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Chapter Six: A Poisoned Goblet
"Lady Sophia." Gwen gently shook the slumbering woman awake. "Sorry to wake you but I thought you might want something to eat for lunch. You slept through breakfast, are you not feeling well?" Gwen pressed the palm of her hand to Sophia's forehead to find her temperature normal.
"What's that sound?" Sophia sat up and ran a hand through her tangled golden locks.
Gwen smiled faintly and pulled the blankets back for her. "The warning bell, not to worry though everything is under control. Something precious was stolen from the catacombs underneath Camelot, from the newly discovered tomb."
"How peculiar." Sophia sighed, slowly rising from the feather stuffed mattress. "Any idea what was taken?"
Gwen shook her head no and held out a dress for Sophia. "We generally are not kept well informed my lady. Morgana picked this dress out for you, it's made from a lighter material then what you have and it's a much warmer day today."
"Lady Morgana has fitting taste in clothing doesn't she." Sophia took the thin dress from Gwen's arms and walked behind a screen wall to pull it on. "Do they have a suspect in the theft?" Sophia jumped back to the latest news of the robbery.
"Not that I know of." Gwen admitted, saying each word slowly for further effect. Sophia nodded her head in understanding while Gwen pulled the simple set of strands on the dress, tying it into an elegant bow. "Your meal is on the table."
"Thank you, Gwen." Sophia showed her appreciation by faintly smiling at the hand maiden, walking herself over to the full plate of food. She plucked a grape from its stem and crunched on it, allowing the sweet juice to trickle down her throat. Halfway through her meal, Sophia heard shouting and loud thumping noises from next door.
Arthur's door was cracked open so Sophia was able to enter with ease to see Arthur lying on the ground with Merlin halfway under the bed with a man she could only guess was Cedric, on the other side. "What is going on here?"
"You've gone too far this time, Merlin." Arthur grabbed Merlin by the collar.
"He's going to destroy Camelot!" Merlin cried while being pushed outside, Sophia left ignore.
"Maybe a few days in the cell will teach you a lesson." Arthur growled, tossing Merlin into the hands of two guards who stood ready to receive. "Take him away." Sophia watched as Merlin fought back ruthlessly but got nowhere, she turned to Arthur for an answer to her question.
Sophia gestured into his room, having gathered Arthur's full attention. "What was that all about?"
"Don't be so condescending." Arthur brushed himself off quickly. "Merlin was making widely out of line accusations again."
"Bad enough to cage him up like an animal, Arthur?" Sophia placed one hand on her hip and stared intently into his blue eyes. At her question, Arthur remained silent and continued to stare right back at her. "So who does he think is going to destroy Camelot?"
"Cedric." Arthur said the name as if it was a preposterous idea. Sophia stared blankly at him, forgetting what she was about to say and what she was doing. Her hand flew to the side of her head as Sophia attempted to make the spinning world cease. Arthur stepped forward cautiously, "Are you all right?"
Sophia managed to utter the word fine, before her eyes rolled into the back of her head and she plummeted to the floor, only to be caught from hitting by Arthur's reflexes. He lowered her to the ground and looked around, searching for Cedric. "We need Giaus." He spoke after spotting the overly pleased man.
"Just what we need, another problem." Gaius sighed, delicately placing Sophia on a thinly clothed covered bed with the assistance of Arthur. "Do you want to tell me exactly what happened before she passed out, Sire?" He looked expectantly at the Prince.
"Nothing unusual happened." Arthur confessed. "She was about to argue with me then she just seemed confused. Next thing I know Sophia's eyes rolled into the back of her head and she fell over like a board. Do you know what's wrong with her?"
Gaius shook his head, pressing his hand to her forehead. "No fever." With two fingers, Gaius peeled Sophia's eye's open and not to reveal her sapphire orbs but instead a white filament clouded over her iris. "It looks like she may have been poisoned."
"Can you cure her, Gaius?" Arthur's eyebrows furrowed together to express his concern.
"Where's Merlin? I could really use his assistance." Gaius glanced around in hopes that Merlin would magically appear, stopping to look at the Prince who may have an idea. Arthur gave a nervous chuckle that didn't escape the old man's ears. "Gwen then?"
"I'll send for her." Arthur nodded his head and stole one last look at Sophia's motionless body before leaving in search of Gwen.
