Chapter 6
She stood horrified over the corpse in front of her. She stared his snapped neck; the man never had a chance. He might have had hateful intentions, but that didn't mean that he deserved to die. The scene kept replaying in her head. She looked down at her hands, though spotless, felt soaked in crimson blood.
She felt something warm over her shoulders, craning her neck to see who it was.
Arthur carefully removed his tux jacket and placed it around her frame. Though obviously many sizes too big, he hoped it would help her. She wouldn't stop shaking, he knew it wasn't because she was cold, but he needed to try.
He glanced at the body on the floor, simply looking at the man.
There were many threats to his life, but only a few that had gone past words and into attempts. This may have been the first time that someone had come so close to succeeding, he needed to consider himself extremely lucky. Had she not stopped him from running in, he would have walked straight into a trap.
"Are you all right?" he asked her carefully.
She said nothing.
"I just wanted to say, thank you,"
Perhaps it wasn't the best time to show his gratitude, but he couldn't think of anything else to say.
In that instant, guards came running forth.
Seeing the dead body on the floor, they tried to usher the prince away as quickly as they could. But Arthur wouldn't leave, not yet. He turned back to Gwen and grabbed her hand, dragging her down the hall with him. She wouldn't be safe alone.
His military persona took over as he barked orders to the guards. They all scrambled to comply, running around in complete pandemonium. Everything was a mess, no semblance of the joyful celebration that was meant to happen.
The tradition of peace and ceasefire on the Day of Commemoration was thrown out the window, as the guards and general began to prepare themselves. Ammunition and weapons seemed to appear out of nowhere, as the men began to arm themselves with equipment. The guns they held in possession were different than what she had seen before in her life. They were taller than her in height, and probably weighed something close to her.
"Report," It was a single-word command, but the men around them responded promptly without hesitation.
"A citywide black out, no one has power. A lockdown has been put into action,"
"On whose command?" he gritted his teeth, he didn't like to be upstaged when he was supposed to be in charge. It was his duty, and he'd die before he'd see anyone do his job for him.
"A collective decision on behalf of royal security, Sir."
He pushed his anger aside, "Where is my father?"
"His majesty and the Queen have been moved to a secure location on the eastern wing of the castle,"
"Our guests?" another pistol clicked into place in its holster.
"So far everyone has been accounted for, no prominent numbers have been reported missing,"
"And those responsible?" It was no coincidence that a power outage against fool proof electrical system and a strike on the crown prince's life happened simultaneously.
"Yet to be confirmed,"
Surprising everyone, the prince took the end of his gun, and slammed it into the wall next to them. The sound made Gwen jump with fear.
"Sweep the perimeter, I want these bastards found," he violently jammed the last pack of bullets into his gun.
One man stepped forward, with a sturdy looking phone in hand. "The guards from the gates have made contact,"
Arthur grabbed the device from his grip and impatiently pressed it into his ear.
Arthur's eyes mimicked Gwen's wide ones, and his feet stopped walking.
All eyes flew to him, desperate to know what he had discovered.
He looked down at the petite girl next to him. His throat felt dry, "It's Merlin,"'
Only one word came to her mind when she heard him: Morgana.
-p-
Morgana hadn't been very careful. But in her defense, she never thought that what happened was even a possibility.
The moment had been so heated, everything an impulse. She didn't think the consequences through.
The second she fired the gun, it dropped out of her hands. She rushed to his side as he fell to the floor, pulling his hand and holding it to her heart, repeating an apology over and over, as if he could hear her.
He wasn't dead, not yet. She felt the tears running off of her cheeks and falling onto the motionless body below. She wanted to take it back immediately. He was the only reason she came back, he couldn't leave her now.
-p-
Leaving command to another junior officer, Arthur rushed to Merlin's quarters with Gwen on his heels.
The report from the guards had detailed that the second prince had been fatally shot in the back. Luckily it landed to the bottom left, barely missing his spinal cord. They said he had been conscious when they found him, but he was slipping away with the loss of blood.
Arthur wanted to come alone, but grudgingly allowed Gwen to come with him. He was beginning to pull at the seams. The castle's defenses were flawless, whoever was in charge of the invasion was extremely skilled. There was no intel of a possible attack, no one saw it coming. There was a traitor in their midst, and their identity still at large. If he was going to protect the King, his brother, and his people, he needed to make sure that nothing got in his way.
He didn't want to have to worry about watching a helpless girl's back to add to his anxiety. But after seeing her break down in front of him, he couldn't bring himself to deny her request.
The door was heavily guarded, entrance for the elder prince was almost denied. He forced his way through, bursting through the door.
On the bed of the far corner, lie the limp body of the second prince. His face paler than usual, his brow breaking out in sweat, a large, red liquid staining his starch white shirt. But it wasn't his ill appearance that petrified Gwen, it was instead the person crying over him.
She couldn't bring herself to leave his side. It was her fault, but she feared for his fate more than her own.
"Morgana," Arthur pushed past the others in the room, embracing her tightly, "Thank god you're safe,"
But during their heartfelt reunion, Morgana's eyes attached to Gwen's. There was no mistaking it, the look in Gwen's eyes told her that she knew.
Gwen couldn't move, what happened in between Merlin leaving to follow her, and him being shot? She was feeling dizzy, all of it becoming too much for her to take in.
"I'm leaving the two of you here to look for the perpetrators. It's too dangerous out there, so stay put, and watch over Merlin." His voice was so serious that neither of them even thought of disobeying. He turned to the guards, "Don't leave your post, let no one in. Defend this door with your life," his eyes too intense to defy.
