Seventh Challenge: "Seven Devils" by Florence + The Machine

Category: Gen (Canon AU)

Characters/Pairings: Guinevere, Merlin, and the Lamia

Ratings/Warnings: T

Word Count: 350

A/N—A different twist on episode 4x8, when Guinevere faces the Lamia.


Guinevere stared up at the towering, snake-like creature as it hissed and writhed above her friend Merlin. The venomous entity twisted and undulated grotesquely, poised and ready to strike. A tentacle shot out, wrapping itself around Merlin's leg, dragging him closer and closer to the beast's gaping maw.

Her brother's sword gripped in her fist, Guinevere remained frozen in terror. She was no warrior and had never considered herself particularly brave. Perhaps it was true, what many knights said, that knighthood was for men and women should be relegated to home and hearth, that women had no business wielding weapons. Women were fragile, needy, and required protection.

Well, where in damnation were those knights now?

Nowhere.

Merlin dug his fingers into the dirt floor to stop himself from being dragged into the gnashing jaws of the monster looming above, but it was no use. Letting loose a terrifying hiss, the creature's forked tongue unfurled and wrapped itself around Merlin's neck, tightening the more Merlin fought against it.

That was it, the turning point, a moment when a fury so dark and dangerous swelled up inside Guinevere she could not help but act. She focused that rage at the beast and charged, her blade held high.

"Get away from him!" she shrieked, her voice louder and more powerful than it had ever been.

Guinevere buried the sword into the monster's belly, right up to the hilt. The beast, bellowing cries of agony, released Merlin, and Merlin's hands went to his throat as he fought to catch his breath.

Her sword dripping with blood, Guinevere shouted, "Move back, Merlin!"

The moment Merlin scrambled away, Guinevere, teeth bared, went in for the kill. With violent thrusts and vicious slashes, she hacked the serpentine beast to death. When the creature let out a final, gurgling breath, Guinevere stood atop its ruined body. She reached down and dipped her hand in the blood, then wiped the mucilaginous liquid across her face. Victorious, she bathed in her enemy's blood, just as the knights did.

She was powerful. Unstoppable. No man would ever own Guinevere.