A/N: Hey guys! I know, it' been forever since I updated, I hope this chapter will make up for it a little ^^
And for the first time since I started this fic, it's been beta-ed! So a huge thanks to Eilonwyn for your great advice! And to all of my reviewers of course!
I've written the next chapter and I've started on the one after that, I just have to wait for it to be beta-ed and then you'll be able to read it =) So R&R! And enjoy!
7 The Mark of Nimueh part 2
"Please! I'm innocent! I didn't do anything! Please, believe me!" Gwen begged as she was dragged into the throne room. Uther stared at her coldly, and all I could do was watch, from a corner of the room. I wasn't even supposed to be there.
"Well done," Uther praised his son.
"Why will no one believe me?" the poor maid asked. "He got better, he just recovered, I didn't do anything!"
"I believe you," Morgana declared as she strode into the room. "Perhaps this is a disease that is not always fatal. Have you thought of that?" The lady was clearly angry, and for good reason. "Perhaps he recovered naturally?"
"And what of this poultice that was found?" Uther replied coolly.
"What poultice? I don't know anything about a poultice," Gwen tried desperately.
"It was found in your house. Undo the enchantment, put an end to this contagion." Uther ordered, standing up from his throne. I had a dizzy spell and had to lean against the wall for support momentarily. Unfortunately, Arthur noticed and frowned at me.
"I can't," Gwen tried to explain to the king, but he wouldn't listen.
"Then I will show you no mercy."
"I am not a witch, I don't know how to stop the illness!" But again Gwen's words feel on deaf ears.
"If you will not undo your sorcery, you force my hand and I must find you guilty."
"But I've told you-"
"It is therefore my duty to pronounce judgment." Uther ignored her words, and circled her like a vulture. His eyes bored into hers as she gasped slightly.
I held my breath. He couldn't sentence her to death without any real proof, could he?
"And under the circumstances I have no choice but to sentence you to death."
"No," Gwen whispered. I drew a shaky breath and felt tears running down my cheeks.
"I only hope that when you die, this evil plague dies with you. Take her to the dungeons." Arthur looked away, as if he didn't want to watch this happen. I knew he couldn't stop it, only I could now.
Gwen screamed out her innocence as the guards dragged her off. I walked out after her, still unseen by anyone but Arthur.
"I thought I was doing good," I whispered, sitting at Gaius' table. He had taken my hand in comfort, but it didn't take away the feeling I was losing my best friend. "That curing Gwen's father would help her. I thought I was saving a life. It seemed so simple…" Tears came to my eyes again, and before I could wipe them away, they were falling, making wet circles on my dress.
"An easy solution is like a light in a storm, Merlynn. Rush forward at your peril for it may not always lead you to a safe harbour."
I took a shuddering breath. "I can see that now."
"How many times have I warned you about the responsibilities of being a sorceress?"
"I must see her," I stated and got up to leave, but lost my balance. I fell on the ground and started coughing violently.
"Merlynn! Are you alright?" Gaius knelt by my side and put his hand on my forehead. "You are burning up. How long have you been like this?"
"You mean the coughing, the headaches, the balance issues, the sweating or the fever?" I asked, but got up anyway.
"Merlynn, you might have the disease, now tell me!"
I sighed and leaned on the table. "Yesterday, maybe the day before…"
"Maybe your magic is trying to fight off the illness. It is the only explanation for you to still be alive."
"Don't worry about me, uncle," I said and put my hand reassuringly on his own, "worry about Gwen, she's the one who's going to be burnt tomorrow." I got up and walked out the door.
When I arrived at the dungeons, Morgana was just leaving, her eyes red and puffy from crying.
I squeezed her shoulder lightly in passing and made my way toward Gwen's cell.
"Gwen?" My voice quivered as I saw her sitting against the wall, hopeless and alone.
She tried to come to me, but her chains were too short. "Thank you," she said anyway.
"What for?" I asked, feeling my throat thicken.