The men saluted him and exited after him, leaving Morgana and Gwen together.
Going against every nerve in her body to scream and uncover the truth about the two faced woman, she kneeled by Merlin's bedside. Her nimble fingers began to undo the buttons on his shirt. She watched his chest heave laboriously up and down.
"Stop that," Morgana spat, "What are you doing?"
"We need to try and treat his wound before he bleeds out," she explained as she continued.
"What we need is to wait for trained physician," She feared that doing anything would only worsen his injury.
But both of them knew that no doctor would come. After all, those employed in the royal household would be on leave for the celebrations.
"If we wait, he'll die," Gwen didn't stop to look at the other girl, and concentrated on removing his top. "Help me flip him over,"
She followed her orders without a fight, helping the shorter girl turn him over onto his stomach.
Gwen let out a breath of minor relief; the bullet was out already out of his body, a clear enter and exit wound found on his torso. She worked deftly, using the aid kit that had been left on the nightstand. Dressing a battle wound was not in the realm of her expertise by any means, but Gwen knew how to stitch, cover, and disinfect.
Morgana watched in awe. She had been reluctant to treat the wound because she didn't think they would have been able to help, but looking at it now, this girl knew what she was doing.
She took a needle and thread out, wincing as she drew the sharp utensil through his flesh to close the gaping wound. She wrapped the long bandage around his body tightly, hoping to minimize the bleeding. Feelings of worry escaped her head as she finished, contented with her work. Merlin seemed to be doing better already, his breathing calmed compared to what it had been earlier.
"I think he'll be okay," she whispered, beginning to let the exhaustion take over her. The accomplishment was satisfying, but utterly tiring.
The moment that she pulled away, the other girl clung to his hand, squeezing it and putting it over her heart.
Merlin had explained to Gwen two things earlier that evening.
One, that Morgana was up to no good. He didn't go into the details, but he did mention the Le Fay family's complicated relationship with the crown. Morgana's father, the Duke Gorlois, a close friend of Uther, oversaw multiple shipments of firearms. A man's whose loyalties were divided by a dollar sign, Gorlois sold to the highest bidder. Treason was not tolerated in Albion, no matter a man's title. The Le Fay's were sentenced to exile. When Morgana's mother commited suicide, the King felt no pity; there was even speculation that he was responsible for Gorlois' death evoking accident.
Two, never trust a word that came out of Morgana's mouth. She was as duplicitous as her father, her true motives fogged. She was out for revenge, and a woman scorn was not one to be messed with. He warned her not to get too close, for betrayal was the pale woman's specialty. Gwen didn't understand quite what he had meant before, but she was beginning to think she understood.
Merlin failed to elaborate on his personal relationship with the Lady Morgana. They were definitely closer than he had let on. Seeing the close proximity between the two, despite her hostile motives, she could see the compassion in her eyes. The conclusion she could draw, as that Morgana was playing the princes. There was no doubt in her mind that she would try to turn both of them against each other. Merlin had caught on before she got the chance, and now Gwen knew too.
As Gwen turned her back to put the medical supplies to the side and give the couple unnecessary, yet somehow essential privacy. But she sensed the woman behind her move.
She swiveled around carefully, shocked to find Morgana only inches away from her. She held an outstretched arm, a piece of folded parchment in her hand. She saw that her eyes were bloodshot, her swollen green eyes surrounded by pink.
She instinctively stepped backward, scared of the girl in front of her. But she soon became aware that she meant no apparent harm, and retrieved the paper from her grip.
"Give it to him," she whispered.
"Arthur?" Gwen wasn't sure what she meant.
"No," her volume lowered, her head turned to the bed on the other end. "I know you don't trust me," understatement of the century, "But I do trust you,"
Morgana understood what she had to do. There was no way that he would forgive her after what she had done, it would take time not only his physical, but mental wounds to heal. She would have to go away or face prosecution, she would be found guilty. She knew that the King would find no sympathy to spare her. She would have to disappear, and she would have to do it now.
Gwen opened her mouth in protest, but wasn't able to say anything.
"I trust that you'll give it to him,"
Not knowing how to respond, she nodded her head slowly, trying to take in what was going on.
Taking her by complete surprise, the taller woman threw her arms around the brunette, holding her in a tight embrace. "Thank you," she chocked on each syllable, "I will not forget this,"
As she released, Gwen tried to protest, but Morgana was already on the move. She threw a cloak over her shoulders, and the hood over her eyes. She glanced in the fallen Merlin's direction before turning one last time to the other girl.
"Take care of him for me," she requested with a sad smile.
Without another word, the light eyed woman left. She heard the click of her heels hitting the ground outside, growing softer and softer as the distance grew longer.
It was then that Gwen realized she had broken Merlin's cardinal rule: never believe a word that comes out of her mouth. But she couldn't help it. It was in her nature to look for the best in others.
So scared out of her wits, confused out of her mind, and terrified by the coming prospect, the young girl stood alone in a candle lit room, a half dead royal under her care, a weak pact made with the devil himself.
A weak voice almost made her drop the letter.
"Gwen?"
End Chapter 6
A/N: Wow this chapter took a while to write, sorry for the wait. I've been juggling a couple of ideas as to how I wanted to take the plot. Morgana's flight was definitely debated, but I felt it necessary so that the relationship between Arthur and Gwen could blossom without so much interference. Review if you want me to continue, thanks for reading!