Disclaimer: I do not own Merlin. Author's Note: Yeah, I got excited enough about this to update twice in one day! Crazy! But, I'm just going to warn you, this is a Chapter Seven, The Truth
"Is she alright? What's wrong with her?" Merlin asked, for just about the millionth time. Fear filled his voice and he looked at Gaius hoping to hear some good news.
"Merlin, I'll tell you when I know something." Gaius said firmly, "For now why don't you go sit outside?"
He nodded, mumbled a quiet 'alright' and hurried outside. He sat down on the floor just outside the room and waited. He knew Gaius was just as afraid as he was, or even more so, and it probably wasn't helping that he kept asking if she would be alright and pacing back in forth inside the room.
I can't lose Verona too. Merlin thought, feeling sick to his stomach. Was he doomed to be alone forever? Doomed to have everyone he loved die? No. She wouldn't die. He would make sure she wouldn't die. She was probably just dehydrated from being out in the sun all day or something of the sort. It was silly of him to think that she was dying.
He got to his feet and paced back and forth outside the door, unable to sit still.
Soon, however, Gaius came out of the room looking very grave. "Merlin," He said, motioning towards him, "Come here."
Merlin's heart was gripped with fear, and he got to his feet, following Gaius into the room.
"Will she be alright?"
Gaius sat down at the table, and signaled for Merlin to sit across from him, "That, I'm afraid, comes down to you, Merlin."
"Wh-what?" He asked him, not quite understanding what he meant.
"Her sickness can only be cured by magic... I wish she would have told me of it sooner. This must have been why she came home all the sudden."
"If I can cure her of course I will!" Merlin said quickly, without the slightest hesitation.
"Thank you, Merlin." Gaius said, smiling at him. "I know you are powerful enough to heal her, it is just a matter of keeping the whole thing a secret. Here." He passed Merlin a very large book across the table and opened it to a bookmarked page. "I don't think she was aware of what her ailment was or she would have informed us of it, I think." Gaius told him, "but I'm afraid if we don't treat her quite soon she will die."
Merlin looked down hurriedly at the book and read the section through, but paused when he reached a certain line about halfway through. "No, wait a minute, she can't have this disease." He said, frowning as he looked up at Gaius, "It says 'the sickness cannot harm those who have performed magic or have natural magical abilities, but can only be cured by the use of magic itself.' that can't be right."
"And, why not?" Gaius asked with raised eyebrows, before he suddenly frowned, "Oh, Verona..." He let out a very long sigh, and then said, "Merlin... Please tell me Verona did not tell you that she had magic."
Merlin swallowed. He didn't understand. No, he didn't want to understand. "Of...Of course she did. She wouldn't have kept it a secret from me!"
"No. If she had magic, she certainly wouldn't have kept it a secret from you." Gaius pushed back his chair and rubbed his eyes in frustration. "Silly, silly girl."
Merlin jumped to his feet, and stared at Gaius, "You mean, Verona...She doesn't have-" He broke off, and he fought to keep the hurt and confusion from his voice, "She lied to me?"
Gaius nodded gravely, "I'm afraid she must have."
"Everything she said to me was a lie." He stated, his voice quiet.
"Oh, I'm sure not everything Merlin. But Verona has always had a tendency to say what she thought she must to impress people." Gaius' voice was filled with frustration, "I'm sorry." He told him.
Merlin didn't answer, instead he looked down at the book and continued to read, frowning.
And then he went and sat beside the girl, extended a shaking hand just above her face, and began to quietly murmur the spell that would heal her.
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Merlin lay on his bed, staring at the wall. Anger boiled inside of him like soup on a fire, and threatened to overflow at any moment. He was confused, hurt, angry. Furious, he was really furious. But when he wasn't busy being furious, he was filled with confusion, wondering why she would have lied to him, and then hurt, when he realized that the girl he had trusted hadn't even existed.
Because, honestly, no matter what he had always tried to tell himself. He didn't really know Verona. She had always confused him. But now, he wasn't sure he wanted to know her.
So yes, he had healed the girl. But he wouldn't have let anyone just lay there and die when it was in his power to help them. Let alone Gaius' daughter.
He'd really done it for Gaius, not at all for Verona.