"Coming to see me, curing my father, being my friend…" she replied.
"I'm so sorry," I whispered, feeling the tears coming down again.
"It's not your fault… Well, it is, but I don't blame you. You're a good person, Merlynn, and a great friend. But don't worry about me, there's no point crying about it…"
"Yes, there is!" I cried. "I'm about to lose my best friend, I can't let them do this to you!"
"Please, one thing, you don't have to… But…" She hesitated.
I wiped my tears away; I needed to be strong for her. "What? You know I'll do anything."
"Remember me."
"How could I possibly forget? And I'm not just going to let you die." Despite my best efforts, the tears kept coming, but at least my voice was steady.
"Merlynn, there's nothing you can do," she pleaded.
'Yes, there is, but you're not going to like it,' I thought. I turned around and ran out of the dungeons.
"Merlynn! Don't do anything stupid!" I heard her call after me, but I paid it no heed.
I burst into the throne room, the doors banging against the walls. "It was me!" I said loudly, getting the attention of all the people gathered there: Arthur, Uther, Gaius and lots of other members of the council.
"It was me who used magic to cure Gwen's father! Gwen is not the sorceress, I am!"
For a moment nobody spoke, until Gaius stood up, clearly angry. "Merlynn! Are you mad?"
"I cannot let her die for me," I said, swallowing hard against the feeling of nausea that was pressing on me.
"I place myself at your mercy," I said to Uther. If I was going to die because of this disease anyway, I might as well do it while saving Gwen.
"She doesn't know what she's talking about," Gaius argued.
"I do," I replied firmly, even though my hands were shaking.
"Then arrest her," Uther ordered the guards.
"Father, please," Arthur said, getting up from the table, "I can't allow this, this is madness. There's no way Merlynn is the sorceress."
"Did you not hear her?" Uther asked.
"Yes." Arthur answered.
"She has admitted."
"She saved my life, remember?" It surprised me to hear Arthur bring that up. His pride was usually more important than anything else, especially his feelings of friendship toward me.
"Why would she fabricate such a story?" Uther asked of his son.
"As Gaius said… She's mad. And she's dying, father. Gwen is her best friend and Merlynn here figured she can trade in her life for Gwen's, since she's not going to be here much longer."
'You're so close to the truth, Arthur, and you don't even know it,' I thought and looked him in the eye. I saw regret and compassion. 'I will get you out of this', they seemed to be saying.
"Look at her, father. She's pale, sweating, feverish and I've seen her lose her balance for no apparent reason. She's dying and does not want to die in vain." His composure and face were calm; he knew he was right.
"Then why isn't she dead yet?" Uther demanded, "With the others the disease took much less time."
"I've been experimenting on her," Gaius said. "Something I've given her might have slowed the process."
Arthur frowned at me, probably wondering why I would volunteer to be Gaius' guinea pig.
"Don't waste my time again. Let her go," Uther ordered.
"And Gaius? You had better come up with a cure soon!"
Gaius bowed to the king and followed me back to our living quarters.
"Arthur's an idiot!" I complained when we entered.
"No, he was right to do what he did, and thankfully he saved you from your own stupidity!"
"What else could I do? It's my fault Gwen's going to die!"
"Yes, but you don't prove her innocence by jumping into the flames, you do it by finding out what's causing the disease!"
"Well, one thing's for sure; Arthur's not going to find it. He thinks he is so sharp! Even when I told him I was a sorceress, he still couldn't see it!"
"That's because it's pretty hard to spot," Gaius reasoned, turning to me from where he had been searching for something.
"Maybe I should go around wearing a pointy hat?" I quipped. In reality, I was just angry that Arthur thought so little of me. Just because I was a little clumsy and not always all that serious, didn't mean I couldn't be an all-powerful sorceress, did it? But what worried me was whether Arthur would ever be able to handle the truth: that I could kill him with a flick of my wrist…
"I don't think you'll find one big enough," My uncle quipped right back. "Anyway, forget that, if we're going to save Gwen, we have to find out what's contaminating the water." Serious again, he threw me a bag, putting the keys he had just found in his pocket. I caught it, but started coughing again, which forced me to drop it.
