Emrys Lost
Epilogue
The threat of the swarm was a close call and the experience gave Merlin nightmares for weeks. Sometimes, he just doesn't want to remember who he is. But it's all come back. And he feels that the threats to Arthur and the fulfillment of his destiny are becoming that much closer.
He will do all he can to be prepared to the next magical threat to attack Camelot. But what Merlin didn't expect is that the next threat would be a matter of the heart. Arthur is being committed to a marriage arranged by his father to a princess who is a changeling. She's inhabited by a fairy by the Sidhe who hope to install one of their own as queen in Camelot. Merlin knows this and he knows he must do everything he can to force the fairy out of the princess.
Earlier that night, he had complained to Gaius that he didn't know anything about the Sidhe magic that would be needed force the fairy out of the princess. Gaius had given him a book to read, but he had not found the answer. After Gaius went to bed, Merlin waited until he heard steady snores from the main room. Now he can go. He dresses quickly, and leaves his chambers making his way to the library. Geoffrey of Monmouth will not be there, he assumes, so he should easily be able to access the secret chamber in the library's east wing.
With a quick spell, Merlin opens the locked door to the library proper. He had stumbled into a hidden chamber several months ago, at the time of the unfortunate incident with the goblin. He's careful now not to open any unusual looking containers lest he unwittingly release another magical creature to wreak havoc in Camelot. As comical as some of the goblin's pranks were, Merlin came close to execution when he was accused of sorcery. His stomach clenches in fear at the memory. "I've really got to think of something else," he chides himself aloud.
He ignites a few candles and settles down to read the magic books that had been hidden away in the room. He's found many in the past few months, and has hidden them on the shelves behind the stone dog. The books have given him hours of reading and study, unbeknownst even to Gaius. No one can find him when he's in the secret chamber, and he can safely lose himself in magic.
Tonight he has a sense of urgency. He needs to learn as much as he can about Sidhe magic to find a spell free Princess Elena from the power of the Sidhe. He is willing to do what he must. But he cannot imagine the terrible cost he will have to pay for his actions.
After a few hours' reading, his eyes are beginning to feel like they'd fall right out of their sockets. He rubs them and then closes the book he just searched. It must be morning already, and time to head back to Gaius's rooms, he realizes. Maybe the physician will have better luck in finding something, anything to force the fairy from the princess.
A/N: This adventure continues in "The Power of the Mighty Sidhe" by Nantasyland.
