By time he got back to the physician's chambers Merlin had cried most of his tears out, but simply did not have the energy to tidy up either his countenance or his appearance before heading indoors. Believeing that he may have lost his position as Arthur's manservant for good left him feeling completely empty inside. Gaius was at work at his desk. Merlin didn't even have it in him to acknowledge the old man but instead headed despondently toward his bedroom door, intent on curling up on his single bed and crying some more. Gaius - of course - did not pick up on the boy's distress and asked, "What's that on your face?"

"Nothing" replied Merlin, turning his face away from his mentor and strolling onward toward his room.

"What's wrong?" persisted Gaius.

"Nothing" repeated the boy flatly, entering his room and closing the door behind him.

Once inside, Merlin sat numbly on the edge of the bed. He was aware that he still smelt of the stables and that his face was caked in horse dung so knew he'd regret laying down and transferring it all onto his bedding, but he simply could not find the energy within himself to clean up. He sat there wondering how his world had imploded in on itself within the space of two days. He tried to think about what he would do and where he would go now that Arthur did not want him but his mind whirled and panicked and refused to acknowledge his world without the Prince in it.

He had no idea how long he had been sitting thus when the door opened quietly and Gaius came in. He simply said, "Here" before starting to clean off Merlin's face. The feel of the warm flannel bought the boy back to himself a little. He sighed and took a little comfort in Gaius's ministrations, tilting his head to allow Gaius to wipe off the worst of the mess. By and by he felt himself able to speak in a level voice again.

"I'm not an idiot" he said quietly.

"What happened?" asked Gaius, not stopping what he was doing.

Merlin didn't have the energy to recount the disaster that had been his day thus far, so simply said, "I just want Arthur to trust me and to see me for who I really am."

"One day he will" said his Mentor soothingly.

"When?" pleaded Merlin, feeling his tears trying to escape again, "Everything I do is for him and he just thinks I'm an idiot".

Gaius looked at him with understanding and pity. His wise old eyes could read the heartbreak in Merlin's eyes and his heart went out to the boy. But he didn't contradict what Merlin had just said. Instead he offered, "Not everyone thinks you're an idiot...although looking at you now..."

Merlin huffed out a little laugh. He still felt wretched, but at least he had Gaius to confide in...he wasn't utterly alone.

Gaius finished cleaning his face and sat down on the edge of the bed next to Merlin and looked intently int his eyes. "Now is not the time to be questioning these things Merlin, I believe that you and Arthur are destined for greatness and that your calling is to serve and protect him"

Merlin was glad to hear this from the lips of someone else. He too had been convinced of his calling. Until today. Now he wasn't sure at all. "It's hard" he choked out through gritted teeth, somehow keeping back the tears that treatened to begin flowing again.

"I know it's hard" agreed Gaius, "but Camelot is in grave peril. I've translated the inscription, "He who breaks my heart completes my work"

Merlin was a little thrown by this sudden change in subject and surprised that it had taken his old learned mentor so long to translate something that he himself had understood as soon as he had seen the inscription. "What does it mean?" he asked after a pause.

"You remember the seal that I took from the tomb contained an inscription? Well, it was repeated again over the heart of the statue carved on the tomb itself. It took me a long time to translate and I wondered what these words could possibly mean. (Again Merlin wondered why it had taken so long for the old man to translate the phrase). I returned to the vault to see if there were any more clues and I realised that where the words are carved, there is an indentation that looks like it should contain a gemstone - a big one; the size of my palm." He held up his hand to illustrate. "After a lot of research" he continued, "I believe that this gemstone contained his soul and that somebody has disturbed it and released it"

Merlin felt all the hairs stand up on the back of his neck. "You think he's alive?" he asked incredulously.

"His soul is" replied Gaius, "in order to live, a soul needs a body."

"So if this stone is removed from it's setting then the heart is broken and the soul released?" clarified Merlin feeling more and more uneasy.

"That's right, yes" confirmed the old man.

They sat in silence for a few moments, both lost in thought.

"Perhaps" said Merlin, "perhaps that poor man I found in the tomb took the stone out and released the soul? He did look like he's seen something terrifying before he died."