Gaius regarded me with concern. "Maybe I should send word to Hunith…?" he suggested.
"No! I'm not dead yet, and I don't want her to worry unnecessarily. I'll be fine, uncle," I said, but my voice wasn't as strong as it had been a while ago. "Let's go," I said, more firmly. "But before we go, I have to do something." I told him and went to get something from my room.
I knocked softly on Arthur's door, hoping he was in there.
"Come in," he called.
I peered around the door, not daring to come in any further. "Hello, Arthur," I said hoarsely. Apparently, this disease was affecting my voice now too.
"Merlynn. I thought you'd be with Gaius, finding a cure?"
"We're about to test something, but I need a favour," I said, hoping he wouldn't refuse.
"That depends on what it is." He said with narrowed eyes.
I stepped fully in his room now, Terri following me. "You've probably noticed I'm not well?" I asked rhetorically, but Arthur nodded anyway. "I need you to take care of Terri for a while. Just until Gwen gets out of prison…" I paused and took a deep breath. I needed to get this over with. "Should I die-"
"You won't." he interrupted calmly, still sitting at his desk.
"But if I do, I want you to make sure she's looked after. Can you do that for me?" I asked, tears now in my eyes. Chances were I wasn't going to return, and I needed to be sure Terri would be fine.
"You're not going to die, Merlynn," he said, looking me in the eye, "but if it eases you mind…"
Terri whined. I knelt beside her and took her head in my hands. "You be a good girl, okay, and be nice to Arthur. Despite his flaws he's a good man." I said and turned to look at the man in question.
"And listen to Gwen," I continued, diverting my gaze back to my dog, "and Morgana. I know you don't like her, but she's a friend. And Gaius might need you too. Now stay here, I'll come back for you if I can." I told her and stood up, wiping the tears from my eyes. Terri nodded once, to indicate she'd understood, but kept whining.
"Aren't you being a little overdramatic?" Arthur asked, "It's just a dog." Terri growled half-heartedly at him, but went back to whining at my warning glance.
"No, I'm not," I said simply and went to the door. "Goodbye, Arthur," I whispered, just loud enough for him to hear, before I closed the door behind me and went back to Gaius' study.
"I'm ready, let's go," I told him, took the bag and made my way to the city's water supply.
Once there, I took the extra torch, lit it and preceded my uncle down the dark stairwell.
It was like walking through a maze, but Gaius seemed to know his way around. I was making a mental map should I ever have to return here without my wise uncle to guide me.
"The water from here supplies the whole town," Gaius explained. "Take a sample." He took the torch from me and I searched for a vial in the bag. Finally curling my fingers around one, I uncorked it and dipped it into the water.
I waited for a few seconds until it was entirely full and put it in the bag. "Let's take it back and examine it," Gaius said, but just as we were turning away from the water, the ugliest creature I had ever seen emerged from it, screeching loudly. Before either of us could react, the creature had already dived back under the surface.
"What the hell was that?" I asked, a little panicky. It was my first monster encounter, not counting Valiant that is.
Gaius didn't answer, but grabbed my arm and pulled me away from there as quickly as possible.
My uncle and I spent a good few hours in his study, going through all the books concerning magical creatures, until he found what he was looking for.
"Here." He pointed to a specific page in a large tome. "It was an avanck."
"An… A what?" I asked, slightly confused.
I read over his shoulder as he described the monster. "A beast born of clay and conjured up only by the most powerful sorcerer…Now we have to find a way to defeat it…"
Gaius looked up to his balcony of books. "But where?"
I followed his gaze. "That could take days, I'm going to be dead by then."
"Have you got a better idea?" he asked, but I could not answer. I didn't.
