A/N: Here's another chapter. I'm sorry if it seems a little drawn out, I just got so drawn into my OC character.
This chapter is dedicated to SpiesOfTheYellowKingdom, sorry this update took so long! :) No hard feelings?
As always, R&R. (And I own Yara. Not anything else except the plot.)
As it turned out, the sorcerer was a young girl, she couldn't be much older than ten winters. When she was brought in front of the king, she did not wish him harm, in fact, the girl bowed, long blond hair falling over her shoulders.
"My king," she said quietly.
"What is your name, girl?" Arthur asked, and Merlin could tell he was a little put off by her young age and the fact that she had bowed to him.
"Yara Mair, Sire," she answered.
"You are charged with using sorcery, Yara. How do you respond to this accusation?" Most people would deny the charges, most people would say that it must be a mistake. They had no magic. But Yara's reply was different.
"For what was I using said magic, Sire?"
"For making game animals disappear, and sickening the people's animals."
"What were the symptoms of said animals?"
Merlin could almost have laughed. It now sounded like this girl was questioning Arthur, rather than the other way around, and his magic sensed only slight amusement coming from the girl, no malicious purpose to be found.
Arthur looked to Leon, who came forward. "The animals were restless, uneasy, Sire, and those who weren't were lethargic." Merlin quietly wondered whether Arthur knew what lethargic meant.
"That could easily have been due to the rain, or perhaps a little disease called 'they-were-stuck-in-a-barn-all-winter'. Merlin snorted, but quickly turned it into a cough. Arthur wasn't amused.
"The villagers stated that they saw you entering the place where they keep the young calves. And that doesn't account for the missing game. It was a mild winter by all accounts. There should be plenty of such animals in that forest."
"For you to hunt and kill for sport. There are people who'd need the meat more than you. Perhaps your thief is all around you, Sire," Arthur's eyebrows rose. "If you'll excuse my bluntness, this is but the opinion of a simple girl," Yara said, bowing once more. The girl's blue eyes held only sincerity, the black cloak she wore enveloped her small body as she stood strait once more.
"Are you, or are you not a sorcerer?" growled an older knight. One of the knights that had served under Uther for a long time.
"No," the girl said strongly. I am not a sorcerer."
"You lie!" Yelled the same knight. I saw her, Sire! When we caught her, she lit a fire with no flint or other tool!"
"You have no proof that I lie," the girl said, pointedly, staring at the older man with a challenge in her eyes.
"And no proof that you tell the truth," Arthur pointed out quietly. Merlin knew that both were right. But the girl was safe with her little lie on technicalities. Of course, if she were to explain this, she would be executed for using magic. She could be executed for the way she spoke to Arthur. Whoever this girl was, she was playing a dangerous game.
"Where are you parents?" Arthur asked quietly.
"Dead," the girl said. "Or as good as. They were drafted into Cenred's army. Well, my father was. My mother died giving birth to me."
"Who takes care of you?"
"Me. I take care of myself. Sometimes women will give me a piece of bread or something . . . or let me sleep next to their fire, but I travel a lot."
"And yet these villagers claim you have been using your sorcery on their animals for over a week."
"Magic," the girl snapped. "That's why I'm not a sorceress. I'm an enchantress. I . . . my magic doesn't expand into battle ability. Just healing. I'm a healer."
"Ha!" The knight yelled, and Merlin could feel his jaw drop slightly. "She admitted it!" The knight said.
Even Arthur seemed surprised. It took a couple minutes for him to say "take her to the dungeons."
"I thought you might be different than the man who killed my five-year-old brother for accidently turning a chicken into a cat!" Yara yelled as the guards grabbed her. "Not everyone has a choice about magic! Some have it in their blood! My grandfather was one of the last Dragon lords! He had only one daughter before he was killed; and his gift with him! Don't be a murderer Arthur Pendragon! It will break your world around you." The last part was said quietly into the silence of the hall following the girl calling the king by his name. She glanced towards Merlin as she was dragged away, and he could read in her eyes that she needed to speak with him. With Emrys.
A/N: Review? Maybe? Please? (Oh, and MANY thanks for reading the chapter!)