"Yes, perhaps" replied Gaius non commitally, "but Cornelius was a powerful magician and a very clever man. I don't think that he would allow his soul to stay for long inside the body of a man killed by a trap of his own making! No, we need to work on the assumption that the soul is out there somewhere and poses a very real threat to Camelot."

Merlin felt an unbidden shiver run through his body at the prospect of this renegade soul in search of a home on the loose in the Castle and did not want to talk about it any more. In a surprising turnaround from the total despondency he had felt before his discussion with Gaius, he found that he could no longer sit still. His leg jiggled around nervously and he suddenly leapt up , threw off his soilied shirt, used it to wipe the last of the stable mess from his face and headed for the door.

Gaius looked up at him, startled. "Where are you going now?" he asked.

"Something I need to finish" said Merlin cryptically. He paused briefly at the door and looked down at his mentor with a half smile of gratitude, "Thank you Gaius, for being here" he said before hurrying from the room.

"You're welcome, my boy" said Gaius to the empty room wondering what trouble his ward was heading off to now.

Merlin hurried along to the library. Not entirely understanding why, he felt compelled to read the rest of the account of the life of Aelrid and his friend Cornelius Sagan. Now that Arthur had dismissed him for the rest of the day, he felt no reason to wait until the dead of night to carry on reading. This time Sir Geofrey was indeed in the library sitting at his desk, but it was a very easy thing for Merlin to cause a large stack of books at the far end of the vault to cascade down from the top shelf. Geofrey tutted and hurried off to investigate what had caused this disruption and Merlin slipped silently through the door and hurried along to the dark old corner of the library where he had found the old history books. He pulled down the tome he had started the previous night and huddled in the same place beneath the desk to continue reading.

He soon found the page that he had left off at, illustrated by the picture of the beautiful lady with the waist length blonde hair. He shuddered at the memory of the nightmare he'd had whilst asleep on the stable floor, of Aelrid and this woman suspended high in the air by a magic whirlwind. He shook away the memory and immersed himself in the story once again.

Amongst the many guests that had come to Camelot for the great Tournament was a Princess Ciska from the Kingdom of Brittany across the Southern Sea. She was tall and comely and her high born breeding shone through in her regal bearing and impecable manners. With very little effort on her part she captured the eye of Aelrid and within the space of the few days of the tournament she had captured his interest enough for him to invite her back to for an informal visit. The Castle staff had only just finished clearing up from the tourney celebrations when it began preparing itself anew for Ciska's visit. She arrived with a large retinue of Ladies-in-waiting and Pages who filled up almost the whole of the East Wing of Camelot's newly completed Citadel.

Although undoubtedly beautiful and regal, Ciska turned out to be a most demanding guest. For the three weeks that she stayed, she insisted on the complany of Aelrid for at least half of his day. This left him little time to attend to matters of Court or any of the other pressing matters of being King. He barely saw Cornelius, who felt the absence more strongly since now that the Citadel was completed he found himself with more free time on his hands. Knights, Courtiers and Cornelius himself tried to gently hint to the King that he should perhaps give his Kingdom a little attention, but he would have none of it. He was utterley enthralled by Ciska and within very little time found himself in love with her. By the end of her short visit he had proposed marriage and set off with her and her retinue back to Brittany in order to ask her father for her hand in marriage.

Aelrid's sudden departure left the Court of Camelot in some consternation. Although acknowledging that Ciska was indeed a most noble noblewoman the people of Camelot worried that they knew very little of her background. They were wary that she came from a Kingdom across the Southern Sea, a place that none of them had ever visted and that nobody seemed to know anything about. Cornelius trusted his old friend's judgement and did all he could to calm the fears of the Court, reminding them that he himself had been taken in and trusted by Aelrid even though he had come from a distant and unknown tribe. His words seemed to calm the anxious townsfolk and life in the Citadel went on as normal as they awaited the return of thier King. Aelrid returned alone after a week with the news that the wedding would be held at Beltane - less than two months away. Once again preparations began, but this time the entire Kingdom seemed to be involved. The best of the previous year's harvest was purchased from the farmers, the fattest of the spring lambs were selected and slaughtered and the woodland thereabouts was alive with the calls of hunting parties and the baying of dogs as they hunted game for the forthcoming feast. Performers feverishly practised thier acts, squires feverishly polished the armour of thier Knights and the womenfolk dilligently sewed day and night to prepare dresses and tapestries.