I needed fresh air, so I left Gaius to his books and ran outside. On the square, a few guards were preparing the pyre on which Gwen would burn. It made me sick, so I went back to the dungeons.
The girl was lying on the floor, facing the opposite wall.
"Gwen?" I whispered, my voice still hoarse. "I'm going to get you out… I will, I swear. I've already found what's causing this, now all I need to do is stop it, you'll be in your own house in no time."
When she didn't answer, I assumed she was asleep and went to the dragon's cave. If anyone knew how to solve this, it would be him.
"Hello?" I called, and heard my voice echo through the huge cavern. For a moment, no answer came.
"Hello." The dragon replied calmly, sweeping onto the stone in front of me. "The great sorceress returns, like I knew she would." He looked me over for a moment. "You are ill."
"I need to know how to defeat an avanck."
"Do not worry, Merlynn, your destiny has not yet come to pass, you will not die. But, I suppose you do need some help." He smirked, as far as a dragon could smirk, of course.
"Will you help me?" I asked, fighting another wave of nausea and dizziness.
He hesitated for a fraction of a second before replying. "Trust the elements that are at your command," he told me.
"Elements? But what is it I have to do?" I asked, confused. My head was pounding and I was so tired.
"You cannot do this alone. You are but one side of a coin. Arthur is the other," he told me cryptically.
"I… I don't understand, just tell me what it is I have to do." But he wouldn't answer me. He stood on his hind legs and took flight.
"No! Please, help me!" I pleaded.
The dragon turned his head to me. "But I have." Back was the smirk, stronger than ever.
"Oh, yeah, sure, thanks! You've helped me loads!" I said sarcastically, even though I was quite sure he couldn't hear me anymore.
I hurried back to Gaius' study and got to work. I had to find something on controlling the elements in here. The place held more books than the bloody library!
"Merlynn, what are you doing?" my uncle asked when he entered.
"Looking for a book."
"Care to tell me which one?"
"A book on elements," I told him, not taking my eyes off the books I was looking at.
"Elements?" Gaius asked, surprised.
"Yes, which one would I find them in?"
"Well, most offer a study of base elements that leads to the very heart of the scientific process," he explained. I looked at him for the first time since he had entered.
"But how will they help me kill the avanck?"
"Well, the avanck is a creature made from earth and water, that's two of the four base elements."
"What about the other two? Fire and air? Do you think that if I combine them they will destroy the monster?" I asked.
"Perhaps, yes."
"I don't need a 'perhaps', uncle, I need a 'definitely'," I said.
"Then yes, they will destroy it… How did you find this out, anyway?"
"I just knew, part of my powers maybe?" I lied smoothly.
"What else do your powers tell you?" he enquired.
"That… I am only one side of a coin, the brighter side, obviously." I joked.
"And who's the other side?"
"I think that might be Arthur," I said weakly, holding onto the table for support.
The door banged open and Morgana strode in. "They're bringing forth the execution. We have to prove Gwen's innocence."
"No," I whispered, too quiet for anyone to hear. My legs gave out beneath me and I felt the tears come back. Gaius was immediately by my side.
"Are you alright?" he whispered, to which I nodded.
"I heard you have the disease, I'm so sorry, Merlynn. I wish there was something I could do."
"It's okay, it was just the news… I can't bear to see Gwen executed." 'Especially not because of me,' I completed in my head.
"We tried to prove Gwen's innocence, the king won't listen." Gaius said.
"Please, just tell me what I can do to help." She sounded desperate, and Morgana desperate was not something you saw everyday.
I got back to my feet and Gaius handed me a potion. "This will give you a little strength, but only for a short while," He whispered.
"We need Arthur," I told Morgana once I'd downed the potion.
"Arthur?" the lady questioned.
"There's a monster, an avanck, in the water supply, that's what's causing the plague," I said, walking over to her. My strength had returned a little, at least so much that I didn't need someone else to keep me upright.
