the woman I love?" Merlin argued.
"Because it was the only one we could find that would ensure the wellbeing of Albion." Kilgharrah finally explained.
"You've never seen into the future, you merely recited parts of the prophecy." Merlin realised the dragon had been playing him all this time. He felt hurt, insulted and betrayed. He wanted to shout at him, to hurt him, to show his anger but there were more important things at stake.
"Fine, to hell with it. I need you tell me what is written here." He said as he opened the diary and showed the imprinted page.
"From light and darkness, vigilant from the grave. For my life no vengeance but lives saved." Kilgharrah translated but more out of guilt than anything else.
"It's not a vengeful spirit," Merlin realised. There were many kinds of spirits and he though this one vengeful only to now realise it wasn't. "it's a banshee."
He was going to tell Arthur in the morning but as he stood upon the courtyard, he heard the distinct scream of the banshee. It was in Camelot.

Merlin made a run for the refugee camp just outside the city walls, the spirit was bound to be at there. As Merlin made his way through the gates he found several guards on the floor and another was flung at his head. The idiot guards were trying to kill something that was already dead.
"Stop!" Merlin told the last guard still standing. Oddly enough, the spirit once again seemed interested in what the warlock had to say. But it wasn't just him, it was also the person that stood beside the manservant, Arthur. The Prince had hastily put on chainmail and had his sword at the ready.
"Don't." Merlin told Arthur.
"What?" Arthur barked.
"The spirit isn't the one killing people." Merlin explained.
"Her screams kill people!" The Prince tried to refute.
"But you're not dead and neither are the guards." Merlin reasoned. Arthur nodded slightly, his manservant spoke truth but he wasn't finished yet.
"The banshee is the mother who wrote the diary and she was murdered. Every time her murderer strikes, she wails."
"So instead of looking for a spirit, we should be looking for a murderer." Arthur concluded and the banshee faded into nothingness bearing a wicked and unnerving smile. Now the guards also dared to get back on their feet and looked at the Prince for orders.
"Round up the refugees." He told them. It didn't take very long for the guards to round up the fifty refugees.
"Arthur," Merlin pulled him to the side. "Whoever was poisoning the people must've brought ingredients with him."
Arthur smiled because that made things a lot easier. The Prince plucked Kathryn from the crowd so she would make sure everyone was accounted for while Merlin searched the tents for the ingredients, as physician's apprentice he'd recognize them best. The one person not accounted for, the dead, was the maid from the tavern.

Merlin found the tools necessary for potion brewing in the smallest tent which, according to Kathryn, belonged to the village drunkard, Donald. The manservant sighed and shook his head as he opened the diary once more. Master Donald, he used to be the landlord. Arthur looked at the man who had become an absolute disgrace with his torn clothes.
"Why?" Kathryn asked him and he looked at her rather unimpressed.
"They knew... something, I could see it in their eyes. They found me disgusting while it was they themselves who were disgusting. They knew and they didn't tell." Donald more or less explained.
"Knew what?" Arthur asked.
"About everything! They knew something about everything!" He shouted. Arthur thought him mad already.
"I will be executed, won't I?" Donald asked. The Prince nodded with some reluctance. The man used to be a landlord and he had lost everything, even his sanity, now his life would follow. But Donald was the waiting type, he jumped at Arthur who instinctively held up his sword in defence, effectively piercing and thus killing Donald. As he fell to the floor, a woman's voice could be heard singing. The light of the banshee appeared but she herself did not reappear with the horrid face they had seen her with before. They saw her as she used to be, like a living person. Her song reminded them of Lady Helen only they doubted it would end like that. She kept moving closer to Merlin and came to a stop before him, holding out her hands. Merlin nodded and handed her daughter's diary over to her. The banshee stopped singing and smiled before fading into nothingness, taking the diary with her.

The refugees would return home the next day but would first bury the dead. Kathryn thanked Merlin and the Prince on behalf of the village after which the Arthur and he went back to the castle. For the rest of the night, the knights were kept occupied with putting the people at ease. The banshee's scream had woken most of the city.

Merlin entered the physician's chambers with the intent of going to bed but found Gaius sitting by a table trying to comfort Morgana, still in her nightgown. The sound of the door being opened had made their heads turn and immediately Morgana ran up to him and flung her arms around him. Gaius put a comforting hand on his shoulder as he walked past them and left the room.

Morgana moved back a bit so she could look at his face but let her hand linger on his face.
"Is it over?" She asked almost afraid.
"It is, she's at peace." He smiled.
"She?" Morgana inquired.
"The girl's mother made herself a banshee."
"Does Arthur know even half the things you do for him?" Morgana smiled, glad things had come to a happy end.
"Not the faintest idea." He replied.
"But why do you always let him take credit for it?"
"I'm a sorcerer, I shouldn't attract attention."
"Then I guess I will have to reward you instead." She replied sweetly.

AN:

Did you think I was going to burn the diary? That would've been far too easy.
I like the favs and alerts I'm getting but I write faster when I get a lot of reviews.[/hint]
This chapter turned out to be much longer than I had anticipated (I thought 4000 words at most, over 6000 now).
Following chapters will be shorter... I hope.

Trivia:
This chapter was heavily influenced by Doctor Who: The Curse of the Black Spot.