Soon enough Beltane came. The wedding of Aelrid and Ciska was magnificent and was spoken of with fondness for many years by those who were present. Aelrid declared an extra two day public holiday after the feast day itself, and distributed ale and cakes to every citizen within his Kingdom. Cornelius served as Best Man for his old friend and bought him to the Priest for the hand-fasting ceremony. Despite their previous doubts, the people of Camelot celebrated along with the King and welcomed Ciska into their Kingdom and their hearts.

By and by life returned to normal - or at least a new kind of normality now that the King was married. Ciska had bought a large retinue with her before the wedding and once again they took up most of the East Wing of the Citadel, keeping the staff busy. All (including Aelrid) had assumed that the retinue would return to Brittany once the celebrations had finished but one month after the wedding they were still very much in residence. The Quartermaster came one day to ask Aelrid how much longer they would be staying, since supplies were running rather low in the Castle's stores. Aelrid in turn asked his Queen. Ciska's reaction surprised and alarmed him. She flew into a rage, screamed, cried and shouted. She accused him of taking her away from her beautiful home and from everything that she held dear. She said that she could not believe that he wanted to deprive her of this 'small reminder of home' and that perhaps she should go back to her father's house. Aelrid was appalled. He had asked the question in all innocence and was mortified that he had caused his beloved wife such pain. He blanched at the prospect of her leaving him and hurredly agreed to her retinue staying for as long as she liked...forever if it was what she desired.

It was their first proper arguement and set the precident for their married life. In very little time, Queen Ciska had turned the life of the Citadel on it's head. Her frequent rages meant that all but the hardiest of the Citadel staff were willing to serve her. Aelrid was so in terror of her leaving him and returning to Brittany that he conceded to her every wish. When his Court raised objections to her unreasonable demands that put a strain upon the household, Aelrid himself flew into a rage and reminded them all that he was in fact the ruler and that his wishes - and those of his Queen - should be obeyed without question.

Cornelius was as concerned as the rest of the Court with these worrying developments but trusted his old friend would eventually see sense and come round. He was still Aelrid's dearest friend and confidante and was one of the few people that was aware of how very afraid the King was at the prospect of his beloved wife leaving him. Cornelius acted as the voice of reason and would bring the concerns of the Court to the ears of the King in such a way as to prevent him becoming angry. This role was not an easy one but Cornelius managed it well and for a time a fine balance was maintained between the demands of the Queen and the demands of the Kingdom. After a while however, Ciska began to notice that not all of her demands were met as she would wish because Cornelius would convince the King otherwise. At first she turned on the charm and played up to Cornelius, trying to win him round to her wishes through flirtation and flattery. He was too wise however, and distrustful of her motives. He harboured a deep love and unerring loyalty for Aerlrid and found it distasteful in the extreme that Ciska was turning her womanly wiles in his direction. He very swiftly made it clear that her charms were lost on him.

Ciska was furious. She had always been given whatever she demanded and even as a small child men had fallen over themselves to gain her favour and attention. She simply did not understand Cornelius's reaction. She concluded that Cornelius had 'unnatural tendencies', preferring the company of menfolk to that of women - it was impossible that he could not be seduced by her! Once she had decided this was the case, she made subtle hints to her courtiers and thus started rumours circulating amongst her retinue. Naturally these rumours spread to the Camelot staff and onward to the people of the Kingdom. As these things are wont to do, the rumours spread rapidly and the stories associated with them grew and became more credible with each retelling. Soon, it was 'common knowledge' that Cornelius had a predeliction for young squires and had taken them to his chambers to warm his bed on more than one occasion. When Ciska was satisfied that the rumour was spread far enough, she spoke with Aelrid.