"We must tell Uther!" she said, but Gaius shook his head.
"The avanck is a creature forged by magic. Telling Uther wouldn't save Gwen, he would just blame her for conjuring it," he explained.
"So what are we to do?" she asked.
"We must destroy it," Gaius said, "Then the plague will stop and Uther… may see sense."
"And that's why you need Arthur," she said, catching on.
"He's our best chance. But he won't want to disobey the king," I said, subtly pushing her in the right direction.
She nodded. "Leave that to me." The lady turned and walked out of the door with a determined step.
Meanwhile Gaius gave me the keys to the catacombs.
I stood waiting in the courtyard for Morgana and Arthur. I knew Morgana would succeed. In my limited time in Camelot I had seen the lady get whatever she wanted simply by making others think they wanted her to have it.
The strength Gaius' potion had given me was waning; I was sweating and had a little trouble breathing. 'Come on, Morgana, hurry up!' I thought. The sight of the pyre was only making me more nauseous.
Arthur POV
Merlynn was waiting in the square for Morgana and me, just as my foster sister had told me. I had left Merlynn's dog, Terri, in my room, hoping she wouldn't chew through my bedposts.
Merlynn looked blue and very sick, and I doubted she would be of much help to us if there was a creature to be dealt with.
"Merlynn." I nodded. She looked up and smiled slightly before leading us to the catacombs. I drew my sword in advance, showing her I was ready to take action.
When we reached the stairs that led to our destination, I took the torch and let Merlynn lead the way again. Looking closer, I could now see she was also shivering and sweating. Her breathing seemed laboured and for the life of me, I couldn't figure out why she wouldn't just tell me where the beast was, in stead of insisting on leading us there.
"You had better be right about this, Merlynn," I warned her. If this was a wild goose chase and I ended up being humiliated in front of my father again, she would be sorry…. When she got healthy again.
Not too much later, we heard a noise coming from up ahead, a sort of growling. Morgana gasped, but Merlynn barely flinched.
"Both of you should stay here," I said. Two women, one of them ill, would be of no help to me.
"I'm coming with you," Morgana said firmly.
"As am I." Merlynn spoke for the first time, and to be honest I wished she hadn't. Her voice was hoarse and didn't sound like hers anymore. It scared me.
"No, you are not."
"Scared I'll show you up?" Morgana bantered.
"Father will have us both in chains if he knew I'd endangered you."
"Good thing he doesn't know it then." She was trying to be brave, but I knew her well enough to see the fear in her eyes. She just didn't want to let me go alone.
"I'm telling you, Morgana, turn back. You could get hurt."
"So could you, if you don't get out of my way."
I knew I had lost this one, but I sure as hell wasn't going to lead a sick woman into danger. "Fine, but Merlynn, stay. Here. Understand?"
"I'm already dying, what's the point in protecting me? Besides, you need me to show you the way." She stepped around me. It shocked me how easily she could talk about her own death like that. Like it was inevitable.
I didn't reply and followed Morgana and Merlynn deeper into the caverns.
"How are we going to find it?" Morgana asked.
"Let's just hope we do, before it finds us," I replied.
Suddenly, I heard a sound behind me and twisted around fast. "Stop," I said, getting the attention of the other two.
"What is it?" Merlynn whispered, which made her voice sound a little less scary.
I hesitated. Had I really seen something? "It was just a shadow," I said and turned and took the lead again.
Merlynn POV
We had reached the water supply, but there was no sign of the monster, and I was feeling worse by the second.
"Spread out," Arthur told us and pointed where Morgana was to go. "You're with me, Merlynn." 'Noble 'till the end…' I thought. I didn't argue, though, and followed him in one of the passageways.
Despite the dragon's words, I didn't believe I had much chance of surviving tonight. Either the avanck would kill me or the disease it had spread would. I couldn't see much and my vision was starting to blur. I slumped against the wall I had been holding for support.
