Elinor's POV

I looked out of my window and could see Cassandra and Arthur sword-fighting in the courtyard. Seeing them laughing and teasing each other made me see that Cassandra truly was happy that she had someone to share her talents with. It made me wish that I had someone to share my talents with. But of course that was impossible. I had to keep my magical talents a secret, as my mother had before me.

I sighed and walked into the main room. I bid a good morning to Gaius and Merlin and I sat at the table and got ready to eat breakfast. Merlin replied to my good morning, but I could see that he was somehow distracted. In his arms he held a book which he was studying. Being interested in books, I looked at the cover and was shocked at what I saw.

The book was completely identical to my spell-book, but I had been studying it when I had awoken, it was still in my bedroom. What was he doing studying a spell book?

I interrupted his reverie. "Merlin?"

He immediately looked up at me, carefully marking the place in his book. "Yes?"

"Why are you studying a spell book?"

I could tell that he was caught off-guard, but his answer was straight.

"I need to know how to recognize a sorcerer; otherwise they'll be running all around the kingdom behind Uther and Arthur's backs. We don't want sorcerers in Camelot." Merlin said. I saw that he smiled, like he was enjoying some sort of private joke.

"All right." I said my voice shaky.

I couldn't believe it. I was living in the same house as a person who wanted my kind of people dead. I would have to tread lightly and cover up all of my magical equipment. It seemed that sorcerers were more welcome in Arviel than here.

Thinking about Arviel made me think about someone incredibly special to me who lived there. His name was Eliot, and I loved him. He was a year older than I was and he was a sorcerer like me. We had known each other ever since I was four and we began our romance when I was fifteen. We had broken it off because we were afraid of the long distance for our relationship. We didn't think that we could handle it.

Now I was afraid, I missed him more than ever. I needed a person to talk to. Another sorcerer. He was someone who could help me and tell me what to do. I needed him.

I remember how his kisses used to comfort me and how at his touch I would become completely relaxed. I loved him so much that even now it hurt to think about him.

After I had eaten, Merlin left to go and do some chores for Arthur. That left some time for Gaius to teach me some things about the practice of medicine. At the end of our lesson, he had told me that I would become his prodigy. He said that it was clear that I was incredibly talented.

I felt that a career in medicine was the right choice for me. I loved helping people and I had saved a person more than once. Now I just had to know how to practice medicine properly. I felt that if I could save a person with my enhanced talents, all of my studying would be worth it.

I remembered the look that Merlin had given me when he was speaking about sorcerers. It was a look of disdain and disgust. For that brief moment when he had surveyed me with his midnight blue eyes, I had wished that I wasn't a sorcerer.