The King - naturally - had not heard these rumours and found them preposterous. Ciska was persistant and convinced him to seek confirmation from his advisors. In a very uncomfortable meeting (that Ciska made sure excluded Cornelius) it became apparent that what she had told him was seemingly true. Aelrid was shocked, but more than that he was deeply hurt. He considered Cornelius his closest friend and did not understand why in all the years of his association the man had never revealed this secret to him. He was anxious to play the whole scandal down. He did not want to lose his most trusted advisor and dearest friend over something so trite. He told Ciska as much, insisting that whatever Cornelius did in his private life had no bearing on his role as the King's Right Hand Man. Ciska would not accept this. First she tried to reason that such 'perversions' left Cornelius open to blackmail. Aelrid laughed this off, saying that there was no place for blackmail if the King was already aware of and accepted what Cornelius was. Ciska was not so easily beaten. She told him that if he openly accepted Cornelius and his 'deviant ways', it would only be a matter of time before people began to suspect Aelrid himself of harbouring such tendencies. He was, after all, extremely close to Cornelius and they had often travelled together unaccompanied in the early years of the Kingdom. Aelrid became serious and thoughtful as she spoke, and she used her trump card. She said that if he himself was suspected of such deviance, then he would be considered weak in the eyes of surrounding Kingdoms and those who wished harm to Camelot. Before he had time to process what she had said, Ciska added that she herself would begin to doubt his manliness if he did not deal accordingly with Cornelius. The fear of appearing weak, and greater than that the fear of losing his beloved wife made Aelrid resolute.

He summoned Cornelius to a private council of his closest advisors. He told his old friend about the rumours. Cornelius was naturally outraged, denying it all. Aelrid quizzed him about allegations of trysts with young Squires which the man simply laughed off. The King questioned him further, asking him why he had never married, or indeed had any serious dealings with the Ladies of the Kingdom. At this question Cornelius became very serious and quiet and after a while admitted that he harboured love for nobody but his King. Only a day before, this statement would have made Aelrid's heart swell with joy but now it simply caused his heart to sink. Ciska had been right. His oldest friend apparently harboured unnatural feelings for him. In a fit of panic Aelrid decided to send Cornelius away. Cornelius was at first astounded and disbelieving. He tried to reason with the man he had devoted his life to, but Aelrid was unmoved. Soon his disbelief grew into anger and he reminded Aelrid that he had saved his life numerous times and helped him build the Kingdom and the Citadel. Aelrid was insistent that he must go and Cornelius finally became furious. He stormed from the Council chamber treatening retribution and curses on Camelot and it's people.

Aelrid had no choice. The treasonous words of Cornelius had been heard not only by the Private Council members, but by the Knights on guard outside of the room. He had no option but to arrest and imprison the man that had been his closest confidante. As the guards siezed Sagan, the very walls of the Citadel began to shake as his magic flared along with his rage. Aelrid swiftly understood what was happening and had the man shackled in Cold Iron that would prevent him from using his magic. He was taken to the dungeons, and condemned to death the following morning.

Aelrid was heartbroken but unable to change the fate of Cornelius without undermining his own Kingship. He visited his old friend in the cells in the dark hour before dawn. The man was holding a large quartz gemstone in the shape of a heart. It was equisitelly made and in the shape of a heart. Aelrid recognised it at once. It was the first gift he had given the man when they had returned victorious from their first Campaign. Without preamble Cornelius said, "I carry this with me at all times to remind me of my loyalty and devotion to you. I ask only that you allow me to take it with me to the executioner's block. Broken hearted, Aelrid agreed and told him that despite being unable to save him from the impending execution he promised him that he would recieve a full state burial and internment, in recognition of his service to the Kingdom.

The following morning as the sun came up over the Citadel he had helped build, the Cold Iron shackles were removed from Cornelius Sagan and he was beheaded. As his body was laid out for burial, the gemstone was found in his pocket wrapped in a scroll that bore the words "He who breaks my heart completes my work" written in his native tongue.. It glowed with a mysterious blue light that enraptured all that looked upon it. Aelrid decreed that it should be set into his friend's tomb and surrounded by this strange poetic description. As was the custom, Cornelius's assembled wealth was sealed into the burial chamber with him. Aelrid mourned his loss for the rest of his days.

Merlin stopped reading when he realised that water was dripping onto the old manuscript and blurring the words. He suddenly became aware of himself again and realised that he was weeping uncontollably. He closed the book up and sobbed some more, taking a good while before he regained his equalibrium again. He sighed deeply and quietly returned the book to its place on the shelf. So deep in thought was he at these new discoveries that he completely forgot to distract Sir Geofrey and simply left the library in a daze unheeding the protests of the irate librarian behind him.