It has been a whole month since I last uploaded! It has been a busy old time.
Hope you enjoy the next chapter
Chapter 4
The next morning, Megan felt someone shaking her and she woke with a start, and saw Tom's face beaming down on her. This unsettled her for a moment and then she realized where she was and groaned. She had hoped perhaps it had just been a nice dream but no, she was still stuck in Camelot and she now had to be Lady Morgana's slave!
"You do not want to be late for the Lady Morgana" he encouraged.
"Fine, I'm getting up" she moaned, throwing the blanket off her, shivered and wrapped it around herself again. She pulled on one of Gwen's dresses, which wasn't particularly appealing, had a bread roll for breakfast and made her way up to the castle.
After arriving at the castle and subsequently in the kitchens, Megan found her new friend Meredith who helped her prepare some food for when Morgana woke and also giving her some handy hints on what to do during the day. Megan appreciated the help as she carefully carried the tray full of food towards Morgana's quarters, after being told what time she needed to be up. Megan gingerly opened the door, set her tray down at the end of the bed and approached the curtains. Taking a deep breath, she said "Time to wake up my lady" and drew open the heavy, dark curtains.
Morgana stirred as she blinked in the bright morning sun.
"Good morning my lady" repeated Megan, spinning on the spot and smiling, "It looks like a lovely day. I have prepared some breakfast for you."
"Thank you" smiled Morgana, evidently impressed with her new maidservant, "What was your name again?"
"Megan" she smiled, "I will go and collect your clothes for today. Enjoy your breakfast"
Morgana watched her go out of the door and smirked. Maybe things would work out just fine.
Megan came back into the room about 20 minutes later where Morgana had polished off her food save a few leftovers and Megan had the most beautiful dress in her arms. It was a midnight blue colour that reached the floor, with flared arms and the material was so lush and soft. Megan wished she had pretended to be a lady at this point but she knew she would not have been able to keep that cover for long. While she was thinking this and helping Morgana into her dress, she noticed the Lady kept glancing at the window.
"Is there something troubling you my Lady?" asked Megan tentatively, doing up the buttons at the back of the dress.
"There is going to be an execution today."
"Oh, how awful. Well, it depends what they have done though. If they…I don't know, murdered someone then they probably deserve it…sorry, I am rambling…"
"No, it is fine" reassured Morgana, "The prisoner is being executed for being a sorcerer"
Megan frowned, realising this story sounded familiar, and then it dawned on her. She approached the window and peered out to see a wooden platform in the centre of the courtyard, a small, wooden block in the centre of it. Megan gulped. This must have been the day Merlin arrived at Camelot.
"Is there anything else I can do for you my lady?" asked Megan absentmindedly, looking out of the window still.
"Could you brush my hair?"
"Of course" Still full of excited thoughts of Merlin's arrival, Megan found her hairbrush and began to brush through Morgana's long, luscious, black hair.
"Can you stay?" asked Morgana, "When they execute the poor boy?"
'So much for meeting Merlin straight away' thought Megan.
She actually replied with an "Of course my lady" and continued brushing her hair.
Sometime later, the daunting King Uther stood on the balcony addressing the bustling crowd of people below. "Let this serve this as a lesson to all. This man, Thomas James Collins, is judged guilty to conspiring to use enchantments and magic" boomed Uther, "And pursuant of the laws of Camelot, I, Uther Pendragon, have decreed that such practices are banned on penalty of death. I pride myself as a fair and just King, but for the crime of sorcery, there is but one sentence I can pass!" Uther nodded to someone in the distance, someone roughly pushed the man to the floor. The executioner lifted up his axe. As Uther waved his hand, the axe went straight through his neck. Megan looked away in disgust and noticed Morgana did the same. "When I came to this land" continued Uther, "This kingdom was mindless chaos. But with the people's help, magic was driven from the realm. So I declare a festival to celebrate 20 years since the Great Dragon was captured and Camelot freed from the evil of sorcery. Let the celebrations begin!"