Arthur looked at me over his shoulder briefly before a growl from the monster right in front of him distracted him. He slashed his sword, but all it hit was empty air. The creature had gone already.
"What is it, are you alright?" Morgana asked, a bit frantically as she came back into the room. I might have laughed if I didn't feel like death itself at the moment.
"I'm fine, but I don't think Merlynn is," he said, pointing his torch in my direction.
Morgana knelt beside me and put her hand on my forehead, only to draw it right back. "I didn't know anyone could get that hot," she said, a deep frown on her face.
"Did you see it, Arthur?" I asked, trying to divert their attention to the problem at hand. Morgana got up and peered into one of the passageways.
"Yes," he said, staring into another.
"Good," I said breathlessly, "kill it."
Arthur was about to respond when Morgana's scream pierced our ears. Arthur made his way quickly to her and held the creature off with his sword and torch. But before he could harm it, the beast had gone again.
Arthur looked from passage to passage. "Where is it?" he asked urgently.
"I think it's gone that way," I said, pulling myself up by the wall and pointing to Arthur's right.
"Stay down," he ordered, and walked into it. I ignored him, and summoned all the strength I had left to follow him and Morgana.
It seemed I was right, as not much later we could hear it close enough. I slid down the wall again and summoned my magic to act when necessary.
Arthur attacked the beast, but soon lost his sword. All he had left to fight with was the torch. 'The torch! Fire!'
He tried to drive it back a little, but it wasn't working. When the creature stood on its hind legs, ready to strike at Arthur, I yelled as loud as I could: "Arthur, use the torch!"
He did as I asked and held up the torch. I whispered the spell for wind which made the fire grew bigger and engulf the monster. It died with a loud scream. And that was the last thing I heard.
The first thing I registered was vague whispering. The next was that someone was staring at me.
"No, she's still too weak, we mustn't disturb her," I heard Gaius whisper.
I opened an eye carefully and blinked against the light. Terri was sitting next to my bed and staring at me. Have you ever woken up to someone, even if that someone is a dog, staring at you? Believe me, you don't want to.
She started barking the second she noticed me opening my eyes, but what was worse was when she thought I needed a bath and started licking my face.
"No! Terri, stop! Down, girl!" I said.
"Merlynn!" Gwen exclaimed and hugged me. "Thank you. They told me what you did."
"Who exactly told you?" I asked, sitting up in my bed.
"I've heard everyone's version," she said, pulling back, "You saved my life, Merlynn, thank you."
"Any time," I replied.
Morgana's telltale heels sounded on the floor as she too entered.
"Merlynn, you're awake! Thank god! Arthur's been complaining like mad that you haven't come back to work," she told me with a smile.
"Speaking of him, where is he? Training with his knights?" I asked.
"No, I'm here, you idiot," his sarcastic voice came from behind Morgana. "And I have not been complaining," he said pompously, "a prince doesn't complain, he states a fact."
I rolled my eyes but smiled anyway when Gaius left the crowded room to make space for the prince. Arthur looked at me for one second before diverting his eyes.
"What's wrong?" I asked.
"You're not exactly… dressed," he replied, a slight blush on his face.
I smirked at Morgana, who was hiding her smile behind her hand.
"Oh, Arthur," I sang, "want to give me a hug?" I held out my arms teasingly.
At this, he blushed even redder, and simply turned on his heel and strode out of the room.
Gwen, Morgana and I burst out laughing. It wasn't often one could make Arthur Pendragon blush like a schoolgirl.
A/N: So what did you think?
Just one thing: I only got a few review for my last chapter, though according to story traffic at least 50 people read it (I don't know the exact number)
So, if you like this fanfic/chapter, let me know and review! It makes my day and reminds me to write.
One more thing: I'm not sure if I want to keep writing every episode like this, but I'll try. I might not write episode 6... I don't know, let me know what you think, if you have an opinion.
Review!