Gaius pressed two fingers underneath Sophia's chin, tilting her head back an inch to do so, and felt for a pulse. He was about to give up when a soft beat pulsed back against his skin. "What's your ailment, child?" Gaius muttered under his breath while paging through a dusty old book. His dulled, aged eyes skimmed a page for only a few second before moving on to the next.
Minutes later the physicians' door came open with Gwen entering first and Uther wrapping up the tail end. "What can I do to help?" Gwen rushed to Gaius's side, gently clasping Sophia's paled and clammy hand into her grasp looking down at the still body with a sense of urgency.
"Was she behaving strangely this morning when you awoke her?" Gaius closed the book he had been searching through, not finding the key to Sophia's sickness.
"I finally got Lady Sophia up around lunch time, she hadn't stirred until I entered her room with her meal." Gwen admitted.
Gaius's eyebrows furrowed into a solid line and waved Gwen off feverishly. "Has her room been cleaned up yet?" at this Gwen shook her head slowly, showing that she had not done the deed Gaius suggested. "Will you go fetch it from her chamber?"
"Of course." Gwen scampered quickly out of the room.
"How could this have happened?" Uther glanced down at the motionless child that he had promised to protect for her older brother. "Sophia hasn't even been here for a fourth day and already. . . Arthur mentioned that you think the girl has been poisoned, how can that be?"
"My suspicions, my lord," Gaius started, "is that she ingested the poison through food or drink. But you shouldn't be here worrying about a simple matter. The stone from Sigan's sarcophagus has been stolen and this puts Camelot in grave danger."
At his words, several armored guards burst in, gasping for breath. "Sire, the lower town is being attacked!"
The Prince and the King shared a quick look before being waved off by Gaius. "You need to go."
"You need to sit." Gaius pressed down on the now-conscious girl to keep her remaining on the thrown together bed while many more with severe injuries were being carried in and sat down. Gaius was able to find a simplistic cure for Sophia after Gwen brought him the goblet Sophia had drank out of. It was an herb that had been un-finely ground up and sprinkled into the liquid.
He concluded that the night before, during her evening meal, someone had attempted and failed to poison Sophia, only temporarily knocking her out. Gaius was able to identify the what and the where, but the rest remained a mystery. Because for now, Sigan's soul had infiltrated another body and was wrecking havoc on the people of Camelot.
"You need the room for other patients." Sophia meekly argued. "They're flooding in. Let me help, just tell me what to do."
"No." Gaius firmly stated even though he desperately needed the help, considering that Merlin was no where to be found. "Uther would have my head on the next block if I allowed you. Give your body some time to recover after it was attacked by such a large dose."
"You said it wasn't deadly." Sophia groaned but laid down in obedience.
Gaius rolled his eyes. "Someone didn't know what they were doing, otherwise you would have been dead. Sure it put you in a suspended form of death, but that doesn't mean you get to jump back into life."
"If you go out there Sire, you'll die!" Someone yelled after the door's slammed shut.
"Arthur!" The distinct voice of King Uther cried, a pain filled noise that echoed through the stone room.
Sophia's eyes widened a degree, she sat up and jumped down off of the make shift bed, forced to steady herself by leaning against the rock wall. Sophia was momentarily distracted by seeing a large chunk of stone fall from the ceiling. Another cry snapped her attention back. "What's wrong with Arthur? What's really going on here?" she demanded, forcing her way through the masses to Gaius.
"I thought I told you so sit." Gaius sternly chastised, giving a man whose entire arm was wrapped in bandages, a pain relieving fluid. "Camelot is being attacked by magic and Arthur is outside, fighting a losing battle."
"They can't let him die." Sophia gasped surprised at herself as well as confused. "What kind of magic is attacking Camelot? Does it have anything to do with the gem that was stolen from the tomb? If Merlin was right then we have to get him out of the cells."
"The gem was really just a containment for the sole of an evil sorcerer who plotted to destroy Camelot, vowing that he would one day get his revenge. He must have taken over the body of Cedric, the servant who dug himself into the court." Gaius was fully aware that Merlin had already gotten out of the holding cell and was looking for a way to stop Sigan.
Sophia blinked her eyes dully. "Can it be killed?"
"You cannot kill what is already dead." Gaius mournfully stated when all of sudden the bits of rock ceased to fall from the ceiling. "Merlin." It became silent outside as well as inside the cramped room, and a smile formed on the older man's face accordingly.
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