Suddenly, just liked Megan remembered, she saw the boy's mother edge out of the crowd, scorn and hatred all over her face. "There is only one evil in this land and it is not magic! It is you, with your hatred and your ignorance. You took my son" she sobbed, her voice quivering, "Well, I promise you, before these celebrations are over, you will share my tears. An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. A son for a son."
"Seize her!" ordered Uther, but she was already muttering a spell, a tornado whipping her up, wind blowing dramatically everywhere and then she was gone. Morgana turned to Megan "Yes, my lady?"
"Fetch me some water." she said quietly. Megan nodded and left the room. She was torn between feeling sorry about the execution or happy that Merlin had finally arrived in Camelot.
For the rest of the day, Megan was mainly preparing the food for the celebrations, which her left her fingers red raw and had a close shave with a particularly sharp knife while chopping vegetables. Megan realized how much work she had to do and at that moment, she really wanted to go home, put her feet up and ring for a takeaway and not cook so much food again in her life. But the fleeting moments of freedom she had from the job to find the place she had appeared was futile; she didn't know how to return home. After all that work, Megan was exhausted so went straight to bed with only a little she had to eat.
Luckily, the next day, Megan's day was not so hectic so after serving Lady Morgana for a few hours, she found time to go to the market in pretense of getting something for Morgana and a thank you gift for Meredith. Even though she had no idea how far her money would go. However, shopping wasn't her priority but meeting Merlin was and she remembered he would be here in a rather entertaining fight with Prince Arthur.
Megan caught a glimpse of a dark haired man and she felt her stomach churn happily. 'It's actually Merlin' her insides screamed.
"Hey, come on, that's enough" sighed Merlin at Arthur.
"What?" replied Arthur.
"You've had your fun my friend"
"Do I know you?" asked Arthur, striding up to Merlin.
"Err, I'm Merlin…"
"So I don't know you?"
"No"
"Yet you call me friend!"
"That was my mistake."
"Yes, I think so"
"Yeah" nodded Merlin, "I would never have a friend who would be such an ass."
Megan couldn't believe how much more funny she found this seeing it for real. She tried to cover her laughter but a couple of people next to her kept giving her weird looks.
"Nor I with someone so stupid. Tell me Merlin, do you know how to walk on your knees?"
At this line, she burst out laughing, a proper belly laugh she couldn't control.
"No"
"Would you like me to help you?"
"I wouldn't if I were you"
"Why? What are you going to do with me?" teased Arthur.
"You have no idea"
"Be my guest" grinned Arthur, "Come on! Come on, come on!" Merlin went to punch him but Arthur quickly put Merlin's arm up his back. "I could put you in jail for that!" said Arthur.
"Who do you think you are, the king?"
"No. I'm his son. Arthur" He was taken away after that and Megan knew the result would be him in the stocks and eventually in the prison. 'Poor Merlin' thought Megan, who then began to giggle. Maybe staying in Camelot wouldn't be so bad.
Megan vaguely remembered Gwen bringing him some food later on in the prison so she decided to take the opportunity to introduce herself to the infamous sorcerer. She made her way down there, she hadn't acknowledged how cold, filthy and horrid the dungeons would be as she approached the barred cell and finally saw him up close. His short, dark hair was disheveled as was his red scarf and there was dirt on his boots.
"I brought you some food. My advice to you is don't have a go at the future king of Camelot your first day here" she smirked, handing him some bread and grapes.
"You heard then?" he mumbled, scoffing the food.
"No, I saw it. You have to admit that was pretty funny; wish I could see you in the stocks with kids throwing tomatoes and stuff. That would make my day"
"Do you know Gaius?" asked Merlin, ignoring her comments, "I am going to be in some much trouble" He began brushing his hair down nervously and Megan quickly stopped laughing.
"Gaius is cool, as long as you learn from your mistakes. I'm Megan, Morgana's maidservant. Third day here. Good job I haven't starting calling her names or I might be where you are now." Megan couldn't help herself and burst out laughing again.
"You can stop laughing" sighed Merlin.
"That would be too easy."
"I'm Merlin, I am Gaius' new apprentice."
"Nice to meet you Merlin" smirked Megan, who then remembered she hadn't finished cleaning Morgana's boots and hurried out with the tray with a big smile on her face.