Verona. How could she have done this? He'd actually begun to think he understood her. He'd actually begun to think they stood a chance. That maybe, just maybe, they were right for each other.
He had never felt more foolish.
"Merlin?" A girl's voice broke into his thoughts and gripped his heart with a terrible, wrenching pain.
But he did not reply.
"Merlin?" She repeated, a sort of timidity in her voice that Merlin almost believed. But no, he thought, that was probably fake too.
He didn't close his eyes and pretend to be asleep, he just laid there staring at the wall in front of him. Making it very obvious that he was ignoring her.
"Oh, please say something?" Verona begged him, "Father says if it wasn't for you I would have died... Thank you."
"Don't mention it." He muttered, his voice low and almost incoherent.
"You've always been so kind I owe you my thanks-"
"No. Really, Verona. Don't mention it." He said, his voice filled with more venom then he meant for it too.
There was a silence, and Merlin sat up. Sitting there, he could see the pain in her eyes as she tried to think of something, anything to say. He almost lost his will to be angry, but then reminded himself she could easily be pretending to be sad. All she had done sense he had known her was pretend. Why was this any different?
"I'm sorry that I lied to you Merlin..." She mumbled, staring at the floor.
"Why did you lie to me?" He asked, his voice raising as he got to his feet and stared at her, awaiting an answer.
Her sad expression turned to an almost angry one, "Do you really want to know?"
"That's why I asked." He stated.
"Because," She said, her voice becoming slightly more high-pitched as she became more and more upset. "Because I knew that you would never love anyone who wasn't magical, Merlin! You never would have liked me if you hadn't thought that I had some magical abilities!"
"That's not true!" Merlin argued, his voice becoming defensive.
"You know that it is!" She said, her voice filled with hurt, which Merlin didn't think was exactly fair after what she had done to him.
He was silent for a moment, before saying angrily, "I don't even know you. I trusted you, I believed in you, I had feelings for you. But I don't even know who you are."
"No. You are right. You don't know who I am. I hardly even know who I am!" She said, frustration filling her voice. "Because no one ever liked me, Merlin! I'm not a likable person! So when I meet someone like you, who-" She broke off, and her voice wavered as she continued, "Who i-is so wonderful that I just...I just... I have to pretend to be someone else, or you never even would have looked twice at me! If I hadn't pretended to be the cheerful, funny, adventurous Verona, you never would have even noticed me! Let alone if I hadn't told you I had magic."
He didn't answer right away, but after some time had passed he said, "Everything about you is a lie. Everything."
"You never would have noticed me if I hadn't made up all those things, Merlin! You wouldn't have cared! I had to be something spectacular to get your attention. That's why I lied to you about being magic!" She had tears streaming down her cheeks, and Merlin couldn't bear to see them, so he looked away.
"How could I ever trust you again? Everything I thought you were before wasn't even real. I'll never be able to tell who the real you is!"
She nodded, her eyes downcast and all the anger drained from her voice until all that was left was defeat. "I don't think you would have been so upset if you weren't so disappointed I wasn't magical. I think that's what really matters to you."
"You think I'm that shallow? I'm not the one who was lying-"
"No, Merlin, I don't think you are shallow. If I had thought that I never would have gone through so much work to impress you. I think you are wonderful… One of the most wonderful people I have ever known."
He didn't answer, instead he laid back down on his bed and stared at the wall once more, signaling the conversation was over.
Verona took the hint and left the room.
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Merlin's anger had pretty much evaporated as soon as Verona had left the room. But it had been replaced with hurt and sadness. He wouldn't go after her. He would try to talk to her again. Because he was convinced that no matter what, he would never be sure he really knew her.
The girl he had known hadn't been real. She hadn't existed. The girl he had known had been part of a story, she had been a dream, an idea.
But she had not been Verona. He didn't even know Verona.
Some of her words had stung, though, even if she hadn't meant them too. It had stung when she had told him that the real reason he was angry at not knowing her, was because he wished she did have magic. How she had said he wouldn't have ever noticed unless she told him that lie.
The words stung because he was almost convinced that she was right.
Author's Note: Yeah, so, that was pretty dramatic. I hope you didn't hate it. I'm still not sure how I feel about it. Please review!
